《Re: Butterfly (Reincarnated as a Butterfly)》 1. The Bad Beginning Adon Komodo wheezed himself into wakefulness. Despite the breathing mask he always wore to sleep, the sounds his body made as it struggled to keep itself alive were always far from smooth. ¡°Ahem. Haw.¡± His breaths grew more ragged as he slowly pulled himself up, or tried to, by the handles on the sides of his bed. His arms were too weak to handle the heft of his bulk. He pulled with all the force he could, only to advance by inches. Then he let go and fell back down into the bed. This repeated itself twice. Finally, he gave up. At twenty-six years old and four hundred fifty pounds, he was, he felt, entitled to give up on getting up every once in a while. Even if ¡°every once in a while¡± was becoming increasingly often. Instead of pushing his limits¡ªAdon¡¯s heart was already pounding!¡ªhe reached to his right side and pressed a button. The bed immediately began moving. The half that lay underneath his upper body rose and adjusted itself until it reached his comfortable wide awake elevation. At last, Adon was sitting up. Now, what to do first? He saw a note stuck to the screen at the foot of his bed. His mother¡¯s way of trying to make him get up out of the bed before he could use his screens. Little did she know, he had trained his body for precisely this challenge. Adon kicked the sheets free of his feet, and with the dexterous toes of his right foot, he plucked the note free from the screen. He gave a little smile of satisfaction, but it quickly curdled into a grimace. Perhaps his mother had intended that he might do this. Because in order to get to the note, he¡¯d had to lean his whole body forward in order to see what he was doing and coordinate his foot. And that meant that as soon as the note unstuck from the screen, Adon was facing it, leaning into view. It gave him a long hard look at his own reflection. Ugh. His mind recoiled instinctively from his own body. Now, fitting with what his mother had surely wanted, he felt an instinctive urge to get out of bed, to get some sort of physical activity. No, calm down, he told himself. He looked around for the distractions. There was the screen, and of course the note. He opened the note, almost eager to see whatever banal reminders his mother had left for him. Back when he was a kid, it was things like ¡°Brush your teeth. Do your homework. Help your brother with his school work.¡± But now his brother and sister, despite suffering from the same glandular issues as Adon, were out in the world on their own. Gainfully employed. Married and engaged respectively. They kept in good enough shape for their bodies to support the cybernetic implants that made it easier for them to get around. Adon had failed to make the consistent effort required. He often wondered what his life could have been like, if he didn¡¯t suffer from this combination of a glandular disorder and crippling social anxiety. Could he have had a good career? Married? His mind drifted to its favorite fantasy, in which he was with his high school crush, Linda. They were walking in the park, holding hands. But he shoved the image away. He didn¡¯t feel like distracting himself right now. He felt agitated. Mom, why did you leave this note?! He read the text again and tried to parse out why it made him irrationally angry. The note just said, ¡°Please try to get up today. The gym downstairs is all yours for the next few days. Father and I are going down to the beach house for some sun. Please take care of yourself. Love you, Mom¡± Should that really make him angry? He let out a long sigh. Probably not. ¡°Axel, please get me a Long Haul,¡± he vocalized. ¡°Getting you a Long Haul, Mr. Adon!¡± the artificial voice replied. A slender robotic arm descended from the ceiling above, opened the mini refrigerator in the corner of Adon¡¯s room, and handed him a can of Long Haul. The first energy drink developed that didn¡¯t cause the heart to race unsteadily in any of its consumers, and also didn¡¯t taste like battery acid. Adon popped the metal tab with a sharp, satisfying crack, listened to the soft sound of fizzing bubbles, and inhaled the tart cherry smell. His mouth watered slightly, his body¡¯s Pavlovian response to the presence of his drug of choice. Then he took a long swig, and he curled his lips into another smile. Long Haul always gave him the energy to face the day. Even if it was just a day of watching daytime television on his screen. Like today would be, he decided. He wasn¡¯t going to bother getting out of bed the whole time his parents were gone. That would show his mother for leaving him some moldy old note! He guzzled down the Long Haul and tossed the can onto the floor. The robot cleaner would get it later. ¡°Axel, activate screen!¡± Adon boomed. One of his few rather charming traits was his deep voice, which had always drawn him positive attention. It became a little grating, after he started to put on the weight, how people would hear his voice, glance over at him with expressions of interest, and then look away in disgust. After a while, he just stopped talking in front of other people. He realized, now that he thought about it, that no one outside of his family had heard his voice in years. He didn¡¯t have to go outside for anything; it wasn¡¯t as if his parents were hurting for money. Why are you thinking this way today? he asked himself. Don¡¯t be so depressed. Just enjoy the alone time! The screen had flickered to life in front of him, a touch screen maxi-tablet designed to function as a highly mobile, thin but durable big-screen television and home computer. The little rotating eye appeared, prompting him to select what he wanted to do. ¡°Screen, play today¡¯s biggest story from Info Corp,¡± Adon said. A video appeared on the screen and began to play. A voiceover began, ¡°Dr. Laurence Santana explains why the immortality of the soul is a myth!¡± Adon started, almost bolting forward, before he calmed himself. Dr. Santana said that? Then two figures appeared on screen. One was a newswoman in a tasteful, flower print dress. Adon recognized her from many other news broadcasts, and knew her name before it popped up below her on-screen: Kate Bechdel. The other man was new to him. Or so it seemed at first. As Adon squinted at the screen, he at last recognized the face of the old, liver-spotted man with the mane of thick white hair. It was a face he¡¯d seen in textbooks in his school, minus fifty years of age. It really was Dr. Santana. The man who scientifically proved the existence of the soul and founded the field of essence physics, which studied the properties and activities of the soul. Dr. Santana had always stressed how the work of his predecessors should really be credited with his achievement, but despite his humility, he was treated as a Sifuentes or a Newburg figure. A towering giant of science. Now, here he was, in the flesh, albeit severely aged and decrepit, with multiple visible cybernetic implants supporting him as he stood beside Ms. Bechdel. ¡°Doctor, please explain your latest discovery to our viewers,¡± Bechdel said, her expression grave. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Well, as you know, Ms. Bechdel, we have long been able to track the activity of the soul. We have measured its size and movement in the past. We know that when you die, the soul travels elsewhere, we know not where. And we¡¯ve proved that souls that appeared previously sometimes reappear in this world in a newborn baby or animal body.¡± He smiled a bit to himself, as if that last discovery was a real coup. ¡°Yes, miraculous discoveries, and they proved the existence of a spiritual world for billions of people. But what¡¯s this about the quality of souls changing with time?¡± Bechdel pressed. Santan frowned and wrung his hands, clearly agitated. ¡°I¡¯ll be blunt,¡± he said finally. ¡°We¡¯ve discovered that the souls that have entered our world in the last several decades are lesser than they once were. There is less substance to them. Souls today are basically flimsy, fragile things. A shadow of their former selves. This comes at the same time as our global fertility bust. A problem which we discovered afflicted not just ourselves, but our fellow ensouled species as well.¡± ¡°What does this mean? A soul has less substance to it than they used to? What are the implications of that?¡± Bechdel seemed to be channeling the nervous energy she anticipated from her audience. Adon himself felt beads of cold sweat gathering on his back. ¡°Essentially, we have discovered that the souls coming to our world are lesser each time they arrive. We don¡¯t know the cause, but we have an idea that seems the only credible theory at the moment. It¡¯s as if you had a memory tape, and you played the tape again and again.¡± Bechdel nodded along, since the reference was so obvious and clear. Memory tapes wore out from too much repeated use. ¡°At some point,¡± he continued, ¡°the memory can¡¯t be played anymore. You may have made copies, but if you hadn¡¯t, the original memory is of no more use.¡± ¡°And if we¡¯re talking about the soul, doctor? What does it mean when this metaphor applies to a living being¡¯s essence?¡± He heaved a deep sigh and looked distraught. ¡°It means that the immortality of the soul may be a myth. Something we¡¯ve deluded ourselves into believing. We¡¯re aware of the ignorant generations in the past who believed there was no second life for the soul. It¡¯s possible, however, that the people who are putting their stock in having a next life right now might be wrong. The cycle of reincarnation, that people weren¡¯t certain existed once upon a time, might be coming to its end. For the current young generations, anyone less than fifty or sixty years of age, it¡¯s possible that this life might be the last recurrence that your specific soul can endure.¡± After a commercial break, Ms. Bechdel went on to interview a local essence physician, a woman named Dr. Lee, who suggested going to see your local specialist if you¡¯re worried about your soul. But Adon tuned it out, and after about thirty seconds, he turned the screen off. He wanted to think, and he needed silence for that. Have I been living my life, all this time, anticipating that I would get to enjoy something else after? Putting off really living, making my fullest effort in this life, because deep down, I knew I would have another chance? Did I let myself miss out on all that I could have been? His thoughts went involuntarily to Linda again, and this time, he didn¡¯t try to pull them away. Maybe if he had some motivation, he could make something of this life. Maybe, just maybe, it wasn¡¯t too late for him to waste the last, or second to last, life he had. Adon decided to go down to the gym. It had seemed pointless before, and he¡¯d even thought that abstention would accomplish more than a visit to the gym. But he didn¡¯t care about spiting his parents now. He wanted to see if he could get into decent shape. The last time he¡¯d checked Linda out on social media, she¡¯d been single. Maybe it wasn¡¯t too late for him to have a full life, with love and career success and all the trappings he¡¯d quietly given up on. ¡°Axel, open the door to my room!¡± he boomed. The robot hand quickly obliged. Then Adon pushed the lever that lowered the arms on the sides of his bed, so he could slide out. He took his first steps in days, toward the doorway and the nearby staircase. Today is the first day of the rest of my life, he vowed, grinning. Today will change everything. Adon couldn¡¯t see his feet when he was standing upright. He didn¡¯t see the can of Long Haul as the toes of his right foot found it and accidentally kicked it forward, through the door. He thought little of it. I guess I left my slippers in the middle of the floor again. The can found its way under his other foot when he stepped out of the room. He felt it then, but not until he was already putting his weight down. The can rolled and slipped under his foot like a banana peel. In what the medical examiner would later term a ¡°freak accident,¡± Adon fell forward and flipped over the stairway railing, flailing his arms and crashing down the stairs. ¡°A particularly bad landing on one of the lower stairs snapped his neck. Instantaneous death. There was no pain,¡± the medical examiner would assure his shocked parents. No pain, that was true enough, if one ignored the first few steps Adon collided with before he landed near the bottom and fractured his spine. But as his soul hurtled into the darkness, there was palpable disappointment. When Adon opened his eyes, he was in a bright white place, surrounded by clouds and light. He seemed to be in the same body he had died in, minus the broken bones. ¡°My child,¡± a mellifluous voice pronounced, ¡°you¡¯re back again so soon.¡± Adon looked up and saw the Goddess. She returned his gaze, just as Adon was hit with a flood of memories. He not only remembered every time he¡¯d been in this place before, which was considerable¡ªI¡¯ve really reincarnated around a hundred times? How many does a soul usually get?!¡ªhe also remembered his other past lives. He remembered being a dragon in a fantasy world. A tiger in a deep jungle. The only daughter of a great noble. Several dozen lives in which he¡¯d been a beggar, or a peasant, or a member of an untouchable caste. A life where he was a computer programmer. Another where he was a ballerina. So many lives, in worlds that were wildly different from the one he thought of as his own. But there was a single common thread. I¡¯ve disappointed myself in all of them! There¡¯s not a single one of those lives that I¡¯d live again. Just like in my current life, I had no friends, no lovers¡­ Nothing worth having! Even when he¡¯d been a dragon, people had feared him and cheered the brave hero who finally hunted him down and killed him. It was a painfully solitary life. He was almost glad to die, if not for the excruciating pain from the lance through his chest. The same applied to his existence as a tiger, except replace ¡°hero¡± with ¡°hunter hired by the colonial government.¡± And as a noble girl, he had been kidnapped and held for ransom, then killed. It was a successful plot by the girl¡¯s stepmother to remove her from the line of succession. Even as that nearly-royal noble girl, Adon had no real friends. Just a personal servant girl. The one time that incarnation of Adon and the girl played together, the commoner girl was caught and whipped for her presumption. From then on, it was isolation. Oh, Goddess, I¡¯ve wasted every life you¡¯ve given me! Adon stared back up at the Goddess, eyes brimming with tears. He had marveled at the Goddess¡¯s beauty every time he was here, and every time he was here, he took something different from her expression. The first several incarnations, he¡¯d thought there was a beautifully blissful expression on her face. Then he¡¯d started to read it as a more mysterious expression, like she had some secret. This time, and the last few, the Goddess¡¯s face came across as melancholy to him. But he realized, for the first time, that her mood was the same every time he saw her. Her face never changed its expression. It was only his reaction that was new. ¡°My child, there is no need to cry. You are loved.¡± She drew close to Adon and folded him into her embrace for a moment that seemed to last forever. ¡°Do you have any requests for your next incarnation?¡± It might be my final life, he reminded himself. But I won¡¯t screw this up! The one thing I know is that with every life, my basic character can be drastically different based on my environment and the temperament that my new body comes equipped with. There¡¯s no reason why I should be alone in the next life. There was nothing wrong with Adon that reincarnation couldn¡¯t cure. But as he looked up at the Goddess, he felt his familiar social anxiety kicking in. Who was he to be looking at her? Making requests of her? This divine being, a wellspring of love. Why would she waste her time with me? Even thinking about what I want? The tears welled up in his eyes again. But he managed to speak. Stammering, words barely audible, he voiced his request. ¡°Please, ah, my Goddess, I just want the, the friendship and to be l-loved. Ah, maybe good-looking? Handsome or beautiful. And charming, if possible. Soch-social skills, to be a social butterfly. M-make me a social butterfly!¡± His voice rose and fell throughout his request, reaching its loudest at the last word. The Goddess¡¯s expression changed, for the first time he¡¯d seen across the thousands of years of his existence and over a hundred encounters with her. She looked confused for a moment. ¡°I see,¡± she murmured to herself. ¡°To be a beautiful, loved creature, charming¡­¡± Her expression returned to normal. ¡°I know just where to send you!¡± she proclaimed. ¡°Hold on tight, my dear Adon!¡± The ground shifted underneath him, and Adon found himself hurtling through dark emptiness once again. D-did she mis-hear what I said? he wondered. 2. The Way We Were When Adon found himself conscious again, most of what had happened in the white space, as well as his previous life, felt like distant memories, flimsy and unreal. This was how it happened in every life. The memories quickly faded, and he lived his new life out of the shadow of the old. But this time, he vowed to retain some of the information. It seemed important for his future happiness. One of the things he remembered bothered him as soon as he awoke. I wanted to be a social butterfly in my next life. I distinctly remember saying that to the Goddess that sent me to this new world. So why¡­? Why do I have this strange body? Adon wasn¡¯t even sure what sort of body he existed in right now, but he could see light through a translucent surface that separated him from the outside world. Right away, he knew that meant he hadn¡¯t been reborn as a human this time. A pregnant woman¡¯s stomach wasn¡¯t translucent like this. He must be inside some sort of egg. Maybe this is an extremely social species of animal? he thought hopefully. Perhaps he¡¯d been reborn in a world in which dragons befriended each other instead of living in isolation. More likely, he was a frog or a snake or something. Frogs can be social, he thought he remembered. And there are a lot of eusocial insects. Please not a snake¡­ He had plenty of time to think about which kind of animal he might be. There was very little to do inside of the egg where he found himself. Adon initially thought he might have awakened because he was ready to hatch, so he swam to the edge of the egg and tried to break through. But his effort was too feeble. So he spent days inside the egg. At least it was comfortably warm and spacious. His only activities were trying hard to cling to his old memories, because he didn¡¯t want them to fade; speculating about which animal he might be; and swimming back and forth inside the increasingly tight confines of the shell. When he got hungry, he ate the liquid that surrounded him; there seemed to be plenty of that, and it had a rich, buttery taste. The swimming gave him his first real theory about what kind of animal he was. Adon couldn¡¯t see very well to examine his body¡ªhis eyes didn¡¯t seem to see very distinctly at all, unfortunately. But he could tell that the method he was using to swim wasn¡¯t a dog paddle, backstroke, or any swimming technique that a creature with normal hands and feet would employ. He was doing some sort of serpentine swimming movement, moving side to side and pushing off surfaces. So does that mean I¡¯m a snake? Oh, please, Goddess, people from most worlds usually hate snakes¡­ He tried to comfort himself that it didn¡¯t matter if humans hated snakes, because he would be a part of snake society, but snakes had always seemed like such weird loner animals! He ultimately fell into a fitful sleep still thinking about being a snake, and dreamed about people trying to skewer him with pitchforks. But the next day, he tried swimming to the edge of the egg again. At the very edge of the egg, he realized he could see something now that he hadn¡¯t noticed before: the shape of a plant stem. Maybe he hadn¡¯t been on the right side of the egg to see it on the previous day, or maybe his vision was improving slightly. Now that he could make out the shape of a plant stem on the side of his little home, he had some context for the size of the egg. I¡¯m a lot smaller than I would expect a baby snake to be, he thought. Then he remembered snake eggs tended to be opaque anyway. And that was how his dragon egg had been once upon a time, too. So almost certainly not a reptile. At first, he was relieved. Then he realized the truth could be worse. Oh no¡­ I could be a worm. Who would love a worm? Goddess, please don¡¯t make me that¡­ There were further days of alternately sleeping, moving around in the eggshell¡ªan increasingly tight space, which he hoped was a good sign¡ªand constantly reinforcing the memories in his mind. This last, he accomplished by repeatedly going over the bits of himself he hoped to retain into his new life. The years of social isolation¡­ He ingrained the pain of them into his mind. Never again. Regardless of what type of animal he became, he would make friends. The humiliation of people turning their heads sharply away when they saw me, like I was polluting their eyes. My parents¡¯ disappointment. My younger siblings heading off to work while I lazed around at home, avoiding eye contact with any member of the family. Most of the memories Adon tried hardest to save were painful, even shameful, ones. He had given his core self the hardest look of any of his lives, and at last, he was convinced that his fatal flaw was laziness. Across lifetimes, he just didn¡¯t try hard enough. He could have overcome the challenges encountered in any one of his lives, if he¡¯d just tried harder. In one of his incarnations as a peasant, Adon had been a lazy farmer. Time and time again, he delayed going off to work in the fields. At first, his father would tan his hide for that. Once his father passed, his mother would yell at him to go and plant the crops, or till the fields, or finish putting up the little barn his father had started. After she died, wolves ate the pigs that were supposed to live in the barn that he¡¯d never finished, and one winter, Adon didn¡¯t plant enough food to live off of. Ultimately, he died of starvation. In his last human life, Adon had once walked around all day with bird poop in his hair, because he couldn¡¯t be bothered to wash it out, and he figured it would come out when he showered that night. In the end, of course, the droppings washed out, but before that happened, every girl in his class saw him sitting with bird poop in his hair. Later, when he tried asking around about possible dates to the school dance, that incident couldn¡¯t have helped his popularity. When he lived as a dragon, Adon had chosen to repeatedly eat the sheep that lived in a particular region of his territory. They were tasty, and he didn¡¯t want to explore outside his comfort zone. The result of that, he realized in retrospect, was desperation from the people who lived in that region, until a so-called hero was found to slay him. Fate isn¡¯t against me. The Goddess said I¡¯m loved. She wants me to be happy. The universe is benevolent, or at worst indifferent, not malevolent. That means it¡¯s up to me. If I do absolutely everything that is possible for me to do, life will reward me. Don¡¯t fall back into old habits! This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. This was the foundation for his silent mantra. Do everything, and you¡¯ll win. Do everything, and you¡¯ll get what you want. Don¡¯t fall back into old habits. Don¡¯t live another shameful sham of a life. As the shell grew tighter and tighter around Adon¡¯s mysterious new body, he no longer had enough room to swim. There wasn¡¯t much to look at in his environment besides the plant stem, and that got old quickly. So he devoted proportionately more time to his efforts to cling to old memories. Not all of them were painful. He needed some positive motivation to remain energized and excited about his new life, after all. He remembered Linda, his crush in his last life. Memories of early childhood were good, too. Back then, he¡¯d been the biggest and the smartest, the hero to his little brother and sister. Mostly, though, he looked to his other past lives for positive energy. The memories of his friendship with Emma when he was Lady Felicia¡ªthat life had become clearer in memory as Adon tried to revisit it, while others faded. Another hopeful memory was the feeling of soaring as a dragon in the deep blue sky, ruler of all he surveyed. That was also brighter and shinier now than it had been when he¡¯d been feeling sorry for himself in the Goddess¡¯s realm. Oh, if I¡¯d only remembered how it was to have wings, I¡¯d have asked to be a dragon again. Maybe if I make friends in this life, I¡¯ll still have something left in my soul for another reincarnation. Maybe achieving your dreams can bolster the lifespan and quality of a soul. Realistically there¡¯s probably nothing I can do about that. But perhaps there is. In which case there might be a next life for me. If so¡­ I want wings. Sometimes, when he was dreaming, he heard voices. They were definitely real; his sleep now felt very different from the way it had when he was a human. He shifted from dreams to full awareness much more easily. Sleeping was more like a reduction in activity than full unconsciousness. The speakers sounded human, but they spoke a language he didn¡¯t know. That mainly told Adon that this was probably a world or at least a country he¡¯d never been incarnated into before. Still, the speakers made a strong impression. He could judge tones well enough even in foreign languages, and his hearing wasn¡¯t so bad in this new body, even if his vision sometimes felt like near-blindness. The conversations felt weighty, important. He tried to cling to the memories of them, just like his previous lives¡¯ memories. He thought they could be important someday soon, to help him understand the new place in which he found himself. The voices only showed up once when Adon was actually awake. It seemed he might be sleeping quite a lot, both day and night, while his body built itself out, getting both larger and tougher. He discerned two figures, but his vision was still so poor, he couldn¡¯t even tell if they were male or female. He only noticed their tones of voice. One of the figures became emotional and spoke very emphatically, maybe angrily. The other seemed to reply in an appeasing tone. Then they moved out of hearing, and Adon was alone again. Finally, one day, he awoke and noticed a difference from how he¡¯d felt the previous day. He was definitely stronger. And bigger. Tightly cramped inside the eggshell. He realized there was no more room for him to move at all. A little bit of a nuisance, actually. He hadn¡¯t minded sitting still in his last life, but this one was supposed to be different. He tried to stretch his body out, and he suddenly found himself bursting forth from the egg. Well, that was unexpectedly fragile after all! A surge of excitement shot through his body. Finally, I¡¯m free! Liquid still coated his body, but he could feel the cool air all around him now. Everything was bright and new. Fortunately, part of the egg remained intact underneath him so he didn¡¯t tumble to the ground. He thought he felt rather high up. There was a brisk breeze blowing over his body. Adon took in his first breath in the new world. Openings all over his body drew in air almost effortlessly, like the wind was just a part of him. So, I¡¯m definitely not a snake. After a moment¡¯s consideration, he decided he wasn¡¯t a worm either. The holes in his body that opened and closed to draw in air weren¡¯t one of the qualities he remembered about worm bodies. I¡¯m pretty sure this is an insect thing. He¡¯d gotten decent grades in biology in his last human life. He stretched and shook himself out a bit and saw his lower body distinctly in decent lighting for the first time. His vision was still crap¡ªhe couldn¡¯t see colors or very precise shapes, only dark and light and outlines. But he couldn¡¯t help noticing that as his upper body stretched, his lower body had some mechanism for clinging to the plant stem. So I have legs. With his imprecise eyesight¡ªwhich he hoped would get better with time, because it was very inconvenient to have to guess what his own body looked like¡ªit seemed as if he had several pairs of legs that clung to the plant. Several things clicked into place. I¡¯m a caterpillar, aren¡¯t I? He wanted to laugh and cry and whoop with excitement at the same time. Goddess, did you really mishear me? It felt absurd. And it was also a bit upsetting, because he knew butterflies were not particularly social. They gathered for mating and sometimes migration, but otherwise, they were a more individualistic species than frogs or most insects. But he was also excited. He could find ways to overcome all of that. And one day, after he went through metamorphosis, he would be able to fly! Adon wiggled his forelimbs in excitement. He wanted to dance. He was dancing¡ªas close as he could come to it in caterpillar form. The next sensation he felt was almost as familiar from his previous life as breathing. There was an internal rumbling, and he looked down at himself, his mood momentarily disrupted. His midsection seemed uncomfortably empty. Adon was hungry. And why shouldn¡¯t he be? He was a literal newborn. Don¡¯t fall back into old habits, he reminded himself. Whatever you eat, do it in moderation! What¡¯s there to eat around here anyway? He looked side to side, then up and down. The first thing he noticed was his eggshell¡ªwhat was left of it, after he wastefully smashed his way out. Well, that was reasonably sized enough. He leaned down to take a bite. He chomped a piece with his mandibles, pulled it in past his lips, and savored it with his tongue. Thank the Goddess, I still have a tongue, he thought. The piece of shell tasted heavenly. He went into a trance-like state as soon as the first bit of shell was swallowed. Munch munch, chomp chomp, gobble gobble. Gulp. Suddenly his mental fog cleared, and he realized he¡¯d eaten the whole shell and all the leftover nutritious juices inside. The shell went so quickly, he thought. I¡¯ll have to work hard to control this appet¡ª His stomach growled again and cut off the thought. He looked beyond where his eggshell had been. The next bit of food in view was a bunch of other eggs, the same general shape as his, but slightly smaller. Perhaps less developed. And unhatched. The other eggs looked delicious. But they were his own kind. Probably. His brothers and sisters? Must control my appetite. Hunger is an instinct. You can master it¡ª His stomach let loose another, louder rumble. Goddess, are you testing me? 3. Enemies Everywhere I wonder what there is to do up here besides eat, Adon thought. His stomach growled loudly once more. Shut up! he thought. Dietary discipline was going to be even harder to exercise in this life than it had been in his previous one. Wait, aren¡¯t caterpillars one of those species that has to eat a lot? Like, maybe as much as their body weight or something crazy like that? That would explain why, on his first day of life, before he¡¯d established any bad habits, his body was constantly¡ª His stomach rumbled again. Okay. Remember, if these eggs are other butterfly eggs, one of them could be your future mate. Adon half-consciously used one of his front legs to smooth back the nonexistent hair on his head. The actual result of this effort was that he smacked himself right in the antenna. Ow! That body part was unexpectedly sensitive, and hitting it affected his perception, making his smell and already crappy vision go a little haywire for a few seconds. Need to protect the antennae. Got it. His stomach¡¯s sounds resumed now, and they began to resemble a roar more than a growl. Need to find something now! Adon forced himself to look away from the eggs. He turned and started crawling up the plant stem as fast as his legs could carry him. A cluster of leaves began to come into view. Relief washed over him. I know caterpillars eat leaves, he thought. He pulled himself up faster. Finally, he reached the nearest leaf, and he clamped down with his mandibles. Munch munch, chomp chomp, gobble gobble. Gulp. Yes, he could eat them. The same eating haze descended over him as before, and before he knew it, he¡¯d consumed five leaves. For the moment, his hunger was sated, though he could sense it would shortly return. Perhaps this was the life of a caterpillar. Eating and crawling, crawling and eating, all the time. But there was a problem. The leaves didn¡¯t taste like anything! They were incredibly bland. What¡¯s more, they didn¡¯t fill him up. It seemed that he could eat vegetation in this body, but just like when he was a human, he wouldn¡¯t feel fully satisfied or nourished if his meal didn¡¯t have a protein component. So I need to find something else to eat. Something that moves. He thought of the eggs. I¡¯d really rather not do that. And in the end, that¡¯s only a limited supply of food if I did resort to it. I¡¯ll have to learn how to hunt in order to have a fully satisfying diet. But what can I even do? What¡¯s a newborn caterpillar body capable of? He didn¡¯t know. Adon had been decent in biology classes in his last life, but it wasn¡¯t as if he was an entomologist. Adon found himself wondering if this world had a magical system. He had been reincarnated into worlds he would have called ¡°fantasy¡± before. In about half of those lives, and even around a quarter of the ¡°science fiction¡± worlds with futuristic technologies he¡¯d lived in, there had been reality interface systems. System, he thought loudly. Um, status? A table appeared in his field of vision. It was remarkably clear and detailed, and he could see it in color, unlike everything in his physical environment, which appeared in grayscale. The table was a rich blue, and the text that populated it was white.
User: Unnamed Butterfly Larva Age: 1 hour (newborn) Sex: Male
Status
Health: 10/10
Strength: 4
Agility: 2
Perception: 3
Dexterity: 5
Constitution: 2
Intelligence: 85(!)
Will: 90(!)
Charisma: 1
Skills: Identify, Impeccable Memory, Past Life Connection, Shed Skin, Spiritual Sight
Evolution Points: 2
Biomass: 5/15
Holy unbalanced stats, Rat Man! Adon thought. I have a 1 in Charisma and a 90 for Will? What gives? He started looking at different places in the Status table, trying to get more information. He started from the bottom. What¡¯s biomass? As he focused on that term, a description populated. Biomass: A measure of satiety, correlated with a user¡¯s consumption of nutritious matter. This metric slowly decreases over time whenever the user is not consuming nutritious matter. If biomass is filled to beyond its maximum capacity, it may trigger physical changes in the user. If biomass drops to zero, the user¡¯s physical Health will begin to decrease. Alright, now we¡¯re cooking! Nice that this world¡¯s system is pretty interactive. I think I¡¯m starting to understand how this works. So I need to eat just about all the time, unless my biomass is full or close enough. Otherwise, I¡¯m basically starving. Somehow, Adon thought that he could manage this. We¡¯ll figure out what ¡°physical changes¡± they mean when we get to a hundred percent satiety. Somehow he suspected that wouldn¡¯t be happening anytime soon. What about Evolution Points? Evolution Points: A measure of biological success, correlated with a user¡¯s consumption of novel and nutritious food and successful navigation of obstacles to survival. Passively increases over time if a user places itself in a position that increases its odds of survival without further effort. Evolution Points may be spent to increase Status points in any category, or they may be used in the Evolution Store, to purchase Skills, Adaptations, or Evolutions. Open the Evolution Store? Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Adon¡¯s curiosity forced him to answer a strong ¡°yes¡± in his mind to that final question.
Evolution Store
Adaptations
Evolutions
Skills
Very cool! In Adon¡¯s mind, his goal of self-improvement throughout his second life seemed already half-accomplished. It was a bit like being born and finding out you already had a savings account and a job that were accruing interest. He focused on Adaptations, and a long list of possible Adaptations appeared, with their prices in Evolution Points visible alongside them. Unfortunately, almost all of the names were in grayed out text, which seemed to indicate that he couldn¡¯t afford them. When Adon hovered over any of those, he got the same message. Insufficient Evolution Points saved. So I have to have money even to window shop, basically. Well, that was fine. Just seeing the names of some of these Adaptations was almost as good as getting a proper description. ¡°Communication Pheromone Glands I¡± seemed like a pretty self-explanatory Adaptation. So was ¡°Color Change I¡± and ¡°Spiny Bristles I,¡± although Adon wasn¡¯t sure at first what the Roman numeral for one appearing in all the names meant. Probably that there was a better version of each Adaptation that he could update to after getting the first one. The only Adaptations he could actually afford with his meager two Evolution Points were ¡°Extended Antenna I,¡± ¡°Poison Generation I,¡± ¡°Stench Defense I,¡± and ¡°Size Enhancement I.¡± That last one feels like I clicked on a shady Internet link, he thought. No, I don¡¯t want any ¡°size enhancements,¡± thank you! He read the description for that, and it was just a straightforward increase in the dimensions of his body. He didn¡¯t see much sense in increasing his size and making himself a bigger target for predators when his Stat points were still so low. Adon was about to look at ¡°Stench Defense I,¡± but he heard a sound below him. It was the sound of something brittle cracking. He turned his whole body around on the plant stem to see what was going on. Goddess damn my crappy vision! Adon had a grainy image of what was happening below him. He could vaguely sense some motion in the area of the eggs he¡¯d left behind. His stomach rumbled very unhelpfully as he looked. There! One of the eggs, further away from him, was larger than he¡¯d noticed. It had a big crack running down one side, and it looked like there was a tiny leg poking through a hole nearby. Soon one of his siblings would be fully born. Hey there, little fella! Adon thought. I¡¯m your big brother! I wonder how I¡¯ll communicate with them. Maybe I need to save up and get those ¡°Communication Pheromone Glands.¡± 20 Evolution Points can¡¯t be that many, right? As he contemplated the likely economic value of Evolution Points, the head of the new hatchling poked through the shell. And a cold watery feeling ran through Adon¡¯s body, as if he instinctively knew that whatever this creature was, it wasn¡¯t friendly. Its mandibles looked shorter, sharper, and spikier than Adon thought his own were. This thing was made to tear other insects apart. The body of the hatchling emerged slowly from the shell. Adon couldn¡¯t look away. His mind raced, trying to analyze the monstrous beast¡¯s appearance and consider escape options. He could barely think, though. The creature¡¯s body seemed almost designed to strike fear into his heart. The more of it he saw, the less Adon liked. He couldn¡¯t distinguish colors, but Adon could tell shapes apart. The monster¡¯s build reminded him of an alligator. Long, segmented, and ugly. Covered in what Adon interpreted as thick armor. Sharp spines covered its back. Adon pictured himself trying to jump on the hideous thing from behind and impaling himself on those pointy weapons, and he shuddered. I don¡¯t think that¡¯s what I look like. This was the absurd thought that his mind came up with after what felt like an interminable time staring at the creature and trying to understand the problem. Of course he didn¡¯t look like that. He had seen and felt his body¡¯s flexible, elongated shape already, albeit with his terrible vision. Adon was confident that the tank-like organism below him didn¡¯t share DNA with him. Then the real implications of the new hatchling¡¯s appearance hit him. Perhaps the multitude of other eggs on the plant with him weren¡¯t caterpillar eggs after all. Maybe he was sharing his little plant stem with a bunch of monsters. He looked down at the eggs. Now that he tried to really look at them, he could see there were scores of the nasty things. And they weren¡¯t the nice, round shape that Adon¡¯s egg had been. They were more pill-shaped. Adon remembered his Skills list suddenly, and he used the most obvious one on the newborn monstrosity. Identify! ¡ª ¡°Princess Rosslyn, please be reasonable!¡± The princess in question resisted the urge to throw a pillow¡ªor something heavier¡ªat Baranack of Varia. Yes, his tone of voice was impertinent, and she was certain no one would have dared to speak to her in like fashion when her mother was alive. And it was particularly galling to be lectured by a foreigner about the circumstances of her own country. But Baranack was one of her father¡¯s advisors, and a noble, so any assault on his person in the palace would be a direct insult against the King. Rosslyn could not lose the high ground, especially not in front of her father. ¡°I think I have been quite reasonable, my lord,¡± she responded icily. ¡°Surely you have not yet given up on finding a match for me?¡± Lord Baranack looked pleadingly at the King, who averted his eyes as if he was distracted by the star-printed wallpaper. Only Rosslyn could tell from the cast of his face that he was struggling not to smile. Ever since the late Queen¡¯s death, ten years before, she was the only one who knew how to make the King laugh. This creature from the new Queen¡¯s court was outmatched. ¡°If you could but see your way to a bit greater open mindedness, Princess¡­¡± ¡°I know the importance of this decision, Lord Baranack,¡± Rosslyn replied in a slightly warmer tone. ¡°I cannot believe that my lord would wish me to rush into an ill-advised match. The ideal match for me, if I understand my father¡¯s will correctly, will be the defender of this kingdom. Since it is the carefully considered opinion of all of my father¡¯s councilors that I cannot fulfill that role myself.¡± Despite the fact that I¡¯ve proven myself competent enough as a commander of soldiers in the past, she thought, unable to keep resentment from showing through in her expression. ¡°My dear Princess,¡± Lord Baranack began, his tone simpering now, ¡°none of the learned scholars who advise your father would presume to question your capabilities, least of all myself.¡± Yes, but you¡¯re about to, Rosslyn knew. He would discuss how neither her physical capabilities nor her nearly nonexistent magical capabilities were sufficient to inspire fear and dread in enemies. If she occupied the throne, it would only cause allies to desert Claustria and perhaps embolden the resurgent Demon Empire. ¡°That¡¯s enough, Lord Baranack,¡± the King interrupted. Rosslyn was slightly startled, and she saw a twinkle in her father¡¯s eye at the knowledge that he¡¯d surprised her. ¡°The Princess knows her own mind,¡± her father continued. ¡°She will fulfill her duty in her own time and in her own way.¡± He gave her an uncomfortable but firm look. ¡°And you will stretch your capacities and resourcefulness to find her better prospective matches, more worthy of her consideration. As she has just returned from her term of national service, she is undoubtedly more than familiar with our military situation.¡± The King was laying down the law with both of them, in his way. Sternly reminding Lord Baranack of his place, and also commanding the Princess that she must marry¡ªalbeit not being so gauche as Lord Baranack, by trying to pressure her to do it soon. ¡°You and I will withdraw to the great chamber,¡± the King went on, ¡°so we may discuss the other pressing issues of the day, and leave the Princess to her tasks in the star room.¡± Rosslyn had to struggle to keep the smile from spreading across her face now. It wasn¡¯t that she had won the day. She knew Lord Baranack¡¯s quest to marry her off, as undoubtedly pushed by her stepmother, would continue. But the King¡¯s decision to bring their conversation to the great chamber felt like a favor to her. Princess Rosslyn was almost certain that the King knew about the secret passageway from the star chamber. He had grown up in the palace himself, after all, and slept in the same room she now occupied. One of the places the passage led to was the wall behind the great chamber. From that position, anyone with keen hearing could listen in on any conversation taking place in the great chamber. As soon as they exited her chambers, she rushed into the secret passageway to eavesdrop. 4. Adding Insult From the passageway, Princess Rosslyn waited in silence for the King and Lord Baranack to arrive at their places in the great chamber. While she did, she passed the time by counting the spider webs in the dark space. Her night vision was excellent, so she had little trouble making out the shapes of the webs and even the slender forms of the spiders themselves. Six of them, she counted. One more than the last time she was here. The little colony of spiders had infiltrated this space after Rosslyn noticed the maids killing the poor creatures when they came to clean the star room. She hid a pair of the bugs in the palm of her hand, waited for the servants to leave, and then slipped into the secret passageway, where no one ever cleaned, to release them. And they seemed to be thriving. It brought a little smile to her face, to see them doing well despite simply being left alone. Sometimes she wished she could achieve that level of independence. Then she heard the King and Lord Baranack taking their seats at the high table in the next room. The King cleared his throat and then began to speak. ¡°Lord Baranack, what word have you on the state of military readiness in Varia?¡± ¡°Your Majesty, are we truly shifting to a conversation on military matters? I had thought, forgive me for the impertinent assumption, that we had left the Princess so that we might discuss her situation more frankly.¡± Ugh, Lord Baranack, leave the subject of matching me alone for an hour or so. I want to know what matters affect our kingdom from the wider world! ¡°I considered that conversation to be at a close for the moment,¡± the King replied coolly. ¡°It is not a matter I would wish to discuss further without her present. Let us turn our attention to national issues or adjourn for the day.¡± ¡°Again, I hope Your Majesty will forgive the impertinence, but the Princess has repeatedly rejected the flower of Claustrian aristocratic youth. This situation is rapidly becoming a matter of national concern.¡± The King scoffed. ¡°I know you have not been a resident of my country for very long, Lord Baranack, as the Queen only sent for you from her homeland a few years ago, but you have hardly brought the flower of Claustrian youth forward.¡± There was a sound of rustling paper, and the King resumed. ¡°I have here a letter from Pruford of Dessia, in which the Duke suggests that his two eldest sons should visit Claustria. An obvious effort to join his house with ours, which was unsolicited on my part.¡± Rosslyn perked her ears up at this. She¡¯d heard nothing of this letter. She vaguely remembered Duke Pruford¡¯s sons, Edmond and George, but they had last seen each other as children. She struggled to recall their faces. ¡°Your Majesty, I am aware of your long friendship with Duke Pruford¡ª¡± ¡°I should say that friendship is the least of the factors motivating this overture, my Lord. Pruford knows that he would be joining his fortunes to ours, and though Claustria suffers from our proximity to the Demon Empire, we are otherwise extraordinarily well situated. I should perhaps add that both of the aforementioned sons are known to be skilled warriors, and of course one is the heir to the Dessian throne.¡± ¡°True, Your Majesty, although the elder son is rumored to prefer the company of¡ª¡± ¡°I put little stock in such rumors, Lord Baranack.¡± The King cut him off coldly. Huh. What was he about to say? ¡°Of course, far be it from me to question your judgment. However, even assuming compatible, ah, preferences, the possibility of such a match would also require the sons to meet the Princess and like her. It has been at the meeting stage that all my most promising suggestions have fallen short.¡± ¡°I expect that one of Pruford¡¯s sons would likely meet Rosslyn¡¯s standards,¡± the King replied mildly. ¡°I am not simply alluding to the Princess¡¯s standards, when I raise the issue of the physical meeting, Your Majesty.¡± ¡°What exactly are you insinuating, Lord Baranack? My daughter is splendid company: clever, funny, a gifted musician, spiritual, and well-read. Any man would be lucky to receive her attentions.¡± Princess Rosslyn found herself nodding along with her father¡¯s assessment. ¡°Your Majesty, may I reply frankly to the points you raise?¡± There must have been a gesture of assent from the King, because Lord Baranack began his response quickly thereafter. ¡°She is splendid company for you, Your Majesty, and only for you. If she lost all of those traits you listed, and in exchange, I was simply permitted to add the quality ¡®amiability,¡¯ my duty would be much easier. She is clever enough, but she uses her wit to mock those around her. She is funny, if you prefer your humor barbed. She is well-read, but many of the young men who wish to court her have scarcely opened a book. She is very spiritual, in the sense that she shares the fascination that so many in Your Majesty¡¯s kingdom fixate on, with their past lives. Perhaps she would be better off if she were less spiritual and more practical. And no one marries a woman because she is a gifted musician. In short, she is a most charming companion for a man of her father¡¯s age and temperament.¡± Well, there is some truth in that, she thought. All but a few of the young men I have spoken with are deplorably averse to reading. ¡°No one is perfect,¡± the King replied acidly. ¡°If Your Majesty will forgive me a frank addendum, she is also, ahem, less comely than might be desired to overcome those flaws.¡± Rosslyn¡¯s knee jerk reaction was to pull a face. Lord Baranack is just jealous, because he and his wife are no prizes themselves. Then she heard her father¡¯s hand clench onto the arm of his chair. It sounded as if the wood was about to crack. She couldn¡¯t help but wonder if her father was about to strangle Lord Baranack. He rarely became angry, but he was an exceptionally large and strong man for his age, even when considering the unusual physical and magical power that was common in nobles and monarchs. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. And if he did strangle Lord Baranack, could I run through the halls quickly enough to arrive in the great chamber and witness it? But after a long pause, she heard the King¡¯s hand unclench from around his chair arm. ¡°You have spoken very frankly today, Lord Baranack. You have tested my tolerance for it.¡± Father doesn¡¯t actually agree with him, does he? He didn¡¯t call Lord Baranack a liar or say he had gone blind or something. Am I truly plain? ¡°Your Majesty, we must be realistic, I beg you. Unless the Princess is the reincarnation of Warrior Queen Maud, which her physical and magical aptitude tests suggest she is not, we need to accelerate our succession planning to¡ª¡± ¡°Lord Baranack,¡± the King interrupted icily, ¡°for all that the Princess¡¯s aptitude tests have not revealed extraordinary physical or magical prowess to match mine or her ancestors¡¯, she has gifts of her own. I personally interviewed some of the experienced professional soldiers she worked alongside during her term of service. Some of them were men with no great love for the monarchy. They affirmed what my spies had told me already. Through her time in the army, the soldiery grew to respect her. Her abilities as a tactician and strategist made up for her lacking some of the power that our troops have come to expect in their leaders. Even were I to drop dead now, I believe she could keep a steady hand over the army.¡± But Rosslyn couldn¡¯t help noticing a trace of doubt in her father¡¯s voice as he spoke that last sentence. He really thinks that the kingdom might collapse if he were to die suddenly, she thought. Or at least that my place in the succession would come under some question. There was always her stepmother¡¯s little brood, Rosslyn¡¯s half-brothers and half-sister. But the boys were ten, eight, and eight respectively, and little Oliva barely came up to Rosslyn¡¯s knees. They were hardly fitting replacements. ¡°But Your Majesty¡ª¡± Lord Baranack began, but some gesture of the King¡¯s must have silenced him. Then the King spoke, and his voice was cold and weary mixed in a perfect blend. ¡°We have labored over these questions enough for the present time,¡± he said. ¡°You may take your leave now. Do not trouble me with these issues again unless I raise them with you.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± Lord Baranack¡¯s voice had become small, meek, and distant. Rosslyn could almost see him now, retreating physically and repeatedly bowing as he excused himself. But the conversation wasn¡¯t the victory that she had anticipated and hoped for. I suppose I need to think further on the subject of finding a suitable husband. Her heart fell a bit at the thought. ¡ª Adon stared at the monstrosity beneath him, mouth slightly agape. What the hell, mother? Beneath him, the Ladybug Larva stretched and shook its body as it finished climbing out of its shell. Adon used Identify again and again, while trying to keep an eye on the monster¡¯s movements. Fortunately, the Ladybug Larva moved slowly, weighed down by the covering of egg goo that soaked its body. Adon verified that all of the eggs around the Ladybug Larva were fellow Ladybug Eggs. And then he considered the implications of what that meant. Had Adon¡¯s butterfly mother really decided it was smart to lay her egg surrounded by a sea of ladybug eggs? Adon knew very well that ladybugs back in his previous worlds were predators of other insects. Including caterpillars. He was intensely aware of the danger he was in, but perhaps just as importantly, he felt an immediate sense of betrayal, of abandonment. It was absurd, but in his mind, he linked it to a thousand other times he¡¯d felt abandoned in other lives. Even his parents going down to their beach house in his last life, on the day he died. It felt a little like he had been abandoned, which left a bad taste in his mouth that morning. No, no, it¡¯s not like that, he told himself, suddenly coming to a realization. Those stupid Ladybug Eggs probably haven¡¯t been here as long as you have. That¡¯s why most of them are so small. Your mother laid your egg here, and then the Ladybug laid her eggs and probably figured they would enjoy having a caterpillar nearby to snack on. She didn¡¯t put him in this position deliberately. He focused all his attention on the Ladybug Larva. Since it hatched, it hadn¡¯t moved very far. It was eating its own egg shell now, just like Adon had. It struck him that if he could communicate, he might be able to talk his way out of this situation. I¡¯ll stick to my half of the plant, you stick to yours, buddy. You don¡¯t want any of this! But he had never been a great talker, and this line of argument sounded weak even inside his head. Besides, when had an antelope ever been able to argue with a lion? His vision wasn¡¯t very strong, but even Adon¡¯s caterpillar eyes could tell the Ladybug Larva was twice his size. If I only had a few more days of life first! he thought. If I just had a little time, I could eat so many of those Ladybug Eggs to double my size. Buy a bunch of useful stuff in the Evolution Store. But he would have to make do with what strength he actually had. For now, that seemed to be purely his unusual intelligence for an insect. As he watched the Ladybug Larva, he just tried to hold as still as he could and hoped it wouldn¡¯t notice him. The creature slowly finished eating its egg shell, then turned to its nearest neighbor and started chowing down on the closest egg. Damn, this thing¡¯s a cannibal. No hesitation, either. Not that I would want him to eat me, but I am right here¡­ I guess his vision¡¯s just as bad as mine. Adon began to entertain fantasies that he could last like this until nightfall. If that happened, maybe he would get the chance to sneak off in the dark. The stem was cylindrical, after all. He just had to climb down on the side where the Ladybug Larva wasn¡¯t. As he was visualizing this plan in great detail, including a possible stop to snack on Ladybug Eggs, Adon¡¯s stomach growled again. The Ladybug Larva raised its head, mandibles coated in egg fluid. It looked from side to side. Then it looked up. Adon felt the predator¡¯s eyes lock onto his. Then it seemed to forget about the egg it was in the middle of eating, allowing the remnants to fall to the ground below. The Larva began clambering over the eggs nearest to it, marching up towards Adon. Cold dread filled his stomach. No, please. Goddess, no¡­ don¡¯t let this happen to me in my last life. Even as he silently prayed, the monster crept closer. Adon began going over options quickly, thinking with remarkable agility. When he remembered these moments later, he would recognize that this was what being near certain death did to him. Run? But where could he go? Hide? Too late for that. Fight? Maybe that was his only choice. He braced himself and assessed the Ladybug Larva in the few seconds before it reached him. His eyes scanned the armored form for weaknesses. But it really was built like a tank, even freshly hatched. Adon became aware that he didn¡¯t stand a chance. This wasn¡¯t one of those moments where one might simply rise to the occasion and triumph over difficult odds. This was more like a fragile human body versus a tank. Unbidden, his body moved in the only way that might ensure his survival. His legs pushed off the stem, and he jumped into the empty air. 5. The Fall Adon had a moment, as he began to fall, to congratulate himself. I made the right call, he thought. He had spent so much of his previous life avoiding even moderately stressful situations, he hadn¡¯t really known how he would react. But it seemed like his new body didn¡¯t freeze up quite as much as his last one. As Adon fell, his body drew near to the monster that had forced him to jump. The creature sprang into action. Adon could barely track its movements, but he could read the Ladybug Larva¡¯s intentions and see which way it was moving. The monster was trying to slash him, aiming to inflict a fatal wound even if it wouldn¡¯t actually get to eat its prey. How spiteful, he thought. You¡¯d better watch yourself, Ladybug. I¡¯ll be back! As he had those thoughts, Adon attempted to fold and twist his body in midair to avoid the long claws that sought to disembowel him. But the predator was awfully quick, and there was only so much Adon could do to dodge while he was in midair. He didn¡¯t have wings, after all. Although he would later imagine that his aerial acrobatics had affected the depth and length of the cut, he couldn¡¯t avoid the slash that slit his side open. The Ladybug Larva¡¯s claw traced a long gash down Adon¡¯s right side. Then the two separated, Adon¡¯s body pulled out of the monster¡¯s way by gravity. I think he just grazed me, Adon thought, relieved. A few seconds later, he started to think differently. As he fell, Adon felt the wind probing at his wound, pulling at the two sides of the opening. Though the cut was less painful than he would¡¯ve expected, the sensation from the air told him that it was quite a long laceration. Adon waited for his vision to begin darkening at the edges. He imagined he would pass out from the pain, then perhaps strike a hard object and either suffer a concussion or a fatal head trauma. Then some sort of ground-based predator would find him, and he¡¯d be right back in front of the Goddess again, begging for one more chance. But his eyes remained as clear as ever. Which wasn¡¯t saying much, but it was still good news! It seems like my caterpillar body isn¡¯t quite the same as my human body. A single shallow gash, even if it cuts across almost the full length of my body, isn¡¯t going to take me out of commission. He had thought he would lose consciousness or go into shock. If that wasn¡¯t going to happen¡­ Adon started looking out for something he might grab to break his fall. But it was a very short distance he was falling, in objective terms. The ground raced up at him. There were no leaves or stems within reach. Maybe I jumped just a little too far, he thought. But then he remembered the intense movements of that Ladybug Larva, and he shook his head. Another millimeter or two back, and I¡¯d be dead. As he crashed into the earth, Adon protected his head with his front legs as best he could. He still expected to black out for a while, but his new body surprised him again with its durability. Instead of splattering against the ground, he just bounced lightly, rolled from his momentum, and came to rest a short distance from the base of the plant he¡¯d been born on. Adon felt far from interested in moving around, with the long gash in his side, but he was also entirely uninjured from the fall. He lay in place for a few seconds in stunned stillness. Well. How about that? He had forgotten the square-cube law. Tiny organisms like himself benefited from that little rule of mathematics and biomechanics. He was so small that terminal velocity wasn¡¯t particularly fast for him. Even if it had felt faintly terrifying as he fell. His fear was a little embarrassing now, but he quickly pushed the memory of it from his mind. Hm. Now that¡¯s over, what have I learned? First, at my size, I literally can¡¯t be injured by a fall from any height. Even if I land poorly. Which he probably had. If he¡¯d realized how durable he was against fall damage, he wouldn¡¯t have bothered shielding his head, which was probably fairly well protected, using his legs, which were probably a little more brittle. And Adon had another reason not to pay for the ¡°Size Enhancement I¡± Adaptation, though he doubted it would''ve been a very big size increase anyway. Adon felt a ticklish sensation in the area of his long cut, and he saw an ant. It freaked him out a bit, but he resisted the urge to recoil in horror for the moment. What is it doing? The ant had poked at the wound along Adon¡¯s abdomen, which was what gave him the freaky sensation that almost felt like someone was tickling him. Then it probed his body around the wound. A poke here. A nudge there. What was it doing? Trying to start a fight? That didn¡¯t quite make sense. The touches were rather gentle. Curious. Once the surprise faded, Adon¡¯s instinctive fear melted away with it. Relative to even his newborn size, this ant was small. The size of a large dog next to a particularly large human. Given the size of their respective bodies, and the fact that they were both insects with mandibles for killing and eating their prey, Adon was fairly certain he would win any fight. He couldn¡¯t even see anything that looked like a stinger on this little fellow, although Adon¡¯s vision was far from reliable. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Still, even with his wound, Adon should have the advantage. He could keep the ant away from the tear in his body with some of his extra legs, then curl around and chop the ant¡¯s head off with his mandibles. Adon was feeling very confident, when the ant turned and began walking away from him. Wait, what? Did he just realize he couldn¡¯t win and decide to leave? Hold on, I might need that food. Adon had just remembered he was supposed to hunt other insects himself, so he could get Evolution Points and have his revenge on that blasted Ladybug Larva sooner rather than later. He pushed himself off the ground and prepared to follow the ant, when a strange smell hit his antennae. If it had been his last life, Adon would¡¯ve thought it was the odor of ripe bananas. But he was fairly certain there were none of those around. And he had an immediate idea of what the smell was. Ants communicate with each other by leaving scent trails. This smell was barely strong enough for Adon to pick up, and it was already fading to his senses. But that was alright for ants, wasn¡¯t it? They had sharper senses of smell than other bugs, from what he remembered. Adon could guess what the smell was intended to mean. Ripe fruit means fresh food. Come and get it. He looked after the ant as it went. Should I go and snap its head off? It¡¯s trying to get its fellow ants to come and kill the wounded animal. The thought that this creature wanted to eat him made Adon faintly indignant. But he knew it was the natural way of things, and the emotion faded. He tried to be rational. The ant hadn¡¯t been that big. Not a major threat by itself. Maybe he should follow it home. Help himself to a whole lot of ants. Adon shook his head at the idea almost immediately. Ant hills were full of hundreds, thousands, or even hundreds of thousands or millions of ants, depending on how long the colony had been there. Sometimes, he remembered, super colonies would get into the billions. That sounded like a quick ticket to see the Goddess again. So, should he just run away? Or kill the lone ant that found him? The ant was already almost out of range of his feeble eyes. Adon had been watching it as he considered his options, and the silly little thing wasn¡¯t even looking back at him to make sure he stayed put. It was employing a simple system for sourcing food, though. Adon supposed it must work most of the time, though for him, it would be easy enough to just walk away and get far enough from the scent trail to lose the ants. But should he bother? He could defeat a handful of ants and eat them himself. Right? As he had that thought, his stomach growled again. That decided it. This time, he would be the predator. Depending on how many ants showed up in response to the little one¡¯s scent, Adon might just get a full meal to come to him. And it couldn¡¯t come too soon. He was getting very hungry. His stomach rumbled again, and this time it wasn¡¯t just a sound. He felt his body shrivel slightly, as if it was trying to take up less space and use less energy. He checked his Status menu, and it confirmed his fears. His Biomass had fallen quickly, from 5/15 to 3/15. Only three more points, and his Health would begin to suffer. This meal might be a matter of life and death. He would stand his ground and fight, but he decided to make one concession to caution. He walked away from the place where he¡¯d been when the ant found him, in the opposite direction the ant had walked in. The stem Adon had fallen from was his landmark. He walked just far enough that he could still see the patch of ground where the scout had sprayed its scent. This way, if too many ants showed up, he wouldn¡¯t be right in the middle of the scent trail. He could still escape. After scoping out the space around his new spot, which seemed empty enough for the moment, Adon lay in wait. He lay and ignored the faint pain in his side. He lay and rested his body, which was slightly weary from hunger. He lay and laser-focused on the single spot where he expected his prey to appear. His vision seemed to actually tunnel in on that little area. An indeterminate time passed. Not very long. Just enough time for Adon¡¯s stomach to growl twice more. Then a single ant strolled toward the site, head pointed at the ground, clearly following the scent trail. This wasn¡¯t quite what Adon had planned, and he took a moment to decide what to do. He still had a little time before the lone ant would reach its destination. Perhaps a minute. He had hoped a small group of ants would arrive together and that he could kill them all in a short battle. If it was only one ant instead, what should he do? He had been patient and let the one ant escape before. But what if this one could do something to stop more ants from coming? Erasing the scent trail didn¡¯t seem possible in Adon¡¯s mind, but it could lay out a new trail to keep other ants from wasting their time. No food here after all, it would say. On the other hand, if Adon killed it, he was pretty sure ants had scents for ¡®danger¡¯ and ¡®distress¡¯ that might be deployed. Then again, a distress signal would draw more ants, just like a food signal. And Adon¡¯s stomach rumbled gently again. A plaintive sound. Please feed me. He decided to be bold. He would hunt this creature. He needed to feed again. He couldn¡¯t afford to gamble on his next meal. He crept around to the side, planning to circle and approach the ant from a direction it wouldn¡¯t be able to easily see. As the ant drew nearer to the end of the trail, Adon moved more quickly, so he could get behind it. As Adon got closer to where the ant was, he got a better sense of its approximate size relative to its predecessor. Still comparable to a dog, but if anything, this was a smaller dog. That other ant really did him a disservice, Adon thought, leading him to believe there was just some harmless food here rather than a vicious predator. Adon finally circled all the way around to the back of the ant just as it reached the end of the line. The ant¡¯s head remained pointed at the ground, its compound eyes both pointed forward and to the sides. Adon stood in the ant¡¯s blind spot. It was an opportunity that would last mere seconds, he knew. You have to attack, he told himself. Don¡¯t be afraid. You¡¯re the predator here. The ant is just a tasty morsel of nutrition. Probably way yummier than a leaf! As Adon was psyching himself up, the ant seemed to develop some preternatural sense that something was wrong. It started to turn its head¡ªand Adon lunged forward from behind it! 6. First Blood The ant managed to turn part way around as Adon struck, but the movement didn¡¯t help it to survive. It only put the ant¡¯s center of mass right in the path of Adon¡¯s mandibles. Adon snapped down on the ant and yanked back. He tightened his grip as he pulled the ant away from the scent trail. He was able to mostly ignore the creature¡¯s flailing. Its head couldn¡¯t reach back far enough to bite him in turn, even if it had been close to the body rather than clutched in Adon¡¯s mandibles. And the legs were totally harmless. After a moment of this tightened grip, the ant¡¯s exoskeleton buckled, and Adon felt that he¡¯d cracked the midsection. Then he smelled a new odor in the air. Acrid and vinegary. If he¡¯d had an expressive face, rather than his stiff exoskeleton head, he would have winced and then laughed. This must be the ant¡¯s defense mechanism, and it was indeed laughable. Live by the smell, die by the smell, I guess. You really think a little vinegar is enough to, to¡ªHis train of thought cut off there. The aroma around his antennae felt more intense now. The ant was releasing every bit of this vinegary crap that it could. Now it felt like what Adon imagined swallowing a faceful of tear gas would be. It worked on his eyes, making his vision blur slightly. It worked away at his resolve, trying to make him loosen his grip. For a second, Adon thought, Wait, is this what hunting is going to be like? I kind of miss having food brought up to me. Is every meal I eat going to fight for its life? Maybe I should go back to eating leaves. A brief moment when he bemoaned his fate, longed for the ease of his previous life, and actually considered releasing his hold on the ant. Then he snapped his mandibles as tightly shut as he could, and the ant fell in two halves. Sorry, buddy. Leaves are too tasteless to be the main part of my diet. Another smell instantly filled the air around him, but it wasn¡¯t nearly as strong. Adon ignored it and pulled first the bottom half, and then the top half, of the ant into his mouth. He devoured it in huge, messy, savage bites. He had never eaten so aggressively before, but it felt natural. Only when he had half-swallowed the second half of the ant did he properly taste the food. The texture was noticeably crunchy, of course. But the flavor was the first reminder of his previous life that this world had furnished. It was something between bacon and pork rinds. I could get used to this, he thought. Then he swallowed. Looked around to make sure the coast was still clear. He saw a line of figures in the distance. The rest of the ants! Adon returned to his prior position. He didn¡¯t know if that last odor the dead ant had released would scare these new enemies away, but it had only had a moment to spray it before Adon inhaled his food. And now was the moment of truth. The line of ants advanced, and he finally had the chance to count his real enemies. Seven of them. And they weren¡¯t much bigger than the ants he¡¯d seen before. Including the one he killed. I have to strike hard and fast. No hesitation. No room for weakness. I, I can do this. Look what I did to the last one. Despite the self-talk, Adon became conscious that his legs were shaking. He tried to make them stop, but the effort was not very effective. Damn it, he chided himself. If I can¡¯t face a handful of ants, how will I ever find the courage I¡¯d need to be a social butterfly? By some miracle, that bit of self-admonition seemed to quell the quaking in his legs slightly. Just in time. The ants were almost upon him. They trod into the area where the first ant had laid its trail, and their military formation instantly broke. As if by prior discussion, they walked in separate directions and began searching for the food that the foolish ant scout had signaled should be available. One walked, on its own, toward Adon, who was standing as still as he could, hoping to look like a plant until he moved. The intrepid ant strolled into the area where Adon had killed his fellow colony member. Then it came to a sudden stop. Its antennae sniffed the air. It turned around in an obvious hurry. And as it moved to flee, Adon struck! This time, he was more decisive than he had been against the first ant. His mandibles nipped off the entire lower third of the unlucky creature, though it continued to drag itself forward slowly, leaking precious bodily fluids, until Adon¡¯s second strike. He snipped its head off cleanly and swallowed it in a single gulp. Instead of eating the rest of his prey, Adon braced for further combat. That same smell was in the air again, from when he¡¯d killed the first ant. It was fresher and stronger than it had been, and he knew what that meant. Three ants turned and charged at him, and Adon felt like he would¡¯ve felt if he¡¯d been charged by three pit bulls in his previous life. He wanted to run. But if he ran now, from this tiny number of the tiniest creatures at the bottom of the insect food chain, he knew he would never stop running. Adon lunged at the closest ant, in the middle, and snipped its neck. His mandible cutting was becoming practiced now. He severed and swallowed the head almost in one motion. If he had expected the other ants to act in self-preservation at the sight of that, he was to be disappointed. They took advantage of his mandibles being occupied with their colleague, and they attacked his respective flanks. The one on his left made a weak attempt to bite into one of his rather strong legs, which Adon just batted away. But the ant on his right, whether by luck or skill, landed a bite onto the gash in Adon¡¯s side. That smarted, and more importantly it opened the cut up slightly more. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Adon threw himself onto that ant. His weight wasn¡¯t enough to crush it, but he stunned the creature for a moment. Long enough for Adon to snip its head from its body. The only survivor of the attackers jumped onto his back at that point. Too late to help its comrade. Too late to help itself. Adon thrust himself at the ground, back first. He heard a satisfying crunch as he inflicted some small damage onto this ant too. He didn¡¯t see where the specific injury was on the creature when he turned to face it, but it was releasing that same odor that the other ants did when they were dying or badly hurt. He chopped its head off too. Then he turned to where the other ants were walking around. He didn¡¯t want to be taken by surprise by any threat. What he saw sent a cold shiver through his guts. The ants that had been exploring the area, looking for food, were marching quickly away. He immediately knew why. The scent of dead and dying ants still hung heavy in the air. They must have been scared off. But were they running off to safety? Or seeking reinforcements? Adon had an inkling that it was the latter. He moved to chase after them¡ªsince he¡¯d had a few bits of ant to eat, his energy levels felt higher than they¡¯d been since just after he ate his egg shell. As he moved forward, the smell hit him. It was that same odor Adon had noticed all of the ants he killed releasing when they died. Not like the vinegary self-defense gas they released. He finally really took it in and realized immediately what it reminded him of. Citrus. Smells just like citrus. His mind jumped back to his mother from his last life. She poured him a glass of orange juice to go with his chocolate chip cookies. That was what he¡¯d liked as a little kid. I was such a little weirdo, he thought self-consciously. No wonder the other kids didn¡¯t like me. But she didn¡¯t care. For the first time since he¡¯d died, he missed his mother. No, not even that just yet. He anticipated that he would miss her. Then he pushed the thought off. No time to tunnel into his feelings right now. He had to chase down those ants. He propelled his body into motion again. With a bigger body and longer legs than the ants had, he thought he should be able to catch up to them before they could reach the colony. Why was he remembering random moments from his last childhood, anyway? It was a memory that had no distinct significance, but somehow, for some reason, he¡¯d held onto it, jumped to it, anyway. There were probably a lot of memories like that one stuck in his head. Wasted space, maybe. In this life, unlike every other, he had held onto a number of past life recollections. They didn¡¯t seem to be fading. Not even the ones he hadn¡¯t singled out for preservation. I really wonder what that¡¯s about. Maybe when he finished going over his Status, he¡¯d get some answers. For now, he reached the back ant in the fleeing group. Adon reared up on his back legs and prepared to bring his mandibles down on the unfortunate creature with all the force of his body weight. As he swung into close range, the ant hit him with another one of their dirty chemical attacks. It irritated Adon¡¯s antennae and eyes, but the noxious gas couldn¡¯t stop him. His sheer momentum carried him through, and his mandibles severed the offending section of the ant from the main body. The crippled ant abandoned its lower body and continued to crawl forward, but Adon ignored it. He chased after the next ant. The other two had gotten a little distance from him while he focused on the one in the back. As he tried to close that gap, the two ants began to diverge. Is one of them going to turn and fight me? he wondered for a moment. But no. Their paths were just forking. They were almost going at right angles to one another. He smelled an unfamiliar odor in the air. The ants were communicating something via this scent. What would this one mean? It smelled like nothing else he could easily bring to mind. Sort of oily? One of them must have told the other to split off, Adon decided. At least one of these two is smart. Maybe not as intelligent as someone who remembers his whole past life, plus others¡­ But there was definitely a certain animal cunning at work here. Adon realized he wasn¡¯t going to catch both of them. That was what their going off at right angles to each other had accomplished. On top of the fact that he¡¯d had to fight that other ant. And that he would surely have to fight whichever ant he chased first. He had to waste a precious moment deciding on one to pursue. But it didn¡¯t matter, he realized quickly. Either one getting back to the hill for reinforcements was a low-level disaster. He chose left, just to make a choice. That ant did the same song and dance as the last one. It sprayed him with its strong vinegary gas, and he chopped it in half. He turned away from the writhing front half of the ant¡¯s body to look for the surviving fellow, but it was already hopeless. The remaining ant was too far away for him to catch. Or rather, Adon could see that it was now too close to home. The ant hill was visible now. The shape hadn¡¯t been properly distinct before, but now he could tell that what had seemed only a slight elevation that loomed in the distance was actually a hive of insects. On the top, he detected frequent, furtive movements. A guard of ants, constantly patrolling the outside. If they hadn¡¯t been there, maybe he could have caught the last ant before it could tell someone what had happened. And those sentries looked, to Adon¡¯s poorly formed eyes, beefier than the ants he¡¯d encountered thus far. Total gym rats, he thought dismally. Probably ¡®roided out and everything. He looked down at the wriggling ant he¡¯d just bisected. Then he used his mandibles to pull its struggling body into his mouth. Waste not, want not, after all. He¡¯d gone and metaphorically poked this anthill because he was hungry, after all. It still had that nice pork flavor, even if there was a bitterness in knowing that he was about to get himself into a world of trouble. He went back to the other ant that was still feebly moving, and he ate both halves of that creature. Then he returned to his starting point and ate the leftover ants from his ambush. I¡¯m cleaning up after myself, he thought. Making it less likely other insects are attracted to this area by the smell of dead bugs. No matter how he phrased it, he didn¡¯t like that he was being dragged around by his appetite. That felt like something that he¡¯d intended to resist in this new life. Especially when he ought to be getting some distance from the army of ants. But at least I¡¯m getting exercise! he told himself. Maybe I can take a minute and see if I can afford some sort of Adaptation that will help me run faster or for longer. As he had that thought, however, he saw three columns of ants marching out of the hill. These weren¡¯t the puny little ants he¡¯d been fighting so far. They were the ¡®roided out soldier ants he¡¯d seen guarding the entrance to the hill. They were obviously moving in his direction. And was it just his awful eyes, or was the one standing at the front of the central column staring right at him? That couldn¡¯t be true, right? As for the troops behind that leader, there were too many of them for him to easily count. Holy crap! Adon began to run. 7. The Chase Adon ran. He ran with a reckless abandon that had his body slowing and weakening remarkably quickly. Fortunately, there were a few seconds when he was outside of the ants¡¯ view¡ªor at least they were outside of his. He had to assume they couldn¡¯t see him, since he couldn¡¯t see them. Curse these eyes! If I could only see the environment better, maybe I could figure out a real escape plan¡­ But in the brief reprieve when he couldn¡¯t see the ants, he felt compelled to throw all 9 of the Evolution Points he¡¯d earned into Agility and Constitution. Those would help him run faster and further. Escape would have to take precedence over vision for now. A second after he dismissed his Status sheet, his pursuers emerged from the edge of his field of vision, coming from behind a thick tangle of tall grass. Then Adon was running again. His body was more made for climbing up and down plants than running on the ground, he could tell now, but there was nothing for that. His wiggly run was at least faster than the ants¡¯ run with their shorter legs. He felt, when he had the room in his head to think about it, like a fugitive leading a prison break through the jungle. Except that he was alone. He had apparently planned this prison break for just himself. Damn, I¡¯m lonely. It was a bad sign that he found himself envying the camaraderie among imaginary convicts. He ran and ran, but he still couldn¡¯t outrun the isolation that had surrounded him since his birth. Am I going to die without ever having made a friend in this world? he wondered. Without ever even having communicated with another living thing? He tried to find things to celebrate even in his rather desperate situation. With his increased speed and stamina, it seemed he could stay one step ahead of the ants. At least for now. It would have been surprising if that hadn¡¯t been enough. If the numbers directly correlated to his actual speed and stamina, then both should have roughly tripled. But the ants kept coming. Running further and faster didn¡¯t seem to slow them down. They must have deep reserves of Constitution indeed. Or perhaps their larger size relative to the ants he¡¯d seen before was responsible. These thick-bodied sentries probably had a lot more Biomass coming their way on a daily basis, so they would be strong enough for missions like this. An anthill was an efficient system for the delivery of resources from the outside to the important creatures within it. And now he¡¯d pissed that whole little ecosystem off. Adon tried zigging and zagging through the thick tangle of shrubs, grass, flowers, and other plants, but the ants seemed to have better vision than he did. He couldn¡¯t get far enough away for them to be unable to track him. Either that, or they were following him by scent. He really didn¡¯t want to believe that was the answer, because if it was, this would be a situation where he could run but not hide. He couldn¡¯t run forever, after all. It wasn¡¯t as if their antennae would tire of smelling for his scent. As he ran more frantically, Adon began to find the ants around corners when he tried his zigzagging maneuvers. The first time that happened, he stopped and killed two so he could get through. They were bigger than the ants he¡¯d fought before, but fueled by adrenaline, and with his speed and stamina elevated, he could move a bit more quickly than they could react. He ripped their heads off with his mandibles. He took an extra bite or two of the corpses while he had a moment. It was hard to turn down the Biomass, especially when he was beginning to feel weak. Munch munch. Chomp chomp. Gobble gobble. Gulp. But all that he¡¯d done was slow himself down. More ants poured out from behind the leaves and stems around him, and Adon found himself running again. Now with less of a margin of safety. When the same encounter happened again a few minutes later, as he tried to hook a quick left turn, Adon didn¡¯t make the same mistake. Killing these two would only slow him down again. He pivoted and kept running straight forward. How had they caught up to him again? How were those ants waiting around that corner? Once could be a coincidence, but twice? They weren¡¯t faster than him. Had the little bugs outsmarted him? No, that can¡¯t be it. Crap! I should¡¯ve just run in a straight line, as far and as fast as I could. They must know the terrain better than him. And with their sheer numbers, they could afford to spread their search out across a wider area. With the primitive intelligence of an almost hive minded species, they were trying to force him to waste energy, and perhaps make a mistake. Just need to get as far away as I can. If I get far enough from their hill, it won¡¯t be worth the trouble to keep chasing me! It was a desperate thought, but he was desperate now. But it seemed unlikely that he would make it. He had been concerned about it for a while now, but the weakness in his body returned. There was a feeling of hollowness inside. He felt himself slowing down. It wasn¡¯t surprising, even if it was horrifying. The chase had lasted for what he estimated was at least an hour in his old world¡¯s time. He had seen how insects could lie still for hours in many of his past lives. He suspected that this body wasn¡¯t built for distance running. Even if keeping up with exercise had been an implicit part of his new life resolutions. And if his new body had something like adrenaline, it was just about used up. He checked his Status screen. His Biomass was down to 1/15. Well, that was just about it, wasn¡¯t it? He was consuming all the stuff that he was made up of. And if he remembered the system explanation of Biomass correctly, once he hit 0/15, he would start losing Health instead. The ants wouldn¡¯t even need to kill him if they could just keep him running. They would get to harvest his body in the end. I did get far, though, didn¡¯t I? He felt a bit perversely proud. He had noted a few landmarks as he moved, but he was now in a completely unexplored section of this jungle¡ªor this space that felt like a jungle to him. This was never going to be an easy life, but at least I got to see a little patch of this massive world. I could¡¯ve died right where I was born, if that Ladybug Larva got me. Even if I only got one day, it was a beautiful day. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. As he was slowing due to fatigue and taking in the metaphorical roses, Adon noticed something in the air that he hadn¡¯t seen in this world yet. A sort of silvery shimmer. Something that drew his eye even with his terrible vision. Huh. I think I know what that is. Normally, if he was right, this was something he would avoid as an insect. But what did he have left to lose? If it turned out well, maybe he¡¯d save himself¡ªor at least deny the ants the satisfaction of getting his body. If it went poorly, well, he was dead anyway. Might as well play the last card he had. With the last burst of energy he could muster, Adon dashed forward. Toward the silvery shimmer. The web. As he moved, he realized that the ants were all around him now. Literally all around. Not just chasing behind him and trying to flank him from the sides. Also on the plants above him. Crawling from plant to plant, trying to get above him and all around him. It felt like the ant army was a single organism trying to swallow him up. Even running, he was sometimes running in the shade of their bodies. It reminded him of when he¡¯d thought of himself, for a moment, as a fugitive. The authorities chasing him even had what felt like a little air force, minus the helicopter noises, which he added in his head. The aerial pursuit became less amusing when they started leaping down at him from their elevated perches. Most of the occasional suicidal jumpers missed and smacked into the ground, rolling along stunned by the impact as he left them in his wake. Others struck Adon¡¯s body and bounced off. But as he neared where he thought the shimmer should be, a couple of them secured places on Adon¡¯s back. They immediately began biting his back with their mandibles and spraying him with the same sort of vinegary gas attack that had choked him up earlier. Fortunately, the ants that had landed on him weren¡¯t among the biggest of the sentries. Maybe that was why they¡¯d been sent to scout in the trees. Or how they¡¯d ended up in the front. They were lighter weight. But the passengers were no picnic to deal with. His vision blurring, his body slowing, part of Adon just wanted to stop and let the ants kill him. Clearly, they wanted this more than he wanted to stay alive. So what? You should just lay down and die? No! Just have to keep going. You¡¯re so close. Run a little further. You can do it¡­ A thousand regrets from his last life propelled the caterpillar forward in those last moments. Adon ran beyond his physical endurance. Beyond the moment when his Biomass dropped to nothing. And suddenly, the silvery shimmer swam up at him from out of nowhere. The exhausted caterpillar barely managed to react in time. He threw himself flat against the ground and let the momentum carry him. His body slid and rolled and scraped against the rough, rocky ground underneath the web. It tore up his underbelly pretty badly, but on the bright side, the bad landing also threw the ants off of him. He landed facing up at the sky. There was a beautiful, silvery, shimmering web overhead, between him and the open air. Adon could feel he wouldn¡¯t be able to move very well now. But he wanted to smile. That web is so beautiful. I don¡¯t even need color vision to appreciate it, either. If I die now, at least I¡¯ll die looking at something gorgeous. Then a long, thick shadow appeared above him, blocking the light. It was a shadow made up of dozens, perhaps hundreds, of individual pieces. He¡¯d never gotten a really good count on the sheer number of ants chasing him. And it had seemed to increase as the pursuit went on. I was wrong to think you were the bottom of the insect food chain, Adon thought. You guys must be the roughest gang in these parts. A second shadow appeared on his other side. The ants chasing him from the tops of the plants on that side had formed their own wave. Overkill much? The two waves of ants that hovered over the web smashed down toward Adon, and he instinctively averted his eyes. He didn¡¯t want to see death coming. The web must have been secured to some of the heavier rocks around him, though, because he felt the structure shaking only a little as the pile of ants landed. He waited a moment, expecting their massive weight to collapse the web down onto him. And waited. Finally, he peeked. The anticipation was killing him, since he was expecting the army of little monsters to literally kill him. What he saw was almost beautiful in its own right. As if the aesthetic appeal of the spider¡¯s web wasn¡¯t enough, it had also proved incredibly sturdy against the onslaught of ants. They were stuck there, perhaps a hundred of them. Well, some of them were stuck. As he watched, Adon saw that many of the ants were still moving on the web. Almost as many were moving freely as were stuck, actually. More got stuck every second, but more of the little sentries were following after their predecessors. It took him a second to realize what the ants that were free were doing, still crawling around on the web. But then he realized. They were pulling at their fellows, chomping on the web. They¡¯re doing whatever they can to try to set the other ants free, Adon realized. Even if I don¡¯t think they¡¯re very smart, wasting all these resources chasing me, it¡¯s remarkable what they¡¯ll do for each other. Admirable. I wish I had that¡­ He had a moment of self-pity, as the sight reminded him that he was still alone here. That he had still never so much as communicated with another living thing. Could still die alone and unloved. Then he felt searing pain on multiple sides. Ow. Ow, what the fuck?! Adon turned his head and saw three ants on his left side. Judging from the pain he felt, there were at least three on his right side too. It looked like a few had fallen through the gaps in the spider¡¯s web after all. He irritably reached out and decapitated the nearest ant with his mandibles. Then the next. They could hardly move to avoid him, he realized as he sat up and continued the killing spree. And they weren¡¯t trying to either. Each ant seemed to see it as its mission to deplete his Health as much as it could before expiring. Adon helped them achieve that goal by staying relatively still while he killed them. He didn¡¯t have the energy to run anymore, and he was fed up with letting these things chase him anyway. They were smaller than he was, and they didn¡¯t have any attacks he hadn¡¯t seen. And now that he¡¯d invested in his Agility, they seemed surprisingly slow. The fight took a few minutes, during which they did a fair amount of surface damage to Adon¡¯s body and drastically widened the gash in his side, which was now leaking out an ominous amount of clear liquid. But he¡¯d done it. He¡¯d killed over a dozen ants that slipped through the spider web and got to him. All that effort, he thought, for just this lousy pool of blood. None of you bastards are going to get to eat me anyway. Not even a nibble! It was all for nothing. He began eating the ants all around him, ignoring the slowing activities of the ants in the web overhead. Most of them were trapped, anyway, but the other large contingent were working on freeing their brethren, clearly not thinking about Adon for the moment. And Adon was so hungry. As he swallowed the first piece of ant flesh, he began to feel just a bit better about all this. His mind relaxed. He went into a feeding trance. Munch munch. Chomp chomp. Gobble gobble. Gulp. He engulfed the last of the sentry ants. This was just a little one, and Adon was able to swallow it whole. He finally looked back up at the ants caught in the spider¡¯s trap. They were still locked in a desperate struggle to free themselves and their comrades from the web. I¡¯d love to be able to go up into that web and eat the rest of them, he thought. His Biomass was topped up, but he was going to spend a lot of it healing up this wound, he was sure. It would be nice to have some reserves. As he had that thought, his eyes detected a flicker of quick, sharp movement from the top of the web. A big, fast-moving shape striding briskly across a spider¡¯s web. Yeah, no need to call the detectives in to solve this one. Adon had no doubts what that was. He tried to hold very still so as not to catch the monster¡¯s eye. 8. Light Exercise Princess Rosslyn swung her practice sword down with such force that two of the figures standing on the sidelines visibly shuddered. One of them tried, but failed, to cover her voice, whispering, ¡°Suppose the Princess is in a bad mood today?¡± ¡°No, you think?¡± replied the other in a much subtler whisper that Rosslyn¡¯s superior senses barely caught. Sir Jaren, the opponent standing across from Rosslyn, barely managed to parry the strike, and it left his hands shaking. Visibly weary, he failed to block the next blow, which knocked the sword from his hands. ¡°Pick-it-up,¡± Rosslyn grumbled impatiently, pronouncing the words like they were a single word. ¡°Would, ah, would you, um, suppose we could take a break, Highness?¡± the man-at-arms asked breathlessly. Rosslyn tried to contain her frustration. It wasn¡¯t his fault. Every human had only a limited amount of potential, after all. For common-born people like Sir Jaren, it was remarkable that he could trade blows with her at all. If she was using magic, the differences would only be more obvious. But he should be proud of all that he had accomplished by effort alone. A knighthood was rarely given without being earned. It was well known that nobles were more physically powerful and likely to have magical talent than commoners, and royalty were supposed to be above them. Which was more true of the King than of Rosslyn herself, but still¡ªno commoner would ever be a match for her in a fight. The only way any commoner ever showed magical promise, as far as Rosslyn had heard, was when they were a bastard descendant of some nobleman. ¡°That is fine, of course,¡± she said with a forced smile. ¡°Undoubtedly another will volunteer.¡± The two onlookers who had been whispering swallowed in unison. Rosslyn¡¯s smile turned slightly twisted. ¡°You have trained with a sword, have you not?¡± She inclined her head at the person who had raised the question of her mood. ¡°Um, yes, Your Highness.¡± The woman offered a clumsy curtsy. ¡°What would you have of me?¡± ¡°Well, I would have you change into practice gear,¡± Rosslyn replied. ¡°I believe we have a set in your size.¡± She turned to Sir Jaren. ¡°Is that correct, Sir?¡± ¡°Um, yes, Princess.¡± ¡°Splendid.¡± A few minutes later, the unfortunate courtier was fully armed and armored. Perhaps excessively armored. The Princess¡¯s eyes detected extra padding underneath the gear. Very good, she thought. I will have no need to hold back. Precisely twenty-three seconds later, the courtier¡¯s body thudded into the wall behind her, thrown those last few feet by Rosslyn¡¯s sword thrust. It was a duller thud that the Princess had expected. Probably all that padding affected the sound. ¡°Thank you for your effort, my lady,¡± Rosslyn said. She couldn¡¯t remember the woman¡¯s name. Lady S-something, second daughter of some baron or other. No one of any great significance. This would teach courtiers to come and watch the Princess at her training, like she was a jester employed for their amusement. She turned back to the other unfortunate spectators. ¡°Who else would like to volunteer to sharpen my technique?¡± The other whisperer raised a hand almost at once. Maybe he knew she was going to ¡®volunteer¡¯ him next. Still brave of you to put up that hand, she thought. I must try not to injure you too badly. In the corner of her vision, Rosslyn saw the woman she had been sparring with rise shakily to her feet and stagger toward the sidelines. The Princess threw her defeated opponent a brief sword salute, then turned back to her next victim. He was standing there, just waiting. She realized he expected some response. ¡°I will accept your gracious challenge,¡± she said, curtsying slightly. ¡°Then I will endeavor to meet Your Highness¡¯s expectations,¡± the young man said. He rushed into the next room to change. Sir Jaren immediately slid over to the Princess. ¡°Your Highness, you know that courtier is Count MacGregor¡¯s son, do you not?¡± ¡°Well, if I did not, you have cured me of my ignorance,¡± she said sweetly. He dipped his head as if embarrassed by her false praise. ¡°I mention this only because he is, as I understand it, Count MacGregor¡¯s only son. And I am also given to understand that Count MacGregor is a great supporter of your father, and that his territory borders on the Demon Empire¡­¡± She understood exactly what he was driving at, but for a moment, she considered playing coy. No, this conversation is tortured enough already. ¡°I think I take your meaning, Sir Jaren,¡± she said, trying to be reassuring. ¡°I will not damage him permanently.¡± Not just because she was a sane and rational human being who didn¡¯t seriously injure her sparring partners in the normal course of activity. But also so that Claustria¡¯s border defense would remain strong and steady, with no squabbling over who would next inherit the office of count. When young MacGregor emerged a few minutes later, dressed in his practice gear, Rosslyn bore Sir Jaren¡¯s advice in mind. She faced the nobleman in the combat circle, but she only gave him a few love taps with her sword, not the thrashing she had given the last fighter. Then he spoke up. ¡°No need to hold back on my account, Your Highness,¡± MacGregor said. ¡°These are strong arms.¡± He raised his arms in the air as if she could see his muscle through the armor and padding. ¡°Very well,¡± she said quietly, almost under her breath. Her lips twisted into the smallest smile her face could make, hidden under the shadow of her hair. The Princess exchanged several attacks with young MacGregor without holding very much back at all. She was fairly certain he was still conscious when one of his companions helped him out of the ring. Perhaps lightly concussed, but conscious. ¡°Thank you for volunteering to spar with me!¡± Rosslyn called brightly after him. She really was grateful. The MacGregor heir was no weakling. And Sir Jaren seemed to have caught his breath, so now she could go a few more rounds with him. If the others had not spontaneously decided to spectate on her practice, she would have been bored all through his recovery. With the departure of McGregor, his lady co-whisperer, and their companions, only servants remained ringside. And Sir Jaren, of course. ¡°Are you rested, Sir Jaren?¡± the Princess asked brightly. As for her, she felt that she could go on for hours more. ¡°Y-yes, Your Highness.¡± The obvious fatigue that infused his voice made her shake her head immediately. ¡°Actually, perhaps it would be best if we broke off for today,¡± she said. ¡°I am growing a bit weary, and I would hate to embarrass myself with some clumsy move contrived when I am not at full capacity. Even if our audience is gone.¡± She had known Sir Jaren since she was a child. Even if he annoyed her sometimes, she liked him and respected his competency. He was a proud man, and Rosslyn figured that this was the best way to spare that pride. Already, he was nodding eagerly. ¡°Yes, Princess. That sounds responsible. You have already displayed your prowess for the benefit of anyone worthy of note.¡± Rosslyn found Sir Jaren¡¯s phrasing slightly annoying. It sounded as if he thought she was just showing off for the benefit of those silly nobles she¡¯d just trounced. In fact, the audience was just a nuisance, fun though it was to pound on them with her sword. She was hoping to meaningfully improve. Looking for some scrap of potential she had yet to unlock. But if such power still existed somewhere within her, Sir Jaren was no longer capable of pushing her to the edge of her capabilities, as he had when she was younger. She needed new opponents. ¡°Your Highness, forgive my presumption.¡± The Princess turned to look as one of the servants spoke and swiftly melted into an elegant curtsy. Actually, no¡ªRosslyn had to do a double-take¡ªthe curtsying woman wasn¡¯t a servant. Not exactly. She was in service, but the woman wore the magical black collar that designated a slave. That was a bit strange. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. To begin with, Claustria didn¡¯t have slavery, broadly speaking. It was used as a punishment by the courts, for circumstances where mere life imprisonment was deemed insufficient, but the death penalty was inappropriate. Such as where the criminal was of elevated status. An important foreign war criminal, one of the King¡¯s own councilors, or a member of Claustria¡¯s high nobility. The kingdom had severe taboos around the execution of high nobility. Who is this woman? Rosslyn dimly recalled seeing her over the years, working in the household alongside the other servants. But she had never heard the slave speak before. Then she realized the woman was waiting to be acknowledged, eyes pointed at the ground. ¡°Please feel free to speak, er¡ª¡± She wouldn¡¯t call the woman ¡°girl,¡± because she was old enough to be Rosslyn¡¯s mother. And of course, Rosslyn didn¡¯t know the name of this woman who had never spoken to her before. She usually knew the names of servants, but the slave had flown under her radar¡ªfor years, apparently. Fortunately, the woman recognized the Princess was referring to her. ¡°Thank you, Your Highness.¡± The curtsy deepened. ¡°Your Highness, if the royal person is not too tired, I might be so bold as to offer myself as a sparring partner.¡± This woman has court manners. Which means she is definitely here in that collar because she was high nobility once. What could she have done? Who was she? Even as her mind was working on cracking the slave¡¯s identity, Rosslyn was preparing to reject the overture. It really was bold of the woman to offer herself as a sparring partner. Too bold. Whoever she was, she must have an incredibly high opinion of her fighting abilities. She still thought she had something to offer in that vein after years out of practice. Even the sharpest sword needs a whetstone to hone it. The greatest fencer in the world would not remain so through years of inactivity. As the Princess was opening her mouth to decline, Sir Jaren began to speak, ¡°Your Highness, as you are probably aware, slaves are forbidden from taking up arms by the magic that operates their collars. Slaves within Claustria are also universally serious criminals.¡± He spoke the words in a tone as if he was remarking upon the weather. Yes, I was well aware of that, she thought. But now she was annoyed at the man-at-arms for lecturing her about facts which she¡¯d known since childhood. ¡°Slaves are generally forbidden from taking up arms via the binding magic that infuses their collars,¡± Rosslyn replied, ¡°unless the slave¡¯s owner permits or orders them otherwise. Judging from the fact that this woman works in the palace, I would guess that she is property of the royal family. Of which I am a member.¡± She paused for a moment, then turned back to the woman. ¡°Why not? Take up a sword, and put on some armor, and we will spar for a little while.¡± The woman smiled brightly and disappeared into the next room¡ªmoving quickly to prepare herself, before the Princess could change her mind, Rosslyn imagined. Sir Jaren rushed to her side during the interlude. ¡°Your Highness, are you sure this is advisable? This woman¡ª¡± ¡°Sir Jaren, do you think me an ignorant child?¡± Rosslyn interrupted in a voice calculated so as to be audible only to him. He looked instantly cowed. ¡°No. No, not at all, Princess.¡± ¡°Then please do not lecture me about topics on which I am already informed in front of other people,¡± she replied, in the same quiet tone. ¡°You know I studied the Claustrian legal code for several years.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He seemed to forget his manners for a moment, his face slightly flushed, overcome with regret. ¡°Yes, Your Highness,¡± he corrected himself. ¡°Thank you, Sir,¡± she said, giving him a little smile. Despite her slight pique, she could never stay annoyed with Sir Jaren. He was a bit like a big, clumsy uncle. He had taught her almost everything she knew about fighting with swords. And perhaps that closeness had prevented him from recognizing that she was now a grown woman. Not the little girl who liked to skip lessons and run off to play in the palace garden. Maybe I should call the spar off, she thought. Sir Jaren had seemed quite worried for a moment, for some reason. As she considered that thought, the slave emerged from the other room. She looked more herself wearing practice armor than she had in the drab clothing of a servant, Rosslyn noticed. As if she had been a soldier in a previous life, perhaps. Though the woman had appeared to be around the King¡¯s age, and that impression was still fixed in Rosslyn¡¯s mind, somehow the armor made her look younger than her years. Well, I should at least assess her technique, Rosslyn thought. In the unlikely event that the palace was infiltrated by a dangerous intruder one day, it would be useful to know which of the household staff could hold their own with a sword. She should probably assess all of the servants¡¯ abilities at some point. An idea to implement in the future. And there was a rising excitement surging through Rosslyn¡¯s body. Perhaps this would be someone she could truly benefit from sparring with. Stranger things had happened. ¡°Let us have a nice, clean spar,¡± Princess Rosslyn said. ¡°We will refrain from striking vital points. If either of us is hurt, we stop immediately.¡± Just in case the slave had some thought of harming her, she wanted to lay down some ground rules immediately. The collar would normally prevent a slave from harming her owners, but in this case, Rosslyn had authorized the woman to spar with her. So she would use the collar¡¯s other major function, compelling obedience, to at least limit any possible harm. ¡°It will be my honor to entertain Your Highness,¡± the woman said. There was an obvious eagerness in her voice that made Rosslyn wonder what she was getting herself into. Then the Princess assumed a fighting stance, and that feeling melted away. The women exchanged their first blows. The slave¡¯s attack was heavier than Rosslyn would have expected, had the woman not evinced that obvious enthusiasm for fighting. Clearly, she had kept in shape, and tried to keep in some form of practice, over the years of her sentence. For what? Rosslyn wondered. Why keep practicing? Did she think there was some chance she would ever be allowed to fight again? Or did she love swordsmanship that much? There was a part of the Princess¡¯s mind always working to unravel the mysteries of this woman¡¯s origins as they traded blows. As the minutes wore on, it became clear the slave¡¯s fighting style was very refined. Her movements resembled a dance. Graceful. Smooth. Blocking the Princess¡¯s sword with only an inch to spare. Attacking so that Rosslyn only had a tiny fraction of an instant to react. Always anticipating the next defense or the next attack. Rosslyn was able to keep up with her throughout the spar, but she doubted very much that Sir Jaren would have been able to do the same. Minutes turned into hours, as Princess Rosslyn entered a state of flow. Despite her near-total focus on the fight, she maintained enough awareness of the others present to recognize their reactions. The servants present seemed to be in awe. They clearly had not realized what either their fellow worker or their Princess were capable of. Sir Jaren¡¯s posture was slumped, defeated. Rosslyn realized she might have embarrassed him. By saying she was tired and then fighting for some interminable length of time for someone else, she had made it obvious that trying to call it quits earlier was only for his benefit. At least I only embarrassed him in front of a couple of servants, she thought, ducking under a big overhead swing. Then again, Sir Jaren had been born a commoner. It was possible he thought of the servants of the royal household as his peers. She would have to find some way to make it right. And I must stop compounding the embarrassment by continuing this fight when I am meant to be tired, she thought. Perhaps this woman and I can spar again, when it will not shame Sir Jaren. Rosslyn stepped back, too far for it to be a play for distance. The woman cocked an eyebrow, as if uncertain what the Princess was doing. ¡°Thank you for the spar,¡± Rosslyn said. Her long hair had partly escaped the tie that kept it out of her eyes. A fistful of dirty blonde was plastered to her forehead with sweat, while the rest stuck to the back of her neck, she realized as she saluted with her sword. The slave was sweaty, too, but Rosslyn did not think it was to the same degree. Is she a better fighter than me? It was hard to believe, but almost undeniable. True, the Princess had held back some of her techniques during the fight¡ªas she virtually always did, except on the rare occasion that she sparred with the King. There were many abilities with sword and magic that she did not feel comfortable showing off in front of others outside of actual combat. Some of them were the exclusive property of the royal family. Still¡­ Would those have really made the difference if it had been a real fight to the death? ¡°It was my honor, of course, Your Highness,¡± the woman replied. She sounded barely short of breath. ¡°You are incredible,¡± Rosslyn added, realizing she was slightly breathless. ¡°When I was your age, we were in a minor war,¡± the slave said. Ah, so she is a Claustrian then! ¡°It was essential that I be incredible. Your technique is quite impressive, of course¡ªconsidering that you have never seen true battle before. Your Highness.¡± This was the most the woman had said in the two hours they sparred, and Rosslyn felt the slight ring of condescension in the comment. Even a little disrespect in the delayed addition of ¡°Your Highness.¡± But she didn¡¯t mind it. Not from one who might be more skilled than herself. She¡¯d had worse from the soldiers she led in her term in the army. She won all their respect eventually. But who was this woman? ¡°I wish I could have seen you in your prime,¡± the Princess replied. ¡°Touch¨¦,¡± the slave said, allowing her lips to curl up slightly. She approached closer to where the Princess stood and lowered her voice conspiratorially. ¡°You know, you could see a lot more of what I could do¡ªif you removed this collar.¡± She gave Rosslyn a full, challenging smile. ¡°I was once a great warrior, Your Highness.¡± Rosslyn considered this for a long moment. ¡°Perhaps another time,¡± she said. ¡°I will see you again tomorrow.¡± She began to turn away, but the woman caught her with her voice, quiet but audible. A stage whisper aimed only at her. ¡°You should take care how you treat your courtiers,¡± she said. Rosslyn spun and regarded her between narrowed eyes. Then she drew closer so that she could better control her own voice as she responded. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± she finally asked. ¡°Just as I said, Your Highness. I believe it is a wise rule to take care how you treat the little people. It does not do to make unnecessary enemies, no matter how insignificant they may seem in your eyes.¡± The woman tried to keep her voice light, but Rosslyn could tell she was slightly uncomfortable being in such close proximity. Perhaps she thought the Princess would strike her for her presumption. Rosslyn didn¡¯t know much about how the few unfortunates who fell to slave status were treated. ¡°Very good,¡± Rosslyn finally said, her tone carefully neutral as her face burned slightly. ¡°Thank you for the advice.¡± 9. Goldie The shadow loomed larger and larger in Adon¡¯s grainy vision. Long legs that seemed ready to stride across the world. A surprisingly big, bulky body shaped like a figure eight with an elongated bottom. If Adon wasn¡¯t so terrified, he¡¯d think she had the arachnid version of ¡°junk in the trunk.¡± Probably helpful for attracting mates. But he was, in fact, thoroughly petrified with fear. There was something else strange about the spider¡¯s look, but Adon didn¡¯t focus too much on it. If he didn¡¯t stare at the spider, maybe she wouldn¡¯t sense his gaze. Adon held as still as he could and tried to make himself as small as he could. This mostly consisted of trying to suck in his stomach. Difficult, since he¡¯d just consumed over a dozen ants. And he felt certain that if he could see the spider, she could easily see him. Adon¡¯s eyes were bottom of the barrel quality, after all. I really need to improve my vision. Then I¡¯d see threats like this one coming. But besides berating himself about it, there wasn¡¯t time to do much now. Need to make a plan if she comes down here to fight. His best option was to go in slashing away with his mandibles, probably. He didn¡¯t have other weapons yet. Against a spider who might have venom as well as her obvious silk, though, that seemed like no plan at all. One bite from him would probably hurt her. One bite from her might end him. Adon couldn¡¯t help but swallow nervously as the monster passed overhead. I always thought spiders were all legs. This one looks like she has a lot of muscle to her¡­ He thought she looked down at him as she crossed above his trembling body. But he couldn¡¯t be sure, since he was trying not to stare. The moment had passed far too quickly. She approached the ant nearest to Adon, and she very matter-of-factly dipped down and plunged her fangs into its back. Then she quickly withdrew and walked over to the next ant to repeat the exercise. The ant she¡¯d injected spasmed for a few seconds and then grew still. Oh, Goddess, she does have venom! Adon thought. Maybe now was the moment to run away. While she was distracted, walking from ant to ant and killing them. It wasn¡¯t as if Adon was going to steal her food. Even if he was bold enough to rob this creature that was twice his size, in her own home, he wasn¡¯t sure if he could survive eating the venom-infused ant corpses. But something kept him from moving. Instead, he looked over at the spider. What she was doing was enthralling. Such an efficient hunting method. Adon thought he remembered Silk Spinning being one of the adaptations available to him, though he hadn¡¯t been able to afford it when he first looked. But that was then. He had since gained a lot of Evolution Points from leading the pursuing ants into this clever trap of his. He also realized what had stood out about her appearance when the spider passed overhead. She had a thin glow around her body. A kind of yellow halo effect. He hadn¡¯t noticed that in any other insects he¡¯d seen thus far. He dismissed it without thinking too much about it. Maybe she¡¯d grabbed some sort of bioluminescence Adaptation to better attract mates. He went back to thinking about his own Adaptation options. He¡¯d been thinking about getting better vision, not Silk Spinning. But now that he saw how effectively this spider used her silk¡­ I have to at least consider it, he decided. He would look at all the options available to him¡ªif he could find a safe place to do that¡ªbefore he chose his next Evolution Points expenditure. And he would understand his whole Status before he did anything else. He¡¯d only read halfway through the material before, and it really felt as if he was approaching this whole world half-ready. First things first, though. He wanted to at least get a slightly better understanding of what kinds of threats he faced in his immediate environment. He used Identify on the spider as she injected venom into yet another ant. Golden Silk Orb-Weaver Spider (Female). Next, he used Identify on one of the ants. Vendetta Ant (Sentry). Hm. For the spider, it gave me the sex, and for the ant, it gave me the creature¡¯s role in the ant society. I wonder why that is. He focused on the names the System had given him for the two creatures, but no additional information appeared. He returned his attention to the spider. No, the Golden Silk Orb-Weaver. No, that was too long. He decided to call her ¡°Goldie,¡± at least in his own mind. The nickname would make her seem a little less intimidating, at least. Plus it fit with her species name and the yellow glow around her body. Even with the internal nickname, of course, she was still far too intimidating for comfort. As he watched, she dragged the bodies of the ants away from where she¡¯d injected her venom. Toward the center of the web. She was able to move several at once, since she had secured their limp forms to herself with more of her silk. The spider¡ª¡°Goldie,¡± in Adon¡¯s mind¡ªwas graceful, swift and smooth in her movements, which seemed especially noteworthy to Adon, since he felt that he, the ants, and the Ladybug Larva were all pretty clumsy. The only sound she made as she moved was a slight musical noise as the silk strung around the ants occasionally brushed the silk that composed the web. Right, she¡¯s done killing them, now she¡¯s moving them. Now is the time for me to leave. Now¡­ Right now! But it was inexplicably hard to make himself move. Everything about the situation conspired to keep him where he was. Predominantly fear, but it was very mingled with other sensations. Continued admiration for the shimmery beauty of the web, which was attractive even to Adon¡¯s terrible eyes. A similar appreciation for the pretty glow around the spider¡¯s body, though he dimly realized that might be intended to draw in prey, as the web¡¯s shimmer surely was. And a general fascination with the methods of this clearly very successful predator. Her web was even well constructed; though he¡¯d felt it shake when the piles of ants threw themselves onto it, it hardly moved at all under the spider¡¯s quick, sure steps. While he lay in his position under the web, trying to make himself move but divided about that decision, something happened on the web itself that drew his complete attention. The spider dragged the last of the ants into the center of her web. Then she walked back over to just above where Adon lay. Her movements were slower this time. Not striding. Almost tentative. As if¡ªwas she worried about scaring him away? When Goldie was positioned directly above Adon, the tension in his body reached its zenith. Have to run away, he thought, barely able to control the cold fear in his stomach. Have to escape right now¡­ Is it too late? Did I miss my chance? Crap! Still, he lingered, unmoving and indecisive. He had failed at fight or flight. It was undeniable now that Goldie had seen him. The spider stared down at him with several of her eight eyes¡ªhe could see her well enough now to count them, she was so close¡ªand the two just looked at each other for a long, intense moment. Adon wished he could communicate. Say something like, I promise I¡¯m not a threat, please don¡¯t kill me, you¡¯re my hero, thank you for killing all those ants, could you maybe spare one for me? Just in case I can digest the venom? But he couldn¡¯t speak any of those thoughts. He didn¡¯t have the ability to talk or to communicate in any way he could expect the spider would understand. Anyway, he had no reason to expect she would be any smarter than the ants had been. The ants had shown what seemed to Adon normal levels of insect intelligence. If the spider was a normal spider like the ones he¡¯d encountered when he was human, it should be slightly smarter than an ant, just by nature of being a more developed and complex species. But not smart enough for language. The caterpillar and the spider remained locked in their staring contest for a very brief window. Although Adon hadn¡¯t thought of himself as a threat, it occurred to him that perhaps Goldie thought that he would be a problem for her. Just as he¡¯d be at an obvious disadvantage if he wandered into her web, maybe she would be worried about fighting him on the ground. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. It was only speculation, but the idea gave him a little courage. Maybe he wasn¡¯t completely helpless. But regardless, he needed to get out of here. Finally, Adon managed to make himself move. He stepped back with one leg. Then the other. And then he was in full retreat, running away with his face still turned to the spider. Eyes still irresistibly locked onto hers. She continued to stare after him for as long as he could see her. Once he was out of view of her, he turned and ran facing to the front, the normal way. He kept going until he thought he was a safe distance away. Surely she wouldn¡¯t be as fast as he was if she chased him outside of her web, right? And although she was an arachnid¡ªso like Adon¡¯s face, hers was unreadable¡ªhe wanted to imagine that she wasn¡¯t hostile. He had brought a bunch of food into her web, after all. I need to be like her, Adon thought when he finally stopped running for long enough to think. She adapted to this harsh environment. So perfectly that if she¡¯d wanted to, she definitely could have eaten me, even though I had no trouble taking out a dozen of those ants. He smelled the air with a new appreciation as he fully grasped how lucky he was to be alive. There was a rich soil odor everywhere, perhaps because he was so close to the ground. Above that, he could smell grass. And something sweet, under the other smells. In the distance, he thought, there must be flowers, more than one kind. In his mind, he smiled. In his last life, he¡¯d hardly ever seen anything green except through a screen. This was such a different life. It¡¯s a beautiful world I¡¯m in now. It¡¯s good to be alive here. Now, how to stay that way¡­ He tried to think about next steps as he walked. Need to find the dead ants I left behind earlier, to start with, he thought. Free food was not to be refused in this life. He¡¯d already learned that the hard way, when his body came close to shutting down from hunger while he was running from the ants. As he retraced his steps, he remembered his mantra. Do everything, and you¡¯ll win. Do everything, and you¡¯ll get what you want. Don¡¯t fall back into old habits. Don¡¯t live another shameful sham of a life. In this case, finding the dead ants constituted part of ¡°Do everything,¡± as far as he was concerned. After a little bit of walking, he managed to find the closest ant corpses. They weren¡¯t within sight of the spider¡¯s web, so he was pleasantly surprised that he¡¯d located them at all. Maybe in this life, my sense of direction is pretty good, he thought optimistically as he consumed the pork-like ant flesh. There was a slight ripping sound as he swallowed the second ant, and Adon looked around for a few seconds before he realized the sound came from his own body. He looked down, and the gash he¡¯d suffered earlier was opening up a bit more. Weirdly, blood¡ªor whatever weird fluid was his closest parallel to blood¡ªwasn¡¯t coming out. Instead, the space underneath the cut looked dry and empty. The torn shreds of skin around the gash looked loose and flappy. That¡¯s it! he realized. He opened up his Status.
User: Unnamed Butterfly Larva Age: 10 hours Sex: Male
Status
Health: 10/10
Strength: 4
Agility: 6
Perception: 3
Dexterity: 5
Constitution: 7
Intelligence: 85(!)
Will: 90(!)
Charisma: 1
Skills: Identify, Impeccable Memory, Past Life Connection, Shed Skin, Spiritual Sight
Evolution Points: 36
Biomass: 17/15
He confirmed it. His Biomass was overly full. Based on what he¡¯d read earlier, that could trigger unspecified changes in his body. His body was probably already trying to make those changes. Hopefully they would include healing. Let¡¯s go through the Status screen and figure out what everything means, then pick the new Adaptations, he thought. All the numerical values next to his first five Stats spoke for themselves. He had pitifully low Strength, slightly less embarrassing Agility, and Perception that was his second-weakest Stat, perhaps explaining why he felt his eyesight was barely better than blindness. His Dexterity was higher than the other Stats, except for the Agility and Constitution that he¡¯d already enhanced with his previously invested Evolution Points. And the Intelligence and Will that had exclamation marks next to them. Those seemed to require investigation. Then there was Charisma, and the less said about his apparent dump Stat, the better. Some things, even reincarnation might not cure, he thought. Then he focused on the exclamation marks in parentheses next to Intelligence and Will. A System explanation popped up immediately. (!): This symbol indicates that a noteworthy development occurred relating to the Status feature in question. In this specific case, these Stats were altered by the user. The user directed his development within the egg shell. As a result of the user¡¯s interference with biological and System processes, these Stats were artificially increased at the expense of other attributes. Holy shit! Adon thought. The Goddess let me change my own Status while I was pre-born. I guess this is why I retained my humanoid mind and memories. And possibly also why my Charisma Stat ended up so low. His other Stats besides Intelligence and Will were also pretty low, but that didn¡¯t bother him as much, since he was fairly certain Charisma was correlated with attractiveness. I¡¯ll increase all of them over time as I get more Evolution Points, anyway, he reminded himself. He was glad he¡¯d chosen this time to focus on understanding his Status a bit better. He looked at his Skills next. Focused on Identify first. Identify: A Skill that allows the user to ascertain very basic information about other living things at a glance. Of course. Impeccable Memory: A Skill that allows the user to remember information beyond the level that should be possible for a given level of Intelligence and Will. That explains the sense of direction I was just feeling so proud of. Maybe that was something else he¡¯d altered by focusing so much on remembering details of his past lives when he was in the egg. Past Life Connection: A Skill that reflects that the user retains a stronger than normal connection to his past lives. The threads of karma run through every life and connect the individual¡¯s journey from its beginning to its end. That¡¯s just a little too deep for me, Goddess. Adon didn¡¯t know what any of that meant, and it was hard for him to be sure if he ever would. Shed Skin: A Skill that allows the user to sacrifice a set amount of Biomass to quickly recover from superficial injuries and shed the old layer of damaged skin. This Skill may automatically activate if the user¡¯s Biomass exceeds the maximum, causing the user¡¯s body to outgrow its previous skin. This Skill hastens the implementation of Adaptations and is essential to Evolution. That¡¯s important information for sure, Adon thought. His mind was still partly trying to untangle Past Life Connection, but that didn¡¯t keep him from appreciating the sheer value that Shed Skin would probably provide in the future. Spiritual Sight: A Skill allowing the user to visually perceive another life form¡¯s karmic essence. More effective with practice. More effective if the user has a preexisting karmic tie to the other life form. More effective if the user is fated to forge a karmic tie with the other life form. That must have been the glow I saw, Adon decided immediately. He¡¯d never heard of bioluminescent spiders before. This would make more sense. Unfortunate that it wasn¡¯t something he could use to more reliably perceive predators in general; the ants hadn¡¯t glowed at all. So many souls I snuffed out, though. If the vague spiritual understanding he was developing by reading these Skill descriptions was correct at all, then Adon had destroyed a number of life forms that were, on some level, equally valuable and individual to himself. Even if they didn¡¯t act or seem that way. The ants felt like replaceable cogs in a machine to him. I can¡¯t let it stop me from eating, he thought. But he hoped it wasn¡¯t ruining the thread of his karma that the Past Life Connection description had alluded to. He felt a little bad about not understanding the full consequences of what he was doing. It¡¯s time to be practical, though. He couldn¡¯t see the sun from his lowly position on the ground, but he could feel the quality of the light had changed. Sunset must be sometime soon. He would choose his Adaptations now, and then he would decide what to do about a place to rest for the night. He wasn¡¯t sure it would be safe to stay on the ground tonight. Usually, based on his understanding of nature, a whole different breed of predator stalked the earth after dark than during the day. With his poor sight, and lack of any night vision, he didn¡¯t want to mess with them just yet. Maybe not ever. He was a caterpillar after all. But that left him with a difficult decision about where to go next. 10. Second Encounter Adon looked through the Adaptation and Skill options, and he rubbed the tips of his front legs together. There were just so many things that he wanted! The only problem: they were so expensive! He certainly had more options than when he¡¯d last gathered a handful of Evolution Points together. It also helped that he wasn¡¯t running from anything. The Adaptation options that drew his eye were Silk Spinner I, Telepathy I, Venom Spines I, Venom Fangs I, Hardened Exoskeleton I, Bladed Mandibles I, Piercing Mandibles I, Crushing Mandibles I, Magic Perception I, Venom Spores I, Sleep Spores I, and Camouflage I. Adon reluctantly forced himself to ignore all of the Adaptations available related to vision: Simple Eyes II, Spherical Lens I, Apposition Eyes I, Superposition Eyes I, and Infrared Sensing I. Right now, he needed to focus on Adaptations that would help him fight and defend himself. He hadn¡¯t needed better vision in his fight with the ants. He¡¯d almost been killed because he was slow and weak, not because he was near-blind. Now that he was out of the heat of battle, that was obvious. He only survived because of his superior Intelligence and quick thinking, blended with a very healthy dose of luck. There were also some Skills that Adon was interested in: Claustrian Language Comprehension, Shed Skin II, and Mana Manipulation. He was pretty sure that last one would cause him to end up as a magical butterfly, which would be much better than a regular butterfly in any fantasy world. But he forced himself to calmly, rationally analyze what he needed to get right now. He was going to either be fighting predators at night or possibly using violence to secure a hiding place for the evening. Most of the best places to sleep were probably already taken. He thought back to that morning. He had already been evicted from the plant he was born on. Clearly this place was overpopulated with creatures like himself. So, Silk Spinner I. The pros of that are that I could try to be like Goldie and use a web to both defend myself and capture prey. The con is that I have to learn to use it. Silk Spinner I was one of the more reasonably priced Adaptations at only 5 Evolution Points. He thought he would come back to it. Telepathy I was extremely desirable in the long term, but far too expensive for now. It would cost 25 Evolution Points, a supermajority of what he had saved. Insane pricing for something that he could guess would not actually help him in a fight. No, it¡¯s like trying to sell diamonds in the desert, he thought to himself. It might be extremely valuable somewhere else, but in the desert, you just want water. Venom Spines I was barely more expensive than Silk Spinner I, at 6 Evolution Points, and it would actually immediately help in his defense. It immediately jumped to the top of his list. Venom Fangs I, Adon rejected instantly. It might be good to buy later, when his body was tougher, but right now, he preferred any Adaptation that helped him minimize how close he had to get to dangerous enemies. If I have to inject you with something from these fangs, I¡¯m probably already dead by the time I get that close. Hardened Exoskeleton I sounded helpful, but Adon couldn¡¯t imagine it would be as useful as Venom Spines I. While the former would make him slightly harder to kill, the latter would actually impose a cost for attacking him. And Hardened Exoskeleton I cost 5 Evolution Points, only slightly cheaper than Venom Spines. Bladed Mandibles I felt redundant. Adon¡¯s existing mandibles had cut through everything he¡¯d encountered so far. Maybe if he fought something with a tougher exoskeleton, or needed to escape Goldie¡¯s web, that would be different. He briefly imagined an arms race between stronger mandibles and harder exoskeletons, then shook his head to clear away the distraction. He rejected Piercing Mandibles I and Crushing Mandibles I for the same reasons. Magic Perception I was the most expensive of the options he¡¯d seen at 30 Evolution Points, and he knew that as much as he wanted anything magic-related, it wasn¡¯t what he needed right now. And although Venom Spores I and Sleep Spores I weren¡¯t unreasonably priced¡ª10 Evolution Points and 8 Evolution Points respectively¡ªthey were more expensive than Venom Spines I, and since they were spores, they would probably require Adon to be above his opponent in position. That way, gravity would carry the spores down onto his enemy. That was probably an unreasonable expectation for right now, since he didn¡¯t yet have wings. Camouflage I was another expensive option, and although hiding was a valuable ability, Adon suspected that some of the creatures who hunted at night would have superior vision anyway. So he could come back to this another day, if he lived long enough. He decided to leave the Skills for now. He would take Silk Spinner I and Venom Spines I. When he purchased those, he found that Silk Spinner II and Venom Spines II appeared as options. And Adon decided to double down. The upgraded versions of those Adaptations were twice as expensive, so hopefully they would be big upgrades. With Silk Spinner II and Venom Spines II purchased, Adon had a few points left. Not enough for any of the Adaptations he was really interested in. So he bought Claustrian Language Comprehension, the cheapest of the Skills he¡¯d been contemplating, for 2 Evolution Points. That left him with just a single point to his name. I have to hope that will be good enough, he thought. He was gambling everything that his judgment of what would make him stronger and help him survive the night was correct. His body began tingling painfully all over as the Adaptation purchases took effect. He felt the new layer of skin underneath the old, ragged layer he was about to shed, transforming to fit his new body parts. He thought the pain might let up after a few seconds, but it only got worse as he felt the Venom Spines growing through his skin. That¡¯s okay, he told himself. This pain is just weakness leaving the body. He clenched his mandibles painfully as the Adaptations finished taking effect. The hot pain of his body transforming itself cooled to a dull, slight ache. And he felt slightly giddy. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. I did it! he thought. I¡¯ve almost made it through the first day, and I¡¯m already so much stronger than when I started. The first thing he did was turn his head to look at his body. He wasn¡¯t disappointed in the way the Venom Spines looked. They were long, sharp, and stiff, like porcupine quills. Yet he tested it, and he was able to move them up and down, back and forth slightly, like they were extra limbs. He realized, to his surprise, that if he saw something that looked like himself, he would run the other way. Very nice, he thought. I¡¯m starting to be intimidating. Look out, world! Then he turned to his tail end, where he could feel his Silk Spinner had grown. It appeared in the spot where he would have imagined his butt would be, if he didn¡¯t know better. In fact, his butt was on his underside, just a little bit forward of the Silk Spinner. Adon thought the Silk Spinner¡¯s position was pretty perfect. Since it was at the very back of him, he would be able to spray silk on anything that approached him from behind, as long as he recognized the sneak attack before it was sprung. There were also two new additions around the Silk Spinner. It took Adon a few seconds of looking at them before he recognized that he now had a new cutting appendage, like a smaller version of his mandibles. I guess that¡¯s to cut the silk, he thought. Cool. This is really cool! For once, his excitement outpaced his fear and self-doubt. It felt like he had a real method for surviving in the wild now. Just this morning, he had thought he¡¯d be dead before lunchtime. Adon decided to experiment with the thread. He clenched down on a new muscle that he felt was related to the Silk Spinner, and a short burst of thread squirted out of his backside. Yes. I did it! He leaped into the air, pumping his front limbs like a champion fighter. Then he dropped back down to the ground. Right. Still all alone. And even if anyone intelligent did see that, they¡¯d probably think I was a total weirdo¡­ He returned to practicing with his silk in a slightly more subdued mood, but his feelings of awkwardness couldn¡¯t keep him from getting excited again about how cool his new ability was. It was using up Biomass gradually as he went, but he kept practicing for long enough to grasp how to launch continuous spurts, or long threads, of silk versus short bursts like the one he¡¯d initially shot out. He also found he could control the speed at which his silk moved, to a degree. I¡¯m not sure I can do everything that Goldie could do, he thought, recalling the spider¡¯s beautiful, delicate web. But this is definitely a great asset for my survival anyway. He began walking through the twilight¡ªhe could tell now the sun was in the middle of setting, so it was his last chance to find a good place to hide for the night¡ªand he came up with a plan as he moved. It was better to deal with the devil you knew than the devil you didn¡¯t, and he had a phenomenal sense of direction in this life. Or at least a good memory for places he¡¯d been. So it wasn¡¯t hard for him to navigate back to the plant he originated from. It took a while, because he didn¡¯t want to exert himself too much and burn through Biomass he¡¯d need later. But finally, with the dark just beginning to set in, he made it back. It was still just bright enough for him to distinguish shapes, and he looked up at the stem of the plant where he¡¯d hatched. He tried to argue with his doubts. Come on, I can handle the Ladybug Larva this time. He was just a larva, after all. Fundamentally, that was the same stage of life as a caterpillar. And Adon had learned so much in just under a day. I¡¯m not the same caterpillar who jumped off of the top of this plant to escape you. I have silk, I have venom, I¡¯m a real bad caterpillar. This time, you¡¯d better watch out! The moment had arrived for their second encounter. Without allowing himself to hesitate, he climbed the side of the stem. He pulled his body up inch by inch. He seemed to be able to climb faster than he had earlier, he noticed dimly. He must have grown a lot since this morning. As he climbed past the halfway point, he passed a cluster of broken eggs. Adon took stock of what he saw and kept climbing. As he took his inventory, it disturbed him a bit. The Ladybug Larva had eaten just over half of the Ladybug Eggs that lined the plant. He hadn¡¯t left the safety of his home at all, it seemed to Adon. Just sat around here, preying on his own kind. It felt both lazy and monstrous to him. Even though Adon would happily have eaten the Ladybug Eggs himself, he was still resistant to the norm of cannibalism that he knew was prevalent in much of the insect world. All of this just increased his commitment to deposing the Ladybug Larva and reclaiming his home. He got around two thirds of the way up the plant before he could see it. The Ladybug Larva was positioned in Adon¡¯s old spot, he was fairly certain. Enjoying ruling the roost up here. And maybe it was because the Ladybug Larva was high enough on the plant that the sunlight could still touch him, or maybe it was just in his head, but Adon felt that the creature¡¯s features swam into sharper relief in his vision than anything else he¡¯d seen in his short life. Every ugly detail seemed to jump out at him. The monstrous, hideous head. The spiny, alligator-like shape. The grotesque way that bits of Ladybug Egg still clung to the sides of his body. He was not just a cannibal, this Ladybug Larva; he was also a messy eater. Adon shuddered slightly. He wondered if he¡¯d made a mistake. Sure, the Ladybug Larva wasn¡¯t as intimidating as it had been this morning, but did he want to go into close quarters with it? He decided, without attempting what had been his Plan ¡°A,¡± to revert immediately to Plan ¡°B.¡± It was less courageous, but it would be safer. If he lived until tomorrow, he would have more chances to be brave. But he would never have a second chance to be safe, if he died. Adon crept just a little closer, and finally the Ladybug Larva sprang to life. It started crawling down toward him, preparing to face the invader in its territory. Adon turned and began to climb down the stem, but not at full speed. With a deliberate slowness. Let him think he can catch me. He slowed down a little further and tried to gauge if the distance was right. Almost. Not quite. Adon stopped climbing entirely and tried to make it seem as if he wasn¡¯t sure what to do, moving his body back and forth indecisively. All of it drew the Ladybug Larva closer. Adon waited until the monster was near enough to see the black reflectiveness of his beady little eyes. Then he sprang his trap. A burst of web fluid struck the Ladybug Larva in the face. Adon thought he¡¯d pretty well smeared the eyes and mouth. But most importantly, this was a long thread and not just a short burst. The silk was still attached to Adon¡¯s abdomen. And as the Ladybug Larva suddenly found itself frantically scraping and clawing at its face, trying to clear its eyes so it could see, Adon pulled down hard and fast. He threw his whole body into the effort, until he leaned way out over the side of the plant and risked falling himself. The quick and decisive motion pulled the Ladybug Larva down and to the side, away from the plant. As it tumbled through the air, Adon severed the silk from his body and pulled himself in as close as he could to the plant stem. The Ladybug Larva went down, flailing its sharp claws helplessly into the air, as it passed inches away from Adon¡¯s body. Your turn, Adon thought giddily. This time it¡¯s your turn to fall! 11. First Sight Victory is not permanent, any more than defeat is. Adon knew this in his heart, but he couldn¡¯t help doing a little jig once the Ladybug Larva had fallen out of striking range. He watched the monster as it tumbled into the darkness, staring after it until it was out of his sight. In the near darkness, that wasn¡¯t particularly far. Adon was kicking himself a bit for still having crappy eyes. But then, what would he have given up to improve his vision? The Silk Spinner had already proven its worth in dealing with the Ladybug Larva. At least temporarily. Adon knew it was possible the monster could come back to fight him, and it would probably be hopping mad if it did. He hoped the Ladybug Larva would be smart enough to leave well enough alone. I would like to hold onto this high ground without a fight, if I can. But for now, it was time to enjoy the fruits of victory and forget about what the future might hold. It was time to recharge his Biomass and collect some more juicy Evolution Points. Adon clambered down to where the rest of the Ladybug Eggs were clustered, and he started eating. Once he began, he found he was quite ravenous. The eggs tasted fresh and rich. Packed with protein and dense energy. The flavor reminded Adon of how his own egg had tasted. He quickly went into the feeding trance that he was becoming accustomed to by now¡­ Munch munch. Chomp chomp. Gobble gobble. Gulp. Before he knew it, not only the two dozen or so eggs that had been in front of him, but even the leftovers that had resulted from the Ladybug Larva¡¯s own messy eating, were gone. Yum yum! Adon thought. He extended his tongue out of his mouth as far as it would go and licked the nearest part of his mandibles. These eggs were probably the best thing he¡¯d eaten so far, although he was glad that generally, his insect body was well adapted to finding any protein tasty. Adon climbed back up to nearer the top of the plant and settled on top of a few of the upper leaves a tier beneath the topmost layer. He had to choose a big, thick set of leaves to lie on and settle his body on the petiole connecting the leaves to the main stem. Otherwise, he thought that he might fall off in the night. It¡¯s like I¡¯m getting bigger or something, he thought, half proud of the accomplishment and half worried about gaining too much weight. Soon he would probably have to spend his nights clinging to the stem itself, or even hiding at ground level. He hoped it wouldn¡¯t come to that, though. The ground was undoubtedly going to be a locus of great danger at night, as it was during the day. He peered out over the edge of his bunch of leaves one last time before he started trying to sleep. Despite his slight trepidation, he didn¡¯t see the Ladybug Larva climbing back up. And he was pretty sure it couldn¡¯t fly in its current form. So it seemed Adon was safe for now. Taught him a lesson! he thought. Then he made himself comfortable on the pillow-soft bed of leaves, and he began to drift away. It had been less obvious while he was in his egg, but Adon didn¡¯t sleep anymore. Not quite. Structurally, his brain was different than it had been as a human. He didn¡¯t exactly lose consciousness. He just became significantly less aware of his surroundings and allowed his mind to rest. It continued to work, but very slowly and without much focus. In that mental state, with his strangely high Intelligence and Will in the body of an insect, Adon entered a state that was not quite dream and not quite wakefulness. A scene floated through his mind unbidden. There was no visual component except for the dark opaque liquid that he¡¯d been surrounded with when he was in an egg. Later, he would come to the conclusion that what he heard in this state was, in fact, a memory. One of those conversations he¡¯d heard during his pre-hatching stage, which he¡¯d been lucid enough to hear, but had lacked the comprehension to understand. Two men were speaking. The language they communicated in wasn¡¯t English or any language Adon had heard in his last life, but he immediately understood it as the conversation played out. The words were Claustrian. ¡°I am, of course, grateful for my wife¡¯s decision to send for you, Lord Baranack,¡± one of the speakers offered. ¡°I am glad you have spent some time studying the particular needs of the Kingdom. Your reputation for diplomacy precedes you.¡± ¡°You honor me by the implication that I might be of service in any way, Your Majesty,¡± Lord Baranack replied, his tone simpering. ¡°I will do my utmost.¡± ¡°I hope you may consider your proximity to the garden as you work to be of spiritual benefit, my lord,¡± the King said. ¡°Only a few high officials, including the Princess, enjoy rooms that overlook the garden. It is one of our great treasures.¡± ¡°Truly, the rumors about this place were not exaggerated,¡± Lord Baranack agreed. ¡°A vast space, beautifully layered with every desirable form of flora to be found in the hemisphere.¡± The men had been walking, but now he stopped to smell a flower. Then he let out a sudden breath in what sounded like a panicked huff. ¡°Is something not to your liking, Lord Baranack?¡± the King asked. ¡°Your Majesty, I see eggs here,¡± Lord Baranack replied in a slightly panicked whisper. ¡°It is a garden, my lord,¡± the King replied, in a tone that suggested he was beginning to think Lord Baranack was not the brightest bulb in the chandelier. ¡°Yes, well, of course,¡± Lord Baranack sputtered. His voice seemed to Adon to be very close to Adon¡¯s body, because it had become quite loud ¡°I mean to say that these eggs are monster eggs. Once they hatch, they grow into¡ª¡± ¡°I am well aware of the life cycle of this particular insect, Lord Baranack,¡± the King interrupted. ¡°The butterfly is on my family¡¯s coat of arms, if you recall. We traditionally regard it as the national animal of Claustria. I am very relieved to see that some still exist in this country, after past unfortunate events.¡± ¡°Past unfortunate events?¡± Lord Baranack asked. He seemed to have forgotten his courtly manners. His voice was incredulous, as if he thought he was talking to an idiot. ¡°Your Majesty, the destruction of monsters with the potential to develop magic powers still seems to most countries in this region a wise policy. Given the reports of monsters fighting alongside the Demon Empire in the last war¡ª¡± ¡°Lord Baranack, you are repeating arguments that I have heard repeatedly over the years. The historicity of that claim is doubtful at best. Given the lack of any evidence to support them beyond the words of a few priests centuries after the fact, I do not consider them in making policy. Given that these creatures are endangered, and represent this country, I have made it a crime to slay them. They face enough threats in nature already. I would be unsurprised if some other creature in this garden eats some of those eggs.¡± He seemed to think this would put an end to the conversation. Adon heard the voice moving further away from him. But Lord Baranack hadn¡¯t given up. ¡°Please, Your Majesty, reconsider a policy of extermination. To think of your own daughter living so near these dangerous creatures¡ª¡± ¡°The Princess, and the late Queen, are and were extremely fond of this garden, with all its creatures,¡± was the last Adon heard from the King. The words were spoken in a tone that suggested that this Lord Baranack was exhausting the King¡¯s patience. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. But their semiconscious eavesdropper was less concerned about courtly politics and more wrapped up in the implications of the conversation for himself. As the exchange had gone on, it had become obvious they were discussing the pros and cons of killing him specifically. And possibly some siblings that he might have had nearby, before a ladybug or some other predator ate them. Oh Goddess, thought Adon. Are butterflies hated in this world? He wouldn¡¯t have thought it possible, if he hadn¡¯t heard it from Lord Baranack¡¯s mouth. ¡ª While Adon hovered in the hazy mental space that approximated sleep for him, the sun was rising in the East. As the pale shadow of day began to assert itself over the horizon, Princess Rosslyn stole into the palace garden. Her maid had mentioned a suitor coming today and that her father wanted to see her. Rosslyn didn¡¯t want to see anyone just now, so she came here. She had hoped the conversation she¡¯d eavesdropped on meant that there would be some respite between those annoying would-be social climbers, at least while her father corresponded with the Duke. But it seemed she¡¯d been naive. Lord Baranack was continuing to do his duty and find eligible bachelors, based on his personal definition of eligibility. The soothing sights, sounds, and smells of the garden wafted over Rosslyn, but their effect was almost lost on her. As she stepped forward, her eyes darted around furtively between the mansion and the distant garden walls. An image came to her mind, one of those hazy half-remembered memories whose origins she was never quite sure about. It was a scene in a play, where a fugitive was escaping from a prison. She remembered the prisoner pausing and looking around, standing in the same pose she¡¯d adopted. Was it something she¡¯d seen in a previous life? Or a moment from this life, perhaps at her mother¡¯s side, watching a traveling company of actors perform? Rosslyn often found herself asking those questions. Though she had a few clear memories from her previous incarnation, she didn¡¯t even know her past name for certain. Whatever its origin, the mental image had a tone of the farcical about it. As if there was a joke being made at the prisoner¡¯s expense. In this case, at her expense. The thought brought a bittersweet smile to her lips. Look at me, a prisoner, escaping my own home, Rosslyn thought. She felt suddenly silly and small. Far too young to have the responsibilities that she held. And perhaps a shallow, foolish, stubborn child. Considering that the burden of this ordeal came with the incredible privilege of being a princess. While over eighty percent of her people were peasants, she, their Princess, was trying to evade the onerous demand to choose a husband. It really was laughable. Then again, some days she thought she would do almost anything to be free from this obligation. She wouldn¡¯t willingly become a peasant, but she wasn¡¯t so fond of being royalty that she wouldn¡¯t become a priestess or some lower ranking noble. If she had her life to do over. I imagine that in my past life, I had more freedom, somehow. I was neither royal nor peasant nor noble, and somehow, I had freedom. She didn¡¯t know why she believed this, but the idea carried the ring of truth for her. And her love of freedom couldn¡¯t be that different from one life to the next, anyway, could it? She had literally put her life in danger to taste freedom. Part of why she had volunteered for military service was to get away from these walls and demands. Another part was to understand the needs of her kingdom and its people better. The third and most important reason was to establish herself, build her own reputation as a military asset in her own right. Rosslyn had even been vain enough to think she¡¯d accomplished her goals. Then she came back, and reality asserted itself again. Personal power was all that mattered. Tactical brilliance wouldn¡¯t defeat a powerful individual on the battlefield. Individual differences in magical and physical might were too vast to broach with mere cunning. History had shown again and again that both the aristocracy and the people only bowed to the strong. Rosslyn sighed and kicked a loose stone in the garden path. Ruminating was getting her nowhere. She ought to get back and¡ªsuddenly she spied movement in the corner of her field of vision. It was a small motion, but her hand went immediately to the dagger she always kept at her waist. One could never be too careful. She looked down, ready to draw and wield the dagger if the source of the movement was anything bigger than a field mouse. There she saw a tiny bug. It was so much smaller than a field mouse that she almost burst out laughing. She wouldn¡¯t even have noticed it if she didn¡¯t have exceptional eyesight. This is how worried you are about something silly, she thought. Jumping at baby insects! She bent down to take a closer look. Oh, a baby ladybug, she thought. I forgot how ugly they are right after they hatch¡­ ¡°Hello, little fellow,¡± she said under her breath. ¡°What are you doing?¡± The creature turned its head to look at her for a moment, then seemed to decide she was either not a threat or too large of a danger for it to bother worrying about. Probably the latter. Either way, it returned to what it was doing. She quickly understood what it was up to. Over and over again, it tried to climb a plant stem. Each time, its feet didn¡¯t find their purchase properly, and the poor thing tumbled back down. Rosslyn picked it up without hesitation and held it in the palm of her hand to examine it more closely. She could see the problem immediately. ¡°Oh, you poor thing,¡± she cooed sympathetically. ¡°Seeing you, I understand how silly I really am. Here I am, stewing about having to meet suitors, and you have real problems. Who broke your feet?¡± Rosslyn expected no answer to her question. She had never met an insect that could speak, although she had heard that such things were possible. She speculated to herself. Perhaps the little Ladybug Larva had just fallen from the plant he lived on and landed badly. Bugs didn¡¯t usually injure themselves falling, she knew, but it wasn¡¯t impossible. And its two front legs were definitely unnaturally bent. That would keep even the most determined of these simple creatures from climbing up. Their tiny brains are incapable of realizing that their bodies are broken. Hopefully it poses less of an obstacle if the back four legs are already in a stable position. She set the insect down on top of the plant it had been trying to climb. It immediately started moving to climb downward. She groaned. I helped a very stupid bug, she thought. If he manages to get to the bottom, how will he climb back up again? Then she realized that some ways down the stem of the plant, another insect was resting. The Ladybug Larva was climbing towards something. ¡°I see,¡± she said aloud, smiling a little sadly. ¡°It seems my little friend has a grudge.¡± Too bad, she thought. If I had realized he wanted to go attack that caterpillar, I would not have bothered helping him up. Butterflies were such elegant creatures. ¡°I always liked butterflies,¡± she whispered to herself. ¡°They remind me of¡ª¡± She swallowed a sudden lump in her throat and wiped a single tear from her eye. Damn it, mum. Ten years had passed, and the feelings were still sharp. Rosslyn tried to bury the feeling. She made her face into a stoic, regal mask. In case anyone else wandered by, she refused to be seen in such a state. She had felt a temptation to separate the two insects, an emotional impulse that she didn¡¯t care to explore. She would not yield to it now. ¡°Sorry, stranger,¡± she said, directing her quiet words to the unmoving caterpillar. ¡°This is just the circle of life. If death comes for you, you should not expect help. No one can save you. Even all the King¡¯s horses and all the King¡¯s men.¡± She had intended the words as tragic in some way, but there was something farcical about them in retrospect. Some reference she didn¡¯t quite grasp. Then a part of the caterpillar¡¯s body drew her eye. He has some kind of defense, at least, she thought. Those spines looked like they would at least wound her little ladybug friend. Maybe this one has what it takes to live. He seems to be more than he first appeared. ¡°Live through this, little butterfly, and maybe I can bring you a treat,¡± Rosslyn said. She shook her head at the foolishness of making a promise to an insect. Yet she knew she would do it. She hated to break her word. And Cook would probably know what caterpillars ate. She turned and left without waiting to see what would happen between the two insects. 12. The Final Throwdown Adon¡¯s half-conscious mind drifted to another, different scene. This one didn¡¯t feel like a memory so much as a waking dream, which was a bit confusing. Unlike the last scene, he could see a figure in this one. Not with his normal vision, which was even worse while Adon was quasi-sleeping than when he was awake. With his Spiritual Sight. The figure glowed with a golden light that easily put the spider¡¯s tiny flicker of aura to shame. To Adon¡¯s eyes, it felt like looking at an angel. She spoke some words, but even though she was speaking Claustrian, she was talking in a low voice. He only understood scraps. ¡°¡ªpoor thing¡­¡± ¡°My little friend¡­¡± But Adon found the figure speaking so captivating that he didn¡¯t mind missing so much of what she was saying. He didn¡¯t want to wake up, and he didn¡¯t really care what the figure was doing. Just keep talking, he thought. You¡¯re so beautiful¡­ He dimly wondered if this was a real dream. An invention of his imagination and isolation. Then the figure adjusted the posture of her body, and her voice grew a bit louder. It seemed she was talking directly to him now. ¡°Sorry, stranger,¡± she said. ¡°This is just the circle of life. If death comes for you, you should not expect help. No one can save you. Even all the King¡¯s horses and all the King¡¯s men.¡± Weird to start randomly quoting nursery rhymes, but it¡¯s nice that she¡¯s talking to me, Adon thought. The figure¡¯s body language made it seem as if she was about to leave. Oh, please stay, Adon thought. He felt suddenly terribly lonely. He would have given anything in that moment to have taken Telepath I instead of the more immediately practical Adaptations he had actually acquired. To talk to her, even if he wouldn¡¯t know what to say. But it was too late now. Still, the figure¡¯s last words were promising. They strongly suggested that even if she was going, she would eventually come again. ¡°Live through this, little butterfly, and maybe I can bring you a treat,¡± she said. Then the figure turned and moved away. Part of Adon¡¯s mind wished he could cry. She was leaving. Instead of producing tears, his half-asleep eyes followed her as she walked a distance away. From her size and shape, he had already recognized that she was probably humanoid, but seeing her glow from such a great distance confirmed it if there had been any doubt. She was so much larger than him. Say, what was that bit about living through this? Living through what? Then a sudden sensation ripped his attention away. Searing pain tore through Adon¡¯s body. It shattered his dreamlike state in an instant. His eyes instantly focused. His head swiveled back, and he saw¡ª No, that¡¯s impossible! Somehow the Ladybug Larva had climbed up to the top of the plant again, and it was positioned above him. Its mandibles snapped open and shut again, clamping down on Adon¡¯s side. Eating him. Or trying to. The desperate pain worsened as the monster greedily bit into his exoskeleton. Calm down! Adon ordered himself. You have to stay calm. It¡¯s just a surface wound. That last might have been hope talking rather than reason. The situation was beyond scary. He¡¯d awakened to find himself in a monster¡¯s jaws. He forced his body to move. He shoved the Ladybug Larva¡¯s head back with all six of his opposable limbs. The fierce effort barely moved the creature. It wasn¡¯t chewing further now, just holding on with locked mandibles. Its beady little eyes stared up at Adon¡¯s head from where it held his side. Adon almost felt as if he had Telepathy after all, because he could practically hear the monster¡¯s thoughts: Try all you like, but I¡¯ll never let you go. Fine then, don¡¯t let go! Adon activated Shed Skin, and he threw himself against the Ladybug Larva¡¯s body at the same time, pointing as many of his Venom Spines at the monster as he could. He felt rather than saw them make contact. Some of the spines splintered on contact with the rugged armor. But more than half of the venomous tips found vulnerable places like the joints, or simply penetrated the thick exoskeletal hide. The Ladybug Larva began writhing and flailing with what Adon hoped was intense pain. It finally released its death grip on Adon with its mandibles, but it almost immediately slashed at him with one of its long, sickle-like claws. The claws didn¡¯t seem to have quite the reach he remembered. Something off about the way the legs bent, but he didn¡¯t have time to analyze what was wrong with it. The blades, despite being slightly less effective, sliced through the layer of skin that Adon was already shedding. A big chunk of it came loose and stuck onto the monster¡¯s front claws. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Finally free from the Ladybug Larva¡¯s hold, Adon stumbled backward onto a flimsy leaf. That¡¯s right, he realized. I was sleeping on top of that area connecting these leaves to the stem. Because the leaves can¡¯t support my weight anymore. If there¡¯s nothing under me but a leaf now, then¡ª The leaf bent backward, and Adon found himself tumbling, head over heels, through the open air. Goddess damn it! No, not again. Adon tried to stabilize his fall by wiggling his body toward the stem, but all that managed to do was reduce the amount of tumbling. He fired a shot from his Silk Spinner, trying to grab onto the plant, but he accidentally fired a short burst that didn¡¯t remain connected to his body. The second shot gave him purchase on the plant. He stopped falling a few inches from the ground, the silk pulling uncomfortably at his nether regions. Oh my Goddess, what a way to wake up¡­ Under a thin veneer of shocked relief, Adon found himself very angry at the way he¡¯d awakened. I just wanted to sleep. Damn it. I should have fought this thing in the first place. Trying to remove it from the plant clearly wasn¡¯t enough. Adon resolved to correct his mistake. He tried to pull himself up the silk thread, but he found that his muscles were simply too weak to pull his weight along such a thin cable. Just like gym class all over again¡­ He felt embarrassed but not deterred. If anything, he was angrier. Adon began swinging his body back and forth on the thread, until after a few seconds he struck the stem and bounced off of it. The next time he collided with the surface, he managed to hang on. Then he fully attached himself to the stem and cut the silk thread. With his outer layer of skin shed, Adon was basically uninjured. He knew he was probably still outmatched, but he decided that wasn¡¯t going to be the deciding factor for him today. On day two of his new life, he was going to punch above his weight class. With no particular plan, but many violent ideas running through his mind, Adon charged back up the stem. His frenetic energy carried him quickly up the side of the plant until the shape of the Ladybug Larva loomed over him like a six-armed alligator statue. Adon managed to stop himself before he accidentally closed into melee range with the big creature. The monster started moving toward him, narrowing that gap, but Adon pointed his Silk Spinner at its head and fired a short burst. The web struck it right in the face. The creature stopped in its tracks and began clawing ineffectually at its own head, trying to remove the web that was stuck in its head. The claws were definitely not the deadly precision instruments they had once been, some part of Adon¡¯s mind noted. The legs were absolutely bent. Apparently permanently. Perhaps they¡¯d been damaged when Adon threw the Ladybug Larva toward the ground earlier. But his mind focused mainly on what the monster was trying to do with his claws. Cutting at its own stiff face. Trying to remove the stuck-on silk. I covered its eyes, Adon realized. Yes, I can win this! He closed the distance before his enemy could make progress with the thread. Adon jabbed his mandibles at the closer of those two front claws, and he bit down on the joint that connected the limb to the body. There was a moment of struggle, of fear and anxiety, as he wondered if he was strong enough to chop through the limb. It definitely resisted being cut far more effectively than the ants he¡¯d fought earlier. Maybe I should have upgraded these old mandibles after all, he thought grimly. Then they tore through. He stumbled backward slightly, the limb clenched in between his mandibles like an ugly trophy of war. Adon swallowed the limb down without bothering to taste it and closed the distance again. As he stepped in to try and rip the other primary claw away, a foul smell reached his antennae. A sour, bitter taste like a stronger version of what the ants had emitted earlier. Adon flinched for a second. A reflex response, almost uncontrollable. But in the moment that he stepped back, he saw the Ladybug Larva¡¯s shape changing. He was confused for a moment. Then he recognized what was happening. He¡¯d just done it himself, after all. The monster was shedding its skin. Adon noticed that the area he¡¯d covered with web, the skin above the eyes and head, was coming off as well. So the Ladybug Larva would be able to see him again. He stepped back and prepared to fire his Silk Spinner again, watching the monster carefully as he aimed his lower body and prepared to fire a quick burst of silk. The Ladybug Larva began stepping out of its skin. The back of the body came first. Thank you, Goddess! Some of the damage was clearly more than skin deep. Several of the Venom Spines were still stuck inside of the Ladybug Larva, although others came away with the skin. And the severed limb hadn¡¯t grown back. The most important change that Adon noticed was the one he¡¯d been expecting. The Ladybug Larva had removed the silk covering its eyes. Adon wondered if that was the reason why the monster had chosen this moment to shed its skin. As he watched the creature, he¡¯d noticed there was still a bit of silk stuck to it from when he threw it from the plant. Maybe the Ladybug Larva couldn¡¯t easily remove that material. Adon tried to shoot another burst of web as the Ladybug Larva¡¯s head emerged from the old skin, but the creature was smarter than he¡¯d given it credit for. It threw the old skin into the path of Adon¡¯s silk burst. Then the crumpled layer of skin was falling towards him, obscuring his vision. Adon prepared to fire another burst once the skin fell past him, but charging in right behind it was the Ladybug Larva. It used the skin for cover, he realized. This thing definitely knows how to fight. Shit, I just got lucky before. Cold fear lanced through his guts as the monster closed the distance with him. He¡¯s too close! The angle¡¯s all wrong for my silk. I¡¯d miss or get his back legs. What do I do? The Ladybug Larva wasn¡¯t slowing down. Adon realized it intended to tackle him with its heavy, tank-like body. Close combat had favored the creature before. It was when it let Adon get range that it suffered the debilitating webbing to the face. At the last moment before it made contact, Adon managed almost reflexively to point all the Venom Spines on his front at the larva. Then the Ladybug Larva¡¯s body struck him, and they were tumbling through the air together, spinning and struggling for position. Locked in the beginning of their final duel to the death. 13. Live and Let Die As the combatants fell through the air, the Ladybug Larva snapped at Adon¡¯s head over and over, trying to decapitate him. Adon responded by clutching the larva as closely as he could and ducking his head down, out of reach. The close embrace had the added effect of pushing his Venom Spines as deep into the monster¡¯s body as Adon could possibly get them. Please penetrate something important, he thought. I know insects have vital organs just like humans¡­ He tried using his own mandibles offensively, too, but unlike the Ladybug Larva¡¯s leg, which Adon had severed easily enough, its body was too tough. Adon¡¯s mandibles closed on a chunk of the outer shell, and it simply failed to chop through. Starting to see the benefit of those mandible upgrades, he thought. The Ladybug Larva twisted its head to the side, and though it couldn¡¯t snag Adon¡¯s head with its mandibles, it managed to trap his left front leg. As they struck the ground, Adon felt a sharp pain and heard a quiet pop as the creature ripped his leg off. Then Adon was rolling across the ground with the force of their fall. Fortunately, the Ladybug Larva had taken the brunt of the impact, landing on its right side and inadvertently throwing Adon clear. As Adon came to a stop, he lost his focus on the fight for a moment. No, my leg! Visions flooded through his mind of him spending the rest of his life without the limb. One of his most important limbs, because he used the front two the most when he examined objects or simply moved around. And it wouldn¡¯t grow back with Shed Skin either. He had seen the Ladybug Larva shed its skin earlier, but some damage, including its lost left front limb, simply didn¡¯t heal. He crippled me, Adon thought. I¡¯ll be deformed forever. I¡¯ll probably be shunned. And who will want to mate with me now? Then he saw the Ladybug Larva starting to right itself, and he ordered himself to calm down. If you don¡¯t deal with the problem right in front of you now, he told himself, you¡¯ll die. He took in deep breaths through the spiracles all over his body. In, out. In. Out. Okay, you can do this. You have to do this. He looked carefully at the Ladybug Larva, which was handling itself very gingerly now. It seemed to have slowed down quite a bit, and as Adon stared, he recognized some of the reasons why. When its body broke their shared fall, the Ladybug Larva had landed on hard rocks. It seemed that the two frontmost legs on its right side had been pinched between the larva¡¯s tough armor and the rock. They were basically pulverized. It was still trying to walk on them, because it had to, but they weren¡¯t supporting its weight. So the Ladybug Larva¡¯s front right side dragged on the ground as it tried to move forward. The other side of its body had its own problems, since that was the side Adon had ripped the front leg from, but two out of those three legs were still functional. Still, by comparison with him, the larva was far more disabled now. Adon had been fortunate enough to be thrown free from the rocks and land on soft soil. The fall hadn¡¯t caused him any meaningful injuries. The Ladybug Larva nevertheless dragged itself forward. Perhaps it was thinking that winning this fight, securing Adon¡¯s Biomass for itself, and getting the Evolution Points that a win would net it, would allow it to mitigate its losses. But now Adon knew that he could win. He aimed carefully with his Silk Spinner, and he shot a short burst at the back right leg. The only functioning right leg. It stuck fast to the rock it was touching. Suddenly, the Ladybug Larva was trapped. It tried to move forward, but it was held back by its own leg. It tried to reach back with its other limbs and then with its mandibles to cut the leg free, but it lacked the flexibility. That was the downside of that tough body. The Ladybug Larva was incredibly strong, though. Despite only having two functioning legs, it returned its attention to Adon, and it used those two legs to drag itself forward. The back right leg and the attached rock dragged behind it. Then Adon fired a second burst of webbing, sticking the two free legs to the rock they were standing on. The rock was almost as big as the larva itself. The monster stumbled. Its little bit of forward momentum carried it head first to the ground. Adon dipped his head up and down in a slow, satisfied nod. Finally. I got him. Then he heard his stomach rumble. Shit. I guess my Biomass is getting pretty low. Fortunately, I think I have my next meal right here. With the Ladybug Larva secured to the ground, Adon recognized he could run away now. He could even, if he was so inclined, climb back up the plant stem. The larva wouldn¡¯t be able to follow him until and unless it actually managed to cut through the silk with its mandibles. Even then, it would have a difficult time climbing with half its limbs destroyed or missing. But Adon found himself walking, cautiously but steadily, toward his enemy. I don¡¯t just want to survive this fight, he realized, though he would have been happy with that result a minute or two ago. I want to win a crushing victory. He circled around to the Ladybug Larva¡¯s blind side. Though it tried to follow him with its eyes, it was limited by the silk that bound it. How best to do this? he questioned. He had failed to penetrate the monster¡¯s tough armor with his mandibles before. Besides those and his Venom Spines, Adon didn¡¯t have any other natural weapons. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The only edges he had over this slightly bigger, much stronger creature were his mobility and brains. First things first, he decided. He stepped in close and clamped his mandibles down on the rear right leg. The Ladybug Larva went wild trying to reach back to him with its mandibles, but its head couldn¡¯t reach. Adon was extremely familiar with the limits of his enemy¡¯s body now. Adon¡¯s mandibles chopped through the leg after a moment of resistance, and the larva¡¯s body slumped down onto its right side. There. Now it can¡¯t go anywhere, even if it could cut through my silk. Just to be certain, he stepped back around and chopped through the larva¡¯s other two healthy legs. It collapsed onto its stomach then, completely immobile except the still furiously snapping mandibles in the front. Even that motion was weakening, though, Adon judged. The venom and the constant bleeding from multiple wounds where its legs had been amputated had to be affecting it. How do I finish it? he wondered. Then he looked down beneath his feet. The answer was right there. Adon picked up the largest rock he could hold in his three frontmost legs. Then he swung it down at the back of the Ladybug Larva¡¯s head. There was a faint crunching sound, but when he looked down, he couldn¡¯t see any damage. Adon¡¯s vision remained one of his weak spots, of course, so he wasn¡¯t sure if he was correct or not. And he thought there was a better way to be sure of killing this thing. Adon walked to the Ladybug Larva¡¯s side and began pushing its body forward, toward the plant where they¡¯d first met. It continued snapping its mandibles, but more and more weakly each time now. Most importantly, it couldn¡¯t reach him where he was, so he basically ignored it. Then he found the rock he had swung against the larva¡¯s head. Adon attached a short silk thread to it. He walked back to the plant stem, dragging the large stone behind him. It was easier this way than trying to pick it up again in his clumsy limbs. Adon walked past the Ladybug Larva and climbed up the side of the plant, pulling the stone up by the thread that still connected him to it. He advanced patiently up the plant, careful of making any missteps due to the absence of one of his front legs. When he was near the top of the plant, he looked down. The sun was coming up now, and he could see better than he¡¯d been able to before. Adon could see where he¡¯d left the Ladybug Larva, and that it hadn¡¯t moved. He leaned out, judged angles and distances, tried to aim accurately, and then cut the thread connecting himself and the stone. This time, when the rock struck the monster, Adon heard a very distinct and loud crunch. He knew immediately that this was the end of the larva. There was a little part of Adon that felt sad to kill the creature. But that corner of his mind was heavily outweighed by his feelings of relief and triumph. He had not only defeated an enemy. Adon had beaten a creature that was naturally designed to prey on his kind and others like him. He knew he wasn¡¯t supposed to win this fight. He almost felt like jumping up and cheering. Of course, it had helped that the two falls to the ground ruined some of the monster¡¯s legs. But both of those falls were also because of Adon. Unlike the ant fight earlier, when he¡¯d been saved by the spider, he had finally won a big fight on his own. Adon was pumped. Now I just need to figure out how to deal with my missing leg, he thought, turning his head to look down at his asymmetric body. But first, food! He climbed down the plant stem at a brisk pace. He wasn''t going to let some scavenger steal the prey he had rightfully conquered. He also felt tired and hungry. His stomach growled several times on the way down to the Ladybug Larva corpse. Yes, yes, I¡¯ll feed you in a moment, Adon thought. As he drew nearer to the body, his antennae began to pick up an odor. Foul. Ugh. It only got worse as he climbed even lower. That son of a bitch. He recognized the smell now. It was the same rotten odor the Ladybug Larva had emitted to make Adon back off when it wanted to shed its skin in their fight earlier. In his last moments, that bastard must have decided to try and ruin Adon¡¯s dining experience. The stench infused the whole area around the larva¡¯s body. Adon felt mildly sick standing in it. I¡¯m not going to let you cheat me, he thought furiously. He rushed over to the Ladybug Larva corpse. Its body was shattered. The rock that struck it had cracked the upper part of the exoskeleton and smashed the head entirely, before bouncing a short distance away. The image that presented itself was disturbing and disgusting to Adon. For once, he was grateful for his terrible eyesight. There were some things he would not want to see in high definition. But there was one advantage to this horrible mess. The corpse was open for easy consumption now. He didn¡¯t have to penetrate that tough outer shell. Adon dove in where the head had been and began eating. He held his antennae away from the body as much as he could as he went. The terrible smell was more intense this close to the body. The taste, unfortunately, was just as rancid as the smell had been. I don¡¯t know how I¡¯m going to get through this, Adon thought. He was determined to eat as much of the Ladybug Larva as his body could hold. He thought this victory might be the fuel for his next set of improvements. But he also felt as if he might vomit. Just have to hold your nose, so to speak, he decided. It wasn¡¯t as if there was any possibility the meat was bad. The body was extremely fresh, after all! Adon continued eating, ignoring how it tasted as best as he could. He tried to induce a feeding trance, though it wasn¡¯t coming the way it usually did. Munch munch. Ugh. Chomp chomp. Disgusting. Gobble gobble. Not gonna hurl¡­ Gulp. Bleh. But even worse, as he ate, he began to feel funny. At first, the strange feeling was almost a tickle. When he was around a third of the way done consuming the body, though, the tickle turned to a stabbing pain in his insides. Oh Goddess, I¡¯ve been poisoned, he realized. Curse that spiteful larva! He turned and began climbing up the side of the plant, before a particularly painful stab in his insides caused him to curl his limbs. He lost his purchase on the stem and fell the short distance back down to the Ladybug Larva¡¯s body. Then he vomited all over the roots of the plant. He threw up, by his reckoning, most of what he¡¯d eaten. And Adon¡¯s insides still felt pained and unsteady. You¡¯re laughing at me now, aren¡¯t you? he thought, casting an accusing glance at the barely recognizable corpse of the monster and then looking up at the sky. Somewhere up there, you¡¯re laughing at me. He staggered toward the body, felt weak again, and then checked his Status. Looking at it, he realized that his Biomass was as low as it had been when he started eating. Don¡¯t know how I¡¯m going to find something else to eat, he thought. He could barely move. For that matter, he wasn¡¯t sure how he would stay safe during the day when his body felt so weak. This damn ladybug might be the death of me yet. Finally, Adon crawled near the corpse and began to pull and scrape away dirt from beneath its body. He dug a shallow hole and then dragged himself inside of it, though he didn¡¯t cover himself up completely. He still needed to breathe. The stench of the dead larva was at its strongest where he was now. But at least here, that repulsive smell would hopefully keep other predators away. Such were among his last thoughts before he lapsed into a semi-conscious state. 14. Recovery Adon¡¯s mind wandered as he lay in pain in his shallow hole. Is this going to be the end of me? He felt he¡¯d only just begun to discover the new world that he¡¯d been born into. To die on only his second day of this new life¡ªeven for an insect, that felt far too short! But the stabbing pain in Adon¡¯s guts told him he very well might die. Expelling the contents of his stomach had alleviated, but not cured, his suffering. He was still poisoned. He drifted in and out of consciousness. He kept trying to think of what he should have done differently, but his mind would wander off the point and then drift into insensibility again. In one of Adon¡¯s more lucid moments, when the stabbing pain wouldn¡¯t let him sleep, he opened the Evolution Store. He had fifteen points stored away from eating all of those Ladybug Eggs and defeating the Ladybug Larva. It seemed remarkably few for all the effort that had cost him. But maybe he¡¯d been deducted some for eating something poisonous. Hard to say. He didn¡¯t know if that was possible, but he hadn¡¯t checked until now. In the Evolution Store, Adon searched for anything related to healing. He¡¯d wanted to improve his vision before the Ladybug Larva messed him up so badly, but that would obviously have to wait. Instead, he bought Weak Regeneration I and then Weak Regeneration II. And he made a note to get Poison Resistance I as soon as possible. Most of the time, he was simply blessedly out of it. Some part of his brain that wasn¡¯t inactive when he was asleep went completely dormant. The world turned to a black void. He was awakened some hours into this comatose state by his body¡¯s natural instinct for self-preservation. There was some movement above him, and it seemed like a potential threat. As he saw it, he adjusted his body slightly so that he could see if there was anything standing directly outside of his hole. But there was nothing there. It took a few seconds of listening before he pegged the position of the small creatures that were moving outside. Oh, whatever these things are, they¡¯re going for the ladybug. Good luck with that! As soon as he was fairly certain the intruders were just paying attention to the Ladybug Larva and not himself, Adon assessed his own condition. I actually feel not so bad, he thought. Moving around a little, as he just had done, didn¡¯t cause him to feel much soreness. There was a strange itch on his left front side. When Adon looked down, he realized that his lost leg had started to regrow. There was just a nub of a limb there right now, but the itchiness felt like a promise of more development to come. Maybe I¡¯ll be okay after all, he thought, filled with sudden optimism. It had been pretty horrifying to think of going through life with a limb missing. If my leg grows back, I can¡ª His stomach growled loudly. Adon realized he was running on empty. He checked his Biomass, and it was down to 2. Darn. I need to get moving before my Health starts dropping. He took a moment to be grateful that he was still alive. Thank you, Goddess, for sparing me from death by ladybug poisoning. And I also appreciate that my Weak Regeneration II is somehow strong enough to regrow a limb! Please give the Ladybug Larva a kick from me when you see it, though. That guy was a total jerk. Definitely deserved to be crushed under a rock. He waited until he heard the sound of the creatures outside growing more distant before he stepped out into the light of day. He saw the Ladybug Larva corpse, or what was left of it, before he noticed anything else. Wow. The scavengers had dismembered the body like professional butchers. Half of it was gone. There was a visible line in the remains where almost exactly fifty percent had been neatly cut away. Adon looked after the scavengers and saw what he should have expected to see: ants. Just a handful of them, which he felt certain was why they were only taking half right now. Each one carried a piece of the Ladybug Larva larger than itself. And one of them was leaving a trail that Adon could smell. It was lighter, thinner this time than last time he¡¯d encountered it, but it was unmistakably their food odor. He imagined it was being sprayed more sparingly to reflect that there wasn¡¯t much food left; they had already taken half. Probably the ants just wanted to make sure they remembered the way back to get the rest. Hey, that was supposed to be mine, he grumbled to himself. Even if he couldn¡¯t actually eat the body, it irritated him a bit that the ants that had harassed him before got to walk off with it. Wait, can they even digest that poison? Adon wondered. Maybe those ants were going to get a nasty surprise. Then he shook his head. Who cares? I need to decide whether to eat them when they come back. The last time he preyed upon ants, he¡¯d bought himself a lot of trouble when one got away and sounded the alarm. Then he became the prey, and he only survived the colony¡¯s wrath because they ran straight into the spider¡¯s web. He couldn¡¯t rely on that kind of luck again. Or could he? Should that be his plan in case he attracted the wrath of the rest of their army? Adon shook his head. Maybe that can be a backup plan. There¡¯s no reason to assume I can outrun them after eating just a handful of ants, when I¡¯m currently almost on an empty stomach. As he had that thought, his stomach rumbled loudly, and his insides felt uncomfortably more hollow than they had a moment before. He opened his Status. His Biomass was at 1 now. Okay, no choice. I¡¯m eating those little guys when they come back. But he could at least take some precautions to try and keep them from going for backup. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. He turned back to the Ladybug Larva corpse. That was what they were coming back for. So that was where he would lay his trap. Mindful of his nearly fully expended Biomass resources, Adon began crafting the thinnest silk thread he could. He used his Silk Spinner to make a latticework pattern of thin threads crisscrossing the half body of the Ladybug Larva and the surrounding stones. A trap designed to entangle anything that stumbled into it. He didn¡¯t stop until he had no choice. The silk stopped coming out, and the chamber inside him that produced it felt slightly sore and empty. And his stomach felt emptier still. Adon checked his Biomass as the sound of his rumbling stomach echoed through his body. It had dropped to nothing. Alright. That¡¯ll have to be good enough, then, he thought, trying to keep a positive frame of mind. He was only facing starvation if the ants decided not to come back. No big deal, right? He dragged himself back into his hole with small, minimal movements. He was resolved to keep his activity to a minimum now that his Biomass was at 0. He knew that if he didn¡¯t, his Health would start to decline. Adon lay in wait, and he hoped. ¡ª Princess Rosslyn waited for her latest suitor to appear, but without much hope. The last one had been an obvious fortune hunter. He had entered the star room and been unable to keep himself from looking around excitedly at the gold and silver decorations. As if he was appraising the palace treasures for auction. At least this one cannot be any worse, she thought. Then he appeared. The table was set for tea. The door to the star room opened. The herald stood just out of view, holding the door open with his body, and announced the suitor¡¯s arrival. ¡°Your Highness, announcing the second son of Count Gerbel, Sir Kylen Gerbel of Luxen.¡± The man stepped through the door, and Princess Rosslyn rose from her seat to greet him properly and look at him eye to eye. ¡°Sir Kylen, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance,¡± she said. ¡°The supreme pleasure is surely mine, Princess,¡± he replied in an affected drawl. She extended her hand, and he kissed it primly. Then he waited for her to sit. She did, and he promptly took the chair across from hers. So far, all was going well enough. He had observed courtly manners correctly. He was dressed appropriately. To the extent that physical appearances mattered, he was pretty enough. Perhaps a little too pretty, actually. This knight wore his hair almost to his shoulders, and his face was a bit smoother than she would expect of a warrior. And the clothes he wore were almost as fine as hers. A green velvet doublet and matching breeches. Several rings on his fingers. No, no. Stop judging him based on appearances, she told herself. Even if he does not look the part of a strong fighter, he might be one. A fighter was what she needed in a partner, to best serve her kingdom. ¡°I hope the journey from Luxen was a pleasant one,¡± she began. Luxen was a part of the interior of Claustria, further from the border with the Demon Empire than the palace at Wayn. The frequent tendency of nobles who lived closer to the frontier was to think of those interior-dwellers as soft and pampered. Rosslyn was subject to the same prejudice herself, she knew. But she hoped Sir Kylen would disabuse her of it. ¡°It was full of excitement, Princess,¡± Sir Kylen replied eagerly. ¡°Oh? Tell me about your travels, then.¡± What sort of excitement could you experience on a trip between here and Luxen? ¡°You will undoubtedly have seen my entourage, or at least heard the sound of them,¡± Sir Kylen said. She simply nodded. Even the second son of the Count of Luxen traveled with a heavy guard. Dozens of knights. A pair of mages. They were ready for any threat short of an army. ¡°Well, I never go anywhere without being well guarded, and on this occasion, it came in handy. Undoubtedly, you are aware that dungeons across the continent have become active once more, coinciding as usual with increased activity in the Demon Empire.¡± Rosslyn was not aware of this. Her education had only touched on dungeons lightly. But she let Sir Kylen keep talking. Hopefully he would tell her more new information. ¡°We were able to delve into a dungeon just a dozen miles from your beautiful city. It was full of fascinating creatures! The knights escorted me as far down as the third floor. They wanted to leave sooner, but I insisted that we explore as far as we could. I would not pass such a place without doing a bit of sightseeing.¡± Rosslyn fought the impulse to raise an eyebrow. Was he saying that he deliberately led his knights into a dangerous place like a dungeon, just so that he could have a look around? ¡°Most interesting,¡± she said after a short pause. ¡°Please tell me more of your experience.¡± She leaned in, all eagerness. ¡°Well, on the first floor, I recall there were some creatures that my father¡¯s steward named as kobolds and goblins.¡± Rosslyn nodded. She knew what those were. ¡°We chopped some of those up, but just as many as needed to get down to the second floor. We were not planning to actually clear the dungeon, you understand.¡± He said those last words apologetically. Rosslyn recalled from her education that dungeons were a dangerous nuisance, their monsters occasionally escaping to the surface and attacking peasants. It was the duty of local nobility to purge them of their monsters and destroy the dungeon core, but with Sir Kylen¡¯s knights, he probably could have delved much deeper than he had. Depending on the dungeon¡¯s depth and age, perhaps he could have defeated it himself and saved Rosslyn¡¯s region some future trouble. ¡°On the second floor, we saw some strixes,¡± he continued. ¡°They are these horrible predatory birds that eat human flesh and blood. Those were the main monsters of that floor, and there was also a boss creature: a hippogriff. The mages and a few of the knights distracted the hippogriff while I, Sir Calloway¡ªthat is the steward¡¯s name¡ªand my personal guards descended to the third floor. The monsters there were fewer in number, but still quite troublesome. Fire-breathing black dogs. We explored there for a little while until the mages managed to get a messenger down to us to tell us that they would not be able to hold off the hippogriff much longer. Demanding that I return.¡± He sounded faintly outraged. ¡°So we left.¡± ¡°Why did they not slay the hippogriff?¡± Rosslyn asked. ¡°Oh, I think they said something about elemental resistances. My two mages are specialists of fire and lightning respectively, and I suppose neither had the right element for the job. Of course, we made certain to report the dungeon¡¯s appearance to the local authorities. I do not know if they will find someone to clear it easily. My father¡¯s steward said that with a dungeon like that, he would expect it to be at least eight floors.¡± ¡°A fascinating story,¡± Rosslyn said slowly. She was processing. On the one hand, it was genuinely very interesting to hear about the return of active dungeons in Claustria¡ªand undoubtedly across the continent. On the other hand, the narrative raised a number of questions about her suitor¡¯s judgment and consideration for his men. Where do I even start? she thought, looking at the knight for a long moment with a calculated, unreadable expression on her face. ¡°Why exactly did you decide to enter the dungeon in the first place?¡± she finally asked, keeping her tone carefully neutral. 15. Judgment ¡°Why?¡± Sir Kylen repeated, brow furrowed in confusion. ¡°Yes,¡± Rosslyn replied patiently. ¡°Why exactly did you decide to enter the dungeon in the first place? You never intended to purge it, clearly. What made it an appealing idea?¡± What made it worth risking your knights¡¯ lives? ¡°I wanted the glory of exploration,¡± he admitted. ¡°To have a story to tell and to go where none had explored before.¡± In some sense, that sentiment was admirable. In a vacuum. ¡°Did anyone die in your exploration?¡± she asked, trying to speak the words as lightly as she could. ¡°Two men,¡± he admitted in a small voice. ¡°There were also a few wounded, but the mages were able to mend them.¡± ¡°I thought a few might have died,¡± Rosslyn said, nodding. ¡°If you had said ¡®no,¡¯ I would have asked how you knew the strixes ate human flesh and blood.¡± He nodded. ¡°I am nothing if not honest,¡± he said, his tone slightly reproachful. You forgot about reckless, she thought. ¡°Do you mind if I examine your sword, Sir Kylen?¡± she asked. He visibly hesitated, and she tried to make her expression as disarming as possible. Finally, he reached down to the sword at his side, drew it from its scabbard, and handed it over to her. Just as I thought. ¡°What do you think?¡± he asked, eyes scanning her face for approval. ¡°A beautiful weapon,¡± she said, smiling with fake appreciation. The balance is terrible, the hilt is covered in mother of pearl, and the blade itself is silver. Not only that, but it looks new. Not a single nick or scratch on the blade. Clearly it has never been used in anger. And whoever made it for him undoubtedly designed it with that in mind. There was something about the condition of the blade that made Rosslyn angrier than she already had been. It took her a moment to consciously put her finger on it. A weapon like this is not made for war. Is this how nobles from the interior think of combat? A chance to show off their shiny precious metals? An opportunity to win prizes, rather than a serious matter that they have to train for? Claustria had enjoyed several centuries of peace, it was true. In those times, the Demon Empire had been essentially inactive. Intelligence reports had indicated that they were dealing with internal squabbles for much of that time. Unrest in their eastern colonies, a weak emperor, a small-scale civil war when one potential heir decided to move up the line of succession. This had been a prosperous time for the border kingdoms, but apparently the Claustrian Royal Family had been aware of something that their nobles had forgotten: it wouldn¡¯t and couldn¡¯t last. And the entire purpose of the noble class¡¯s existence was to be prepared for war. ¡°Is this the same weapon that you carried with you into that dungeon?¡± Rosslyn asked. Sir Kylen hesitated for a fraction of a second before nodding. ¡°Hm. Well, it truly is gorgeous. Whoever made it has a great eye.¡± She raised her gaze from the sword to look him in the eyes. ¡°Did you kill anything with it?¡± ¡°Oh, yes,¡± he lied. ¡°I slew three kobolds. No, four! A goblin as well. I¡ª¡± ¡°Why are you lying?¡± She spoke the words as a whisper, but Sir Kylen looked as if he had been slapped in the face. ¡°No, truly, I¡ª¡± Rosslyn shook her head firmly, and he stopped mid-sentence. She swallowed down the lump in her throat. She was between sadness and anger. Both emotions were intense. She felt sad for Sir Kylen, because he had truly wanted to make a good impression on her. He told the story, not boastfully, but with an eye toward her reactions. Doubtless, he thought that a story like this would make him look good. It spoke to the values with which he had been raised. She did not for a moment blame Sir Kylen for being the way he was. On the other hand, it made her violently angry to think of this idiot ever leading troops in battle. She pictured the men who had chosen to enlist in the army and had served under her. From the oldest, most grizzled sergeant to the boys several years younger than she was, many of whom were too young to grow a beard. They were good men and boys, brave and loyal. Eager to serve their country. She imagined them dying because they were led by someone as inexperienced and ruinous as Sir Kylen. Who knighted this boy, anyway? If she could answer this question, she felt as if she would understand a little more of what had gone wrong in the formation of his character. ¡°Princess, I fear we might be getting off on the wrong foot somehow,¡± Sir Kylen began again. ¡°No, Sir Kylen, but thank you,¡± Rosslyn replied. ¡°I have learned much from our short interview. Please tell your father that I enjoyed our meeting. I wish you safe travels on your journey home.¡± She rose from her seat, and Sir Kylen, caught off guard, sat for a moment, expression panicked. Finally, he rose and bowed almost apologetically. ¡°Your Highness,¡± he said. He turned away, toward the door. Then he looked back at Rosslyn, obviously uncertain about the proper protocol for leaving. Rosslyn¡¯s maid, Celeste, stepped into view from the position by the wall where she had been standing motionless for the duration of the conversation. She walked to the door and delivered two short, crisp knocks. Then she curtsied to Sir Kylen and Rosslyn before returning to her place. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. The door opened, and Sir Kylen darted out as if he was being chased. Then the door closed again. ¡°What did you think?¡± Rosslyn asked quietly. ¡°It is not this humble servant¡¯s place to offer such opinions,¡± Celeste responded immediately. Rosslyn waited. This was the game they always played. She felt a little impatient today, but she knew that it was important to Celeste to at least pretend to observe protocols. ¡°However, if Your Highness were to command me to offer my thoughts¡ª¡± ¡°Consider yourself commanded.¡± The corner of Rosslyn¡¯s lip twitched. The encounter with Sir Kylen had put her in a bad mood, but there was always something weirdly amusing for her in Celeste¡¯s ways. ¡°I should think that our Princess is well rid of the foppish young knight.¡± ¡°He was a little too attentive to his appearance,¡± Rosslyn agreed. Though that was not my problem with him. ¡°What do you suppose my father will think?¡± she asked. At this, Celeste fell silent. After a few seconds of slightly tense silence, she began clearing the table. The Princess did not press her servant to answer the question. She didn¡¯t need to hear Celeste¡¯s response to know what she would say. I dare not speculate as to the mind of the King. ¡ª Adon lay in wait, perfectly still even as the ants approached closer and closer to the trap he¡¯d laid. Even his unruly stomach seemed to recognize the gravity of the situation and remained silent. His hearing hadn¡¯t grown any sharper, but it had always been better than his sight by far. And it was the sound of the ants¡¯ movements that told him they were his. First, he heard the light rhythmic sounds of their marching as they came within the short range of his senses. Then the ground above him and just to the left vibrated with their movements. This area was, he knew, where the remains of the Ladybug Larva lay. He heard a slightly subdued sound of the ants working diligently, patiently on cutting the corpse into transportable pieces. Gentle crunchy sounds that reminded Adon of a knife cutting into celery. Then there was pandemonium. The sounds of panicked movements, first in one location near Adon¡¯s body, then in multiple places. Clunky noises of rocks moving gently up and down as the ants tried to pull away from the webbing, which Adon had secured to rocks too big for them to properly lift. Perfect. Or at least good enough. It was time for him to get out there. Adon pulled himself out of his hole, and he was delighted to find the ants almost all stuck fast, and only getting more entangled as they struggled to help each other and free themselves. Only one ant remained free of the sticky silk, trying unsuccessfully to yank one of its siblings off of Adon¡¯s web. At first, none of them noticed him. He suspected that either their attention spans or their eyes were more lacking than his own. Or perhaps the manic loyalty he¡¯d seen when so many of them were trapped in the spider¡¯s web was to blame. Adon had time to sneak around and cut off their retreat. He knew which way the ant hill was now. There would be no backup this time. Then he crept up behind the only ant that wasn¡¯t entangled in the trap. He was just inches away when the ant noticed him and turned to face him. Adon pounced upon it and broke its body in half with one chomp of his mandibles. No hesitation this time. He swallowed the half with the head on it first, then the lower half. Juicy and delicious, he thought. But that first ant had just stopped him from losing Health due to hunger. His stomach rumbled quietly, demanding more. His eyes played greedily over the other ants trapped in his silk. So hungry¡­ Adon was desperately glad to have this captive banquet. He walked from one ant to the next in a feeding trance. Munch munch. Chomp chomp. Gobble gobble. Gulp. Before he knew it, the handful of ants were all dead and gone. Nothing was left of them but a slight odor. He was dimly aware they had tried to defend themselves as they usually did. Spraying a vinegary gas into the air. But it didn¡¯t seem to have affected him as much as it had the day before. Maybe he was toughening up because he was growing, or developing a resistance. Then again, perhaps he was just too hungry to care. There was still some irritation around his antennae, but all Adon could think about was where his next meal would come from. He was still far from full. And he thought his body would continue to burn a fair amount of Biomass as it finished regenerating his lost leg. The description for that Adaptation had mentioned that it consumed Biomass. Even if it hadn¡¯t, common sense would have told him as much. And he had other, more long term planning reasons why he needed to think about food as soon as possible. Adon had already decided that he wanted to return to the spider¡¯s home. He didn¡¯t want to do it just yet, but it seemed like the obvious play. Goldie knew what she was doing. She had an elegant, beautiful web for its home, and that housing was also a plentiful food source. Adon now had the Silk Spinner Adaptation himself. His best effort at creating a web trap with the slenderest threads he could make looked crude, even to his shoddy eyes, but it had also been incredibly effective. Its multiple applications had saved his life repeatedly. If the spider was my teacher, how much more effective could I be? Before he returned, though, he wanted to buy Telepathy I from the Evolution Store. Just as important, he wanted to be bigger and stronger than he had been last time, in case the spider thought of him as a nuisance or a meal. If he was bigger than her, she at least wouldn¡¯t pick a fight, he hoped. She had been docile last time, but he didn¡¯t know if that was because of all the ants he¡¯d just thrown into her lap. Accruing Evolution Points and accumulating Biomass to increase his size both required the same thing: securing more food. So, do I risk pissing off the whole ant colony to get some more yummy ants, or do I hunt elsewhere for food? It didn¡¯t take him long to decide. The ants were so easy to overcome and so nutritious that it was almost a no brainer. And he could at least predict their behavior by now. If worse came to worst, he would lead them back to the spider¡¯s web like he¡¯d planned before. He could try to present them as a gift. The devil you know, right? That strategy hadn¡¯t worked out perfectly for him last time, but he pushed that fact to the back of his mind. Adon could still dimly smell the scent trail the dead ants had laid down to remind themselves to come back for more yummy Ladybug Larva. He knew that based on the way ants behaved, more ants would return to the site soon enough. So I just have to move a little bit forward from the place where all the death happened, so the ants don¡¯t smell it and get spooked, he decided. The silk he¡¯d been using was a bit damaged where the ants had struggled and then been eaten anyway. He began consuming the webbing he¡¯d laid down before, just to let no Biomass go to waste. He remembered that spiders could do that, so he figured he should be able to as well. It tasted a lot like the leaf he¡¯d eaten before: bland, but inoffensive. Less like salad this time, more like pasta without any sauce or seasoning. He stepped around six inches forward from the zone of death and began stringing up a trap between nearby plant stems. He spun the thinnest silk strands he could manage, to make them as nearly invisible as possible, stuck to the stablest objects he could find. Once again, Adon waited, hiding this time behind some tufts of grass. 16. Noisy Cricket AKA Katydid Munch munch. Chomp chomp. Gobble gobble. Gulp. Delicious. That bacony, pork rind flavor would always be one of his favorites in this world, Adon was rapidly coming to believe. And it tasted especially good when that flavor was saving him from starvation. The latest batch of ants was all gone. Thank the Goddess they were so predictable. As long as the scent trail remained in place, they kept trying to follow it back to the Ladybug Larva corpse. And as long as Adon made sure to keep moving forward, slightly closer to the ant colony each time he spun his web, the ants were too far away from where the last group had died to smell their death secretions. There was a lot of risk in this plan, of course. The ants could go around him. Adon¡¯s sense of smell wasn¡¯t as sensitive as the ants, so he was trying to track their scent trail based on his memory of which way the colony was at this point. He could end up getting too close to the colony and be seen munching ants. Or one of the ants he was trying to trap could get away and warn the colony. Any of these possibilities would undoubtedly end in a rerun of Adon being chased by the ants¡¯ best sentries, which he was keen to avoid. But so far, everything was going according to plan. Sort of. He hadn¡¯t been attacked by any ants so far, unless you counted the soon-to-be-dead ants unleashing their horrible vinegar seasoning smell¡ªand at this point, that was barely an irritant. He was definitely developing some kind of natural resistance to it, as well as getting better at avoiding getting it in his sensitive antennae. Unfortunately, he also had to consume his web and spin a new one every time he needed to move his trap. That took Biomass. And his regeneration was consuming some of his energy too. Plus, ants were rather small. At least the little scouts that came to retrieve food were. The net result was that he wasn¡¯t gaining much Biomass as he went along. He had continued to slowly tick up in Evolution Points, and his leg was growing back more quickly since he was getting food, but the progress felt agonizingly slow. He was far from getting full. Far from getting the size increase he was hoping for, which he strongly suspected would occur every time he filled his Biomass past capacity. There has to be a better way, he thought. There¡¯s too much risk in continuing to get closer to the ant colony¡ªand far from enough reward. Come on, Adon. You¡¯re literally the smartest predator in this garden. You have to be, since you have human intelligence and memories! How do you solve this problem? Well, first things first. If he was worried about getting too close to the ant colony, it was time to pick up and walk in another direction. He began eating his web once more. Yummy, spaghetti with no sauce or seasoning again, he thought. Then he started to walk away from the direction he¡¯d been moving in, back toward the pieces of Ladybug Larva. His mind was on hunting methods. He¡¯d tried trapping. That had worked decently well, but it also consumed a fair amount of Biomass. More than simply using his silk as a projectile weapon did. He might be better off going out and hunting prey, then using silk to blind it and bind it, rather than making traps. That had worked fairly well against an enemy that was bigger, stronger, and tougher than he was. Maybe he needed that more aggressive approach. He didn¡¯t have any way of luring prey into a trap, besides what he¡¯d tried already: using the corpse of a dead enemy as bait. That wasn¡¯t a sustainable tactic. Unlike Goldie, whose web he was fairly certain actually had some capacity to lure insects¡ªthere had to be some reason why it looked so pretty to his eyes¡ªAdon was certain his web was fairly drab and ugly. As he had that thought, he walked past the Ladybug Larva and kept going. It would be best to get slightly further from the ant colony. He didn¡¯t want to hang around and see if they noticed the smell of death where their fellow ants used to be. Alright, if I¡¯m going to try being a hunter, what else should I invest in to be more successful at that? He had to think about how to spend these Evolution Points to best increase his odds of catching and killing prey. The last fight with the Ladybug Larva was instructive to some degree. It showed how limited his arsenal really was. His mandibles, right after he chose not to upgrade them, proved unable to penetrate the enemy¡¯s armor. So maybe I should try Bladed Mandibles I, Piercing Mandibles I, or Crushing Mandibles I. He had just enough Evolution Points to buy one of those right now. Venom Spores I and Sleep Spores I were still out of his price range. Even if they weren¡¯t too expensive, they¡¯re probably not the solution to my current problem. I mean, wouldn¡¯t it be just hilariously ironic if I used those spores, killed or knocked out my enemy¡ªand then couldn¡¯t bite into them at all? Adon shook his head. And there was one more thing. It was time to stop ignoring his eyes. His vision was a real problem. He still couldn¡¯t see worth a damn. Adon walked past a plant, almost brushing close enough to touch it. And something about it seemed weird. Wait a second. He turned his head to look at the plant¡ªand the leaves came to life! A leafy shape lunged at him from what would have been his blind spot had he not just turned his head. Holy crap! Adon had a fraction of a second to react. He couldn¡¯t dodge this. Acting on pure instinctual fear, he stuck all his spines out as quickly as he could, pointing as many as possible at the offending plant-thing. Then he felt impact. A heavy weight landed right on his spines. The spines impaled whatever this thing was, and Adon had a moment to be grateful. Thank you, Goddess¡ª Then the monster made a horrible brrrr sound, and Adon screamed inside his own mind. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Brrr! Brrr brrr! Adon twitched and writhed involuntarily in response to the sound. The closest analogy to the sound the creature was making from Adon¡¯s old world would be a chainsaw. If someone turned on and revved a chainsaw repeatedly, right in your face, with no hearing protection. Argh! Stop it, damn it. Ahh! The sound seemed to drill into his mind. What the hell was that? He tried to turn his head to get a better look at the horrible creature, but he couldn¡¯t turn his head enough to take in the full picture of what it was doing. The noise was coming from some sort of vibration of the body. He could feel that much through his spines. But why it would make such a horrendous noise, he couldn¡¯t easily tell. What he thought he did understand is that he and the creature were at a sort of impasse. It had attacked him perfectly from his blind spot. By pure chance, he was actually looking in its direction and managed to react in time¡ªeven though the creature hadn¡¯t presented itself to him as anything but a leaf at the time. In fact, it still looked like a leaf. Now that they were entangled, Adon could neither run away nor attack further. He could barely move with the heavier creature stuck onto him by his spines. But he thought the monster had the same problem, or perhaps worse. The only reason to use this strange noise-based attack was that it couldn¡¯t easily kill him. How could it, when its body was stuck a few centimeters away, impaled on Adon¡¯s long spines? So it was trying to keep him from attacking with that painful sound. That was all he could think. Then the monster managed to push off a nearby plant¡ªand move forward. Closer to Adon. Holy shit. What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck. The creature had impaled itself further on Adon¡¯s spines, apparently just to try and get its head closer to his body. As he stared helplessly at it, it snapped its mandibles angrily, as if eager for his flesh even as its internal fluids coated Adon¡¯s spines. It¡¯s so determined to eat me, it¡¯s not worried about dying in the process, he thought. What kind of¡ªI¡¯m starting to think I don¡¯t have what it takes for this world. An instant later, he was angry at himself. Stop whining! he yelled into his own mind. Not while this thing¡¯s trying to eat you! You don¡¯t have what it takes to survive with that attitude. Focus, damn it! First, understand the problem. Identify! Leafy Bush Cricket (Male) Well, that doesn¡¯t actually help much. I already know it¡¯s camouflaged to look like a leaf. It looked like that even now that he could tell it was an insect. Just a couple of leaves with skinny legs attached. They could easily have been twigs. The thing made the terrible brrr brrr sound again, and Adon had to fight his body¡¯s impulse to writhe in response. The creature wanted to get closer, and it was using its sound attack to help that. I can¡¯t let him get any leverage. Have to keep him from kicking off anything. If the Leafy Bush Cricket could push hard enough off the nearby surfaces, it would be able to impale itself further on the spines¡ªlike a lunatic¡ªand more importantly, it could sink its terrible mandibles into Adon¡¯s body. The only positives were that the cricket was already impaled, so it was probably slowly taking damage right now, and its mandibles didn¡¯t look any more impressive than Adon¡¯s were. If it came down to a straight fight, it would have the size advantage, but at least Adon¡¯s bite was as good as the creature¡¯s. As he examined his situation more analytically, Adon felt tiny probes touch his head and body. The monster was using its long antennae to poke at him, trying for the same effect it had attempted with its sound attack. Fortunately, the antennae weren¡¯t nearly as unpleasant as that noise. I just have to keep holding it in place, he thought. Just have to keep holding the cricket impaled on my spines, off the ground, not touching any surfaces. It¡¯s a war of attrition. Will I tire out first, or will my venom kill him or my spines puncture an important organ first? He just had to be disciplined. And that thought seemed to unlock something in him. The creature launched another brrr brrr sound attack, but Adon gritted his mandibles and held steady. A terrible resolve steadied his weak, squishy caterpillar body. You attacked me, buddy, Adon thought. Remember that when you die! He might never be a creature to be feared in this monstrous jungle. But he would always make sure that he gave as good as he got. It was like the mantra he kept reciting. He had already decided he wouldn¡¯t waste this life. If some jerk bug wanted to take his life from him, he would make them choke on it. Wasn¡¯t that one of the implicit ideas behind getting venomous spines in the first place? It had probably been more about being able to be more distant from enemies than venomous fangs would allow¡ªbut Adon preferred the more heroic interpretation for the moment. The Leafy Bush Cricket writhed and thrust its body and launched its sound attack again. But it seemed just a tad bit weaker this time. Was that just me? Or is he starting to tire out? Is my venom starting to work? The feeble attack redoubled Adon¡¯s resolve. He stayed firmly in place despite several more such loud attacks, patiently bearing the cricket¡¯s weight on his spines. Several minutes went by like this. The cricket¡¯s sound didn¡¯t exactly get consistently weaker. It would vary from attack to attack. Sometimes it was weaker. Other times, it seemed to draw on a desperate energy from deep inside the cricket¡¯s body, and it was even stronger. The overall trend was only going one way, though. The monster was undeniably weakening¡ªand therefore must be in the process of dying. The battle of attrition was coming to an end. Adon¡¯s venom was winning over the bulkier, noisy creature. In the space between intensely fearing for his life and cementing the victory, Adon had time to develop a modicum of respect for the Leafy Bush Cricket. It could¡¯ve been either one of us, he thought. I really didn¡¯t think it would be me coming out on top, honestly. I¡¯m glad it was, but well¡ªyou fought well. I guess that¡¯s all I have to say. All I wish I could say. I feel like this meal will be really well earned. And he intended to enjoy eating the cricket, once it finally stopped moving for good. It wasn¡¯t releasing any of those odors or chemical agents that both ants and the Ladybug Larva had done, so Adon was pretty sure it wasn¡¯t poisonous. It should¡¯ve been obvious to me that the ladybug probably would be, in retrospect, he thought. Adult ladybugs are so brightly colored. Nature¡¯s warning sign for poison. This creature had clearly invested its Evolution Points in camouflage, plus whatever that awful sound attack was. That was why it had looked so convincing playing the part of a leaf. Note to self, though, Adon thought. Don¡¯t bother with camouflage. At least not unless you can afford something better than the normal option. Looking like a plant is only useful until you have to move. He was pretty sure there was some kind of Color Change Adaptation, but he¡¯d ignored it because it was way too expensive. Brrr brrr! The creature let loose its horrid noise right in Adon¡¯s face once more. It frazzled his nerves, but he didn¡¯t let the sound budge him. A few seconds later, the Leafy Bush Cricket stopped moving. I think I won, Adon thought, slightly stunned. I think I did it! As he had that thought, he felt a large shadow block the sun overhead. 17. The Bird Adon held his breath for a long moment. Please don¡¯t notice me please don¡¯t notice me please don¡¯t notice me¡­ He was almost praying to the big shadow that enveloped him. He felt uncomfortably like the center of attention, as if he was under a sort of reverse spotlight. His cruddy vision still made it impossible for him to make out the shape of the shadow, but Adon¡¯s common sense told him what it would be. A giant shadow suddenly appearing from above had to be a bug¡¯s worst nightmare. A bird. Either that or an impossibly quiet human, but the shadow was too small for that. The bird moved forward until the shadow no longer covered him, but Adon wasn¡¯t relieved. He could see that the shadow was growing larger, and the figure casting it was already wheeling about in the sky. The caster was turning back around and getting closer to the ground. Adon moved frantically to get into the thickest, densest patch of shrubbery that he could find, not bothering to scan it carefully for predators or obstacles. If he didn¡¯t get out of the open, he knew he was bird food. He was slowed by the presence of the Leafy Bush Cricket still impaled on his spines, unmoving but still heavy and larger than Adon. A dead weight that might kill him yet. No no no, I¡¯m not going to die here, he thought. There was no time to throw the cricket¡¯s body away¡ªand a part of him felt a powerful, greedy desire to keep this piece of meat that he had so clearly earned¡ªbut he was terribly slow and ungainly as he moved. It was more of a waddle than a run. The one advantage that Adon had was a head start, which narrowed each second. He began to hear the quiet wing beats as the bird moved closer. No¡­ Adon dashed the last foot, finding some energy deep down that he thought he¡¯d fully depleted. He threw himself into the tight confines of the plant life he¡¯d been running towards¡ªwhich, as he struck it, turned out to be a thick, dense patch of some sort of thorny bush. The thorns that would have seemed so harmless to Adon as a human tore into his body, raking his exoskeleton in multiple places. Contact with the plant snapped off several of his venomous spines as the impact tore the cricket corpse away from his body. No, my food! he thought a bit desperately. After all that focused effort¡­ He wondered where the cadaver had landed. Maybe it could still be recovered. But he couldn¡¯t spare much energy or attention for the Leafy Bush Cricket¡¯s body now. The bird landed at almost the same moment that Adon¡¯s body came to rest on one of the thorny stems. There was a little additional pain as a final thorn planted itself firmly in his back, but Adon felt grateful. The thorn hadn¡¯t penetrated anything important, he could tell. There were only dull aches and pains all over his body, nothing sharp and agonizing and clearly fatal. Note to self, though, he thought. Definitely keep upgrading that regeneration Adaptation whenever you can. A tiny voice in his head, distantly remembering a sort of referee from a game he¡¯d watched in one of his previous lives, pronounced: You¡¯re safe! The bird stared at him as he had that thought, and Adon wondered if it would try to brave the thorns to get at him. But no. Identify. Common Garden Bluebird (Female) I bet if I was still human, I¡¯d think you were cute, he thought. Freaking Godzilla monster¡­ He watched wearily as the bird tilted her head and changed her posture, clearly examining parts of the thornbush that did not contain Adon. Did she not see me? he wondered. Did I just imagine that she was staring at me? Her posture and the direction of her head had screamed that the bird was staring at him, but with his horrible vision, he couldn¡¯t be sure of where her eyes were actually resting. That, he knew, was an even more important thing to update than his regeneration. At least his body had some healing abilities now. His vision felt like looking at the world through a translucent screen. Better than nothing, but if he couldn¡¯t tell when a predator was looking at him, that was a serious defect. The bird finally rested her eyes on something that was far below Adon but still enmeshed in the bush. She darted forward, trying to push through the thick tangle of branches, then immediately bounced back. If Adon¡¯s read her body language correctly, the bluebird became aware at that point, if she hadn¡¯t been already, that her prey was stuck in a thornbush. She went for the cricket, he realized. Why not me? Then Adon pictured his body, as it must appear to any predators. Oh, I¡¯m covered in venomous spines. Right. I guess I¡¯m really not in danger. I¡¯m too much trouble to eat. The bluebird tried different angles to get at the cricket¡¯s body. Finally, seemingly frustrated, she turned away from the bush and began poking around at the tangle of plants on her opposite side. Good luck with that, Adon thought. I¡¯ve been having a heck of a time finding anything around here to eat¡ª The bird stepped away with a big worm-like creature in her beak. Oh, you¡¯ve gotta be kidding me! These eyes of mine must be the biggest handicap on my entire body. And I thought the soft, squishy caterpillar body was a pretty big issue! There was really a defenseless worm right there? The bluebird took off again, and Adon quickly crawled to the edge of the twig he was perched on to see where she was going next. If nothing else, this bird definitely knew how to find food. She had seen Adon and the cricket he killed from dozens of feet in the air, he was fairly certain. Maybe he could watch her and learn a thing or two about where he should be looking. He saw the bird much more clearly and easily now that she was back in the air than he had when she was on the ground. Probably because my vision is based mainly on distinguishing light from dark, he thought. Now that she¡¯s up against the sunlight, it¡¯s easy to see her. The bird didn¡¯t fly very far. She entered a box that stood on a pole planted in the ground some distance from where Adon was. His vision was at least good enough to tell that it wasn¡¯t a tree. So some human was maintaining housing for birds¡ªor even a single structure intended for this bird in particular. Seeing that, Adon had an absolutely insane idea for what he wanted to do next. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. No, not insane, he told himself. High risk, high reward. A plan that would take advantage of his human-like Intelligence. Wasn¡¯t that consistent with his new ethos? Be brave and try new things? Get out of his shell? Sure it was. He resolved, within his own mind, what his next steps would be. But first¡ªhe looked down to find where the Leafy Bush Cricket had fallen¡ªit¡¯s lunchtime! ¡ª Princess Rosslyn sipped at the mushroom stew daintily and chattered with her oldest half-brother, Baltazar. She often liked to sit next to him and his sister Oliva, in part because they were cute and still played childish games, and in part because of the position of the seat, where Rosslyn would not have to look at her stepmother. ¡°So then what did you do?¡± she asked. The energetic ten-year-old eagerly delved further into the subject of the make-believe game he and his younger siblings had been playing, ¡°War with the Demon Emperor.¡± It was incredibly cute to hear him talk about going to war, since he still had a high-pitched, squeaky voice¡ªalmost a girl¡¯s voice¡ªthat made a marvelous contrast with the substance of what he was saying. At the same time that she listened to him, Rosslyn kept one ear tuned in to Queen Carolien¡¯s conversation with the King. Though Rosslyn found her stepmother vapid and ignorant, at least the King tried to engage with his wife on matters of state. Rosslyn often gleaned information from their exchanges that her father would otherwise prefer not to burden her with. ¡°Our Ambassador to Parmonia has written to me,¡± the King said. ¡°His arrival found the King at Temple. It seems a good omen as to his willingness to sign a mutual defense pact against the Demon Empire. Even though Parmonia is not on the front line, their new King appears to be as enthusiastic in his worship of the Goddess as the last. I believe they will stand with us against the worshipers of the Demon God.¡± ¡°Ugh, why do we need the Parmons?¡± Queen Carolien asked. ¡°You know that I have always found them boorish and backward. Come to think of it, in any mutual defense pact, would they not ask for you to commit to their defense against Orthonia?¡± ¡°If they seek to negotiate for that, we will cross that bridge,¡± the King replied evenly, ¡°but the state of international affairs is such that I think an attack by Orthonia is much less likely than aggression from the Demon Emp¡ª¡± ¡°Darling,¡± the Queen said, pronouncing the word with an exaggerated emphasis on the first syllable, ¡°surely the Demon Empire cannot be expected to attack us now, or anytime close to now. They have been inactive in the West for centuries, have they not? Do we not have enough alliances with the countries that actually border the Empire?¡± Spoken like someone whose country was never at risk of attack by the Demon Empire for its entire history, Rosslyn thought. The Queen¡¯s homeland of Galton had only ever been attacked by two countries in the last half millennium: Claustria, in its more war-like era several rulers ago, and the island nation of Axonmark, which still claimed that parts of Galton belonged to their King by some obscure legal logic. It helped that Galton did not border the Demon Empire. ¡°My Queen, I fear you are gravely underestimating the threat that the Empire actually poses. And perhaps overestimating the capacity of our existing allies.¡± The Queen pouted, then seemed to notice Rosslyn in her peripheral vision. ¡°Husband, how goes the wooing process for our young queen-to-be? I seem to recall that she has had several interviews with suitors recently, arranged by our friend Baranack.¡± ¡°You might attempt asking your stepdaughter the question directly,¡± the King replied, smiling very thinly. ¡°Or we could continue discussing issues that could be of life or death importance to all of us soon enough.¡± ¡°My King, I know that the royal succession is a matter of life or death importance to all of us. Not in a possible future, depending upon a number of foreign leaders¡¯ decisions, but for a certainty.¡± This was what Rosslyn hated about Queen Carolien. She simpered and pouted like she was Rosslyn¡¯s own age instead of almost twice that. She acted like a child, and then she suddenly made cogent and logical arguments. Seemingly always in service to her own power and vanity, but consistently with the fig leaf that she had the Kingdom¡¯s interests at heart. ¡°So I will ask her,¡± the Queen said. ¡°Dear daughter, how has the courting process been going? I imagine it must be difficult to choose one¡¯s own husband. I was fortunate that my father made such a good match for me.¡± She clutched the King¡¯s arm tenderly as she spoke, leaning slightly in her chair to be closer to him. You are not my mother, Rosslyn thought fiercely. And I wish I had much more control over this process than I do. It was as if the Queen knew every button of hers to push. Rosslyn wanted to punch the woman in the face. But she kept her facial expression under control and tried carefully to seem enthralled by Baltazar¡¯s descriptions of the game the children had been playing. ¡°Did you end up slaying the Demon Emperor?¡± she asked, very pointedly not looking in the Queen¡¯s direction or acknowledging that she had spoken in any way. ¡°Yes! I plunged the sword into his heart, and¡­¡± Baltazar went on describing how the evil Demon Army¡¯s power was broken, and their Goddess-worshiping hostages were rescued. Then the old lands that had belonged to the other Goddess-worshippers in the region were liberated. Sweet, naive boy, Rosslyn thought, smiling a little despite herself. If only it were that simple. Sometimes she really thought that Baltazar could be a good king someday, if only she weren¡¯t in the way. He truly seemed to have the warrior spirit that a future king of Claustria ought to have. Other days, she was sure that Queen Carolien would steer him into war with exactly the wrong neighbors. This youthful wish to defeat the Demon Empire would be channeled into a war with Parmonia¡ªbecause the Queen found them boorish. ¡°My dear Princess Rosslyn, I know you are deeply engrossed in your conversation with your brother, but I wish to know how you are finding the courting process,¡± the Queen said much more loudly. Rosslyn forcefully plastered an unnaturally large smile to her face and turned to face the Queen. ¡°Were you saying something to me, Stepmother? I was enjoying Baltazar¡¯s stories about the war with the Demon Empire that he was waging.¡± ¡°Oh, of course, my dear child,¡± Queen Carolien said, her voice spending a little too long on that last word. ¡°I was just asking about the wooing process. I understand that Lord Baranack has been providing you with the flower of noble youth to choose from.¡± ¡°Perhaps that flower has wilted, Your Highness.¡± Rosslyn tried to make her lips perform a sincere frown. Manipulating her facial expressions for effect was really more the Queen¡¯s forte than hers, but Rosslyn thought she¡¯d been making strides in learning her stepmother¡¯s methods. ¡°Hm. I am certain I do not know what you mean, child.¡± ¡°I mean that Lord Baranack¡¯s efforts seem to be futile. He has thus far only been able to attract weaklings, incompetent second sons, and men of so little account that they seem to be measuring the value of the furnishings for auction as they examine a room.¡± ¡°I cannot believe¡ª¡± ¡°That seems to me to be just the problem,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°All of the things that you cannot believe¡ª¡± ¡°Please be civil, Rosslyn,¡± the King interjected mildly. Rosslyn let out a deep breath. Inhaled. Exhaled. This is just what she wants. You know this is just what she wants, to get between you and your father. That knowledge didn¡¯t make it any easier to avoid rising to the bait. ¡°I have not been enjoying the courtship process,¡± Rosslyn said finally, looking pointedly at the King rather than the Queen. ¡°I think that my stepmother knows that perfectly well. I have little doubt that these suitors are the best that Lord Baranack can find. I trust his good intentions¡ªyet I think it a marvelous display of restraint on my part that I have not shouted at any of these jesters whom he has provided us with. Father, you have met some of these men yourself.¡± He shifted uncomfortably in his chair. ¡°It is an unpleasant fact that many of those who Lord Baranack can induce to come here are unworthy of the honor. I cannot be expected to entertain all of these fools.¡± ¡°Yet it is your duty,¡± the King said quietly. Rosslyn noted the Queen¡¯s silence. She won. She got my father and I arguing. Now she has stepped out of the conversation. ¡°Indeed,¡± Rosslyn replied. ¡°My duty. May I please be excused?¡± The Queen returned to life. ¡°You have hardly eaten anything, my dear,¡± she said. ¡°Only bread and soup. The meat course¡ª¡± ¡°I find that I have little appetite this evening,¡± Rosslyn said, ¡°and I must remain fit for my suitors¡ªand in case of war.¡± ¡°You may be excused,¡± the King said. And with a last smile at Baltazar, who seemed confused by the whole exchange, Rosslyn rose from her seat and left the table. 18. Vision Delicious. I love it. The Leafy Bush Cricket tasted like something a little bit between roasted nuts and popcorn. Simultaneously healthy but very satisfying, with a subtle umami flavor. Five stars, would eat again, thank you. Preferably with a lot less fearing for my life next time. Though Adon had to be honest. Fearing for his life was something he was starting to get weirdly used to. I never thought that could happen. In my old life, it never could have. He remembered his mantra. Do everything, and you¡¯ll win. Do everything, and you¡¯ll get what you want. Don¡¯t fall back into old habits. Don¡¯t live another shameful sham of a life. Adon considered. Is this what winning feels like? He thought it probably was. And he found that he liked it. And he wanted more. How do I win more? The first thing that occurred to him was very obviously the most insane idea he¡¯d ever thought of in the course of his whole short life. I¡¯d really like to get back at that bird for scaring the crap out of me. But that was clearly never going to happen. Adon was a caterpillar, and his ostensible target was a bird. Birds, the ultimate predator of all insects and slimy things that crawl. Am I really going to be like all the other skittering insects in this life? Running away from anything bigger than me, and trembling in relief when I escape? Perhaps when he was a butterfly, it would be different. But he knew deep down that butterflies were just as vulnerable to animals as large as birds as caterpillars were. The whole idea of being chased around really stuck in his craw. What had happened to the caterpillar that fought the Ladybug Larva face to face¡ªnever mind that it hadn¡¯t been his first choice, he¡¯d done it, hadn¡¯t he? And if he kept running away from danger, he wasn¡¯t going to earn many Evolution Points. Probably he¡¯d still become a butterfly eventually¡ªmost caterpillars, even in this world, probably ate leaves and still managed to evolve¡ªbut he¡¯d be a crappy butterfly. Just like I was a crappy human, he thought. A human who never took any big risks or left his comfort zone, until I was so weak that a fall down the stairs was enough to kill me¡­ What a life. Suddenly, the bluebird seemed to represent everything that had cowed him in his previous life. Every obstacle evaded, every challenge that he¡¯d failed by failing to try. He also felt an instinct tugging at his guts. He wasn¡¯t sure whether to attribute it to his memories or his current body¡¯s instinctive knowledge. If you manage to in any way hold your own against something so obviously superior to you on the evolutionary ladder, the instinct seemed to say, you¡¯re going to grow by leaps and bounds. You could change the whole trajectory of your destiny. Yeah. It would literally change your life. But he shook his head at the idea, trying to keep himself from going down that road. A bird was just too big. Even if he was in his fully grown form, that would be an incredibly risky matchup. There was just no way to fight it directly. No way to make it feel the fear it had caused him. Then again¡­ His mind lapsed into fruitless speculations. What if I stabbed her in the eyes with my spines? That would leave Adon stuck to the bird¡¯s face. A suicide run. What if I break some spines off in a bug that the bird¡¯s about to eat? But Adon had no reason to think his venom was deadly enough to even give such a big animal a stomach ache. Sure, my venom killed that Leafy Bush Cricket, albeit very slowly. That was an animal barely bigger than me, though. The bluebird, by contrast, was hundreds of times Adon¡¯s size. Just because it seemed to avoid eating him before didn¡¯t mean it was deathly afraid of the consequences of doing so. His mind worked its way through a somewhat less insane plan. No¡­ but, well, maybe? A few more seconds of contemplation ensued. Seriously, that could work! Right? There were several critical merits to the plan that made him take it seriously. It would take advantage of the fact that he now knew where the bluebird lived. If his plan succeeded, and he timed his moment properly, he shouldn¡¯t have to confront the bird directly at all. And this was the sort of plan that many small animals tried. The fact that others had succeeded where he planned to make his attempt was inspiring in its own way. They weren¡¯t usually as small as Adon, but he was pretty sure he remembered that some spiders and praying mantises could actually eat small birds. So he had to have a shot at this, right? And if he was successful, Adon had no doubt that he¡¯d get all the Evolution Points he could ask for. He found himself getting excited. Alright, first things first. Let¡¯s see how many Evolution Points I have to spend¡­ There were 35 Evolution Points available. An unexpected bounty of riches, considering that Adon was pretty certain he was getting fewer points from killing and eating ants every time. But maybe the quantity of the ants, the fact that he had survived the death struggle with the cricket, and then his evasion of the bird and consumption of the cricket all combined to give him a more substantial reward. Whatever the reason, it was time to give the vision-related Adaptations a second look. All the options he¡¯d thought he couldn¡¯t afford before: Simple Eyes II, Spherical Lens I, Apposition Eyes I, Superposition Eyes I, and Infrared Sensing I. Adon immediately ruled out Simple Eyes II, since that was just the next stage up from the extremely basic eyes he¡¯d been born with. He wanted a difference in kind of vision, not just one of degree. Spherical Lens I was about sharpening the quality of the existing eyes. Infrared Sensing I would probably make it much harder for enemies to sneak up on him by allowing him to sense movement. But that wasn¡¯t the same as vision, and Adon wanted to improve his eyes for both survival and aesthetic reasons. I don¡¯t want to keep seeing the world as this vague mush of light and darkness. He had adapted surprisingly well to being nearly blind¡ªamong other things, he still managed to hunt effectively. But he wasn¡¯t fond of his predators and his potential prey both having better eyesight than him. That sounded like something that would inevitably lead to him either being eaten¡ªas when the Leafy Bush Cricket almost ambushed him from camouflage¡ªor starving. If he got large enough, his prey would start to see him coming. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. So it¡¯s Apposition Eyes I or Superposition Eyes I, he thought. Two different versions of compound eyes. I guess human eyes were out of the question. Too far up the evolutionary food chain? He remembered that girl who he¡¯d heard talking to him and the Ladybug Larva in his sleep¡ªhe¡¯d figured out that she was talking to both of them once he had a little time to breathe. I¡¯ll catch up to you, he thought. Just you wait. He didn¡¯t know how he would do it or even if it was actually possible to do in this world¡ªbut he wanted to find ways to make the impossible into the possible in this life. Figuring out how to interact with humans on some kind of an equal level was a good long term goal. He¡¯d been lacking anything specific to strive toward for a while. And he had loved the golden light the girl emanated. Since he was completely colorblind, that had to be his Spiritual Sight. She must be someone special. Adon realized he was in danger of getting lost in thought about the girl, and he forced himself to focus back on the Adaptations. Right. Two different, mutually exclusive options. Two roads diverge in a wood. Apposition Eyes and Superposition Eyes. He studied their descriptions, aware that he would be stuck with whichever option he chose, either a long time or forever. There would be no take-backs. Ironically, both options seemed cheap to him now. Apposition Eyes I cost 5 Evolution Points. Superposition Eyes I cost 7. Despite the Superposition Eyes being slightly more expensive, Adon gradually came to the conclusion that Apposition Eyes I was better suited to his needs. Nested in the dense descriptions for both eye types, he found that Apposition Eyes were typically suited for diurnal animals, and Superposition Eyes were better adapted for creatures that moved at night and during the twilight. And Adon didn¡¯t want to become a nocturnal animal. It clearly wasn¡¯t his natural tendency so far. So he would probably need other expensive, brain-modifying adaptations if he wanted to make that switch¡ªand he had no idea why he would want to anyway. Adon added Apposition Eyes I and II to his cart¡ªthey were only a total of 15 Evolution Points, after all. Before he finalized the purchase, he looked through other Adaptations he had turned his nose up at before. It was time to give some of them a second look. Telepathy I was still out of reach, unless he just forgot about Apposition Eyes II. But there were still Venom Fangs I, Hardened Exoskeleton I, Bladed Mandibles I, Piercing Mandibles I, Crushing Mandibles I, Magic Perception I, Venom Spores I, Sleep Spores I, and Camouflage I. I remember I dismissed the idea of enhancing my mandibles before, because they¡¯d been getting the job done just fine. Then I fought the Ladybug Larva, and it was like I was trying to chew rocks. Live and learn, right? He studied the mandible option descriptions particularly closely. The spores still felt like something he shouldn¡¯t invest in just yet, as did Magic Perception I. And Venom Fangs would still require him to be able to penetrate the enemy¡¯s armor. Bladed Mandibles I would make them into blades. Piercing Mandibles I would make the tips of my mandibles a bit like spear tips. And Crushing Mandibles I would add bludgeon damage. Adon would have loved to have all of these, now that he had seen how ineffective his mandibles could be. But he also wanted to save a little bit of his money and get some defensive Adaptation. Either Hardened Exoskeleton I or Camouflage I. Two completely different strategies that deserved their own examination. But first, which of the mandible enhancements did he want? Well, he had always heard that the deadliest sword wounds were typically stab wounds rather than slash wounds. And piercing damage was also better suited to the insane plan he had cooking. Okay, I¡¯ll add Piercing Mandibles I to my shopping cart. We¡¯ll come back and see if I can afford any of the others after I decide between Hardened Exoskeleton I and Camouflage I. After due consideration, Adon dismissed Camouflage I as too expensive for what it was. I don¡¯t need an Adaptation just to hide, he thought. If I want to look like leaves, I can¡ªwait. I think I have a really good idea. He smiled in his own mind. That bird would never know what hit her. Adon ultimately added Piercing Mandibles II and Hardened Exoskeleton I to his purchase. Together with the new eyes, they would use up all the Evolution Points he¡¯d saved up. He was investing heavily in his mandibles now. The best defense was a good offense, after all. Or was it the reverse? He locked in the purchase before he could change his mind, and immediately, he felt the Adaptations beginning to take effect. Ahhh! I forgot how much this hurts. If anything, this set of Adaptations was even more painful than the last. Perhaps because he¡¯d ripped the bandaid off on several at once. For several minutes, Adon writhed on the ground in agony, easy prey to anything that wanted him. He could hardly even think about the danger, though. And nothing came forward to put him out of his misery. Finally, the pain began to die down enough that he could think a bit. Oh, if I could cry, I would be crying¡­ why don¡¯t caterpillars have tear ducts? I want to cry¡­ His spiracles opened and closed as he took several deep breaths until he calmed down a little. Then he did a full systems check of his whole body. The area that had once been his eyes burned like they were on fire, a part of his brain seemed to have snapped somewhere, causing him a throbbing pain in the head, and his whole body ached dully as if he¡¯d just shed his skin multiple times. His mandibles were the least affected area in terms of pain. He barely had feeling in them in the first place. They were like teeth. The pain there was just a slight soreness, like having braces adjusted. Adon took a couple of steps forward. He immediately noticed a greater stiffness in his body. With Hardened Exoskeleton I, it seemed he had gained a slightly tougher body in exchange for some of his flexibility. Okay, I can live with that, he thought. He had never used his flexibility very much in a fight. If anything, when he fought the cricket, he had to hold himself stiffer than he normally was, so the cricket couldn¡¯t get leverage to push itself closer to him and bite at his torso. This analysis took place in the back of Adon¡¯s mind, though. Even the pain faded from the forefront of his thoughts. He was obsessed with his new vision. His eyesight was a little blurry, like he needed prescription glasses and didn¡¯t have them. But he could see the world. Not every color, he thought, but all the basic ones. It was enough for now. More than enough. Incredibly satisfying. And so bright. A beautiful tapestry of life unfolded itself before his eyes. The green leaves had never seemed more alive to him than when he could see them in color. He looked down at his own body and saw for the first time that he himself was green¡ªalbeit that the spikes that jutted out of him were more of a pale brown color. The blue sky overhead looked richer and more vibrant than he could ever remember it being. Red orchids bloomed, and Adon saw that they were at the point where that bloom was just about to fade. Trees stood in various spaces like titanic sentinels overlooking the ecosystem, and their leaves were beginning to turn vibrant yellows and oranges. True, everything he saw was blurry around the edges. And yes, there were some flowers¡ªmany flowers¡ªwhose colors Adon could not clearly see, but he did not dwell on those. For today, this is more than enough, he thought. Life is beautiful. Painful, brutal, probably short. But beautiful. He turned to see the sights nearest to him, and he realized that he was standing right next to a big leaf covered in little green insects smaller than his head. They were very small and barely moving, just standing there sucking liquid from out of the plant¡¯s stem, which probably explained why his previous simple eyes failed to notice them. Wow. There¡¯s probably been much more nutritious food than plain leaves around me all this time¡­ It seemed decent vision was already coming in handy. His crazy plan for revenge on the bird could wait a little while. Right? Adon licked the edges of his mouth. Then he put his new mandibles to work. 19. The Crazy Plan Adon rolled the leaf with the aphids on it into a little burrito. Then he entered his feeding trance. He didn¡¯t come out of it until the dozens of little green bugs and the leaf they rested on were no more. Munch munch. Chomp chomp. Gobble gobble. Gulp. And the aphids he¡¯d swallowed down were sweet. This life¡¯s closest equivalent to a sugary soda. If sodas were healthy. Crunchy, with a noticeable fruity flavor. Melon? If I can keep finding them, I might make those a regular part of my diet, he thought. Then he refocused. His eyes looked to make sure the box on a post that he¡¯d seen the bluebird fly into was still where it had been. There was no reason to think a fixed object like that would move, but he found himself profoundly distrustful of everything he had seen with his old eyes. And he did see things much more clearly now. The bird was living in a box on a post, but now he could see the shape of it. Someone had made the box lovingly with hours spent shaping its outward appearance. It looked like a cozy little cottage, complete with a red painted roof. Welcoming and homey. Adon¡¯s mind automatically went to the girl he¡¯d seen before. Maybe when she was smaller, she would have wanted to make something like that. Perhaps she had a carpenter for her father, and he¡¯d indulged her whim. He shook his head. Stop thinking about human things right now, he told himself. You¡¯re an animal in a natural setting. You need to think like an animal¡ªexcept with human smarts. That¡¯s how you survive here. Get mean! Remember, that bluebird would have eaten you if you weren¡¯t covered in venomous spines. And she tried to steal your lunch! He resolved to do what he¡¯d been considering. No more second thoughts. It¡¯s on. Adon began looking around for the materials he would use to carry out his plan. Not far from him, he found them: a handful of the first fallen leaves of Autumn. He walked over and excreted some of his sticky silk liberally on the handful of leaves, and he pulled them over his body like a coat with the hood up. To the outside world, he now looked like a small pile of dead leaves. He shouldn¡¯t draw the eye of any predator now, only those tiny creatures, like snails and earthworms, that actually liked to eat dead leaves. There. I didn¡¯t need to buy a camouflage Adaptation anyway. I just needed my human ingenuity. He began making his slow way to the post that supported the bluebird¡¯s house. Even as he approached, he still had his doubts about this crazy plan. With his sluggish speed, his mind had plenty of time to go over the potential problems. And despite his own expressed resolve, it did just that. If the bird sees you, she can kill you in a second, Adon¡¯s fears reminded him. Even if she recognizes your venomous spines and doesn¡¯t think it¡¯s safe to eat you, she could just crush you. And two key parts of the plan were speculative. Yet he kept walking. He had already had all these thoughts. His motivations were too strong for him to be dissuaded. And the instinct that pulled him forward was powerful. If I succeed, it could propel me to the next stage early, he thought. Or allow me to lay a much stronger foundation. Maybe both. He held these ideas almost as convictions, despite not knowing for certain where they were coming from. He felt certain he¡¯d get a bounty of Evolution Points if he succeeded. Maybe enough to evolve. And he really liked the idea that even creatures far above him on the food chain couldn¡¯t mess with him in his new life without suffering consequences. Thanks for the reminders about how dangerous this is, brain. But I killed the Ladybug Larva, even though it should have killed me. And even after it poisoned me, that ended up working out fine. I admit, it¡¯s true that I can¡¯t kill this bird, but I can make it regret coming after me, if it¡¯s capable of that kind of thought. Plus, he¡¯d already taken precautions against being killed. The possibility of being recognized as an insect and killed was why he had disguised himself as a clump of dead leaves. And why should I be more afraid of this dumb bird than I am of everything else in this garden? he thought a little irritably. Everything here¡¯s been trying to kill me ever since I was born. I¡¯ve always been at the bottom of the food chain. I can¡¯t let fear paralyze me! I have to keep growing and taking on stronger enemies to ascend the evolutionary ladder and become something¡ªsomebody¡ªto be feared and respected in my own right. Birds are a natural predator for lizards, too, but they still eat birds¡¯ eggs. I¡¯m not trying anything outrageous. Quit trying to scare me, brain! Adon managed to reach the wooden post before his argument with himself could escalate to name-calling¡ªI need social activity, or I¡¯m going to go crazy was one of his more cogent thoughts at this time¡ªand he began to climb. Scaling the sheer post was easier than he ever could have imagined back when he was a human. What probably looked to a human like just a smooth length of wood had so many tiny imperfections that there was always a next foothold for him. He made it midway up the post and staked the birdhouse out, watching and listening carefully. He had no pressing obligations to attend to, unlike the bird, who he was guessing¡ªhoping¡ªhad a brood of eggs in her nest. The caterpillar stood motionless for a long time, cleverly concealed beneath his cloak of stuck-on leaves. It was extremely simple to stay stuck onto the post. He just didn¡¯t move forward. He stood in place for so long that his mind began to contemplate things that he would never have thought about otherwise. I hadn¡¯t thought of it, but this is what insects do all the time, isn¡¯t it? Stay standing still on surfaces in a vertical position. Whenever I¡¯ve been a human, I¡¯m pretty sure I always wondered how they could do that. And here I am now. Turns out, it¡¯s super easy, barely an inconvenience. He literally didn¡¯t even have to think about it. His mind wandered further. He thought about the girl with the intense golden aura. What was her deal? He remembered Goldie the spider and wondered what she was up to in her web. What had she thought of him when she met him before? That was assuming she could think. Somehow he imagined the spider as being smart, like himself. And Goldie had her own aura, too. He didn¡¯t fully grasp the meaning of that yet. Maybe he would if he and the spider had spoken. Speaking of which, he hadn¡¯t been capable of talking to her at their last encounter, but would she remember him if they met again? Adon hadn¡¯t thought of himself as a memorable person in his last life. Was he different enough now? Was he becoming a person¡ªer, caterpillar¡ªwho others would want to be around? Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. He wondered about what kind of creature his mother in this world had been¡ªa butterfly, of course, but what specific type? He had no special traits of hers that had been passed down as far as he¡¯d noticed. All of his Adaptations were his own purchases from the Evolution Store¡ªor at least all the ones he was consciously aware of. Most species names he¡¯d seen with Identify reflected what the species¡¯ traits were. In his case, though, his Status screen had referred to him simply as ¡°Unnamed Butterfly Larva.¡± Did that mean that he needed to get new Adaptations that would define what kind of Butterfly he was going to be? Then again, maybe he already had. The few times he¡¯d revisited his System interface, it was never to verify that he was still ¡°Unnamed Butterfly Larva.¡± His eyes would have skipped over that line of text entirely. But it was something worth checking out. Maybe he¡¯d learn something about himself, or about the underlying logic of this world and its System. Not now, of course. He couldn¡¯t afford to look away from the birdhouse for something silly like checking his Status screen. Even as his mind wandered, Adon hadn¡¯t taken his eyes off the entrance to the birdhouse. Nothing had moved in all that time. He hadn¡¯t seen or heard anything. It must have been at least an hour, he thought. Adon began to wonder if the bluebird had left at some point while he was getting used to his new eyes. Since he started walking toward the birdhouse, he hadn¡¯t taken his eyes off the opening on the birdhouse. He certainly hadn¡¯t looked away while he was standing on the side of the post, still as a statue. But the bird hadn¡¯t left while he was watching. He took a moment to look at the position of the sun¡ªquite bright now that he wasn¡¯t basically blind!¡ªand he judged that it was a bit past midday. In human terms, maybe three o¡¯clock in the afternoon. That was just eyeballing it. But it made him question what he was doing. She¡¯s not calling it a day in there, is she? he wondered. She¡¯s going to come out eventually? The plan couldn¡¯t work if the bird didn¡¯t leave the nest. Maybe he needed to leave and go look for something less complicated to eat. There was a part of his mind that bristled at that idea. The underlying motivation wasn¡¯t so much doubt that the bluebird was there, but sheer cowardice, he knew. Still, I will want something else to eat before I bed down for the night, he thought. I can¡¯t afford to waste too much time here, can I? He pictured himself waiting until morning to make his move when the bird left for the day¡¯s first bits of food. Then I guess I¡¯d be the early worm that gets the bird, huh? Yes, he thought he might be willing to wait that long for sweet victory. But it still might not work out even if he waited¡­ He started to move higher up on the post. He would at least satisfy his curiosity about whether there were any hatched chicks in there. If he heard baby bird peeps, that would be enough to tell him to give up. If not, then he would continue to wait. But as he reached the two-thirds mark on the post, there was a sudden vibration of movement above him. Adon froze, with the single exception that he allowed his head to snap to focus again on the opening to the birdhouse. The bluebird came flying out, apparently eager to go and hunt for more insects and earthworms¡ªor whatever it was that she¡¯d been about to eat the last time he saw her. Adon waited for a long few seconds and watched the bird, in accordance with his plan. He wanted her to be out of sight if possible, or at least have her back turned, before he crawled the rest of his way up to the birdhouse. When she did begin to get further away, he began inching himself up the remaining one third of the post¡¯s height. Crucially, he didn¡¯t hear a single peep coming from the birdhouse as he walked. And the bluebird didn¡¯t appear to be coming back anytime soon. She flew about, scouring the surrounding landscape, undoubtedly looking for unsuspecting insects to feed on, while he snuck up to her home. There was some sort of twisted irony there, probably, but he didn¡¯t dwell on it. Let¡¯s see if I can find what I came here for, he thought. He finally made it all the way to the birdhouse entrance¡ªlooked behind his back, just to make sure the bird wasn¡¯t about to dive down onto him¡ªand found that she was still some distance away, back turned. There¡¯s not going to be a better moment, he told himself. And he scurried up into the birdhouse as quickly as he could. The interior of the birdhouse was a darkened space. Adon thought that if he hadn¡¯t upgraded his vision, he would only be able to make out the vaguest of shapes, if anything. But he could see clearly now. He saw what he¡¯d been hoping for. A thick tangle of soft nest materials: plant stems, grasses, feathers, a few bits of what looked like mouse fur. And in the midst of this nest sat four beautiful eggs. They¡¯re massive! he thought. Adon had been expecting them to be big, of course, relative to how he¡¯d experienced eggs as a human. Still, this was more than he¡¯d imagined. Each egg was larger than him¡ªeven larger than the Ladybug Larva or Goldie! Not by an insane amount, but considering they weren¡¯t even moving beings yet, it really reminded him of where he, and those he¡¯d encountered so far, were in the food chain. How does she even fit them inside of her? Each egg was, he estimated, about one sixth or one eighth the length of the bluebird¡¯s body. The width was harder to compare, since the eggs were round. But if she laid four of them¡­ His mind jumped to human women being pregnant with ten pound babies and then pushing them out of a space that was supposed to be extremely small and tight¡ªhe wouldn¡¯t know, but that was what he¡¯d heard¡ªand he decided not to think about this anymore. Maybe just best to be grateful the Goddess didn¡¯t make me a female in this life. Thanks, Goddess! I¡¯ll just chalk this mystery up to, ¡®She moves in mysterious ways¡¯¡­ Adon shook his head to clear the distracting thoughts, and he approached the eggs. As he got closer, his greed intensified. I want to eat all of them, he thought. They¡¯re so big¡­ I bet they¡¯ll be even better than that cricket. And he wondered how many Evolution Points he¡¯d get for this. As he stepped further into the shadows of the birdhouse, the details of the eggs became clearer in his vision. Their shells were blue, just like the bird, and they were speckled with brown spots. Without further ado, Adon sidled up to the nearest egg and swung his newly reforged mandibles at its unprotected shell, like a bird pecking at a nut. Ting! The tip bounced right off. That was fine. I wasn¡¯t using my full force, he thought. I know I can get through this. Baby birds can, and they¡¯re definitely weaker than me at this point. I think? He reared back and launched himself at the egg like a cobra striking. A sound struck his ears. A beautiful, crunchy sound. He pulled back. The faintest of cracks had opened where he made contact. Oh yeah. Now we¡¯re cooking! He struck again, at less than full force this time, and he widened the crack a bit. Exactly according to plan. He didn¡¯t want to destroy this thing and make a mess everywhere. He wanted a hole big enough that he could eat it. I am going to be a caterpillar legend, he thought. Has any caterpillar ever done something as crazy as this and succeeded? It feels like I¡¯m stealing fire from the gods or something! Quickly tapping at the side of the egg¡ªhe needed to accomplish his objective before the bluebird returned¡ªAdon expanded the cracks into a hole. He saw yolk and knew he¡¯d won, but he still patiently spent several more precious seconds expanding the hole so that he could fit his head into the shell. When it was finally big enough, Adon stuck his head into the hole he¡¯d made, and he began to drink. Sweet nectar of the gods, he thought. This is better than I could have imagined. 20. Stealing Fire Princess Rosslyn sat on her bed and stared at the floral wallpaper, her eyes vaguely looking out but not quite seeing. Her mind felt dull and fuzzy. That was how she almost always felt when she had disagreements with her family. Dull and fuzzy, confused and alone. No, she corrected herself, I had a disagreement with Carolien. To the extent that I disagreed with father, it was purely because he and I both adhered to the dialogue that Carolien had planned for us. Remarkably convincing performances perhaps, but the ideas were clearly not our own. I doubt that my father intended to take sides in the disagreement at all, until Carolien goaded me into impertinence. And I certainly did not intend to imply that I was going to cease cooperating with Lord Baranack in his efforts to see me wedded. Although, now that she was alone, there was a part of her that thought she should do just that. If she resisted cooperation with Lord Baranack, perhaps she could see him replaced with someone more competent. As Rosslyn had that cheery thought, a knock came at the door. ¡°Your Highness, may I enter?¡± Celeste¡¯s voice brought a smile to her face. Not alone anymore. The thought brought with it a surprising sense of relief. Well, I suppose I find her presence comforting, she admitted. ¡°Please do,¡± Rosslyn chirped back, struggling to contain her smile. Celeste stepped into the room, and she carried all of Rosslyn¡¯s usual associations with her. Warmth. The quiet intimacy of two young women who had become accustomed to each other¡¯s company over a period of years. It took several seconds for Rosslyn to pierce through that shared history and notice something wrong. Celeste looked uncomfortable. ¡°Is everything alright?¡± Rosslyn asked. The words felt strange exiting her throat. She was a little nervous herself. ¡°Oh, certainly, everything is excellent, Your Highness,¡± Celeste said, smiling weakly. ¡°In fact, better than normal. I was on my way to perform my usual duties in your chamber, and Lord Baranack asked me to tell you that a suitor will be here to court you tomorrow. The visit will likely be around mid-morning, he and the King wanted you to know.¡± Neither of them wanted to tell me face to face this time, huh? Rosslyn thought, grimacing. Normally, Lord Baranack or the King would explain what was going on. What she should expect. Dealing with this process was a big part of why Lord Baranack was in the country at all. But doubtless the Queen had informed him of the dinner conversation, so he fobbed off the job of dealing with Rosslyn onto Celeste. No wonder she looks uncomfortable. He made her the bearer of bad news. Surely she does not think I would hold it against her, though. Rosslyn suppressed the urge to sigh. ¡°Do we know anything about the suitor?¡± she asked. ¡°I believe he is a baronet, Your Highness,¡± Celeste said, averting her eyes. Rosslyn¡¯s eyes narrowed. That was a bit insulting. The lowest ranking of noble, unless you counted knights who often held no lands. Unless he is some great warrior, Lord Baranack is truly scraping the bottom of the barrel. When Rosslyn made no immediate reply, Celeste¡¯s eyes darted over to her. ¡°Your Highness? Um, did you have anything you wished me to convey to Lord Baranack?¡± If I did, I would go and say my piece to his face, not send a messenger, Rosslyn thought. But aloud, she simply said, ¡°No, Celeste. Thank you for bringing me this word. Oh, do let the kitchen staff know that I will see the suitor in the star room, please.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness,¡± Celeste said. She looked around, glancing out of Rosslyn¡¯s window. ¡°I, ah, observe the afternoon is drawing to a close. Would Your Highness like me to undress her and draw a bath?¡± Rosslyn turned to the window herself and noticed that the sun was getting quite low in the sky. I have been in a dreadful mental fog not to realize how late it is, she thought. ¡°No,¡± she said. ¡°Not yet. I will go into the garden and take the air for a while.¡± Celeste nodded, dipped in a quick curtsy, and moved to go. ¡°Wait!¡± Rosslyn exclaimed. The maid froze in her tracks. Rosslyn had remembered something else she wanted to ask. ¡°I did not mean to startle you,¡± she said, forcing herself to smile awkwardly. ¡°I only wished to stop you to ask if you know the name of a slave who works in the palace. A woman about my father¡¯s age? She is very skilled with a sword.¡± Rosslyn gave a brief physical description. ¡°Ah, yes,¡± Celeste said, nodding slowly, ¡°I believe I do know her name, Your Highness. It should come to me at any moment.¡± She closed her eyes, and her face gave an impression of great concentration. ¡°If you could also tell me anything else you know about the woman, that would be appreciated,¡± Rosslyn added. ¡°I have not worked with her closely, Your Highness,¡± Celeste said, eyes still scrunched shut. ¡°Until very recently, she spent all of her time working in the library. Then the house steward died, and after he was replaced, she was reassigned. I do not know what exactly she was doing there, but I understand she is one of the few people here who knows her letters, aside from your family.¡± Her eyes shot open. ¡°I remember now! There was a male slave who knew her well, er, from before they were both here, I believe. He called her Tilly. I cannot say whether she liked the nickname or not, but that was the name for her.¡± Rosslyn nodded at this. The name didn¡¯t mean anything in particular to her. She had not expected it to. But it was good to have a name to put to the slave who was so good at fighting. ¡°Thank you very much, Celeste.¡± The maid curtsied and waited to be dismissed. ¡°You are a comfort,¡± Rosslyn added softly. ¡°I need you to know that. Your presence has improved my day. Now you may go about the rest of yours.¡± Celeste did not seem to know quite what to do with the compliment. She bowed her head so that Rosslyn could not see her expression clearly. ¡°Your Highness compliments this humble servant too highly,¡± she finally said before leaving. When the door closed behind Celeste, Rosslyn rose from her bed. It was time to go for a walk. Entering the garden, she made a beeline for the plant where she had seen the caterpillar and the baby ladybug about to do battle that morning. She wondered which one she would see ruling the roost now. There could be only one, after all. There is no reason for me to go look, she told herself. A caterpillar cannot defeat his natural predators. All I can expect to see is a cocksure ladybug, perhaps with a few battle scars. Maybe it will even have evolved into its adult form. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it She had to admit she was a little disappointed at the thought. She liked ladybugs. She simply liked butterflies better. But on the off-chance that the caterpillar had survived, she had made a promise, to herself as much as to the creature, that she would bring it something good to eat. So if she wanted to be a woman of her word, she needed to see for herself if the underdog had actually survived. When she arrived at the familiar plant, she was surprised to see neither the ladybug nor the caterpillar sitting atop the stem. At first, she couldn¡¯t tell which one might have won. Then she looked at the ground. There she saw almost half of a ladybug larva. And that seemed to answer that question. A smile crept over Rosslyn¡¯s face. Sometimes things turn out better than you expected, she thought. Ugly, but much better than I expected in this case. ¡ª Unlike previous foods Adon had eaten, he felt as if he could taste the egg yolk all through his body. Not just with his tongue, but with his whole sensory apparatus. Maybe part of it was the fact that his entire upper body was inside the egg at this point. He was practically breathing yolk in and out. But accompanying the rich, buttery flavor of the protein, he felt something stirring throughout his body. Just like when he ate the Ladybug Larva, except instead of steadily increasing pain, he felt a surge in power. Could that sensation really be right? It feels like I¡¯ve stumbled on a secret most of the insects out here don¡¯t know about, he thought. That thought I had about stealing fire from the gods might be more accurate than I realized. And the resulting feeling of incredible potency was almost overwhelming. He almost wanted to fight something, because he thought he should be able to take anything on right now. I can¡¯t win if the bird comes back, though, he reminded himself. Don¡¯t even try to fight if she suddenly reappears. Stick to the plan. The sudden overconfidence he could feel rising within him was, his more rational mind observed, out of character for him. Is this maybe what it feels like when you¡¯re about to evolve or something? But besides the feeling of power, his body wasn¡¯t changing, as far as he could tell. He had no doubt this portended an improvement of his physical condition at least, but it was impossible for him to be sure what it was just yet. Clearly, the egg had been far more nutritious than he expected. Perhaps because he was eating a species that was considered a natural predator of his own. He would certainly need to test this again at some point. Find some other species that was way out of his league and repeat this experiment. His mind flashed to Goldie, but he instantly banished the image. He was really hoping to actually have the ability to socialize with her once he bought Telepathy I. He wouldn¡¯t fight the spider unless he had no other choice. Adon¡¯s body slid forward as he tried to get more of the delicious ambrosia for himself. He fell all the way into the shell¡¯s interior, but it didn¡¯t worry him. He¡¯d been inside an egg once before after all. And the food here was top quality. An all you could eat buffet of the Goddess¡¯s own nectar. He slipped into a feeding trance like nothing he¡¯d ever experienced before. Slurp slurp. Gulp. Swoon. The process took a little longer than usual, due to the sheer quantity he was eating. There was also a moment that almost brought him out of it, when the texture and flavor changed¡ªhe consumed a part of the egg that reminded him a little of chicken¡ªbut it wasn¡¯t a bad taste. So he just kept going. Eventually, he came out of his trance. It felt disappointing in a way. The meal was over far too soon. The egg was so good, he thought he could have eaten it forever and never had enough. But forever wasn¡¯t an option. When he fully came to, Adon was stuffed inside of the eggshell. He could tell that his skin had burst, and some pieces of it had fallen away, while he was absorbed in eating. Well, of course it did, he thought. I ate something that was stuffed into a container larger than my own body. Now, the body that had fallen into the shell filled out much of the shell¡¯s volume. I¡¯ll just eat my way out, he thought. The idea didn¡¯t bother him. He remembered that even humans were technically capable of eating eggshells. They just really didn¡¯t like to find themselves doing so. Adon listened to make sure he still didn¡¯t hear any bird sounds from outside the shell. Then he smashed his way through the nearest shell wall with the tips of his mandibles and started pulling bits of shell into his mouth. Confirmed, it¡¯s not nearly as good as eating the inside of the egg. No big surprise there. It had a lame mineral flavor, a little like chalk maybe, but at least he could feel there was some nutritional value in what he was eating. Still, Adon only broke up and ate the amount of shell that was needed to make his exit. He was very conscious, now that he was out of his trance, that he was exceedingly vulnerable here. The dead leaves, soaked with egg yolk, had stuck to the sides of the egg shell as he moved around inside it, and he was now only covered on his lower half. Even there, they were only plastered to his partially shed skin, which meant they might come off at any time. All of that made the leaves almost useless as camouflage, but he didn¡¯t bother to discard them. Every second was critical now. As he emerged from the shell, Adon had seen that the quality of the light had changed. With his new vision, it was easy to recognize that twilight was approaching. He¡¯d been lucky so far, to be left alone enjoying his meal. But soon the bluebird would be back. He didn¡¯t want to be here when that happened. If he was, he would have to go to his backup plan. Yet his eyes played greedily over the three remaining eggs. He knew that this gambit was a one-time thing. The bird would never leave her eggs vulnerable to such an attack by him again. Either Adon would die on the bird¡¯s return, or she would take some precautions to prevent ever losing another egg to something like him. Perhaps relocate her nest to the top of some building, which would make his improvised camouflage useless. This was my one shot, he thought. And he knew he¡¯d devastated the bluebird already, just by eating one of her four eggs. He wasn¡¯t motivated so much by the idea of getting back at her anymore. It was sheer greed. How could he ever eat a leaf again after tasting something like that? He would still be able to enjoy ants and other proteins, but no matter how good they were, he doubted they would match his experience with the egg. Eating this thing was the polar opposite of eating a leaf. A transcendent experience that he suspected had probably permanently improved his body¡ªhe would check his Status to verify this once he was safe. There was nothing for it. He was going to take an egg with him. It was an idea he had been contemplating since he first considered going after the eggs. Eat one here, yes, because he could make a small enough hole to get into the egg and then simply stay there without the bluebird noticing, if necessary. And take one with him when he left, if he had the opportunity to do so without being caught. It felt riskier to do the latter now that he was here in person. But it was also something he wanted to do very badly. Adon decided to stick with his original plan. He began to move even as he weighed the option of retreat. As he planned this expedition, he¡¯d vaguely remembered that spiders wrapped their own eggs in silk to protect them from predators and accidents. Now Adon began quickly spinning his own silk around one of the eggs, in what he hoped was a reinforcing layer. He wasn¡¯t dumb enough to think that he should try to climb down from the birdhouse in broad daylight openly carrying an egg. Instead he would envelop his chosen egg in his silky coating, then throw it from the birdhouse and hope that it survived the fall. Then Adon himself would join it. He¡¯d already noticed that he didn¡¯t take much damage from falling. Gravity was his escape plan. If he managed to do everything before the bird appeared. He excreted his silk diligently, in thick layers, all over the egg, and he did it as quickly as he could. The longer he took, the more nervous he became. This is starting to feel like a bad idea, he thought. But you¡¯re in it now. He finished and sealed the egg at both ends. There. Now, even if shattered on impact with the ground, hopefully the silk would hold most of the yolk in. Adon knew that spider silk could sometimes be watertight if applied correctly, but he didn¡¯t flatter himself that he was quite there yet. He picked up the egg in between his front legs¡ªthe missing one had fully grown back now¡ªand he took his first steps toward the entrance. Then Adon heard the distant sound of wing beats. 21. Bird Comes Back As the sound of wings reverberated through the air, Adon dashed to the birdhouse door, stomach in his throat. His body, he couldn¡¯t help noticing, moved faster than he¡¯d ever remembered it moving before. Even when he¡¯d been running for his life from the ants. And it wasn¡¯t a small difference. The egg, he realized, also felt surprisingly light in his forelimbs. Easy to carry. Before he could really grasp the strange new power of his body, he stood at the birdhouse door. Adon took only a fraction of a second to look out at the landscape, position his body appropriately, and aim the silk-coated egg. Then he hurled it as hard as he could. In the midst of the fear that gripped him, it was at least heartening to see his stolen egg fall deep into the middle of a dense patch of bush that he had scoped out earlier. He hadn¡¯t checked it closely, but it looked like the same variety of bush he had taken refuge in earlier that day. At the least, he knew that this bush had its thorns too. That egg went further than I would have been able to throw it before, he noted quietly. I was hoping it would land close and sort of roll under the thornbush, but instead, it wound up deep inside. Well, the bluebird was never going to get that back. Adon might never escape this birdhouse if the next minute didn¡¯t play out as he hoped. Something else might end up eating the egg that he had rightfully stolen. But at least the bluebird, which had failed at grabbing the Leafy Bush Cricket corpse from the thorn bush earlier, would probably neither find where he¡¯d stashed the egg nor be able to recover the egg if she did deduce the location. As if that mattered, he thought, annoyed and surprised at himself for feeling such spiteful glee. All I should care about right now is surviving. As he stood at the birdhouse door, the temptation was to try to survive by jumping through that opening. Get away before the bluebird came home. But Adon resisted the urge to run away now. Trying that could paradoxically increase his odds of death. If he simply leaped out, he would fall at the speed of gravity, leaving him at the bird¡¯s mercy for the seconds before he reached the ground. And the bird would certainly see him. She was so close, he could hear her wing beats, even if he didn¡¯t see where she was. No, Adon needed to stick to the plan. Simple and clean and his best shot at surviving the next few minutes and getting away. He raced back to the other two eggs, and he carried the nearest one forward as quickly as he could. Then he crouched by the doorway, egg clutched tightly in his front limbs, and waited. He didn¡¯t have to stand there long. Only a few precious seconds. The wing beats finally reached him. Adon tried to be as still and quiet as he could, yet remain ready to move at a moment¡¯s notice. And the bluebird¡¯s head poked through the door. She took in the scene inside her house. The shattered pieces of eggshell that littered the ground. The single egg remaining in her nest. The two empty spaces where the other eggs had been. She let out a cry of indignation. Then Adon sprang into action. Still crouched in the shadows next to the birdhouse entrance, he threw his Hail Mary pass, with the egg as his football. The blue oval flew forward, forward, spinning slightly with the curve he¡¯d semi-inadvertently given it as he released his grip. The bluebird¡¯s eyes widened. Her head began to dip down toward where the egg was flying. Adon¡¯s heart sank. No, she¡¯s going to intercept it, it isn¡¯t going to work! Without waiting to see what would actually happen, he turned around and began skittering toward the sole remaining egg. If he could not complete his plan, he could at least force a hostage situation. The backup to the backup plan. Then he heard the sound of wing beats again¡ªmoving away! Somehow it had worked. The bird had failed to intercept the thrown egg, and now, she was frantically flying to stop it from colliding with the ground. Adon grabbed the sole egg remaining in the birdhouse, dashed to the birdhouse door again, and threw himself and the egg through it, clutching the blue orb tightly in his arms. He aimed the egg and his body at the thornbush, his safe haven. As his body flew through the air, he felt the wind rush over him. For all that he was fleeing for his life, being airborne came with a sense of liberation that words could hardly capture. It reminded him that this was what he was working toward. The leap felt like a quasi-premonition. Someday, this would be his reality. This soaring feeling, the glory of flight, would be his. Forever, not just for a few seconds until he crashed. This was what his final evolved form would feel all the time. Suddenly, his mind was pulled away from the beautiful vision of himself flying through the air. He saw movement in his peripheral vision. A furiously flapping blue blur. She won¡¯t be fast enough, he thought desperately. It¡¯s not possible¡­ He turned his head as he and the egg continued to fall. The bluebird was definitely flying more quickly than Adon had thought possible based on their last encounter. Her wings seemed to be kicking up a lot of dust behind her, too. On the whole, she was moving with a force he never would¡¯ve anticipated. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. And now that he had a better look at her, he realized she had managed to stop the other egg from crashing too. Whoa! She¡¯s chasing me, and she managed to get the other egg in her beak. Good job catching it, I really thought it would break. She must have done some crazy aerial acrobatics¡­ The only explanation that occurred to Adon was that this bird had strong protective instincts toward her young, to the point that she was capable of doing things now that would have been nigh impossible for her before. And he held her other egg clutched close to his body. His theory when he was planning this possible escape was that the bird wouldn¡¯t be able to attack too ferociously when he was clinging to her egg. Now he had his doubts. Just great. That ought to make my escape¡ªAdon¡¯s train of thought was interrupted as the bird managed to accelerate even faster and almost immediately appeared next to him. Shit. A claw swiped down, aiming at grabbing hold of Adon and the egg. Three talons long enough to casually disembowel him filled Adon¡¯s field of vision. No¡­ No, I¡¯m not going to die here! Adon twisted his body into an unnatural ¡®U¡¯ shape to evade the talons, slightly altering the trajectory of his and the egg¡¯s flight through the air. The talons inched closer¡ªalmost touched him¡ªthen pulled sideways, missing his body. The bluebird¡¯s momentum carried her forward, passing Adon and the egg in the air. She continued flapping her wings furiously, but Adon knew she would have to overcome her own momentum before she could get back to where he was. He didn¡¯t think she could do that. This was over. He just had to stick the landing, and then¡ªWait, what is she doing?! The bluebird was still flapping her wings, trying to overcome and reverse her momentum before he could get away. But at the same time, her claws reached up to her beak and took hold of the egg she had been carrying in there. What, she wants to swallow me whole now? That won¡¯t work unless she wants to swallow the egg too¡ª The bird turned her head to face him, and for the first time, Adon saw the look in her eyes. He thought it would stop his heart. The normally pure black bird eyes glinted with a hint of red. Adon felt as if he could see the malice in her heart. There was a touch of madness there, too, it seemed to him. Then he corrected himself. No. It¡¯s a mother¡¯s fury. I¡¯ll have to be very careful of letting this bird see me going forward. She probably doesn¡¯t have the insane sense of smell the ants do, but she¡¯ll certainly never forget what I look like after I took three of her four eggs from her. The bluebird opened her mouth. It¡¯s futile, he thought. You¡¯re too far away¡ª The wind around Adon¡¯s body changed. It seemed impossible, and perhaps it was¡ªplaying by the logic of his last world¡ªbut he felt the wind pulling him and the egg toward the bluebird. Somehow, the bird was sucking him through the air toward her open beak. What the heck is this?! She never used something like this before. Why didn¡¯t she use it to pull me or the cricket out of the thornbush? But he knew the answer to that immediately. This breath attack wasn¡¯t very powerful. All he or the cricket would have to have done was hang on to the bush to avoid being sucked in. The bird had no way of realizing that the cricket was dead. Maybe she¡¯d been worried about sucking in a bunch of thorny plant pieces. By contrast, Adon and the egg were now floating in midair with nothing to hold onto. This also seemed like a bit of a desperation move, he realized as he observed for a few seconds. He could see the bird visibly tiring as she used it, though it had only been a moment or two. Still, he was sure she wouldn¡¯t tire fast enough to let him and the egg slip free. How to get out of this¡­ Adon wracked his brain, then made a very quick decision. The bird didn¡¯t really care about him. She was concerned first and foremost about her egg. That was why she chased after the other one when Adon threw it away. He pushed his body off of the egg, toward the thornbush that had been his target this whole time. He felt the tattered remnants of his dead leaf cloak and scraps of shed skin pulled from his body as he jumped free. Then he was out of the path of the bird¡¯s breath attack. Falling again, but just as he¡¯d thought, he was not the bird¡¯s primary focus. He never thought he¡¯d be so relieved to lose out on food. As he fell, he saw the bird¡¯s egg land squarely in her beak. Her whole posture changed at that moment. He saw a multitude of emotions in the movement of her body. Relief. Exhaustion. Triumph. She knows I still got half of her eggs, right? The bird¡¯s head turned to face him as if she could hear his thoughts. That evil glint was still in her eyes, albeit slightly weakened now that she had the two eggs she had seen him with back in her possession. Adon landed on the hard ground and started sprinting toward the thornbush. He didn¡¯t need to keep looking at the bird to know what she was doing now. He wasn¡¯t in the clear yet. As he ran, he heard the sounds of wing beats pursuing him, confirming what he¡¯d expected. Even with her beak and claws occupied holding onto the two eggs, the bluebird wasn¡¯t ready to give up on him quite yet. He stepped into the shadow of the thornbush, and then he felt a tingling on the back of his neck. The wind from the bird¡¯s body had reached him. He turned his head slightly, and he saw the left wing slicing towards him. Adon was able to throw himself forward in a last burst of speed. The very tip of the wing grazed his body, but it was only a glancing hit. It neither damaged him meaningfully nor slowed his momentum. Then he was beneath the thornbush, and he skittered as deep into the protective shelter as he could until he found the plant¡¯s stem and began climbing up. Toward where his prize should have landed. Outside of the thornbush, the bluebird made no sound to indicate her displeasure, but Adon felt it all the same. She fluttered just above the ground, making small circles outside of the thornbush as if she was waiting for him to show himself. But Adon had certainly had enough adventure for one day. He wasn¡¯t going to show himself now. He would try to make sure this bird never saw him again. He managed to finally reach where the webbed up egg had landed. His recollection of its trajectory had been roughly correct. It was safe and appeared intact, stuck between two of the bush twigs that made a fork shape. Adon immediately set about webbing himself and the egg in place. He wasn¡¯t sure if the bird had any more unnatural tricks like that weird breath attack, but he was not taking any more chances. The sun would be down soon enough. Then he could make his escape. For now, he just needed to hold out and ignore the bird flying in small, tight, angry circles just out of reach. 22. The Caterpillar鈥檚 Rewards Part 1 Despite Adon¡¯s fears, the bluebird didn¡¯t somehow manage to reach into the thornbush and crush him between her claws. Nor did she even attempt to pluck her silk-encased egg free. Based on her previous behavior, Adon was fairly certain this meant she must not have realized he actually had one of her eggs with him. He had disguised it fairly thoroughly beneath his webbing, and she hadn¡¯t seen him hurl the egg into the bush as far as he knew. So perhaps that wasn¡¯t too surprising. One could only expect so much intelligence from animals anyway, right? As the sun grew lower, the bluebird returned to the birdhouse for a short time and replaced her eggs in the nest. Then she flew in little circles in front of the bush for a bit longer. A kind of warning? he guessed. She needn¡¯t have bothered. He certainly had no intention of risking her wrath a third time. Two encounters was more than enough. Adon found himself going over the battle with the bird as he waited for sundown. Trying to find the mistakes he¡¯d made and how he could improve. If going after organisms above him on the evolutionary ladder was going to boost his powers as much as he suspected this had, he would need to become an expert fighter. In particular an expert at punching above his weight class. And here I was, thinking this life was going to be all about me making friends. He sighed. Well, that¡¯s alright. The Goddess moves in mysterious ways. If fighting was going to be a bigger part of this new life than he¡¯d expected when he realized he was a butterfly larva, he would accept that. He would try to be the best he could of whatever he was. This incarnation might be the last chance he got. Now, what should I have done differently? He started with how uninformed he¡¯d been going into the battle. If I had known she had that strange breath attack, I wouldn¡¯t have risked this, he thought. It was the closest he¡¯d witnessed to any animal he had encountered thus far having magical abilities. Maybe it really was magical. It felt a lot like a video game attack, not something a real animal should be able to do, and if she had chosen a better moment to use it, she might have killed him. For instance, if she had used it before he threw her egg out of the birdhouse as a distraction. Yes, he had overcome it in the end, but things might easily have gone differently. So how could I have countered it? His mind began to work through the possibilities. If I had some sort of projectile to throw into her mouth, that might do it¡­ As he war-gamed his past and future fights with larger and more threatening enemies in his head, Adon kept an eye on the bluebird, hoping she would go away. But he had no such luck for a long while. The circles that the bird flew in grew slightly wider and she moved more slowly, as her body seemed to float up and down in elevation with the wind. But she didn¡¯t leave. After some time, the sun sunk down into the horizon. The bird seemed to ignore the fact that the day was ending. She stood on the ground now, having given up wasting energy by flying, but she looked terribly vigilant. Watching. More than just looking in his general direction¡­ Lying in wait. As the light faded further, he couldn¡¯t help but watch her in turn. It was simultaneously unnerving and reassuring. Unnerving by the sheer fact of her continued presence. But reassuring too, because he thought the fact that she wasn¡¯t taking action might mean that she couldn¡¯t. Adon¡¯s vision, even as the twilight turned to dusk, remained sharper than it had ever been before he upgraded his eyes. Perhaps also sharper than it had been right after he purchased the new eyes. That was strange. Were they getting better with experience? He saw the bluebird still where she had been, restlessly pacing back and forth, watching the thornbush, and waiting for any sign of movement. She didn¡¯t seem to have a precise bead on his location, but her sharp eyes played over areas of the bush near where he¡¯d taken refuge. The vengeful glint in her eyes had begun to fade, though, as fatigue slowly overtook her. Finally, as the darkness threatened to become complete, she threw a last disdainful look in his general direction. Then the bluebird took off and flew back up to the birdhouse. Thank the Goddess. At last, Adon could relax a bit. He was finally alone. He let out a long sigh. And he finally opened his Status menu. It was time to assess his rewards.
User: Unnamed Spiny Butterfly Larva Age: 2 days Sex: Male
Status
Health: 19/20(!)
Strength: 14(!)
Agility: 17(!)
Perception: 18(!)
Dexterity: 15(!)
Constitution: 21(!)
Intelligence: 95(!)
Will: 100(!)
Charisma: 11(!)
Skills: Identify, Impeccable Memory, Past Life Connection, Shed Skin, Spiritual Sight
Evolution Points: 220
Biomass: 25/45
Holy crap! My Stats all shot up. Even the ones that seemed sort of crazy high already! At a cursory glance, it seemed that every number had gone up by at least ten points, including his total Health, but excluding the insanely high Evolution Points he¡¯d accrued. Charisma is still my dump Stat, but eleven is a lot higher than one. He wanted to check himself out in a pool of water, to see if his physical appearance had improved with his increased charisma. But he¡¯d never seen any body of water at all in the course of this whole life, so that would probably have to wait. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. He focused on one of the exclamation points, hoping that some explanation would appear. And he wasn¡¯t disappointed. (!): This symbol indicates that a noteworthy development occurred relating to the Status feature in question. In this specific case, these Stats were enhanced by the user. The user successfully consumed the recently living flesh of a species that was substantially above the user in the natural hierarchy. As a result, the impacted attributes were permanently increased. So this is the reward I get for following this body¡¯s instincts, he thought. I knew the eggs would be something good for me to eat, but I never imagined all this¡­ The incentives the System was giving him here would certainly drive his future hunting decisions. The overlap between his own goals for this life and what the System valued was that he needed to be ambitious. He would need to continue finding ways to pursue prey that was considered ¡°substantially above¡± him. That promised to be intensely dangerous. This would not be the last time he threw himself into a life or death situation like this. On the bright side, he was just a little butterfly larva. What was really below him on the hierarchy? That reminds me! His eyes floated back up to the top of his Status. Sure enough, the System¡¯s way of referring to him had changed. Instead of just being ¡°Unnamed Butterfly Larva,¡± now I¡¯m ¡°Unnamed Spiny Butterfly Larva,¡± he thought. It was a tad bit underwhelming, if he was honest. Then again, maybe he would earn additional System brownie points and get a much more interesting species label by the time he evolved. After he was done looking at the Status, he opened the Evolution Store. It was time to spend some of the bounty of Evolution Points he¡¯d earned with his latest exploits.
Evolution Store
Adaptations
Evolutions
Skills
Oh my gosh, the Evolution options aren¡¯t grayed out anymore! Doesn¡¯t that mean I could evolve right now? Adon stared open-mouthed for a moment as he pondered the implications. Then he shook his head slightly. There was no point in thinking that much about it. It was time to give the options a look. He hoped there would be something good for him, but he didn¡¯t expect much. He was prepared to wait a lot longer than he had, if it would get him better options. Frankly, some of the Adaptations and Skills might be more valuable to him for the moment than just making an immediate jump into adult butterfly form. There were only two options available, so Adon decided to read the descriptions for both. Standard Chrysalis Evolution: Activates the mechanisms that will cause your body to proceed through standard caterpillar evolution and become a butterfly after you create your chrysalis. A boring and not particularly informative description, Adon thought. Not your best work, System. Somehow, though, it cost 200 Evolution Points. He looked down at the second option, hoping it would offer something better. But the description for Specialized Chrysalis Evolution did not populate. Instead, a message that he had forgotten existed appeared. Insufficient Evolution Points saved. Right. That¡¯s a thing that happens sometimes. Forgot for a moment there are things I can¡¯t afford. The glow of imagined wealth dissipated in an instant. When you¡¯re poor, they don¡¯t even let you window shop. He imagined someone following him around a store asking if they could help him. Adon had been poor in more than one past life. In one of those incarnations, an instance of the store employee following him and asking if he needed help had left such a strong impression that he still remembered it. The conversation with the store clerk had become confrontational, then almost turned to fisticuffs, before that version of Adon meekly backed down and left. He cringed at the memory even now. I kind of wish I just punched him in the jaw, he thought. Maybe it¡¯s not the enlightened thing to think. It might not represent a step forward for my soul. But that guy just made me feel so small. So unimportant. Like he thought I must be lost. He shook his head again. When he wasn¡¯t moving toward some goal, the memories could easily cloud his mind. Even though his recollections of his past lives were far from complete, there were so many memorable instances that he could easily have spent hours in dark reminiscence. Thankfully, his survival was so tenuous in this world that he had never had the time to indulge that unhealthy impulse. Remember where you are, he told himself. Remember what you just did, despite what you are. You''re absolutely not a loser. You¡¯re brave now. Maybe even a little bit crazy. You¡¯re ready to steal fire from the gods! A pause. Uh, no offense, Goddess, if you can hear this. Focusing back in on the present situation, Adon made an instant decision. He wasn¡¯t going to buy the Standard Chrysalis Evolution. He would save up until he could at least read the description for the Specialized Chrysalis Evolution. Maybe it wouldn¡¯t be anything important. Sometimes products were priced radically differently with no meaningful differences. But then again, sometimes buying the ¡°premium¡± product was the only worthwhile option. For now, let¡¯s focus on being the best caterpillar we can be, he thought. He returned to the main Evolution Store menu. It was time to make himself a better predator. Again. The first thing he purchased was Telepathy I, though. He had put that off enough. It wouldn¡¯t help him fight, but that wasn¡¯t the only goal he had for this life. I wanted to be a social butterfly, he thought, even as the idea sent butterflies fluttering in his stomach. Even if the idea of trying to socialize with any of the life forms he¡¯d met thus far scared him, it was time to make the attempt. He resolved to save 50 Evolution Points through any subsequent purchase decisions, just in case he needed to buy the next tier up on the telepathy Adaptation tree. Even with 25 Evolution Points spent on Telepathy I, and another 50 earmarked for Telepathy II, he still had 145 he could freely use. It would have seemed a disproportionate bounty of riches if he hadn¡¯t been forced to pick a fight with a bluebird to get it. A bird that might, as far as he knew, find him again one day. I really need to keep my distance from any potential predators the size of that bird, and ideally avoid any further sneak attacks, he thought. Even though he was thinking about taking on more birds and other ambitious enemies, the fact was that the little Leafy Bush Cricket had almost taken him out earlier today. All it took was an ambush, which Adon thought probably hadn¡¯t even involved planning on the cricket¡¯s part. He looked through Adaptations for a while, mulling over his options. There were Silk Spinner III, Venom Spines III, Piercing Mandibles II, and Hardened Exoskeleton II, upgrades to existing Adaptations that had already proven so useful. There were also all the options that had drawn his eye before that he hadn¡¯t purchased: Venom Fangs I, Bladed Mandibles I, Crushing Mandibles I, Magic Perception I, Venom Spores I, Sleep Spores I, and Camouflage I. And there were so many options that he could afford now that had seemed out of reach before. Some of them put the choices he¡¯d previously been contemplating to shame. Among the Adaptations, he now considered Bladed Limbs I, which would give him sickle-like limbs along the lines of what the Ladybug Larva had somehow possessed (20 Evolution Points); Poison Resistance I, which had been affordable before but had not seemed worthwhile given that he planned to target bird¡¯s eggs (10 Evolution Points); Spine Thicket, which would cause him to grow more spines, covering every part of his body except his head and his silk spinner (12 Evolution Points); Natatorial Limbs I, which would modify his middle and back legs for swimming (20 Evolution Points); Fossorial Limbs I, which would modify his forelimbs for digging (20 Evolution Points); Saltatorial Limbs I, which would modify his back limbs for jumping (30 Evolution Points); and Acid Fangs I, which would modify his mandibles to inject acid in the same way that Venom Fangs I would modify them to inject Venom (20 Evolution Points). There were a bevy of attractive options to strengthen his body and increase his chances of survival. But the most interesting Adaptation, or at least the one that gave him the strongest positive feeling as he thought about purchasing it, was Color Change I. 23. The Caterpillar鈥檚 Rewards Part 2 The power of the chameleon, Adon thought. A much better¡ªthough naturally more expensive¡ªoption than Camouflage I. Since he was now thinking about actively having to consume the flesh of organisms much stronger than him, the sneak attack strategy he¡¯d just pursued looked extremely attractive. Some form of camouflage would make that much easier. But when he¡¯d read the description for Camouflage I, it made clear that it would change the shape and coloration of his body somewhat to mimic the environment where he spent the most time. Which probably meant the leaves and plant stems. Or maybe the ground, at this point? Either way, it wouldn¡¯t do him much good, since he was quite fond of moving from one environment to another. And most apex predators wouldn¡¯t be small enough to hang out on the plant stems where caterpillars normally spent their time. So he would be camouflaged in one place and then look like a moving plant in another, probably. And he would likely have to get another upgrade or two if he wanted his Camouflage to be truly convincing even in the intended environment. It¡¯s a total ripoff, he thought. A complete waste of money, er, Evolution Points. By contrast, from the description at least, Color Change I was adaptive. He would have the ability to change the color of his outer layers of cells at will. Using this properly would require more Intelligence and Will than the average caterpillar would possess, which might be why he hadn¡¯t seen other insects sporting the same ability. But he was far from the average caterpillar. Adon remembered that scientists from his last world had only recently cracked the exact mechanism that chameleons used to change the color of their skin. Then there was an arms race to develop it into wearable technology that special forces could use. From there, the science became a state asset, outside the reach of ordinary civilians¡­ But not outside my reach, he thought. Not anymore. It would cost 50 Evolution Points, but Adon could afford it, and this seemed like an obvious huge asset to him. It would be an edge even relative to predators as advanced as birds, dogs, and humans. He added this to his cart. That¡¯s going to be only 95 Evolution Points left, he thought a bit nervously. He wasn¡¯t sure whether he would get Evolution Points when he ate the egg that he was standing guard over. I¡¯ll make my remaining purchase decisions assuming no additional points. He moved to consider Skills. Within the Skills, there were a number of interesting options: Mana Manipulation I, which sounded like it would make him into a magic caterpillar; Spine Shot I, which would allow him to fire his spines as projectiles; Adhesive Mucus I, which would secrete a gluey substance from his body; Projectile Venom I, which spoke for itself; and Projectile Adhesive I. Spine Shot I has the advantages of being cheap and building on my existing strengths. If I got that and Spine Thicket, I¡¯d improve both my offense and defense with only a small investment, a total of 24 Evolution Points. He added both items to his cart. Then he went back to Adaptations and flipped through options some more. He found he wasn¡¯t very tempted by most of the leg enhancements he had initially been interested in, because as he thought about his future, he realized they would all be useless once he became a butterfly. And he was trying to become the very best butterfly that he could be. Not just a really good caterpillar with high survivability. Who ever heard of a digging butterfly? A swimming butterfly? Even a jumping butterfly would be a stretch, although Saltatorial Limbs I might be very attractive as a short term investment. Adon kept scrolling. To his surprise, he found that despite having chosen to invest in Apposition Eyes I and II, he still had access to some of the same vision options from earlier, along with at least one that he was pretty sure he hadn¡¯t seen before. There were Simple Eyes I, Apposition Eyes III, Superposition Eyes I, Infrared Vision, and Ultraviolet Vision. Kind of thought I was crossing a bridge permanently when I chose to get Apposition Eyes I. When he examined the options, however, he found that they were not quite the same as the choices he had before. Simple Eyes I and Superposition Eyes I had grown more expensive, and they were both offering to allow him to grow additional eyes rather than to transform the eyes he already had. The description for Simple Eyes I now mentioned that they would grow on the top of his head and assist him in determining the position of the sun and the horizon, which made him want to chuckle. So that¡¯s what my original eyes were good for, he thought. The funny thing was that those would probably be very useful¡ªif he could fly! Planes and other flying machines always had an artificial horizon instrument and an altimeter. He considered whether to buy them now, and he decided that he would. If it would help improve his eventual flying, this was a wise investment. And they were incredibly cheap at 6 Evolution Points. He placed Simple Eyes I in his cart. Next he added Infrared Vision. It cost 12 Evolution Points, but it would add permanently to his spectrum of vision. He would be able to see better at night, per the description. It gave him a slight sense of regret that he¡¯d rejected Superposition Eyes I before. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. But Adon had made that decision because he wasn¡¯t planning to be nocturnal. Now he was about to travel at night by necessity. He didn¡¯t want to still be stuck in this thornbush when the bluebird woke up. He didn¡¯t think she was going to just forget about him. And wandering around in the dark seemed extraordinarily dangerous without better vision. So I¡¯ll have just over 53 Evolution Points free with that¡­ Hm. With Spine Thicket, I don¡¯t think I need to upgrade my exoskeleton. Spine Thicket doesn¡¯t seem to have an upgraded form, which means it must be a pretty thorough covering in spines, so it¡¯s going to be very difficult to attack me directly now. He decided to add Poison Resistance I and Mana Perception I next. With those added, he couldn¡¯t afford much more unless he decided to compromise on saving some points up in case he needed Telepathy II. No! I have to be able to talk to Goldie. Her web was still where he was planning to head next. He¡¯d been sidetracked a few times, with the cricket attack, the bird attack, and Adon¡¯s egg raid, but he was still certain the spider could teach him valuable knowledge. Either she would help him improve his use of his silk spinner, or she would give him more general survival advice. The spider certainly knew what she was doing. Goldie was still by far the most impressive bug he¡¯d seen in his short life. She was also the only one who hadn¡¯t attacked him on sight, which made her the ideal target to try telepathy with. Given that priority, there were only 13 Evolution Points left to spend. At the moment, anyway. He glanced sideways at the egg encased in silk. Before he made any more hard choices, it was time to find out how many more Evolution Points he¡¯d get out of eating this egg he¡¯d successfully stolen. Adon closed the Evolution Store without emptying his cart or completing checkout. He began unceremoniously ripping the webbing off of the bird¡¯s egg with his mandibles and consuming it. The silk might not taste like much, but that was free Biomass he was getting back. Then he licked the edges of his mouth. The familiar blue speckled surface of his stolen egg gleamed up at him. It looked so much more appetizing now that he knew what it would taste like. Adon smashed his way in as he had before, and he quickly fell into the same feeding trance he had last time. Slurp slurp. Gulp. Swoon. This time, he tried to remain more aware and savor each juicy portion of the egg as he ate it. After all, it could be the last of these delicious bird eggs that he ever got to eat. He once again noticed when the texture and taste of the yolk changed slightly¡ªthe texture became harder, and the taste shifted to something that reminded him quite a bit of chicken¡ªbut now it was obvious to him what that was. That was a fertilized egg, he thought. He knew that chickens in captivity laid unfertilized eggs most of the time. He hadn¡¯t known whether wild birds did or not. But on balance, it didn¡¯t matter. If he thought he could kill birds, he would be killing full-grown birds. It was only natural that he consume a bird embryo if he had the chance. Otherwise, it would only grow up to kill him and any offspring he had. The only thing it changes is the taste. But the sweetest element of the meal was checking his Evolution Points afterward. They had increased by another hundred. Adon was able to add a few additional items he¡¯d had his eyes on to his cart at that point. Mana Manipulation I for 50 Evolution Points, Bladed Mandibles I and II for 15 Evolution Points, and Venom Spines III for 24 Evolution Points. That leaves me 24 Evolution Points left to get whatever else I might want, he thought. He¡¯d spent so much upgrading his defenses that he was starting to think he would be a predator to be reckoned with now. He hadn¡¯t lost many fights in his short life once he¡¯d started to buy Adaptations. Now he thought he wasn¡¯t going to lose any unless he ran into another large predator like a bird. He decided to purchase Acid Fangs I. He couldn¡¯t imagine how deadly he would be in close combat if he could inject acid into his enemies¡¯ bodies and had armor-piercing mandibles. Finally, he locked in his purchases, and he braced himself. Before, the process of obtaining new Adaptations had been painful. Now that he had attained so many Evolution Points and purchased so many improvements at once, the changes were agonizing. Adon had tried to approach it like ripping off a bandaid, but it felt as if he was ripping off multiple limbs instead. Hundreds of spines ripped through his exoskeleton as the Spine Thicket grew from his body for the first time. The areas of his head closest to his mandibles boiled with a hot pain as those parts of him changed and re-formed to accommodate his new acid-injecting mandibles. His compound eyes seemed to sizzle with hot pain as well, as they adapted to his improvements in vision. There was a smaller, barely noticeable pain on top of his head where three new simple eyes grew. Every area of his skin that wasn¡¯t already feeling the stabbing pain of spines growing out of it burned with white hot heat. And while his head had pounded when he gained his compound eyes before, this time it felt like a tiny person with a hammer was playing whack-a-mole with his brain. Ahh! So much pain¡­ Adon¡¯s whole body writhed uncontrollably for several minutes while he silently endured the pain. Then he passed into blessed catatonia. Some time later, he became aware of his surroundings again. I forgot how horrible that feels, was his first coherent thought. No, that can¡¯t be how horrible it was last time. I would have remembered. I certainly wouldn¡¯t have done it again! From now on, maybe just one or two new Adaptations at a time? On the bright side, Adon felt certain he must be much more powerful now. No pain, no gain, right? He stretched a leg out tentatively and then stood up on the twigs he had lain sprawled across. Shook himself. Bent slightly to look down at his body. Yeah, he thought. That is exactly what I asked for. He was covered in so many venomous spines that he looked like he wore a fur coat. That Adaptation had been everything it was advertised to be. But the thick coating of spines wasn¡¯t the only thing he¡¯d wanted to see. Adon focused. His brain contained the knowledge now, implanted like a gift from the Goddess, of how to use his new Adaptations and Skills on at least a basic level. That was probably what that feeling like his brain was being hammered was about. New instincts being forced in. He looked down at himself and activated one of his Adaptations. It was wonderfully intuitive. As he stared down at his body, he saw and felt the change. Yes¡­ Yes, it works! He almost hadn¡¯t believed it could happen, but his body had vanished. Every part of himself had shifted color to match the brown of the twig on which he stood. I can¡¯t even see myself! It was far better than any ordinary camouflage that he could imagine. 24. Long Walk Through the Dark Adon inhaled and exhaled. And his body reverted back to its usual colors almost instantly without him trying to change back. All he had to do was stop thinking about being a different color, it seemed. As he was looking down at himself, he noticed how his appearance had changed with Spine Thicket purchased. The spines had always been a light brown, translucent on close inspection. Now, when there were so many of them close together, it looked like they were a deeper shade of brown. Kind of pretty, he thought of their new appearance. Like I¡¯m wearing a cozy sweater. I guess I need to make sure I keep my focus if I want to keep my color shifted. The idea didn¡¯t bother him. A camouflage power that was fully under his conscious control gave him much more of a sense of agency than a passive power that would not be effective in all environments. He was still happy he¡¯d chosen Color Change I over Camouflage I. He stepped backward along the twig he stood on. Then he began crawling back down the stem he¡¯d climbed up when he first arrived. Once he reached the base of the plant, he headed out of the thornbush, walking toward the opposite side from the one he had entered through. He moved a little nervously¡ªhe couldn¡¯t help wondering if somehow the bird would be waiting for him on the other side of the bush¡ªbut he didn''t stop. Who knew how long he had been semiconscious? He had to deal with the problem of his location now. Now that Adon had done all the fun parts¡ªreviewing his Status and selecting his new Adaptations and Skills¡ªand the not so fun parts¡ªwhen his Adaptations actually took effect¡ªit was time to face something he was genuinely afraid of: the darkness. Specifically, it was time that he walked through the darkness and escaped from the thornbush he¡¯d fled into to avoid becoming bird food. Time to face the unknown world of nocturnal animals. A setting he had been worried about since he hatched. As he stepped out of the cover of leaves, Adon faced what felt like a strange new environment. Fortunately, he could still see quite well. The first thing he noticed was something about the ground. What happened to this patch of dirt? he thought. No¡­ As he looked around, Adon realized that what he was looking at was not precisely a patch of dirt. No. The scale had him confused for a few seconds. But this wasn¡¯t a field of untilled earth or something. It was a path. Adon looked down the path as far as he could, but it split and turned, and he thought he was far from being able to see the end of either route. One of the turns, he realized, must go directly by the birdhouse. I guess I would have walked right into it if I¡¯d walked a bit further, he estimated. But he¡¯d been too absorbed in the task of doing a stakeout to worry about taking in the scenery. I shouldn¡¯t be too surprised, he thought. I started to get the feeling that I was in a garden after I remembered hearing a king and a lord walking around and chatting. Still, it was one thing to vaguely assume he was in a garden, and another thing to see flattened earth for the first time. Visual proof of the assumption. I wonder if there¡¯s a path that goes by the plant where I was born. He wouldn¡¯t have been able to see it if there had been. Back then, he only had simple eyes. He recalled the girl who had promised to bring him something to eat if he defeated the Ladybug Larva. Is she a princess or something? She must be someone important¡¯s daughter if she¡¯s hanging out in a king¡¯s garden in the early hours of the morning. It made him feel a bit smaller, seeing the path. The landscape feature just confirmed for him that he was in a cultivated space, not a truly wild location. He had barely survived this place thus far. How would he have fared if he¡¯d been born in some forest? Eaten before he even hatched? He shook his head, irritated with himself. Shut up and navigate, he ordered. And so he did. Adon used his best guesses as to what direction he should move to reach his destination: Goldie¡¯s web. He continued to take the most indirect route as he could imagine without getting completely lost, because his most direct route would have taken him closer to the birdhouse. Anything else he met out here, he hoped he would be able to fend off. But not angry birds. He felt a sense of wonder as he walked. The world showed itself to him differently, now that he had his compound eyes, plus more points in Perception than he¡¯d ever had before, along with Infrared Vision and lots of moonlight to show him the way. That night, there was a nearly full moon in the sky, so even if Adon¡¯s vision had not been much enhanced, he still would have been able to spy shapes. But seen through the lenses of his compound eyes, the world at night was different and beautiful. Flowers that Adon had never noticed before began opening up and showing off beautiful shapes and bright white and yellow colors. There are some flowers that only bloom at night, aren¡¯t there? he recalled. And some of those flowers happened to be among the most magnificent. Though Adon didn¡¯t know their names, he witnessed evening primroses and moonflowers in their full glory, among others. They seemed almost to glow in the moonlight. Giving more credence to the idea that he was in a garden, the flowers seemed to grow almost everywhere. For a time, the beauty of the landscape banished his trepidation about navigating the world at night. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. One day, I¡¯ll help perpetuate their cycle of life, he realized. Knowing where he fit in with these splendid plants only made him more appreciative of their natural beauty. It was humbling, in the best way. I might be a vicious predator right now, but someday I¡¯ll help flowers pollinate. Along with being however pretty I¡¯ll be as a butterfly, I¡¯ll be a compounding source of beauty. Looked at that way, the Goddess had given him a wonderful opportunity with this life. He hadn¡¯t been quite sure what she had intended when she turned him into a butterfly larva. Adon¡¯s goal for this life was to make friends and ideally find love. But even if butterflies were hated and feared in this world, as that king and lord had seemed to imply in the conversation he overheard, he would still have a purpose. A beautiful purpose. Life can be beautiful, even alone. It was a wishful thought as much as it was a sincere revelation of personal truth. He wasn¡¯t completely confident whether he believed it. But why shouldn¡¯t it be true? Humans were made to be social animals, but Adon clearly wasn¡¯t human anymore, even if he often felt like one. Then he saw the first giants of his night walk, and all his existential concerns fled immediately. What the heck are those? Walking the garden path, he saw a tall tree¡ªor what looked to him like a tall tree. There were a handful of dark-furred mouse-like creatures munching on various parts of the exterior of the tree. Like little beavers, he thought. They were quite small, compared with beavers or even the bluebird who had hunted him earlier. But they were still large when compared with him, roughly four or five times his size. One of them seemed to notice Adon, and he immediately started looking for another direction to walk in. The interested rodent seemed to sense weakness. It began walking away from the tree and toward Adon. He activated his color changing skin while continuing to move away from the vole and look for a good new route that would keep him away from these creatures¡¯ tree. As he walked, he kept an eye on the monster that had begun pursuing him, but fortunately, it seemed to lose interest once its eyes could no longer track him. After walking a few feet away from the tree, it tilted its head, still looking at where Adon had been, and then turned back to the bark it had been eating. The color change seemed to have been very effective. Adon used Identify on the monster out of sheer curiosity. Midnight Garden Vole (Male) In another life, I probably would have thought that thing was cute, he thought ruefully. It was a shame that in this life, almost everything was a potential predator relative to him. To him, the creature¡¯s beady black eyes looked like those of the bluebird before he enraged it. The snout was almost wolf-like. Greedy and predatory jaws, ready to rip him to pieces or swallow him whole. He continued walking, but now a large part of his focus stayed on maintaining his coloration and occasionally changing it when he moved from one surface to another. He didn¡¯t lift the changed coloration at any point. I¡¯m in a really bad neighborhood. Just focus on staying invisible¡­ Adon crossed between dirt paths and grass several times, and he congratulated himself each time on having chosen Color Change I over Camouflage I, which would have certainly been useless in one or the other environment. Heck, I might have been eaten by that vole if I¡¯d just chosen Camouflage I. When he encountered the next monster, it was less of a shock, despite the fact that the creature was even bigger than the voles had been. A triangular, pointed snout. Beady black eyes. A big, bulky body covered in sharp quills. He used Identify, though he was fairly certain he knew generally what the creature was. Common Claustrian Hedgehog (Female) Yep. Confirmed that it was a hedgehog, although she reminds me a lot of an elephant at our current size relationship... Actually, she probably looks a lot like me. They were both covered in spines, though Adon also had the benefit of being able to disguise his entire body to match the surrounding space. And the creature had the benefit of being humongous. Despite his color advantage, Adon tried to give the creature a wide berth. There was something in her eyes that he didn¡¯t like very much. She kept sniffing the air as if she could tell that something unusual had entered her typical habitat, and Adon didn¡¯t want to risk her taking a bite out of him, unlikely though it might be. There were a few other close calls like this, when he had near encounters with shrews, another few voles, and a bunch of foraging mice. Each time, Adon carefully maintained his focus on maintaining his disguised coloration and tried to get away from the monsters as quickly as possible. Who knew the garden was so active at night? Actually, he knew that nocturnal animals existed and that many of these creatures were among them. But it was one thing to know, and another to have to avoid and evade their predations. Once he actually saw a hedgehog encounter some of his fellow insects. A small colony of crickets. Not the same species as the creature Adon had killed, and slightly smaller, but it was still distressing how one-sided the conflict was. The hedgehog was sniffing at the ground, which almost made Adon hasten to run away. But then it moved away from him and approached what seemed to Adon an unexceptional patch of earth. The hedgehog knew better. It used its claws¡ªwell adapted for digging, he could now recognize¡ªand dug several inches deep very quickly. Rather than fleeing, Adon stopped for a few seconds and watched. And he saw the hedgehog uncover them. Around a dozen crickets in a burrow. They tried to run and leap to evade the monster, but it captured big chunks of them in its maw and claws. Those lucky few that escaped were able to scatter, but most of the others were captured easily and swallowed whole. The only exceptions were those crickets the hedgehog accidentally stepped on in the process of capturing and eating their fellow colony members. There was no defense, nor even any discernible effort at it. The creatures knew they were so outmatched that their only strategy when attacked by this behemoth was to flee. Adon found it slightly horrifying to watch. Not that he wouldn¡¯t have devoured those crickets himself, but it was all too easy this time to imagine himself in their place. The hedgehog would swallow him whole without even realizing it was eating something venomous. An upset stomach later would be the only proof that Adon had ever lived in this world. He wasn¡¯t so much bigger than the crickets that this scenario was implausible at all. Witnessing the hedgehog messily capture and crush and swallow its prey was like watching a real-life horror movie. Before Adon knew it, he was running. Moving without thinking, without direction. Operating on instinct. The only thing his brain was doing was keeping his change of coloration active. Finally, after he had gotten some distance from the hedgehog, he stopped. And realized that he was lost. 25. The Ugly Face of Night Adon began climbing the nearest bush. The best way to figure out where you are is to get to a high place, he thought. He tried to project confidence to himself as he scaled the side of the bush, but his inner voice sounded anxious instead. And it wasn¡¯t hard to see why. There were a multitude of flying creatures of various sizes flitting about in the air. Adon had never really noticed them in the daylight, but he couldn¡¯t help thinking that if he had seen so many at once, he would have stayed closer to the soil. I stuck to the ground this whole time, despite the scary monsters down there, for a reason. On the ground, I have firm footing, I have good camouflage, and at worst, I can probably outrun most of these massive predators. Crawling up the side of the bush, it felt like he had less of a fighting chance against anything that might attack. His footing was horribly unstable, he had little confidence that his body¡¯s changing colors could adapt quickly enough to keep up with the uneven background of leaves and twigs, and he would be slower than anything that might fly over to eat him. The situation was nerve-wracking. It¡¯s fine, he told himself as he neared the top of the bush. I¡¯ll get the lay of the land, take a minute, two minutes tops, to get my bearings, and then I¡¯ll know which way I¡¯m going. And I won¡¯t let my camouflage down the entire time I¡¯m up here. Adon finally reached the top, and he looked around. This garden was so different at night, but he thought he saw a few landmarks. Now that his vision had improved, he could see what looked like a massive building somewhere in the far distance. He saw the outline of the birdhouse, not nearly as far away as he would have liked. And he saw, somewhat closer than the building, what looked to be a great wall rising in the distance to his other side. Was Goldie¡¯s web built against that wall? Adon had not been trying to memorize details like that when he encountered the spider. He wasn¡¯t even sure if he¡¯d ever looked to see what the web butted up against. It was hard to delve too deep into the memories right now. Hard to think at all while keeping a large chunk of his brain focused on maintaining his changed coloration. Plus, he¡¯d been thinking about how he could fill his belly with ants at the time, and then he was petrified of Goldie herself. But finally he managed to pull the images of what he¡¯d seen back to the forefront of his mind, without dropping his camouflage. And he did think that the spider must have had some surface she built her web against. It was the quality of the light in his memories that convinced him. The sun¡¯s rays had been blocked on one side. Light and dark was really all his old eyes could see, so the memories were rather stark. But at least he remembered. At the time, I thought her web was secured to heavy rocks, because it hardly moved at all when the ants fell on it, he thought. I couldn¡¯t see worth a damn back then, so I was just guessing. More likely, she attached it to a wall or a tree. He couldn¡¯t be certain, but he thought he would at least try walking toward the wall. He was still a little too close to the birdhouse for his liking, so he would at least walk a bit more before he considered resting for the night. ¡°Screeeeeeeee!!!!¡± As Adon reached a resolution, a piercing shriek tore through the air. It seemed to be intended as an attack on him. Rather than hurting his eardrums, which Adon doubted he had, the screech hurt his whole body. Everything from his antennae, his head, his stomach, and even down to his silk generating organs, felt unsettled. Ahh! What the hell is that? Adon dropped his color change. It clearly wasn¡¯t working if something was attacking him directly. He turned and saw a flying brown blur winging its way through the night. Despite feeling uncomfortable and slightly disoriented from the sound attack, he kept sufficient presence of mind to use Identify. Little Brown Bat (Male) That¡¯s one of my natural predators, isn¡¯t it? The bat was flying right towards him, though it was still several feet away. It unleashed another sound attack. ¡°Screeeeeeeee!!!!¡± Even though he was more prepared for it this time, the attack made Adon¡¯s body twist and writhe with pain and discomfort. He didn¡¯t realize it until the sound finished escaping his mouth, but he even cried out. ¡°Ahhhh!¡± I didn¡¯t even know I could scream, he thought. Though the sound was so high-pitched and weak, it was more like a whistle blown by a child with asthma. He hadn¡¯t taken his eyes off the enemy even as the sound ripped through him, though. The bat wasn¡¯t going to kill him with those noises. The damage it could do was definitely limited, even if it felt extremely painful. It was trying to soften him up for the inevitable physical attacks to follow. The bat circled around, keeping its distance for the moment. Based on the screeches, it was intent on weakening him as much as it could before it tried to make the kill. Adon waited for it to close the distance, turning his body to keep facing the flying predator. What is it with me and flying enemies, anyway? he thought. They don¡¯t want to pick on somebody their own size? There was a part of him that found this exhilarating, though. If he could defeat a bat, what would that be worth in Evolution Points? The bat let out another screech. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Screeeeeeeee!!!!¡± Goddess damn it! This time, though, he did not cry out. The attack seemed to have diminished somewhat in effectiveness, perhaps because he had endured two more previously. There was only so much damage the bat could inflict with this sound-based attack. And the monster seemed to realize that. It started to swing around once more, but this time, it flew directly at him. Adon still hadn¡¯t gotten a good look at the creature. He focused on it, planning to attack once the bat got close enough. It would discover that he was far from defenseless. The bat took a minute before it got close enough for Adon to simply see it better. As it pulled into view, he winced inside his own mind. Ugh. That thing¡¯s butt-ugly. If I had a one in Charisma, is it possible this creature has a negative number? An ugly face, an ugly voice, and the creepiest shape I¡¯ve ever seen¡­ Ugly was the least of it, really. The bat¡¯s face was monstrous. It had ears so massive they reminded him of horns, tiny black eyes, and jaws that looked almost hairless, like someone shaved a rat. Adon had the urge to run, but he ignored it. That would just make him an easier target. Surely the bat had been trying to break his spirit with those sound attacks, as well as weaken his body. Maybe it didn¡¯t realize how dangerous of a caterpillar it was attacking. I¡¯ve already killed one life form that was above me in the so-called natural hierarchy, he thought. Watch out! You might join the bird¡¯s eggs¡­ The thought trailed off lamely. Defeating helpless eggs really wasn¡¯t much of an achievement. Running from the bird was, but it didn¡¯t strike the same tone. And now the bat was close enough for Adon to see the expression on its creepy face. It looked like a hideous, open-mouthed smile, showing all the bat¡¯s small but sharp teeth. Ready. Aim. Adon pointed every spine he could from the front part of his body toward the bat. Some of the spines on his underside couldn¡¯t be aimed that way, and some of the spines on his right were useless because the bat was swooping in from the left. But as the bat flew closer, dozens of Adon¡¯s hundreds of spines were pointed in its direction. Fire. Adon launched his attack, but the bat suddenly changed direction! It couldn¡¯t be reacting to his spines, because it moved at almost the same moment that he shot them. Crap. Adon began hopping from leaf to leaf, no longer concerned with trying to fight the bat. That thing was way out of my league anyway, he thought. I don¡¯t even know how he¡¯s doing what he¡¯s doing. What the hell was that sound attack? How the hell did he dodge my spines before I fired them? The bat released another burst of its sound attack, but Adon was able to power through it, since he was moving quickly and was only partially caught in the zone of impact, and his body was also slowly getting used to all of his innards being rattled. Desperation lets you do crazy things, he thought as he kept moving, barely slowed by the attack. He turned his body around so that he could begin clambering down the side of the bush, tail end moving first. At least I can see his next attack coming that way. But as Adon started to move, he saw the bat fly down incredibly low to the bush and strike at where he had just been. It threw a claw swipe with one of the short claws on its feet, then immediately bounced upward into the air again. Wait. He doesn¡¯t know where I am? Adon began to descend the side of the bush¡ªbut slowly, while he tried to figure out what this might mean. The bat doesn¡¯t have very good eyesight, since he attacked the place where I just was instead of where I actually am. That was the first physical attack he bothered with. Maybe those attacks he was trying to soften me up with weren¡¯t just attacks. What if they¡¯re weaponized echolocation? If that¡¯s the case, maybe he was trying to weaken me while also keeping an eye on my location. There¡¯s probably a number of attacks he usually throws before he thinks the enemy is weak enough to hit directly. So maybe he wasn¡¯t predicting where I would shoot my spines before. Maybe he changed directions because he was feinting. That wasn¡¯t the moment when he was planning to attack anyway. He wanted to hit me with another sound attack. Adon was making a lot of assumptions. Optimistic assumptions, at that. But the bat didn¡¯t seem to be planning on leaving him alone, so it was important to think about his next attack. Would throwing venomous spines at the bat work this time? If not, Adon should stop wasting them and try to jump in close to the bat¡¯s lower body. If he could keep away from the jaws, then he could stab the bat with his venom spines directly, and maybe use his freshly enhanced mandibles to inject its body with acid. As he considered options for dealing with the bat, Adon saw that it was circling back for another attack on him. If I understand the pattern vaguely correctly, he¡¯s going to hit me with his sound attack again, and then he¡¯ll come in for that claw swipe attack. He¡¯ll aim at wherever his echolocation shows him I was. So if I just stand still and let the attack hit me one more time, I¡¯ll know exactly where he¡¯s going to attack next. And after that last upgrade, my spines are longer, sharper, and cover more of my body¡­ They¡¯re generally just much scarier than they used to be. Adon thought he could win the fight if he could strike the bat with enough of his spines. Despite being one of his natural predators, it really was little, just like its species name suggested. A small body should mean venom won¡¯t take as long to circulate through it. I can win. I can do this. I just have to wait¡­ As he had the thought, another sound attack struck him. And Adon hadn¡¯t been imagining its diminished effectiveness. He clenched his mandibles and took it until it was done. As the painful sound faded, Adon let go of the twigs he was holding onto and allowed his whole body to drop several inches down on the bush. There. Now, even if my next attack misses him, he won¡¯t hit me. Adon prepared. He had lost a couple dozen spines from the front of his body in his last failed attack. But a huge number of spines on his back remained, and now most of them faced up at where he expected the bat to be in a few seconds. He waited, holding his breath. His eyes tracked the monster¡¯s movements. It circled around, trying to approach from a new angle. Its whole approach, Adon thought, is to attack from different sides and try to surprise and disorient the enemy. It probably thinks I can¡¯t see it, just like it can¡¯t see me. If that was the case, new directions of attack would be a good strategy. But Adon¡¯s vision was much stronger now than it had ever been before. He could see everything. The bat made a final circling motion and began flying straight at the place where Adon had been, accelerating for a forceful strike with its clawed feet. It was the moment of truth. Adon waited until he thought the bat was too close to pull out of its dive. Then he fired. A thick barrage of quills shot out of his back in the bat¡¯s direction. Adon saw over a dozen of them miss the target, but far more embedded itself into his enemy. The bat took spines to the eye, throat, all through the torso, but mostly¡ªand perhaps most importantly¡ªin the wings. ¡°Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!¡± The bat let out the most intense sonic attack yet. Adon¡¯s body wiggled and writhed under the painful noise. But he wanted to smile even as he endured the discomfort. He could hear the pain in the bat¡¯s voice. I think I won! 26. Brown Bat Down In the moments when the Little Brown Bat¡¯s piercing scream shot through him, Adon¡¯s body writhed painfully. The exposure to that horrid sound at such close range was much more than a little caterpillar could be expected to endure stoically. He held on to the thornbush as best he could, but that was all he could do. The bat used the opening when Adon was almost paralyzed to fling itself away from the source of its pain. It sprung away from the bush where it had suffered its injuries and then began frantically flapping its wings, trying to escape. Adon shook his head to clear it, then stared after the bat. But he needed a moment before he realized what he was seeing. Wait, is he running away? Holy crap! I really did win! He quickly aimed and fired a burst of silk from his spinner, but the bat bobbed up slightly in the air, and the webbing just barely missed it. Adon cut the strand loose and fired again, but the bat had moved further away now. Adon realized it was out of range. Darn it! Still, wow, I totally beat the bat in that fight. I¡¯m awesome! He looked after the bat and saw that it was flying slowly now. Crookedly, with herky-jerky movements. I really messed him up, Adon realized. He threw himself from the side of the bush and then rolled as he landed on the ground. Now was his chance to feast on some of that upper hierarchy flesh. He pursued the bat with vigor and energy, running quickly across the ground without bothering to use Color Change I. If anything approached him, he would activate the Adaptation and run away, but for the moment, he needed all his energy and attention on following his prey. It might not be flying very well now, but the bat was still flying. Even with its spasmodic movements, it was still covering ground very quickly. And it wasn¡¯t leaving much of a blood trail, Adon noted. Only occasional droplets. The spines were doing damage, but probably mostly because of their venom rather than depth of penetration. And he knew that if he let himself lose sight of the monster, he wouldn¡¯t be able to find it again. Tracking down a bat at night would probably be an expression for something next to impossible, if it weren¡¯t such an uncommon problem to have, he thought. Better not lose him. Adon kept pursuing the bat even as it led him away from the direction he wanted to travel, but he didn¡¯t lose track of where he was this time. Following the faltering flying creature wasn¡¯t nearly as demanding on his attention as continuously focusing on his body¡¯s coloration had been. He had no confidence that he could prevail if the bat winged its way all the way back to whatever cave it had emerged from, but he didn¡¯t think that was going to be an issue. He¡¯s slowing down and losing altitude. It was what Adon had hoped and expected. After all, he¡¯d landed spines in the bat¡¯s wings, torso, neck, and even one eye. Venomous spines. I¡¯ve never actually seen how effective the venom is when I don¡¯t get to land a real killing blow. But now I¡¯m glad I spent the points to upgrade it twice. The bat lurched in the air and suddenly careened toward the earth. But as Adon raced to catch up, the creature fluttered its wings in a panicked flurry until it reached almost the height it had lost. It¡¯s only a matter of time now, though, he thought. The bat continued flying, Adon in hot pursuit, for a few more feet. Finally, though, it plummeted down and crashed into a fallen tree. Adon approached cautiously. He thought he saw some small shapes moving on the log the bat had landed on. It wasn¡¯t until he got a little closer that he realized what he saw. Ants. They¡¯re really active during the day and at night? No wonder they save more food for winter than grasshoppers. But realizing that they were just ants made Adon quicken his pace. There was no way he would let those greedy creatures steal his kill. And he wouldn¡¯t be scared away even if the whole colony came to try and take the bat away. Though these ants did look slightly bigger than he remembered. Better get in close before they start laying down scent trails. Even as he thought it, a few ants were clearly trailing away from the bat, walking along the log in the opposite direction. There was only one reason Adon could think that they were moving away from this dying creature. They¡¯re already putting down their scent. That¡¯s annoying. Oh well... The clock is ticking. Given how big the bat is, I¡¯ll be dealing with an army soon. Need to get in there and take my prize. But the surface of the log was practically crawling with the creatures, he realized. The log lay in a shadowy part of the garden, so Adon couldn¡¯t see it clearly from further away, but the surface of the log around the bat was covered in ants. It¡¯s like he aimed to crash into a place where a bunch of these stupid scavengers are congregating, Adon thought irritably. There had to be dozens of them. Contrary to that thought, as he watched, the bat began to struggle with the ants. They seemed to have injected new life into the seemingly dying mammal. It flailed its big wings, squishing some ants and knocking others away. When it raised its wings, Adon saw that there were some ants that had attached themselves to the bottom of those limbs. They were clearly trying to chew through the connective webbing, which would cripple the bat. Well, there¡¯s no way the bat can lose unless he succumbs to my venom. I¡¯ll just let them weaken him a little and¡ª Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Bang! There was a sound like a tiny explosion, and an ant that had climbed onto the bat¡¯s head was suddenly no more. In its place, a coating of what looked to be a kind of thick, viscous, pale yellow liquid covered the bat¡¯s forehead and eyes, apparently blinding it. ¡°Screeeeeeeeeeee!¡± The bat let loose another harsh screech that made Adon wince. The ants paused too, and a couple of them spontaneously detonated, too far away from the bat to do any damage¡ªas if the sound had struck them like a physical blow. Adon was still getting over the fact that these creatures could blow themselves up. Freaking self-destructing ants now?! Why don¡¯t I seem to run into any normal animals anymore? He had never thought he¡¯d miss the Ladybug Larva, but he was dangerously close to feeling nostalgia for the time when his biggest problem was a heavily armored bug. That¡¯s really what I¡¯ve been preparing to fight. Not, uh, this, whatever this is¡­ He used Identify on one of them. Exploding Carpenter Ant (Sentry) Of course you are. Where the hell was I reincarnated to, Australia?! The bat continued flailing around wildly, but the ants he struck this time exploded, with more of the same results as before, this time spreading the goo along the bottom of its wings. While some ants were blowing themselves up just to weaken the enemy, others continued gnawing away at the webbing holding the bat¡¯s wings together. The ants were losing individuals of their group quickly, but occasional reinforcements crawled up the side of the log to replace them almost as fast. The direction of the battle rapidly began to make itself clear. Oh my Goddess, Adon thought. I¡¯ve weakened the bat so much that he¡¯s actually going to lose! The time for spectating was over, then. Adon had two choices now: he could walk away and hope the ants didn¡¯t notice him there and follow, or he could get aggressively involved in this fight right now. Though the bat was still moving, its moves had been weak ever since it dropped out of the air. Soon it wouldn¡¯t be fighting at all. No, that¡¯s my meal, Adon decided. I hunted it myself! No one else gets to eat it. He turned his back on the ants, twisted his head around to aim, and then fired a flurry of spines into the melee. Ants popped everywhere. Almost all of the spines struck targets, and the ants seemed to be primed to explode on impact with anything right now. Something that fights with projectiles is kind of a strong counter to them, he thought. I¡¯m in luck. Then he turned his body so that his right side faced the ants and fired again. More ants exploded, and the broadside was even more destructive than the first attack had been. Since it didn¡¯t seem to matter where Adon hit, his inability to carefully aim each individual spine was a non-factor here. Only a couple of ants remained at that point, and they charged at the bat¡ªthe obvious culprit in the destruction of their kin¡ªand instantly blew themselves up. The bat let out a weak ¡°Screeeee¡­¡± Almost as if to say, It wasn¡¯t my fault! I wasn¡¯t even supposed to be here¡­ This sonic attack was so weak that it didn¡¯t even bother Adon. He quickly closed the distance. Judging by the way the bat is moving, that stuff is both painful to the touch and gluey in texture. Fortunately, it¡¯s only on his lower wings and his head as far as I can see. The wings were massive. In fact, they were the reason why the bat had seemed so large and frightening to Adon when he saw it in the air; otherwise, it was only a bit bigger than him at this point. But Adon thought most of the nutritional value would be in the parts covered in fur. Not sure I can eat the stuff covered in that goo anyway, so I¡¯ll cut its wings off as best I can. As he got within striking range, the bat tried to throw another clumsy wing swipe, clearly intended for whatever was running towards it¡ªAdon. Fortunately, it was completely blind, weakened, and off-balance as a result of the glue weighing its wings down and sticking the ends of them to the log. The monster still only barely missed hitting Adon with a wing that would have surely knocked him flat. The momentum from the sweeping blow carried the bat forward so that it fell down the side of the log, only stopped from hitting the ground by the glue that stuck its wings to the wood. The bat ended up in a quasi-crucifixion pose, squealing weakly and flailing with its legs, its wings no longer mobile. Thanks for restraining yourself for me, Adon thought. Makes my job a little easier. I need to take it out before more of those ants appear, or I could end up fighting an army along with my meal. He crawled up the side of the log and walked around to the back of the bat, carefully stepping around the thick pools of congealed goo. He stepped in between the bat¡¯s wings until he stood directly behind the head. Then Adon bent down and used his mandible to stab the bat in the neck. It was his first time using Acid Fangs I. ¡°Screeeeeeeee!¡± The bat let out a final death wail. It wiggled and writhed in its death throes for a few seconds and finally lay still. Really, I¡¯m not just glad that I¡¯m the one who gets to eat you, Adon thought. I think dying a little more quickly, like this, is probably better for you as well. At least compared with however the ants would have killed you. And speak of the devil! He heard a skittering coming from multiple sides then. Adon turned his head to look around. There were a half dozen ants coming at him from behind, and another half dozen coming at him from the side. I still have enough spines, he thought. He turned and quickly fired an indiscriminate volley from his left side into the ants behind him. He still had an extra few seconds to deal with the ants coming from the side; they were starting from further away. Four of the six attacking ants exploded, and their gluey substance trapped the other two. Adon turned his back to the other six ants and shot out a burst of his sticky silk. Only one was hit, but that one exploded¡ªThese things are on a hair trigger, Adon observed¡ªand trapped the nearest two with it. Adon had time to fire another silk burst that struck two more in the face, but it hit when they were only a few centimeters away from him. They exploded too close to Adon. Some of the gluey substance landed on him this time, along with the other ant, which exploded upon being struck with the debris at such close range. Ugh! That¡¯s absolutely disgusting. Why is this their go-to move? I¡¯m so glad I wasn¡¯t reincarnated as a eusocial insect¡­ Adon struggled to lift his legs and move forward, but he had to actually shed his skin and leave the old layer behind to escape. That does it, then. If any more of those ants show up, I¡¯m just going to run. Their glue is really strong, and I¡¯m not strong enough to break free from it yet. I could actually die here, thanks to their insane willingness to sacrifice themselves for the colony. Finally, he was able to walk again. He moved toward the bat¡¯s left wing where the glue anchored it to the log, and he began using his mandibles to cut along the gluey line. 27. Social Activity Goddess damn it! Adon turned his head one way and then the other. Another wave of ants was slowly crawling their way toward him on the log. They were coming from two sides at once again. Maybe that was a tactic of their colony, or of ants in general. He was almost through cutting the bat¡¯s other wing, but he wasn¡¯t sure if he would make it. The colony had moved faster with their reinforcements than he¡¯d imagined. These darned ants were persistent! Not as bad as the Vendetta Ants, though. The Exploding Carpenter Ants had attacked him and the bat suicidally, almost insanely in Adon¡¯s mind, but they at least had a plan that was quasi-rational if you looked at it from the perspective of the whole colony. They were trying to secure a fairly large food item, even if the bat¡¯s body was mostly composed of the thinner wing flesh rather than the smaller but thicker furry portion. Adon couldn¡¯t imagine any ant colony easily giving up on a dead bird that landed right in their lap, and the bat was like a small bird. This log might even be the colony¡¯s home, since they were a species of carpenter ant. Their course of action was even more rational if they felt they had a home field advantage. By contrast, the Vendetta Ants had been happy to just throw away scores of individual soldiers to chase down a single tiny bug that had wronged them. Even if they caught him, he wouldn¡¯t have been much of a meal. Not an efficient use of resources at all. Even though the Exploding Carpenter Ants blow themselves up, those Vendetta Ants are the real terrorists, he thought sagely. Maybe it was time to try diplomacy. He activated Telepathy I. Now was as good a time as any to test it out. When it might save his life, or at least help him Stop! Adon sent to the nearest ant. He wanted to target all of them, but perhaps unsurprisingly, Telepathy I was not that powerful of an Adaptation. He felt a mental block, and a sharp pang in his head, when he tried to target multiple ants. Should¡¯ve bought the upgrade. It was too late now, since the Adaptations took time¡ªand significant pain¡ªto take effect in his body. He would have to wait to upgrade to Telepathy II until he was somewhere safe again. The ant actually stopped, though. As the other ants continued to advance, the targeted one stood there and, from its body language, just looked confused. Stop! Adon sent over and over to the other ants. He felt himself developing a splitting headache as he used the Adaptation over and over. But each one that heard him listened. They all stopped. Adon had stopped cutting through the bat wing, too, so he could focus on targeting each ant individually. Thank the Goddess. I might actually be saved! In a similar situation, he knew he wouldn¡¯t have been able to negotiate with the Vendetta Ants. He would¡¯ve been done for, albeit with a big pile of dead ants all around him. I will take half of the bat, and you can take the other half! he tried to send. But there was a loud static sound in his head, and an accompanying feeling of pain. His headache was worsening, though he didn¡¯t think the problem was that he¡¯d reached his limit. Too many characters in this post, was the feeling he got. Along with the slightly increased pain. Really, I can¡¯t send more than maybe one or two words at a time? Man, that sucks! He again regretted that he hadn¡¯t chosen to upgrade to Telepathy II. Crap, I shouldn¡¯t have cheaped out earlier¡­ It would be fine, he decided. He would just send simple, one or two word messages. Telegram style. Half, he sent to the nearest ant. You. Half. You. Wings. Me. Body. He started to send the same broken up messages to each ant in turn, though his head throbbed more forcefully as he continued. He managed to make it slightly less onerous by removing the ¡°You. Half.¡± portion from the chain, so it went simply, ¡°Half. You. Wings. Me. Body.¡± It was still a mounting pain, but now it escalated more slowly. They should be happy with the wings, he thought. The wings looked much bigger than the body, and they were just as large as the body by weight, if not larger. They just didn¡¯t seem as appetizing to Adon as the meat on the bat¡¯s body, especially since the wings had some of the yellow goo on them. None of the ants sent anything back. And they began approaching. As the ants advanced, Adon began to feel on edge. Was he going to have to try and kill all of these things in close range? He hoped not. He had just spent a lot of mental energy on communicating with them. Far from getting better, his headache was verging on migraine level now. Maybe he¡¯d overtaxed his mental resources. And he had only just grown in a bunch of new spines when he shed his skin. If he had to fight them again, and shed his skin once more, he¡¯d be quite hungry when the fight was finished. That was assuming he survived. But he felt optimistic. The ants were moving forward slowly, cautiously, with a measured pace that they hadn¡¯t shown when they were just trying to take the dead bat from him. Almost as if they were worried that this was a trick, and they might be the ones to be attacked. Or as if they were trying not to seem aggressive. So, maybe, just maybe¡­ The nearest ant reached Adon and began crawling over the piece of the bat¡¯s left wing that was still attached to its body. The next closest ant did the same with the bat wing that was partially attached on the right side. The pair began laying down two scent trails. A cocktail of smells unlike anything Adon had ever smelled before. But that was good, he hoped. After all, he had already experienced some of the most hostile smells that other ants produced. Hopefully this species wasn¡¯t so qualitatively different from the Vendetta Ants that he was reading too much into this. But based on his past experience and the fact that they were emitting multiple scents at once, he thought they must be describing a complex task. Maybe they were laying down the odor of their agreement with him. Whatever the precise nature of the ants¡¯ communication in this case, each and every ant began working to cut the bat¡¯s body away from its wings. They ignored Adon completely, and he stepped out of their way so that they could work faster without having to walk around him to move from one area to the other. It took less than a minute for them to sever both wings. It certainly helped that the bat was not moving anymore. But as the bat¡¯s body dropped away from the log onto the ground, Adon couldn¡¯t help thinking that they could certainly have killed him if they¡¯d applied that effort to him instead. Maybe if I¡¯d said, ¡®Mine. Mine. Back!¡¯ or something like that, instead of trying to share, they would have chopped me up like that. After a few brave ants blew themselves up to glue him in place, of course. It was a haunting mental image. He had no clear way of escaping them if they got within close range in sufficient numbers. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Adon hopped down from the log, walked to where the main part of the bat body had fallen, and picked it up with his front limbs. He sprayed a little silk onto it to use as a rope and hoisted it onto his back. Then he got as far from the ant colony as he could. Before they could change their minds. Once he was a decent distance away, he stopped, pulled the bat down from his back, and began eating. There was no point in walking around with such a bounty of meat. It was practically asking for some larger predator to mug him. He ate through the pounding in his head that still hadn¡¯t gone down. The throbbing pain kept him from going into a feeding trance, though Adon still managed to appreciate the rich flavors. The dense, lean meat tasted like a cross between chicken and pork. Even the rib bones went down easily. Though they weren¡¯t hollow like bird bones, they were thin and fragile compared to what a larger organism¡¯s bones would have been like. When the meal was finished, Adon walked slowly through the garden, moving at the pace of a funeral march. He was bloated with bat flesh. And with his head pounding, he retained barely enough focus to keep himself moving in what he thought was generally the right direction He was exhausted, but considering what he¡¯d just been through, he counted himself lucky that he was still walking at all. Keep moving, he reminded himself. He needed to get somewhere safe before dawn. Before the bird started looking for him. There was no way he had enough focus to maintain different skin coloration right now. Plus, he had to find a good place to spend his fresh Evolution Points. He had a total of 321 Evolution Points now, and he thought he would check whether that was enough to get a look at the specialized evolution option before he did anything else. Kind of an oversight before, not to have tried that after eating the second egg. Although he doubted this number would be enough for the evolution he wanted¡ªand he still wasn¡¯t sure he was ready to evolve yet¡ªit was important to gauge how many points he needed to have in the bank before he could purchase his chrysalis. As he rounded a corner, he thought he spied familiar sights in the distance. The light of the slowly rising sun aided him in scoping out his surroundings. I was trying to find my old stomping grounds. Looks like I might be almost there. In fact¡ªwell, he had been almost blind before, but still¡ªwasn¡¯t that the Vendetta Ants¡¯ colony up ahead? He remembered the basic geography, even if before he¡¯d only had a broad outline of it. Adon automatically began changing direction. He¡¯d already angered the Vendetta Ants once, and he had enough of a headache right now with the actual throbbing in his head. He didn¡¯t want to remind those crazy monsters of his existence. Especially not after the trouble those other ants had already given him tonight. Although that had turned out alright, he had no faith that the Vendetta Ants were capable of listening to reason. It was all in the name. As his head turned in the other direction, he saw a golden figure in the distance. The girl! The, uh, princess, maybe? In any case, Social activity! He wanted to run toward her¡ªand also to run away! He felt a sudden sense of stage fright at the idea of talking to a female human, even though he was now a different species entirely. He automatically jumped to the assumption that he would be rejected in some particularly devastating way. It was utterly ridiculous. And yet¡­ When exactly was the last time I spoke to a girl who wasn¡¯t related to me? His mind couldn¡¯t produce an easy answer, which was worrying. Finally, he came up with a terse exchange he¡¯d had with the checkout girl at the local mall a couple of months before he died. He¡¯d been out to meet a friend from school¡ªCedric was his name!¡ªwho hadn¡¯t seen him in years and remembered Adon being fun and still in somewhat decent shape. Hell, he might have even remembered Adon being charming and funny. Crazy the tricks that memory plays on people, he thought bitterly. It was awkward when Cedric saw the new Adon. The obvious contrast between the old friend he remembered and the new person he was encountering was apparent in the way that Cedric looked at him. The way he spoke. He had been careful, obviously trying not to say anything to offend Adon. But that very caution only made things worse. Adon¡¯s social difficulties had shot through the roof that day, as he watched his former friend walking on eggshells to avoid upsetting him. Though the pair had met up in the mall for sodas and planned to go together to an arcade, they found they had little to talk about. Almost by the time the fizz in his drink had died down, Adon had read the situation, regretted going out on a limb, and started thinking up an excuse to leave early. The whole experience had left him even less confident in his social skills than usual, and frankly doubting his worth as a human being. Other people grow up, he remembered thinking. Why do I just grow worse? During his escape from the mall, he¡¯d stopped at the food court for a dozen donuts¡ªthey were his poison and his comfort¡ªand found that he could hardly speak to the college¨Caged girl working register. ¡°D-dozen. Ass-assorted. Please.¡± ¡°Any particular selection?¡± she asked in a chipper tone. When he just stood there, staring at the wall and swallowing saliva, trying to think of something to say, trying not to look at her¡ªand damn it, she was cute too!¡ª the girl just rolled her eyes a little, smirked, and said, ¡°Okay, sir, Carl there will just choose some for you.¡± She pointed with one thumb at an old man with long, stringy gray hair who was standing behind the counter, closer to the donuts. He didn¡¯t move, just stood in place. The cashier raised her voice slightly. ¡° Carl, you heard me?¡± ¡°What¡¯s that, Laura?¡± His voice creaked like old floorboards or an ungreased hinge¡ªor poorly maintained stairs. ¡°This guy wants assorted donuts, so just pick a random assortment!¡± she said a bit louder. ¡°He doesn¡¯t want to choose?¡± The old man¡¯s voice sounded baffled. It was all Adon could do at the time to stay in place and not burst into tears. ¡°You just want, er, random donuts?¡± The old man¡¯s voice grew louder as if he thought Adon was as hard of hearing as Carl apparently was. ¡°A dozen of them, was it?¡± Adon felt his face growing hot with shame as he imagined everyone around looking at him. Thinking about him. How fat he was. How socially clumsy he was. How much he sucked. Don¡¯t run away. Don¡¯t run away. Don¡¯t¡ª ¡°Uh, never mind!¡± he said, snatching his wallet up off the counter. He ran from the food court and didn¡¯t stop running until he was close to the mall entrance. He found himself breathing heavily, hands on his knees, staring at the ground, looking at nothing. He was drenched in sweat. Why does my life have to be this way?! In the present, Adon tried to swallow down his mounting anxiety. It had been a bad idea to reach back for that memory. Bad medicine for what ailed him. It doesn¡¯t have to be this way, he thought. It doesn¡¯t have to be like it was, that is. He had to remind himself that in this life, he had never run away from a social interaction with anyone. That just an hour or so ago, he had actually used verbal communication¡ªnegotiation, one of the most delicate forms of communication!¡ªto secure food from other creatures that were intent on taking it from him. Certainly, it had helped that the ants had turned out to be fairly reasonable¡ªants probably had a very well developed concept of sharing, if any creature did¡ªand it probably also helped that they didn¡¯t seem to have the capacity to talk back. Still, if I was still the same old Adon as back then, I would have just run off, he thought. I absolutely considered it. It was the safest method of surviving that situation. But instead I trusted in my words. That¡¯s who I am now. Who I¡¯m going to be! He began walking toward where the girl stood. She was in front of his old plant, he noticed. Even though it was quite far away, he¡¯d recognize it anywhere. The place where he¡¯d been born. She came to see me! he realized. That was a green light to engage in social activity if he¡¯d ever received one. And he was going to talk to her. 28. Telepathy ¡°Hello there, um, little caterpillar, if you happen to be anywhere around here¡­¡± Rosslyn spoke in a slightly raised voice, feeling extremely foolish. What would anyone think if they saw the Crown Princess of Claustria lurking about the Royal Gardens, talking to an insect that she could not even see? Perhaps that she had gone mad. She felt a little crazy, standing around speaking to the air, clutching a napkin with an apple and an ear of corn wrapped up inside it. She looked around a bit, hoping that if that spiny caterpillar from before was anywhere nearby, she would see it and feel even a modicum less ridiculous. But the early morning found the garden just as still and quiet as it usually was. She saw nothing that caught her eye. She swallowed. This was embarrassing, but when she gave her word, she tried to always keep it. That was what her father had taught her from a young age. Always honor your promises. Even when that promise was made to a bug that probably did not understand a word she said in the first place. ¡°Right. Well, I saw that you successfully defeated the young ladybug that I, um, accidentally forced you into fighting.¡± She put a palm to her face. Come on, Rosslyn. Just say what you need to say and get out of here. ¡°Anyway, I promised that I would bring you something good to eat if you managed to win the fight, and I was very impressed to see that you did,¡± she said. ¡°I am a woman of my word, so I spoke to Cook. I was informed that your species enjoys fruits and vegetables, so I brought you two pieces that do not grow in our garden.¡± She crouched and set the pieces of food down on the ground beside the plant where the remains of the juvenile ladybug had been. This was the plant where the caterpillar had been. She had no way of knowing whether it would ever come back, but this was the closest it had to a home address where she could deliver her small gifts. ¡°I suppose you will probably not bother ever coming back here,¡± she said quietly to herself. ¡°Not much prey to fight on this plant. And since you defeated the young ladybug, I imagine you must be a bit of a warrior bug.¡± She smiled as the image of a caterpillar clad in battle armor sprang into her mind unbidden. It was silly, but she knew that nature could be quite brutal. Perhaps the caterpillar was becoming quite the accomplished warrior out here. Yes. Reliance on its fighting power would be the only way to survive. ¡°An ideal that many of us humans have lost touch with,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°Despite the fact that war prowess is the only thing that has kept our country safe for hundreds of years, we have failed to make it a requirement even for young men who want to court a princess.¡± She shook her head, and the smile slowly faded from her lips. She thought of the suitor she would be entertaining later. Probably another callow boy who had never swung a sword in a real fight. Then her eyes widened. She had an idea. A wild idea. Perhaps a foolish idea. But equally, maybe a necessary idea. She needed to select a husband for the kingdom¡¯s sake. There was an obvious preference for someone strong. In fact, if the person chosen was not stronger than her, she would not benefit the kingdom at all by marrying. Lord Baranack has been completely disregarding that requirement, she thought. Finding whoever he could find, without worrying about that most important of qualifications. Rosslyn¡¯s lips curled again in a triumphant smile. This visit to the garden had been far more productive than she had expected. She no longer felt bad about leaving food to be eaten by a wild creature. Even if the caterpillar never came back, this had not been a waste of time. She rose, dusted off the hem of her nightgown, and began striding away with her usual long, graceful steps. Suddenly, she stopped. Whirled. Turned around and looked everywhere she could, high and low. What was that sound? she thought. It sounded like two words, but she couldn¡¯t see anyone who might have spoken. It would be quite a feat for any human to hide from her senses. And there was another thing. It almost felt like the voice came from inside of my own mind. The words it had spoken did not feel appropriate for the moment, though. And it had not been her own voice speaking. Thank. You. It was an oddly stilted pronunciation, though the voice was pleasantly deep and rich. As if the speaker could not join words together, but had to send them as individual sentences. Or was short of breath. She took one last look around, vexed at the inexplicable, strange voice. But there was still no sign of motion around her. She did not even see any insect life, barring a few flies fluttering around in the dawning light. Had it just been an intrusive thought? She shook her head. That had to be it. There was no other rational explanation. Telepathy was an extremely rare power for any living thing to possess. If something living in the Royal Garden had a power like that¡­ But it was implausible. Besides, if something living here could use that, it would not just use it to say ¡®Thank you.¡¯ It would be spying or asking for more food or something that would get my attention. Right? It certainly would not stay hidden and silent while I actively look for it. Not right after it called out to me¡­ She gave up. No matter how suspicious she felt about the strange voice in her head, she couldn¡¯t afford to search the garden for things that might only exist inside her head. And the idea that there was a creature here with this ability made no sense. Claustria killed off all our mystic beasts a long time ago, didn¡¯t we? It would have been better for them if they had not, but wishes could not change reality by themselves. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. I must go back and prepare for the afternoon, she thought finally. I will not tell anyone that I have begun hearing voices. Not unless the phenomenon recurs. With a single suspicious glance back at the garden, Rosslyn turned and walked away. ¡ª I did it! I spoke to something¡ªsomeone¡ªwho could answer back to me! Yesssssssss! He rejoiced despite the sledgehammer blow of agony that last use of Telepathy I had inflicted inside of his head. As he had these thoughts, Adon was collapsed on the ground, curled in a painful ball, immobilized by pain. Almost paralyzed. He¡¯d had some idea that using Telepathy I again might have some consequences for him, considering that he had a near migraine even before he ran toward the golden figure. But he hadn¡¯t realized that the consequences of overuse would be so crippling. It felt to him like he had endured a serious brain injury. Still, he thought it was worth it, even as he lay immobile and in pain. He¡¯d finally spoken to someone who responded verbally to what he said, though he only heard snatches of her thoughts through the haze of pain and the fuzzy reception of his relatively low level Adaptation. But definitely worth it. It was even a girl, he added when he could think more clearly without pain. A princess! So now I¡¯m basically royalty adjacent. Maybe already was. Growing up in their garden counts as being a member of the royal household, right? He rose slowly, shakily to his feet. The princess was long gone, but he saw the food she¡¯d left was still there under the plant. Untouched. Thank the Goddess. That would probably help him get over this headache. He spent a good while devouring the princess¡¯s gifts. Corn and an apple. Items that would have seemed so uninteresting to Adon in his last life, when he had a preference for junk food. In this life, they were precious flavor opportunities. Not as filling as meat, but it seemed fruits and vegetables had a brilliant natural sweetness. Bursts of juice filled his mouth as he ate both items. Adon consumed the apple first. It was red and crisp. In his old life, on the rare occasion that he ate apple, he preferred green apples or applesauce to red apples. He¡¯d thought red apples had a boring taste. In this life, he just felt grateful for the gift of fresh fruit. An apple had a texture that he had never fully appreciated as a human. With the slight crunch as he chopped through the skin with his mandibles, it even emitted a pleasant sound. If anything, the corn was even better. As a vegetable, it was sweeter than it had any right to be. Every kernel felt like an individual fruit popping in Adon¡¯s mouth. When those were gone, he even ate the corn cob. Nothing went to waste. I¡¯ll have to ask for more food the next time I see her, he thought. For now, he wanted to see how much the evening had benefited him in material terms. He climbed up his old plant, and what had once seemed a long trek was now a very short walk. It was amazing that he¡¯d ever thought it was significant to jump or fall from this height, he recognized. He felt a slight surge of pride. This was a marker of how much he had already grown. There was a great benefit to being on this plant, though. Lots of leaves to hide under. Adon used silk to secure himself to the stem under a particularly thick bunch of leaves. Hopefully those would conceal him in case the bluebird flew by while he was here. And he opened his Status again.
User: Unnamed Spiny Butterfly Larva Age: 2 days Sex: Male
Status
Health: 26/30(!)
Mana: 5/215
Strength: 24(!)
Agility: 27(!)
Perception: 28(!)
Dexterity: 25(!)
Constitution: 31(!)
Intelligence: 105(!)
Will: 110(!)
Charisma: 21(!)
Skills: Identify, Impeccable Memory, Mana Manipulation I, Past Life Connection, Shed Skin, Spine Shot I, Spiritual Sight
Evolution Points: 371
Biomass: 45/45
There are a few changes I hadn¡¯t seen before, Adon thought. He had not noticed that he now had a Mana meter, and he wondered when that had appeared. Was it when I bought Mana Manipulation I, when I got Magic Perception I, or what? And when did I use up almost all of my Mana? It was down to 5 out of 215 somehow. It was a long night, but not sure I remember casting any magic¡­ Maybe Telepathy I used Mana, though. That would explain why he¡¯d been simultaneously very low on Mana and also suffering from a literally crippling migraine when he pushed himself too far using it. The other changes were smaller. His new Skills were on display, but he already knew about them. And it seemed the princess¡¯s gifts had boosted his Evolution Points by 50. He was pretty sure he already knew what the exclamation marks by his Status numbers meant, though he focused on one of them for a moment just to read it once more and make it go away. (!): This symbol indicates that a noteworthy development occurred relating to the Status feature in question. In this specific case, these Stats were enhanced by the user. The user successfully consumed the recently living flesh of a species that was substantially above the user in the natural hierarchy. As a result, the impacted attributes were permanently increased. Yep, just like I thought, they increased again based on my consuming the bat. I could get used to that. And now to decide what to do with all those Evolution Points! It was more than he¡¯d ever had at one time. He thought it would be good to purchase Telepathy II and III at once this time, because he had certainly wished he had the stronger version of that Adaptation in the last few hours. Need to practice my communication. He wanted to grin, if only his face was more expressive. I¡¯m going to make friends! I¡¯ve got what it takes. That confidence might recede later, but for now, he was riding high on the back of small successive social triumphs. But before he locked in any purchase, he reminded himself that he should go and see if he could read the description for Specialized Chrysalis Evolution. He¡¯d be kicking himself later if he could have read it now but didn¡¯t bother. Insufficient Evolution Points saved. Ah. Nope. Never mind, maybe later. He made a mental note that he needed at least 400 Evolution Points. Maybe 500? 600? 1000? Hopefully nothing crazier than those numbers. Whatever. I¡¯m not going to worry about that now. I¡¯ve been alive for a couple of days, and in that time, I¡¯ve been stacking these points up like crazy. This isn¡¯t going to be that hard, especially not if I keep improving my power and abilities. He began considering what other new purchases to invest in. 29. A Friendly Spar Adon ultimately decided to double down on his existing assets. It should cost me 150 Evolution Points to get Telepathy II and III. Better to rip the bandaid off now and upgrade it twice, so I only have to endure the headache once. 100 for Color Change II. Hopefully that won¡¯t take as much focus once I¡¯ve upgraded. 24 for Spine Shot II, so I can get better control over my accuracy and more penetration. 12 Evolution Points for Ultraviolet Vision, so I¡¯ll be able to see all the colors of the wind. With all of those, he wouldn¡¯t be able to afford an upgrade for Mana Manipulation, but he thought he should really experiment with the existing Skill first, before he thought about buying the higher tier. Maybe I can spend some time doing that after I finalize my purchases and come out of my agonized coma. Or whatever¡¯s going to happen to me this time. Adon was under no illusions, after several rounds of upgrades to himself, that the process would ever be anything less than painful. He thought this time probably wouldn¡¯t be as bad, because most of the improvements were isolated to his head and the outer layer of his skin. At least he wasn¡¯t growing new spines or altering his innards this time, as Spine Thicket and Poison Resistance I had done. Apposition Eyes III and IV would be another 60 Evolution Points and would, with Ultraviolet Vision, represent another big leap forward in the quality of his eyesight. Maybe I¡¯ll be able to see through camouflage perfectly after this. Lastly, he thought he would improve his mandibles again with Bladed Mandibles III for 20 Evolution Points. It wasn¡¯t so much that Adon thought he needed sharper mandibles, but more because he felt he¡¯d learned a lesson about simply leaving Evolution Points lying idle. There was no point in saving up rather than spending, until he tried to make his big push to actually evolve. It wasn¡¯t as if they were accruing interest. Finally, Adon locked in his purchases and braced himself for the inevitable pain that would accompany them. He was as ready as he¡¯d ever be. He was secured to the plant, hidden by the leaves, and he¡¯d limited his purchase choices to things that should only affect a couple of select body parts. And when the new Adaptations began to take effect, they were painful. His head swam with sudden intense pain, mostly inside of the brain itself. It was not as bad as the last couple of times had been, though. Maybe it was because Adon had been more modest in choosing which Adaptations to purchase this time. They were things his body was fundamentally already doing. He already had some sort of Telepathy organ in his brain. It was simply a matter of further developing it. He already had Bladed Mandibles and skin that could change color. His eyes weren¡¯t changing as much as they had before either. They were just getting better. Or maybe I¡¯m just getting tougher. His Health had repeatedly gone up along with his other Stats following his consumption of the birds¡¯ eggs and the bat. Maybe that was the key to enduring Adaptations with more grace. Either that or Constitution. In any case, it didn¡¯t feel to Adon like nearly as much time had elapsed as on previous occasions. Before, he remembered being incapacitated and a little afraid that he could have been attacked while he was out of commission. That was why he¡¯d stayed in the thornbush for the last Evolution Store purchases and secured himself to his plant this time. He began cutting himself down from the plant stem. The sun was high in the sky now, though he estimated it was still morning. There was much to do today, and he was excited to get started. He¡¯d decided to practice with Mana Manipulation before he went to see Goldie. He imagined that he would impress the spider if he built some new capabilities. Before, she looked at me like I was an object of interest, he recalled. Now, with any luck, I¡¯m going to be a talking magical caterpillar who can selectively blend into the environment. Basically the Most Interesting Caterpillar in the World. Adon climbed down and set his feet solidly on the ground. He felt a bit like a sailor coming off a long voyage. His gait was unsteady, and he swayed side to side almost hypnotically for a few seconds until he got his land legs under him again. How long was I up there again? Perhaps it had been longer than it seemed. But the timeline wasn¡¯t that important. It was not as if he had an important appointment with Goldie that he was running late for. The spider wasn¡¯t expecting him, and she would be there whenever he arrived. Unless she abandoned her web¡ªor something happened to her. Adon brought his focus to bear on the challenge before him: learning how to manipulate his Mana. The information had been downloaded into his brain just yesterday. It was easy enough to remember the details once he made it the center of his attention. Adon¡¯s eyes glazed as he reached out and tried to feel where his Mana core was. There was an instant response from the middle of his body, near where he imagined his heart might be, assuming he had one. Ah yes, I feel it now. I can even sort of see it. Don¡¯t know how that¡¯s possible, but there it is¡­ The image that presented itself to him was a warm orb of energy. A round orange light that floated suspended in a field of darkness. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. He reached out to it with his mind, and he felt a stirring as the energy responded to his probing. The light flickered and moved, a bit like a candle. Then a tiny fragment of the light pulled toward him. Adon felt just a little bit warmer. Wow. Even though he was just moving energy around inside his body right now, there was a real physical effect. Adon¡¯s body shook like a leaf as an uncontrollable excitement came over him. Wow! I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m really going to figure out how to use magic. It didn¡¯t feel quite real. Even when he¡¯d lived in fantasy worlds before, even when he¡¯d been a dragon, he had never been magically skilled. Perhaps he was magically gifted as a dragon, but he¡¯d never developed those gifts back then. He pulled himself out of his own head and back to the present before he could wallow in regret over those lost opportunities. He checked his Status to see how much Mana he had left to play with: 135/215. Close enough to full, he thought. And his Biomass was also almost completely topped up. Adon would have the whole day to experiment, since he didn¡¯t need to worry about food anytime soon. He rubbed his forelimbs together. Let¡¯s get started! ¡ª Rosslyn sat across from Sir Carol Weiss, Baronet of Couzens, and she sipped her tea calmly with a smile. It didn¡¯t bother her that Sir Carol¡¯s first name sounded like a girl¡¯s name¡ªan impression that she had to imagine was a relic of a previous life, since she was aware that the lower Claustrian nobility were often very creative in naming their children. It didn¡¯t bother her that he slurped his tea, that he had mentioned his mother several times in their conversation without being asked for more details about his family, or that he told long stories about the farm animals he¡¯d grown up with. In truth, she found that last conversational quality rather charming. She had not grown up on a farm, but she remembered having a similar affection for animals as a girl. Even if the only animals she had encountered for most of her childhood were those that lived in the palace garden. But though Sir Carol had some positive qualities, of which she was taking note, Rosslyn was looking forward to the end of the tea session. She had laid out the rules at the beginning, and Sir Carol had agreed to them. That alone would have inclined her favorably toward the young man. He didn¡¯t even hesitate. Admirable boldness. ¡°These cakes are splendid,¡± Sir Carol was saying enthusiastically. ¡°My mother found a cook who makes glorious tea cakes! I imagine you would love them too.¡± That was mention number six of the mother in just under two hours. ¡°My own mother was never very fond of tea cakes, or tried not to be,¡± Rosslyn said, trying to match Sir Carol¡¯s energy. ¡°She thought that if we ate them often, we would all end up fat.¡± ¡°And why should you not?¡± Sir Carol asked. ¡°A young woman needs some meat on her bones, no? Otherwise, how will you grow a baby?¡± ¡°Hm. Indeed, I expect you have a point,¡± Rosslyn said, forcibly holding her smile in place. ¡°Thank you for a very pleasant conversation, Sir Carol. Would you like to proceed to the training room?¡± Sir Carol inclined his head in polite acceptance. He did have good manners in some ways. Rosslyn had to give him that much. When Rosslyn and Sir Carol arrived at the training room, there were a dozen young nobles milling about. Obviously waiting for them. Clearly just there to watch. These individuals would never be caught doing something as unfashionable as training. Not very many servants standing around. They had done their job already, quietly spreading the message that Rosslyn wanted them to circulate. Celeste and the others did their part incredibly well, Rosslyn thought. It was impressive. She didn¡¯t think she could have gotten so many courtiers in one place with a more direct method even if she had offered a cash reward. All heads snapped to face her and Sir Carol as they walked toward the center of the space. ¡°Is it true, Princess?¡± one of the courtiers asked as Rosslyn passed. Lady Courtenay something, Rosslyn thought. ¡°Is what true?¡± she replied immediately, face carefully blank. ¡°Your Highness, we, uh, heard that you were coming to have a friendly spar,¡± another courtier, Sir Harys Bruckner, said, ¡°with the suitor who is here to see you?¡± The rising intonation of his voice turned the sentence into a question. Sir Carol nodded amiably from beside Rosslyn, but she wasn¡¯t satisfied with a simple affirmation. The courtiers had to know why she was sparring with one of her suitors. ¡°Today, we initiate a new courting policy,¡± Rosslyn said, speaking loudly so that everyone could hear her. ¡°In these dangerous times, combat power is extraordinarily valuable. It is particularly important for leaders to cultivate. Whichever man I marry will be thrust into a position of leadership instantly, whatever his origins. Therefore, the palace has made the decision that only a man who can defeat me in single combat will be considered as a prospective husband.¡± The spar was quick. And it was indeed friendly. Rosslyn tried to strike a careful balance. On the one hand, she needed to win a forceful and convincing victory, to show that she was serious about this new policy and to make sure that the witnesses would spread the word of what they had seen. On the other hand, above all else, she did not want to injure the innocent Sir Carol, who had been truly sporting in entertaining her seemingly arbitrary request. And she thought the two of them brought it off perfectly. Sir Carol saluted her at the end. Like everything else she had observed of him, his salute was slightly eccentric, with loops and zigzags. ¡°I know when I have been bested, Your Highness,¡± he said with great seriousness. ¡°You fight with great honor, Sir Carol,¡± Rosslyn replied sincerely. She found that she meant it. He had been nothing but a class act, despite some rather odd quirks. Honorable men like him brought out the best in her, and she found that on the whole, she had enjoyed their time together. Not solely because he had been instrumental to her as she announced her new courtship policy. Hopefully the next man will be just as honorable¡ªand more of a fighter. He would need to be. This new standard that Rosslyn had come up with would be, by design, difficult for either her or Lord Baranack to walk back later. 30. Magic Training Part 1 Adon focused again on that orb of light he had felt within himself. The round orange light that floated suspended in a field of darkness reappeared before him. He pulled at the orange light once more, and he felt the warmth again. This time, he pulled a little more out, and he felt it flood through a larger section of his body. Maybe this is something I could use to stay warm in the middle of Winter, he thought. A sort of internal heating system. He was pretty sure the warmth was real, and was not just the way that harnessing Mana felt. I suppose I¡¯ll have the chance to actually test that one day, though, he thought wryly. The days were getting just slightly colder, in his very brief experience. The trees had begun to lose their leaves. Winter is coming. I¡¯ll probably need to evolve by then and migrate or be prepared to keep myself warm through a long, cold, lonely Winter. By harnessing Mana, he could probably do it, but he¡¯d rather not. Then he shook his head. Damn it! He¡¯d gotten distracted thinking of the weather, of all the boring things! And in that brief window of time, a little of the Mana he had gathered had dissipated somewhere. It wasn¡¯t back there in his core, either. Just gone into the ether. Wasted. Focus and become the magic caterpillar you paid to become, he told himself sternly. Remember, do everything, and you¡¯ll win. Getting sidetracked thinking about the future is the opposite of doing everything you¡¯re supposed to be doing in the present. Adon returned to the dark place where the orange orb hovered in the air, and he pulled a little more away. He was fairly certain that he could use it to enhance his physical power. That was one of the most basic uses that he¡¯d learned from the System¡¯s brain download on Mana Manipulation. It should be easy to figure out how, since it was so basic, and since he also had Magic Perception. Once he had a fistful of the glowing orange energy, Adon began moving it around his body. Based on the information the System had given him, this should be the magical equivalent of rudimentary exercise. Moving Mana around within one¡¯s own body was the most basic of the basics, like learning to stretch before you did intense exercise. The little spark of Mana moved from Adon¡¯s core to his right forelimb, then through his chest to his left forelimb. Up to his head, all the way through to the tip of his left antenna before it moved back through his brain and into his right antenna. Then the spark started to glide through the top part of his back toward his tail end. At that point, a fly flew by in front of him, and Adon lost focus. The spark disappeared. The fly buzzed away, oblivious to how distracting it was. He had to begin again, but he didn¡¯t curse at having lost his focus this time. He felt a sort of inner peace had descended over him. He could tell he was very quickly improving. Developing understanding and control. Distractions would ultimately only help build his capacity for focus. There¡¯s something immensely satisfying about progressing at anything, he thought. And I can just feel that I¡¯ll move forward by leaps and bounds if I keep going the way I am. Distractions and all. So thank you, little fly. Thank you for forcing me to become a little bit better. He returned to the dark place inside himself and pulled at the orb of light again. This time, he very consciously tried to take the smallest amount of energy from it that he could grasp and hold onto. If he was at risk of losing whatever he grabbed as soon as he lost his focus, he would take as little at a time as possible and stretch his little bouts of practice out for as long as he could. This time, he managed to complete a full cycle of moving the little spark of Mana around his body, from the tip top of the antennae on his head to the thread cutters on his Silk Spinner. Adon even managed to keep hold of the spark of Mana for long enough that he could return to the glowing orb and return the energy he had taken. He hadn¡¯t used it for anything, and it seemed that nothing was lost. What next? His mind searched for the next exercise. There weren¡¯t many that he¡¯d been given, and his memory in this life seemed to be better than it had been in any of his previous incarnations. So the information wasn¡¯t hard to find. He pulled slightly more than the minimum amount of Mana that he could from his core, and he dispersed it throughout his body in multiple moving sparks similar to the single spark he¡¯d been manipulating earlier. This was meant as a sort of divided attention exercise. Could he split his focus enough to control multiple moving portions of Mana at a time? This time, a noise startled him. A sound that reminded him of a motorboat engine, coming from somewhere in the space behind him. He let one spark fly off as his focus faltered, but managed to keep hold of the other four that he was moving. I¡¯ll count that as a victory, he thought dryly. He turned around to try and see what the noise had been, continuing to juggle sparks of energy as he rotated his body. It had been loud, and the sound made him nervous in an instinctive way that he could not easily explain. But there was nothing there. No other bugs walking to and fro that he could see. Then the sound came again. Adon almost jumped, and he retreated a couple of steps back. His head shot up. The noise was coming from somewhere above, he now realized. Then he saw it. Flitting about with incredible speed and dexterity. Its wings fluttering too fast for Adon to see them as anything but a shimmer. A long, graceful body. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Dragonfly, he thought. He took a couple more steps back, trying to get closer to the cover of leaves near his birth plant. He didn¡¯t want that thing to spot him. The dragonfly wasn¡¯t as large as the bird that had chased him yesterday, or even the bat he had killed last night, but Adon found it intimidating nevertheless. He knew that dragonflies would always be a potentially deadly threat. They were a predator even to adult butterflies. He felt an instinctive aversion to that noise for a reason. Even with his current power, he wasn¡¯t certain he could survive an encounter. Dragonflies killed with speed and precision movement through the air. This thing would flit around his Spine Shot and probably avoid the projectiles completely if they fought. Then it would suddenly appear beside Adon and try to kill him with a single bite to the head. The only positive for Adon in this situation was that he was almost certain dragonflies usually tried to hunt flying insects. That was why their speed and power were so specialized for use with precision flight. Still, he hoped it hadn¡¯t noticed him. It¡¯s a deeper test of my divided attention, Adon thought nervously as he ordered all of the spines on his back and sides to stand on end. He kept the sparks of Mana circulating around his body even as he watched carefully for any sign of aggressive intent¡ªthough despite his best efforts, Adon could usually only track the dragonfly for a few seconds at any given time. It would zip around from one place to another. When it accelerated or radically changed directions, that was when it would make that loud motorboat noise that Adon had noticed. In the moment when it did that, it seemed to disappear from view completely for a moment or two before Adon spotted it again. It¡¯s not using any special ability or anything either. That¡¯s just how dragonflies maneuver all the time. That sheer speed¡­ Adon swallowed. If the bird had been a lumbering Godzilla monster, and the bat was a fighter plane that could be shot down, the dragonfly was like an iridescent assassin that had somehow mastered the power of flight. There was no outmaneuvering it. No running from it. No exploiting the weaknesses in its patterns of attack. It was too fast for any of that. By the time it had attacked once, Adon thought he might very well be dead, without having even realized he was its target. That kind of speed¡ªhow would I even counter it? Finally, the creature flitted out of sight. It seemed the dragonfly was pursuing some other prey. Adon breathed slowly, in and out. He felt as if he¡¯d dodged a bullet. I don¡¯t think I have any real defense against that thing, he thought, except that my body is hard to attack with all the spines sticking out, and I might be hard to see if I used Color Change. He wasn¡¯t even sure the latter would be effective against a dragonfly, though. He seemed to remember that they had excellent vision to accompany their high level of speed and precision in the air. It was possible that Color Change would not be enough to fool those eyes, if the dragonfly had some sort of temperature-based or movement-based perception capabilities. Well, at least I¡¯m doing pretty well at juggling multiple sparks of Mana at the same time, he thought. And he had continued even as he was scared to death of the airborne assassin. That was a real victory. It hadn¡¯t been as much of a drain on his brain as he¡¯d expected, either. Easier than using Telepathy to rapidly transmit messages to one target after another, at least. Maybe magic will be my counter to the scary dragonfly. The next exercise was to concentrate Mana in different parts of the body to produce a strengthening effect. He found it surprisingly intuitive. The movement to a specific area was what he had just been rehearsing. It took focus, but he knew how to do it. When the Mana got there, all Adon had to do was condense it. Concentrate it in a single part of that area, with a specific intent. He tried it with his mandibles, and he felt that they were stronger. To prove to himself that this was no illusion, Adon turned to the nearest plant beside his birth plant, and he tried to chomp down on the main stem. At first, he made only shallow cuts on the thick green stalk. But after a few seconds of trying this, he realized he needed to make a slight adjustment. Rather than focusing on making them stronger, he shifted his intent to something more specific. Make the blades sharper. He felt an instant change. His Mana concentrated itself on the edges of the mandible blades. He closed them on the stalk once more¡ªand they chopped through like a hot knife through butter. The plant tumbled to the ground in front of him. Easy. I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s so easy. I used to live on a plant just like that¡ªand now look what I can do to it! He thought back to his bouts with the Ladybug Larva and the Leafy Bush Cricket. Those would have been complete cakewalks if he had access to this Skill back then. The bluebird was probably too big of a target for him to take on with his mandibles in any case. And the dragonfly was still much too fast for him to even hit, let alone have time to concentrate Mana into his mandibles and then chomp down. But the bat¡ªcouldn¡¯t I have chomped through the glue that bound him to the log and just taken his whole body with me if I had practiced with this Skill before? Adon couldn¡¯t see any reason why not. He would have certainly escaped the Exploding Carpenter Ants without having to negotiate over the bat¡¯s corpse if he¡¯d known how to do this back then. He felt very glad that he¡¯d started now. Maybe I could even have enhanced my exoskeleton so it wouldn¡¯t be damaged by the exploding ants¡¯ goo, he thought. Perhaps he was about to become a tank. I¡¯m going to be the terror of the garden¡­ Adon felt the Mana charging his mandibles run out. He used his Simple Eyes to gauge the position of the sun. Before he tried any other experiments, he needed to consider the time. There wasn¡¯t much left, it seemed. The sun was definitely in a different part of the sky. Midafternoon now, he assessed. Time flies when you¡¯re having fun! He made a split-second decision to break off the magic training for now. He still wanted to find Goldie, and it was time to stop putting it off. Now it was only partially for what she could teach him. He clearly had an incredibly potent Skill to train, and it wasn¡¯t clear he really needed to learn how to use silk better, though he still wanted to. But talking to the princess, even if it had only been two words from him¡ªand even though it had been nerve-wracking¡ªhad whetted his appetite for social activity. Goldie seemed like a decent option for that. The aura he¡¯d observed around her body suggested to him that she was special somehow. Connected to his past life, or her own past lives, or his future life in some way, perhaps. Besides magic practice, Goldie was the thing on his agenda that most excited him right now. And something could happen to the spider any day. Or what if she just forgets I exist? The chances of her forgetting him¡ªif she still remembered him at all¡ªonly rose the longer he remained absent. Whereas the magic would wait. And he knew he would come back to it. Beyond controlling his physical temperature and temporarily improving his bodily attributes, he wasn¡¯t sure what else he should be able to do. But Adon was determined to find out. He ascended to the top of his old plant, aware this could easily be the last time he ever visited it. He found landmarks that showed him which direction to move in. Then Adon climbed down and started walking. 31. Reunion Adon walked slowly and calmly through terrain he had fled through at a run before. It was strange looking at the world through his repeatedly enhanced eyes. There was a kaleidoscopic whirl of colors everywhere, as his eyes took in more information and a wider variety of colors than even his human eyes had experienced in the past. There were shades that he found he didn¡¯t even have a name for. But the world itself was still recognizable, as long as he moved through it slowly¡ªthough, by comparison with his present self, he had been virtually blind the last time he came through here. The memories were coming quickly now. Crisp and clear, with a quality that memories normally lacked. Adon guessed that his Impeccable Memory, coupled with the fact that he was in fight or flight mode last time he ran this way, had made these recollections especially vivid. Memories of himself ducking around corners, trying to evade, dodge, counter attack¡ªand the ants outmaneuvering him and choking off his escape routes. Over and over, they had seemed to know where he was going, as if they had psychic powers. Now that he had compound eyes of his own, he doubted that he had ever for a moment been outside the view of the Vendetta Ants once they first spotted them. The sheer range and quality of their vision had to put his old eyesight to shame. They had cut him off over and over, because they could see where he was going and split into groups that could confront him along every possible path. At least they weren¡¯t actually smarter than me, he thought. They were just watching carefully and pursuing relentlessly. At the time, it had felt as if the ants were almost omniscient. Now he suspected he could defeat almost any number of those same creatures. That might be an exaggeration if hundreds or thousands of Vendetta Ants came at him, but only because his resources were still limited. He could only shed his skin a few times before he would run out of Biomass. His silk consumed the same limited Biomass resource as Shed Skin. He only had so many Venom Spines even with Spine Thicket, and they took time to regenerate¡ªwhich also consumed Biomass, albeit that it was slower and less noticeable. And his latest and probably greatest weapon, Mana Manipulation, relied on another resource that he had only in extremely limited amounts. His recent experiments had taken him down from 132/215 Mana to 84/215 Mana. In short, he used up Mana extraordinarily quickly when he was doing even very basic exercises. Based on his observations during this walk, he seemed to be regaining what he estimated at a single point of Mana per minute. He was already mostly full up again, but the limitations on this resource would be a big handicap at some point in the future. He could only assume that regeneration during combat in which he was actively using Mana would be noticeably slower, perhaps nonexistent. Then I¡¯d just be fighting with my mandibles and feet¡ªand that¡¯s no fight at all. In physical terms, I¡¯m not nearly different enough from the caterpillar they fought on my first day here. Magic would be an important part of his life, but it couldn¡¯t solve all of his survival problems. Maybe an approach more like Goldie¡¯s was exactly what he needed. As he approached the place where he remembered his fight with the ants ending, Adon sucked in several long, deep breaths. He could see the shimmer in the distance now. He knew exactly where Goldie was. And all the little reservations that he had about seeing her again had leaped to the forefront of his mind. What if she doesn¡¯t remember me? What if she doesn¡¯t like me? What if she can¡¯t talk back and forth with me? Just because she seemed vaguely intelligent to him and had a mysterious glow around her didn¡¯t mean she had access to verbal communication, or that she could even think in words. And, perhaps most pressingly, What if she tries to eat me? Goldie trying to eat him would almost be a relief in comparison to the spider not liking him. Somehow, he thought she would be friendly. It might be something to do with her not having tried to eat him last time they met¡ªunlike literally every other predator he¡¯d met in his short life. Well, if she doesn¡¯t like me, maybe I can go make friends with the Exploding Carpenter Ants, he thought. Not sure how much the self-destructing ants could teach me about survival by comparison, but it beats being alone¡­ Adon realized he was depressing himself with this line of thought. And stalling. Not doing anything productive. He resolved to just go in. Rip off the bandaid. The worst that could happen was her trying to eat him. After all, it wasn¡¯t as if there were that many other animals out here that she could talk to. What was it that Princess had thought at him earlier? Telepathy was apparently quite rare? So who would Goldie even compare him to, to decide she didn¡¯t like him? She had been alive in this place longer than Adon had, he was certain. Surely, she would be a lonely soul just like he was. With those heartening thoughts, he began to close the distance between himself and the distant shimmer of the spider¡¯s web. As he approached, he again observed the shimmering majesty of the silken construction. It was not quite symmetric, but was somehow almost circular nevertheless. An orb shape? he thought. She is a Golden Silk Orb-Weaver, after all. It was affixed to a large shrub, he saw, rather than a tree. The area seemed to be lined with large shrubs, and Adon realized that beyond the shrubs there was a massive wall he had never noticed before. This must be the outer limit of the garden. I definitely get why she¡¯s called a ¡°Golden Silk¡± Orb-Weaver now. The web glowed golden in the sunlight. Not like that Princess he¡¯d seen had glowed, and not like the spider herself faintly glowed. This was clearly not the ethereal effect of his Spiritual Sight. It was a natural result of some pigment the spider had woven into her web. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. It was just as remarkable, just as beautiful, as it had been the first time Adon laid eyes on it. Strong, too, he thought, considering that it¡¯s still standing after I rained ants down on it. He felt a little bad about that now. Well, hopefully she wasn¡¯t too freaked that I dropped dozens of ants on her. Maybe she¡ªWhat the hell is that sound? Adon heard an annoying noise that reminded him of the whine of an electric drill. He stopped and looked up. In the web that now loomed two feet away from him, he saw a small dark shape wriggling, entrapping itself further in the sticky silk. Buzzing frantically as it vibrated its wings, trying to pull itself free. The sight and sound made him slightly uncomfortable. It¡¯s not as if I¡¯m any different, he reminded himself. If anything, I¡¯m objectively creepier than Goldie. She has a web that other bugs fly or walk into. Or jump into, if you¡¯re a particularly stupid ant. It¡¯s a passive hunting method. She just waits for food to present itself. She doesn¡¯t even really have to fight. I¡¯m an ambush predator. I attack from a hidden position while lying in wait, then bite the enemy to death. That was how he¡¯d killed most of the ants he¡¯d eaten in his first day of life, up until they started chasing him. Then again, I guess if I count most of the ants, the Ladybug Larva, the Leafy Bush Cricket, the bluebird, the bat, and everything I¡¯ve eaten besides those first few ants, I¡¯m more of a retaliatory self-defense predator. If that¡¯s a thing. The point was, what he did wasn¡¯t vastly dissimilar from what Goldie did. So he shouldn¡¯t be creeped out by the sight of a fly wriggling in her web. He forced himself to keep walking forward toward the lower part of the web, where there was a gap that he knew from experience he could slip through to get underneath. As he got closer, he noticed a slight smell of rot coming from somewhere. It wasn¡¯t enough to bother him, though. But there were also some small creatures positioned at the corners of the web. Those made him nervous. They appeared to be spiders, but much smaller than Goldie. Could they be her children? But they didn¡¯t look like what he remembered her looking like. Their bodies were strangely shaped, with abdomens that looked a little bit like silver bells. Identify! He wasn¡¯t going under the web unless he knew what those creatures were. Unlike Goldie, he could imagine them being just as nimble on the ground as they probably were on the web. They were small, which reminded him of the dragonfly and the bat as compared with the larger, slower moving bird. Kleptomaniac Dewdrop Spider (Female) That name¡¯s creepy, he thought. So, not her kids, then, I guess. Kleptomaniac. So they¡¯re thieves? I wonder if Goldie knows about them. If she does, is she okay with it? She was kind enough to let me go before. Maybe she¡¯s just very generous¡­ In any case, he resolved to mention it when he spoke to her. The Kleptomaniac Dewdrop Spiders watching him, the fly violently making its drill-bit buzzing sound overhead, Adon walked nervously to the empty space between the bottom of the web and the ground. It was smaller than he remembered, but he squeezed through alright and didn¡¯t get stuck to the web. And he walked under the shadows of the many hundreds of silken threads, still marveling at their beauty. I¡¯m grateful that my eyesight is so good. There are so many marvels in this world. There probably had been in his last world, too, he knew. But he hadn¡¯t been in the head space to see them. As he stared at the web, trying to ignore the fly that was buzzing almost directly above him now, he sensed movement. He began turning his head to look, but he needn¡¯t have bothered. She was still fast. A figure eight shape with an elongated bottom and incredibly long legs rushed into his line of sight like her web was on fire. Striding briskly across the web. Her movement conveyed the body language of ownership in Adon¡¯s mind. Like a shop owner racing out to greet a newly arrived customer. Welcome to my parlor, said the spider to the fly, came unbidden into his mind. Goldie was the same spider he remembered, but now Adon could appreciate her in a way he hadn¡¯t before. In addition to the same thin yellow glow he¡¯d noticed around her body back when he was nearly blind, he could see her actual physical coloration. Her legs had red, yellow, and black bands, like a coral snake. There were little tufts of what looked like fur at her leg joints. Her body was a dark reddish brown with small yellow speckles. You¡¯re a really pretty spider, Goldie! he thought admiringly. Maybe I wouldn¡¯t have been scared of spiders in my last life if they all looked like you. No, who was he kidding? If you were a human, spiders were creepy unless you were a total weirdo! No offense, Goldie. Alright. Now was the moment. The spider, his prospective friend, was up there meeting her new, uh, meal. And while she was doing that, he had his chance to speak to her. Before she could walk away. As Adon thought about this, Goldie was biting the fly and injecting her venom. After a few seconds, at last the cursed buzzing noise stopped forever. Right. Now would be good. Adon stood on the ground below Goldie, paralyzed. She didn¡¯t seem to have noticed him, and that was all to the good. Because he wasn¡¯t sure if he was ready to do this. Come on, Adon, he told himself. Talk to her. He felt an unaccountable nervousness. All the courage from just after he¡¯d tried to speak to the Princess seemed to have vanished. Make yourself do it anyway! he yelled inside his own mind. Come on! The spider was wrapping up the fly with her silk now. Any moment now, she would turn and carry her prize off into another part of the web that was not as close to the ground. Wherever dead bug storage was. Goldie plucked the fly from her web and turned to move back up the web. Hello there! Adon suddenly called out, activating his Telepathy with the thought. 32. First Friend Goldie jerked back as if startled. Sorry to startle you, Adon hurriedly sent. He hoped she wouldn¡¯t just run away from the strange creature talking into her head. I guess I definitely activated Telepathy, then. The spider stepped back toward the closest place on the web to where Adon was, and she stared down at him. He looked for recognition in her glossy, reflective black eyes, but he could discern nothing. He only saw his own reflection. These damn expressionless insect faces, he thought. Do you remember me? he sent. You speak, Goldie thought back. Her tone sounded hesitant, halting. As if she had never done this before with anyone else. Or even had not thought verbally in a long time. Despite apparently being a bit rusty, her inner voice was soft. Gently flowing. Melodious. He would almost describe it as silky. I do, he replied. And you can read thoughts? she asked. Slightly perplexed, if he understood her tone. Um. Huh. Are you not using Telepathy too? No, she thought, shaking her head. Could not afford as juvenile. Option vanished with maturity. He easily believed her. She spoke in a tone of sincere regret. And her grammar was strangely broken, adding to the impression of someone who had not spoken to anyone else in a long time. Without Telepathy, I guess she hasn¡¯t spoken to anyone before in this life, he thought. I do remember you, she sent. I was curious. Before. Who was this bug? Leading a squad of ants here. Guilty. Adon felt embarrassed and almost reflexively moved to cover his face, but fortunately, he remembered that caterpillars could not blush. Impressed you survived, she sent. So am I, he replied. More impressed that you captured all of them. He tried to send the words with a flattering tone. Glad you returned. Glad I did not eat you. Ditto, Adon thought, laughing in his own mind. So many days¡ªmonths!¡ªof silence. Her tone was melancholic. No one to talk to. You are a miracle. I¡¯m sorry to hear that, he sent. Torture, she replied, shaking her head. Felt my sense of self fading. Animal nature taking over. Every day the same. Adon wanted to smile and cry for her at the same time. I¡¯m glad I¡¯m here now. Me too. Did not expect to be so happy to see silly caterpillar again. She gestured at him with a long leg. You have grown very large. I got fat! Adon thought. Ahh! No! No, healthy size, the spider hastened to reply. Never seen such success for caterpillar. I¡¯m the fattest caterpillar she¡¯s ever seen! Adon placed his forelimbs on the sides of his head and tried to calm down. I should have known she¡¯d see it that way. Looking up at her, he was nearly certain that besides her legs, he was larger than Goldie now. And judging by the Kleptomaniac Dewdrop Spiders he¡¯d seen earlier, she was a fairly big spider! How would a mate see him? Was he an obese caterpillar? Um, uh, sorry. Do not leave! The spider¡¯s tone was emotional. Afraid. Slightly desperate. Wait, did I transmit those thoughts about me being fat? Adon thought. I didn¡¯t intend to. The spider was silent for a few long seconds, just staring at him blankly. Yes, she thought finally. Transmitted. I apologize for my words. No company. No sensitivity to feelings. Lovely caterpillar. Not fat. No need to diet. Plenty of caterpillars happy to mate with you. After you reach maturity. Adon deactivated Telepathy for a moment so that he could keep his thoughts to himself. Apparently he had not quite mastered the art of controlling what he was transmitting and what he wasn¡¯t when he used the Adaptation. That could be embarrassing in the future if I don¡¯t get a hold of it. Fortunately, I imagine I¡¯m going to get a lot of practice! I think she might be even lonelier than me. He expected that he and Goldie would be talking quite a lot. She was obviously desperate for him to stick around now that they¡¯d spoken. Poor spider. He couldn¡¯t imagine what spending months alone in this place with no one to talk to must have been like. The constant, brutal struggle of survival and no one to share it with. It had been stressful for him in just a couple of days. He couldn¡¯t imagine what it was doing to her. Well, at least she¡¯s not rejecting me, he thought. Even if the reason for that is pretty tragic in its own right. He reactivated Telepathy. Want to be friends? he asked immediately. Of course! she replied eagerly. The subtext he read was, I haven¡¯t spoken to anyone in months, you idiot! I would befriend a coconut at this point. What is your name? he asked. I¡¯ve been calling you ¡®Goldie¡¯ in my head, but I should probably use your real name. A name. Name. There was a silence that lasted several seconds, during which Adon patiently waited without thinking much of anything. He was beginning to get used to the spider¡¯s process. Long silences made sense. If he hadn¡¯t spoken to anyone in months, he would probably be at a loss for words too. No name, her voice broke in. Melancholic again. Never thought¡ªnever needed name. Caterpillar only one who could ask. Once, long ago¡­ Her posture collapsed as the spider seemed almost to crumble onto her web. It was a body language that communicated total defeat. Adon would have hugged her if she was within reach, but he wasn¡¯t sure if that gesture would have been welcome, considering that they were two predators¡ªand not members of particularly huggy species. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Another long silence ensued, but this one was laden with emotion on both ends. Adon wanted to cry for Goldie. He thought he understood her pain. At least a bit of it. He¡¯d been socially isolated, albeit for an entirely different reason, in his last life. But it was one thing to be scorned and scornful of society, and another to be entirely cut off from it. To have no family one could speak to, no society, no books, nor even simulated social contact through technology. But even though he thought he knew some fraction of her suffering, he didn¡¯t know what to say. In his previous life, he had never been a provider of comfort. Only a receiver of it, and that only on rare occasions. He didn¡¯t know what his mother would say here, or he would just parrot that. She had always had a way of calming people down. Call me Goldie, then, the spider finally said. Pretty name. She sounded a little happier. Good. They would work through this together. What is your name? Adon used the joke he¡¯d been quietly planning to spring at this moment. Well, maybe not quite a joke. More like a bad pun? Madam, I¡¯m Adon, he sent carefully. He listened but didn¡¯t hear any reaction from the spider for a few seconds, either in his head or in the physical world. Then he saw it as much as heard it. The spider shook slightly, her legs trembling. But it was her thoughts that really solidified the impression for him. Ha. Ha. Ha. Goldie was laughing. Adon laughed back a little, in his own mind. His earlier nervousness had been almost dispelled. They were both awkward. Both a little weird. This could work. Right? I guess that isn¡¯t the worst joke you¡¯ve heard in your life? he sent. The spider slowly stopped laughing and caught her breath. Then she thought slowly, clearly choosing her words deliberately, Adon. That was the worst. Also best. Only joke I have heard since I was born. Oh. Right. That question was insensitive of me, he sent. No, is fine, she replied. Pretty sure that was terrible joke. Your luck that I suffer from inexperience. It benefits you. Tell your bad jokes. I will laugh every time. They both chuckled inside their minds at that. I guess you aren¡¯t completely isolated, though, Adon sent. He had remembered the Kleptomaniac Dewdrop Spiders he wanted to bring up, and now seemed a good moment to segue into that topic. Not completely. How did you know? she asked. Well, I¡ªwait, how did I know what? He had thought they were talking about the spiders he¡¯d seen when he walked up, but clearly not, if she was asking how he knew. And as he had that thought, a tiny shape moved on Goldie¡¯s body. What the hell?! Is something bursting out of y¡ªoh, never mind. He saw now. The shape wasn¡¯t bursting out of her. It wasn¡¯t covered in goo or anything like that. And it had eight legs. The shape was about one-third of her size, Adon assessed. So Goldie must have a growing child. Meet my mate, she sent. Ah. Um, it¡¯s a pleasure! he replied. He still sent it to Goldie rather than to her partner. He didn¡¯t want to work out whether it was possible for him to set up the equivalent of a three way call just now. He needed to check how much Mana he still had left sometime soon, in case they were about to get cut off. But for the moment, he just stared at Goldie¡¯s mate. Adon had forgotten how large size differences could be in some invertebrate pairings. The male spider had climbed off of her back, and he now stood on the web beside her, looking down at Adon. Even though his face was non-expressive, Adon thought he detected suspicion. Perhaps even some mild hostility. But it was hard to worry too much about that. He¡¯s so small I could eat him, Adon couldn¡¯t help but think. The spider was one-third of Goldie¡¯s size, which meant he was an even smaller fraction of her weight. Please do not, Goldie sent. I find him rather sweet. Not very emotionally expressive. We are spiders. But many spiders mate and move on. Look for next web¡ªnext female. Mine stayed. In his way, protecting me. Making sure I can give life. I guess he¡¯s a standup guy, then, Adon agreed. Deadbeat dads are a cross-species phenomenon, huh? Goldie simply nodded. I wasn¡¯t really gonna eat hi¡ªWait, I thought your species eat the males after you mate. Or is that just a negative spider stereotype? Goldie moved her front legs up and down in what Adon eventually recognized as a shrug. Do not know what other spiders do broadly. Have not seen others of my kind eat mates. There was a dryly amused tone to her voice that let Adon know he hadn¡¯t offended her. That reminded Adon of a topic that he wanted to broach with Goldie, but he decided to push that to later. He still had more questions about spider life. Did you always know how to build a web like this? I used the Evolution Store to get a Silk Spinner of my own, but I kind of suck at using it. No. Invested heavily in Adaptations. Nearly all Evolution Points spent for silk. A little on venom. I see. Adon guessed this was not something he would ever be able to do himself, then. He was not going to invest ¡°nearly all¡± of his Evolution Points in silk. It had been useful, but not that useful. I can teach. Help you improve! Goldie suggested eagerly. Many silk options available with lower level Adaptation. Older spiders helped me learn. That sounds wonderful, he thought back. I wish I could help you with something back. He thought about mentioning magic, but now that he realized he didn¡¯t need to impress Goldie to win her over, he thought it would be stupid to brag about something he barely had a handle on. It was entirely possible that even while investing ¡°nearly all¡± her Evolution Points in silk, Goldie had Mana Manipulation too. In which case she was certainly more experienced with it than him, and him talking as if he could teach her about magic would just make him look bad. No need to help back, she thought. We are friends now. My first friend. Grew up in litter of spiders, but none like you. None could talk. Share a bond. The two of us. About other spiders¡­ Adon reminded himself of what he had wanted to bring up earlier. Are you aware that there are Kleptomaniac Dewdrop Spiders living in the corners of your web? ¡°Hsss!¡± Goldie made a noise that Adon could only interpret as a hiss. It was the first oral expression he had ever heard her make, and it took him so off guard that he took a couple of steps back. Goldie? Those things! Ugh. Yes, I know. Those scum! Thieves. Bleh! Kill them. Hate them. Want them dead. The spider slammed her legs down on the web as she formed the thoughts so that it shook almost from top to bottom. Her mate chose this moment to hop back off of the web and onto her back. Adon couldn¡¯t blame him. If the spider hadn¡¯t just been conversing so pleasantly with him, he would be afraid too. It had to be hard being a mate to someone you couldn¡¯t really communicate with. Goldie also thought a bunch of other partially formed words that Adon couldn¡¯t quite understand but was pretty sure weren¡¯t flattering terms of endearment. He waited for her to calm down a bit before interjecting. Um, Goldie? Oh. Yes. Adon. You asked about Dewdrop spiders. I do not like them. I got that, yeah. Do you mind if I ask what¡¯s wrong? I mean, if you don¡¯t like them, can¡¯t you chase them out? I figure you have very good reasons for feeling the way you do. No. Outnumbered. Her tone was still emotionally fraught. Adon felt cornered on Goldie¡¯s behalf. Steal our food. Sometimes, eat other spiders. But quick. Clever. Make me nervous. Dangerous. Adon noted that Goldie¡¯s grammar had been improving bit by bit as she became more comfortable with him. Now that she felt threatened¡ªclearly specifically by the thought of these spiders¡ªher grammar was deteriorating back to the level she¡¯d started at. Adon didn¡¯t verbalize the thought in his head, but he was aware in the back of his mind that if he kept interacting with her, she would gradually become a better and better conversationalist. Probably. Which was nice. But there¡¯s nothing you can do about them? he asked. No, Goldie replied glumly. Fight together if you resist them. Hm. Maybe there is something I can do to help you. 33. Silk Training You. You would fight them? Goldie seemed to have trouble with the very thought. She stumbled over the words in her mind. Almost as soon as she had the thought, she was shaking her head. Too dangerous. I¡¯m tougher than you think, Adon sent back. I¡¯ve fought some pretty dangerous¡ª No, first friend. Do not risk your life for this. I will happily teach my silk knowledge. For you, a gift. Please do not risk a fight. Adon felt he was being underestimated, but he was also touched by his new friend¡¯s concern. He decided not to argue the point for now, and suppressed his thoughts on the matter at least enough so that he didn¡¯t accidentally vocalize them via Telepathy. Well, I will gladly accept your teaching, wise spider. Adon put his front feet together in front of him like he was praying, then bowed his head like a figure in some martial arts movie. Goldie laughed in her head again. More of a giggle this time. Where did you copy that from? Pose feels familiar. Adon hesitated slightly, then broached what he suspected would be a difficult subject. Do you remember another life? he sent. Before this one? As he¡¯d expected, the spider¡¯s body language shifted with the change of topic. She stiffened, slumped slightly, then nodded slowly. Bits and pieces. Her thoughts were quiet, a whisper. Shadow things. Can¡¯t remember more. Names. Own face. Loved ones. All gone¡­ Damn it! Adon wanted to bury his face in the dirt. Goldie¡¯s being so nice to me, and I upset her again. What¡¯s wrong with me?! Do not be troubled, friend. Her voice in his head managed to sound on the verge of tears, though of course, spiders could not cry. She must have been a vertebrate in her last life. I asked question. You only tried answer. I will take care next time. Bright side. I still remember language. Otherwise, conversation impossible! More memory of past life would only be sad. Remember everyone I miss. Painful. Better to forget. I really like you, Goldie, Adon sent. You have an amazing attitude. It¡¯s exactly how I want to be in this life. Making the best of things. How else is there to be? Goldie replied. There was another option? No one told me. They shared another silent laugh at that. Despite the joke, Adon thought she was genuinely quite inspiring. He realized he would never be able to complain about anything in her presence, with all his advantages, without feeling very silly. He could communicate with others, he had many memories to give him a sort of wisdom advantage, and one day he would even be able to fly. He had the advantage in not being socially isolated in the present, possessing knowledge of the past, and having unimaginable prospects for the future. Yet how poor his attitude looked in comparison with hers! Adon decided not to dwell too much on it. There was only so much thinking he could do without transmitting it through the mental link, and if he considered how ungrateful he had sometimes been any more deeply, it would certainly become a surface thought and leak out. So, how should we do this lesson, then? he asked. Show me your silk, she replied. I will give suggestions. Adon shot out a quick burst of silk and looked up at the spider for her approval. Goldie was looking down at him with a quizzical tilt to her head. Well, that was quick. Hm. Personal question. Is that what your silk always looks like? He felt weirdly self-conscious all of a sudden. He managed to stop himself from asking if he¡¯d done it too quickly. If she thought he had, she would say so. Not always, he replied. I sometimes see it come out thicker or thinner. Is that thread sticky? she thought. Isn¡¯t it always? No, of course not! Goldie¡¯s tone was faintly indignant. How would I walk around? If all threads sticky, impossible without tearing web. Oh. Right. Actually, I knew that. It had been trivia knowledge in one of his old lives, but unfortunately, Adon only remembered highlights from most of his previous lives unless he made great effort. Even then, much minutiae like this would escape him. Only his immediate past life presented itself in near crystal clarity. On the other hand, Adon¡¯s threads were always sticky, because all he¡¯d ever needed to use them for was trapping and binding things. For a moment, he had ignored who he was talking to. Goldie actually lived on a web, after all. To make a web¡­ Goldie went into a detailed explanation. More detailed than Adon had really been prepared for. She even spun silk to give visual demonstrations of how to weave and overlay silk in a web construction. Her lecture included how to make grid-like patterns, explained proper proportions of sticky to nonstick threads, gave insights on shape and structure, and offered many more details besides. It was dizzying, and not just because the prolonged conversation began to give Adon a headache like he¡¯d experienced with the ants before. If Goldie could talk, she could be a professor of web construction. If Adon hadn¡¯t possessed the Skill Impeccable Memory, he¡¯d have been completely lost five minutes in. Even as it was, he repeatedly had to ask for breaks to digest information and let his brain rest. Definitely need more investment in Intelligence and Will, he thought while he was disconnected from Telepathy. When he checked his Status during one of his later breaks, he found he was also running low on Mana. He estimated that Goldie had used up three-quarters of what he¡¯d had at the beginning of the conversation with just her lecture. Damn. For someone who¡¯s been nonverbal for so long, she sure can be wordy. That was true even accounting for the occasional dropped words in her sentences, though the longer she spoke, the better that was. Adon explained his mental fatigue and declining Mana, and Goldie nodded as if unsurprised. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. All resources have limits, she thought sagely. Let me teach you one more lesson. Most valuable secret. How to touch the sticky threads without sticking. Wow, Adon transmitted. That sounds incredibly valuable! Other spiders will be afraid of you if they see you can do it, Goldie agreed. Essential technique for web construction. Touching sticky threads while pulling web together is necessity. Otherwise, never make anything bigger than you already have. You really believe in me, huh? Adon couldn¡¯t help but think. Honestly, not sure, Goldie thought. Caterpillar spinning web seems like difficult task to me. But¡­ want to believe in you. Who else here to believe in? Make dreams come true, Adon! There¡¯s always your mate, Adon replied. He¡¯s there all the time, right? True, I do have him, she agreed. Ah! That gives me an idea. I finally figured out how I can pay you back for all this help. You don¡¯t have to do that¡­ but what did you have in mind? I can use Telepathy! Adon transmitted. I don¡¯t know if you feel comfortable with me doing it, but I could be an intermediary between you. Unfamiliar word, Goldie thought. Intermediary is? I could talk to him and you and transmit messages back and forth, Adon explained carefully. Goldie went silent for a long time at that. He could tell she was engaged in a struggle with herself, but Adon was surprised he couldn¡¯t hear her thoughts. Maybe she had figured out how to suppress them as he had. Or maybe the struggle in her own mind was silent. Emotional rather than expressed in words. When he heard her thinking again, it was, No¡­ but I¡ªno, I do not¡ªyes, I should¡ªno. She turned and looked down at Adon. I have decided. I decline. For today, at least. I think more, but I doubt I will change. Why? The question burst out of Adon¡¯s mind before he could restrain it, before he could consider how insensitive it might be. He was just so surprised. Fortunately, Goldie did not seem offended by the question. Seems strange, I know, she thought. He is my mate. He gave me his seed. I will use for my eggs very soon. Then we will have offspring together. Why should we not talk? Adon nodded. He was really curious about her motivations. I already made the reproduction decision. I do not regret. Happiest moment of this life, when he decided to stay after providing seed. Adon found this the most nearly alien set of thoughts he had heard from Goldie so far, but he recognized that he was still in a very human mindset. He managed to tamp down his thoughts into the nonverbal subconscious and keep silently listening. He is good mate, I think. Males of my kind do not live long. He chooses to spend the rest of his days here. See the eggs fertilized. Maybe hatched? We do not know how long he gets. Males of my kind live short lives. I may have another year in me. Another round of egg laying, perhaps. Though I will be old lady! There was a short, shared burst of laughter at the thought. After all that, I am afraid. Never spoken to him before. Do not know if he is even verbal. Do not know what he thinks like. Do not know¡­ There was a pause, during which Adon thought the spider was struggling to decide how to phrase her next burst of thoughts. She seemed to give up and threw her hands up. Do not know if I will like him. Or if he will like me. Thought of talking with him scares me! Too much to lose. Too much possibility of disappointment. Her eyes, which had been looking off into the distance, aimed down at Adon again. One talky friend is enough for now. Alright, friend? Adon¡¯s thoughts were complicated. His mind darted from one subject to another, fluttering over the various questions Goldie¡¯s monologue had raised. He had simultaneously learned a general estimate of her lifespan¡ªshe didn¡¯t have longer than another year!¡ªhe had begun to wonder about his own mortality, and he had the nagging idea in the back of his mind that she might have been unlucky in love in a past life. Perhaps many past lives. It could explain her hesitance. But Adon could express none of this openly now. Not with the delicacy that any of these subjects required. He needed to think about them, not trample all over the ideas with the clumsiness that had characterized much of his expression in this conversation. He was just glad he didn¡¯t seem to have verbalized any of these thoughts enough to accidentally transmit them over the telepathic link. And what Goldie needed wasn¡¯t more of Adon¡¯s mental baggage to worry about. It was his unreserved support. She was clearly worried about his judgment. Otherwise she wouldn¡¯t have spent so much time unfurling her reasons for declining his offer. It was an odd choice to Adon. Even in his social awkwardness, he would never choose to be unable to communicate with the one he loved¡ªif that was really the word to describe this strange spider relationship. He would never choose to be mute with respect to the partner he was producing offspring with, in any case. Of course it¡¯s alright, he sent. I respect your choices, my friend. Adon tried to infuse the words with all the sincerity he could. He drew on his genuine respect and affection for Goldie. And he thought he did a serviceable job. The spider nodded in response. Thank you, Adon. We may discuss this again, I hope. Difficult to contemplate now. Without further preamble, she launched into her explanation of how spiders kept from sticking to their own webs. It was surprisingly complicated and difficult for him to imagine accessing. Parts of the method Goldie used were dependent on Adaptations that Adon himself did not have yet. There was a certain nonstick coating that she applied to her feet. Other spiders sometimes had dense hairs on their feet. Adon had neither Adaptation, though he suspected they would be cheap enough in the Evolution Store if many spiders had them. But the other aspect of the method was something he would simply have to practice. A method of movement. A sort of careful, gentle way of touching the silk. Goldie demonstrated this with her own silk, though the display was more impressive than illuminating for Adon. What he took from it was that the silk needed a little bit of pressure to be properly sticky, apparently. He had often overcome this himself by the simple expedient of shooting his silk at his enemies, and had never had an issue with getting it to stick to other bugs. Sounds like something I will need to practice, he sent. Goldie nodded and thought, Absolutely. Wise words. You may destroy many webs before you are satisfied you have mastered technique. His head was almost splitting as those words entered his mind, and Adon realized he must be near his limits. I think I have to stop for now, Goldie, he sent. He had already explained his Telepathy limitations to her in enough detail that she knew what he meant. I understand. Talked until you got tired of me! She thought the words in a joking tone, fortunately. Adon didn¡¯t have the energy left for reassurances. Not convincing ones, anyway. He was just fortunate he didn¡¯t have a bad migraine yet. It would be uncool if he ended up running out of juice and temporarily paralyzing himself in front of Goldie. He could endure the pain¡ªhe had already done so once¡ªbut he might die of the embarrassment. He promised to practice some of what she had taught him, and he signed off for the afternoon. Judging by the position of the sun¡ªnow drawing low in the sky¡ªit was almost evening. But Adon thought there was just enough time before he rested to make his first attempt at spinning a real web, rather than just a bunch of silk threads. These attempts are all for you, Goldie, he thought. I can¡¯t believe I made a friend already, and she believes in me enough to teach me everything she knows. If caterpillars could cry, Adon would have shed tears of gratitude. 34. Silk Construction Adon worked through the end of the afternoon and into the evening. He had trouble just trying to execute the initial steps Goldie had described. He repeatedly found himself with multiple strands stuck to his body, forced to eat his way free in order to escape his own tangled mess. How do spiders do it? he thought. I¡¯m not even at the hard part yet! Adon had started by creating a first long silk thread and connecting it between two surfaces some distance apart. Once there was a firm connection between the two areas, Adon was supposed to walk down the thread and strengthen it by laying down a second thread. Here was where his first problems originated. Adon felt like a tightrope walker, trying to maintain his balance while walking along a thread. He had never used his silk this way before. And on the first try, he fell off. Fortunately, at his small size, and just a slight distance from the ground, there was no injury. Only embarrassment. The situation would have been more embarrassing, but thankfully Goldie seemed to have read him well. She mostly left him to fail alone, rather than keeping a constant watchful eye. There were several more potentially embarrassing falls. When Adon eventually managed to keep his balance along the line while laying down a second thread, he ran into his second problem. As he tried to turn back to walk the other way and lay down a third thread, he found that the first two had become stuck to his body. There was no way to get it loose and maintain the thread, unless he wanted to leave his skin hanging there with it. Instead, he opted to tear the thread down and start over. Adon had a much easier time replicating the achievement of wire walking once he spun a new thread, and he even managed to lay down his second thread on top of the first without getting stuck. Then he tried to add a third thread to strengthen it more, and in the middle of walking back up, he glued himself to the line. This became a repeat issue. Although the number of threads that Adon could add on top of the first line kept slowly increasing, and his focus tightened over time, every attempt ended in frustration. The strands ended up stuck to his body and scrapped. At a certain point in the process, Adon got better at unsticking himself, but he still ended up with bits of caterpillar exoskeleton stuck all over the strand, which weakened the strand despite the addition of more threads. As he slowly progressed, Goldie kept his Biomass up by occasionally bringing him food. She still apparently had some ants wrapped in silk, though she said the ¡°thief spiders¡± had stolen a lot of them while she was resting. That¡¯s a good name for them, Adon sent back. And the spider admitted, I always forget their real one! They shared another laugh. As Adon continued his work, he eventually reached a new stage. A great leap forward for the web. As the sun set, he created a satisfactory foundation thread, as Goldie had instructed. A single strand that he thought was reinforced enough to support the rest of the web. He ran low on Biomass when he finished it and had to beg for some more scraps from Goldie, but she seemed happy to provide it and genuinely proud of Adon¡¯s progress. Never seen a caterpillar so focused before, she thought at him. Usually they only eat, all their lives! You¡¯ve never seen a telepathic caterpillar either, Adon sent, trying to infuse some bravado into his tone. I¡¯m a little different! Inside, though, he was wishing he¡¯d stuck to just hunting and eating insects. He didn¡¯t want to disappoint Goldie¡ªand himself¡ªby giving up. But if this was what small-scale practice was like, constructing a whole web out in the open would probably starve him. He had doubts that he could use it as effectively as a spider anyway. With her long legs, Goldie was eminently suited to striding between the strands of a web without getting stuck. With his shorter, stubbier legs and his chunky body, Adon thought that getting stuck in his own web was probably going to be hard to avoid. He was getting better, but slowly. And finally, the length of a spider¡¯s stride was a major factor in deciding how far away each strand should hang from parallel strands. With Adon¡¯s much smaller stride, he would probably have to make the strands closer to each other than Goldie did. Which meant he would have to produce more silk than a spider would in order to have a properly navigable web. Either that, or he would have to try to copy Goldie¡¯s web proportions rather than calculating them in the way she had described. But Adon had been trying a different approach to this life than he had to the previous one. A more intense approach. He didn¡¯t want this to be the first thing he gave up on in his new life. Even if I can never use this as my primary survival method, I want to make one perfect, functioning web in my life. It would be an incredible win, if he could get this right¡ªor even if he just learned something useful from it. He was paying intense attention to the experience as he went. Nothing would go to waste. I believe you will do it, Goldie thought. Why so determined, though? Do not have to impress me. Adon realized he was still transmitting, and he laughed inside of his mind. I¡¯ve been behind lots of other creatures every minute of this life, struggling to survive, he sent. While I¡¯m in a safe place, with my friend, I¡¯m going to get ahead. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Another bundle of silk-encased ants landed next to Adon, and he began hungrily tearing into them. Good luck, friend, Goldie thought. I will rest for a while now. Near my food stores, so thief spiders do not get funny ideas! As she walked away, Adon deactivated Telepathy again. Taking the first bite of ant flesh only whetted his appetite. He quickly went into a feeding trance. Munch munch. Chomp chomp. Gobble gobble. Gulp. When he was finished, he got back in the saddle. Even though it was getting dark. The construction of a strong foundation strand, woven from multiple threads, was the first big leap forward he¡¯d made. He wasn¡¯t going to waste it. Have to conserve silk as much as I can, he thought. Just try to make a basic framework for now. It¡¯s almost dark, and I¡¯m not going to risk going out into the night to hunt. Not after how last night went. Nor am I going to ask Goldie for more food after she just explained how much she hates those klepto-spiders for raiding her food. I don¡¯t want her to start to feel the same way about me. And I¡¯m grateful, unlike those thieves. Adon thought again about how he might eliminate the problem of the Kleptomaniac Dewdrop Spiders once and for all. It was the only task for his mind to work on besides web construction. He was so focused on thoughts of his present task and his future mission, that he didn¡¯t even notice the true darkness of night when it arrived. ¡ª Rosslyn bit into her mutton hesitantly, as if she thought it might be poisoned. In fact, she wasn¡¯t thinking about the food at all. The juicy, well seasoned meat, dripping in rich sauce, was practically wasted on her at the moment. Rosslyn was looking around at her family, waiting to see if the other shoe would drop. If her father would clear his throat and cast a stern glance her way. Or perhaps Carolien would raise a mischievous eyebrow and begin a sentence, ¡°By the way,¡± and regale the table with the story of a rumor she had just heard that was now making the rounds in the palace. A rumor that certainly couldn¡¯t be true, could it? But so far there was nothing. Just the slow, methodical sounds of the Royal Family eating their dinner, occasionally broken up with chatter from the little ones. He does not know, Rosslyn told herself. Father is like me. He would confront the matter directly, not seek to build suspense. So apparently the nobles are just gossiping among themselves. No one had mentioned Rosslyn¡¯s interactions with Sir Carol to the King yet. Things were going as she¡¯d hoped they would, so far. That made Rosslyn no more relaxed, of course. If true, it only temporarily alleviated her worries. She would eventually have to discuss this with her father. But if he found out what had happened too soon, he might decide to try and countermand what Rosslyn had done. Fortunately, Sir Jaren hadn¡¯t been present for the spar, or he probably would have figured out that Rosslyn was acting without any authority and told the King already. Sir Jaren was always an admirably loyal man. ¡°¡ªgo, my child?¡± Rosslyn heard a voice, as if from a great distance, that cut through her thoughts. She looked up and saw her stepmother and her father looking in her direction. ¡°Apologies, stepmother, my mind was elsewhere,¡± she said. ¡°Would you repeat what you said?¡± Carolien gave Rosslyn her signature saccharine smile. ¡°I said, ¡®How did your meeting go,¡¯ darling? With the suitor?¡± ¡°Oh, I thought this one went a bit better,¡± Rosslyn said sincerely. ¡°A considerably better quality young man than the last one. Lord Baranack may be on the right track.¡± ¡°Even though he was a baronet?¡± her father asked skeptically. He turned his head and looked over at the younger children as if just remembering that they were there. ¡°Of course, we have the utmost respect for all of our subjects,¡± he added. ¡°It is a bit surprising that he was up to your high standards, though.¡± ¡°I did not say that,¡± Rosslyn replied, trying not to smile. ¡°Of course not,¡± the Queen said, ¡°and the man who does meet your standards will be very lucky, my dear.¡± As was often the case, Rosslyn didn¡¯t know quite what to make of Carolien¡¯s words. Was she being genuinely supportive, or subtly undermining? Was she trying to say that Rosslyn deserved to get a man who met her standards, or that Rosslyn¡¯s standards were so high that any man would be lucky to meet them? ¡°Speaking of men who might meet Rosslyn¡¯s standards,¡± her father said, ¡°I have been corresponding with my old friend Duke Pruford. I believe his sons will be coming to the palace, to stay for the Winter. Do you remember them, Rosslyn?¡± ¡°Dimly, father. I was very young when I last saw them. I remember that I liked them.¡± Hopefully that would still hold true. Rosslyn did want to find someone appropriate to marry. The King nodded with an expression of satisfaction, and the conversation advanced to other subjects. After dinner, Rosslyn passed Lord Baranack on her way to her room. He seemed to be heading for the great chamber, and acting on that idea, Rosslyn made a detour to the star room and its secret passageway. Sure enough, when she got there, the King and Lord Baranack were clearly beginning a conversation. ¡°Another one has left us,¡± Lord Baranack reported in a glum tone. ¡°Yes,¡± the King replied. ¡°A baronet.¡± There was a question in his voice, Rosslyn noted. As if he did not approve or was hoping for some explanation. Lord Baranack did not seem to pick up on this. ¡°Yes,¡± he said. ¡°A baronet. On the bright side, he seemed to take to the Princess well enough. He did not believe she was particularly keen on him, unfortunately.¡± ¡°It was a bit ridiculous to invite a baronet anyway,¡± the King said. ¡°Given his lower birth, it is unlikely that he has the power we are looking for in a match anyway.¡± ¡°I must concede he was not one of my stronger options, Your Majesty. Still, many of the higher nobility are leery of the Princess¡¯s reputation. It is widely known how many suitors she has rejected¡ª¡± ¡°Frankly, I am beginning to share some of my daughter¡¯s doubts,¡± the King interrupted. ¡°I am beginning to believe that you have not secured the best prospects for her¡ªdespite your best efforts, of course. I have begun some efforts on my own behalf.¡± ¡°Ah. Duke Pruford, then, Your Majesty?¡± ¡°Yes, my lord. The Duke¡¯s sons are the perfect age, she knew them when they were all children, and they are of a suitable rank. I can personally attest that if they are anything like their father, our security worries would be significantly alleviated if she were matched to either of them.¡± ¡°Indeed, sire.¡± ¡°They will almost certainly be here for a visit soon. It has been years since the Princess and the young lords saw each other. I cannot imagine that they will fail to be impressed with my child.¡± There was an obvious note of pride in his voice. ¡°I will not begin to worry about her romantic prospects unless they break off their Winter visit early.¡± I need to find out whatever I can about the Duke¡¯s sons, Rosslyn thought. If they would be here in a matter of weeks, she needed to determine if there was anything she should do to impress them. 35. The Morning After The morning after the frenzied construction effort, Adon was tired and out of sorts. Even though I don¡¯t actually sleep, per se, it seems that late nights still take their toll. But it was worth it. Beside him, supporting its own weight and gently moving with the breeze, stood a very rudimentary spider web¡ªer, caterpillar¡¯s web! Assessed objectively, it looked like a spider¡¯s web might have looked after a cat swiped its paw through it and tore pieces of it away. The classic Y-shaped frame was present, but most of the additional strands that made a web effective for capturing insects were missing. It ended up looking a bit like a couple of wire hangers tangled together. It looks like the spider who made it was drunk, Adon thought. But he still felt a warm surge of pride to be standing next to it. My web is standing. I made it all by myself, in one night. I only got advice, no other help making it! When Goldie strode down from where she¡¯d been resting in her web, she was effusive in her praise. Great first web, Adon! she thought at him. Structure is perfect. Pretty big framework too. You should have seen first web I made. Maybe you should have been spider. Do you, um, really think so? he sent. I don¡¯t think it will catch insects, though. Goldie gave it a long, appraising look. No, she thought slowly, clearly reluctantly. No, probably not. I mostly did it for the experience, anyway, Adon sent. Just to see if I could learn to make a web. I didn¡¯t want to give up halfway through. The spider nodded. No need to worry about food, anyway, Adon. You have me! My web catches insects every day. More than I eat. Much happier to share with you than thief spiders. Adon swallowed. The idea was tempting. Goldie was offering him room and board, essentially. But how would he accrue the kind of Evolution Points he wanted to if he was always eating her food, using her web? And how would this be different from his old life as a fat freeloader? I have plenty of space, she went on, oblivious to the thought process quietly chugging along in the back of Adon¡¯s mind. I want to do my own hunting, Goldie, Adon sent. I should probably go out and get something pretty soon, actually. Before I deplete your food any more. I¡¯ve gotten pretty good at finding food, you know. I really appreciate the offer, though. Oh, um. Sure. It was hard for Adon to be certain, but he thought his refusal might have offended the spider. He tried to change the subject to something else, but she said she had to look at repairing another part of the web, where a few bugs had landed next to each other the other day. Then she strode briskly out of sight. Adon cut off Telepathy and was left alone with his own thoughts. His own doubts and anxieties. Did I already screw this up? he wondered. He wished he had the social skills and courage to reopen the conversation and change the outcome. But the best he could think to do was leave Goldie alone for a while, and hope that she understood he was not trying to reject her by refusing further help. I¡¯m never going to be good with girls, he thought. No matter whether they have skins or exoskeletons. It would be nice, though, if I could have one friend without screwing it up. The only bright side of the failed evening project and disastrous morning conversation was that Adon felt he had learned some things from his web construction effort. Since he was going hunting, he planned to put those lessons into practice. As Adon had previously noted, he was primarily an ambush predator. This was partially because he lacked the brawn to overcome most of his enemies in a straight fight, but at this point, he had actually invested enough to become good at it. He had Color Change for near invisibility. Venom Spines that he could launch with Spine Shot. With what he¡¯d learned about web construction from his long, painful practice last night, Adon thought he had essentially added another upgrade to his arsenal. He began spinning silk threads and quickly wove them into a net small enough to hold in his forelegs. He held it loosely in front of himself and examined it visually. Perfect, he thought. It was so much less resource intensive than making a full spider-style web. Quick and easy by comparison. And he thought he would be able to use it well. Adon activated Color Change to make himself effectively invisible again, and he walked out from under Goldie¡¯s web through the gap that separated the bottom from the ground. Need to find the strongest predator I can capture in this net, he thought. It was a task demanding enough to justify all the effort he¡¯d invested last night. And to consume all the focus he wasn¡¯t using to maintain Color Change. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Adon walked for an hour, but he had only begun to get hungry by the time he spotted his prey. There was a lizard on the path in front of him, a foot away. It was actually around Adon¡¯s size, and he thought it might not be an adequate challenge to really test the efficacy of the net. But he was getting hungry. The lizard was just the right size to fill his stomach completely. And Adon had not yet eaten a reptile. Might as well check that off the bucket list. He might even get those sweet bonus Evolution Points for killing off a species that was above him on the food chain. Adon began closing the distance, approaching from the front, Color Change still active. The lizard seemed to just be sunning itself, moving very slowly toward a nearby plant, without a care in the world. Adon was pretty sure it couldn¡¯t see him. It looks like this should be pretty easy, he thought. He stepped up to within a few inches, and then he froze. What¡¯s up with the way that leaf just moved? he thought. The leaf looked to be attached to a nearby plant stem, leaning down only an inch from the lizard. Slightly closer to the lizard now that it had moved. It had seemed to sway with the breeze¡ªonly there was no breeze. Is there some predator behind there? He had a moment to think of retreat. But before Adon had time to step back and get out of range, the leaf spun around, and he realized that it was no leaf. Where there had seemingly been a piece of plant life, there was a tall green figure¡ªalmost twice Adon¡¯s size!¡ªwith long, hook-like front limbs. Its elongated lower body looked a bit like a leaf, but Adon was surprised he hadn¡¯t seen through the camouflage sooner. This was no plant. It was a horrendous monster. In a single fluid motion, the creature had turned and sprung into action. Adon could only barely track those quick movements with his eyes. Now the monster gripped the lizard¡¯s neck and front legs in long spines that grew on those vicious front limbs, and Adon saw big, lethal mandibles chomp down on the back of the lizard¡¯s neck. The unsuspecting creature wiggled and writhed under the monster¡¯s sudden and unwanted attentions. Then the lizard¡¯s resistance became a wild flailing. As quickly as the battle had begun, it stopped. The lizard lay still. Though Adon could not see clearly quite what had happened behind the monster¡¯s long forelimbs and large head, he saw enough. A puddle of red liquid slowly grew underneath the area where the lizard¡¯s head should be. The area where Adon guessed the head no longer existed. He watched in mute horror as the creature began messily devouring the recently deceased lizard. Adon felt frozen. Unable to move. Incapable of looking away. If I had ambushed that lizard just now, he thought, would I have been attacked by that creature instead? Live by the ambush, die by the ambush, it seemed, was the law of the jungle. Or garden. Adon only became more aware of his own body again when he noticed the puddle of blood slowly oozing toward him. Not wanting to get any on his skin or spines, and perhaps become visible again, he beat a slow retreat backward. He stopped when he figured he was far enough out of range that the blood wouldn¡¯t reach him no matter how long he stood there. And his eyes refocused on the predator before him. Identify. Thorny Leafy Mantis (Female) I guess I remember that was a type of creature that existed in my old worlds, he thought hesitantly. The key question was: could he kill her? And should he take the risk of trying? The creature was fundamentally much more intimidating to Adon than the bat he had fought the night before last. Her head looked like it belonged to a predator. A green triangle of death. But the mantis also had weaknesses that the bat hadn¡¯t been burdened with. Adon was guessing she couldn¡¯t fly¡ªor if she could, not very well¡ªbecause she was acting as a ground-based predator. The front limbs didn¡¯t actually look deadly. The spines didn¡¯t seem to be sharp like Adon¡¯s were. They were just a tool to hold prey in place. The only deadly body part seemed to be the head, which had larger, more ferocious-looking mandibles than Adon¡¯s. If I have the element of surprise, I think it¡¯s definitely winnable, he assessed. The situation is actually perfect to use the net. If I slip it over her head, that should make it difficult or impossible for her to bite me, and blind her. As he had these thoughts, the mantis stepped backward, dragging the lizard with her as she moved. She seemed to be returning to her prior position by the plant. But why there? Why wouldn¡¯t she move on from where she just killed something? Does she just know the area? A suspicion began to arise in Adon¡¯s mind. Yes, he thought. I¡¯ll risk my life and try it. Worst case scenario, she might rip off a couple of my limbs, but as long as that¡¯s not my head, I can heal. And if I can get out of her grip, I¡¯m still an invisible creature. A getaway should be a no-brainer. Adon wasn¡¯t thinking he would have to do this, but experience had taught him that a plan of retreat was perhaps the most important part of one of his plans of attack. He snuck closer to the mantis, edging around the puddle of slowly drying lizard blood on the path. The mantis¡¯s body was turned back the way it had been before, so the lower part looked like a leaf attached to the plant she stood against if viewed from the correct angles. The illusion was broken by the jerky movements of her body as she continued devouring the dead lizard. Adon walked around to the opposite side of the plant and began climbing. He had a vision in mind for how this would go, and the ideal scenario in his mind required him to start out around head height relative to the mantis. He reached around the height he estimated the mantis would extend to once she straightened up to her full height. And he waited for her to finish devouring her prey. As Adon stood there for several minutes, listening to the sounds of the mantis ripping meat and bone apart with her mandibles, he looked down to the base of the plant. Wrapped around the stem, he saw a large brown object. He didn¡¯t know the word for it, but it looked like the natural world¡¯s version of a container. Perhaps something that had been produced from the mantis¡¯s own body, considering the bizarre and often horrifying ways he¡¯d experienced nature in this world. Identify. Mantis Egg Ootheca That¡¯s the jackpot, he thought. There was the prize Adon had been imagining he might find. What he was hoping to win by killing the mother. There was a movement in the corner of his vision. He looked back toward the mantis and saw that she was sucking the last bit of lizard into her mouth: the long, scrawny tail. She started to straighten her posture¡ªand Adon braced himself to attack. 36. Pray for the Mantis Adon swung down toward the mantis, webbing firmly clutched between his front legs, and the mantis¡¯s head turned. But as Adon lunged toward the mantis, she clearly looked and saw the web moving right toward her face, and she ducked. It wasn¡¯t enough to completely avoid the net, but only a corner touched her. It stuck over one eye, and as the mantis stepped backward, the whole net came with her, pulling free from Adon¡¯s front legs and trailing behind her like a bridal veil. Well, at least I blinded her in one eye, he thought. Then Adon ducked. The mantis was swinging at him now, throwing her long arms wildly at the invisible menace somewhere in front of her. But she didn¡¯t know where he was. Couldn¡¯t see him. Couldn¡¯t hit him. Another swipe of those hooked claws almost grabbed him, and Adon threw himself forward, leaping from the plant. As he fell, he extended a few of his spines and fired them in the direction of the mantis¡¯s head. All but one missed the creature. Adon hadn¡¯t taken the time to aim properly, and he was still falling through the air. The one that hit planted itself into the joint that joined the right forelimb to the body. There was a satisfying hiss of annoyance from the creature as the spine embedded itself. Adon saw the mantis raise her left forelimb and swing it down, aiming at the spine. Then he struck the ground, and he was rolling, trying to stop himself, attempting unsuccessfully to maintain Color Change as the scenery around him quickly shifted. The mantis let loose another hiss and charged at him as Adon finally hit a rock and stopped rolling. Crap, invisibility¡¯s down! He focused as best he could on changing his color to match the surroundings while stepping up on top of the rock he had crashed into. The mantis seemed to have eyes on him one moment. But as he made it to the top of the rock and completed Color Change, she charged up to him, stepped on him, and ran past him. She stopped a few inches ahead of where Adon stood. Her head darted around side to side as she tried to take in where the caterpillar had gone with her uncovered eye. Adon took this opportunity to properly aim his spines. When the mantis turned back and faced his direction, Adon found the perfect moment to fire a half dozen of his spines right at her head. One spine penetrated the side of her triangular face. Adon thought that was a shallow wound, though the venom would undoubtedly begin slowing her down, especially as she took more of these attacks close to her brain. Two more spines grazed the mantis¡¯s neck, with only one of them actually embedding itself. It punched so deep that he could see it poking out on the other side of the neck. Two spines glanced off of the central part of the triangle, though one of those two tweaked the mantis¡¯s antennae as it went spiraling off into the air. And the final spine embedded itself in her remaining uncovered eye. Thank goodness! She can¡¯t see me now, I can¡ª ¡°Creeeee!!!¡± The mantis let loose a piercing hissing shriek that shattered Adon¡¯s train of thought and almost broke his focus on Color Change. She flailed her forelimbs violently, blindly, swiping through the air. Adon noticed the right forelimb wasn¡¯t flailing with the same range as the left. He realized she still had a venom spine sticking out of the shoulder region there. It looked like the mantis had broken off the end of it, but she might have driven the rest in deeper. ¡°Creeeee!¡± The mantis seemed to understand that its target wasn¡¯t as close as it had imagined, and to have given up on hitting anything, but she continued to keep her arms raised defensively and to move them slowly in loops in front of her head. A bit like a boxer. She also opened up the back segment of her body to reveal a small, short pair of wings, which she fluttered. They looked hardly big enough to lift such a heavy body. But she¡¯s not trying to fly, Adon thought. She¡¯s trying to make herself look bigger. To intimidate me and make me run away. Which meant she no longer believed she could win the fight. She was slowing down, he noticed. Moving like she was tired. It was probably partly the venom circulating through her body. She was weakening, but not down yet. Still deadly. The question now was how Adon could get close enough to land the killing blow without potentially falling into her claws. Those front limbs were so long and hook-like, with so many spikes lining them. She didn¡¯t actually need to see Adon to kill him. If he landed in her claws, she would grab hold of him and pin him to the ground. Then those mandibles would chomp right through his midsection. He wouldn¡¯t be able to turn his head enough to launch his own attacks. And his spines probably wouldn¡¯t keep her from chewing him to death. Game over. But he already had an idea. Adon looked around at the terrain. He pointed his spines and aimed carefully. And he shot two spines at a rock behind the mantis. There was a quiet but distinct sound of movement from that space. Like the sound of twigs breaking. The mantis predictably pivoted to face that direction and began swinging her arms at the menace that had seemingly just revealed its location. And Adon pounced. He leaped from the rock onto the mantis¡¯s back. She started to swing her arms back at him, but her right arm couldn¡¯t reach far enough to grab him, and he could avoid her left. Before she could do anything clever to throw him off, he reared back and slammed his face forward, driving his mandibles into her center of mass. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. He saw and heard as the tips of his mandibles penetrated the exoskeleton, pressing his face up close against her body. Then Adon felt the movement of liquid through his mandibles, as he injected acid into the gap he¡¯d just created. ¡°Creeeeeeeeeeee!!!¡± The mantis began shrieking and flailing so wildly that Adon lost his purchase and fell to the ground below. It was just as well. She swung like a drunken boxer in all directions, at the enemies she could only see in her own mind. Adon was out of range of her volatile swipes lying on the ground as he was. He rolled himself over and got his legs back under him, then backed away, out of her range. Watched her as the fight went out of the mantis¡¯s body. As her final burst of energy turned to a resigned exhaustion. Her windmill arms slowly lost power. She collapsed to the ground face down, still wriggling, but without strength. Adon leaped onto the top of her back, leaned in, and chomped through the back of the mantis¡¯s neck. The body spasmed once more and then was still. I can¡¯t believe it, Adon thought. I won. I didn¡¯t even get injured this time! He had been prepared to lose limbs in this fight. He knew he¡¯d been lucky. And his invisibility had played a decisive role. He wanted to think about how the fight had gone, but he was just so hungry. The mantis looked delicious now rather than scary. Adon started eating with the head first. It tasted a bit like shrimp, he thought. A pleasant flavor. Then he went into a feeding trance. Munch munch. Chomp chomp. Gobble gobble. Gulp. When it was done, he felt stronger, as he had after he had eaten half of the bat. He was only able to eat about half of the mantis¡¯s body at first. He wrapped most of the rest in silk, which burned some of his reserves, built up a little more of an appetite, and allowed him to consume one of the wings. Then he felt bloated and slightly sluggish, but immensely satisfied with himself. The mantis was the biggest single creature he had ever defeated, if you didn¡¯t count the Little Brown Bat¡¯s wingspan in considering its size. Although this fight had really been less of a challenge than that one, for a few reasons. The bat was a bad matchup for me, Adon assessed. My Color Change didn¡¯t fool it at all, because it had echolocation. That also doubled as a ranged attack, which was more effective and accurate at first than my Spine Shot. And, of course, the bat could fly. On the other hand, the mantis was a lot scarier, but I got lucky that she broke stealth to attack the lizard. Then I knew where she was, but she couldn¡¯t see me. From there, I successfully blinded her and damaged one of her limbs, as well as injecting some of my venom. I robbed her of several of her big advantages leading up to being able to finish her off. It wasn¡¯t just an academic rehash of the two fights. Adon was thinking about what sorts of opponents he should look for in the future. He knew without looking that the mantis fight would already have given him a big burst of Evolution Points. He had some thoughts about how he would spend those. But the fact that he could defeat a female Thorny Leafy Mantis without building upon his preexisting abilities any further was heartening. And it would seem to offer lessons for the future. Maybe I should go after ambush predators, he thought, but wait until they¡¯ve broken stealth. There would surely be ambushes happening all around this garden all the time. If he wanted to better focus on that strategy, he needed to invest more in his Perception. His vision and other senses had improved by leaps and bounds over the last few days, especially as he had invested further in his eyesight in particular. But the mantis had remained hidden from him successfully, right up until the moment when she moved. That can¡¯t keep happening, he thought. If it does, I¡¯m eventually going to wind up on the wrong end of one of those surprises, when I go to attack something, and another creature attacks me. Live by the ambush, die by the ambush. Remaining hidden was one thing, and clearly an important strategy. But breaking other species¡¯ cover with his senses was clearly going to be important. Mantises, the Leafy Bush Cricket, and yes, even some species of spider were stealth predators. It would be important for Adon to be able to go after them. Even if it would feel weird to kill something that looked even a little bit like Goldie. As he was considering his future hunting options, Adon was taking down the Mantis Egg Ootheca that was wrapped around the plant he¡¯d ambushed the mantis from. He did this by first chopping the plant down with his mandibles and then lifting the Ootheca from the stump. He wrapped up the whole thing in silk just like the remaining chunks of mantis so that it wouldn¡¯t smell too strongly of food to other predators. Finally, Adon hoisted the fruits of his labors onto his back and started walking. He deactivated Color Change, because even if he was invisible, anything that looked in his direction would see that he was carrying two silk bundles on his back. Even if potential enemies couldn¡¯t see him, if they could see the items on his back, he would be just as big of a target. And with Color Change deactivated, Adon had more focus free to look around and try to spot threats coming. He was taking a bit of a risk transporting these two bundles of Biomass around with him. He needed to keep his wits about him. But he thought it might be worth it. Bringing home a half mantis corpse would show Goldie that he wasn¡¯t endangering himself too much by going out and hunting prey rather than just taking from her stores. Any caterpillar that could bring down something so big was clearly a very capable hunter. If she was hungry, the bundles of food could also function as a sort of peace offering. Hopefully it will cheer Goldie up, eating something she¡¯s probably never had before. Mantises don¡¯t usually wind up getting killed by spiders, I don¡¯t think. They¡¯re pretty near top of the garden food chain, as far as bugs are concerned, at least. Even if her love language wasn¡¯t gifts, Goldie would know that Adon¡¯s heart was in the right place. She had already generously shared from her own stock of food whenever he¡¯d asked. Finally, he could take care of her a little. Pay her back just a bit. Start to reduce this feeling of indebtedness. A feeling that he only dimly realized he¡¯d never really felt in his last life. Strange. And maybe Goldie would start to believe Adon could help her with her Kleptomaniac Dewdrop Spider problem. 37. Crazy Caterpillar Are you crazy?! Goldie thought. Mantises eat spiders! You went out looking to fight with one? In retrospect, Adon probably should have realized what sort of reaction Goldie might have to the news that he¡¯d fought something bigger than any bug he had ever seen before. No, he sent in a defensive tone, I wanted to kill a little lizard, but the mantis beat me to it. But that let me sneak up on her while she had her guard down. Goldie stared down at him with her inscrutable spider face, and Adon braced himself for some sort of rejection. Prepared emotionally to be told to leave. Or that he was more trouble than he was worth. It would be true enough, based on what Adon knew about himself. And maybe Goldie couldn¡¯t handle investing herself emotionally in someone who felt the need to take such risks. Perhaps she thought he would eventually bring an attack on her web that the two of them wouldn¡¯t be able to handle. It would be far from unfair. Adon still felt bad about the time he had brought a squad of Vendetta Ants to her doorstep. They had never really discussed it in any depth, but if the rest of the colony knew what exactly had happened to their soldiers, Goldie probably wouldn¡¯t have been there when Adon came back. Stay right there, she thought finally. She walked out of sight, in the opposite direction from the way she usually moved when she left. He deactivated Telepathy for now, so he could think freely without having to be careful of what he transmitted. Well, that wasn¡¯t a rejection. Almost the opposite, he told himself. She explicitly told me to stay here. She doesn¡¯t want me to leave. But he thought he was on thin ice. He heard Goldie moving around at what he seemed to recall was the edge of the web. Wait, isn¡¯t that where the Kleptomaniac Dewdrop Spiders are? Adon reactivated Telepathy and rushed over toward the edge where he heard Goldie walking. Goldie, are you okay?! he sent. And then he saw her. She stood on the ground, just off the side of the web. Slightly wobbly on her eight legs, as if she didn¡¯t use them much outside of the very specific, silken environment she had created for herself. Still finding your land legs, huh? Adon transmitted. There was an undeniable relief in the tone of his thoughts. And admiration. You¡¯re even more beautiful up close! Before, he had only ever gotten a good look at her underside, which was pretty plain aside from her more colorful legs. But Goldie¡¯s coloration on top complemented her legs much better. Her whole upper half was jet black, with the top of her abdomen broken up by patterns of spots, specks and streaks. It reminded Adon of constellations and the night sky. Goldie walked towards him, her legs finally seeming to steady as she moved. Crazy caterpillar, she thought as she got close to him. She seemed to be ignoring the compliment. Beginning to understand you. Desperate to prove something to someone. Everyone? Yourself? The words cut as they entered Adon¡¯s mind, and he searched for some defense, something he could say to deny her words. But she went on. Afraid to rely on anyone. To take too much. Unwilling to rely¡­ on me. Ready to get yourself killed first. You¡¯ve already helped me so much, Goldie, Adon sent. Coexistence key to survival, she replied. Only natural to help friends. Especially only friend! But I¡¯ve done nothing for you, he objected. I wanted to¡ª Then stay here and help me, she thought, cutting him off. Do not wander off and get self killed. Soon I must lay my eggs. After¡­ I will be vulnerable. Protect me. And my egg sac. My mate will try his best, but¡­ Adon nodded. Neither of them wanted to say it, but such a tiny spider wouldn¡¯t do much good against any predator. Of course, he sent. What are you worried about exactly? Maybe we can do something about it now. Biggest threat is them. She gestured with one limb at a corner of her web. The thief spiders. Sometimes they kill the owner of the web when vulnerable. I have seen this before from their kind. The spider shuddered slightly as if at an unpleasant memory. Can we try to fight them together? Adon sent. I would be happy to protect you, but the best way is probably to nip this in the bud. How did you get past them just now anyway? Oh, barely awake right now, Goldie thought. Mainly nocturnal. Like thieves. Come out at night. There was a mixture of humor and fear in her tone. Only move if attacked right now. Or if they smell food close by. Got excited when you brought the mantis, then back to inactive. I think I have some ideas for how we could beat them working together, he transmitted, his mind rushing quickly through options. The spider took a few seconds to process, silently weighing the possibilities somewhere in the back of her mind where Adon couldn¡¯t reach. Yesterday, I would have hesitated, Goldie thought finally. She looked down at the silk-wrapped half mantis and ootheca. But somehow you killed that thing. What do you need for your plan? If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I need to be in the web with you when we do this, I think, Adon replied. It¡¯s where you¡¯re strongest, and having the home field advantage could be important. Alright. Will you be able to move around on web, though? Adon looked back at his own web, looking tattered and lonely as the very basic framework fluttered emptily in the breeze. I haven¡¯t practiced moving around in webs at all, he admitted. I think mine would have collapsed if an ant landed on it. Goldie chuckled in her mind at that. We have some time, she thought. I can teach you. There was a little part of Adon¡¯s mind that was aware that he was about to do something that was insane for any caterpillar to do. Not fighting the Kleptomaniac Dewdrop Spiders, but simply accompanying Goldie to her web. This wasn¡¯t about his own insecurities. No matter how strong he was, even once he was a butterfly, entering a spider¡¯s web was not supposed to be in the plan. He would be at Goldie¡¯s mercy. He¡¯d have to really trust her to do something like this. Even with the faith he had in her, he had a moment of hesitation. Let¡¯s go, Adon sent before he could change his mind. He stepped forward, closer to Goldie, and she suddenly wrapped him in two pairs of her legs and pulled him close up to her body. Adon had to fight his natural instincts, to bite and use his spines and struggle. He made his body go fully limp for a moment, before he was able to put a couple of his legs to either side of her as well. And he returned the hug. There were a couple of seconds for him to appreciate the feel of the strange, cool spider body as she pressed herself against him. Goldie¡¯s physique was light, stiff, and hard, just like his. The embrace gave off no heat¡ªas one would expect from contact between a cold-blooded spider and caterpillar. But to Adon, there did seem to be a warmth, coming from somewhere inside himself. Maybe it wasn¡¯t anything physical. Just a feeling. Thank you for doing this, Goldie thought as she finally released him. You did not have to help. You could still leave. Adon felt slightly uncomfortable with the attention, even as he also felt that warmth that he could not easily explain, but he knew he had to respond. If this was a movie or an online video, the person in his position would definitely say something. So why didn¡¯t he know what to say? ¡°You¡¯re welcome¡± just wouldn¡¯t feel right. So glib. Inadequate when he was just repaying a little of her kindness. And when he would happily have killed the Kleptomaniac Dewdrop Spiders even if she¡¯d never done anything for him. There was an uncomfortable, frustrated moment for Adon as he searched himself for words¡ªand became increasingly sure that Goldie was about to regret trusting him to help her, realize the error of her ways in befriending such a loser, and quietly slink away. You are a doer more than a talker, the spider thought. And that finally broke the logjam inside him. You¡¯re right about that, Adon sent. I don¡¯t know quite what to say when someone is so nice to me. He thought he finally understood what the warmth he¡¯d felt growing inside himself was. It just feels like you¡¯re more than a friend, he added. Like I have a family. Whether she was a mother, a big sister, a cousin, or what sort of relationship they had exactly, was unclear. But Adon felt that he had been in the embrace of a warm, nurturing family member. Someone who loved him unconditionally. He hadn¡¯t expected to ever have that in this life where he¡¯d never met his birth mother or any family. A pure, sweet connection that he could never truly earn. It is like that, Goldie replied. Most bugs cannot even talk to each other. You are only family I have¡ªbesides my mate. Someday my eggs. They¡¯ll be my family too, Adon transmitted back impulsively. He wasn¡¯t sure if he would regret saying something like that, when the little ones were actually hatched. But it was hard to restrain himself from overcommitting a bit. He and Goldie hadn¡¯t known each other very long. Despite that, the level of acceptance and understanding was incredible. Goldie led the way as they maneuvered out from under the shadow of the web and took the first steps onto it. When Adon climbed up onto the edge where the web came closest to touching the ground, Goldie tapped threads for him to step onto. As he pulled himself up, he felt a flutter of excitement in his stomach. Once he had his feet under him, and he looked around, the place seemed slightly surreal. Almost like entering an entirely new ecosystem. As he stood on the webbing for the first time, he was tempted to jump up and down to test it. There was a springiness and a strength in the strings. Nothing like Adon¡¯s web, which was more of a flimsy frame of threads someone had strung together in a game of cat¡¯s cradle. This was more like what he imagined walking around on a tennis racket would feel like. The spider pulled his attention back to her. Probably no surprise, but key to getting around on web is remembering and distinguishing sticky from non-stick threads, Goldie thought. I have a very good memory, Adon transmitted. He had a specific Skill for that, after all. He and Goldie spent the next hour walking around the web, and he began to get his web legs. The nerves that Adon had felt when Goldie proposed that he come into the web were completely forgotten. The pattern of sticky to non-stick threads was fairly simple, Adon recognized as he slowly memorized the layout. He voiced the thought to Goldie, and she replied, Simple enough that thief spiders remember it too. This information necessary to put us on an even footing. Not enough for an advantage. At that point, Adon changed the subject. He could tell Goldie was losing some of her confidence, and he didn¡¯t want to let her talk herself out of fighting the other spiders. It would only mean more trouble later. This is an awfully big web, he transmitted. I didn¡¯t realize you have so much room here. Probably more crowded after the young ones hatch, she replied. Until they go out and make webs of their own. Plenty of room for you, though. My kind is good at webs, I think. Oh, let me show you part of web I like to stay in! Goldie led him up a slight incline until they stood in a high place that overlooked almost the whole web. The ground where Adon had been when they first met was just out of view, but Adon could see what seemed to him a great distance. There were dozens of blooming flowers planted in flower beds, thick shrubbery growing in three different colors, and Adon could see the garden path¡¯s shape a bit better than he ever had before. What a view! he sent. That was why I picked this place, she thought. The beautiful sights. Anywhere in the garden would be almost equal for food. But this place¡­ If you came here at end of Summer instead of Autumn, you could have seen the fireflies. So beautiful, their display. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen fireflies in person, Adon sent, thinking specifically of his last life. He was sure he¡¯d seen them at some distant point in another incarnation. But no memories stood out. That would have been beautiful to watch together. Yes, Goldie thought. So pretty that I do not eat them. Getting soft in my old age. The two exchanged a telepathic laugh. 38. Further Exercise Princess Rosslyn swung her practice sword in a wide arc, then made a little loop to avoid a parry¡ªand just fell short of landing her blow. The slave¡ªthe woman who Rosslyn now knew was called Tilly¡ªhad pulled her body back slightly, so the tip of the weapon just barely failed to touch her armor. Then she was counter attacking, forcing Rosslyn onto the back foot. The duel continued as it had for the last hour, the only spectators present Sir Jaren and a couple of bodyguards. Rosslyn had asked the man at arms about this, and he had informed her¡ªin a slightly cooler tone than she was used to from him¡ªthat the King had now forbidden anyone from spending time in the training room unless they were actually training. Reading between the lines, Rosslyn understood that her father had learned about her policy pronouncement before her spar with Sir Carol the other day. He had not yet confronted her about it, but he was taking some actions behind the scenes. It made her slightly queasy to think of it. The conversation was bound to be uncomfortable when it happened. Fortunately, her opponent was not giving Rosslyn much room for idle thoughts. Rosslyn ducked under a sword stroke aimed at her head and danced to the side. ¡°I heard you were here sparring again the other day, Your Highness,¡± the other woman said. ¡°Sadly, I missed you at the time.¡± Tilly seemed to be taking the absence of noble spectators as a grant of permission to speak much more freely than she had at their last encounter, though she still kept her voice to a low volume that only Rosslyn could hear without straining her ears. ¡°You did not miss much,¡± Rosslyn said, carefully controlling her breathing. She did not want to give the other woman the satisfaction of hearing her panting. Blades clashed again, and there was a brief contest of strength before Rosslyn sidestepped and managed a quick lunge at Tilly¡¯s chest. ¡°If you wanted a challenge, you could have asked for me. Any of the palace staff would have been able to find me. I have found myself looking forward to future spars with you, though we have only crossed blades the once.¡± There was a teasing edge to her voice as she parried Rosslyn¡¯s lunge. ¡°I was not here merely for my own gratification,¡± Rosslyn replied with a hint of heat in her tone. ¡°I was dealing with¡ªugh¡ªimportant matters of state.¡± The slave managed to attack while continuing to talk, throwing a chop aimed at the shoulder that Rosslyn barely deflected with the flat of her sword. ¡°Matters of marriage and reproduction, you mean?¡± Matilda asked. ¡°That being all the men in this country think women are good for.¡± Rosslyn replied without missing a beat or changing expression. ¡°Bold for someone who has committed your crimes to criticize the society that chose to keep her alive, is it not, Matilda?¡± The woman froze completely for a moment, and Rosslyn almost landed a strike on her throat before stopping herself only inches away. Even with blunted practice swords, an attack landed in such a delicate and vital area could still be deadly. ¡°Did you ask your father who I was, then?¡± Matilda¡¯s voice was deceptively even as she spoke. But as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she lunged. When Rosslyn threw herself to the side to get out of the way, Matilda pulled herself back to her coiled position at incredible speed and launched herself into another lunge. The same thing happened again. And again. At no point did she pause or give Rosslyn any opening to be able to answer her. It raised questions Rosslyn had been wondering about since their last encounter. Where does she get all this energy? She has been a slave for years, working with dusty old books. Who was she before that? And how is she still in this kind of shape?! She had hoped that poking at the woman¡¯s past would get her to reveal something. Rosslyn did not read Matilda as the sort of person who would give information up easily. Now Matilda was clearly having an emotional reaction, and Rosslyn wanted to press her while she was vulnerable, try to get answers about who she was and where she had learned to fight. But in the midst of Matilda¡¯s fury, the Princess could find no room to speak. And the clashing sounds of blades gave no answers. Something in the air had changed. The duel continued and became steadily rougher. Matilda¡¯s sword seemed to weigh more than it had before. As if she had been holding back her strength, and now she was fueled by a fury that she had kept contained before. Rosslyn took a hit on her left arm guard that she felt certain would have fractured bone if she had not been wearing protective gear. Or if the chop had landed two inches above where it did. Her eyes instantly narrowed. She is taking this much more seriously. It was not to a point that Rosslyn was unable to handle, but Matilda was clearly angry. Rosslyn¡¯s mind flashed between different options to deal with this. The spar felt increasingly dangerous. She considered escalating her own use of force, calling an end to the session, and simply asking Matilda what was going through her mind. Her pride pulled her toward the first option. I can disarm her and then ask what the sudden ferocity was about. That would show Matilda who was in charge. There must be something about what I said that disturbed her. I mentioned her crimes after she complained about the role of women in Claustria. One of those two things has to be the sore spot for her. Or both of them together. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Rosslyn dodged a swing from Matilda and raised her practice weapon above her head in a well-trained pose. Mana flowed through her core and into her arms. Some of it entered the weapon, too. Not so much that she would break it. Just enough to make it that little bit more destructive. Divine Sword, Sixth Form¡ª ¡°That is quite enough!¡± Sir Jaren called out, stepping into the fighting space, almost between the two women. ¡°This match is over!¡± ¡°Are you going to let him stop you, Princess?¡± Matilda¡¯s voice was breathless, eager¡ªready for conflict with someone, anyone. The wild tone in her voice reminded Rosslyn that she had no reason to act as recklessly as Matilda was apparently prepared to. ¡°It is his practice room,¡± Rosslyn replied quietly, almost under her breath. ¡°What Sir Jaren says in here goes.¡± The fury and the pride that had possessed the two women began to die down, and Sir Jaren stepped back and gave them a little more room as the man at arms seemed to sense they were genuinely done fighting. Rosslyn threw a sharp salute Matilda¡¯s way¡ªcrisp, energetic, and precise. Rosslyn did not want the older woman to think that she was flagging in any way. Matilda looked distinctly disappointed as she returned the salute and stepped closer to Rosslyn. ¡°A pity we had to stop here, Your Highness. I know there was more we had to show each other.¡± She lowered her voice until it was almost a whisper. ¡°You know, if I did not wear this collar, there is much that I could teach you.¡± ¡°I appreciate the thought, Matilda¡­ but I do not believe that it is appropriate,¡± Rosslyn said slowly. Carefully. Almost chewing over the words. A part of her wished things could be different. The other woman was a sterling warrior, whatever her crimes. ¡°No, we both know that it is not.¡± ¡°Do you know what I actually did to deserve this?¡± Matilda asked, staring Rosslyn straight in the eyes. And Rosslyn thought she gave away the answer to the slave in that moment, in the change of expression on her face. ¡°You do not,¡± Matilda said, her own voice and face inscrutable. ¡°Well, ask your father if you want to know what I did to deserve this treatment. King Alastair¡¯s mercy.¡± It had been so long since Rosslyn had heard anyone use her father¡¯s given name that it took her aback for a moment. The shock was doubled by hearing it spoken with such venom. ¡°Keep my father¡¯s name out of your mouth!¡± she found herself hissing. The other woman¡¯s face was as still as a snake¡¯s for a moment. Expressionless. ¡°You are very much like your father,¡± Matilda whispered. ¡°All the same, you should understand already, that I have said nothing untrue. The collar forbids it. Here is another truth that you should be aware of: if you lack sufficient individual power, your father will never let you rule. Nor will the Kingdom. Not alone. Not without some man who will want to control you.¡± Rosslyn was already turning away as those last words were spoken, but Matilda continued to speak. ¡°You are still like an unhoned blade. I could help you reach your true potential¡ªprove to everyone that you are capable of wielding the strength of a ruler¡ªif you truly have it in you. And provided that you let me.¡± Then Rosslyn was striding into the changing room next door. She all but slammed the door behind her, locked it, and began tearing her gear off and throwing it down. Then she took several deep breaths, collected herself, and began cleaning and putting away her training gear properly, the way Sir Jaren had taught her over the decade he had spent training her. Her heart rate was just about under control when a knock came at the door. Another couple of deep breaths to steady herself and restrain her residual annoyance. ¡°Who is it?¡± she called, in a voice that was almost charming. ¡°Jaren, Your Highness.¡± Sir Jaren¡¯s voice rang out through the small room. ¡°Matilda is gone, off to have a bath and then return to her normal duties. I did not hear much of the words the two of you exchanged, but I thought you and I might have a word. Once you are done changing, of course. If you wish, we could do it another time¡ªor I could forget about it. I know you are an adult now, and you have little need of my counsel¡ª¡± ¡°Thank you, Sir Jaren,¡± she interrupted. ¡°I will be with you very shortly.¡± She finished cleaning and putting away her gear. After she had dabbed at herself with a wet towel a bit and dried off, just to feel slightly cleaner, she put on the most casual clothing she owned, a parchment-colored silk tunic embroidered with her family¡¯s butterfly crest and a pair of matching silk breeches. It was what she always wore when she anticipated getting sweaty. Then she stepped out of the changing room. It was just Sir Jaren and, at a distance that put them out of unintended hearing range, the guards. ¡°May I speak, Your Highness?¡± Sir Jaren asked. ¡°Of course,¡± she replied. ¡°Thank you for waiting until after she was gone.¡± ¡°You know, then, what I wanted to discuss?¡± ¡°I think so,¡± she said. ¡°I could tell you were about to use one of your family¡¯s techniques in your bout with that woman. I wanted to warn you against doing so.¡± She bowed her head, slightly chagrined. ¡°You are right, Sir. It was inappropriate. They are secret techniques passed down through the generations. Matilda should never even witness their use outside of a genuine emergency, let alone having the opportunity to observe them in a sparring match, where I would not even be aiming to kill.¡± Sir Jaren nodded. ¡°Yes. Exactly. All of the above. What were you thinking, Princess? If you pardon the phrasing. It is unlike you to lose your judgment that way. Ever since you survived puberty, you have been level-headed.¡± They shared a laugh at that. ¡°I seemed to be having a bit of trouble in the bout,¡± Rosslyn admitted. ¡°Something I said enraged her, and her swordsmanship became terribly effective and genuinely dangerous.¡± ¡°You know you do not have to spar with her, Your Highness. If you need someone of greater skill than me, the word can be quietly floated to qualified persons. There are some I have encountered who might be able to assist you in your practice. I know you are a dedicated swordswoman, but¡ªwell, frankly, it was inappropriate that such a lowly person should clash swords with royalty in the first place. Even if it helps you, the appearance¡ª¡± ¡°That seems to be just it,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°How is she¡ªhow could someone with her technique and power be¡ªa lowly person? You yourself know that we tend to promote skilled warriors, not imprison them. Who was she¡ªis she? What happened to her? What did she do?¡± Sir Jaren looked slightly uncomfortable. ¡°That, I do not know, Your Highness. Every country holds its secrets. I only recently met the woman for the first time, despite my long association with the palace. Slavery is a rare enough penalty here that it is normal for one to remark upon it if someone is sentenced to that form of punishment. A slave held by the palace, kept generally out of view of visitors for years¡ªfor at least the years your father has deigned to keep me¡ªthat is a puzzle. Perhaps a secret of national security importance. Not something meant for an upjumped commoner like me to poke his nose into. I could lose the nose.¡± He chuckled for a moment. ¡°Of course, your father is too good a man for that. But if you want to know who that woman is, I would suggest you ask him.¡± 39. Extermination Part 1 What do you think? Adon asked. He and Goldie had spent the last half hour enjoying the view and going over plans to deal with the Kleptomaniac Dewdrop Spiders. Despite their substantial shared resources in Skills and Adaptations, the two had not hit on any foolproof solutions. But he thought they had the best plan they were going to come up with. I think this takes advantage of your abilities well, Goldie thought. Wish mine were more useful. During the conversation, it had come out that Goldie had spent almost all her Evolution Points over the course of her life on silk-related Adaptations and Skills. The few points she had left after repeatedly specializing in silk manufacture and web-crafting were spent on her venom, intimidating size, and striking exterior appearance, in that order. It wasn¡¯t surprising, considering the trajectories of their respective lives. When compared with Adon, Goldie had tried to live a much more sheltered life in this garden. Like most creatures born into that competitive environment, she was primarily focused on surviving. The strategy she had followed had worked out well for the most part. Her web caught more than enough food to support her continued growth and eventual Evolution. Anything that fell into the web could be killed with her venom, and anything too big or scary would either not notice or would be slowed enough by the web that she could run away and build a new web elsewhere. That had happened once when she was threatened by a vicious wasp. Unfortunately, she had a much less diverse portfolio of abilities as a result. She had the size advantage over their current enemies, she could build better webs than they could, and she assured Adon that she was almost certain her venom was more potent. But they were quicker on their feet than her, and they had a group coordination ability of some sort. It didn¡¯t seem to be as powerful as whatever kept the ants functioning as a cohesive whole, but it was good enough that anything that attacked one of them got mobbed. That had given them the advantage, until Adon showed up. The current plan is so simple, Adon transmitted. There¡¯s nothing better we¡ªI¡ªcould do to increase our chances? He was worried about the physical risks to Goldie. If worse came to worst, Adon had endured poisoning before, and he had low level resistance already. And he would see if there was a more specific ¡®Venom Resistance¡¯ that he could buy before they started this fight. He also had a regeneration Adaptation that would passively heal any damage, as long as he escaped with his life. Goldie only had Shed Skin. Not that I can see, Goldie replied. We have to act soon, though. Best to make our move before all wake properly. Before dark. There¡¯s still plenty of time before dark, Adon sent. Let me just take a little while and think if we can do anything to¡ª His eyes lit on the silk-wrapped mantis corpse. And then they darted back to Goldie. I have an idea for something we should do, he transmitted. Something you should eat! She looked down at the half mantis, her posture uncertain. Are you sure? she thought. You risked your life for this. I know such a large prey must be worth much Biomass. Even if already full, simply wait? It¡¯s not about the Biomass, Adon sent back instantly. I want to see if it gives you a boost. What? A boost? The two had a brief discussion. It quickly became apparent that Goldie had never eaten a life form the System considered superior to her. Perhaps it was her bad luck that she was on an equal tier with most species smaller than typical mammals and birds. So you gain extra Evolution Points for eating a predator, she thought, clenching and unclenching her mouthparts excitedly. If I had known this, perhaps I would have taken more risks in my life. Not just that, Adon sent. Extra Stat points! That¡¯s the big effect I¡¯m hoping for. You get an immediate, permanent boost, if the System that runs things considers this to be sufficiently above you in the natural hierarchy. The spider shook her head. A lot to imagine. You really want to give this to me? You are sure? Not going to regret falling short of maximum potential? Adon shook his head in turn. I already ate half anyway, Goldie. I got plenty of benefit. I like the taste of birds¡¯ eggs better anyway! Goldie stared at him for a long moment, and Adon wondered if he had said something weird again. You will have to tell me story of birds¡¯ eggs someday, she thought finally. Back to matter before us. Time is short. I will accept gracious offer. Will try to repay you with consistent food from web. Adon had started shaking his head, but the spider continued to insist. Will repay you as best I can. For now, you will be the one to eat dead thief spiders. Likely above you in natural hierarchy. But below me. You should also eat this thing. She pointed at the mantis ootheca containing the creature¡¯s eggs. Before baby mantises hatch and kill us all. The two shared an uncomfortable laugh, both aware that there was some real possibility that something like that could happen, if the eggs were all to hatch while the caterpillar and spider were resting. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Deal, Adon sent. He considered it a win, getting Goldie to take half of his spoils, considering that he had been worried that she would reject the food and him only around an hour ago. The two tucked into their respective meals. Adon turned out to be hungrier than he¡¯d realized. Maybe all that thinking was using up extra Biomass. Maybe it was the use of silk to wrap his food, the walk back from where he¡¯d killed the mantis, or the constant use of Telepathy. Whatever the cause, he went instantly into a feeding trance. Munch munch. Chomp chomp. Gobble gobble. Gulp. Adon¡¯s mind receded into whatever background place it usually went to while he was eating. He didn¡¯t get to find out how Goldie ate her food. She had never eaten anything in front of him before, so he¡¯d been slightly curious. But by the time he emerged from his feeding trance, what was left of the mantis was completely gone, along with the silk wrapper. There was just Goldie, standing there¡ªlooking strange. It was hard to put his finger on what exactly seemed odd about her. Was she bigger? Maybe. No. Something else. Her body was moving weirdly. You okay there, Goldie? he sent. Telepathy was still active, but her brain seemed to be radio silent just now. Goldie just shuddered, and Adon felt that familiar core impulse to run away again. This time, he ignored it more easily. She was just feeling¡ªsomething. And moving her body in response to that, whatever it was. Jittery movements that would have frightened him a bit if he didn¡¯t know her. Up and down the top part of the web where they were stationed. Since he did know and trust Goldie, though, Adon just watched her, slightly confused and a little worried. Finally, she formulated her thoughts into a few coherent sentences. After eating that, I feel another Evolution may be possible for me after all, Goldie thought. I had given up. But another stage is technically available, I know. A new tier of Evolution has always been there¡­ Just costs an absurd number of Evolution Points. I had calculated how many it was possible for me to obtain over my natural lifespan, using my web as the tool to catch prey. I would fall well short, even if I saved every single point I accrued. But this mantis flesh was something different. So many points! Across the board increase to Stats, like you mentioned. I feel so strong now. So much energy. And I think it altered my brain. Altered how? Adon asked, mentally calculating how far he¡¯d have to leap from the top of the web to get clear of it, if he needed to make a quick getaway. Think I might be smarter, she thought. Intelligence Stat went up. All my Stats increased, but that was always a strong suit. Most spiders are a bit smarter than a lot of ordinary insects, I suspect. Her sentences sounded a bit better to Adon, too. Goldie¡¯s grammar still wasn¡¯t perfect, but her statements felt more complete. That¡¯s just great, Adon sent. All of it! Yes, Goldie thought. I have a new goal once we secure the web. After the Kleptomaniac Dewdrop Spiders are gone, I want to find a way to hunt species I never thought I could before. I could live! For longer than just another year at most. I think there are spiders that can live over a decade. It¡¯s possible¡­ I could see my young grow into adult spiders! Could protect them, like my mother could not do for me! Adon wanted to smile. That¡¯s incredible! We¡¯ll make it happen, Goldie. She nodded. But first, we¡¯ll deal with our spider problem. One second, he sent. Just a last few preparations to make with these points. Adon opened up the Evolution Store to make a couple of purchases. Then he sent the message to the effect that he was ready. With the sun starting to dip in the sky, the two took their respective positions. It really was a simple plan. Adon left the web and walked around the outside. Then he approached one of the edges where two of the Kleptomaniac Dewdrop Spiders were resting. He got close enough to easily sight and aim at the two spiders. He activated Color Change to blend in with the ground surrounding him. The idea was that the opponents would not recognize this caterpillar who had been associating with the web¡¯s owner. Not initially, at least. With his body invisible to the normal spider¡¯s eyes¡ªGoldie had given him an idea of how well spider eyes worked¡ªhe turned his back on the two spiders and aimed his Silk Spinner at them. He took his time to prepare the strongest, stickiest silk within his body that he could. And then he fired the biggest, thickest, stickiest burst of webbing that he could, right on top of them. The impact was so forceful that it shook the web slightly. The two spiders he had buried in silk instantly began trying to move. But this was Adon¡¯s most effective, powerful, possible shot of silk. He had aimed it perfectly. They weren¡¯t escaping anytime soon. With any luck, they could barely wiggle a limb. Adon waited for a few seconds to see if their brethren were approaching, but nothing in the web seemed to be stirring. Maybe they needed to be threatened more directly. He stepped toward the web, and then he saw them. Eight Kleptomaniac Dewdrop Spiders, rushing toward him. I guess I got their attention after all. He stepped carefully backward into the space he¡¯d occupied before. The spiders rushed right up to the edge of the web and stopped. Looked at their entrapped friends. Turned to face a couple of different directions, clearly looking for what had done this. Looking for him. Unable to find him. A thrill went through him as he noticed one spider look right at him and then immediately past him. But he was also afraid. If they didn¡¯t notice him, if they didn¡¯t realize who had done this, they might decide that it was Goldie. She was currently positioned all the way at the other end of the web. So it was physically impossible for her to have been the one who webbed up the other spiders. He had been hoping the thieves would recognize the threat originated from outside of the web, but that depended on how smart they were. Adon saw a couple of the enemy spiders walking toward their fellows, probably to try and cut them free. He decided to give them another hint. He raised his spines. Pointed and aimed them into the middle of the group that was still looking out, trying to find him. And he fired dozens of spines into their bodies from fairly close range. ¡°Eeeeeeh!¡± The two closest spiders writhed in obvious pain and tumbled from the side of the web. The rest of the spiders abandoned looking for Adon, and they threw themselves down to where their brethren had fallen. Just about ready for you, Goldie! he sent. Then he turned his body around, to face toward the Kleptomaniac Dewdrop Spiders scrambling to organize themselves and prepare to fight their invisible enemy. Adon fired another barrage of spines at the freshly fallen spiders. There were some injuries, but they clearly had his location now, despite his continued use of Color Change. The three least injured spiders advanced toward him as a body while the bodies of the three most severely wounded twitched and seized behind them. 40. Extermination Part 2 As the spiders on the ground moved toward Adon, he observed the way they were walking. Two of the enemies advancing were completely uninjured. The other had a spine piercing through one side of its abdomen and out the other, but close to the outer edge of its body. And its movement didn¡¯t seem to be affected by the injury. The spine probably hadn¡¯t hit anything important. But Adon still felt that he had the advantage. Despite being essentially unharmed, the spiders moved awkwardly on the ground, as compared with their grace in the web. Just like Goldie had. Watching her awkward land legs had inspired the basic idea of Adon¡¯s strategy. Force the spiders to fight him on the ground, while Goldie provided support from the web and killed from the back as much as she could. This plan had the dual strengths of not putting Goldie in too much danger and allowing her to fight on her web while Adon fought on the ground, where he was much nimbler. If it¡¯s just three still able to fight, I think I can take them. The three behind them were still trying to pick themselves up, but they didn¡¯t seem like they would catch up to the ones in the lead. He fired another handful of spines at the advancing attackers, but this time the spiders were ready. There was a distinct sound when the spines shot out, and they must have noticed it after either the first or second volley. Even if they couldn¡¯t see Adon, the spiders could still dodge his attacks if they knew when to expect them. They scattered to the sides as the projectiles fired, and the spines struck different targets. A couple of them hit the already badly hurt spiders on the ground, while most thudded harmlessly into the soil itself. And the three spiders continued approaching. As they drew close, Adon considered his options. The three of them would be able to do some damage before he killed them, even assuming that he won. He needed to end this as quickly as he could. In the background, he noticed that one of the restrained spiders in Goldie¡¯s web was breaking free. It had managed to chew through some of the webbing nearest its head. That head now peeked out and began furiously gnawing at the silk binding the rest of its body. But behind it, Goldie appeared. For the moment before he had to pull the focus back to his own fight, Adon saw what he imagined other insects saw when they ran into Goldie: a big, scary, ferocious creature. She sank her fangs deep into the web-chewing spider¡¯s head. So deep that Adon didn¡¯t think she needed to worry about injecting venom. That spider¡¯s brain was surely toast from bite damage alone. He saw Goldie moving on to the other webbed up spider before he returned his focus to the three spiders near him. They still didn¡¯t know his exact location, but they were closing in. Triangulating with their bodies. They could narrow down exactly where he had to be this way, he was sure. One spider was almost close enough to bump into Adon. He made a snap decision and attacked the nearest one head on, maintaining Color Change as best he could even as he leapt on the silver spider. He took it by surprise, penetrated into its bulbous abdomen with his mandibles, and injected acid. ¡°Eeeeeeee!¡± A screech of horrible pain filled the air. The spider clenched its mouthparts on thin air with its dying movements, and Adon pushed its writhing, clenching body away. But not quickly enough to get any distance from the surviving spiders. The other two spiders were upon him in an instant, grappling with their collective sixteen limbs. Adon tried to reach out to the Mana inside his body to enhance himself, but his mind was torn between too many things at once. He was still a bit stuck focusing on Color Change, and another part of his brain was dealing with the sudden proximity of the two spiders that were on him. His body went almost limp for a moment as he nearly reached the core of Mana inside himself, but it was happening too slowly. In a split second, he gave up on Mana Manipulation to defend himself more actively with his body. He tried to wrestle with the spiders that had him restrained. He was stronger by far, he knew. But they began biting furiously before he could get loose. Injecting venom, over and over. Adon struck back with his limbs. They were still short and stubby, unlike the dexterous spiders¡¯ limbs, but since Adon had repeatedly consumed the flesh of superior life forms, they packed enough Strength to partially cave in an exoskeleton in one hit. ¡°Eeeeee!¡± One of the spiders cried out and flew through the air, back toward the web, as Adon¡¯s second leg on his right side slammed into it. He pivoted to face the other, and it turned and tried to run away! In the back of Adon¡¯s mind, he registered that as a kind of small victory in its own right. No uninjured enemy had ever tried to run from him before, except ants running for reinforcements. He was a tiny, unintimidating caterpillar. Right? Then he leapt upon the unfortunate spider, pierced its exoskeleton with his mandibles, and injected more hot acid. The creature squealed in pain and writhed on the end of Adon¡¯s mandibles until it worked its way free, pulling itself off the spear-like jaws that impaled it. The spider managed to crawl a few inches forward from there until it stopped moving, apparently dead. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. At that point, Adon felt a distinct physical sensation of emptiness inside of him. And where there should have been a feeling of victory, he was instead possessed by a sense of caution. Despite whatever adrenaline-like chemical that had been driving him, he suddenly knew he had reached some sort of limit. Probably more than one. He didn¡¯t need to look at his Biomass number to know that it was touching empty. All that silk production, acid production, the regeneration of venom spines, physical exertion, and the fact that his body was now fighting off the spiders¡¯ venom as well. It was too much. Adon decided to just do his best to remain standing. His Color Change had come undone during the heat of the fight, he dimly realized. Too much division of focus. If he fell now, the Kleptomaniac Dewdrop Spiders would recognize his sudden weakness and mob him again. As things stood, with the losses he¡¯d inflicted, he looked intimidating. Hopefully Goldie could take things from here. He took a moment to look in front of him, in part simply trying to distract himself. The four remaining spiders¡ªall injured to some degree at this point¡ªwere moving in a defensive pattern. The one Adon had punted had managed to regroup with the others. He could tell which one it was, because there was a visible dent in its abdomen with a crack running through it. Two of the spiders, including the one with the dented skeleton, stood warily in front of the other two survivors, clearly trying to block any possible frontal attack by Adon. The two in the back were trying to hop back onto the web and escape this monstrous caterpillar, though their injuries made their jumps just a little too feeble. That¡¯s some admirable loyalty in the group, he thought. Protecting each other when a group of humans would probably be running for their lives in a similar situation¡ªunless they were soldiers or something. For the first time, he had the chance to really take the Kleptomaniac Dewdrop Spiders in and examine how they interacted with each other without the pressure to try and inflict injuries or avoid lethal harm to himself. The spiders in the back, retreating, were actually larger than the two protecting them. What was that about? The weak ones protecting the strong ones? Some kind of decision to protect the ones with the best genes? He used Identify on each spider in turn. It revealed that the larger ones were female, while the smaller ones protecting them were male. That revealed a different decision-making calculus than he¡¯d been aware of. One that reminded him disturbingly of Goldie and her mate. For all that these spiders were a thorn in Goldie¡¯s side, and a potential predator for her and her young ones, they were also simple natural creatures just like her and Adon. They were just following their instincts to find food and protect themselves and their famil¡ªUgh. A sudden sharp twinge of pain scattered Adon¡¯s thoughts. He clutched his side with one of his limbs and used all his willpower as he resisted the urge to double over. No, hold it in! he told himself. You can¡¯t show it now¡­ He¡¯d tried to ignore the growing pains in his sides. Tried to distract himself with his attempts to understand these creatures. Now that he was no longer in the heat of battle, it was harder. And unfortunately, the throbbing of his bite wounds kept increasing its severity. Even with Toxin Resistance I and II¡ªAdaptations that were more expensive than either Poison Resistance or Venom Resistance, but promised more complete protection¡ªhe could tell that he was going to need to spend some time recovering from the bites he¡¯d suffered in this fight. But all he needed to do right now was maintain a front. Continue to look strong. Recovery can wait¡ªdon¡¯t you dare pass out! The two female spiders managed to get onto the web, and the two males took the opportunity to turn and follow after them. Adon felt the satisfaction of his plan working to a tee. Goldie would take care of the rest. He only had to pretend to be intimidating for a few more seconds, and they would run right up to her. He heard the screeching as Goldie tore into the first two spiders. Injured and reduced in numbers, they were no match for the larger Golden Silk Orb Weaver. He dimly heard the death scream of another spider shortly after that. That was three of that last group of spiders down, only one to go. Yay! She¡¯s winning¡­ But every sound seemed to be coming to him from a great distance. The whole world, in fact, was somehow getting further away by the second. Darkness clawed at the edges of his vision, and what was left in the center swayed like he was looking at it from underwater. Glad you won, Goldie, he sent with Telepathy. I mean, glad we won. I¡¯m not feeling so hot just now. Think I might lie down unless you need me. You don¡¯t need me, right? Adon didn¡¯t wait for an answer. He¡¯d meant the message as a sort of courtesy, but the truth was, he felt like a truck had just run over him. His legs collapsed out from under him, and he curled up into a funky ¡®U¡¯ shape on the ground. Almost an ¡®O¡¯ shape, but his body was twitching too much to make that stick. Adon! Goldie was thinking back at him now, but the sound of her thoughts seemed to be coming from another galaxy. See you in the stars, Goldie, he thought. He wasn¡¯t sure if that thought left his brain, burrowed into his subconscious, or sailed off into the ether somewhere. The world was strangely beautiful and relaxing right now. It felt like night had come during the day. A black sky filled with tiny white stars. If only he wasn¡¯t so weak and so hungry, he¡¯d really enjoy the sights. Rushing in and disrupting the beautiful darkness, a silver shape rushed in and collided with him. Adon felt another bite in his side. Damn, these things really don¡¯t like me, he thought. What did I do to them? He dimly remembered some kind of conflict, but he was too sleepy to grasp the thought firmly. He tried to swing his limbs at the figure biting him, but his uncoordinated strikes hit empty air and the ground respectively. I was so strong just a minute ago, wasn¡¯t I? Then a gently glowing shape that he recognized as Goldie charged in and tackled the silver shape. It rolled off of him, and she threw herself after it. Adon turned his body around as best he could to see what happened to his friend. In the second or two he hadn¡¯t been able to see, she had won the wrestling match, it seemed. She stood atop the silver shape. Grabbed it by what looked to be the space behind its head with her mouth parts and gripped the rest of the body with her legs. Then she pulled with incredible force. Adon saw the silver shape¡¯s head pop free like a cork. Then Goldie was on him, her big, intense, shiny eyes filling his field of vision. Adon! Are you alright? Adon?! The voice was the last thing he heard before the world spiraled into darkness. 41. Sick Day Darkness and light cycled back and forth in Adon¡¯s vision. He had sunk into a diminished state of awareness, but he didn¡¯t think the changes in levels of light were because days were passing. Despite his weakened sense of time, he was near certain that what was actually happening was his mind drifting in and out of consciousness. When he was close to rising out of his stupor, the world seemed brighter. When the effects of the venom hit him harder, he sunk deeper into the darkness. Sometimes he was almost at the surface, he was faintly aware of activity going on around him¡ªand even activity going on inside his own body. He sensed something moving around him. Pacing back and forth, maybe. The bustle seemed frantic, almost desperate. Adon knew this must be Goldie. Anything else moving so energetically around his semiconscious body would probably have eaten him already. He wanted to reassure her that he was alright, that everything would be okay, but he lacked the physical power to move. He tried to reach out for his Telepathy ability, but he couldn¡¯t muster the focus. Eventually, he slid back into his hazy in-between state. Other times Adon partially woke to find himself eating, his body already gnawing on something even though he¡¯d been unconscious. The first time that happened, he was alarmed. He thought perhaps he had gone mad under the influence of the spider venom, and he would fully wake to find that he had eaten Goldie or her mate. Then he felt her movement beside him. As he finished what he was eating¡ªa kind of crunchy flesh that tasted a bit like crab¡ªshe shoved something else into his mouth. A taste he recognized as ant. Thank goodness, he thought dimly, before he sunk back into the darkness again. Out of all the things that could happen to me, that would be the worst. There were many flashes of near-consciousness like that while Adon was in his venom-induced pseudo-coma. Mainly, though, he floated through memories of the past. It started with things he remembered clearly from this life. Snippets of important events. Like getting to know Goldie. Meeting a princess and thanking her for the food she¡¯d brought for him. Fleeing from a squad of Vendetta Ants until he hid by throwing himself under Goldie¡¯s web. Then the memories delved further back. Flashes of events that he semi-consciously witnessed while he was inside of an egg. A conversation he had only witnessed a portion of. It seemed to be a rehash of another conversation he remembered witnessing. ¡°I truly think you should allow me to destroy those eggs, Your Majesty,¡± a familiar voice said. ¡°This again, Lord Baranack?¡± the King asked. ¡°I have reviewed my correspondence with several of my counterparts in other countries, and the uniform policy across the continent¡ª¡± ¡°Yes, yes. The history insisted upon by the priestly class,¡± the King said dismissively. ¡°Destroy monsters with the potential to develop magical powers.¡± ¡°Does Your Majesty have some superior information that leads to this contrary policy? An alternate history?¡± Lord Baranack asked. ¡°I genuinely wish to understand the risk that we are taking, and what the compensating benefit is.¡± ¡°I would never claim to have information superior to that provided by our wise religious authorities,¡± the King said carefully. ¡°After all, they saw fit to organize both the First and Second Great Coalitions to rein in the Demon Empire. If not for their actions, Claustria might well no longer be an independent nation. However, there is a deeper history here. Perhaps I have given you the impression that my policy on these creatures is simply one man¡¯s whim. That is not the case. I believe those authorities that we both respect suffer from some blind spots. There is much knowledge in their books, but there is also much knowledge that has been hidden away. The difference between monsters and mystic beasts is one of those puzzle pieces. Mystic beasts were pivotal in assisting each of the Thirteen Holy Kingdoms in their rise. Their fate is connected with that of humanity as a whole. If we destroy or disparage them, we destroy and disparage ourselves. That is why they feature on our coats of arms. So that we may never forget¡­¡± The conversation continued, but the memory faded slowly to black as Adon plunged into a deeper state of unconsciousness. When he returned to a half-wakeful state the next time, he was more clear-headed than he had been since he slipped into unconsciousness. He thought he might even be able to use Telepathy. Not for a long string of messages back and forth. Maybe just a short burst. Like, I¡¯m okay, Goldie! But he seemed to be alone this time. He couldn¡¯t sense the spider¡¯s presence near him. The absence gave him a bad feeling. Since he couldn¡¯t move around to search for her, though, he focused on the conversation he¡¯d just remembered. Is that what I am? he questioned. A mystic beast? What is that? How is it different from what they call a monster? And why would I be either of those, rather than just an animal? I am just a butterfly larva, after all. He sensed that there was more of that memory that he could dredge up, if he was willing and able to expend the willpower necessary. It seemed that in this life, his memories were never really gone. Just slightly hidden, waiting for him to look for them. Maybe a fuller explanation could be found there. But as he tried to reach back and retrieve what remained of the scene, Adon felt himself fading again. This time, he just let it happen. Maybe it would bring him back to what he wanted to know without any special effort on his part. He drifted through dark clouds for a while. Then he emerged in another memory, but he immediately understood that it was not something from this life¡ªor his immediately preceding one. Adon was flying through the sky. Soaring on powerful wings that could shake the trees without touching them as he passed. The glorious feeling of pure freedom. The world was his playground. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. He landed on a mountainside, a sheep clenched between his jaws. He approached the cave he had made his home. It was time for supper. As he recognized the specific memory he was inhabiting, Adon wanted to scream at his past self. Don¡¯t go back in there. They found your den! But it was only a memory. Present Adon couldn¡¯t affect any of his past self¡¯s decisions. A so-called hero was waiting there behind a rock, he knew, but his past self couldn¡¯t tell anything was wrong. In retrospect, the intrepid warrior must have covered up his natural body odor by spending as much time as he could with objects that smelled of Adon¡¯s dragon body. A dragon would normally be able to smell a human if they were close by. Certainly if they were inside of the same cave at the same time. Though Adon didn¡¯t appreciate that he was about to be slain, he could certainly respect the effort that must have gone into attempting to do so safely. It was brave, too. Even sneaking around as the human did, he was an underdog compared with the dragon that he wanted to kill. Adon had killed a few humans in his time, though he thought he was relatively peaceful as dragons went. So Adon wasn¡¯t too bitter when he got to the point in the memory when he went to lie down and enjoy some roast sheep, and the human drove a long pike through his underbelly and into his heart. He could ignore his past self¡¯s faint sense of outrage. The human had muttered some words as the dragon writhed in its death throes. Adon had not been conversant in the man¡¯s language, but looking back, he understood human tones of voice to know that the words had been apologetic. Something like, I apologize, noble creature. Please know that I am only doing my duty. That naturally dulled any sense of outrage. Even the shock of suddenly being murdered had faded. The physical pain of it was another matter. It had been a quick kill. An attempt at efficiency. Perhaps even mercy. But a spear point to the heart was not a gentle way to die. The memory of being killed so brutally hit him as if that pike was still in his chest. Or maybe the throbbing that he felt was the venom reminding him of its presence. In any case, the pain pushed him backward into another dragon memory. In this one, he was flying again. Going on a journey. This was the longest trip he had taken in that life, he recalled. One of the most important memories he had from that incarnation, though its meaning was obscure. Curious that he should remember it now¡­ He flew over a small palace with an impressive garden, and he rose higher into the sky until the human world looked like something that came out of a toy set. Then dragon Adon glided on the turbulent winds of the upper sky. He flew far. To distant lands. Heading toward a country he instinctively knew he had some sort of connection with. A place his ancestors had visited. He didn¡¯t know what the nature of that relationship was meant to be, but it was enough to know that it was there. Instinct called him forward, and he had only rarely ever disobeyed it. He flew beyond any range he had ever imagined he would explore, to achieve one of the purposes he somehow knew he had been born for. Adon ate sheep¡ªalways his preferred protein in his dragon life¡ªto sustain him along the way. He hunted, he flew, and he slept. Nothing more. He only stopped for those basic functions. Finally, he landed and knew he was close to the right place. There was a small town in the valley ahead of him. An instinct brought an image of it forward in his mind. A sort of ancestral memory of the place. It used to be smaller, he remembered thinking. The village had prospered since he last visited. No, since his ancestor had visited. Just as it had grown since before that dragon graced the land with its presence. Going back to a time when there were just a couple of mud huts and a bold woman who offered a strange bargain to one of the earliest dragons to dwell in the land. She offered¡ªa blank. There was a piece of memory missing. Something important. No matter. He would surely recover the sense of what needed to be done at the critical moment. But Adon was filled with self-doubt as he approached the village. The same doubts and anxieties that had plagued every incarnation up until the present caterpillar life. When the dragon reached the humans, there were a large number of them gathered around a roaring bonfire. Above the bonfire, several of them were turning a large boar impaled on a spit. People were drinking strong-smelling alcohol and dancing. Some of them had put together a large, paper dragon puppet, and multiple people were working inside of it to maneuver it, leading the faux monster in a winding dance around the village. Into the midst of this festive atmosphere came Adon. He expected to be a disruption¡ªto see the humans fall back and run from him, as had so often been the case in other human settlements when he approached. Instead, the crowd cheered as Adon came into view. He felt his courage shrink in response, as if they were all dragons and he was a mere frail human being. As if they might eat him alive. Some of the villagers stood atop a simple wooden platform, and they called out to him and gestured for him to come closer. He did not understand the language, but their body language was clear. There was a young woman in the middle of the platform. The only woman there. She wore a pure white dress. Adon looked into her eyes and saw sadness and fear. He knew that these people wanted something from him, but he didn¡¯t understand what. Adon turned and ran, and as soon as he was out of sight, he took to the sky and flew away. He wasn¡¯t sure what he was fleeing, but he knew in some deep dark part of his heart that he had seen the test of his life¡ªthe purpose he had been born for¡ªand he had run from it. He was a failure. The failure of his dragon life would remain with him until his dying day. He tried to live a quiet life from then on, aware he lacked the courage for anything greater. For whatever his destiny was meant to be. As the shame of the memory assaulted his mind, the world went dark again. Then a dancing red and orange light filled his field of vision. He was somewhere else. In another life? He was hatching from an egg, but it wasn¡¯t the caterpillar egg he had emerged from in this life. This egg was tougher. Strong enough to withstand powerful blows from the creature inside. A creature with a tough beak-like mouth that seemed designed to break through such surfaces. Bat-like wings. And a reptilian tail. A dragon still, then. Adon was growing tired of these dragon memories. This had been his most failed life, he realized now. A dragon had infinite potential. He had remained at the lowest rung possible. As his head emerged from the egg, though, Adon was surprised at what happened next in the memory. He emerged into a brazier. The egg was surrounded by raging fire and smoke. The heat felt pleasant. And a man in robes began speaking to him, using a strange hissing language. Somehow Adon understood him. The man in the robes was a priest. This priest was telling Adon that he was an important life form. That he had a sacred mission, and that the country would support him. They would honor their ancient covenant with the dragons. Adon didn¡¯t understand what he was hearing. The words were coherent, but the context was absent, and the priest seemed to assume that Adon knew things that he did not. Missing puzzle pieces once again. Like an instinct he was born without. It was terribly frustrating. Finally, the memory faded to black, and he was able to rest in blissful darkness. 42. A Spider in the Wild Goldie fed morsel after morsel of food into the black hole that was Adon¡¯s mouth. There were moments when she wanted to laugh. Her little friend had such a voracious appetite. Typical caterpillar! And there were moments of terror, when she understood that the food she was giving Adon might be the difference between life and death. She wasn¡¯t just thinking to herself when she commented on Adon¡¯s appetite. She was trying to think loudly so that he might hear it and respond. But it was no use. He was lost to her for now at least. Either too weak to use Telepathy or too scatterbrained at the moment to focus on responding. Goldie had suffered a bite of her own to her leg, and when she felt the sensation of the venom beginning to move up through the leg, she simply tore the limb off. Unlike Adon, she grew new legs whenever she shed her skin. Though she hadn¡¯t done that yet, because she was too busy nursing her friend. Adon had suffered much more serious bites, affecting areas she could not simply tear off of his body. Because he volunteered to fight from front, while I struck from behind¡­ Goldie wanted to cry. This was all her fault. She had made so many mistakes. She let her friend take the lead, even though she was bigger. He was so much less fearful than her. She had taken that to mean that he could handle the spiders almost alone. Or maybe she had simply wanted it to mean that. She had been worried about the thief spiders for so long. I could have done so much more in fight¡­ but I was afraid to step off of web. It had been Adon¡¯s plan to have her stay on the web for the duration, but that should have gone by the wayside once she saw that he was in trouble¡ªas it eventually had, when that last spider was trying to kill him. She had underestimated the thief spiders too. She could tell the venom must have been more powerful than she had realized. Probably stronger than hers after all. The wounds were not blackened, which meant that the venom was probably neurotoxic rather than necrotic. So the venom was attacking Adon¡¯s brain and nervous system right now. Doing that, it was effective enough to push him into a coma. Even so, his resistances seemed to be fighting through. He wasn¡¯t in the midst of convulsions, as he had been for a few minutes after his collapse. And he wasn¡¯t dead. Hopefully that meant he was on the mend and just needed more Biomass to fuel his recovery. It was like he was sleeping, though of course insects did not truly sleep. Not when they were healthy, at least¡­ All Goldie could do to support Adon in this fight was feed the caterpillar. She began by giving him every one of the thief spider¡¯s corpses to eat. She also found that one of them had laid an egg sac in the corner of her web, and with only a twinge of guilt, she fed the other spider¡¯s eggs into Adon¡¯s mouth as well. The guilt was because she felt that Adon was a gentle soul, and she was not certain how he would feel about eating a spider¡¯s eggs when his friend was a spider about to lay her own eggs. The mouth, fortunately, seemed to work independently of the caterpillar¡¯s suffering brain. It took nourishment regardless of the ethical implications. No matter how much she fed into it, the gaping maw seemed ever ready to consume more fuel. She threw in her own torn off leg without much hesitation, then went to dig through her reserves of food, once all the spider flesh was gone. This was her fault. Even if she ended up with nothing, Goldie would make this right. Goldie¡¯s mate¡ªwho she had recently taken to calling ¡°Red¡± in her own mind, following Adon¡¯s apparent naming conventions¡ªstood on the top part of her back, where her neck would be if she was a mammal, for most of this. He made little tapping and scratching movements on the back of her head with the tips of his legs, which she found soothing. Similar to another sensation that she couldn¡¯t quite remember. Something from another life, she knew. Another world. She didn¡¯t like to think about how much she had lost when she reincarnated¡ªmemories of family, friends, her own name! Perhaps more. She could have been a male in her last life, and she would have no way of knowing now. Maybe one day she would try to prise open that door. Right now, she preferred to just enjoy the sensation of the rhythmic motions to her exoskeleton. They were a balm on her painful feelings of responsibility and helplessness. When her stocks of food were almost empty, though, even that soothing sensation stopped. Goldie¡¯s mate started making tiny hissing noises. Not hostility, she knew. There were no enemies nearby. He was just alarmed that she was continuing to empty out their food stocks, even as they scraped bottom. The two of them had never communicated verbally, but she thought she understood Red¡¯s values well enough by now. They weren¡¯t complicated, nor did they need to be. His top priority was to ensure that she and their eggs survived. Next in line, he wanted to make certain that their offspring were well provided for. Red hadn¡¯t taken to Adon at first, she could tell from his body language. Now he seemed to like the caterpillar well enough¡ªthe small matter of killing off the Kleptomaniac Dewdrop Spiders had helped with that. He hadn¡¯t objected to her nursing Adon back to health and feeding him a lot of their stored food until this moment. But clearly, there were limits to Red¡¯s newfound appreciation for the insect. Now Red was trying to say, in his way, This is going too far. You will lay eggs soon. Keep this up, and you will not have anything left for yourself and the hatchlings! Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. I know, she wanted to tell him. Would tell him, if only she had invested in Telepathy. I know we are taking a risk. I will replenish reserves. Have faith in me. Web collects fifty flies on good days! It would be even more effective if she had not chosen a fairly low traffic area to build her web, primarily for safety. Perhaps it was for the best that Goldie and Red could not talk to each other, though. What might have become an ugly argument quietly dissipated instead. Red gave up and sat still on her back, maintaining a sullen silence, while she fed the last of their reserves of food into Adon¡¯s mouth. The caterpillar mechanically devoured everything but gave no other signs of life. He lay still. Then there was nothing to do for a little while but wait. Night fell, Goldie and her mate rested, and Adon remained inert, like a statue of a caterpillar. The next morning, Goldie knew she had to do something more for her friend. She thought he might be recovering. His body didn¡¯t look like it had completely burnt up the food she¡¯d given him¡ªthere was a hollow appearance to an arthropod when it was low enough on Biomass¡ªbut he wasn¡¯t waking up either. He needed more food to recover properly. A fly every twenty minutes or so was enough to sustain Goldie and Red, but not anyone else. Certainly not a life form with a bottomless appetite who was also recovering from neurotoxic venom. So Goldie and her mate had their morning meal, and she communicated to him with her best attempts at simple sign language that she was going out into the garden. Going hunting. She tapped her abdomen, pointed at Adon, gestured at the garden, gestured at her mouth. She had to repeat and revise her pattern of communication several times before her mate got the meaning. They had only rarely tried to understand each other so overtly. At first, Red tried to demand that she stay. Feed Adon with whatever surplus came into the web, while the two of them subsisted on their bare minimum amount of food. He even offered to take less food himself if it would help her friend. At least, all of the above was how Goldie interpreted Red¡¯s strange spider dance moves and gestures. When Goldie rejected his suggestions and reiterated her intention to go out there, her mate simply demanded¡ªor offered¡ªto go with her. And she eagerly accepted that. The ground was scary enough to think about traversing with company. There could be danger lurking behind every leaf. She didn¡¯t know how she would have survived alone. Somehow, though, Adon did it every day. If the plucky caterpillar could do that, so could she. Goldie bent to make it easier for Red to clamber onto her back. She went up to Adon and strung up slender threads all around him so that any creature that tried to approach him for an attack would get caught in this new webbing. Then she walked her and her mate over to the edge of the web and hopped down. She was immediately anxious and wished she could go back to the safety of her web. Her legs felt unsteady and clumsy on the ground, instead of dexterous as they were in her web. She marched out from the shadows she¡¯d built her home in and into the light of day. I can do this, she told herself. I have my silk, venom¡ªplenty of weapons. As much as Adon. Recalling a tactic Adon had mentioned using, Goldie paused and quickly crafted a silk net that she could hold in her front limbs while she walked. She would have no time to do so in a fight. And her silk should be even more potent as a weapon than Adon¡¯s, she told herself. She had spent all these years perfecting it and investing in it. After that minor project, and a little more effort reassuring herself, Goldie moved a bit further from her home. She tried to walk on the edge of the garden path, aware that the deadliest threat, above and beyond hostile insects and birds, was humanity. Any one of those giants might step on her without even noticing. And sometimes the humans who maintained the garden killed unwanted insects on purpose. How long has it been since I left web? she found herself wondering. The plant life had always been intimidating to her, hiding as it did so many vicious predators. But she had hoped everything would seem smaller, since the last time she wandered the garden had been when she was a juvenile. No such luck. Goldie jumped as a big green lizard poked its head out from behind a leaf. That head was large enough to swallow her whole, she realized. Then a long, pink tongue snaked out and shot straight for her! No! She dodged to the side and tried to run away, but she saw the tongue flying her way out of her peripheral vision once again. She had to jump toward the open path to get away from it. The other direction would have taken her closer to the lizard. Why are you coming after me?! The lizard started running toward her now, and she stepped further onto the dangerous open terrain of the garden path, trying to outpace him. It was no good. He was faster. She began trying to decide how she could survive this encounter. Not getting sucked into his mouth would be a good start. Maybe she needed to dodge the next attack and then try to get in close. Give him an injection of venom. Or she could try and inject his tongue? No, then she would probably still get pulled into those jaws. As she thought about the best way to defend herself, Goldie continued frantically running away and steadily losing ground. She zigzagged where needed to dodge the tongue. This was an unwinnable situation, she slowly realized. Her venom was potent enough for bugs, but this lizard was more than twice her size. She wouldn¡¯t kill this thing that way. Maybe I can run up plant. Can it climb as fast as it runs? As she had this idea, the tongue darted out. She tried to dodge once more, but she was just too slow. The pink appendage struck her in the back and stuck fast. And then Goldie felt herself flying through the air. Her brief spider life flashed before her eyes. No! I wanted to know so much more¡­ do more! The greatest regret in her mind was that she had never had the chance to see her eggs hatch and become little spiders. The second greatest regret was that she was taking Adon and Red down with her. The little caterpillar would probably die without someone to feed him substantial food and fuel his recovery. And Red was still on her back. Along for the ride to the very end. Then she felt a sharp yank upward. The direction of her movement changed. Goldie was still flying through the air, but now, rather than being pulled backward into a gaping mouth, she saw the ground receding further and further away. The spider managed to twist her body to look upward, and she saw a sparrow clutching the lizard in its mouth. That was the source of this new momentum. 43. Lost Thank Goddess, we are saved! That was Goldie¡¯s first thought. But she also had no idea where the sparrow was flying. As she dangled beneath the bird by the slender muscle of the lizard¡¯s tongue, she realized that it wasn¡¯t going to be easy to free herself. The spider had twisted her body as far as it would go, just to get a good view of what was happening above her. And she realized she couldn¡¯t actually reach far back enough to try and rip herself free from the lizard¡¯s tongue. She experimented with trying to shake her way free, but it was just weak flailing, and the tongue seemed to have an adhesive property. Oh no! When bird swallows lizard, its tongue will pull me in too. She wriggled harder, trying to break free to no noticeable effect. Then there was movement from Goldie¡¯s back. A small figure whose presence she had almost forgotten in her panic. Red! The smaller spider crawled from Goldie¡¯s body onto the tongue. She couldn¡¯t see exactly what he was doing, but she could guess the general idea. Her mate was trying to set them free. The feeling that she¡¯d had for the last several weeks that they¡¯d been together¡ªthat he was trying to protect her and their future offspring¡ªwas not an illusion. If Red had wanted to bail and save himself from possibly getting sucked into this bird¡¯s maw, he could have just jumped off of Goldie¡¯s back. Instead, he had crawled into danger¡ªonto the adhesive tongue¡ªto try and free her. I am a very lucky spider, she thought. It was all her brain could make of the situation. She was so scared and stressed, it was a wonder she could form coherent thoughts at all. Greenery flew by as she waited for something to happen, and she was blind to all of it. After a few seconds, there was a very clear sense of movement from above her. Not her mate moving, but the lizard¡¯s bungee-like tongue. She felt it lowering her slightly. As if the lizard were extending its appendage out even further for some reason. Goldie realized what was going on a second before it happened. Then she was falling, tumbling through the air with the tongue still attached to her back, causing her to spin violently as she dropped. Or rather, with part of the lizard¡¯s tongue still attached. She had imagined her mate might be injecting the lizard with venom to force it to let her go. Instead, he had simply used his mouthparts to chew through the tongue itself, and now that chunk of tongue was falling with them. Goldie struck a plant¡¯s leaves, and they hit her surprisingly softly. She had almost forgotten how gently arthropods fell, no matter the height. She bounced off of the leaf like it was a diving board and fell through several more leaves until she collided with another plant¡¯s stem. Then she rolled down the side of that plant until she struck dirt. The bit of tongue still stuck to her back gently plopped on the ground next to her. That was not so bad. Thanks to you. She wished she could send the words to her mate. The more she thought about it, the more she recognized that choosing to be mute was something she would not wish on her worst enemy. She would ask Adon to try and talk to him for her. Act as their telephone. He had offered before. Surely he would not begrudge her that favor now that they were even more closely bonded. Whether that worked out or not, she would ask Adon to teach her babies to think in words. Goldie¡¯s own limited skills with language derived from a previous life, she knew. But she had no reason to think her children would have the same gift. As far as she knew, most animals could neither think in words nor even make their own selections in the Evolution Store. Almost every creature she had seen was just a carbon copy of its parents¡¯ species, with identical Adaptations and Skills. Adon was the only special one she remembered ever meeting besides herself. He had clearly chosen his Venom Spines as an Adaptation, since the first time she encountered him, he had no such defenses. Telepathy too. In all her months of life, Goldie had never seen another insect with Telepathy. She had only rarely encountered butterflies and caterpillars in general, but none of those she had simply watched eating seemed particularly intelligent, and none of those she had eaten had pleaded for their lives. Now that she thought of it again, she hadn¡¯t gotten around to mentioning that awkward history to Adon yet. It seemed like a potentially friendship-ruining piece of information, and there was no one else who could mention it as long as she kept silent. Her mate hadn¡¯t been with her yet at the time. Some secrets were best left buried. As deep in her subconscious as they could be shoved. She couldn¡¯t risk losing her friendship with Adon. Even if the price of keeping it was a little strategic withholding. Though if she told him, she thought he would probably understand. Adon wasn¡¯t like other bugs. That was the bottom line of where her line of thought had been heading. He was special. Perhaps my hatchlings could be special too, she thought. Was language comprehension the key? Or was a connection to a past life required? Goldie pulled her mind back to her present situation. What was she doing thinking about her future offspring at a time like this? Maybe the fall had knocked some of her brains loose, despite the fairly soft landing. She gathered herself and then made a loud hissing noise. ¡°Hssss!¡± She didn¡¯t have a wide range of vocal expressions, and she wasn¡¯t trying to communicate much. She just wanted to see if there would be some kind of answer. For a moment, there was silence. Then a slightly weary, ¡°Hsss!¡± back. Goldie wanted to jump for joy. Even if he might have taken more of a hit from the fall than she had¡ªprobably because of her weight and that of the lizard tongue piece¡ªher mate was still with her. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. As soon as she pulled herself back to the present, she had been worried that he might have still been attached to the other end of the tongue. A final sacrifice for her and their young. Goldie took the next several minutes to pull herself and her mate free from the lizard¡¯s tongue. Thankfully, the adhesive quality had weakened quite a bit now that the muscle was detached from its owner. Then they ate the bit of tongue to recover some energy. Red seemed considerably more energetic after replenishing his Biomass. And Goldie felt pretty good herself. They had accomplished nothing toward their objective, but they had escaped a deadly predator¡ªtwo deadly predators¡ªand gotten a snack in the bargain. As he hopped onto her back, she thought Red shared her renewed sense of optimism. Now Goldie looked around a bit more than she had felt safe to do while stuck to a tongue. She scouted the terrain and considered the next direction to travel in. She turned her head left. Then right. She saw unfamiliar plants on both sides. Also a bit of the garden path that she didn¡¯t quite recognize. We are lost, she realized. In completely unfamiliar territory. That wasn¡¯t saying much for Goldie. Her world was geographically tiny, and she knew and embraced it. At least they were still somewhere in the garden. If I follow the path, eventually find something. Right? With that idea in mind, she started walking. Being on the ground again reminded Goldie once more that the world outside her web was scarier than she remembered. I need to do this to help Adon, she told herself sternly. No point thinking how scary it is. Web collects food far too slowly to fuel recovery. She moved along the path for a little while, but the wide open space made her nervous after the lizard attack. There were just so many angles a predator could attack from. It could be something like the lizard, coming out from behind cover, or a bird swooping down from the wide blue sky. She would never see the ambush before it started either way. Finally, she gave in to her fears and moved off the path. It was just too exposed. She began cutting through a slightly thinner patch of greenery. Less likely that prey were hiding there, but almost impossible for predators to conceal themselves. The idea when she cut through those plants was that she would quickly walk across the ground cover and come back out right next to the path. This was based on Goldie¡¯s mental map. Where she imagined the path led. But she quickly found she had to deviate from her planned course. As she walked, she saw a gang of ants out on what she imagined was a foraging mission. Most ant excursions were foraging missions on a search for food, she had found in her few encounters with them. They were single-minded that way. A bit like most caterpillars. She thought about trying to ensnare them, but then Goldie Identified one of them. Vendetta Ant (Scout) That species name, and the memories it carried, caused her to duck away. She remembered how Adon had explained that this insane species had chased him all the way to her net. She also recalled capturing and eating them. But she didn¡¯t fancy her chances of managing to run that far on her graceless land legs. The ants might actually be faster than her down here. Better to look for more isolated prey. Ideally, she would be finding a species higher on the ¡°natural hierarchy¡± for Adon to eat anyway. Caterpillars were close to the bottom, but individual ants were scraping the very bottom, only above helpless organisms like earthworms. Ants were only effective in groups. This means we must be within running distance of web, at least, she thought. Then she resumed her search for food, and her roundabout movements back to the path. Her walk continued on for another half hour before she saw something that might be edible. Do not know how Adon does this. Then she focused her vision on the thing she saw lurking in the shadows. It stood on the opposite side of the path from her, hidden beneath dense shrubbery. A dark reddish brown oval-shaped body, short and thick antennae, six slender legs covered in hair. Flimsy, non-threatening mouthparts. It looked harmless. But something about it gave her a sense of revulsion. She used Identify and understood why. Resilient Brown Cockroach (Female) The revelation of the name only intensified her strong feelings of disgust. I must have hated those, she thought. In other life. But it was not important. Whatever this thing was, it was a more advanced species than an ant. That would have to be good enough for this round of hunting. Goldie had been out for longer than she was comfortable with anyway. She did not want to be traipsing around the garden at night. Adon had told her things about the nightlife here that she emphatically did not like. Goldie began circling around, moving out of sight of the cockroach so that she could surprise it and snag it quickly in her net. It did not look like it could do very much to defend itself, but one never knew. And she wanted to save as much of her venom as she could for more threatening foes. She crossed the path as quickly as she could to get parallel with the cockroach before it could get away¡ªand to minimize her exposure time in that deadly killing ground. Then she began slowly, quietly maneuvering to get behind where the cockroach was. She had to go carefully. She was still clumsier than most arthropods her size on the ground, even after spending hours out here. She would not make some loud noise and startle Adon¡¯s next meal. But as Goldie got close enough to see the cockroach, she heard heavy noises. Some large animal was approaching. She would have to be careful about her next move. Goldie could end up as prey just as easily as the cockroach if this large creature was a predator. She had seen a cat in the garden once, years ago. It was horrifying. The humongous creature stalked the grounds every night, hunting and killing for fun. Playing with its food before it ate. If the cat even consumed its prey. Just as often, it seemed, it would leave the entire body of the dead insects, mice, and spiders lying around for scavengers to eat. Sometimes a whole body would be found, missing its head. Other times, there were just scattered pieces. Goldie hoped she was not about to witness the emergence of another cat as the heavy footsteps moved closer. As she hunkered down and tried to be as still as possible, hoping not to be noticed behind a few thin weed stalks, the cockroach stirred to life. Now?! Really? You were sitting there, completely still and hard to see, for at least twenty minutes. Now you move? As the cockroach rose from its lowly position under the shrubbery and moved right past her, Goldie wanted to groan and hiss. She wanted to pounce. She wanted to tear this thing to shreds. But as the sound of footsteps drew ever louder, she did nothing. The cockroach finally seemed to realize it might be in some danger, and it scuttled forward faster. Then there was a horrible crunching sound. Goldie took a chance on being seen moving. She turned her head to look. A giant foot wearing a jeweled green velvet slipper stood where the cockroach had been a moment prior. A human had crushed it. 44. Food for a Friend Rosslyn had passed a restless night, tossing and turning in her sleep, after her second encounter with Matilda. She had found herself dreading dinner with her father all morning as well. He had been absent for last night¡¯s dinner. ¡°He is away on state business,¡± Carolien had said. But she wore a severe expression that told Rosslyn that the Queen thought her stepdaughter was to blame for this ¡°state business¡± coming up. The King had returned this morning. Undoubtedly Rosslyn¡¯s pronouncement about only marrying someone who could defeat her in combat would come up at dinner. And she had to decide if she wanted to ask her father about Matilda. ¡°Why do we have a slave in the palace, father? What did she do?¡± She cringed at the thought of asking such questions. At the same time, she badly wanted to know. Perhaps my strings are simply too easily pulled. This is likely manipulation by that woman. She obviously hates father. Providing half-truths and incomplete information. She knows what she is doing. She only wants to pit us against each other. Will I be her puppet and move according to her wishes? As she considered the evening¡¯s potential disasters, Rosslyn walked into the palace kitchens. Whenever she had some small worries, she had a few activities to relieve stress. She spent the morning playing with her younger half-siblings. Now she wanted to stroll through the garden. And she remembered there was a little life form there that might appreciate some food. ¡°Your Highness, what are you doing here?¡± Chef MacGregor¡¯s thickly accented voice carried across the room as he rushed toward the kitchen door. He bustled across the room like there was a fire he needed to extinguish there. He appeared as he always did whether he was cooking or serving, flushed face slightly sweaty, wearing his heavy apron over his thick cotton uniform. His black hat covered up what had once been a magnificent mop of red hair, now very visibly thinning and beginning to gray. It was a little sad to see a palace employee Rosslyn had known since childhood showing his age so visibly. How long has it been, she realized, since I truly took a good look at him? Gray hairs did not appear overnight. A little reminder to take note of the people she was responsible for more often. ¡°Chef, so good to see you!¡± Rosslyn exclaimed, smiling brightly. Behind the head chef, the sous chef and several lower ranked cooks exchanged quiet smiles before they returned to their tasks. These commoners rarely saw royalty except when there was some dish on the dinner menu that required tableside preparation. A trio of footmen served the family¡¯s meals. ¡°Uh, um, good to see you as well, Your Highness. This is such an unexpected, uh, honor!¡± MacGregor bowed slightly, rubbed the back of his neck, and then wiped his sweaty palms on his apron. ¡°What can I do for you? Please, I am at your disposal. A little pre-dinner snack perhaps?¡± He lowered his voice confidentially. ¡°Did you want to sneak dessert before your dinner?¡± Rosslyn could not restrain her grin at the chef¡¯s behavior. On the one hand, he was nervous that a member of the royal family had appeared suddenly in the kitchen. On the other, he still remembered her as the ten-year-old girl whose sweet tooth respected no restraints. ¡°I am not here for dessert, thank you,¡± she replied gently. ¡°Though I imagine I would still clear out a whole tray of your trifle.¡± ¡°Oh, I would expect nothing less,¡± he said, shaking his head and chuckling before he remembered who he was talking to. He immediately straightened up and became serious again. ¡°How can I help you then, Your Highness?¡± ¡°I know you and your colleagues are hard at work preparing dinner,¡± Rosslyn said, speaking just loudly enough that she was confident the people in the middle of the kitchen would be able to hear her. ¡°I was planning to take a walk in the garden, and I thought it would be nice to take a box of kitchen scraps to feed the wildlife out there. If there is a little you can spare.¡± ¡°I see,¡± MacGregor nodded, and his face turned even more earnest than it had when he had made a conscious effort. ¡°Of course we can spare some scraps. And I have heard it from others in the household, Your Highness, but I hope you will forgive me if I mention this. You truly are turning out just like your mother. We remember how she loved everything that grows in the garden.¡± The Princess lowered her head so the chef could not see the sudden expression that came over her face. He remembers her, she thought. Sometimes I forget that there are other people who still remember her. Besides her father, of course. But he had not mentioned his first wife anytime in recent memory. Understandable, given that he had remarried, but Rosslyn wished things were different. ¡°Thank you, chef,¡± she said finally. She wrested control of her face back and raised her head to look MacGregor in the eyes. ¡°You are also welcome to make such requests through the footmen or your maid anytime you wish, Princess,¡± he said quietly, almost whispering. ¡°You do not have to come here yourself.¡± ¡°What if I want to visit the kitchens, chef?¡± she asked, her voice equally low. He smiled at her with a joy that brought back distant memories. ¡°Then you are always welcome, chi¡ªYour Highness.¡± He dipped his head, and Rosslyn had to resist the urge to smile. He had almost called her ¡°child.¡± A few minutes later, she left with a small wooden box of scraps. A glance inside revealed the chef had anticipated what she had in mind to feed the caterpillar. Potato peels, unwanted bits of cucumber and apple, wilted lettuce. Nothing that would be missed from either the royal or servants¡¯ tables. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. As she walked, she theoretically looked for the caterpillar¡¯s plant. In practice, her eyes almost glazed over as she thought about her mother and father. The past that felt increasingly out of reach. The difficult conversations that the future was sure to hold. Her body moved on autopilot. Rosslyn¡¯s mind was miles away from the garden when she put her foot down and felt it land with a crunch and a squishing sensation. She looked down at her velvet slippers, and she saw the head of a tiny creature poking out from underneath the toe. She could tell at a glance that it was not the caterpillar, thankfully, but her relief at that realization was immediately replaced by disgust at the ugly creature she had just killed. Ew, I stepped in something! She lifted her foot up to get a better look at the smeared insect, then thought better of it and instead looked for a good place to scrape it off. A maid was probably going to have to clean some of the insect guts off of this shoe, but at least Rosslyn could spare her the unfortunate sight of the whole dead creature. As she looked around, she realized she was quite close to where she had spotted the caterpillar before. In fact, there was its plant! And the food she had brought it last time she visited was gone, which felt like a good sign. Then she spied a colorful spider lurking behind a couple of small weeds. The spider was almost next to the caterpillar¡¯s plant. It seemed to be staring back up at her in turn. As their eyes met, the spider turned and began trying to run away. Very slowly, though. Without thinking much of it, Rosslyn reached down, turned the wooden box sideways, and scooped the spider up into it. ¡°You are a big spider,¡± she said as she looked down at the creature. ¡°Probably one of the largest spiders in the garden, if I remember what kinds of species we have here well enough. You must be a very successful predator.¡± As she spoke, she took in the appearance of the little creature. The spider stood, obviously terrified, trying to shield itself from possible attack behind some of the scraps in the box. It was a pretty little thing, with its red, yellow, and brown striped legs and its dark-colored body covered in little white speckles and spots. Her legs and her body, Rosslyn corrected herself. A spider this large was almost certainly female. Though there was an easy way to check. Identify. Goldie, Golden Silk Orb-Weaver Spider (Female) She vaguely remembered the species from her tutors¡¯ instruction in natural sciences. Their webs were considered to be exceptionally beautiful. They were venomous. Exclusively predatory, eating mainly insects. Wait, this thing has a name? A wild spider? ¡°Are you the one who used Telepathy?¡± Rosslyn asked. Complete silence. ¡°Also, have you seen a little caterpillar around here?¡± she added in an accusatory tone. ¡°Did you eat him maybe? Or are you friends?¡± Her voice grew calmer as she added that last question. The thought seemed ridiculous. A predatory spider and a caterpillar becoming friends. But then, this was somehow a named creature. Stranger things could happen than a life form that had a name also making friends. In order for this ¡°Goldie¡± to have a name recognized by the Goddess¡¯s System, she must have either been named by someone else who had the capacity for language, or she must have referred to herself in conversation with someone else using that name. The latter would presumably mean this spider could speak or use Telepathy. But the silence persisted. The spider just cowered as best she could behind a particularly large leaf of wilted lettuce. Somehow Rosslyn found herself surprised. And annoyed at herself for being surprised. Why was I expecting a response? Talking to bugs again. Anyone who saw this would definitely think I am losing my mind. A sane creature with Telepathy would definitely have responded, right? Goldie would have to know that a talking spider was a lot less likely to be killed by a human than a silent spider. And she seemed to be afraid of Rosslyn. As she noticed that fact once again, Rosslyn felt a bit bad about scaring this creature that probably could not understand her. She looked down at the spider, still hiding behind food, clearly powerless to answer her, and she decided to put it down. A gardener must have named her. Probably? Why a gardener would have interacted closely with a venomous spider, let alone named her, is beyond me, though. ¡°Alright,¡± she said aloud, just in case the spider could somehow understand her. But quietly, so that anyone who happened to pass by might think she was just talking to herself. ¡°I will set you down. I will assume you did not eat the caterpillar. That would kind of annoy me.¡± For silly sentimental reasons, she did not bother to add. She put the box on the ground and waited for Goldie to hop out. And waited. Almost a minute passed with no motion. Is the box too high for her to jump out? Rosslyn turned the box on its side. To her surprise, the spider was clinging to several scraps of food now, securing them to her body with strands of silk. This seemed odd to Rosslyn. ¡°Your species does not eat vegetation, does it?¡± She knew that scientific knowledge was still developing, advancing based on observation only rather than on a general understanding of the underlying principles that made the world work. No one knew what the System was, truly, only that the priestly class said it was the work of the Goddess. But she did not think her tutor, and biological scientists in general, would be wrong about something as basic as what this type of spider ate. She would go to the library and find a book on arachnids when she left here, but she had an instinct as to why the spider was gathering these scraps to herself. ¡°You do know the caterpillar after all,¡± she said softly, stooping to observe more closely. ¡°You want this food for him.¡± The spider froze for a moment under her gaze. She clearly had not been eating any of the food. Just tying it around her body. Which would be peculiar behavior for an animal that was stuck in a box with the type of food it actually wanted for itself. This was very strange. A bit like something out of one of Rosslyn¡¯s children''s books, maybe. ¡°Do not let me stop you,¡± she said, smiling. ¡°I wish you and your little friend good luck.¡± Rosslyn rose and walked back toward the palace. She would collect the box later, after she checked her theory against the palace¡¯s best resources on arachnids. 45. Awakening Munch munch. Chomp chomp. Gobble gobble. Gulp. Adon woke to find himself nom nom nomming on a hefty piece of vegetation. He only vaguely recognized the taste. Cucumber? He had never seen cucumbers growing in the garden before. But this didn¡¯t feel like a memory. As his vision came into focus, he saw Goldie standing above him, feeding one cucumber rind after another into his mouth like it was the opening to a wood chipper. Where the heck did Goldie get cucumber? Then he noticed the posture of her body and realized that the spider seemed quite stressed. Of course. She must have been taking care of me the whole time I¡¯ve been out. Wondering that whole time if I would ever wake up. He felt a deep swell of affection for the spider¡ªand his feelings toward her had not been shallow before his venom-inspired coma. Goldie! he sent. I¡¯m okay! Adon! Her inner voice was almost a scream in his mind. He wanted to cover his nonexistent ears, but the sound was coming from inside his head. I thought you might die. She covered him with her body in an aggressive hug. Are you alright? Well, I¡¯ve definitely felt better, he sent, returning the hug as best he could with his weak, tender body. Thank you for taking care of me! Did you get all the Kleptomaniac Dewdrop Spiders? Thanks to you, yes, she thought. Where did you find all this yummy cucumber? Does it grow around here? Then Goldie began recounting her story, and Adon didn¡¯t interrupt until he had heard everything. You went out hunting? he asked when she finished. By yourself on the ground? My mate went with me, but yes, she thought proudly. Then she paused for a moment. Wait. That is surprising part? It sounds like you ran into a princess who lives in the palace over there, Adon replied casually. We¡¯ve met before. Too bad you couldn¡¯t understand what she was saying. Local language never seemed like useful Adaptation, Goldie replied. I cannot form word sounds. Never bought Telepathy. Local language¡­ I guess we¡¯ve been speaking in another language, haven¡¯t we? Adon realized. He hadn¡¯t thought much about which language he was speaking when he interacted with Goldie. Whatever language it was, it was something deeply embedded in his brain. Something he spoke naturally. But given that he had lived so many lives, and he still had crucial memories from so many of them, he might have access to dozens or hundreds of languages that he simply never had occasion to use. I suppose we are, Goldie thought. She did not seem interested in elaborating, and Adon decided not to push it. He remembered how the spider had reacted last time he brought up her prior life. They both stood silently, containing their thoughts inside themselves, for a moment. Goldie was the first to articulate a thought that Adon could hear. So you met the princess before you met me? she asked. Strangely, he seemed to detect a hint of jealousy in her voice. He would need to manage this carefully. He carefully kept himself from sending any thoughts until he had formulated his response. Just briefly, he sent, trying for casual again. We didn¡¯t really talk, but I heard her speak. She had brought some food out for me, as a way of apologizing for siccing a Ladybug Larva on me. So I just said ¡°Thank you.¡± The spider nodded. She did not seem to like insects much. Scary how she stepped on cockroach and only looked annoyed at having bug guts on her shoe. Adon suppressed his desire to say that he would have reacted the same way as the princess¡ªand indeed, that he was glad she had stepped on the cockroach so that Goldie hadn¡¯t brought it for him to eat. Those seemed likely to be unhelpful remarks. The spider¡¯s feelings were still coming through Telepathy as slightly prickly. She genuinely seems a little jealous that I met a princess, Adon thought in the back of his mind. He was getting better at controlling what leaked out and articulating concealed thoughts even while using Telepathy. It¡¯s like Goldie thinks I would prefer the princess¡¯s company to hers. Well, maybe Goldie did think that. Adon was always focused on his own deficiencies as a friend and conversation partner. Goldie might be the same as him, except worried about her broken grammar skills instead of general social awkwardness. I missed talking to you a lot, Adon transmitted. In my dreams, I kept visiting different places from my memories, but I wished you were there. It was true. Adon had felt a loneliness in the prison of his comatose wanderings, and Goldie was the only friend he could imagine sharing his memories with¡ªif the day should ever come when she became comfortable going back and forth about past lives. Most importantly, she needed to know that he would continue to be there for her. Sure, I wanted to be a social butterfly in this life, Adon thought below the surface of his mind. But I¡¯m grateful I have one friend. I would never abandon Goldie¡ªnot even to have some kind of cool fantasy adventure with a princess and make lots of new friends. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. I missed talking to you too, Goldie thought. Please do not die again. Adon wanted to respond with something glib and silly like, I haven¡¯t even died once yet, but that wasn¡¯t even true from his perspective. He had died so many times. Every life but this one had ended, many of them violently. And if he tried, he could remember every single one. I won¡¯t, he finally sent. At least not until we get enough superior creature flesh in you to pay for another Evolution. Something with a nice long lifespan. Goldie was silent for a long few seconds. Honestly, I do not know how you do it, she finally thought. Hunting every day. I was almost mad with fear. Did not even kill a single enemy. Because the princess gave you food for me, Adon replied reassuringly. I¡¯m sure you would have managed it. She stared at him, then looked at the ground. I am not so certain. I think this is not my gift. You are a good fighter, Adon. Unusually good. Especially for caterpillar! When we struggled against thief spiders, I could barely make myself attack. It was worse outside of web. I am a coward. Perhaps I should be content with the days that I am given. Not go chasing death to try and steal more years of life. Adon was shaking his head fiercely as he listened to her thoughts, even though the forceful movements made his vision swim and threatened to set off a migraine. I won¡¯t let you¡ªI mean, I won¡¯t let that happen. I can¡¯t just let you die! You¡¯re my only friend, Goldie. I insist that you at least share whatever I kill. If that helps you get to a new stage, great. If not, at least I know I tried. He knew that Goldie would feel guilty about him going out to hunt food for her specifically, so he framed it in a way that would hopefully make her agree. If she didn¡¯t, he would just bring this back up later. Right now, he was too tired to argue effectively. Recovery had drained him. Fortunately, Goldie seemed to recognize his weakness without him having to spell it out. We can talk about this when you recover, she thought. And Adon was forced to agree. I¡¯m going to walk around and see how my body¡¯s doing, he sent. Do you have more of those vegetables? Goldie nodded eagerly. I made three trips! She gestured behind her, and Adon saw that she had stuck a ton of what looked like kitchen leftovers all over her web. Like someone had turned over a garbage pail. She seemed so happy that she had managed to get him the food, even though it made a mess of her otherwise well ordered home. Thanks, Goldie, he sent. Going silent for a bit. Then he deactivated Telepathy, got up, and started walking. The pain in his abdomen was immediately noticeable, but dull. Definitely less than what it had been when he was floating in and out of consciousness. Adon looked down and saw that where he remembered he had suffered a venomous bite wound, there was now barely a mark. The exoskeleton had mostly healed up without him having to shed his skin. Unless he had done it in his sleep. I can¡¯t afford to be in so many close scrapes, he thought. If I didn¡¯t have resistances and Goldie to take care of me, I definitely would have died in this one. And there was no reason that fight should have been as difficult as it was! I was invisible, I had a ranged attack, I was physically stronger and faster than them, and I have Mana Manipulation now. Mantises kill spiders all the time, to the point that the System rewarded Goldie for eating one. I killed a mantis without taking any injuries. Therefore, I should¡¯ve been able to win this fight singlehandedly, not force Goldie to rush in and save me¡ªand then take care of me while I recover from these stupid spider bites. Adon was getting angry at himself as he walked up and down the web, and he tried to calm down. He was testing his body¡¯s recovery right now. It was possible that doing things to ruin his mood might hamper his recovery. The mind and the body were linked, and all that. Then he slammed his right forelimb down on the web in frustration¡ªor almost did, before he remembered that Goldie would feel the vibrations of his fury if he did. That would probably scare her. And his Strength was high enough to cave in exoskeletons. It might be enough to meaningfully damage her web. A fine way to repay her for taking care of him. He held his foot back, just slightly above the web. There was still a vibration from the intense movement, but it was smaller than it might have been. Goldie looked at him curiously from further up the web, but Adon didn¡¯t feel like explaining that he was trying to restrain himself from having a tantrum. He just waved sheepishly and did not reactivate Telepathy. The spider got the hint and returned to whatever errands she had been up to before Adon almost punched the web. So how do I avoid putting Goldie¡ªand myself¡ªthrough this again? he wondered. His anger at himself was dying down now, as he tried to replace it with a more constructive thought process. The fact that he was suffering from moderate physical pain as he moved made the anger a bit harder to sustain. He imagined this must be what physical therapy was like. Fundamentally, the problem he had encountered in the spider fight was the number of enemies. They had swarmed him. This seemed to be an issue he was destined to run into over and over again. More than one species of ant, spiders, and probably any number of other species were capable of working together in groups. He was confident now that he was faster and stronger than any of these team-fighting insects individually. He also could have reinforced his body with Mana if his reaction time was better¡ªThere! That¡¯s it. Mana. Mana should have been the difference-maker. That was what I needed to rely on more. Fighting while invisible was a good strategy at first. Once they had a good idea of my location, though, I needed to shift from focusing on that to armoring myself with Mana. And he still hadn¡¯t even touched on the fact that he didn¡¯t know anything about Mana use outside of physical enhancement. He knew what he needed to do to learn more. The System¡¯s brain download had given him that much. The next step once he had moving Mana around his body down fairly well. He had not mastered that yet, but he would during this convalescence. Then he would go on to explore magic. The Mana Manipulation download indicated two broad methods. One was inaccessible to him right now; it required the use of spellbooks. Time and study. The other option was available to any organism that learned how to manipulate its Mana. It was an unguided path, though. Even the rudimentary brain download made clear, it was more than a little risky. But if I had better command of Mana and its applications, those spiders wouldn¡¯t have even gotten close to me. As things played out, I survived, but it could have gone the other way. I have to be capable of taking on far more enemies than just a handful of spiders at once. The physical body of a caterpillar can¡¯t do it without some serious help. I need to take the risks to move forward into magic, and it¡¯ll probably save my life a thousand times in the future. Now is the perfect time to try to learn. While I¡¯m recovering from the venom. First, though, he would try to master the first basic exercises that he had interrupted before. Pulling Mana out, moving it around his body, and using it to enhance himself. Adon closed his eyes and found the round orange light suspended in the dark once again. 46. Mission Princess Rosslyn stepped into the palace chapel and looked around carefully. Celeste said he called for me. Am I early? No, there he was, seated in a darkened nook. He held a closed copy of The Beauty of Creation, the Goddess¡¯s most sacred text, in his lap. His eyes were closed. There was a tired expression on his face, but he did not look sleepy¡ªmore preoccupied. The creases of worry on his face were visible from where Rosslyn stood, almost by the doorway. She had noticed it at dinner earlier too, when the table had felt unusually quiet. Her father seemed to have aged a few years in the last week or so. She took a seat in the pew nearest the King, after she had looked around to make certain that no one else was present. ¡°Well met, and well done, daughter.¡± His voice was weary and slightly sardonic. She heard the sound of several late nights and a slight recrimination in his voice. Not all of the late nights could be her fault, Rosslyn was dimly aware. She had only made her announcement a couple of days ago. And there was only so much havoc that a princess¡¯s romantic decisions could cause. So what is happening in the world right now, to put my father in such stress? ¡°Hello, father.¡± She waited for him to say his piece first, before she asked her own questions. She was rethinking questioning anything at all. She could hardly forgive herself if she placed any further burdens on him. ¡°Your decision, on behalf of the palace, the other day¡ªwhere did you get the idea? Did someone suggest this to you?¡± he asked. ¡°It sprung from my own heart naturally, father,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°I thought that because we need the strongest warrior we can find to stand beside me against the Demon Empire one day, this might naturally be the best way.¡± ¡°What you did had the potential to embarrass the Crown,¡± he said. ¡°But it did not actually embarrass the Crown?¡± ¡°No,¡± he admitted. ¡°I tried to have the witnesses to your announcement stopped and spoken to. Several of them were on their way home to their own lands, and I thought we might intercept them and purchase their silence. But before we could make any such offers, we learned that two of the individuals involved had stopped in Wayn and been seen drinking at a few establishments regularly frequented by fellow nobles. The word was out before we even properly tried to contain it.¡± ¡°The flower of Claustrian nobility will rush forward to meet the challenge,¡± she offered. ¡°Perhaps.¡± The piercing blue-gray eyes stared down at her for a long moment. ¡°You did not consult Lord Baranack or myself. That is concerning. No, more than that¡ªit was inappropriate. You overstepped your bounds. To anyone else who knew about the internal processes behind this decision, you would look like an out of control child!¡± ¡°I know. I know all of that.¡± She looked at the ground. There was silence between them for several long moments. ¡°If you know, then why are we having this conversation? Why do this without consulting either of us?¡± ¡°I was frustrated!¡± The words burst out almost uncontrollably. She tried to slow down. ¡°I did not believe that my suggestions would be taken.¡± ¡°I believe Lord Baranack has done his best. Using the best methods available to him. I admit he might have rejected your suggestion out of hand. But your proposal does eliminate many potential matches from consideration.¡± ¡°I would like to do my best for our country as well. Perhaps if we were to make it clear that this was truly a merit-based process, we would bring the best possible matches out of the woodwork.¡± ¡°You may be right. Still, I wish that we could take your words back.¡± ¡°I myself do not,¡± Rosslyn replied. ¡°Of course not. You have not thought about the political ramifications. In a moment of great tension¡ª¡± ¡°Should I not have agency in the most important decision of my life?¡± she interrupted. There was silence. Rosslyn looked up and saw the King wore a stricken expression. Like she¡¯d slapped him in the face. She wished she could pull the words back. The words she had been holding back for months¡ªno, was it a year? How long since this process began? ¡°We have only ever presented you with options.¡± His tone was defensive rather than angry. Almost apologetic. ¡°If you were any other person¡¯s child but mine, you would have been told who your husband would be once the negotiations were concluded.¡± ¡°I had been led to believe that I could expect more consultation than I have had,¡± Rosslyn said slowly. ¡°At least as much freedom as a peasant girl.¡± ¡°You bear the weight of more responsibility than any peasant girl¡ªor any noblewoman in this country, for that matter! And you possess accompanying rights and privileges.¡± ¡°I never asked for them. I have sought to be worthy of them. But if I am unworthy, perhaps you should set me aside in favor of my brother.¡± ¡°Be serious. He is a young boy. I may not live to see him grow to manhood. If I died and left the throne to him, the country would be your stepmother¡¯s to control. She does not seem to understand the nature of the threats we face. I had thought that you understood better, but you speak as if you do not.¡± ¡°I do! That is why I proposed this filtering mechanism. Only for our security. For our advantage. It is not as if the combat power of my future husband will make him more attractive, responsible, or kind. But the priority is to find someone who can help me keep the country safe.¡± And produce strong heirs, went unspoken. ¡°Hm. Well, perhaps it might work. I know your heart is in the right place, my child. And this may turn out to be the right decision. But it comes at a delicate moment for our country.¡± She nodded and waited for him to explain what he meant. But the King did not seem to want to stay on the more serious subject. ¡°You know that the Duke¡¯s sons will be coming to stay with us in a matter of weeks, yes?¡± His expression brightened as he said this. ¡°Two months from now at most, depending on how difficult the journey is from Dessia.¡± This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°Yes, father.¡± ¡°I know you will take them seriously. Perhaps more so than you have taken other suitors so far. I hope that you may like one of them. Both renowned warriors.¡± Rosslyn simply nodded. Of course her father hoped for that. She hoped so as well. Duke Pruford was one of his oldest friends, and the Dessian military was small but highly effective and well regarded. ¡°In the time before then, I have decided that you and your stepmother should take a journey together. A trip to the border with the Demon Empire.¡± She arched a single eyebrow. ¡°As you wish, father.¡± He did not miss the raised eyebrow. ¡°Should I take it that you would prefer not to travel together with Carolien?¡± he asked. ¡°I have said no such thing,¡± Rosslyn replied in her most neutral tone. ¡°The two of you used to get along so well,¡± the King said quietly. ¡°I remember when I first thought about finding a new wife, after your mother died. Part of the reason was that I wanted someone to provide a soft, feminine presence for you¡ªsomeone who would care for you like you were her own daughter.¡± His voice began to rise with his emotions. ¡°I thought Carolien did that¡ªno, I know she did. The two of you were close for years. The way she looked at you, and the way you looked at her¡ªwell, if she could not be a replacement for your own mother for either of us, at least it felt like you two saw each other as family. Was I simply wrong about that?¡± ¡°No, father. We loved each other well. I truly believe that.¡± ¡°What happened, then?¡± he asked. Rosslyn was silent for a long moment. Her own lovely children with you were born and began to grow. They became the apples of her eye¡ªand I, what was I but an obstacle standing between them and the birthright she thought was almost within their reach? The accusation felt unfair even in her own mind, and far from helpful. Her father did not need to hear her cold suspicions. ¡°We grew apart, I suppose,¡± she said finally. ¡°Two women under one roof. One present queen, one future queen, who shared no blood ties. Perhaps it was inevitable. It is painful to think about that past, in truth. She tried so sincerely to be a mother to me¡ªand I truly loved her in turn. Even if she could not replace¡ª¡± Her own voice grew thick with emotion. ¡°Can¡ªcan we please discuss the journey, father? I would rather not talk further about this. I promise to try to get along with Carolien on the road to the Demon Empire.¡± The King nodded slowly. ¡°Yes. Yes, of course. Part of the idea is to ensure that both of you understand the threat we face. I had already been thinking of sending a diplomatic mission to the Empire for some time. I have now made that determination. Lord Baranack is known for his diplomacy. Perhaps he will have better luck as an ambassador to the Demon Empire than he has enjoyed in finding you a match. You and your stepmother will accompany him. The diplomatic mission to the Demon Empire is the perfect cover for you to visit Stalenton, the Imperial Capital.¡± Rosslyn nodded. Stalenton was close to the border with Claustria, because the Empire had repeatedly moved their capital over the centuries as the nation expanded, to reflect that their priority was always further conquest. ¡°The Empire is the pariah of the continent,¡± he went on, ¡°but they will not attack a diplomatic party. It violates all international norms. Therefore, you will accompany Lord Baranack in secret, disguised as members of his retinue and accompanied by guards who will not know your identities. This is a real diplomatic mission. I would like to suss out the current Emperor¡¯s intentions as best I can. If he will state his future plans openly, then it will have been a more fruitful expedition than I expect. We have not had full diplomatic relations with the Empire in centuries. The mission has some urgency. I have suspected that they were preparing to resume their path of conquest for some time. If that suspicion is correct, we would be their natural first target¡ªas we were their last.¡± He breathed heavily as if the idea brought him great pain. ¡°The safety of all the Goddess¡¯s followers, of the whole continent, rests on our nation. The warriors of Claustria must break the Demon Empire¡¯s advance once again, as we did in the last war¡ªif my suspicions are confirmed.¡± ¡°We are merely to visit the Empire?¡± Rosslyn asked. ¡°Why are both of us going? I know you would not place Carolien or myself in harm¡¯s way lightly. But I do not believe either of us has any great gift for diplomacy or spying. Why not a diplomat or a spy?¡± ¡°That brings me to the other, more important part of your trip¡¯s objective. We have precious few spies within the Empire who can send information to us. When the present Emperor ascended to the throne, he identified and killed almost all of them. Those who have survived are highly placed but only rarely able to provide intelligence. They must maintain a deep cover.¡± He gave her a long, steady look. ¡°Daughter, I am charging you with a sacred mission. A dangerous mission. But you are the only one I can trust. Our noble class, and even the palace itself, have likely been infiltrated by the Empire¡¯s spies. That is how the Demon Empire operates. They have always been better at espionage than we are. The Emperor can offer richer bribes than anything I could present. That is why I had you summoned to the chapel. This is the most secure room in the palace against spying. No secret passages¡ª¡± He flashed her with a small, knowing smile¡ª¡°and a century ago, an archmage cast a spell to render this area immune to magical eavesdropping. Every year, the room is checked to ensure that it remains proof against such measures. I have my most sensitive conversations here. As you will, someday.¡± ¡°Father, what is the mission?¡± Rosslyn asked. ¡°Yes, yes.¡± He nodded, coughed slightly, and took a deep breath. ¡°I need you to meet with our most valuable remaining spy in the Empire. There is a place in Stalenton where she will have a free hour to speak with you.¡± He whispered a name, but he coughed in the middle of speaking, and the Princess had to ask him to repeat it. ¡°Her?¡± she asked. ¡°Really? The Emperor¡¯s¡ª¡± ¡°Hush!¡± he hissed. ¡°Even here, I whispered the name for a reason. If her cover was once broken, the Emperor would have her head on a stake, as with every other spy we have ever had in his country. When he ascended to the throne, he revamped his country¡¯s security apparatus. His secret police are legendary. And she is the only one highly placed enough to be reliable on these most important matters. It is my hope that she can confirm that my suspicions have been mere paranoia. That the Empire is not preparing its army for war. Failing that, try to secure a timetable from her. How long will the Emperor need to prepare his armies if he does decide to invade? How much time do we have?¡± He handed her a scrap of paper folded in half. Rosslyn read it and then nodded. ¡°I will not fail you, father.¡± ¡°As for why Carolien is accompanying you, remember that she comes from a highly placed noble family herself. That was part of my calculation in choosing her as my second wife. I have been trying in my own way to convince her of the danger that the Demon Empire continues to pose for months, but in the absence of solid intelligence, she chooses to remain blind. In the event that the Empire is moving, I will need her to exercise her influence with her family and stir the western powers to action on our behalf. There are rumors that the Empire is fortifying Stalenton even now. It is my hope that if she sees the strength and activity of the Empire at close range, it will force her into an understanding of our situation.¡± Rosslyn nodded. The clarity of her father¡¯s strategic thinking¡ªand his transparent desperation at their situation¡ªleft a strong impression. Her own questions fell by the wayside. The King, her father, was trusting her, finally, with the burdens of her high station. She was the only one he could trust. He had said as much. And he did not look or sound quite well. The stress of believing the Kingdom might come under attack sometime soon was clearly aging him prematurely. It would be unworthy of her¡ªungrateful, even¡ªto question him about Matilda¡¯s vague accusations now. ¡°Will Lord Baranack be aware of my mission?¡± she asked quietly. ¡°Or does he think this is some sight-seeing trip?¡± The King shook his head. ¡°I trust him, but I do not trust him enough for this. He is still a foreigner. Even Carolien will not know what you will truly be there for. She will not know that the trip is happening at all until as late as possible. Nor will Lord Baranack know that the two of you are joining him until the day of the journey. She could say one wrong word to one of her attendants, or he could give some hint of it in his correspondence to a trusted colleague, and you might become a prisoner of the Empire. It is too risky. If you have to sneak away from them during your stay in the city, I trust that you will be capable of doing so.¡± Rosslyn nodded. ¡°Understood. I will exercise extreme care.¡± ¡°Good.¡± His eyes bored into hers. ¡°I hate to give you this terrible burden now, when you are still so young, and I remain healthy and active. But on your shoulders rests the fate of the Kingdom.¡± 47. Magic Training Part 2 Adon moved dozens of sparks of Mana from his antennae to his Silk Spinner. Back and forth. Under his belly and over his back. A repeated pattern that only increased in complexity as he kept adding more sparks from the core of orange light within him. He managed to divide his focus enough to keep the sparks moving on the exterior of his body and delve again into the darkness where his source of power was. The orange light was noticeably dimmer than when he had started. Adon could tell he was running through his energy¡ªthough he would perhaps still have most of it if he tried to pull back the sparks from the outside and return them whence they had come. But that would mean stopping. It was hard to make himself stop. In fact, Adon wanted to push himself further. Add more sparks. Juggle harder and faster until¡ªuntil what? Just a little longer, he told himself. He felt he was on the verge of being able to move on to something more advanced. He did not know quite what this feeling was telling him he would be able to do next, but by now he at least knew his instincts were usually trustworthy. Adon¡¯s eyes unfocused as he gave himself over completely to manipulating the sparks of Mana circulating all over his body. Goldie was doing something above him in the web that involved pacing back and forth. Distracting. Right now, he needed to focus all his attention on this one thing. He needed to give his all, and perhaps become great at this one thing. Adon felt a trance-like state coming over him as he manipulated Mana, and he let it happen. His exercise was all there was in the universe for some indeterminate time. It might have been seconds, hours, or days. Then a sensation in his side pulled him out of his focus. Hey! he thought. Who¡¯s doing that? Adon focused on seeing through his eyes again, rather than using his senses purely for Mana Manipulation. Of course it was Goldie. Poking him in the side with the tiny hairs on the ends of her feet. Gentle but insistent. He activated Telepathy without stopping the sparks of Mana from circulating. He couldn¡¯t help taking some pride in the fact that he hadn¡¯t lost a single spark despite the interruption. This was despite the fact that he controlled more of them now than ever. He had continued adding more of them to juggle through the duration of his trance. He was tired, but very satisfied. What¡¯s up, Goldie? he sent. He couldn¡¯t help noticing that even his inner voice was exhausted. Rest. You need rest. Goldie¡¯s tone was blunter than Adon had ever remembered it being. Rest so you can heal. Adon looked around and realized that it was dark. Not just getting dark, fading gently into nightfall. Pitch dark. He wanted to ask what time it was, but he knew Goldie would not be wearing a watch. It got late, he sent instead. Yes. He could tell Goldie was suppressing the urge to laugh at his response. He controlled his own desire to ask her if she had been pacing around earlier, trying to get him to talk to her¡ªor maybe trying to get him to rest instead of continuing his magical exercises. He felt fine¡ªaside from some mild exhaustion from focusing for hours at a time. Then his stomach growled slightly. The caterpillar and the spider looked at each other. Plenty of food up there. Goldie tilted her head back up at the area of her web that she had given over to caterpillar food storage. Adon felt guilty for not talking to her more after he awakened. He hadn¡¯t realized that hours would fly by¡ªor maybe he had. Thank you so much again for getting it for me, Goldie, he transmitted. Well, someone in that palace likes you, she thought back. She¡¯s actually jealous, Adon thought¡ªbut was careful not to send. One day, you should talk to the Princess, too, he replied instead. It makes sense she would be a little jealous, he told himself. Goldie has lived her entire months-long life in this garden, and she¡¯s never spoken to a single soul except me. It must seem terribly unfair that I¡¯ve had twice as much social interaction as she had, in the short time I¡¯ve been alive. He wanted to say something about that, but Goldie was already walking back up the web toward where Adon¡¯s food supply was. I hope Goldie has been getting enough to eat, he thought. She went to get that plant matter to take care of me, but I¡¯m pretty sure she can¡¯t actually eat fruits and vegetables like I can. Caterpillars, it seemed, were built to be able to eat just about anything, or so Adon had found so far. Adon returned as many of the sparks he had been juggling to the orange orb as he could. He thought that would allow him to recharge much more quickly than just letting them dissipate. Then he began following after Goldie. Trying to outpace her in order to catch up, he quickly realized that he had not yet learned the sticky versus non-stick thread pattern of the web. To Adon¡¯s chagrin, the spider had to walk back and gently pluck him from among the stickier threads after he got himself hopelessly tangled up. Then she carried him the rest of the way, dismissing his meek protests that he wanted to keep trying web walking until he got it right. Later, Adon. Later. You will have time. The way she held him reminded him of being cradled by his mother when he was a baby in his last life. Adon realized that there was no chance, based on Goldie¡¯s body language, that she was angry with him at all. Perhaps she had been a bit lonely, in the last few hours, with no one to talk to. Fortunately, he was highly capable of holding a conversation while eating with Telepathy. He told her all about his progress with Mana Manipulation while he filled his stomach. She praised his hard work but warned him not to push himself too hard. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. You are still caterpillar, and right now, recovering from serious wounds, she thought. You will have plenty of time to become wizard. Adon couldn¡¯t help thinking that Goldie probably thought that herself earlier on, and then she went through her Evolution and closed some of those options off¡ªbut he avoided transmitting that thought. Even for someone who lacked many social graces, there were some things one just did not say. Then it was time to rest. Before he allowed his mind to fade into that dim space between sleep and wakefulness that passed for a bug¡¯s sleep, Adon decided to revisit his Status. It had been a while, and the next time he needed to refresh his memory on it, he might be in the heat of battle.
User: Adon, Mystic Toxic Butterfly Larva Age: 6 days Sex: Male
Status
Health: 66/100(!)
Mana: 285/355
Strength: 94(!)
Agility: 97(!)
Perception: 98(!)
Dexterity: 95(!)
Constitution: 101(!)
Intelligence: 175(!)
Will: 180(!)
Charisma: 91(!)
Skills: Identify, Impeccable Memory, Mana Manipulation I, Past Life Connection, Shed Skin, Spine Shot II, Spiritual Sight
Evolution Points: 1387
Biomass: 65/75
Some interesting changes. His species name had changed¡ªand he had a name now, recognized by the System. Was that just because he introduced himself to Goldie by name? No one else had used his name in his whole life so far. More importantly, all the magic practice was starting to pay off. The System had recognized him as a ¡°Mystic Toxic Butterfly Larva.¡± It sounded like something Adon would not personally want to mess with, which was never a bad thing. Putting Mana back where he got it from seemed to have successfully partially recharged it. His Stats were all significantly higher than he remembered. Based on his Biomass, he was getting bigger and bigger. But most interesting to him right now was the second to last line in his Status. Holy crap, that¡¯s a lot of Evolution Points, he thought. He couldn¡¯t remember ever having this many at once. He immediately checked whether ¡°Specialized Chrysalis Evolution¡± was available, but it was still out of his price range. That was fine, because Adon didn¡¯t want to Evolve just yet. But he was beginning to wonder just how much it would cost. 1500 Evolution Points? 1600? A nice, round 2000? More than that? He would save as much as he had to save to avoid the dreaded ¡°Standard Chrysalis Evolution¡± option, he knew. Given how much more the specialized version cost, the difference might be even greater than the distinction between flying first class versus flying coach. It could be more like the difference between flying first class and trying to cling to the side of an airplane. In this life, he was going to be someone special. Someone who others looked up to, no matter how small he was. Someone who could make friends¡ªhis body felt a little warmer as he thought of Goldie¡ªand protect them. His mind flickered over the various enemies he had faced over the course of his life. This garden is a brutal place, he thought drowsily. I never really understood, as a human, how crazy the insect world really is. He sank into that state of semi-consciousness that for him had replaced sleep. For some number of hours, Adon was lost to the world. As the first flickers of morning light began to shine down on the web, however, he came immediately to himself. His mind returned to where it had been before he began drifting off. Evolution Points, he thought. How to use them. Should I use them now or wait? Although he was typically inclined to spend points as he earned them¡ªwith the exception of the time when he would inevitably have to save for Evolution¡ªright now, he thought he should hold off. His focus was magic at the moment. That would definitely be where he wanted to spend the bulk of his points. But he had already felt himself reaching some natural breakthrough in magic the previous night. When he crossed over that threshold, he thought he would better know where he needed to spend his newfound wealth. And as much as he hated to let his Evolution Points sit and languish, he was not planning to go anywhere anytime soon. As he got up and walked over to eat more fruit and vegetable leavings, he could feel his body remained stiff and slightly sore in several places from the venom. Clearly he still needed more time to recover, and Goldie¡¯s web was easily the safest place he knew. Before I leave, I will definitely spend those points, Adon thought. But right now, I just need to eat and dive right back into magic. Adon walked over and began stuffing his face with fruit and vegetable chunks. This time, he appreciated the flavors as he had not yesterday, when he was so tired. Sweet bursts of juice from cucumber and apple chunks. The heartier flavors of potato peelings. Yesterday, he had gorged himself mindlessly. Today, he feasted with gusto¡ªuntil he slipped into a feeding trance. Munch munch. Chomp chomp. Gobble gobble. Gulp. Before Adon knew it, almost all of the caterpillar food was gone. When he came to, Goldie was looking at him and shaking slightly. Like she was laughing. Adon activated Telepathy. Good morning, he sent. Thanks for breakfast! My pleasure, Goldie replied. You know we will need to go and get the rest if you want to eat more of Princess¡¯s gift? Yes, I do, Adon transmitted. Was something funny? Most of the time, I forget you are caterpillar, Goldie thought. Except when you eat. I guess you don¡¯t eat like this, he sent back sheepishly. I could not if I wanted to, Goldie thought instantly. I would die! I think. Never seen a spider try it. For caterpillar, normal and healthy. Growing big and strong. Larger than me almost now! That made Adon feel a bit better. ¡°Normal and healthy.¡± ¡°Big and strong.¡± Encouraging words. The spider seemed to understand by this point that his weight was a sensitive subject for Adon. He and Goldie chatted a bit more about how the web was doing. They agreed that he might be strong enough to go out and gather more of the food tomorrow, and Goldie encouraged him to spend the day working on magic. By the time the sun was truly up, Adon was resuming where he had left off the previous evening. There was a little process of working his way up to the height of his earlier level of Mana activity. This was not something he wanted to take slowly. By the time Adon took his next walk through the garden, he wanted to have magic¡ªreal magic, not just Telepathy or some limited ability to enhance his body¡ªas his ally. Then the other insects, the lizards, and perhaps even birds would have to fear him. He started to mix the juggling of sparks all over his body with enhancement of specific areas. First his already powerful mandibles. Then his chest, where he¡¯d taken the worst of his bites. Then the legs. He felt all of a sudden as if he could leap into the air. Tackle a bird out of the sky. There were setbacks. As he enhanced one body part after another, he lost a few of the sparks he was juggling. But he kept going. Pulled more power from his core and tried again. As he persisted, there were fewer and fewer mistakes. Fewer lost bits of energy. His Mana became more responsive, more intuitive, more instantaneously obedient to his Will. And Adon felt some wall inside himself begin to crumble. A feeling of power surged through him. 48. Mana Manipulation II Yes! Yes!!! I feel great. I¡¯ve done it! Adon still didn¡¯t know quite what he¡¯d done, but the feeling of accomplishment nevertheless filled him with boundless energy and enthusiasm. He carefully shoved his sparks of Mana back whence they had come, into that orange orb inside. He pulled back the Mana he had been using to enhance himself too. Nothing would go to waste if he could help it. Today was going to be a day of many Mana experiments. With those tasks done, he opened his Status.
User: Adon, Mystic Toxic Butterfly Larva Age: 6 days Sex: Male
Status
Health: 74/100
Mana: 335/355
Strength: 94
Agility: 97
Perception: 98
Dexterity: 95
Constitution: 101
Intelligence: 175
Will: 180
Charisma: 91
Skills: Identify, Impeccable Memory, Mana Manipulation II, Past Life Connection, Shed Skin, Spine Shot II, Spiritual Sight
Evolution Points: 1413
Biomass: 45/75
It was as Adon had quietly hoped. He had leveled up his Mana Manipulation Skill, from the first to the second level, by pure practice, with no purchases from the Evolution Store required. He was sure greater feats would be possible for him now, though it was hard to be certain of exactly what, than had ever been conceivable before. Hopefully some form of spellcasting. Now that I¡¯ve made the breakthrough by practice, do I try it out? See how powerful Mana Manipulation II actually is? Or do I just skip to buying the next level up? The idea of faster progress was intuitively appealing to Adon. He had to remind himself that he had plenty of time. Just like Goldie had said. Alright. He closed his eyes and sought out the dark place inside himself where the orange orb of Mana floated. There were a few obvious differences in that space now that told him he had made some progress. The orb felt more accessible. Like he could pull more Mana out of it more quickly and easily. Almost at will. And the darkness around it felt bigger, as if the space had expanded. There was a difference of kind here, though mostly the change was only one of degree. Adon felt that he could do more with his Mana now. I think I might be able to move it more. Like, further outside my body? He wasn¡¯t certain, but that was what his intuition told him. He opened his eyes. He would test this right away. Adon turned his back to the web and faced outward. If his power actually worked the way he was imagining, he could tear right through the web if he aimed in the wrong direction. He pointed his head at the sky and pulled Mana from his core and into his mandibles. There was a steady, warm glow. Then he focused on extending the Mana further beyond the ends of his mandibles, and he saw it. His power manifesting in the form of an extra couple of millimeters of glowing orange blade that extended from the ends of his mandibles. Although he was dangerously close to losing his cool from being so excited, Adon quickly pulled the Mana back as much as he could. And he started focusing his energy for an attempt at the more ambitious version of what he¡¯d just done. A Mana energy blast from his Mandibles. He felt rather than saw a ball of Mana forming just in front of his mouth. His eyes couldn¡¯t see anything that close to his face, but the concentrated Mana gave off heat. As if he had lit a match between his mandibles. Adon poured more Mana into it, excited to see what he might be capable of. He aimed at a plant around a foot away from the edge of the web, trying to account for gravity¡¯s downward pull so that he wouldn¡¯t strike anything on the ground. When it felt like he would have trouble holding any more power between his mandibles, Adon allowed the ball to fire. It flew forward, straight toward where he¡¯d aimed it, and time seemed to slow down as he stared, transfixed. As soon as it was far enough away from him to see, it became obvious that this was something deadly. Perhaps an attack he could have used to kill the bluebird. It glowed with a brilliance that reminded him of fireworks. Bug-sized fireworks, but still, it was probably more than enough to kill something much larger than Adon himself. Bullets killed things much larger than themselves, after all. Then it struck the plant Adon had aimed at. And kept going. Adon had a harder time seeing it, but it struck small plant after small plant. As he looked on, the plants that had taken direct hits through their stems collapsed, chopped into pieces. Those that were struck on their leaves had neat little holes burned through their leaves. Adon could not see exactly where his energy landed, but he knew from the trajectory that it would have hit the ground somewhere. Could it still be burning even through the ground? Probably not. He had the sense now of what the little ball¡¯s power was. It would have dissipated all its energy after digging a short way through the ground. A very satisfying experiment. Absolutely something I could have used to defend myself against the bird. And what sort of monster would Adon have become if he had eaten a whole bird? Perhaps it was a question he would answer at some point. Adon turned back to the web and saw Goldie looking down at him from a little bit higher up. She had apparently been in the middle of killing a fly that found itself caught in her threads and came upon Adon while he was in the middle of exploring his new power. Now she stared at him, mouth parts gaping wide open, her prey forgotten as it wriggled beneath her feet. He opened his telepathic channel to Goldie. What in world was that? she thought as soon as she realized he was looking at him. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. I leveled up my magic Skill! Adon sent excitedly. Yes. Yes, you did. Her body language looked as if she wanted to laugh and also possibly to run away. Thank you for pointing away from web. I have to be respectful of my host, Adon replied, trying to play cool. He tried to make a little bow, as if he had done a magic trick. Goldie asked him if his injuries were troubling him, though, so it must not have given the impression he intended. Adon reassured her that he was fine, and they returned to the subject of his magic. How exactly do you do that? Goldie asked. A Skill I bought, Adon explained. I have Magic Perception and Mana Manipulation. I can pull energy from the Mana core inside me, and I can move it around. Yes, I remember you told me about that before, Goldie thought. But it seemed less impressive. I could not see anything when you were doing it. Practice turned it into that? Adon nodded eagerly. I leveled the Skill up through repeated use! Goldie looked pensive. Never happened with any of my Skills, she thought finally. Always purchased new levels. Must be difficult. Perhaps I was just cheap, Adon thought semi-jokingly. You were ready to invest so many points in silk-related Skills and Adaptations and so many into venom, and I just bought the basic level and spent time grinding. The spider nodded as if what he had said might be some secret knowledge. Maybe it really was. Adon was aware that most of the insects and even non-insects like Goldie were hyper-specialized in one area. Since that seemed to be a species-determining decision, Adon imagined that ants were all hyper specialized in the same traits as the colony as a whole. If that was the case, what did it mean to be a generalist butterfly? A jack of all trades caterpillar? Adon had been treating it as if that meant he had the opportunity to grow in all directions, and so far, that approach had paid off. What if it meant his final form as a butterfly would be less optimized for any particular survival strategy? Would Evolution allow him to keep all the Skills and Adaptations he was steadily building up? Or would his scattered, noncommittal approach be a negative in the end? Brooding again? Goldie thought, interrupting Adon¡¯s self-doubts. They shared a telepathic laugh. You¡¯re starting to know me really well, he sent. It is a pleasure to know you, she replied. What are you feeling uneasy about? He explained his concern about possibly being a jack of all trades butterfly, and how that might mean he was limited to a low level of proficiency in each of the many areas he was investing in, by contrast with Goldie¡¯s more specialized approach. I have not been alive long enough to know all different forms a butterfly or a spider may take, Goldie thought back carefully. But if that Mana ball thing was you as a jack of all trades, then I would not worry about being a master of any. Your magic is already better than anything other than a human I have seen. I probably need to be even better, though, Adon could not help instantly answering. Goldie stared at him for a long moment before she asked a strained sounding, Why? Why indeed? Adon immediately knew his answer, though. Because I want this to be my best life. My most impactful life. My strongest life. Ideally my longest life, although I know I can¡¯t control that completely. Being an insect and all. He stopped himself before he sent the next words that came to his mind. They burrowed themselves into his subconscious. A thought he would try never to vocalize. Why would I be content just to be a normal bug? He recognized that those words would be a slap in the face to Goldie. An insult to everything she had achieved as a spider. Because she was content as a normal bug. No. Content was selling it short. Goldie was happy. The only thing she had lacked was companionship, and now she had it. She had a mate, a prosperous web, and she had seemingly made a sort of peace with her mortality, at least until Adon presented the possibility of longer life to her. Probably her way of coping with the world was healthier than his. Adon¡¯s drive to try and be the best bug he could be was a desperate reaction to his experience of his past lives. He had not recited his mantra in a couple of days now, but it was still engraved in his mind. Do everything, and you¡¯ll win. Do everything, and you¡¯ll get what you want. Don¡¯t fall back into old habits. Don¡¯t live another shameful sham of a life. There was pain and bitterness in those words, but wasn¡¯t there truth in them as well? Goldie and I have opposite ways of living in the world, he realized dimly. Then the spider was beside him, and he was pulled out of his existential angst by the realization of her proximity. Hey, she thought quietly at him. You know you are enough the way you are, right? Adon didn¡¯t know what to say to that. He didn¡¯t know if he was enough or she was enough or if he could ever be enough. He knew his past self had not been enough. He knew that with the fiery passionate hateful certainty that only self-loathing could give. But he did not want to reply, No, I am not. What would that say about Goldie? Then the spider pulled him into a hug. You are my only friend, she continued. You are strongest caterpillar I have ever seen, and you have protected me and my mate from danger even though we are supposedly superior species to little caterpillar. You are braver than I am. Almost suicidally brave. You are stronger than I am. Probably much smarter. Nearly guaranteed to live longer. You have had more impact in your short life than I have through all my months. If you are not enough, despite all you have done in your life, who is? Her long legs caressed the back of Adon¡¯s exoskeleton tenderly, affectionately. The words and the physical sensations made Adon want to cry, though it was something he as a caterpillar could never do. In his last life, no one had ever held him that way besides his mother. Goldie, you are my best friend, he transmitted. Like the big sister I needed but didn¡¯t have. He feebly returned her hug with his shorter, stubbier legs. Even with as much as he had grown over the last few days, he still wasn¡¯t nearly as graceful with his limbs as Goldie was. But? Goldie asked. I disagree with you about me. I don¡¯t think I¡¯m enough. I¡¯m deficient in so many ways. His chest was heaving now with long, heavy sobs, even though he had no ability to cry. I wanted to learn magic and get better at it because I almost got both of us killed in that fight with the Klepto-Spiders. It should¡¯ve been easy for me! I know we¡¯re not the same, but I¡¯ve been kind of a fighter since I was born here, and¡ª Adon, you¡ª Please let me finish, Goldie. I know you want to make me feel better. But I¡¯m not ready to achieve the kind of inner peace you seem to have all the time. I need this life to be amazing. I need to achieve great things. I¡¯ve got a big chip on my shoulder. You see, we¡¯re different, because I can remember all of my past lives. Not completely, but the highlights. The important bits. And I was a failure in every single one! I have to do something amazing with this life, because I think it¡¯s the last one I get. Then my soul gets recycled or something. I don¡¯t know what happens when you end the cycle of death and rebirth. I just know I didn¡¯t achieve, in any of those lives, what I was meant to. This is my last chance. Goldie pulled back from him. Her body language looked painful. As if someone had stepped on her or something. Do your best, then, little caterpillar. I will support you the best that I can. Her inner voice sounded tight, stressed. Choked up, maybe. She pulled his head close to her abdomen and stroked it with the little hairs on her feet. And even though she was as cold as ever, Adon almost felt a warmth coming from her. Though he knew it had to be from within himself. Maybe his Mana core. Maybe just his own emotions playing with his physical senses. Then Goldie went to go eat her fly, and Adon returned to trying to master magic. The brain download that had given him most of his practice ideas so far told him what he should do next, but he was nearly certain that he couldn¡¯t do the next step without Mana Manipulation up to an even higher level. The inner world where he found his Mana core and the surrounding darkness should look and feel a bit different than it did. It was time to forget his inner turmoil and go shopping in the Evolution Store. 49. Communication and Miscommunication Adon opened his Status back up, and he accessed the Evolution Store. There was no aimless wandering this time. He had clear ideas of the things he wanted, and he looked for them efficiently, almost impatiently. He felt a terrible sense of wasted time. Maybe he was just filled with a burning desire to make some achievement because he still felt a raw wound that had been exposed in his conversation with Goldie. Mana Manipulation III was available now, for 200 Evolution Points. He added that to his cart along with Mana Manipulation IV for 400. Wow, he thought. I felt rich for a moment, but I can¡¯t actually afford Mana Manipulation V. And there was a Mana Manipulation V, but it cost 800 Evolution Points. That¡¯s fine. I think III and IV will probably be enough to get started. He added Mana Perception II and III for 60 and 120 Evolution Points respectively. He wasn¡¯t going to let the rest of the points sit there right now either. He needed more than just magical power. This extended and painful healing process suggested that Weak Regeneration II, which he had purchased in a mental haze after fighting¡ªand partially eating¡ªthe Ladybug Larva was no longer quite good enough for Adon¡¯s needs. He added Weak Regeneration III for 60 Evolution Points. Then Regeneration I became available for 120 Evolution Points. Then he threw in Color Change III for 200 Evolution Points. Hopefully it would get easier for him to use with this upgrade. Adon saw a few new options appear when he added Color Change III, but he couldn¡¯t afford any of them if he kept his existing items in his cart. If he put Color Change III back, the new options disappeared. Oh well. I¡¯ll have plenty of time, right? Adon used most of his meager remaining points to double down on other existing abilities. Spine Shot III and IV for 48 and 96 Evolution Points respectively, Acid Fangs II for 40 Evolution Points, and Venom Spines IV for 48 Evolution Points. He decided that he would dump the remaining 21 Evolution Points into Stats. They were slowly but surely increasing as he killed and consumed more high level opponents, but that wasn¡¯t really making them more balanced. Leaving the Evolution Store and going to invest in Stats also allowed him to wait a little while before he locked in the purchases and the painful process of upgrading his body took effect. He would happily procrastinate in this area. New or upgraded Adaptations were something he had gradually learned to dread. As he looked over his Stats, he realized that he had almost enough free Evolution Points to bring all of his lower numbers to 100. He invested the 21 free points, and there was a very satisfying change to the Status screen, with his weakest attributes all suddenly tied at 99.
User: Adon, Mystic Toxic Butterfly Larva Age: 6 days Sex: Male
Status
Health: 75/100
Mana: 215/355
Strength: 100
Agility: 99
Perception: 99
Dexterity: 99
Constitution: 101
Intelligence: 175
Will: 180
Charisma: 99
Skills: Identify, Impeccable Memory, Mana Manipulation II, Past Life Connection, Shed Skin, Spine Shot II, Spiritual Sight
Evolution Points: 1392
Biomass: 42/75
He felt slightly more confident as he looked over the numbers, and he couldn¡¯t help wondering if that was because he was getting better and more powerful¡ªand therefore had more warranted confidence¡ªor because increased Charisma was associated with increased confidence. Either way, he supposed he was happy with the result. Finally, he returned to the Evolution Store and completed his purchases. This time, the process wasn¡¯t as bad as he had grown accustomed to expecting. Some uncomfortable heat all over his body, as his exoskeleton and spines and mandibles upgraded again. But it was as if he was physically more prepared this time. Perhaps more mentally prepared too. Adon endured without crying out or losing consciousness. When he could feel that the Adaptations had all taken effect, he took a break from getting stronger to have lunch with Goldie. My body still hurts, he thought as he walked up the side of the web. The pain from the spider bites is duller for sure, but it¡¯s not fixed yet. Hopefully after I get some food in me, the regeneration process will speed up. Adon wanted to practice magic, but he realized he was almost as eager to go hunting again. Catching and killing his next big enemy would bring him another step closer to a summit he could not yet see. And it would help him to improve Goldie¡¯s life and her probable longevity. If I can do that, then any sacrifice it requires will have been worth it. In some place near the back of his mind, Adon was also aware this would validate his approach to this life. If his intense way of going after things in his new life ended up extending Goldie¡¯s life, didn¡¯t that mean that Adon was right to live that way? To make those choices? He and Goldie positioned themselves next to each other on the web and exchanged light telepathic conversation as Adon ate. Goldie had already consumed her meal for that day¡ªshe really didn¡¯t need to eat nearly as much as Adon¡ªbut she kept him company anyway. He told her about his new purchases, and she seemed pleased that he had upgraded his regeneration and not just magic-related items. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Soon you will be back on your feet, she thought. You too, Goldie, he thought but did not send. You too. Hopefully with your next Evolution, the world will open up for you. To Goldie, he replied, Thanks! I felt like I was taking longer than I wanted to heal. I don¡¯t want you to have to go out and hunt down more food for me. The spider shuddered slightly. Not certain how I would manage that, honestly. Do not understand how you manage life as a hunter. Adon felt a bit of pride at that. It was one area where he felt he had a bit of an edge over other insects his own size, and even Goldie was a reluctant hunter. I had no choice at first, he sent. Slowly, a part of me is actually growing to like it¡ªI think? Or maybe I just like to feel competent. Like I know what I¡¯m doing. I¡¯ve been very successful as a hunter, based on the System¡¯s reactions. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m good at much else. I¡¯d probably be as scared to talk to a group of people as you are of hunting. Goldie thought about that for a few seconds. But you already talk to me all the time, she thought. Yeah, he transmitted back without needing to think, but you spend half of the conversation trying to make me feel comfortable. I know that¡¯s not normal. He thought about it for an extra moment. That¡¯s one of my goals, though. To be able to talk to people, even in groups. He looked the spider in the eyes. I bet you¡¯d like that too, wouldn¡¯t you? Goldie did not need long to consider. She nodded. Definitely. I assume by people, you mean humans? He affirmed with his own nod. I don¡¯t know if other bugs think like us. My suspicion is that we¡¯re different. I knew you were special from the first time I saw you. He was going to elaborate, but Goldie was excitedly thinking at him, almost in a stream of consciousness. Good, then. I was a little scared about the prospect of socializing with mantises and scorpions. This tiny world of bugs is scary. Going out and trying to hunt reminded me of that. I am ready to go on this human world adventure with you, Adon. I think I probably was a human once. Though I prefer not to try to dig into the places I cannot remember. But that comment reminds me. I have been thinking about it, and I would love it if you could try to connect me with Red¡ªthat is what I have been calling my mate in my mind. I want to see if it is possible. Adon was slightly surprised. I remember you were reluctant before. What changed your mind? I was reluctant, Goldie replied. I was worried that we may discover we do not like each other. But you remember the story I told you about what happened when you were asleep? He nodded. I do. While we were out looking for food for you, she continued, we were attacked by a lizard. No, not accurate. In truth, I was attacked. Red could have run away, jumped off my back, and he would have escaped. We were saved temporarily when a bird came and scooped up the lizard. But we would have ended up being bird food if the bird started eating the lizard while I was still attached to its tongue. Another chance for Red to escape, though, while the bird was flying. Instead, he climbed onto the lizard¡¯s tongue and cut through it. Adon was nodding as Goldie spoke. He remembered all of this from her explanation of what had happened. Because of his courage, you both survived, he summarized. Exactly! Goldie dipped her head up and down fervently. What I realize now is that no matter what his personality is, I like him. If we can talk, I want to talk. Even if he dies tomorrow, I want to know him today. I want to remember him for however long I live. My life can only be improved by getting closer to Red. Adon wanted to smile. This made perfect sense to him, and in the back of his mind, he felt a little bit of hope that he would make another new friend. He hadn¡¯t wanted to start up a conversation with Red on his own, and he still wasn¡¯t certain whether it would actually be possible or not. But he was excited to make the attempt. I¡¯m glad you feel that way, he sent. I¡¯ll try to communicate with him. Adon mentally prepared himself. Some of the old nerves from when he had first spoken with Goldie crept back in, but he was able to quickly quash them. This will be easy, he told himself. Just remember how excited Goldie was to talk to someone for the first time in this life. Assuming Red can talk, he¡¯ll be so happy to finally have someone to communicate with. And when I tell him I can connect him with Goldie¡ªWell, Adon could only vaguely imagine how happy he would be to communicate with his romantic partner for the first time after having a purely silent relationship for weeks. It seemed like a very specific sort of situation. Finally, before he could chicken out, Adon reached out with Telepathy and aimed at the place on Goldie¡¯s back where Red normally was. Hello, he sent. Can you hear me? For a moment, there was silence and stillness. Adon was about to ask Goldie whether Red was actually there in his usual place, or if they needed to go and find him wherever he was hanging out on the web. Then Adon saw movement. Red¡¯s head poked out from on top of Goldie¡¯s back. There you are, Adon sent. Red looked around, up and down and sideways, as if searching for the source of the voice. It¡¯s me, over here! Adon transmitted. He waved his forelimbs to get Red¡¯s attention. Red finally noticed Adon was the source of the sound in his head and turned to face him. Can you understand me? Adon sent. Red just stared blankly at Adon for a long moment. Then Adon received an image directly from Red¡¯s mind. The picture was of one of the Kleptomaniac Dewdrop Spiders. He¡¯s wondering why I got his attention, Adon thought. He shook his head at Red. No, there are no enemies nearby. Can you understand what I am saying? Nothing but another blank stare back. Adon tried sending an image this time. The image wasn¡¯t something real. It was something Adon had concocted with his imagination. Just a depiction of Goldie hugging Red. The smaller spider seemed to become alarmed at this. He jumped off of Goldie¡¯s back and scurried up the side of the web, out of sight. Goldie turned her head and looked after him, alarmed. Adon, what did you say? she thought. I couldn¡¯t communicate with words, Adon replied. He figured out how to communicate thoughts back, but he sent me an image of one of the thief spiders. He thought I was communicating because there was a threat. I was trying to tell him there was no threat, and then I sent him an image of you hugging him. Oh. He probably thought I was going to eat him. I figured that out after he ran away, yes, Adon replied. Well, he has not run away so far, Goldie thought, and he knows I have not eaten him. He will calm down eventually and return to where he belongs. Adon nodded. I think so. Sad we could not actually talk, though. Yes, Adon agreed. His heart was a little broken for Goldie. But he supposed it had always been a long shot. Thank you for making attempt. I will let you return to your wizardry. Goldie patted Adon on the back with one of her front limbs, and she retreated to a different corner of the web than the one Red had run off to. I hope I didn¡¯t ruin their relationship, Adon thought after he had broken the telepathic connection. But he didn¡¯t allow himself to dwell much on that subject. It was time to dive back into magic. Adon plunged into the darkness once again. 50. Magic Breakthrough Adon found himself in a field of darkness that was qualitatively different than it had ever been before. On previous visits, he had found himself in a black infinity that seemed simultaneously empty and inaccessible. A void that had the property of being closed off to him. The black space was not a place he could move around in, except for in the sense that he could reach out to the orange orb glowing at the center of his field of view. Now the orange orb floated above him like a magic lantern. Now the space was accessible. Adon stepped forward in the universe of shadow, and he felt things in what he had supposed was emptiness. One thing in particular. Power. He could not tell if the energies he sensed lurking in the darkness were sentient life forms cloaked in shadow that simply exuded immense power. Objects of power? Embodiments of magical knowledge? Or perhaps this place was complex in a way that he could not yet understand. Whatever its nature, some form of magical power called out to him. Shapes in the void that pulsed with energy. He could feel life-changing amounts of power in every direction. Adon turned his head to one side and then the other, uncertain of where to move first. He gazed up at the orb of orange light above him. It looked as large as ever, and as he watched, it floated down closer to where he was, to illuminate the area around him. A path emerged. The sight only fed his unease, though. Everything the light touched remained black as if it was still in thick shadow. The path was a sprawling, chaotic zigzag formed of non-linear shapes, undistinguished by different shades of color or even varying levels of darkness. It was all black, with void separated from vaguely distinguishable solidity only by depth perception that could easily be an illusion. Confusing geometries unfolded themselves before his eyes. It felt like they were taunting him. Like the space itself was mocking him for his limited understanding. Poor caterpillar, no one to teach you magic. Follow me, I¡¯ll instruct you. You¡¯ll learn the hard way, though¡­ Adon shook his head. I¡¯m psyching myself out. This place isn¡¯t sentient¡­ probably. He gave the path a fresh look. It seemed for a moment there might be an infinite number of routes he could take. Then his eyes moved to stare down one of them as far as he could, and suddenly there was only one path he could see, the rest having disappeared even from his peripheral vision. He turned his head again and the walkway changed its direction and shape. Then the same thing happened again, and a third, as yet completely new, path appeared. The changing images began to give Adon a headache. He allowed the darkness to dissolve into the light of day once more. Took a few deep breaths in the normal world with its comprehensible geometry. Went over in his mind what the System¡¯s brain downloads on Mana Manipulation had told him. That place really is dangerous. He knew that much. But it was also where the real power and potential of magic lay. In that shapeless void, where magic could be found that might be harnessed to suit any function. Or that might unravel Adon¡¯s body and mind. Focus on a goal, he told himself. No aimless exploration. Just think about what you want right now. What you need magic for. And don¡¯t worry about it mocking you. It¡¯s a place, not a person. Places don¡¯t taunt people. There were so many things that came to mind. So many things he wanted to learn. He could really make use of some offensive magic. Maybe something that allowed him to fly? Okay, that probably wouldn¡¯t be useful for very long. Maybe healing? Good old fashioned fireballs? Just pick one. Something basic but practical. How about illusions? I¡¯ve already been learning a lot about how light moves and how vision works as my eyes developed and as I¡¯ve practiced with Color Change. That might make it easier to learn. He plunged back down into the endless darkness. Illusions, he told himself. Illusions. He controlled his breathing and focused his mind on that single thing. Slowly but surely, a walkway became visible. After only a moment of hesitation, Adon followed it. The orb of orange light thankfully came along with him to light his way. He had barely moved at all on his last trip here, but as he walked through the darkness, he could feel things off the path¡¯s edge that wanted him to touch them. And perhaps more concerning, things that wanted to reach out and touch him. Come over here, some places in the darkness seemed to say, and we can show you what magic really is. Flashes of possible death sometimes appeared in Adon¡¯s mind¡¯s eye as he passed these spaces. His body, dissolving into a puddle of Biomass. His exoskeleton, petrified like an ancient tree. His brain bursting out of his body. These were wild, uncontrolled magical structures, Adon was fairly certain. His brain download mentioned them. An archmage might try to tame such structures and coax them into the shape of a teachable magical discipline. But just as likely, the untamed energies would overwhelm the user and either kill them or drive them to insanity. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Adon was no archmage. He simply wanted some basic, simple magic that he could actually learn and use. Some part of this vast place that some brave person had already experimented with and organized into a user-friendly form. He stuck to the path like it was a safety blanket, though he had no way of being certain that it was safe. Better than the open wild of the void, though. The vast emptiness could tear his soul apart¡ªand end his cycle of reincarnation prematurely and permanently. Adon drew near what seemed to be a possible endpoint to the path¡ªthis walkway seemed to have more than one choice of endings¡ªand found himself before a great black statue with a crooked form and thousands of limbs. Illusions, it seemed to whisper. Vast illusion power, readily available. Adon was almost ready to reach out to it. And he felt the statue reaching back. Then something tightened in his chest. No, this feels wrong, he thought. This image is too imposing¡ªand scary. Illusion magic shouldn¡¯t be some vast, mysterious figure standing in front of me. More like a stage magician with a wink and a silly costume. Adon pulled away, stepped back. He felt his foot step off the path, but it didn¡¯t matter, the path was only a mental construct of his own creation, he wouldn¡¯t fall anyway¡ªand then he thought he heard the statue¡¯s voice in his head. Why do you run from power? Endless desperation inside you. We could give it shape, focus, purpose! Come back. Come back¡­ Adon distanced himself quickly, and as he did, he heard the figure screaming behind him. Why do you run?! Come back, insect! Come and take your destiny in your hands. The power is here! He found himself running blindly and forced himself to slow down. So this is the world of magic. He understood why other bugs didn¡¯t seem to mess around with it. Whatever force that was, it probably would have destroyed him, consumed him, and then complained into the void that his life wasn¡¯t much of a meal. He forced himself to calm down. Tried to control his feelings. It¡¯s fine. You have good instincts, he told himself. Whatever that magic was, it was far too aggressive for you. And you just proved you can discern danger from opportunity pretty well in here. It¡¯s fine. Everything is just fine. He resisted the urge to leave the darkness behind and come up for air and light. Not until he had something to show for his efforts. If he left now, he wasn¡¯t sure if or when he would have the courage to return. Adon slowed his run to a walk but kept going in the same direction he had been when he was running from the strange statue. Whatever the statue was, he wanted to be as far away from it as possible. Hopefully something in the opposite direction would be closer to what he wanted. He passed several shapes that gave him uncertain or negative feelings. He didn¡¯t want to try experimenting with anything that felt like the statue just now. He tried not to even get close. With the orb of magical power lighting his way, Adon managed to keep his distance from the ominous figures that loomed out of the void. He walked until he did not know how long he had been walking. Until his mind was almost numb. Finally he felt himself drawing closer to something in the darkness. Something with its own shape and identity, much like the statue. But smaller. And it emanated a gentle warmth. He took another step closer, and suddenly it hovered in front of him. A vaguely wispy shape, like cloth. An outline that was completely dark¡ªhidden from a clear view by dense shadow even as he stood right in front of it. But Adon felt safe in this area. He tried to analyze the sensation, and he thought he might be in a well traveled part of the void now. The shape across from him gave off a sense of light and warmth, even though it was cloaked in shadow. Okay, he thought. Here goes nothing. He reached out tentatively to touch the warmth of the shape, and he felt warmth flow through his body. His actual physical body, not just the astral form he projected into the void. The warmth made him a little nervous for a second. Was he about to light himself on fire? Then he felt it seeking out the spider bite wounds. The places that were still sore on his body began to feel better. The deep hurts became shallower. The shallow pains began to recede completely. I found healing! Adon realized excitedly. It was not the illusion magic he¡¯d been looking for, but in many ways, this was something more useful and important. Even as he allowed the power to flood his body, he devoted a part of his mind to memorizing this feeling, this use of Mana. He knew he would need this again and again, perhaps hundreds or thousands of times, if he managed to make this life a long one as he intended. Perhaps it was fortunate that he had come here with injuries that would ordinarily have taken days of healing for him to recover. The magic took its time to remove every trace of the spider venom from his body. It was both accelerating his natural healing speed and actually purifying his body of the hostile foreign substances injected by the enemy spiders. That meant that as he clung to the shape in the darkness, Adon got a very strong impression of how the magic worked. It was something relatively intuitive in the first place. Not so different from how he had simply and easily gained the ability to enhance his physical attributes with Mana. This might be the most basic kind of magic besides just moving pure Mana around, actually. But he felt a sense of accomplishment anyway. As the last of the venom was purged from his body, Adon knew the method for healing had carved itself into his mind. He would not need to return to the void again for this. I know healing now, he thought. He would need to practice to develop the ability properly, of course, but he had taken his first real step into the magical world. Then the space around Adon shook. He refocused on his immediate surroundings within the void and realized that the light from the orb had almost completely faded. He was swathed in near complete darkness. What the¡ª Adon found himself standing in Goldie¡¯s web again. His head was starting to hurt, and Goldie herself was staring down at him with her head tilted slightly to the side. It took him a moment to get his bearings. He jerked his head from side to side and tried to shake off the headache, but it was weirdly persistent. After he thought about what had happened for a moment, he understood what had happened. He checked his Status to confirm what he already knew. Of course. My first time using healing magic. I don¡¯t have that much in reserve in the first place, and I needed to recover from that spider toxin¡­ I used up just about all my Mana. 51. Vendetta Goldie gestured with her forelimbs to mimic a mouth opening and closing. She obviously wanted to know what had happened. She could tell that something important had taken place. Adon activated Telepathy for a split second, just to send a quick message. Used all my Mana, can¡¯t talk! Then he deactivated Telepathy and returned to silence. A quick check of his Status revealed he had just one point of Mana left. Adon wanted to delve back into the magical void and come out with something more powerful and aggressive than healing magic. But he knew he needed to recharge his Mana, or he would wind up paralyzed with a murderous migraine like the last time he allowed himself to completely run out. His head was already killing him, but the last few days of repeated Adaptation and serious injuries had slowly adjusted his tolerance level for pain. He could compartmentalize and continue to function at a high level. On the other hand, Adon¡¯s body felt better than it had in living memory. That healing magic was the real deal. All of the pain from the spider bites was gone. He walked up the side of the web to where the remnants of the food Goldie had brought for him remained entangled. There was very little left. Just scraps of scraps. Skins of apples and cucumbers, a little hunk of cob from an ear of corn. Goldie walked to where Adon was beginning to eat his food, and she engaged him in a sign language conversation. Forelimbs raised with the undersides of her feet facing up¡ªthe equivalent of standing with her palms showing. Strong body language for: So? How did it go?! Adon shoved in a bit of apple skin, then gestured at his chest. Where there had still been some obvious visual signs of injury, his skin was pristine. He raised both his forelimbs in a ¡®V for victory¡¯ stance, and Goldie tapped his right forelimb in the arthropod equivalent of a high five. Goldie sure is articulate with just body language, Adon thought. I guess it¡¯s not surprising since she spent almost her whole life here unable to talk to anyone verbally. As for him, he really missed being able to use Telepathy. He checked his Status again to try to estimate how long it would take for his Mana to refill. It hadn¡¯t been very long, so he still had very little. 4 points of Mana now, slightly over thirty seconds after he had dropped to 1 from using magic and Telepathy. By his reckoning of time, it looked like he was regaining about 5 Mana per minute. Hopefully faster once I¡¯m on a full stomach, he thought. Although he had not been especially hungry before using magic, his Biomass was a lot lower now than it had been too. There was probably some correlation between the magic he¡¯d been using and burning through some of that. I already knew I was going to go hunting again soon. I don¡¯t even use Mana for that most of the time, so this should be fine. He looked at Goldie. I have to tell her I¡¯m going. He felt a bit bad about it. I¡¯m going to go put myself in danger again. You stay here! He started to pantomime himself walking away, then throwing punches, and she started twitching with agitation. She used her forelimbs to point at him, then at the web. He didn¡¯t need Telepathy to know what she wanted to say. Damn it, Adon, you stay right here! You only just recovered from being shot full of venom. You¡¯re in a spider web. We have a steady supply of food coming. Adon pantomimed jaws opening and closing with his front arms and tried to emulate the sound of a stomach growling with his limited vocal capabilities. It sounded goofy, but on the bright side, Goldie clearly understood, and she looked like she was laughing inside. The spider got very close to Adon and began looking him over for any signs of remaining injuries. He held still for this inspection, confident that she wouldn¡¯t find anything, and finally, she let him go and stepped back. Then she started going through the motions of sign language again. She used her forelimbs to point at him, then at the web, again. Adon started to shake his head. No, I need to leave¡ªbut then Goldie waved her left arm from side to side frantically, indicating, No, no, you misunderstand me. She tried again. She used her forelimbs to point at him, then away from the web, and finally back to the web. Well, of course I¡¯ll come back, he thought. Are you really worried about that? We had a pretty long chat recently where I was insisting that I wanted to feed you more advanced animals, so you could Evolve again. Then Goldie made a gesture that surprised him. She moved her front limbs to make a round shape, and she pulled her front limbs in front of her body. It looked just like she was cradling a baby. She pantomimed him leaving and coming back again, then repeated the gesture that looked like holding a newborn baby. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Adon checked his Mana. It was still only down at 22 points, but he couldn¡¯t resist anymore. He activated Telepathy. You¡¯re about to lay eggs?! he sent in an almost exasperated tone. Yes, she thought back. Waited until you recovered. Will wait again until you return from hunt. Must happen soon. Okay, I¡¯ll be back soon, Adon transmitted. The pounding in his head was starting to get really painful again. This is great news. Talk to you later! He switched Telepathy back off. He was down to 7 Mana now, but that felt like a very rewarding use of his limited resources. He had felt a certain amount of temptation to let his Mana recharge before he left, just in case he wanted to be able to use his Mana energy ball against any large predators. Now it was obvious that time was of the essence. Maybe I should just go back to the basket Goldie mentioned the princess left and get some food there instead of thinking about taking down big predators right now. But no. That wouldn¡¯t quite work. He needed food for Goldie, too. He remembered her telling him that she would be weakened after she laid her eggs. That was why she was so worried about the Kleptomaniac Dewdrop Spiders living in her web. So, naturally, she would be unable to hunt and unable to leave her web for a while, and she would need to rely on him and Red to defend her while she recovered. That meant she would also need food. Adon didn¡¯t want to leave her alone too often in her recovery. So he should stockpile food now. Okay, I¡¯ll go to the basket and get a quick recharge there, and then I¡¯ll take down some kind of big predator. Maybe even a bird! He was joking to himself, but there was a part of him that thought he could really do it. An energy ball that could tear through plant stems like a hot knife through butter could probably pierce a bird¡¯s breast, too, couldn¡¯t it? First the food that¡¯s just sitting there waiting, though. Hopefully none of the gardeners or the other bugs in the garden would have cleared it away already. Adon walked through the familiar territory of the garden, moving briskly with his fully recovered body. Heading straight for the place where he had first hatched. Minutes passed uneventfully as he covered ground quickly and easily without straining himself. Adon did not bother trying to hide his movements. Let anything that wanted to taste some venom come and get him. Perhaps sensing his complete lack of fear, whatever predators might have been active in the area chose not to show themselves. He knew when he¡¯d made it close to the basket, because there was a lot of activity there. Long lines of insects moving in and out of the basket. Ants. Specifically his old enemies, the Vendetta Ants. Goddess damn it. Those damn thieving ants again! Adon felt a righteous fury swell in his chest. Why couldn¡¯t these ants leave other people¡¯s food alone? He had used their greed for any food supply that wasn¡¯t nailed down to his advantage before, but this was a big nuisance. Adon looked off into the distance, and he could make out the shape of the anthill the Vendetta Ants were moving to and from with scraps of his food. He checked his Mana pool. He had 120 points of Mana now. Charged enough¡­ It was just enough power to tempt him. Enough that he could use that Mana energy ball he had launched at the shrubbery before. There was a small part of him that wanted to hurl one of those things right into the middle of the anthill. Adon tamped that impulse down. The attack wouldn¡¯t kill all the ants, after all. It would just destroy everything directly in its path until it came to rest. The energy might even collapse the whole anthill and kill most of the colony. But so what? That would be momentarily satisfying, but how would it help Adon or, just as importantly, Goldie? There would undoubtedly be survivors, and they would hold a grudge, just like on the previous occasions he had encountered them. They might even be able to trace his path all the way back to Goldie. Adon was larger than he¡¯d ever been. He probably left more of a smell trail than he would have as a newborn baby caterpillar. He might get himself and Goldie killed¡ªassuming he even made it back to the web. The energy ball wasn¡¯t a very useful trick for facing a large number of small enemies, and Adon didn¡¯t have enough Mana to use it more than once or twice in total anyway. Ironically, at the moment, the ant colony might be a more difficult opponent for him than a random bird. If the whole horde of them went after him¡ªthousands this time, rather than the hundred or so he had faced before¡ªthey could whittle down his stamina just as well as if he was a newborn again. Alright, forget about killing them all, he thought. Maybe I could dive into the basket and just snag some of the food. How would they take that? Would the ants be possessive of the food that they had stolen? Would they begrudge him whatever scraps he could carry off? He wouldn¡¯t put it past them. Vendetta Ants seemed like specialists in the emotions of envy and bitterness. It¡¯s not worth the risk, he thought, frustrated. I fucking hate these things! Fine, shit, I¡¯ll just eat some other bits of plant life to get the energy to go hunting. He turned his head and began scanning the environment for a plant that might be particularly nutritious. Then a flash of blue light appeared in his peripheral vision, and Adon¡¯s head snapped forward again. That light came from near the ants¡­ Adon saw something stranger than anything he had witnessed in this short life. It was fantastical, magical, and slightly horrifying. Every single ant in view was on fire. The flames that licked at their bodies were not ordinary orange-red flames, either. They were blue. Normally that means they must be much hotter than normal, right? Adon thought. In this case, he could not be completely certain if the blue fire meant heat or simply that the flames were magical. They certainly were magical, of course. The caster stood across from him and in front of the ants, watching them burn and nodding to herself. Her hands were empty of any material that one might use to start a fire. A slight glow was gently fading from around them, though. ¡°The gardeners should have exterminated these things weeks ago,¡± Princess Rosslyn said, looking down at Adon with a small smile. ¡°Before they grew their colony to this size. Vendetta Ants are notoriously dangerous and stupid. In addition to stealing food that was originally meant for caterpillars, they are very prickly. They attack anything that makes them angry. Even humans. They have very little sense of self-preservation. But if you lack access to magic, a large number of them could be deadly. How about you, Adon? Do you have magic?¡± As she spoke, Adon kept looking back and forth between her and the dying ants. Some of the burning creatures had managed to make it into the anthill, and Adon saw the first wisps of smoke rising from within it. 52. Inter-Species Dialogue Magic? Adon thought. I guess I do have magic now. A little bit. Just healing, though. It¡¯s not exactly useful for killing enemies. He didn¡¯t know if that was something the Princess would be impressed by. And he wasn¡¯t sure about the idea of talking to her. Adon¡¯s body felt hot and stiff with tension. The idea of talking to a human would have been intimidating enough without it being royalty. Adon had spoken to the Princess once before, but that was back when he could barely use Telepathy. He had only needed to string a couple of words together, and then he was paralyzed with pain and out of Mana. I don¡¯t even know what to say¡ªor how to say it. Do I need to use special honorifics? Your Highness? Your Royal Highness? Your Most Supreme Majesty? Fortunately, the Princess didn¡¯t seem to need him to fill the silence. After waiting a few seconds to see if he would respond to what she¡¯d said, she continued talking. ¡°I am taking a trip soon. It could be anytime now. I wanted to visit the garden before I left. This is probably my favorite place¡­¡± Adon observed the Princess¡¯s actual appearance, looking through the golden glow that surrounded her, for the first time. She¡¯s surprisingly muscular for a woman, was his first thought. Maybe she¡¯s a warrior princess? Every part of the Princess¡¯s body was toned, like that of a professional athlete. Her face was one of the only soft aspects. Simultaneously pretty and fierce. Full lips and smiling eyes, though as she mentioned her travel plans, he detected a different emotion behind those eyes. Fear? At least nervousness. ¡°I cannot say exactly where I will be going,¡± she said, ¡°but these are dangerous times. Our country may face an attack by the Demon Empire if our ongoing diplomatic efforts in various regions are unsuccessful. I am glad I decided to visit this place again before I leave. Normally the garden brings me a great deal of inner peace.¡± As he watched, Adon became certain that the Princess was actually afraid of something. Apparently worried about taking this trip that she was only willing to vaguely talk about. But what could scare her? While she was speaking, some of the remaining Vendetta Ants that were not yet affected by her magic had charged at the Princess, only to instantly burst into flames. They died without ever reaching her feet. Yet the Princess did not appear to have taken any notice of them. Whatever magic she was using, Adon imagined she must be extremely proficient at it. I¡¯ve been naive, he thought. I keep feeling like I¡¯m making great leaps forward. But it¡¯s all relative to the size of this little garden. I¡¯m probably a big fish now, but only in this tiny pond. She¡¯s about to go swim in the ocean, where there are things¡ªpeople¡ªscarier than her. Considering how deadly the Princess was relative to any creature Adon had ever met, that was saying something. She must be very brave. Adon listened to her soft voice continue to dance around the subject of her diplomatic mission, and he wanted to help her or encourage her somehow. She was working to protect her country, which was where he lived too. He activated Telepathy. He wasn¡¯t certain of what he wanted to say yet, but he knew he needed to express something. Even if he couldn¡¯t actually provide any help or comfort. If he just let her feel like she was talking to herself, he would be the same socially awkward loser he had been in his last life¡ªand in so many others. ¡°I know you can hear me,¡± the Princess said, shifting subjects. ¡°Understand me, I mean.¡± Oh, she does know that she¡¯s not just talking to herself, he thought, carefully keeping the thought contained in his own mind. ¡°I refuse to believe it a coincidence that beside your plant, I heard a voice inside my head.¡± The Princess¡¯s voice grew quiet as she spoke those last few words. Adon could imagine her embarrassment if people heard her admitting that she heard a voice in her head. She continued on, her tone slightly stubborn. ¡°And you have a name. Identify shows that your name is Adon. Just like the spider I saw here, who was trying to collect the vegetables I had brought for you. She had a name. I thought that she might be a friend of yours. Now that seems to be confirmed. It cannot be happenstance that the two of you both have names. If you would talk to me¡ª¡± Goldie! Adon had found his voice. At last, something he could say. What?! The Princess seemed surprised to actually hear his voice in her head, even though that was clearly what she¡¯d been aiming for. The spider, Adon sent. Her name is Goldie, um, Your Highness. Now that he had spoken to the Princess, it was a bit like a dam had broken. He could talk without any trouble¡ªor at least, he felt confident enough talking about Goldie. ¡°Oh, of course. Ah, I knew you could talk!¡± Thank you, by the way. For the food. And for not hurting Goldie. Um, I also appreciate you wiping out the Vendetta Ants. ¡°Honestly, they will probably be back next year.¡± She shrugged. ¡°It is the natural cycle. Even if we try to exterminate them, they return every time.¡± Her expression turned to a twisted smile. ¡°Back with a vengeance each Spring.¡± Was that a joke? Adon realized too late that he had actually sent the question through telepathy. Shit! He managed to contain this thought, at least. ¡°It was an attempt, at least,¡± the Princess said. She chuckled to herself. ¡°I suppose you do not care if the ants come back anyway. By this time next year, the Goddess will have given you your wings. Another aspect of the natural cycle. You will not have to bother with us lowly surface creatures any longer. A butterfly, like a bird or a dragon, flies where it will. National borders and disputes need not concern you.¡± She looked almost envious. ¡°Any more than the lives of ants.¡± Adon didn¡¯t know what to say to any of that. He hadn¡¯t thought much about leaving this garden. He had considered how he might involve himself in the world of humans. How he and Goldie might expand their social circle. But never the idea of flying across national borders. That seemed more like a dragon thing than a butterfly thing to him, although he was vaguely aware that some butterflies did cross vast distances. ¡°Anyway¡ª¡± The Princess changed the subject again, and Adon realized he had failed to respond to everything she had just said. ¡°Are there other, um, talking bugs out here?¡± Just me and Goldie, Your Highness. ¡°You do not need to keep referring to me as ¡®Your Highness,¡¯ Adon. My name is Rosslyn. Butterflies and their offspring are traditionally of elevated status in this country anyway. Think of yourself as the monarch of your own species.¡± She stroked her chin thoughtfully. ¡°So only you and Goldie can talk. I had the idea that she was your friend, but she was completely silent when I picked her up. She can really talk too?¡± Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Thank you, Rosslyn. It felt a bit strange to use her first name, but he would try to get used to it. She can¡¯t use telepathy, but she can think verbal thoughts. Most bugs can only sort of think in pictures, as far as I can tell. ¡°Interesting. And how did you learn to talk?¡± I always had an inner monologue going, ever since I was born. Then I had to unlock the Telepathy Adaptation to be able to communicate. I also paid through this world¡¯s System to learn your language. The Princess shook her head with a wry smile. ¡°Sometimes I feel jealous of mystic beasts and monsters,¡± she said. ¡°The sheer possibilities of endless growth. Learning languages without studying! Of course, most nonhuman creatures lack the wit to properly take advantage of those advantages. Um, I mean no offense by saying that. You are obviously an exception. I wonder what makes you so different. Even other caterpillars and spiders I have seen in the past were not like you. Most of them fail to make it to adulthood, in part because they are not as intelligent as you are. I used to see them a lot more when I was a girl, but I never met one who spoke. Do you have any idea why you ended up so special?¡± I¡¯m still, um, sort of connected to my past lives. She stared down at him intensely for a few seconds, to the point where Adon wondered if he had said something wrong. It felt almost as if she saw inside of him. Could she see an aura around him, the way that he could see hers? Adon didn¡¯t know if he had something like that and couldn¡¯t see it when he looked down at his own body. ¡°You and the spider are a very interesting pair,¡± Rosslyn said finally, speaking softly. Well, we manage to keep each other amused, Adon transmitted. The Princess smiled again. ¡°Definitely an unusual pair. The garden has always been relaxing, but to think it has become a source of mystery¡­¡± Adon had to think carefully about what he wanted to say to that. Should he tell her something about his encounter with the Goddess? About his reincarnation? ¡°You know,¡± she continued, ¡°the spider is actually on the coat of arms of one of our close allies. The caterpillar¡ªwell, actually the butterfly¡ªis on our coat of arms. And in this difficult period for the country¡ªfor the continent as a whole¡ªthe two of you happened to appear in our garden. Two creatures connected to their past lives, with the ability to think as humans do. I wonder what this could mean. It has to be intentional. The Goddess does not do such things for no reason. I should ask my father about this. He is more knowledgeable than anyone I am aware of about our national history, particularly as it pertains to mystic¡ª¡± Um, please don¡¯t tell anyone about us! Adon sent the message before he could stop himself or even give it much thought. He was still a bit viscerally afraid of the idea of meeting too many new people. And he hadn¡¯t thoroughly discussed the idea of joining human society with Goldie. It seemed like the sort of decision one couldn¡¯t simply walk back. ¡°Would you mind telling me why?¡± I¡ªwe¡¯re not ready to meet other people. Yet. ¡°Not ready yet,¡± she repeated. ¡°Implying that later, you might change your mind?¡± That¡¯s exactly it! ¡°Fair enough, then. Maybe we can revisit this when I get back.¡± Thank you. ¡°Even my father, though? I feel certain he would honor your privacy.¡± I would have to meet a King? Adon thought but did not transmit. He was already talking to the Kingdom¡¯s Princess, but the way she had taken an organic interest in him was different. Adon imagined a conversation with the King turning out more like an interrogation. I appreciate you holding off, Your Highness, he sent. ¡°I might feel the need to tell him about you at some point, Adon,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°I should be honest about that. Our Kingdom may be in worse straits than I am aware of now. If there is any possibility that you could make the difference in our country¡¯s survival¡ªor in its continued independence¡ªI could not live with myself if I failed to explore that.¡± I understand, Adon transmitted. Though he really did not. The idea that a tiny bug could make a difference in the life and death of a nation was a strange one. I barely make a difference in the survival of other creatures in the garden. ¡°How old are you?¡± Rosslyn asked. Adon realized he had transmitted that last sentence. It was meant to be an internal thought. Need to get much more practice controlling that before I talk to any other humans. He managed to keep that to himself. A week, Adon sent. I have a lot more years in terms of life experience, though. You know, in my last life, I was a human who lived to twenty-six. Rosslyn nodded and smiled at that. Then she counted backward on her fingers. ¡°You were strong enough to kill a Ladybug Larva when you were basically a newborn,¡± she said. ¡°You might feel as if you lack the power to influence the fate of nations, but exponential growth is the strongest power in the world. If more monsters were intelligent, they would overrun us. Someday, as a butterfly, your effect could be far out of proportion to your size. I hope you will not turn away from greatness. A small creature can cast a long shadow. I think that might be the meaning of your kind¡¯s appearance on our coat of arms. We were once a small nation, too. And we still remain small in comparison with the Demon Empire. But we have pushed their invading hordes back more than once over the centuries.¡± Adon felt simultaneously reassured and slightly anxious as Rosslyn expressed her expectations. Could I really achieve some form of greatness? he wondered, careful to contain the thought. Could a little butterfly change the world? It was more than he had dared to hope. Thank you for the kind words, Princess, he sent. ¡°Rather than words, is there any action I can take that would make life easier for you and Goldie?¡± she asked. Adon thought about it. He could ask for more food, but he still had the box full of food that Rosslyn had already provided. She had just killed his rivals for possession of the box, so whatever was left inside was his to consume. And anyway, he intended to eat mainly high level life forms from now on, to improve his and Goldie¡¯s chances of getting an Evolution soon. On that note, he could ask for a steak, but he couldn¡¯t imagine how the Princess feeding a steak to a couple of arthropods in the garden would be okay. It would either be a dead giveaway that there was something special about the bugs in question, which would cause Adon and Goldie to be exposed to more people, or it would be a scandal. Imagine what the gardeners and cooks would say to their friends. While we¡¯re out here living in our hovels and munching cabbage, the Princess feeds her pet bugs on steak and caviar. Revolution, my friends! Peasants of the Kingdom, unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains¡­ And if Adon wanted to continue doing his own hunting, he could not now ask the Princess to take him and Goldie inside the palace, where they would probably be safer. He would have to master a whole new ecosystem if he wanted to hunt the small animals that likely lived in the palace. So would Goldie. That might not actually end up being safer for anyone except perhaps Goldie¡¯s babies. And if it prevented him from getting Goldie to her next Evolution, it would be counterproductive. This was also all assuming that Rosslyn was completely benevolent herself. She seemed nice so far, though she had introduced herself by lighting a bunch of other insects on fire. Possible red flag. But if Adon started taking favors from her, then he would owe her. Maybe he would wind up roped into her country¡¯s future wars, whether he liked it or not. He might be willing to help¡ªto the extent that a caterpillar could be an asset in war¡ªbut he wanted to feel that he had the choice, not that he was acting because he accrued a debt to the royal family without thinking. This was supposed to be his best life. So he was going to keep maximum agency for as long as he could while he figured things out. He was still only a week old, after all. I don¡¯t think there is anything we need right now, Princess, he finally replied. But if you don¡¯t mind¡ªI mean, if you¡¯re interested¡ªit would be great if we could talk again when you¡¯re back. I think Goldie would enjoy that too. Rosslyn nodded and flashed him a final, pearly white smile. ¡°I would like that, Adon.¡± 53. The Law of Nature After Adon and the Princess said their goodbyes, he hopped up onto the side of the box of scraps the Vendetta Ants had died pursuing. In what felt like a miracle, the cardboard seemed to be completely untouched by the flames. But of course, Adon knew it was not a miracle. The actual targets of the Princess¡¯s magical fire were cinders now. But nothing else in the garden had burned as far as he could see. Just ants. I¡¯d better make sure I never tick her off¡­ There were still some excellent scraps inside the box. The ants had not come close to finishing their thievery. Apple chunks, some slightly wilted leaves of lettuce, and the tops of several carrots with the green leafy portion of the plant. Enough vegetation to fill Adon¡¯s Biomass to the maximum. He stopped eating at that point, and he wrapped some of the food that remained in a silk bundle, which he suspended from his birth plant. Now that he had some backup food in a slightly safer place, it was time to resume his task of searching for high level prey. Adon activated Color Change and started walking. With the new upgrade of Color Change, he needed very little focus on his body¡¯s coloration to keep adapting to shifting backgrounds. It was a bit like working the pedals of a car when you¡¯ve been driving for years. So his mind was free to focus on other tasks. He kept his main pair of eyes peeled for movement on the surface level, while his Simple Eyes looked out for movement above the horizon line. And he thought about next steps. He was looking for a species that was above him in the natural hierarchy to kill, but if he could deal with the bluebird permanently, that would be a weight off Adon¡¯s mind. He didn¡¯t like the idea of a Godzilla sized monster out there somewhere, nursing a grudge against him, though he supposed it would be funny if they were to meet again someday, and Adon was a flying magical creature that could kill the bluebird in a hundred different ways. Still, he preferred to deal with the probable problem now rather than wait for it to fester¡ªor, if the bird was smart, wait for it to follow him home one day and then attack Goldie and Red while Adon was out hunting. As he moved across the garden, Adon visualized how his fight with the bluebird might go. He could probably use his Mana-infused mandibles to cut the bird¡¯s wings right off of her body, but that would leave him open to whatever desperate moves the bird might try at close range. A better way to go might be that Mana energy orb. But he pictured the bluebird dodging away from the glowing death ball before it could do any damage. She might even understand something about Mana. It felt like that sucking wind attack was supernatural. Maybe she infuses Mana into her lungs or something to pull things through the air. So he would need to be at close range if he wanted to use the Mana energy attack. Maybe I get in close like I¡¯m trying to make it a physical fight, and I try to fire the energy ball at her head as soon as I can get it charged. The bluebird was fast, though. The more Adon thought about a possible future encounter, the more he felt that he needed some advantage. There was every possibility that he could blow the bird¡¯s head off with that ridiculous attack, especially if the bird tried to suck him in with her vacuum cleaner breath attack. But it seemed equally plausible that the bluebird would rip him in half before he could charge and fire a sufficiently powerful burst of Mana, or that she would dodge and turn the tables on him. How many shots do I even have with the energy ball? he considered. Maybe as many as seven, if he was being generous with himself and assuming that he didn¡¯t need to use Mana for anything else during the fight. That seemed unlikely. So probably more like four or five, allowing for me enhancing myself a few times during the fight and saving a little bit to heal myself at the end. And he resolved not to use the energy attack on the bird even once unless they were in a close quarters fight. If she knew that he had a weapon like that, the smart thing to do was fly away. The bluebird hadn¡¯t seemed stupid to Adon. He visualized getting in close, blowing the bird¡¯s head off, and dragging the body away behind him, the stump of the neck bleeding. The thought was a little gruesome. But he couldn¡¯t help observing the bright side of taking on such a large creature. Even if he blew its head off, the energy ball wasn¡¯t big enough to destroy all that edible meat. He, Goldie, and Red would have plenty of food for the next couple of weeks while she recovered from laying her eggs. They could lie low without going hungry, and they would even be moving closer to their Evolutions. As his mind produced this pleasing image, his Simple Eyes detected movement in the sky. Adon looked up with his more powerful main set of eyes. Oh, that¡¯s not it, he thought. There was a crow flying through the air. He was a little apprehensive about trying to fight any bird larger or smarter than the bluebird¡ªand crows were both larger and smarter, from what he saw now and remembered from previous lives. Adon reassured himself that Color Change was still active¡ªhe did not want any new birds taking an interest in him. And he kept walking, watching both ground and sky. There seemed to be very few creatures active in the immediate vicinity of where he had his conversation with the Princess. Probably something to do with the presence of the human flamethrower who had wiped out the Vendetta Ants. In Adon¡¯s more mundane previous world, animals survived humanity largely by avoiding people and other apex predators. They had special instincts and heightened senses relative to humans for those purposes. If he had to guess, Adon wouldn¡¯t be surprised if Rosslyn¡¯s display of magical power had scared off a lot of bugs and other animals that could sense magic. Frankly, he felt a lot safer with the garden less openly active. But I hope she didn¡¯t scare all the other animals away. A fight with another mantis would do him a lot of good right now. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Adon¡¯s Simple Eyes alerted him to movement in the sky again. He looked up to capture the shape with his main eyes, and there she was. He was almost certain of it. That has to be the same bluebird from before, he thought. She had taken off from the roof of the palace, he realized, observing her flight trajectory. I wonder where she¡¯s going. What was she doing on the roof? And where does she live now? Adon was all but certain she would have abandoned her old home after most of her eggs were stolen from there. He stood and watched the bluebird as far as he could. She flew over the garden only a short distance before she dove down somewhere that Adon couldn¡¯t see. Some shrubbery was blocking his way. Only a few seconds later, however, he saw the bluebird rushing back up into the sky, a worm-like creature clutched in her claw and another in her beak. As Adon watched, the bluebird flew back up the rooftop and appeared to land somewhere just out of sight. Though he stood there watching for several minutes, she did not poke her head out again. The nest must be on the palace rooftop. Adon felt a little nervous about the idea of fighting on the palace rooftop, but there were some obvious benefits to approaching the bird while she was guarding her hatchlings. Baby birds, just like caterpillars, couldn¡¯t fly yet. So the hatchlings would be low in mobility. Adon could target the hatchlings, and the bird would naturally have to react to protect them. Or he could target the bird, knowing she would not be able to move far from her hatchlings. Even if she picked up the hatchlings to keep them safe from danger, that was one or two of her limbs that she wouldn¡¯t be able to use in the fight. A bit like the advantage Adon had when the bluebird chased after her own eggs during her first fight with him. It was exactly the sort of edge he needed to have the best odds of taking down a vastly more powerful creature. Adon decided to go after the bluebird. Any doubts he had were alleviated by reminding himself that he had survived the last encounter with the bluebird with barely a scratch, and he was much more powerful now than he had been then. This time I¡¯m not here for the baby. This time I¡¯m coming for you. He walked over to the palace main building. It was a long but uneventful stroll. The bird made it look easy, with her wings. When he reached the outside, he began slowly, steadily climbing up the outer wall. He was almost to the top when he saw the bluebird¡¯s head peeking out from the rooftop. I see you. Then the bluebird took to the air again. For a moment, Adon thought she might have seen him, and she was going to come over and attack him before he could get his footing on the rooftop. But Color Change was still active. As he watched, the bluebird flew in the opposite direction, slowly moving away from him. This is perfect, he thought. I can get into an ambush position on the rooftop and attack her from concealment when she comes back to the nest with more food! He quickly climbed the rest of the way onto the roof and began making a beeline for the nest, which he saw was a clumsy circle of twigs, leaves, thread, and other detritus, partially shielded under a raised loose roof tile. Then he sensed swift movement in the air with his Simple Eyes. He turned his head so that he would have a chance to react if the attack was coming for him. But he needn¡¯t have bothered. The shape that moved, which Adon had not noted before¡ªwhen it was a tiny shape floating in the higher regions of the sky¡ªhad bigger prey in mind than a caterpillar. Adon used Identify as the creature swooped down and took hold of the bluebird with two sets of what appeared to be long, razor sharp talons. Soaring Red Kite (Female) Oh my Goddess. A terrible cry echoed through the air. Then the bluebird was silent. And the kite began winging away, droplets of red falling from between its locked claws. Oh my Goddess¡­ It seemed a horrifying fate for the bluebird, though Adon knew it was no better than what he had planned. But this was just so unexpected that it was hard for him to swallow. He watched the kite until she flew out of view, toward the woods that Adon could now see lay over the garden wall. As the kite moved out of his range of vision, Adon realized that the reason he was staring was because some tiny part of his mind was wondering if he could kill that bird. If he could figure out where the kite lived and poison it or blow it away with magic. But as soon as he confronted the thought, he knew it was foolish. Far too ambitious for a caterpillar, he told himself. You can defy the law of nature to some degree. You can prey on a bluebird, if you try to give yourself every possible advantage. But that thing is a real predator. It probably eats bluebird once a week. If you try to go after that kite, you¡¯re as dead as that bluebird. Adon almost felt sorry for the bluebird for a moment as he reflected on how she hadn¡¯t had a chance even for a moment. Then he remembered where he was. There is no one to defend the chick, at least. Adon began moving quickly toward the nest again. As he did, he saw another creature¡ªanother bird¡ªracing to the same place as well. That crow he had spotted earlier had apparently marked where the bluebird¡¯s nest was. Perhaps it had intended to rob the bluebird of its hatchlings regardless of whether the bird lived or died today. It might have just been waiting for an easy moment to attack while the bluebird was distracted. The larger crow would have won a fight between itself and the bluebird anyway. But now it would get a meal with no fuss. As Adon raced forward, the crow landed and began pulling the nest forward, out of the shadows of the raised roof tile. Its eyes seemed almost to gleam with avarice. Adon began charging Mana in the space between his mandibles, as he had the last time he used his energy ball attack. The crow, focused on tearing away the bits of plant to get at the hatchlings, paid the invisible caterpillar no mind at first. The first of the baby birds came into view, and the crow began pecking at the coral-pink hatchling. Adon felt a tug at his heartstrings for the tiny creature even though he still intended to eat it himself if he got the chance. A moment later, the crow¡¯s eyes took on a slightly orange glint. Its head turned to face Adon. And it dropped the baby bluebird, already bleeding from where its wing nub used to be, and began advancing toward the caterpillar. Even though Adon was camouflaged, his energy ball was not. It had no skin that could blend in with the environment. Fortunately for Adon, the crow seemed more fascinated than afraid. That¡¯s right, he thought. You guys love bright shiny objects, don¡¯t you? There was nothing brighter and shinier in this world, as far as Adon had seen, than concentrated Mana. The crow leaned in close to get a better look, and Adon let loose his attack. 54. Crow Adon¡¯s energy ball shot forward from between his mandibles, straight toward the fascinated crow. As he watched, it struck the crow between the eyes. The projectile kept moving after hitting, as if the crow¡¯s body provided almost no resistance. It burned a neat hole through the center of the beast¡¯s head, and then it emerged through the other side, its arc seemingly almost unchanged from the trip through the crow¡¯s skull. The energy ball kept falling through the air behind the crow until it landed on the rooftop. Adon saw it scratch a thin groove along the rooftop tiles before the energy ball disappeared over the edge. It seemed much smaller, he noticed, by the time it fell from the roof. He guessed it wasn¡¯t going to do much more damage on the way down, considering how weak it looked after carving its scratch into the palace roof. The crow¡¯s body flopped to the ground in front of Adon, writhed for a few seconds, and then lay still. An instant kill. Adon¡¯s body released a tension he hadn¡¯t even realized it was holding. If I doubted the effectiveness of that attack, there go my doubts. His eyes lingered on the grooves he¡¯d dug into the roof tiles. I¡¯m glad I didn¡¯t break through the tiles more, he thought, although he definitely wanted to eventually obtain that kind of destructive power. But right now, he wasn¡¯t interested in busting holes in the royal roof. The hatchling was chirping weakly, but Adon almost tuned it out. He was still in some mild shock. I killed a crow. That thing was even bigger than the bluebird. It¡¯s incredible that I did that. He didn¡¯t think he had even been afraid at the moment he attacked. Just ready. Ready to kill. When did that happen? When did Adon become that kind of creature? Regardless, he thought he liked the change. Adon didn¡¯t like being afraid. He liked this newer, more dominant position in the natural hierarchy that he was beginning to feel he¡¯d attained. Mostly thanks to this energy attack, he knew. Nothing else he had could have killed the crow. Even if he shot it full of venom spines, and assuming the venom was enough to kill a creature so much larger than him, the crow would at least have managed to try to fly away. The only problem with the energy attack, at least as a weapon against creatures in the palace garden, was that it was extremely visible. Adon was just fortunate that crows were attracted to bright shiny things. It might also provide an advantage if he went out hunting moths. But for everything else, I need to get illusion magic, he thought. Like I thought before. Then I could disguise this. It would be even better if he could disguise the crow¡¯s body right now. Adon thought he might have a hell of a time getting it back to Goldie¡¯s web. With luck, all the nearby predators that had made themselves scarce after the Princess burned the Vendetta Ants would still be in hiding. Without luck¡­ The hatchling¡¯s chirping got louder and more frantic, and Adon was forced to turn to face the creature. Poor little bird. The hatchling was very obviously a newborn. For one thing, it was noticeably smaller than Adon, though given how much his size had increased over the last few days, that was perhaps not saying much. The coral-pink skin, eyes that remained sealed shut, and the very thin spattering of downy feathers all gave off an impression akin to that of a very ugly newborn baby. But Adon had never seen a newborn baby gushing blood from a severed limb before. Or crying for a mother who would never return. A newborn of any species should never be attacked this way, he thought, dimly aware he was probably being some kind of hypocrite. He had gone after eggs of other species before. Still, this feels just a bit different. Just a little bit worse. Not for the first time, Adon felt a bit disgusted by the natural world he inhabited. Before his thoughts could paralyze him, Adon stepped closer to the nest, aimed a handful of his venom spines carefully at one of the sealed shut eyes, and he fired them into the hatchling. That quieted the crying and brought the pain to a swift end. There. All better. Adon wanted to cry, but for better or worse, it was something that a caterpillar could never do. Instead, he forced himself to keep moving. What was next? Before he returned to the crow, he took a few seconds to move right up to the edge of the nest, so he could see where the other hatchling was. Adon was surprised to find only an egg beside the corpse of the hatchling he¡¯d just killed. I guess they hatch one at a time or something? He wondered if insect eggs and bird eggs worked the same way. Then he shook his head. It doesn¡¯t matter right now. Adon turned back to the giant creature he¡¯d just killed. He decided to wrap the crow in silk as quickly and thoroughly as he could, and hope he didn¡¯t get noticed as he crossed the garden. At least there were no Vendetta Ants to try and steal from him. And the Exploding Carpenter Ants were nocturnal. Hopefully I can get away with this. Adon began wrapping the crow at what was left of its head, and by the time he reached the top of the body, he realized he might have underestimated the difficulty of this project. He decided to cut the wings off to make the package more compact, and he infused Mana into his mandibles to do the job. Even simply cutting the wings away from the body was a time-consuming task. Adon was using his Simple Eyes to track the sunlight now, and he estimated that it took half an hour. On the bright side, he felt certain that this would make the rest of his task much easier. The wings were the bulkiest part of the body, but also full of bone and tough muscle. Hopefully the breast and the organs would make better eating as well as an easier to carry package. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Adon spent the next hour wrapping the rest of the bird in silk. It took so much Biomass out of him that he took a break near the end and consumed the bird egg. He had decided he would wrap the hatchling and try to come back for it later. The egg was as delicious and filling as he remembered, though the contents were much crunchier than they had been a few days ago. As he ate, Adon slipped into an eager feeding trance. Munch munch. Chomp chomp. Gobble gobble. Gulp. After he came out of his post-meal euphoria, Adon finished wrapping the crow with renewed energy and noticeably increased physical Strength and Agility. It appeared the same rule about eating species above him in nature¡¯s hierarchy still applied. By the time he finished enclosing the crow in his weird, impromptu body bag, not a feather was left uncovered. I¡¯m a lot better at wrapping things than I am at building webs, he thought. He gave the same treatment to the hatchling much more quickly, and then he removed it from the nest and moved the corpse back where the nest had been, hiding it under the loose tile that the bluebird had relied on to conceal her babies. Adon suppressed a series of morbid thoughts at that. Inspecting the sunlight, it was clearly midafternoon now. Maybe around three o¡¯clock in the afternoon, in human terms. Adon did not want to encounter nocturnal creatures on this trip. They were bigger and badder overall than the day dwellers. It was time to go. Getting the crow off of the palace roof was the easy part. Adon pushed, and then gravity did all the work. The crow rolled down the side of the gently sloping roof top until it fell out of sight. Then Adon jumped after it. The fact that falls could not hurt him meaningfully was an incredible perk of his present size. He wondered if he would still enjoy that trait as a butterfly. When he landed, Adon connected himself to the crow bundle with the thickest, strongest silk string that he could manage. And his labors began. He dragged the crow across the garden, working like a beast of burden to get it to Goldie. Even with his repeatedly enhanced Strength, it wasn¡¯t easy. But he was at least more than capable of pulling the crow, even if he did have to take breaks every twenty minutes or so. I used to worry I wasn¡¯t going to get any exercise, he thought during one such pause. Now look at me! He would end up a super strong caterpillar, if his heart didn¡¯t give out in the attempt to get this meat home. He imagined he would have made a ridiculous picture, if anyone could actually see him. His mind had no other tasks to focus on but watching for predators, continuing to move forward, and maintaining Color Change, so he remained completely invisible as long as potential enemies weren¡¯t smart enough to recognize that something was dragging this carcass around. Happily, most creatures were still hiding after Rosslyn¡¯s display of magical pyrotechnics earlier. The few creatures that were bold enough to come out and threaten to steal Adon¡¯s prey¡ªa few lizards, a relatively small mantis, and a beetle¡ªwere easily dissuaded. Adon shot them full of venom spines, and each opponent ran away as quickly as legs could carry them. The venom spines seemed to be a much more powerful attack than they had once been, penetrating deeply into enemy flesh. He hoped that the venom was also much more potent, though he would not have time to collect the bodies of his possible victims. Getting the crow to Goldie was all that mattered. This was the most superior sort of species she could possibly want to eat. Though Adon faintly recalled that she had not actually asked him to do this. As he was just coming within sight of Goldie¡¯s web, and the sun was getting low in the sky, he felt a heavy tug on the silk line connecting him to the crow corpse. Adon looked back, and he saw a spider standing atop his silk bundle, fangs embedded into the crow. Injecting venom. That wasn¡¯t particularly bad for Adon. Venom was only harmful when injected, not when it ended up inside of one¡¯s stomach¡ªthe reverse of poison¡ªbut who was this thing trying to steal his food? Identify. Green Huntsman Spider (Female) That''s a scary name. Yet Adon didn¡¯t fear her. The spider was smaller than Goldie, and therefore also smaller than Adon had become. He was invisible, while the spider was a bright green, clearly camouflaged to blend in with leaves. Out of her element. I can take this thing. I kill birds now. I can¡¯t be afraid of random spiders. He charged his energy ball attack. He wasn¡¯t sure that venom spines would be enough to scare this creature away¡ªand anyway, he was feeling a bit more aggressive. He was going to kill this thing quickly and get to Goldie. By now, he was at full Mana again. At first, the spider ignored him and continued moving around atop the crow corpse, injecting her venom in different places in the large bird. He was completely invisible, so he was not particularly surprised that she paid him no mind. But as he finished charging the attack, the spider finally looked in his direction. He had a glowing energy ball clutched between his mandibles. Even with his body blended into the ground, she could at least see the bright light. Adon waited for her to look away again. The spider turned to the side, so most of her eight eyes were pointed in a different direction from Adon. He figured this would be his best moment. He fired¡ªand the spider sprang off of the crow with a crazy-quick movement. Adon was ready for this. He looked away from where the Mana ball had flown and aimed his spines at the spider. He fired a barrage of those. She tried to dart away again, but five of them impaled her, stabbing through her abdomen and one leg. Time seemed to slow down for the spider as she looked at the crow carcass, then back in Adon¡¯s general direction. She clearly didn¡¯t know quite where he was, only the area where the attacks had come from. The spider stood stock still for a second. Adon felt that they were in a sort of standoff, as the spider decided whether to spring toward him or flee. He readied another wave of spines to shoot¡ªand suddenly, the spider ran away. The tension suddenly dissipated, and Adon was left with a slight feeling of lightheadedness. Wait, did that really just happen? A spider ran away from me? A spider with ¡°Huntsman¡± right in the name, too. And a female. Adon pumped his left front leg. I did it! He felt no sense of regret that he had failed to kill the spider. Only an intense pride at having become dangerous enough that enemies who normally ate his kind would actually run away after exchanging a few attacks. He looked for a moment for the signs of his energy ball¡¯s damage, but he couldn¡¯t see them. Where the ball would have gone after missing the spider, there was a thick tangle of shrubbery, so it seemed the damage he¡¯d done would be lost in the mess. Finally, Adon resumed walking. There was no reward for almost killing the Green Huntsman Spider. Nothing except that he could complete his journey in peace. Adon dragged the crow the rest of the way to Goldie¡¯s web, and he stashed it carefully underneath the structure Goldie had built. He had to lift part of the web out of the way to do it, but he was proud that he had somehow made it this far. I basically run this garden, he thought. I¡¯m the man! Figuratively speaking. Then he reached out to Goldie with Telepathy. I¡¯m home, he sent. Welcome back, Adon. The sound of her voice was slightly strained, almost as if she was ready to pass out. Adon felt a sense of tension again. This time it was much more than what the Green Huntsman Spider had given him. Are you alright, Goldie? he asked, trying to contain his alarm. Oh, of course! she replied. Do not need to worry. I have just laid my eggs. 55. Leaving Home Should I have told him that I feel a connection to my past life too? Rosslyn asked herself for the fourth time since her meeting with the caterpillar Adon. And again, she shook her head and dismissed the idea. I would just sound like a fraud. I have only flashes of memory and vague intuitions. It sounded as if he remembered most of his past life. Enough to be a defining element in his present identity. And maybe even multiple lives? She had been replaying the encounter with Adon in her mind for days since it happened. It seemed to her perhaps the most consequential meeting between a human and nonhuman in a century or more. At least since the last treaty with the Demon Empire. The demon race weren¡¯t monsters or mystic beasts, though. They were humanoid. To some scholars, it seemed as if they were just creatures placed in the world to test humanity¡¯s faith in the Goddess. The mystic beasts were more mysterious. Rosslyn had searched the library for records of previous contacts with the creatures over the last few days, and she had visited the garden hoping to see Adon again. But neither effort had borne fruit. Records of previous contacts were sparse, and Adon had been completely absent from his birth plant when Rosslyn returned to visit it. She regretted that she had not asked more questions about his life in the garden¡ªlike something as basic as where he and Goldie lived. And now Rosslyn stood outside, the rain lightly pitter pattering on an umbrella held by a servant over her head. About to leave the palace for weeks. Perhaps longer. When would she be able to resolve the mysteries of this caterpillar? Would he even be here when she returned? He could conceivably become a butterfly and leave before the journey¡¯s end. Since she had not told anyone about him, there was no one to talk him out of it. Rosslyn sighed. Stop worrying about the things you cannot control. ¡°Are the horses ready yet?¡± The Queen sounded annoyed to be here¡ªbut she had packed and prepared. She was going. At least that much was going right. She truly does love father, or she would resist. No one can make the Queen go anywhere, even the King. I know she does not acknowledge the severity of the threat, but she agreed to go anyway. ¡°I think it will be nice to spend time together, stepmother,¡± Rosslyn said. Carolien looked back at her thoughtfully. ¡°Do you truly think so?¡± she asked. ¡°It will be our first trip alone since the Radzin sea, I think.¡± Carolien¡¯s eyes took on a faraway look as she clearly remembered that vacation. ¡°That was a splendid trip,¡± she said finally. Her face took on a slightly guilty cast. ¡°You were, what, only fifteen years old at the time?¡± ¡°Fourteen,¡± Rosslyn said, smiling. ¡°It has been too long,¡± the Queen agreed. Lord Baranack stepped out of the royal stables. ¡°My dear Queen and Princess!¡± he said. He wore an ebullient expression, as if he could not contain his happiness at seeing them, but Rosslyn thought she detected the same falseness that she often thought she read in his face. ¡°I am so pleased that we will be traveling together, though I respectfully question the wisdom of sending two such important personages to accompany me to the Demon Empire.¡± Of course you do, Rosslyn thought. You question my father¡¯s wisdom with all the respect that requires whenever you can¡ªalong with mine. I just bet you will be ¡°questioning¡± more and more of father¡¯s wisdom, the further away we get from him. We have not even departed yet. This was far from the first time that Rosslyn herself had doubted the logic of sending such a man as Lord Baranack to represent the Kingdom anywhere. But at least her father¡¯s plan would get him out of Claustria. Out of their lives for a while. ¡°Are the horses ready yet, Lord Baranack?¡± Rosslyn asked. ¡°I think not,¡± he replied. They waited the rest of the time for the carriages to be ready in silence. Fortunately, it happened quickly. The palace was constantly running smoothly, operated by people to whom keeping royals waiting was almost a sin. This was despite the fact that this particular voyage was theoretically a security nightmare. Two royals and a newly appointed ambassador traveling into the most dangerous border region on the continent. Normally that would merit the mobilization of a small army, but the royals were traveling incognito, which meant they could not openly travel with a very large escort. It would be too suspicious. The solution that the King and Lord Baranack had arrived at was a small, inconspicuous contingent. Light defenses. Six carriages was the maximum that could be justified as a defense for Lord Baranack, so that was what the palace staff prepared. Six carriages carrying more than the usual number of soldiers¡ªbut that was something that would not be noticeable at a distance. Carolien and Rosslyn were positioned in Lord Baranack¡¯s carriage, armored and equipped like elite knights. Their cover, if they were to be questioned, was that they were accompanying Lord Baranack as his personal bodyguards, sent to deliver him into the Demon Empire¡¯s protection and return to their regular duties thereafter. There was nowhere safer for an ambassador to be on the continent than transported safely into the confirmed custody of a hostile nation. No country would dare to harm such a person¡ªor even, through inaction, to allow him to come to harm in their custody. It would be universally interpreted as an assassination and an act of war. The carriage convoy departed. For several hours, the current Queen, the future Queen, and the Lord rode in dead silence. It was not entirely for lack of effort on the part of Carolien or Rosslyn to communicate. Carolien would try to start a conversation, and it would be derailed. ¡°Is there anything you look forward to seeing in the Empire, Rosslyn?¡± Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°I understand there are many notable sites of Goddess worship in the Empire,¡± Rosslyn replied. ¡°I know we will pass through Hermaria if we travel far beyond the Empire¡¯s capital.¡± This was a country the Demon Empire had subdued several centuries ago. ¡°I remember when I was a girl, I read that their capital of Dunoch had the most magnificent temple in all the world,¡± Carolien said. Architecture, Rosslyn knew, had been one of the Queen¡¯s favorite subjects before she completed her education. Then Lord Baranack chimed in and said that he had heard that most such buildings within the Empire¡¯s territory had tragically been repurposed into government offices or places of worship for the gods the demons believed in. That got Rosslyn fuming about the demons¡¯ heretical beliefs, and the conversation quickly died. None of them wanted an argument, and neither Carolien nor Lord Baranack seemed to share Rosslyn¡¯s strong belief¡ªcommon among the commoners of Claustria and anyone who had served in the military¡ªthat the Demon Empire was a terrifying threat. It was going to be a long carriage ride even without political debates, and such incidents might sound suspicious to any spies for the demons who could be observing the diplomatic convoy. Though they were still in Claustrian territory for the moment, the demons historically tended to make commoners in border regions into paid informants. Their rich eastern possessions sent the Empire rich tribute, it was said. More than enough to corrupt many a poor soul just trying to feed their family. The next near argument started after Rosslyn broke the silence. ¡°Do you see the fortifications that are beginning to come into view, stepmother?¡± Peering through the carriage¡¯s curtains, Rosslyn could see the distant shadowy shapes of the Demon Empire¡¯s walled border with Claustria. They were only a jagged line on the horizon now, but her father wanted Carolien to recognize the peril they were in. It was time to start bringing that home. Lord Baranack inserted himself into the conversation before Carolien could say anything at all. ¡°The question that people in my area of expertise¡ªthat is, diplomacy¡ªtend to ponder about those fortifications is whether they are truly intended for defense, or primarily to support and extend control over conquered lands. Some experts think they are as afraid of us as we are of them. And then there is the minority theory that the fortresses represent a sort of paper tiger effect. That they have little real defensive value, and are only a symbolic gesture meant to have a deterrent effect against any effort to reclaim the Empire¡¯s conquered lands.¡± By the end of Lord Baranack¡¯s theorizing, Rosslyn was almost ready to scream. Why does this man not live in the real world?! ¡°Of course the Demon Empire is not as afraid of us as we are of them,¡± Rosslyn said, barely restraining herself from shouting. ¡°For the last few centuries, the conquests have all moved in one direction!¡± ¡°Not quite so,¡± Lord Baranack said mildly. ¡°Hermaria ably reclaimed some territory previously held by Goddess worshiping nations¡ª¡± ¡°Before being conquered by the Demon Empire, their people subjugated and enslaved,¡± Rosslyn interrupted. ¡°That is¡ªum, yes, well, that is true. I simply suggest that we not take a reductionist view. There have been many noteworthy military successes in the history of our side¡¯s efforts against the Empire. Which is why there is a school of thought that they are more afraid of us than we are of them. It might explain their tendency toward aggression, as well.¡± ¡°You think that they are aggressive because they are afraid?¡± Rosslyn asked, incredulous. ¡°It is a reputable theory,¡± Lord Baranack said with a shrug. If she knew that Lord Baranack thought in this way, she would have registered the strongest possible objections to making him an ambassador to the Empire. What sort of backward impression of the Kingdom¡¯s point of view would he leave on his imperial counterparts? Would he seem like such an empty-headed fool that they would actually hasten any plans for an invasion? This interaction also caused the conversation to die down for a while. Rosslyn only noticed after the fact that as soon as she and Lord Baranack began disputing the nature of the international relations between the Demon Empire and the Goddess-worshiping powers, Carolien became quiet. She remained reserved throughout the rest of the conversation, which made Rosslyn suspect that she was unwilling to upset either one of them by agreeing with the other. Fortunately, it was at around this time that the convoy stopped at a small village for the night. Despite the carriages moving quickly through the Claustrian countryside, they were still miles from the border with the Empire. But this would be their only night sleeping inside the Kingdom¡¯s territory. By midday tomorrow, they would cross into the Demon Empire. This was their last chance to enjoy a relatively relaxed evening. The trio, along with the full complement of soldiers accompanying them, dined at an inn. Though there was enough space for most of them in the common room, several of the men had to eat outside, and it was clear that there would not be space for everyone to have a bed. Rosslyn and Carolien decided to bunk together so that a few more soldiers would be able to have a room for the night. This was the village¡¯s only inn, after all. When they were alone, there was that gradual defrosting of relations that Rosslyn had observed earlier. Stepdaughter and stepmother discussed common wishes for the trip, and they reminisced about past trips. Rosslyn was surprised to find that she and Carolien shared more common ground than she had expected. The Queen was intensely interested in learning more about the country that had long been Claustria¡¯s greatest enemy, and she was at least not in explicit agreement with Lord Baranack¡¯s apparent view that the Empire was afraid of being attacked rather than intent on attacking. Away from Lord Baranack¡¯s influence, she seemed to understand that the demons were far from harmless¡ªand even that his views might endanger the Kingdom if put into foreign policy practice, though she was reluctant to express that idea so explicitly. That was the only frustrating thing about the conversation. When pressed on political points, or any topic touching on Lord Baranack¡¯s expertise, Carolien was loath to give a direct answer. She vacillated, she danced, she obfuscated her true feelings. Rosslyn was by nature a more direct person. It was one of the ways in which the two women had been forced to get used to each other over the years. ¡°If you will pardon the question,¡± Rosslyn said at one point, ¡°why have you and father trusted Lord Baranack with so much, when I think that even in the area of foreign relations, essentially his only specific expertise, he seems to have such dangerous views?¡± There. It was out in the open, finally. ¡°You want to know why we have trusted him with your matchmaking, when you believe he has been ineffective,¡± Carolien said. ¡°That, and also, more pressingly, this. Why is this man so trusted that he can be given this assignment, to represent our nation to its most important adversary? A task that many nobles would kill to perform.¡± Her stepmother sighed and looked away. Rosslyn just sat and patiently waited. She was not going to move the conversation on to some other topic. Not when this was the most important matter they could deal with. At around the time that she had almost given up on getting an answer, Carolien spoke again. ¡°You may find this a rather frivolous reason, Rosslyn. You have always been a harder edged person than me. I admire that. It is a quality that is needed in a ruler. But Lord Baranack was responsible for matching your father and me. It is a match that was as good as anything I might have hoped for on paper, and your father has turned out to be a better man than I had any reason to expect.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Rosslyn said, nodding slowly. ¡°Yes,¡± Carolien said. She looked sadder than Rosslyn had seen her in years. ¡°I hoped he might do the same for you. I know his efforts have been a disappointment. I have wondered why ever since you began to complain about them. Perhaps he was just lucky in the arrangement of our marriage. But I do believe he works hard at the tasks he is given. He served my father and my birth country well for years before I asked that we bring him to your father¡¯s Kingdom to help you. ¡°And I resist the idea that he should be discarded, which seems the natural implication of some of your complaints.¡± She looked into Rosslyn¡¯s eyes. ¡°I do not say that you are wrong, of course. It is my hope that he will serve us well stationed in the Demon Empire. If he fails, and war comes, it will be no different than you and your father have been imagining for years. Yet perhaps he has another miracle in his repertoire.¡± 56. Nesting Phase You laid your eggs? Adon¡¯s tone was colored by a mixture of nervousness and excitement. I did, Goldie replied. Her inner voice carried that same weariness Adon had already noticed. Uh, you sound kind of tired, Goldie. Are you okay? I think so, she replied. I told you there would, ah, recovery time¡­ Adon was immediately worried. Can I please come up? he asked. He tried to keep the fear out of his voice. He had no idea how hard laying eggs was on bugs. And even though Goldie had mentioned that she expected to survive this process, she hadn¡¯t ever done it before herself. Had Adon¡¯s butterfly mother died when she produced Adon and any siblings he might have had? Could that be the norm in this invertebrate world? Was Adon about to lose his best friend? Of course, she sent immediately. Still weary, but also excited. She notably did not seem worried. Come see my eggs! As Adon began walking around under the web, moving toward the low edge that he could climb onto, Goldie continued thinking at him. You made this possible, you know. I was afraid to lay eggs with thief spiders close. If not for you, Red and I would probably be eaten now. Adon felt only slightly comforted by that idea. He was still worried that Goldie and Red would be eaten, or that they would die of some more natural causes after reproducing. And leave him alone with the eggs and the web and the garden. I¡¯m not sure I want to be here anymore, he thought, carefully keeping the thought from sending. If something happens to Goldie and Red¡ªor even just Goldie!¡ªwould I want to be in this horrible garden? Where everything is trying to kill you, and you¡¯re trying to kill it first? Adon¡¯s feelings were strangely mixed. He was both proud of his accomplishments in slaughter, and also reluctant to continue as he had been. It just felt pointless. It wasn¡¯t what he was here to do, was it? Was his best life really just killing his way to the top of this garden food chain? If Goldie was with him, at least there was some point to everything. As much point as every human life had. More point than any of his human incarnations ever had, honestly. When had he ever had someone he cared about? Adon reached the edge of the web and excitedly pulled himself onto it. However anxious he felt, he was also excited. He wanted to see Goldie¡¯s eggs¡ªcouldn¡¯t wait to see them hatch! And even if Goldie herself was in bad shape right now, he hoped that his healing magic might do something for her. As he moved along the surface of the web this time, Adon noticed something was different. It felt unstable. Shaky. No, the web wasn¡¯t different. He was different. His body. Adon had passed some sort of weight threshold after eating that bluebird chick, and now he seemed to be too heavy. Goldie¡¯s web was shivering with every step he took. Adon forced himself to slow down and tread lightly. I guess I¡¯ve gotten bigger. Maybe I ate one too many birds. Even walking carefully, he managed to scale the web quickly enough and get within sight of Goldie. He found her in a noticeably reduced state. All the eggs she had been storing inside her had bloated her body and consumed a lot of resources to create. The result, now that they were outside, was that she looked deflated. Her bottom half was almost like a popped balloon. You made it, she thought. She sounded like she was almost ready to pass out. Of course I did! Adon sent. As he sent the message, Red scurried over to Goldie from somewhere just above her. He seemed to check on her superficially, and he ran back up the web. Adon followed the smaller spider with his eyes and saw that he came to rest on the underside of some leaves that were webbed together above them. Those weren¡¯t like that before¡­ Then Adon saw what was different. Goldie had webbed a bunch of leaves together as a base to hide her egg sac. Beneath the leaves there were a number of very small, off white pearl-like structures. These, he realized, were Goldie¡¯s eggs. Dozens. No, hundreds? It was hard to count them. There were clearly multiple layers of eggs bundled together, and Goldie had placed them so that they were hidden in the shadow of the leaves above. More carefully concealed than the web itself. They were basically defenseless besides being hidden, so Adon admired how well she had managed to keep them from view. Congratulations, Goldie, Adon transmitted. You did it! I did. I accomplished mission encoded in my biology. I perpetuated the great cycle. Though her face could not shift to a smile, Adon could hear a contentment in her voice. It felt a little alarming to him, though. Almost as if she was ready to die. Do you need healing? he asked, stepping in closer. Could not hurt, she replied. Adon moved another inch until he could touch her, and he called upon the same magical power that had restored him to full Health. It was so much easier now. The mental process was a quick retracing of steps. Then he saw it. A gentle green glow emanating from his front legs. This is my magic, he thought. He had never actually seen the healing power in action before. When he healed himself, he was in the darkness of that strange mystical void until he ran almost completely out of Mana. By the time he came out of it, the glow was gone. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Adon leaned in and began applying the green aura to Goldie. He saw some results immediately. The deflated look diminished a bit. He was happy to cut down even a bit on her recovery time, and more importantly to hopefully increase the odds that she would survive this process. I think magic is something I¡¯m going to be good at. He kept going for around thirty seconds, and his Mana continued to hold strong. It was enough for at least a few minutes of this. But just as he was starting to think he might get Goldie back to full Health, the power simply stopped working. Adon suddenly felt as if he was trying to push through a brick wall. What¡¯s this resistance? Goldie noticed it too after a few seconds. Thank you, Adon, she thought. I think you have done all you can. You still don¡¯t seem a hundred percent, though, he replied instantly, not concerned about how he sounded. He desperately wanted to know what was going on. Was Goldie dying or something? Was that why he couldn¡¯t finish healing her? Too much damage? But as he looked the spider over, he thought that couldn¡¯t be it. She genuinely looked much better than she had before he started. Still a bit hollow. Noticeably weak. Some things magic might not be able to do, she replied. Need recovery time. Food and rest. Magic probably cannot replace everything. Like sleep. I guess, he sent. Speaking of food, how did things go for you? Her inner voice was so faint just then that he wondered if she would fall asleep. Adon began recounting his trip in order, starting from when he left the web. Goldie reacted appropriately, with surprise and interest in all the right places. She seemed especially shocked about what happened to the Vendetta Ants. The spider was an amazing listener, he observed once again. But midway through Adon¡¯s description of his conversation with the Princess, Goldie stopped responding to his messages. It was as if her mind was simply offline. Goldie? he sent. He waved one of his limbs in front of her face. Nothing. Not even a flicker of movement from her head. So, Goldie passed out. Okay. That¡¯s fine. This is going to be okay. He deactivated Telepathy and started brooding about what to do next. There were so many things. Helping with Goldie¡¯s recovery, unlocking some more magic, preparing for the new hatchlings¡­ He looked up at the eggs again as he had this last thought. Was I really that small once? he wondered. In theory, he might have been even smaller at some point, considering that he was a mere caterpillar, and Goldie was a mighty spider. But it was hard to believe. For now, Adon decided to prepare as best he could for when Goldie woke up. She would be hungry, so he would at least make sure she had food within easy reach. He was going to blow her mind with the prey he¡¯d felled this time. She and Red would be on the fast track to Evolution. And her babies, too, if they hatched soon enough. As Adon slowly worked his way back down the web, he felt movement above him. He looked up and saw Red scurrying back to check on Goldie again. Adon felt a warm feeling inside. It was good to know that Goldie had someone who would look after her the way that Red did. Adon reactivated Telepathy and targeted the little spider. You¡¯re going to be a great dad, Red! he sent. Red just looked around, slightly startled, until he saw Adon was looking at him. The two made what Adon decided was friendly eye contact, and then the caterpillar decided to keep climbing down from the web. Give the love birds some privacy. Over the next hour, he carefully opened up his silk casing over the crow, carved off what was left of the head and neck region, and pulled it out of its container. Then he resealed the crow in its makeshift sarcophagus as best he could. It would not do to have other predators, or even scavengers, come nosing around Goldie¡¯s web while she was at her most vulnerable. The best Adon could do was try to keep the smell of dead crow sealed off inside of the silk. He knew it wasn¡¯t a permanent solution, but then, in a few days, there probably wouldn¡¯t be any crow left. It was a big bird, but Adon was habitually a very hungry caterpillar. He dragged the bit of bird meat up the web and placed it in front of Goldie and Red. Food, he sent to the smaller spider. Red looked at the meat, back at Adon, and finally turned to Goldie, who continued to lie still. Clearly confused, Red did nothing. And Adon decided that now that he was alone with Red, it was the perfect moment to invest some more energy trying to communicate with him telepathically. This time, instead of just shooting words at him, he took his time and came up with a more thoughtful strategy. Web, Adon sent, along with an image of the web. Red just looked at him with what seemed to Adon a curious tilt to his head. Adon sent more images along with the accompanying words. Leaf. Water. Food. He coupled that last with a picture of the meat. Goldie, Adon added, with an image of Goldie. Red sort of nodded, though Adon couldn¡¯t tell if that meant the spider knew what Adon was getting at, or if he just liked being sent pictures of Goldie. You eat, Adon sent. He transmitted an image of Red sinking his fangs into the hunk of meat Adon had dropped. Red almost jumped. He seemed startled by the image. Then he looked to Adon, head tilted again, as if to say, Do you really mean me? This is food that I can eat? Even though you hunted it? For someone who had no access to language, Red could sometimes communicate rather eloquently. Red eats, Adon sent, along with the same image again. And the small spider actually did begin trying to consume the meat. It looked like he was trying to suck out the meat¡¯s juices or something rather than eating it the way Adon would eat meat, but he tried to ignore that and look away. He had always vaguely known that spiders ate differently from caterpillars. That was why they were carnivores, while most caterpillars were omnivores or herbivores. This was progress. And Adon had another task to add to his to-do list: teaching Red language. Which was good. He intended to get comfortable here. He, Goldie, and Red would be confined to the immediate area of the web for a while. Until Goldie recovered at least. If Adon went anywhere while she was in this condition, she would be completely vulnerable. Ideally they might even stay in place until her eggs had hatched. Depending on how long the food supplies lasted. He would think about the logistics and the risk-reward ratio of leaving between recovery and hatching later. For now, he simply deactivated Telepathy and climbed back down the side of the web. I¡¯ll see if Goldie has any ideas about how I might be able to get Red to learn language when she wakes up. Until then, Adon would try to spend as much time as he could in that black void where magical power could be claimed. There was a wider landscape out beyond this garden, and magic was the only advantage he could think of that might give him a chance at having a real footprint in it. Even the Princess had been curious about whether he could do it. Magic was clearly something special in this world. Maybe I¡¯ll even learn something that I can teach Goldie, he thought. Then Adon was in that familiar black space, the orange orb floating above him. He started walking again. I¡¯m looking for illusion magic this time¡­ 57. Stay at Home Adon walked the long and lonely path through the darkness that had daunted him last time. It was quieter than he remembered here. Adon¡¯s inner voice wasn¡¯t taunting him now. The success of his last visit had done a lot for his confidence. So it became a matter of retracing his steps. Trying to understand the geography of this place a bit better. Adon had a sense of where things were. He knew he wasn¡¯t near healing magic now, because he had deliberately not come here looking for that. He was closer to the starting point of his last journey than to the end. The first thing in the void that he came to was the horrifying statue with thousands of limbs that had frightened him before. Adon kept his distance from the figure but didn¡¯t run from it. In a way, the creepy statue was a good sign. And it was exactly what he¡¯d been looking for. The monstrous statue had turned from a deceptive lure to a landmark. Illusions were somewhere near here. Whatever that thing with the twisted body was, it was trying to take advantage of its proximity to illusion magic to lure in the unwary. It had almost succeeded with Adon. He navigated around it and inspected the nearer statues. The surrounding figures would hopefully all be closely related. And somewhere here would be illusions¡­ Adon inspected a couple of statues closely, but although they gave him a feeling of potency, he could not imagine what their purposes were or what effect they would have on him if he tried to use their power. One was shaped like a circle when Adon looked at it, but as he drew closer, it was clear that there was a long chain of circles linking to it. Like an infinite chain stretching backward into the distance. Adon stepped backward, away from that. He didn¡¯t want to be lured into touching another power that was hiding malevolence beneath the surface. Or even something that was simply far beyond his abilities. The statue was his clue. Extending infinitely backward said something about this power¡¯s nature. Something that had the possible property of being infinite promised to be more than his body could bear. Perhaps it was a power that an archmage could handle, but Adon was no archmage. Adon found another statue close by that looked a lot like an infinity symbol, but somehow folded in on itself in a way that should be geometrically impossible. It hurt his mind¡¯s eye to look at it, and he quickly backed away. He could tell that this statue definitely harnessed more energy than his body contained, and it was probably even more dangerous than the last. That creepy crooked statue was in fitting company, it seemed so far. Only the very lost or the very power hungry would want to touch this figure. Finally, Adon found something that did not make him want to curl into a ball and disappear from this place. He walked toward another statue close by that emitted a feeling of great power. He didn¡¯t think this was exactly illusions either, but it felt right and good to him. Like he was close to an old friend. Something that matched his nature, maybe. As Adon drew closer to this statue, the shape of it revealed itself to him. The statue looked like a towering obelisk. I have no idea what that shape means, he thought. But he could not bring himself to be afraid of it, even though the figure was unknown. It seemed so familiar, as if it was close to something he already understood. It was tall, and therefore somewhat imposing, but it had the significant advantage of not being infinite in any aspect. It was simply a symbol of a magic that, in Adon¡¯s very basic read of the psychology of the powers that resided here, was proud of itself. Finally, he broke down the fear that was holding him back, and he reached out and touched it. And he instantly felt the surge of power move directly to his brain. There was an instinctive fear as he made contact with the unfamiliar shape, but then the magic went to work on him. This power seemed to supercharge his mind. He found his thought processes moved more quickly than usual. The fear that normally preceded knowledge for Adon transformed into understanding in record time. Mental magic. He felt incredibly powerful in a very specific way that he had never encountered before. The feeling brought back a memory of a distant incarnation when he was a drug addict. The insights about the power itself rushed in at an unnatural speed. This power feels a lot like being high. The shape is an embodiment of towering intellect. It feels familiar because I¡¯ve been using Telepathy. My brain¡¯s modification for Telepathy makes me better adapted for mental magic than any insect has any right to be. I can already transmit my thoughts into the minds of others. That will allow me to weaponize this type of magic if I want to¡­ Adon imagined dozens of different uses for this power. Mental magic could paralyze or manipulate those weaker willed than the caster, forcibly increase Adon¡¯s Intelligence or that of an ally¡ªalbeit temporarily¡ªor even kill a target in the right circumstances. It¡¯s not quite illusion magic, but if I have a specific individual in mind, this should be just as effective at hiding me from their conscious awareness. Wow! The sense of power continued to intoxicate him as he thought of more things he could do with this. He could do more than just temporarily increase the intelligence of his friends. He could temporarily steal some of the intelligence of enemies. There were some thoughts that Telepathy¡ªat least at its current level¡ªcould not retrieve from other people¡¯s minds. It only scooped up surface level things. If Adon wanted to, he could read an enemy¡¯s full intentions at a first meeting. It might take a lot of power, but¡ª Suddenly the world swam into bright view. Adon looked around, slightly confused. The void was gone, and in its place was a pounding headache. Oh. I was using mental magic that whole time to supercharge my brain. Brainstorming at super speed. I guess it burns a lot of power really quickly? I ran really low on Mana. Ow¡­ The last series of thoughts came to him in a rush, and then he put his forelimbs to his head for a moment. The headache was bad this time, but at least he hadn¡¯t run completely out of Mana. Maybe some part of his subconscious mind had been too intelligent and responsible to let that happen. Being paralyzed with a migraine wouldn¡¯t serve the development of his magic talents, after all. Adon walked over to the crow cocoon, opened it up, and savagely tore into one of the crow¡¯s legs. A drumstick. Even this tiny part of the crow was roughly his size, but Adon was suddenly almost exhausted. And simultaneously ravenously hungry. He went into a feeding trance. Munch munch. Chomp chomp. Gobble gobble. Gulp. When he emerged from this state, he was stuffed. The crow¡¯s lower body now ended in one leg and one slightly bloody¡ªmostly congealed blood¡ªstump. He had eaten it bones and all. Adon had recovered a small amount of Mana, so he activated Telepathy and called out to Goldie. But she was still out of it. So Adon turned the ability off and allowed himself to rest too. There would be time to talk later. Time to conduct experiments. Time for many things. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. He went into his sleep-like state with a sense of great satisfaction with and hope for the future. Adon wasn¡¯t sure how long he was out of it. With his low Mana and his brain recovering from being accelerated, it was a deeper rest than he was used to. He thought he almost dreamed. There was a distant sound of buzzing, but it came at the edge of his range of hearing. A gentle droning sound. Almost like someone snoring. Finally, the light of day the next morning pulled him back to his senses. He activated Telepathy once more. Goldie, are you awake? I am, she replied. Thank you for healing. Feeling much better. She still sounded weak to him, but Adon wasn¡¯t worried anymore. If healing didn¡¯t do the full job, time and food would. And they had plenty of both. Can I bring you something to eat? he asked. Yes please! I wanted to ask before, how did your hunt go? Oh, it was successful, he replied vaguely. He opened his silk crow cocoon up again and began carving off the remaining drumstick. What did you catch? she asked. I want you to guess! Um, another thief spider. Not quite. A grasshopper! Grasshoppers are delicious¡­ Still no, I¡¯m afraid. You might want to wait until I actually bring the food up there. Adon pushed a little bit of Mana into his mandibles and finally finished cutting through the crow¡¯s thigh bone. Then he closed the cocoon again and made his way back up to Goldie. He climbed the web, and he watched how she stared at him as he approached. What is that? she asked after a long silence. Oh, no, I wanted you to guess! He plopped the slightly bloody meat right in front of her. Well, it smells very tasty, she thought. Can I try it first? That might help me with the guess. Of course you can. It¡¯s for you! You don¡¯t even really have to guess if you don¡¯t want to. Goldie sank her fangs into the crow meat, and Adon turned his face away. There was something a bit viscerally horrifying about watching spiders eat. It was weirdly easier to picture himself being what they were eating than to place himself in the perspective of the spider in these situations. But he hoped she was enjoying it. This is different than anything I have ever tasted, she thought, the noises of her chowing down still fairly loud. I would think so, Adon replied. Is it another bat? she asked. You found where they go to sleep during day? Is this black stuff what fur looks like up close? Adon shook his head. It could not be some kind of seafood, right? It¡¯s not seafood, he sent. Cannot be lizard, she thought. No scales. Adon waited patiently. Is it a baby bird? she asked finally. You stole it from nest. No, not quite¡­ You did not¡­ kill an adult bird? Her tone was one of disbelief. Almost laughing at the possibility. I absolutely did. Goldie stopped eating and stilled almost completely for a few seconds. Adon didn¡¯t say anything to break the tension. Finally, he heard Goldie swallow, and she spoke again. Seriously? she asked. How? I blew a hole in its head with magic, Adon replied proudly. This will make us incredibly strong, then, she thought. I never expected to eat meat of a mature bird in my lifetime. Is there anything left in garden that can stand up to you? Adon detailed how he had dragged the crow carcass across the garden, scaring everything that tried to attack him away. Amazing, she thought. I would watch out for Huntsman, though. If you drew one of their interest, it may not give up on finding you. But amazing. They discussed the future for a while. I wonder if Evolution may be possible for me after recovery. With this crow¡­ with how successful you are as hunter, we should both have options coming soon. You should have your best option available soon. I am so excited to try a new stage of life. To live a bit longer and see my hatchlings grow and mature. Goldie seemed more pleased than she had been since they had begun talking. She had been wildly emotional then, even more than he was, to finally have someone to communicate with. I can¡¯t wait to see you after your Evolution, he sent. I wonder how it will change you. You¡¯re such a special spider already. I can¡¯t imagine improvements to anything other than your lifespan. She laughed in her mind, and even her body shook with mirth. You are very kind, Adon, but I can think of many things I would like to improve. I guess I¡¯m not so different, Adon thought. I¡¯m looking for some pretty big improvements, honestly. He thought about how small and vulnerable he still felt relative to any bird, and how he still could not fly. He thought of how imprecise his magical attacks were and how little Mana he possessed. There was much to be proud of and thankful for, but still¡­ I think if you improve much further, you will be fighting evenly with humans! That idea seemed slightly absurd, but perhaps only because the sole human Adon had interacted with was the Princess. Probably most humans weren¡¯t like her. He imagined she was rather special. Then the question will be what we can do for Red, Adon sent. If you and I are moving on, I know you would rather not leave him behind. Adon. Please. Goldie seemed to want him to stop talking, but Adon thought he knew why. She didn¡¯t want false hope. They had been there before. He forced himself to press on. I just unlocked a new form of magic. Mental magic. And I might be able to increase his chances of learning to communicate at a basic level. I¡¯m not sure it will work, but I really want to try. Adon still felt that he owed Goldie a debt, with all she¡¯d done for him. She was quiet for a few long moments. I really hope you can do this, she finally thought. In a much smaller voice, almost as if she was trying to contain the thought: I wish you had not mentioned¡­ I hope so too, he replied, ignoring those last words. Even if I don¡¯t, I know I¡¯ll keep trying until it kills me. So the three of us can change our lives together. 58. Tourists Part 1 Rosslyn and her party set out in the new day, using a large hill as their heading. Beyond that hill is the last settlement in our country. Beyond that, only the Deformed Forest separates us from Stalenton. The settlement was more of a fortified base than a city, and its main purpose was a visual indicator that the Kingdom of Claustria had not abandoned this land or ceded its claim to it. Lord Baranack had agreed to stop there at mid-morning so that Rosslyn could inspect the troops. She intended to make the most of this trip that she could. As the carriages moved forward, though, Rossslyn felt almost like a tourist on vacation with her stepmother for the first time in years. ¡°The border region is beautiful,¡± Rosslyn said, looking out the carriage¡¯s curtains. The landscape was a strange mixture of undisciplined plant life. This region had been farmland once, before the last war, when the king had ordered the region evacuated. No one had ever repopulated the space, and the plant life grew in strange twisted up knots. Trees pushing through bushes which were also entangled with thick weeds and shrubs. Some of these plants, it was said, were still edible. Much of the land was still visibly shaped by the plows that had once chopped and organized the soil. But the land had seen too much blood spilled over the years for anyone to believe that the soil could still grow something wholesome. The food for the garrison beyond the hill was typically all grown elsewhere and transported across this landscape rather than originating here. Carolien leaned over beside Rosslyn and peered past her stepdaughter. ¡°It is quite strange, but very striking,¡± she agreed. ¡°I wonder how the vegetation in this area comes to look like that.¡± ¡°There is unique plant life here that may only be seen in proximity to the Demon Empire¡¯s borders, Highnesses,¡± Lord Baranack commented. ¡°The histories record that such plant life is not uncommon at other places and times where powers have shared space with the Demon Empire.¡± Rosslyn wanted to say so many things to that. What happened to the powers that made those historical observations? She knew the answer. They were absorbed, of course. She also wanted to ask Lord Baranack what he believed caused the strange patterns of plant growth. The unholy disruptions of the natural order. She knew what she believed, which also, in this case, coincided with the official stance of the clergy. The unnatural experiments of the demons, driven by their worship of the Demon God. But Rosslyn had decided not to squabble with Lord Baranack today. Soon he would be left behind in the Empire, and with good luck for her, she would never see him again. If he was truly excellent in his diplomacy, he would remain in the Demon Empire and ensure the peace there as best he could. If he was truly ineffectual instead, he might be relieved of his duties, but probably not so that he could return to work at the palace. So there was little point in aggravating that fractious relationship in the few days they had left being acquainted. ¡°Do you think any of those plants out there can be safely eaten?¡± Carolien asked. Lord Baranack hesitated and shifted in his seat. ¡°I do not see why not,¡± he finally said. On another day, Rosslyn might have dared him to try and eat a chunk of what appeared to be barley growing in the field. It would have been sheer mockery, since she had no expectation that he would actually risk his own health to stand by what he casually said. Today, she simply smiled and sank back into her plush seat. The soft carriage cushions felt more plush today. Or perhaps she was simply in a mood to enjoy herself a bit more. ¡°It is a gorgeous day, is it not?¡± Rosslyn said. Lord Baranack looked at her strangely, with a suspiciously raised eyebrow, but Carolien smiled back at her. ¡°It is,¡± Carolien said. ¡°A perfect day to be tourists.¡± ¡°Well, urm, if you really enjoy the experience of the nature around here, I suppose you will enjoy the border forest even more. I have heard that unique species have developed there that cannot be seen anywhere else.¡± I heard the same, except that the ¡°unique species¡± were simply twisted versions of preexisting plants, exposed to the Empire¡¯s vile experiments with Mana. The trio and their entourage toured the countryside for roughly an hour before they came to the unnamed fortified camp that was the last Claustrian settlement in this region. It was a few miles from the Deformed Forest, Rosslyn gauged, but just far enough that the twisted trees would block much from view for the defenders looking out for possible aggression from the Empire. At least the fortress seems well defended. In the event that something comes through those woods, they should be able to hold out for a bit longer than some village¡­ Hopefully for long enough to get a message to the nearest noble house. That would bring a near avalanche of military and logistical support from the King and the nobility. No one wanted to lose the rest of this land to the Empire. Many of the border nobles were particularly hardened warriors. As the carriages approached the front gate, Rosslyn examined the structure. The outer walls were arrayed in a ring with the gate at their center. Watchtowers were spaced out in the second ring of walls, which were positioned at a higher elevation. The fortress was built around another, smaller hill than the one that the party had used for navigation. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Rosslyn was dimly aware there had been plans a generation ago to build a larger fortification here, but the budget had been cut due to a famine at the time, and the plans were never revisited. Still, she thought the fortress would hold out well. The strong young men who opened the gate for them moved briskly, so that the swing of the gate was quicker than she would have expected. The men on the walls looked alert and ready for battle, and their armor appeared well used. These were no idle nobles. These soldiers knew that they were the first line of defense against the Demon Empire, and they lived in such close proximity that they had no opportunity to forget it. Rosslyn had worked with soldiers like this before. She looked forward to seeing their like again. As the gate opened, a dozen knights rode forth to meet the carriages. ¡°Please halt!¡± called a loud voice from the lead knight. ¡°We must inspect your vehicles.¡± Why does that voice sound familiar? Rosslyn wondered. And then she knew. The curtain was pulled further to the side brusquely, and on the other side of it, looking in at her beneath his raised visor, she saw Captain Leonardo of Garen. He was an older gentleman of common birth who had spent his life in brave service to the Kingdom. The skin of his face was craggy and leathery with age. His thick gray mustache was slowly turning to pure white. When Rosslyn served in the military, she had served alongside the Captain. He was a model of leadership in her eyes. A man who would never send his men to perform a task that he would not do himself, who would push back on orders that did not make sense¡ªand the soldiers loved him for those qualities. After her service ended, she had quietly and gently encouraged his promotion from Lieutenant. Now he apparently had a whole fortress under his command. Captain Leonardo¡¯s eyes widened with surprise as he recognized her, and his hand automatically rose in a salute. ¡°Greetings, Yer H¡ª¡± Rosslyn gave a sharp shake of her head that stopped him. He swallowed. ¡°Um, what brings yer party to this humble fortress, noble guests?¡± he rephrased. She spoke in a low voice. ¡°My fellow bodyguard, Lady Carol, and I are here escorting Lord Baranack, our new ambassador, to his diplomatic mission in the Demon Empire, Captain.¡± If he had looked surprised before, Captain Leonardo now appeared to have been struck by lightning. ¡°You are escorting the lord into the Empire, um, ma¡¯am?¡± he asked. He almost choked on the words. She could nearly read his thoughts, she felt, at this moment. What kind of crazy plan is taking you into the arms of the Demon Empire? Are you sure you and your father know what you are doing, Your Highness? But he verbalized none of it. Simply looked uncomfortable for a moment, then bowed his head and pulled back lightly on the reins of his horse. ¡°We do not need to further inspect this group,¡± the Captain said loudly. ¡°I know the individuals in this carriage. Our new ambassador to the Demon Empire is in this one. This is his escort party.¡± Lord Baranack poked his head out of the carriage. ¡°We would stay for a half an hour or so, Captain, if it is of little inconvenience to you, and inspect the troops.¡± Captain Leonardo looked past Lord Baranack, met Rosslyn¡¯s eyes, and curled his lips into a small smile. ¡°Ah, I see. It would be our pleasure, my lord, to demonstrate for you and your party the discipline and order of Fort Alistair¡¯s troops. Then you can tell the Empire¡¯s diplomats with confidence that this fortification will not easily fall.¡± There was an obvious pride in the man¡¯s voice, but Rosslyn was focused on the name. He christened the fortress after father, she thought, smiling. Very occasionally, she wondered what the common people thought of their noble and royal rulers. It was rare, because the common people were rarely a major factor in the politics of the country. But where their influence mattered was in the military most of all. It was gratifying to see that what she had thought was an unnamed fortress had been informally called after the King. A good sign. For the next hour, hundreds of men in armor paraded up and down the gently sloping ground the fortress was built on, past the carriage and around it, in a rhythmic step coordinated by the Captain via a soldier who stood beside him beating a drum. No one fell out of formation. No one uttered a word outside of the carriages. And the soldiers acted like the high value guests did not even exist. There was only the land, their fellow soldiers, and the distant beat of the drum. They ignored the rays of the sun until the Captain ordered a stop to the march. Then they stood in formation for several minutes, armor gleaming, for Lord Baranack¡¯s inspection. He briefly walked up and down, making admiring noises. And Rosslyn¡¯s eyes followed everything from where she remained within the carriage, hidden from view from anyone who did not have the Captain¡¯s sharp eyes. These men are ready for battle, she thought. I hope the spy brings news that they will not need to be. These plain and simple soldiers were her idea of what the flower of Claustrian youth should be. Finally, the soldiers marched back into the fortress, and the knights came back out and showed the speed and ferocity of horse and rider with a mock cavalry charge. Here, the slight incline of the area of land around the fortress revealed its potential for deadly effect against would-be invaders. The violence and power of the charge would scatter any undisciplined block of infantry that happened to be faced with it, in Rosslyn¡¯s judgment. Then the knights also withdrew, leaving only Captain Leonardo and the carriages. ¡°You will not stay any longer, then, my lord?¡± he asked, eyes focused on Lord Baranack. But Lord Baranack¡¯s eyes darted toward Rosslyn. She gave a gentle head shake. ¡°I am certain that we are all thankful for the display of valorous arms by our brave men of the fortress,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°Perhaps in a month or so, it might be permissible to tell them who they presented themselves to.¡± Captain Leonardo smiled and saluted once more. Then the party was on their way again. ¡°With soldiers such as them defending our border, we have little to worry about, eh?¡± Carolien said as the fortress faded into the background. And for once, Rosslyn had nothing to say. She simply nodded and smiled. Hopefully the defense of the border would not come to arms, but in the eventuality that it did, she knew that those men would do their duty. As the carriages moved toward the dark and crooked plant life of the Deformed Forest, she held the images of those soldiers marching and standing in their armor foremost in her mind. It was for their safety that this mission must succeed. 59. Eating Crow Days passed, and the trio remained stationary in and around the web. Adon was unwilling to leave for any reason while Goldie and her eggs remained vulnerable. They continued to eat well, surviving easily on the crow Adon had killed. Goldie¡¯s body slowly recovered and filled in, moving closer and closer to its proper shape. She never missed an opportunity to praise Adon for his amazing hunting performance. Many female spiders die caring for their eggs. Because they cannot hunt and watch their young at the same time. Thanks to you¡­ Her praise came in variants of the same basic script almost every time. But Adon never tired of hearing it. In part because Goldie was so genuine every time. In part because it made his failures in another area somewhat more palatable. Each day, Adon made time to work on his language instruction project with Red. On the first day, Adon used Telepathy to call Red over to him. He had figured out the best way to communicate with Red at his current Intelligence level was with images and videos, so he sent an imagined scene of Red walking across the web to stand near him. And it was a mark of Red¡¯s increased trust in Adon that the small spider hesitated only a moment before he walked over to Adon, imitating the scene. From there, Adon gently placed a limb on each side of Red¡¯s head, reached back into himself, found where his power was, and began slowly pushing Mana into Red¡¯s brain. The spider was slightly startled at first but didn¡¯t break the contact. Wow. We really have built a trusting relationship, haven¡¯t we? Adon thought. I guess Goldie knew what she was talking about when she said that she and Red had a sort of understanding. He¡¯s not very smart, but maybe wise is the word¡­ If some strange insect did this to Red, I have to think he¡¯d run away. I know I would. I can¡¯t wait until we can actually sort of talk¡­ Adon continued carefully moving steadily more and more Mana through his forelimbs and into Red¡¯s brain. He didn¡¯t want to potentially overwhelm the spider. Having never done this to anyone before, he didn¡¯t know whether accidentally harming Red was a possibility. Adon hoped there would be some sign if he was causing damage to his friend. If so, he would pull back from the attempt to enhance Red¡¯s brain and immediately switch to healing magic. I¡¯m taking a terrible risk, if this power is more dangerous than I realize. The only evidence I have that mental magic isn¡¯t dangerous is that it didn¡¯t cause me any harm when I used it on myself. But Red and I aren¡¯t the same at all¡­ Still, Adon continued. Stop doubting yourself. I have to remember that if I don¡¯t manage to communicate with Red, and we don¡¯t push him to buy another Evolution, he¡¯ll die of natural causes soon. That was what Goldie said. I doubt he even knows the end is coming for him. Most animals aren¡¯t aware of their mortality. This is worth the risk. The flow of Mana reached a stable place where Adon was fairly certain Red was using as much Mana as Adon could give him. It should be driving up Red¡¯s Intelligence, enhancing his mental performance the way Adon had supercharged his own brain the first time he used mental magic. And Red showed an appropriate reaction. His head shifted from side to side slightly, never pulling away from Adon¡¯s forelimbs but seemingly curious about his surroundings. As if he was seeing them in a whole new way all of a sudden, with his temporarily increased Intelligence. It must be working¡­ He let Red look around for about thirty seconds. Then he gently reached out to Red again with Telepathy. Adon began trying to teach him words, sending simple phrases alongside specific images as he had the last time he tried to communicate. Working to build a basic vocabulary by association. Slowly but surely, Red responded. Leaf, he thought, in response to Adon repeating that word and the associated image together several times. The first time this happened, Adon almost jumped up and down with excitement. He stopped himself, because he was afraid that if he and Red didn¡¯t keep their same basic physical positions, Adon might break the contact and fail at maintaining the stream of Mana flowing from himself into his student. Adon had no reason to believe he was permanently enhancing Red¡¯s Intelligence¡ªAdon¡¯s own enhancement had been all too temporary¡ªand he didn¡¯t want Red to lose the benefit of increased brain power until they were done with this lesson. With Adon¡¯s shallow Mana reserves, they were on limited time even without missteps. Over the next fifteen minutes, they achieved the same result with the words ¡°web,¡± ¡°flower,¡± and ¡°spider.¡± Adon tested Red by sending the images without the accompanying words, and it became apparent that Red had come to grasp that the phrase and the picture conveyed were connected. Red would respond with the thought, Web, if Adon sent a picture of a web, and he would respond with an image of a leaf if Adon sent him the word leaf unaccompanied by an image. The small spider seemed excited about the developments in his own right. He pumped his body up and down on the web as the session continued. Adon didn¡¯t know how to interpret that except that Red was enjoying learning. Unfortunately, the process of using both mental magic and Telepathy quickly wore down his Mana. They had to break for the day. Adon felt excited, but he kept his feelings to himself. He¡¯d already given Goldie hope that this might succeed. It would be irresponsible to keep pumping her hopes up. And anyway, he needed to save his energy and try to hoard as much Mana as he could, not have long telepathic conversations. The language lessons would need to continue. The next day, Adon tried the same basic program again. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. This time, when he called Red over to him, the spider came over quickly, apparently eager to resume their practice. Adon attempted to push his Mana into Red¡¯s brain without touching him directly this time, and quickly learned that using this power did not require direct physical contact. A few brief experiments¡ªtransmitting Mana from right beside Red, several inches away, and different ends of the web¡ªestablished that the closer they were, the easier it was, and the less Mana seemed to be lost in transition. But the only actual requirement was a constant, steady flow of Mana from Adon¡¯s core into Red¡¯s brain. Based on the trial from different ends of the web, it seemed that as long as Adon was within Telepathy range, he would be able to reach Red with mental magic. The negative side of the lesson was when Adon realized that Red did not remember virtually any of what Adon had taught him the previous day. It took Adon time to figure this out. Red seemed to catch on quickly at first. He clearly remembered the foundational concept of words and images, and he understood that the words and images Adon sent were connected. Red was familiar with the rules of what must have seemed to him the repetition game they were playing. But he took time to learn the words again that day. Roughly the same amount of time he had needed on the previous day, though of course Adon had no clock. It was difficult to tell at first if Red¡¯s Intelligence dropping back to normal meant that his verbal memory was insufficient to remember bits of language, or if he simply needed more repetition. So Adon tried over several days to teach Red language by repetition. Each day, he would give Red the same vocabulary to learn and spend as much time as he could sustain working on those words with him. The rest of the time, Adon was killing the bugs that his dead crow attracted¡ªan increasing number, despite how the carcass shrank with his repeated visits to the body to feed himself and his friends. If I knew I could attract so many scavengers for Goldie to eat, I wouldn¡¯t have worried so much about making sure I got almost the whole crow here, he thought. But the language instruction program made no meaningful headway. Each day was like rolling a boulder uphill, only to find it at the bottom again the next day. Exhausting and demoralizing. More importantly, Adon knew that both of his friends would be hurt if this did not succeed. And it became gradually clearer and clearer that progress was not on the horizon. Maybe if I had a hundred years to repeat this process, I¡¯d eventually succeed, he thought. But Red didn¡¯t have that kind of time. Neither did Adon, as far as he knew. Butterflies were not typically long-lived, at least not on Earth. Adon eventually had to admit to Goldie that he had failed. He climbed up to where she lay resting near the top of the web at the end of the last session. I¡¯m sorry, he transmitted. I don¡¯t think I can get through to Red with Telepathy. Even with mental magic, he doesn¡¯t seem to be able to remember words. I don¡¯t know what the problem is, exactly, but it¡¯s beyond me to solve it. I shouldn¡¯t have acted so confident that I could make this happen. Goldie had spent most of the last several days in a semi-conscious state, but she had been increasingly aware and awake over the last day or so. She was obviously getting better. Her figure was filling back out, and Adon was proud that he had provided the nutrition she needed at the time she needed it. But all the same, the body language of disappointment that he saw from her when he told her that the attempt had failed was incredibly painful. I never really thought it possible, Goldie thought finally. Adon tried not to get more upset. He could tell she was lying to him. Trying to minimize her sadness. Do not worry about it, she added. I do not want you to feel bad. Thank you for understanding, was all he could say. Adon didn¡¯t want to try to excuse what he considered the greatest failure of his short lifetime. And he didn¡¯t want to argue with Goldie. That would just force her into trying to convince him that it was okay. Do not feel bad, Goldie thought again, more insistent this time. It felt as if she could read his innermost thoughts and feelings. As if she was the one with mental magic. I really can¡¯t help it, he admitted. I wanted to do this for you more than anything. Adon, thanks to you, I will have chance to Evolve again. My eggs are safe. My life is different and so much better because you are in it. I will never blame you for anything like this. For trying again to make our lives better. She paused and looked at him carefully. You should have something to eat. Keep your strength up. Tomorrow, I will be strong enough to remain conscious all day and defend my eggs myself. You can begin hunting, so you can make your Evolution. That¡¯s right, Adon thought. He began climbing down the side of the web to carve up some more of the crow the three of them had been eating the last few days. The bird carcass was almost gone, and the trio had harvested almost all of the Evolution Points possible from eating it. Adon had noticed he was getting diminishing returns now each time he consumed a little more flesh from that same body. Of course, that was after he had already earned a phenomenal Evolution Points reward over the last several days. He could finally afford the Specialized Chrysalis Evolution, which he had learned cost 2000 Evolution Points¡ªten times more than the Standard Chrysalis Evolution option! The description was almost the same as that for the Standard Chrysalis Evolution, but unambiguously better. Specialized Chrysalis Evolution: Activates the mechanisms that will cause your body to proceed through specialized caterpillar evolution and become a butterfly after you create your chrysalis. Your new form will reflect the specialized strengths that you have developed over the course of your life as a caterpillar. Standard Chrysalis Evolution: Activates the mechanisms that will cause your body to proceed through standard caterpillar evolution and become a butterfly after you create your chrysalis. With well over 2000 Evolution Points saved, almost entirely thanks to the crow, Adon was technically ready to move on to the next phase of his life cycle, but he wanted to enhance and add to his Skills and Adaptations as much as he could before he left his caterpillar stage behind. It was something Goldie had said in one of their earlier conversations that made that decision for him. She had mentioned options that were closed off to her after her Evolution, including Telepathy. If something that he now took for granted as much as Telepathy could become unavailable, Adon was going to develop every ability and trait that he valued as far as he reasonably could before he finalized his Evolution. He thought he should still be able to harness new forms of magic, but he was going to look for at least one or two more. And he was going to spend every Evolution Point he could gather on every single item that caught his eye. If we gather enough Evolution Points between the three of us, hopefully Red will figure out what we¡¯re doing, take the hint, and do the same himself, Adon thought. It was hard to really believe that, but it was better to imagine the unlikely scenario than to think of leaving Red behind. He had stuck by Goldie through thick and thin, and even Adon had grown to care about the little spider. Red certainly had at least close to enough Evolution Points to purchase his next stage. Goldie had told Adon that she only needed a few hundred more points, despite the fact that her next Evolution was more expensive than his. And Goldie and Red were eating the same things. Thank you for the support, Goldie, Adon sent. We have to stick together, Goldie thought. We only have each other, after all. 60. The Garden鈥檚 Greatest Predator Part 1 Adon spent several hours after his failure with Red on another journey into the darkness of the void. He still wanted to acquire the elusive power of illusion magic, and then to proceed to more potentially offensive forms of mystical power. In his state of frustration, he moved far more aggressively than usual, approaching each statue in the vicinity of the incredibly frightening one. Adon examined them closely and tried to deduce the nature of each figure as best he could with his limited knowledge and lack of any actual magical training. It was hard. He imagined that there were magic academies out there somewhere that studied what these shadowy forms looked like¡ªhad perhaps reduced the matter to a hard science in this world where the Princess used magic casually for insect extermination. Perhaps I should have asked her to show me some of her knowledge, he thought, not for the first time. But then he would have owed her something, and he would have in effect told her something about himself. It was also not necessarily true that she would have shared the knowledge she possessed. Asking if the bugs needed anything was not the same as offering a blank check. Better to try to enjoy his current situation than to relitigate what had happened anyway. Adon focused on his primitive efforts to advance his own understanding. He approached a statue that resembled a pyramid, tried to get a sense of what its shape and the feeling around it portended, and, that approach having failed, he walked away. The pattern repeated with a statue that resembled a human figure with a wolf¡¯s head in place of the human one, a statue that looked like a skull¡ªAdon thought he might know what that meant, but he did not want to test it and find out¡ªand a statue that seemed to depict a fragment of a rainbow. That is an illusion, he thought. Right? Like a mirage? But he was not willing to touch it and find out. The apparent visual reference to a rainbow could mean too many things, and Adon could also simply be completely wrong about what he thought the statue looked like. At that point, he left the void. He had to admit, his heart hadn¡¯t really been in the search this time. On every other expedition into the darkness, he had been willing to experiment. Open to trying something out. But just now, he didn¡¯t quite trust his own judgment, and it wasn¡¯t hard to figure out why. How did I let myself fail Goldie so badly? he questioned. Where did I go wrong? What was it about my assumptions? There was clearly the fact that his mental magic was limited in its effectiveness. Maybe the problem was Red¡¯s innate Intelligence score. Somehow Status points in Intelligence were correlated with the innate capacity to think and remember. Perhaps the starting point set an upper limit for how much Intelligence could be enhanced by magic, and Red¡¯s starting Intelligence was too low. But he¡¯s been eating crow just like us. It wasn¡¯t much, and the spiders have a weird way of eating it, but¡­ There was no answer readily available no matter how he racked his brain, so he asked Goldie. How much crow increased my Status? she thought back at him. It was twenty points to each Stat! Goldie sounded pleased and exuberant providing that information, and Adon could only look back at her in dismay. The crow had increased his Stats by thirty points each, and he blamed diminishing returns from having repeatedly killed superior predators for that relatively lower than expected result. He thanked Goldie for the insight and returned to his ruminations. They¡¯ve never killed anything like a crow before, but they had pretty weak returns on the investment too. It might be because they¡¯ve been through Evolution. Their weaker results are either because they are considered higher on the natural hierarchy than me, or maybe the problem is that they¡¯re eating something I killed rather than an enemy they dealt with themselves. Either way, this wasn¡¯t a problem he was going to solve in his head. But maybe one more large-sized piece of meat was the solution. Even assuming that Red started his life with single-digit Intelligence, in exchange for higher Stats than I had in other areas, I can at least assume his Intelligence increased with Evolution, right? And Goldie¡¯s Stats jumped with the crow, so Red¡¯s should have done the same. So, with another big hunk of superior species meat, it should jump enough that I can boost it up the rest of the way I need to with mental magic. Right? I hope? Maybe? There were a lot of unknowns and assumptions. In the worst case scenario, Adon realized that even if he couldn¡¯t make Red intelligent enough to learn language, he could probably try to guide Red through the System interface toward buying an Evolution by sending him mental images. After that Evolution, maybe Red would become Intelligent enough to have dialogue with him and Goldie. But for now, Adon would go for the big game that should at least secure him and Goldie the best Evolutions they could possibly achieve. He returned to the void with a renewed sense of purpose for a little while, and this time, he actually touched something¡ªa figure that looked like a sort of impossible shape, which he interpreted as an optical illusion. And something frightening happened. That statue immediately began draining Adon¡¯s Mana¡ªnot channeling it into some area of his body, or converting it into some specific kind of energy, just draining it away. It reminded him of a time he had plugged one of his personal electronic devices into an outlet in a public place, and the outlet somehow began stealing electricity from his device instead of charging it. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Fortunately, he managed to yank his body away from the figure before his Mana could drop too low. He wasn¡¯t left paralyzed with a crippling headache¡ªor drained into a hollowed out husk! But he decided to rest and recover for the evening before he went out looking for more food. He needed to be at his best to hunt the sort of prey he was after effectively anyway. The sun soon set, the night set in, and Adon rested. And at first light the next morning, fully charged and ready, he said goodbye to Goldie and asked Red to protect her with the piecemeal communication the two of them had developed. Then Adon walked out from beneath the web and set out to see what he could find. Moving through the garden again after days of quiet and near solitude was refreshing. The quality of the light outdoors was different from the quality of light that fell into the web. It almost felt like he was coming out from having been inside a building, which reminded him uncomfortably of his last life as an overweight shut-in. But now I¡¯m different in every way, he reminded himself. I was only staying in one place this time so that I could protect my friend. This version of me is strong and brave. And I even have friends! Even as he reassured himself, he was using all his senses to look out for prey. Something large that would allow him and his friends to climb to the next stage without question. He was no longer afraid of the larger animals. He had not encountered any that seemed to understand Mana in the way that he did, and the more time he spent in the black void, the more unlikely it seemed to him that other animals would have even rudimentary Mana-related attacks. There was the bluebird, and the bat¡¯s echolocation attack, but both were simply enhancing their natural capabilities¡ªthe bluebird¡¯s lung capacity and the bat¡¯s echolocation. If that was the limit of what they could do, then even Adon¡¯s unsophisticated approach should be enough to bring down the greatest of them. But with his eyes leveled and scanning the environment, his antennae standing up and searching, and his hearing also functioning at its highest level ever, fueled by crow flesh, Adon wasn¡¯t finding anything. Not only the powerful garden predators seemed to be absent, but even the smaller animals. Wherever he walked, no other insects seemed to be moving in his path. If Adon looked carefully, he could see spiders working away at their webs deep in bushes or otherwise up out of his immediate reach. None of them looked in his direction¡ªas if he was either beneath their notice, or they were shy. Everything else was either camouflaged or hidden away somewhere out of his sight. It felt extremely peculiar, yet also familiar. Not familiar to how Adon had experienced this life, but similar to something he only vaguely recalled from some of his lives as higher life forms. This is like what would happen when I walked into the forest as a dragon. The whole landscape would grow silent, because¡­ Oh. Everything that lived and moved around in the garden seemed to be afraid of Adon. Like he was a dragon¡ªor even a human in most settings. Nothing was moving within sight of him, because nothing around here thought it could fight him. Other bugs were actively staying away from his stomping grounds. Avoiding the area they consider my territory, he thought. Especially while I¡¯m out and about. Am I the garden¡¯s scariest predator? The thought was naturally a big ego boost. It filled Adon¡¯s body with what he was aware was probably a half-imagined feeling of warmth even as he wandered the garden unsuccessfully searching for worthy prey. At least he was having trouble finding his next victim for a satisfying reason. He had succeeded beyond anything he had realistically believed possible; the creatures that he had once feared now avoided him out of fear in turn. This idea kept him content to continue walking, without bothering to use Color Change, until he found what he was looking for: something so large and dangerous, so far above him in the food chain, that it didn¡¯t think it needed to hide from him. It wasn¡¯t mantids or little lizards that Adon was hunting for this time. He didn¡¯t know what he was looking for, but he would recognize it when he saw it. He walked around near the ruined patch of earth that had once been the Vendetta Ants¡¯ nest. Nothing there. He moved closer to the palace but saw nothing lurking in the open there either¡ªand then he remembered that he had an asset close by. Hidden on the rooftop, there was still a silk-wrapped baby bluebird corpse. Though the thought of consuming it now, days later, seemed disgusting to his still human mind, he imagined it might still have nutritional value for him or Goldie. But more importantly, he thought he could use the bluebird chick as bait. Adon drew up to the palace, activated Color Change, and began scaling the wall. The one type of enemy he wasn¡¯t certain he was fully prepared to meet was a flying predator. At least not one that could see him. His mind went to the kite that had killed the bluebird. Surely it would not be interested in a caterpillar¡ªbut if he could get the element of surprise, wouldn¡¯t a bird of prey die just the same as a crow if one of his Mana balls hit it in a vital area? It made Adon¡¯s heart pulse with a little more excitement to think of it. He reached the top of the roof and moved to retrieve the bluebird chick, his Simple Eyes constantly monitoring for movement over the horizon that might indicate a large bird. But as he approached the raised roof tile, there were no indications of movement. Only a distant buzzing sound. Adon listened to that closely enough to verify it was not the same buzzing that he remembered as the dragonfly¡¯s chainsaw-like noise, and then he dismissed it. I¡¯m not here to catch bees. He reached the bluebird, and he found a gross, grisly scene. Adon¡¯s silk package had not gone entirely undisturbed after all. Flies and a thick, bloated centipede were busily chowing down on what was left of the chick. Where there had been blood, there was now thick, almost black goo. The entire small bird had been stripped of its upper layers of flesh. Adon considered whether to shoot a few spines into the centipede and shoo away the flies so he could take what was left of the corpse and use it as bait, but rejected the idea. The bluebird body smelled rancid now, and even though that might actually make it a better bait, he didn¡¯t want to carry a smelly dead body around with him. So he left the scavengers alone. There was no point in more killing here, even if they had ruined his plan to hunt larger prey. Once again, Adon reflected that he was ready to move past this violent stage of his life. Not that he wanted to renounce violence, exactly, but he wanted to have more choices in what he did going forward. Right now, he was living from one kill to the next. It felt like a strange, slightly counterintuitive choice to not kill something that was in his way. That couldn¡¯t be right. That couldn¡¯t be what the Goddess wanted for him. Right? He began making his way down from the roof. That distant buzzing sound was still there, slightly louder now as if there was more than one of whatever made it. The origin point was not within his line of sight, though, and he did not look for it. I guess there¡¯s a wasp¡¯s nest or something somewhere up here. But they were too small and not high enough on the natural hierarchy for Adon to interest himself. Killing off a bunch of insects would be a lot of effort for low reward. Adon walked down the side of the palace wall and continued to keep all his senses focused on finding his next prey. From the high vantage point of the palace wall, he thought he saw some movement near a tree that was some distance into the garden. In the same general area as the birdhouse Adon had attacked, there was a large creature moving. Dark-colored and moving in shadow. A snake. 61. The Garden鈥檚 Greatest Predator Part 2 A snake is the perfect final enemy for my time as a caterpillar, Adon thought. I remember when I was still in the egg, and I wondered if I might be a worm or a snake or something. No one¡¯s likely to miss a snake¡ªthough he supposed that wasn¡¯t really true. Considering that he and Goldie would certainly miss each other if something happened to either of them, but back in Adon¡¯s last world, most people had been afraid of spiders. Maybe the snake had loved ones. It was hard to imagine. As he stared down at the tan brown incarnation of small animal death, he struggled to believe even its mother could love it. He shook his head. Why am I even thinking about this? I didn¡¯t think about depriving something of a loved one when I decided to kill the crow, and I think they¡¯re way more social than snakes. Adon used Identify on the distant reptile. Children¡¯s Python (Male) Python means it¡¯s not venomous, right? He was almost certain of it. Not that it mattered. This creature was so much larger than Adon that it would have no need to use venom on him if its fangs got near him. It would just swallow him whole. Adon began charging his Mana energy ball. The snake seemed preoccupied with something. It was digging in the ground with its head and didn¡¯t appear to be paying any attention to its surroundings. Adon wished he was a bit closer so that he could aim more accurately, and he crept nearer, moving along the garden wall so that he could get within range to launch his attack. But he did not want to waste this distracted time while the snake was directing its attention elsewhere. He thought that if he could land a single attack, it might kill the monster in one blow. If it was a surprise attack while the beast was distracted, Adon had every reason to expect it should land. He rushed faster along the wall, unconcerned about stealth. He was still using Color Change, so even if a predator was looking right in his direction, it shouldn¡¯t be able to see him. The snake was making progress in its digging almost as quickly as Adon was rushing to attack it. If the snake retreated into a hole, Adon doubted he would ever see it again. And one thing his Mana ball had shown it wasn¡¯t particularly good at was digging through earth. The soil seemed to stop it almost as well as if he was simply dropping lit matches. As Adon closed the distance, he had to jump down from the wall to get closer. He landed and rolled, careful not to let his mandibles¡ªand the ball of energy they held between them¡ªsmack into the ground. I probably shouldn¡¯t have started charging it so early, he thought. It was already almost burning, hot and urgent between his mandibles, demanding to be let loose. He bounded through the grass, rushing to close the distance with the snake, grateful that he had seen his Stats increase again and again as he hunted advanced creatures. And he saw, as he got within ten feet of the snake, that it wasn¡¯t trying to dig a hole to get somewhere it could hide. It was digging into the burrow of one of the nocturnal creatures Adon had seen on that terrifying night when he encountered the Little Brown Bat and the Exploding Carpenter Ants. The Midnight Garden Vole. Adon was torn about how to react as he saw the creature that had once frightened him¡ªnot so much larger than he was anymore, really¡ªexposed in its burrow. It blinked sleepily, then tried to retreat further into the nest in a panicked rush. The snake bit into its back leg and began pulling the vole back out. Its body stubbornly clung to the dirt and the roots, but there was precious little that it could do. Its stubby toes had little purchase, and the soil was not something particularly firm that it could cling to reliably. On the one hand, Adon felt the smallest stirrings of sympathy for the little creature. On the other hand, this was the perfect opportunity. The snake looped its tail around the vole¡¯s body and slowly wrapped it in three layers of scaled coil. Adon waited for the python to fully commit to constricting. It shouldn¡¯t be able to dodge much while it was killing its prey. As it released the vole from its jaws and began slowly squeezing the life out of it with its body, Adon finally launched the Mana ball. It had been causing mild pain as he contained it, and he only realized how much when he finally let go. I have to be really careful how I use that, he thought. He supposed he could always grow new mandibles, if they shattered under the pressure of containing his Mana, but he didn¡¯t like to think what would happen if his mandibles snapped while he was holding onto a Mana ball right next to his head. The python looked very preoccupied with suffocating the vole, but as Adon watched the trajectory of his Mana ball, the python seemed to notice something amiss as well. It saw the bright energy ball heading toward it, tilted its head slightly, flicked the air with its tongue¡ªand then started to move its body to the side. The Mana ball missed it by a hair. The snake looked after it and saw the ball strike the tree behind it and gouge a hole through one of the thin places in the tree. Goddess damn it! Adon immediately began charging the attack again. The snake turned to look at him, and its eyes stared at the Mana ball that was slowly forming in between Adon¡¯s mandibles. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The snake began slithering toward him, its movements only slightly slowed by the vole it was still choking out with its lower body. Shit. Shit! Adon started walking backward quickly. At least he seemed to be able to move faster than the snake while it had the vole in its clutches. He was not prepared for the python to finally release the vole and focus completely on him, which it did with a hiss. Shit. I guess I¡¯m a legitimate threat! Adon continued to run while charging his Mana ball, facing forward as his legs pulled him backward. The snake began to gain on him, closing the distance to four feet. The ground began to change underneath Adon¡¯s feet, but he hardly noticed. This was happening much too fast! Three feet. Adon tried to put some high grass in between him and the monster, but it kept coming. He thought he detected a glint of victory in its eyes. Two feet. Adon began moving even faster, top speed, back toward the palace. He thought he might be able to quickly climb up the wall. But he knew almost immediately that he didn¡¯t have the time or the space. The palace was just too far away. Close as it was in human terms, it wasn¡¯t possible for him right now. One foot. I¡¯m not going to make it. I have to stand and fight. I still have plenty of tricks, remember that. The snake struck. Adon fired his Mana ball. It wasn¡¯t fully charged, but there was still a powerful concentration of Mana between his mandibles. The python was caught off guard. He could see that in its eyes and the posture of its head. It didn¡¯t understand quite what it was dealing with and didn''t know what the power of Adon¡¯s attack was, exactly. Didn¡¯t know what to do. It kept moving forward along almost the same trajectory, though it half-heartedly tried to weave to the side slightly. That was what kept the energy ball from scoring the death blow. It struck the serpent¡¯s head squarely on the right side, and it did the same thing to the snake that the attack seemed to do to everything else it hit: tore right through. The ball hit at the top of the snout and cut a path up the right side, until it reached the eyeball, which it burned through. Then the Mana ball flew off the top of the snake¡¯s head and kept going. Adon lost track of it. The python was taking all of his attention. It writhed in pain before his eyes, but he could tell it was far from mortally wounded. The snake¡¯s remaining eye looked filled with rage to Adon, and he had no doubt that it would continue to pursue him if it could. Looking at its long, thin body, it struck Adon that the creature could endure a number of such attacks. Some of the energy balls would simply miss. Some would graze. If Adon was lucky, he¡¯d kill the snake before it killed him, but clearly this was not the right tactic to try against this monster if he didn¡¯t have the element of surprise. He looked down at himself to make sure that Color Change was still active. It was. Then Adon turned tail and ran. For a few seconds, as the palace loomed larger and larger in his view, he thought he might have gotten away from the python completely. Then he heard it. The sound of the grass behind him being bent and what twigs there were being snapped. The snake had pulled itself together. It was following his trail, convinced it was about to win this lethal game of tag. He considered charging another energy ball¡ªbut no, that would just draw the snake¡¯s eyes right to his position. Instead, Adon darted into a nearby bush and tried to get as close to the stem as he could. Please run past me, he thought. His body felt hot and tense, both from the repeated use of his Mana energy ball and from the life or death chase. He wanted to take a few minutes and regroup. Make a new plan. The snake slithered closer to the bush, and then it pulled alongside it. Keep going¡­ The reptile turned its body and lowered its head until it was almost at eyeline height with Adon. It stared right at him, and Adon felt almost as if he and the snake were making eye contact. Suddenly he knew¡ªeven with Color Change active, he was not invisible to this creature. Adon took a step to the side, away from the stem. And the snake¡¯s head turned to follow his movements. Shit. His mind raced through options for escape. At the same time, it hit him what the problem was. Just like him, the snake could sense things using the infrared spectrum. And unlike the snake, whose body was cold-blooded, Adon was currently quite warm from the repeated use of his Mana ball. In the middle of a bush that stood in the cool shadow of the palace, he would stand out like a firecracker. Adon wished he had some kind of temperature changing magic, or maybe just access to some mud or water he could use to cool his body quickly. I can¡¯t launch any of my actual attacks unless he gets closer, Adon thought. Spine Shot would strike the snake from this distance, because Adon had repeatedly enhanced that ability until it was an incredible weapon. But it would probably bounce off of the snake¡¯s scales at this range. And all of Adon¡¯s other attacks besides his Mana ball were close range attacks. I really need some offensive magic. Or at least illusions so I could get in close without being noticed¡­ There were a few tense seconds as the snake and the caterpillar stared each other down. Each waited for the other to make the first move. Then the python struck! In a blur of speed, the head rocketed toward Adon¡¯s position. Adon saw a blur of scale, fang, and red blood streaming from the snake¡¯s wound rushing toward him. He threw himself to the side, and he felt the edge of the snake¡¯s blind side brush past him, spattering him with sticky red blood. Then Adon was running, stumbling and catching himself, trying to get away as best he could. He was turning his head to look back at the snake when a shadow fell over him. He turned his head to look ahead again, and a heavy object smashed into his head. Adon tumbled backward. The impact left him stunned for a moment. The tail, he thought. The snake knew I would run away even before he struck. He clubbed me with the tail¡­ Then the snake¡¯s coils were wrapping around him, and Adon found himself unable to move for a different reason. The snake was trying to crush the life out of him. The worst part was that it happened so quickly that he couldn¡¯t even try sticking it with his spines. Adon¡¯s best natural weapons were pressed flat against his body, as the snake¡¯s grip tightened around him. 62. Tourists Part 2 Rosslyn¡¯s eyes took in every detail of the Deformed Forest as they entered that blighted and unnatural place. The trees were even more grotesque than they had been from a distance. They grew in tangled and twisted structures, more so than any plant she had ever seen before. One plant growing half-sprawled over another, so that it was impossible that any of them could be getting enough sunlight. Yet they also grew thick and strong. The thousands and thousands of branches were such a thick tangle that they blotted out the sun. Rosslyn was keenly aware that they could easily grow lost in such a dim place, though fortunately, there was a small crew of local lumberjacks who maintained a path large enough for a carriage to cross. They held a valuable monopoly on the logging rights in these woods, with the caveat that they could only cut a limited number. The palace considered the forest to be a good defensive barrier. To go around it and enter Claustria from another side would take the Demon Army a full day. If the Empire sent its military on any route that did not go through the forest, the fortress would raise the alarm before it could be besieged. A good defensive system, as long as the forest remained as dense and difficult to cross as it was. The wood from the Deformed Forest was typically sold to noble families who thought they could use wood that was contaminated by the Empire¡¯s experiments for magical purposes. Rosslyn herself was dubious as to its utility. She had observed that even aristocrats who knew they could make no use of the wood would buy it simply because other nobles were doing it and because it was scarce. They were simply trying to signal their status. As Rosslyn¡¯s convoy began to cross through the woods, travel slowed to a crawl. The horsemen held glass lanterns in careful hands, lest they spark a fire that might ignite the entire densely packed forest with them inside. The light played on the trees, and in the strange, flickering light of the fires, Rosslyn thought she saw strange things in the trees. Owls, foxes, the occasional deer¡ªbut distorted. The owls looked to have human-like faces, not to mention the fact that they were flying around in the daytime. The foxes were their normal coloration, but they looked almost as large as wolves. The deer stared back at the carriages with glowing red eyes and looked to Rosslyn to be contemplating whether they could eat the humans traveling through their woods. The animals in this place are just as deformed as the plant life, she thought, suppressing a shudder. It was slightly disturbing to think that this horrid place was a part of her father¡¯s land. Give me an honest fight where I can see the danger I am facing over these creatures sneaking around in the shadows any day of the week¡­ There were a few hours of slow, bumpy, uncomfortable travel¡ªthe lumberjacks might have been doing their job in keeping the path just wide enough for carriages to pass, but they were apparently not clearing away roots that grew across the path¡ªand then Rosslyn could see rays of light cutting through the gloom. A few seconds later, she saw a gap in the trees. The fortifications they had seen at a distance earlier pulled into view. So close. Remarkably mighty. The trees quickly thinned out as they emerged from the Deformed Forest. And the great walls of Stalenton filled the carriage passengers¡¯ fields of vision. ¡°This is the fortified city of Stalenton,¡± Rosslyn murmured. The painted images she had seen of the city, the schematics in her textbooks on warfare and the Demon Empire, and even the verbal descriptions of her tutor who had traveled over much of the world¡ªnone of them did this great and terrible city justice. ¡°It looks like it was built by a divine being,¡± Carolien said. She covered her mouth as soon as the words were out of it and looked askance from Rosslyn to Lord Baranack and back. ¡°Relax, stepmother,¡± Rosslyn said lightly. ¡°There are no clergy here to accuse you of anything.¡± The remark was technically heretical, since the Demon Empire was the living embodiment of pure evil, the polar opposite of the Goddess¡¯s gentle goodwill and creative powers. But Rosslyn could not help but admit that there was some truth in what Carolien said. ¡°It is a mighty stronghold,¡± Lord Baranack said evenly, neither passing judgment nor offering absolution. ¡°Some have said that it is the greatest fortified city in all the world.¡± ¡°Once, the greatest fortified city in the Goddess-worshiping world,¡± Rosslyn said in a regretful tone. ¡°Yes,¡± Lord Baranack agreed flatly. None of them said anything more. All their minds were going over the story. The conquest of this city in the last war. The city had changed little over time, according to the best available intelligence, because even during the conquest era, it was virtually impregnable by ground assault. A city built in highly defensible layers in a shape like an onion. Each layer was at a higher elevation than the one previous, and each could be sealed from within against outside advance. The last layer was also the city¡¯s peak, the infamous Castle Stalen, named for the ruler who ordered the city built. Though the Ursabian King had not lived to see the city¡¯s completed construction, it was said that he laid the foundations in human blood and bone. The city¡¯s greatest defenses were the vast, high, and seemingly indestructible exterior walls, made from a magic resistant rock called Sylphan Stone¡ªand the innermost layer of the city, the castle itself, which was made of the same material. Its greatest weakness was the people. In the last War of Demonic Aggression, the Empire smashed the Ursabian Army on the field in front of the city, and Stalenton naturally responded by closing its gates and sealing off the inner gates in the various layers that separated the strata of Ursabian society. General Vizzini of the Demon Army wasted little time in trying to break through the walls themselves. Instead, he sent orders for reinforcements, and he besieged the city. The Demon Empire knew already, through their famous intelligence network, that the Ursabians had sent for aid to their neighbor. This would not be the first time the Ursabians were attacked by the Empire¡ªindeed, they had previously been conquered by the Empire, at the high water mark of its power¡ªand they were one of the Holy Kingdoms, allied with Claustria and the other Goddess-worshiping nations that feared and despised the Empire. So General Vizzini ordered catapults and reinforcements. The catapults, he used to launch alternating barrages of heavy stones, plague-infested rats, and propaganda into the city. He did not bother aiming at the exterior walls. And the reinforcements, he used to ensure that no one could escape and no one could relieve the siege. The Demon Empire had both a strong military and waves upon waves of soldiers. The Parmonian Army rode to relieve the siege, but they were broken and scattered outside of the city walls, and the King slain in battle. The Claustrian Army had coordinated with the Parmonians, but they arrived a day late, and they were defeated and forced to retreat back through the forest, which at that time was called by a different name. Though they retreated in good order, their force had been decimated, and they could no longer give the Demon Army open battle. The Claustrians were reduced to using hit and run tactics, attempting to bleed the Demon Army and create some opening to sneak food and water into the city. Stalenton had some food held in reserve for just this eventuality, but the water shortage was more pressing. The city was almost completely landlocked, unfortunately. A single river ran through Stalenton¡¯s city center, but the Demon Army dammed it as a part of their siege effort. It seemed fate conspired with the Demon Empire on this occasion, as well, because their offensive coincided with a drought in the region. Damming the river was made easier by its weaker flow, and the Stalenton residents could not rely on rain to renew their supply of fresh water. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. With the Claustrian forces¡¯ lack of success in breaking the Empire¡¯s offensive, the first layer of the city surrendered and threw open its gates after a week and a half with no access to water. General Vizzini treated the Ursabians of Stalenton with uncharacteristic mercy¡ªthis was a man who had a reputation for decorating his walls with the skulls of human warriors he considered exceptional, and that was how he treated people he respected. The Ursabians of the lowest layer had been expecting their whole adult population to be either butchered and eaten or sold into slavery, which was how the General had reputedly treated other cities that resisted him in the past. They had surrendered because they reckoned that at least their children would be more likely to survive with the gates open and access to water a possibility. Instead, Vizzini enslaved a relatively small portion of the adult population, only the fighting age men and some of the nobility, and he kept his troops¡¯ pillaging to what historians described as ¡°a restrained level.¡± The subsequent layers of the city surrendered sequentially after seeing that, each one more quickly than the last, until finally Castle Stalen was the last holdout. Vizzini did not offer terms to them. He knew he held all the cards at that point. Safe behind the city walls with his army, he could hold out even if the Holy Kingdoms mustered a force larger than his own¡ªvirtually impossible under their internal conditions at the time. After holding out for a month, the castle surrendered. The steward came out to deliver the news at noon. His face was skeletal, by all accounts. The entire Ursabian Royal Family had taken a fatal dose of poison at breakfast that morning¡ªbreakfast came in the form of the only food the castle had left, hard millet bread served with strong spirits¡ªand at long last, hours later the heartiest member of the family had died. It was never entirely clear to Rosslyn if the story was one of mass suicide or of treachery from within the castle. And General Vizzini did not seem to stress the question. Either way, this victory was a result of him successfully starving the castle¡¯s inhabitants out. He established his own people in control of the castle, awarded the steward a high noble title within the Empire using his wartime authority, and moved the army onward. Rosslyn knew these events so well, because they preceded the Siege of Wayn. The closest Claustria had come to being conquered. And now this is their capitol. As if they wish to taunt us with their proximity. As she looked over the city walls now, she let out a breath she had not realized she had been holding. ¡°Formidable,¡± she said quietly, to herself. Lord Baranack looked at her curiously, then nodded. ¡°Yes,¡± he said. ¡°It is wise to recognize the strength of your enemy.¡± A postern gate in the mighty walls opened, and an armored rider dressed all in black issued forth, riding toward them. ¡°Halt!¡± he exclaimed in Ursabian as he drew a bit nearer. The man¡¯s voice sounded like the cry of a vulture. The procession of carriages ground to a stop. ¡°Who would pass into the Demon Empire?¡± asked the rider, his tone harsh and cutting. Lord Baranack stepped out of the carriage and spoke in a calm, clear voice, in fluent Ursabian. ¡°Sir, I am Lord Baranack, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Claustria. I have come to occupy the Claustrian Embassy in Stalenton and reestablish our diplomatic relations with the Empire. Please allow me and my staff passage into your fine city.¡± The horseman dug his heels into his horse¡¯s side, and the beast began to circle the carriages. Rosslyn gave up on trying to watch him through the carriage¡¯s windows; they had several blind spots that the horse would ride through. Instead, she opened her other senses and tracked him that way. She could hear the sound of hooves trampling the ground and smell the odor of horse and sweaty rider as they moved¡ªit was a bit warmer here than it had been on the other side of the border. Even with winter quickly approaching, the horseman had already worked up a sweat. So Rosslyn was not surprised when the man poked his head into her carriage. He had removed his helmet, so Rosslyn could see the man¡¯s full face. He appeared to be a human rather than a demon¡ªhe lacked the tiny horns that demonkind typically shared¡ªwith close-cropped brown hair and the narrow hazel eyes typical of Ursabians. She turned her head toward him, feigning some level of surprise, because it seemed like the natural response to a stranger looking in at her and Carolien. Rosslyn did not have to look at her stepmother to know how she was reacting. She heard Carolien suck in a sharp breath of air, but the Queen said nothing. ¡°Who are you two?¡± the rider asked. His voice was slightly softened at the sight of two women. ¡°We do not speak Ursabian,¡± Rosslyn lied smoothly. It was a language that was no longer spoken outside of the former Kingdom of Ursabia itself, with decreasing numbers of people speaking it even there, while Demontongue spread. So she had decided that it was unlikely that some bodyguard would know the language. The man shifted to Claustrian. ¡°Fine, then,¡± he said. ¡°Do you two understand me now?¡± ¡°We do,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°What is your purpose here?¡± ¡°We are part of Lord Baranack¡¯s guard,¡± Carolien said. ¡°Here to ensure he arrives in your Emperor¡¯s custody safely.¡± ¡°Hmph.¡± The horseman appeared unconvinced. ¡°Am I meant to believe that the two of you can fight?¡± ¡°I would be happy to demonstrate, if you doubt our identities,¡± Rosslyn replied. ¡°No, she will demonstrate,¡± the man said slowly, pointing at Carolien. He turned his gaze back to Rosslyn. ¡°I believe you would not have volunteered if you were not confident. But if you are not both bodyguards, then we will seize all of you for questioning.¡± Rosslyn and Carolien were both dressed in the part of bodyguards today. Carolien was armed and dressed in the fashion of a knight, wearing plate armor and a sword and dirk on her left and right sides respectively. She had a helmet at her side, and she wore her hair in a tight bun for this part of the journey so that it could not be easily pulled in the event of a fight. But Rosslyn was nervous about this. She had never seen her stepmother fight. Rosslyn opened her mouth to object¡ªbut Carolien spoke first. ¡°I will happily demonstrate for you,¡± she said, smiling beguilingly. She rose and pulled her helmet on, then stepped out of the carriage. The man stepped down from his horse and whispered something in the beast¡¯s ear. At least he seems to be less comfortable on the ground than he was on the horse, Rosslyn thought. The rider moved less steadily than he had on horseback as he walked slightly bow-legged and seemed almost to be getting his land legs back. That was something. It could make a difference. ¡°So, how do you want to do this, then?¡± Carolien asked. ¡°We will exchange a few blows,¡± the horseman said, his tone almost dismissive. ¡°Then I will know.¡± ¡°Ready whenever you are,¡± she replied. Well done, Carolien, Rosslyn thought. Get him fighting now, before he has the chance to get more comfortable on the ground again! ¡°Wait just a moment,¡± came Lord Baranack¡¯s voice. He quickly moved over from the other side of the carriages to stand between Carolien and the rider. ¡°Is this how the Demon Empire treats honored guests?¡± ¡°Get out of the way, ambassador,¡± the horseman said. ¡°You may be some authority in your Kingdom, but I am responsible for security here. I will verify that this woman is your bodyguard.¡± ¡°My lord, please, get behind me!¡± Carolien said urgently, stepping up next to Lord Baranack. ¡°This situation is dangerous!¡± She was putting on a good performance as a bodyguard, Rosslyn observed. Carolien would have done well as an actress, if that were not a lowly profession unfit for someone of high birth. Lord Baranack finally seemed to understand that he was not going to stop this, and he stepped backward and then into the carriage to sit across from Rosslyn and watch. Unfortunately, his interference had robbed Carolien of any advantage she might have had from the rider still being adjusted to horseback. He had been maneuvering around the whole time he and Lord Baranack were talking, and now he was moving fairly fluidly on the ground as he had on the horse. It was almost as if Lord Baranack was helping him, though the idea did not make sense. Even if Rosslyn thought his incompetence at matchmaking was an indicator of treachery, or that his views on the Demon Empire were suspect, why would he make certain that some random gate guard had an advantage in a fight with Carolien? A large part of this trip was the King¡¯s attempt to convince the Queen that the Demon Empire posed a near immediate threat. If she lost a fight to a guard, that would certainly push her toward thinking the Demon Army was more rather than less formidable. Rosslyn shook her head. No, Lord Baranack was merely incompetent. At least on this occasion. She focused on the two armored figures outside of the carriage. Both wore their helmets now. Both had taken their stances. To Rosslyn¡¯s slight surprise, each looked practiced in their stance. Though Carolien must not have trained for years¡­ As Rosslyn watched, they began to move. 63. Tourists Part 3 Carolien moved first. She stepped to the left side, walking like a crab, trying to get the horseman at an angle. But he circled with her in response, putting his side to the carriages and keeping Carolien at his front. Whatever his attitude might have been before the spar, he at least seemed to be treating it seriously. Maybe he simply wanted to avoid being embarrassed. Carolien stepped a little closer, and the horseman responded by lunging at her. Perhaps he was thinking he did not want to let her be the aggressor. When men fought women, Rosslyn had observed in the past, their primary disadvantage was that they treated the women differently than they might treat men. With an unknown opponent, caution should usually be the order of the day. Once the fighter is confident in a read of the other person¡¯s moves, only then should they be willing to take risks. Carolien sidestepped the lunge and tapped the horseman on the shoulder with her sword. It was gentle, an almost mocking gesture, but the clash of metal on metal was still loud enough to be heard from the wall, Rosslyn guessed. The horseman threw himself into another lunge. This forced Carolien backward, off balance, but she pivoted on her left foot to get out of the way. As Carolien pivoted, the horseman chased her. Throwing slashes and chops at her torso that she seemed to only barely parry each time, he drove her back. She struck him in the chest with her sword, more forcefully this time. Then he smashed his sword against her helmet. Rosslyn could hear the ringing from the carriage, and she winced at the sound. It would be disorienting, she knew. Rosslyn had experienced that sort of impact before. If her own past head injuries were at all representative, this would have disturbed Carolien¡¯s inner ear, and she would have trouble keeping her balance after such a blow. I would have said she was winning until this moment, if we were scoring this match. Yet Rosslyn thought the bout might be nearing its end. The horseman would take advantage of any weakness Carolien showed. It probably will not be a problem, in any case. She has shown that she can move capably. He can have no doubt that she is a bodyguard based on this performance. She does not need to actually defeat him¡­ But Carolien kept moving, pulled by some force Rosslyn was not certain of. If anything, she became quicker and more violent¡ªrestraining herself less rather than losing control¡ªand the horseman began to cede ground. He seemed far from giving up, and he continued to land cuts and thrusts on her armor, but the momentum was clearly all on one side. Carolien was landing more strikes than the rider, and she was landing most of them in areas that would have been lethal if not for the armor both combatants wore. Finally, he blocked a blow aimed at his head, and the ringing from the clash of steel was so loud that Lord Baranack pressed his hands to his ears beside Rosslyn. ¡°That is enough,¡± the horseman said loudly in Claustrian. ¡°I believe you are a bodyguard.¡± He chuckled. ¡°The ambassador should have no problems under your care. Good luck to you in navigating the city. If I may, I will give you some directions before you leave.¡± He removed his helmet. Carolien was already putting her sword back in its sheath. ¡°Thank you for an honorable contest, sir,¡± she said, carefully removing her own helmet, courtly manners back in place instantly. She has kept up with her training, Rosslyn thought admiringly. All nobles and royals were given some instruction in the art of combat, but in these times of peace, so many allowed their skills to grow dull¡ªwhich was what Rosslyn would have expected of Carolien. She was almost guaranteed a life free from violence as a king¡¯s consort. My opinion of her continues to rise. ¡°It was my pleasure to cross blades with you,¡± the horseman said. Rosslyn noticed for the first time that his Claustrian was a little stilted. She visually appraised the duelists as they continued talking. Both combatants were slightly sweatier than they had been at the start, Rosslyn noted. She assessed that Carolien was a little less exhausted than the man, but then, he had been sweaty when they started. He was undoubtedly in the middle of a long shift at the wall¡ªprobably the reason why he picked a fight, rather than some genuine concern that they might be spies or otherwise different from who they said they were. Neither combatant had used meaningful amounts of Mana, though Carolien would, like Rosslyn, enhance her body with Mana whenever she fought, by reflex. The knight is probably good, Rosslyn decided. Then she refocused on the conversation. ¡°May I ask your name, ma¡¯am?¡± the rider was asking. ¡°Lady Claudia of Margray,¡± Carolien said. Rosslyn dimly recognized the territory named as a province of Carolien¡¯s own homeland. A good false identity. She was unlikely to accidentally contradict it. ¡°And your name, sir?¡± ¡°Oh, I am called Hauk,¡± the horseman said. He sounded deflated for some reason. ¡°Just, um, Hauk.¡± ¡°It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Hauk,¡± Carolien said. She extended her hand, and they shook. ¡°I would ask how such a beautiful¡ªand noble¡ªlady ends up falling into this line of work, but I believe I promised to tell you how to find your way around the city.¡± He began describing the layout of the city to Carolien in detail, with gate locations and explanations of the sorts of people who lived in the different strata. Rosslyn noted that he looked and sounded melancholy as he spoke. But it was the way he gazed at Carolien that told Rosslyn where his mind was. Ah, he was attracted to Carolien and realized when she introduced herself that she was out of his league. Noble women do not often marry those of low birth. Rosslyn looked at her stepmother with fresh eyes. She was still young and beautiful. In the unlikely event that something were to happen to Rosslyn¡¯s father, it was conceivable that she might remarry. Rosslyn had to keep her face from twisting into a sour expression at the thought. Hopefully if something happened to her father in the next few years, she would not have to see what the world would look like without him. The procession moved through the city briskly once they were allowed through the great gate. Some of the local peasantry looked in at the carriages curiously, but most kept their heads down, eyes to the ground. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The reception was very different from what Rosslyn would expect in her own country. In Claustria, if visiting dignitaries passed through a town, she would expect peasants to crowd around, offering their goods and services, begging for alms, or if the visitor was clergy or royalty, seeking a blessing. When Rosslyn toured the Kingdom as a younger girl, she remembered mobs of people fighting their way forward to kiss the hems of her clothing. She assessed the different reaction here as a symptom of the heavier hand of the Emperor as compared with the less irksome rule of her father and his allies. The King, and many of those in the other Holy Kingdoms, believed in taxing only so much as was needed to fill the treasury; in enforcing royal and aristocratic rights and privileges as mildly as they could; and in conferring new aristocratic titles only rarely. In prosperous times, even the executioners saw little work, since few people were ready to go to the noose just to acquire a little more for themselves or their families. In practice, this meant that for the last several decades most people¡¯s encounters with the Royal Family or the aristocracy in Claustria had been relatively benign. There was little fear in the population of their rulers¡ªor rather, there was only just the correct amount of fear to keep the people in their proper place, and the aristocracy in their seats. But here things were different. In the Demon Empire, the flower that sticks out is either plucked to decorate the Emperor¡¯s table or cut down if it offends his eye. Either way, standing out here means death. She resolved to be as inconspicuous as possible when she acted to fulfill her mission. The date of the meeting is in two days, though. We have some time to kill. How should I act until then? The question was answered for her after their party made it all the way into the innermost circle where the embassy was. ¡°How would you feel about doing some sightseeing?¡± Carolien asked as soon as they were in their quarters. ¡°I believe the lord is adequately protected and would not object to our taking the afternoon off. Perhaps tomorrow as well.¡± ¡°That sounds like as good a use of our time as any,¡± Rosslyn said, careful not to show the familial level of familiarity with her stepmother that she would normally display. This was an embassy located in the Demon Empire, so the assumption that they were both acting under was that their conversations were being monitored at all times. The two women changed into simple dresses intended to visually indicate a middle class merchant background, though if anyone asked, they both understood they were to introduce themselves as bodyguards for the ambassador. Stalenton was known to be a city of spies. Then they requested leave to see the city from Lord Baranack, who seemed amused to give it to them. ¡°Yes, I think your services will be unnecessary over the next day or so,¡± he said, fanning himself with a long peacock feather fan that had come with his chamber. ¡°Feel free to consider yourselves at leisure. I may need your protection in transiting the city a few days from now, but until then, I will try to make myself at home in the quarters our hosts have been so good as to maintain for us.¡± Rosslyn almost laughed at his slightly haughty phrasing and body language. She suspected Lord Baranack could get used to being treated with this degree of deference. If he wanted that, I do not know why he decided to build a career in court life, though. It would be easy enough to enjoy deference from the peasantry if he simply ruled over a small country estate. But it was probably the asymmetric situation they were currently in that tickled him. Rosslyn and Carolien spent the day walking through the city. They haggled in the famous Grand Bazaar of Stalenton, a local institution dating back to well before the conquest of the city. They took a pleasant boat ride down the river until they arrived at the Stalenton¡¯s greatest temple to the Goddess, though they found that building had sadly been repurposed to the worship of the Demon God. The two women briefly entered the building and walked around, but it was unpleasant to look and see the religious statues and other artwork that had been twisted into the worship of the demons¡¯ evil deity. The Goddess was dressed in drag or presented with facial hair in mockery of her feminine beauty, or in some cases she was given a furry lower half with cloven hooves, reflective of one of the images the Demon God was often depicted in. In other images, she was simply presented as her normal self, but with an eerie red background or a knife in her hand, to make her look sinister. Rosslyn and Carolien left with a bad taste in their mouths. ¡°They do not mention the perversion of sacred places in our lessons as children,¡± Carolien said quietly as they stood beside the river. With the river at its high mark, the sound of the running water was just enough to cover the sound of her voice for any listeners who might be lurking just out of sight. She sounded shaken and profoundly sad. ¡°The most disturbing thing is that it could so easily happen to us, too,¡± Rosslyn said, similarly keeping her voice. ¡°They have every incentive to take our fertile lands. Enslave our industrious people. It takes so little strength for them to hold what they conquer once they have taken it. And then the gains are theirs to reap forever¡­ Have you looked around at what sorts of people we were sharing the streets with?¡± Carolien met Rosslyn¡¯s eyes, then shook her head with a quizzical expression on her face. ¡°Something like one in four were demons or those with noticeable demon blood,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°Assuming that one in four of those with demon blood does not show it, it would still mean that less than one third of the people we have seen in this circle are of demonic heritage. And the succeeding circles, as Hauk said, are each of lower social status and therefore have smaller demon populations successively.¡± ¡°You are thinking that the demons maintain control with a small minority of the population?¡± Carolien asked. Rosslyn nodded. ¡°Did you also count all those wearing a slave collar?¡± Carolien asked. ¡°And those in military and mercenary uniforms?¡± Rosslyn frowned. ¡°All of those people would fight for the Empire, that is true¡­ The slaves make up around ten percent of the population, and the warriors for the Empire are a much smaller group. Larger than our share of the population in Claustria who are in active service, but still not large enough to hold control of the city if it should rebel. Well over half of the city is still human.¡± ¡°If you factor in the superior power and strength of the demons on an individual level, does that change the calculation?¡± Carolien replied. ¡°Yes,¡± Rosslyn admitted. ¡°For a successful revolt, you would need people coming in from the countryside. That region, I believe, is overwhelmingly human-dominated.¡± ¡°Then I suppose we will leave the Empire in place for now after all,¡± Carolien said. The words were almost humorous, but her voice had a note of melancholy in it as she looked out over the never slowing waters before them. ¡°I just wish I could find some way to free them,¡± Rosslyn said. Her stepmother took her hand, and they walked along the river bank for a time in silence. The only distraction from the tranquil beauty of the flowing waters was the circulation of people on the streets. The same subdued attitude that Rosslyn had noticed on the way in was present even here. Except for demons, almost no one walked with their heads held high. This was what a society with a tyrannical ruling class looked like. Everyone who was not among them or their close collaborators wore a harried expression. Fearful, like rabbits. Many of the fearful wore symbols of the Goddess¡ªstatues or other representations¡ªthough a minority carried symbols of the Demon God or of less familiar faiths. This was required by law in the Demon Empire. ¡°Your father achieved what he wanted to by sending me here,¡± Carolien whispered at long last. Rosslyn looked at her in surprise. ¡°Did you suppose we had no discussion of the purpose of this trip?¡± Carolien asked. ¡°No,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°Not exactly.¡± ¡°Well, now I hate the Demon Empire, well and truly,¡± she said very quietly but almost angrily. ¡°When you and your father make war on the ones who did this, I will support you however I can.¡± There was nothing Rosslyn could think to say to Carolien that would not sound cruel in some way at that moment. She just squeezed her stepmother¡¯s hand. After a little while, they hailed a riverman, and they paid the fare to return to the embassy. Enough sightseeing for one day. 64. The Colony Adon managed to recover his presence of mind even as the situation intensified. The snake¡¯s coils were wrapped around him so tightly now that he couldn¡¯t even see sunlight. But as his mind raced through options, he realized the tight positioning of the coils gave him his best chance to escape. He was so thoroughly wrapped up that any attack he attempted could not fail to land. Acting quickly, he poured Mana into his mandibles and chomped down on the nearest bit of scaly flesh. His mandibles immediately began inflicting punishing cuts. The snake wriggled hard until it wrestled its coil out of his mouthparts¡¯ grip, but that weakened the whole constriction effect. Adon was able to twist his body around and started chewing on a different part of the snake, one of the coils that it had wrapped around his small body. It writhed in pain but redoubled its efforts to squeeze him at the same time, re-tightening its scaly grip. I can do this longer than you can, snake¡­ For what felt like a long time, the two were locked in a slow, brutal death struggle. The snake slowly tightened its grip, even around Adon¡¯s spines, though they did some damage to the snake¡¯s flesh this time, since Adon had been able to partially stiffen them while the snake loosened its grip. The effect of the constriction forced much of the air out of Adon¡¯s body, but he was surprised to find the effect on his body was mostly just what he would expect if a human accidentally stepped on him¡ªhe felt like he was slowly being crushed. If his exoskeleton could bruise, he was certain it would have the mark of the snake all over it. He could hear creaky sounds, as if his body might give up the struggle at any moment. But he forced himself to ignore them. Even as the snake slowly crushed his body, Adon continued chewing almost mechanically at the flesh he could reach. With Mana flowing through his mandibles, his bites cut great gouges out of the snake¡¯s body with every chomp. The snake repeatedly tried to move away from the terrible chop of Adon¡¯s mandibles, but every movement to escape damage weakened constriction for a key moment and allowed him to reposition and renew his attack again. It took patience on the caterpillar''s part, but he realized he was slowly dismantling the snake. The grip weakened with each successful bite, as the snake simply had less muscle attached to its body with which to crush him. Several bites later, the snake¡¯s grip loosened a great deal. The caterpillar had managed to keep the snake still long enough to do serious damage. Distantly, he was aware that he had chewed halfway through a segment of the snake¡¯s body. But Adon took little notice of this, even though it dramatically relaxed the pressure on his body. He kept chewing. He didn¡¯t even consciously observe how the snake began trying to wriggle away on its broken, bleeding body. His mandibles just kept chewing, and as the snake tried to slither away, Adon would simply follow the trail of blood after him, eating bits and pieces of the snake as he went. He was in the zone, doing what a caterpillar was meant to do: eating. He had slipped into a trance-like state¡­ Munch munch. Chomp chomp. Gobble gobble. Gulp. Adon came back to himself some time later. He realized as he emerged from his feeding trance that he wasn¡¯t actually done eating. There was a slight visceral dissatisfaction that came with the realization. I want to eat more, he thought dimly. Why did I stop? He looked around and saw that he was out in the open now. He had semi-consciously dismembered the snake. The python lay scattered in lifeless, bloody pieces around him. Adon could tell from its hazy eyes that he had killed it some time ago. But he hadn¡¯t eaten that much. He wasn¡¯t full the way that his caterpillar body liked to be full. Stuffed, really, was this body¡¯s preference. He didn¡¯t know if it would be different when he was a butterfly. So what pulled me out of it? he wondered dully. And then he heard it. A sound that was at the edge of his awareness, but slowly growing louder. Buzzing. I heard it earlier, too. He remembered hearing it when he was on the palace rooftop. Distant buzzing. But it was closer now. At this moment, when he was coming out of a sleep-like state, Adon also remembered that he had heard this same sound days ago, when he was between waking and sleep-like states, in Goldie¡¯s web. Is the garden infested with some kind of flying insect that I hadn¡¯t seen before? It was possible. Adon hadn¡¯t spent a lot of time looking above him in the last several days, up until the point when he obtained his additional set of eyes that was always trained on the sky. But somehow, his body had known that this sound was ominous. Some instinct had awakened him. Whatever this is, it¡¯s one of my natural predators, Adon thought grimly. His mind returned to the time when he¡¯d thought he heard buzzing while he was in Goldie¡¯s web. It had sounded like this. Wait. Do these things know where I live? If they did, then he needed to be back at Goldie¡¯s as quickly as he could get there, to protect her and Red. If they all fought together, they¡¯d have a better chance. He made as if to run but then stopped himself. No, Adon, be smart! he told himself If they¡¯ve been looking for you, because these things are your natural predators, they won¡¯t be interested in Goldie and Red. Don¡¯t lead them back to your friends! Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Adon tried to collect himself. First things first. Where are they? What are they? He looked around, but wherever he looked, he couldn¡¯t actually see the enemy, even as the sound of buzzing seemed to intensify by the second. Where are you?! Damn it! Are they bees? Wasps? Hornets? Do dragonflies fly in groups sometimes? That last thought formed a pit in his stomach. If he was being hunted by dragonflies, then he had really flown too close to the sun. And all before he ever grew a pair of wings. Focus up, Adon, he told himself. If you can¡¯t see them, then listen and try to pinpoint where they are. As he concentrated on his senses, he first confirmed that the buzzing really was growing louder, and then that there were multiple sources. On some level, he had realized before from the volume of the sound. But now he could track by sound the distinct locations the buzzing was coming from. It¡¯s there. The palace roof! So that was why he couldn¡¯t see them. The building was concealing them. If I can¡¯t see them, they probably can¡¯t see me. Maybe they¡¯re not after me¡­ But he instantly knew that wasn¡¯t likely to be true. If his instinct told him this was a natural predator of his, then they were probably looking for him¡ªand maybe everything else they could find in the garden. There were clearly a lot of these things. They would need a large quantity of food. Maybe I can get away on foot. If they couldn¡¯t see him yet, he should have a chance, right? He made a snap decision. He would try making a run for it. He looked down at the dead python. It¡¯s a shame I have to leave you behind. He had already obtained most of the benefit of consuming it while he was in the midst of his feeding trance. His Stats had received the largest boost since the first time he¡¯d eaten a higher species, and his Evolution Points were insane. But he had wanted to take most of what was left for Goldie and Red. He still had hopes he could boost Red¡¯s Intelligence enough for basic information, a simple vocabulary, to take root there. I¡¯ll hunt something else for you guys, Adon thought. I promise. He started running, looking out for a place that would provide solid protection from flying insects of whatever kind. Bushes? No. Tree? No. Obviously can¡¯t go back up onto the palace roof again¡­ He saw the hole the snake had dug to get the vole out, and he considered diving in there. The Midnight Garden Vole had scared him once, but Adon had now established that he was clearly higher up on the food chain. If the vole and any others of its kind were unwilling to share their burrow, Adon could always blow through them with one of his Mana balls. Adon rushed into the opening the python had left earlier, and he was immediately greeted by the sound of a low-pitched growl. His eyes were able to see through the darkness well now, and it took him only a moment to realize that he had miscalculated slightly. There was more than just one or two voles. He saw two of the very large voles that had frightened him earlier, and there were twenty to thirty much smaller voles with them. It looked to be a very small burrow he was in with them, too. Is there enough room for all of us in here? Adon was much larger than the baby voles at this point, almost as big as the parents. He thought it was possible he had grown larger than any other caterpillar had ever managed. Most would have purchased their Evolution by now, he imagined. Most would not continue risking the natural world¡¯s dangers without the advantage of wings. He pictured what would happen if he tried to make the voles leave so that he could stay. Either they would resist, and he would have to kill the parents, or they would give in, and he would probably have to listen as the colony of flying insects caught them and butchered them. I don¡¯t want to force them out of their home, he thought. I don¡¯t want to kill so many babies. That¡¯s too much cruelty, even for me. The parents were still growling, he noticed, but they weren¡¯t moving closer to Adon. They were staying with their children. This could work, he thought. Kind of a tense stalemate, but as long as it remains stable while the bugs outside are looking for me¡­ He heard the distant sound of buzzing again, and he realized the flying insects were on the prowl now. They had finally left the safety of the palace rooftop, and they were moving in their swarm through the garden. All right. I¡¯m going to try peaceful coexistence. Let¡¯s be friends! Adon activated Telepathy. I come in peace, he sent to each parent in turn. Do not want to hurt you. The voles did not respond with verbalized thoughts of their own. They hissed, and one of them gestured at the opening Adon had just entered through with its claws. Universal language for, Get out, then! Adon sent them a video he created in his mind of a horde of dragonflies, rampaging and killing insects that looked like him. Then he sent an image of him hiding underground next to the voles. Their body language softened. The male vole stepped forward a few inches and tapped a place by the dirt tunnel wall, far from where his children were¡ªbut also further in. He¡¯s trying to give me a place so I won¡¯t be by the entrance, where they¡¯d see me, Adon thought. He wanted to cry. That¡¯s so kind. Oh my Goddess. Thank you so much. He wished they understood words, so he could gush his thanks. Adon rushed over to the spot the vole had tapped, and he bowed his head at the vole parents in thanks. Then the sound of buzzing grew closer. Adon and the voles grew very still as they waited for it to pass. Instead, the sound intensified. Oh please, no, Adon prayed. Goddess, don¡¯t let me have led the monsters here¡­ Adon and the voles froze. The sound of the buzzing was right outside now. And then they saw it. The head of a huge bug poking down into the tunnel. It was a dark reddish triangle with the sun behind it. Adon found himself absurdly relieved for a moment. It¡¯s not a dragonfly at least, he thought. Then again, dragonflies typically weren¡¯t dangerous to animals as large as voles. And whatever this thing was, Adon saw a glint in its eye as it spotted him, the voles, and the vole family. He thought to Identify it, but as he tried it, the insect moved back. Adon was left staring out at the sunlight, waiting for the other shoe to drop. 65. The Red Slayers Part 1 Adon was still staring at the sunlit sky, almost paralyzed as he waited for the creature to poke its head back in, when he heard movement from his other side. He turned his head, and he saw that the two adult voles had risen from where they stood guarding their children. They approached Adon now, hissing and moving with menacing postures. Adon didn¡¯t need Telepathy to know what they were thinking: Get out of here, asshole! Go deal with your problems alone. Don¡¯t drag us into them! The caterpillar tried to make his posture as non-threatening as possible, which wasn¡¯t hard, because he was a bit afraid in this situation. Not of the voles, per se, but if he started a fight with them, he might provoke the swarm outside to come into the tunnel and investigate. Assuming it wasn¡¯t already inclined to do so. Well, I shouldn¡¯t expect anything different. It was almost a miracle that they were willing to live and let live while this place wasn¡¯t actively being invaded. Perhaps it also had something to do with him distracting the python earlier. But if they had felt obligated by some debt to host him here before, that no longer applied once their children were threatened. It made sense to him. He wasn¡¯t certain that leaving them here would do the voles any good, but he had no way of communicating that to the voles themselves, certainly not before they reached him and began trying to tear him to pieces or something. Their claws moved almost as if they were itching to rip into him. Adon slowly moved toward the entrance to the tunnel, trying to keep his back to the wall so he could look back and forth from the entrance to the vole parents. Thankfully, at a certain point, they stopped following him. Good luck, he thought. He deactivated Telepathy, seeing that he was no longer going to be interacting with these mammals, and he stepped forward, drawing a bit closer to the light. A shape moved across it, and Adon ducked back. But the flying insect was gone as quickly as it had landed. These things are fast! For the first time, he found himself wishing he had bought Fossorial Limbs. Then he would be able to dig a new tunnel and escape from here that way. He could try getting them now, but then he would be immobilized with pain for a while as his body changed. He had a feeling these insects weren¡¯t going to give him that time. Nothing else I can do but try to run or fight, he thought. He stepped forward and poked his head out of the tunnel. Immediately a red shape darted at him from just above the entrance, and he threw himself backward, just barely evading the insect. It landed facing into the entrance, which Adon realized meant it had thrown itself at him back end first. I have a bad feeling these things have stingers. The creature was looking into the tunnel now, in any case, and more were buzzing nearby. Adon could hear them. That must have emboldened this one. It didn¡¯t try to flee like the first one had¡ªperhaps to report back to its colony. Looks like running is off the table¡­ Adon finally Identified his enemy. Red Slayer Spider Wasp (Worker) That name sounded ominous to him. As he watched, the Red Slayer stepped into the tunnel. And two more filled the space in the tunnel entrance that the first had left behind. It was time to act. Adon didn¡¯t let himself hesitate. He fired a spine right into the face of the wasp that was already inside the tunnel, at near point blank range. It buried itself deeply in the worker¡¯s head. Then the creature¡¯s body twitched a couple of times before it slumped to the ground, unmoving. Well, now I know I can kill them, Adon thought. Now the question is how many of those things I have to deal with. The next two wasps stepped inside the tunnel then. One walked onto the ceiling, while the other moved along the floor. Adon took careful aim with one of the spines lining his back and shot the wasp on the ceiling straight through its center of mass. It fell, wriggling and writhing, toward the tunnel floor, but then the wasp already on the ground was flinging itself toward Adon. They¡¯re quick! he thought again. Shit! He had to throw himself to the side, out of the path of its stinger, before he had room to counter attack. As he was midair, he shot two spines at the fast-moving wasp that had attacked him. It pivoted midair to dodge the first one, but the second one drove right through its body and nailed it to the tunnel wall. It wriggled, trying to tear itself free and get at Adon. What do I do? he wondered. Two more wasps were already hovering by the entrance to the tunnel, he could see. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. His mind flashed between different plans for fighting. As he considered options, he stepped onto the wall and maneuvered over to the wasp that was stuck to the wall. He had to be careful to avoid its stinger as it frantically tried to work itself free from the earth it had been pinned to and stab him. Finally, he got behind it, and with a single chomp, he severed the head from the body. Maybe I could try to gum up the entrance to the tunnel with webbing. He turned his head and saw the next two wasps already floating through the entrance. There were more behind them. No! Nonononono¡­ He could already see himself cornered inside this tiny space, covered in wasps being stung over and over until he stopped moving. I have to show them that this isn¡¯t a fight they can win. Adon began shooting spines as quickly as he could, but it didn¡¯t go as he¡¯d hoped. The slender creatures dodged some and continued to move forward even when pierced through by others, until they got into melee range. The thin needle-like spines didn¡¯t seem to slow them down much as they tried to impale Adon with their spear-like stingers. He managed to dodge around the stinger tips and rip the nearest two wasps in half with his mandibles and the silk cutters on his backside respectively. His incredible strength made that relatively easy. Their bodies broke apart like bits of papier-mach¨¦ and careened to the ground in shuddering pieces. Adon didn¡¯t have time to glory in his victory, though. He couldn¡¯t even eat the bodies. More wasps were floating through the entrance and filling in the front of the tunnel even as he slew their comrades. He beat a quick retreat toward the voles just to keep from being mobbed. Sorry, but we have to fight together if we want a chance of living through this, guys! The mammals hissed weakly at him from behind, but Adon ignored them completely now. A dozen wasps had occupied the front part of the tunnel, and he could hear more outside. The buzzing as the creatures flitted around was maddening and made it hard to think. Adon tried to focus as he considered whether to use more spines to try and put them down one by one or charge a Mana ball and try to blow them all away. He would run out of spines eventually at this rate, but Mana was an even more precious resource, considering the cost each time he used the Mana ball. The fact that the wasps were constantly moving would make it hard to aim either attack, but at least they didn¡¯t have much room to maneuver. Probably best to do both, he decided after a split second. Even if I might cave the whole place in with my Mana ball. He began charging Mana while selecting a target for his spines, but the group of wasps suddenly threw themselves into melee range as if the first movement of Mana was the signal to intensify their invasion. Adon peppered the whole area in front of him with spines, but with their thin, almost hourglass-shaped bodies, the wasps again avoided many of his projectiles without having to noticeably change trajectory. As the creatures drew close enough to attack him as a group, Adon leaped behind the voles. I¡¯m so sorry, he thought. A moment later, he heard a horrendous screeching as the wasps landed on the voles and began stinging their soft, vulnerable flesh. Adon could hear the voles also ripping into the wasps, but they were being stung far too often. He knew the parents were far too big and slow to dodge effectively in the confined space, and he could hear the sounds of the stinger spear points plunging into mammal tissue over and over. As Adon heard this, he remained standing behind the largest vole, charging his Mana ball and waiting for the first wasp to climb over it. If they were really after him specifically and not just out looking for food, he would give them a warm welcome. Thank you for buying me this time. Then he heard the buzz of more wasp reinforcements coming in. He peeked out from behind the voles and saw that even as they were noticeably slowing down¡ªclearly beginning to succumb to the wasp venom¡ªanother dozen wasps were entering. Adon¡¯s heart sank. I don¡¯t know if I can win this, he thought. I can¡¯t try to hold still and use Color Change. In this dark tunnel, they¡¯re relying on touch and not sight to locate their prey anyway. It¡¯s too late to trap them with silk. I would just be sticking them right next to my body. I can¡¯t aim my venom spines unless I go back around to the other side of the voles¡­ and give up using them as shields. As he considered his options, he could hear the sound of young voles whimpering. Some of the wasps that had been in the vanguard and were no longer occupied with the barely-moving parents had begun pulling the juveniles away and moving them toward the cave entrance. Even as he felt guilty about sacrificing the voles to save himself, Adon hoped this might be the end of the battle with the wasps. Maybe they¡¯ll be satisfied with the voles. It¡¯s not like there¡¯s a lot of meat on my body. Still, he continued charging his Mana ball. Somehow, he knew that it was only a matter of time before the wasps would pull all of the voles¡¯ bodies aside and get to him. As the attack finished charging, and Adon saw the wasps were beginning to tug on the larger voles¡¯ bodies, he launched his first strike, aiming through the vole right in front of him, trying to take them by surprise. He blasted a glowing hole through the vole¡¯s body. He could not see the results, but he heard wasp bodies sizzling against the Mana ball as it tore a hole through their massed forms. Finally, he heard the sound of the Mana ball extinguishing itself against one of the rear earthen walls of the voles¡¯ tunnel. It didn¡¯t start a cave-in after all. Though perhaps that was too bad. He was at a big disadvantage now. Cornered, with no one to distract the wasps from their next prey. Him. Adon immediately began charging the attack again, though he knew there was no chance it would be ready before the closest wasps could be upon him. He pushed some of his Mana that he wasn¡¯t using on charging this next attack into his exoskeleton. That should keep him relatively safe from the stingers until he could fire another blast. He hoped. Sure enough, while he was still early in the process of charging another blast, one of the red slayers poked its head through the hole Adon had burned in the body of the vole. Two more heads popped up over the vole¡¯s back. Then another three. Adon knew, from the sound of buzzing coming from the entrance and the sights before his eyes, that the fight was far from over. They weren¡¯t running from the scary magic caterpillar. If anything, he might have made the colony angry. Then the creatures began throwing themselves forward from the vole onto him. 66. The Mission On their second day, Rosslyn and Carolien attempted to get out and explore a bit once more. They at least wanted to find a souvenir for Rosslyn¡¯s father. But their hearts were not invested in sightseeing, and they soon found themselves trudging back to the embassy. Lord Baranack tried to cheer them up. ¡°Dear ladies,¡± he said, ¡°I hope you are enjoying the cultural offerings¡­¡± But there was little he could do or say to affect the spirits of the royals he was saddled with. So Lord Baranack employed his typical method of dealing with unhappy royals; he bowed his head and left them to themselves. Rosslyn and Carolien spent the day largely in quiet contemplation. In the end, they sought out one of the still active temples of the Goddess in the city¡ªthere were still many such temples, as in Claustria. Only the more beautiful buildings had been appropriated for the worship of the Demon God. The lowly still flocked to the remaining temples, and it was easy to follow a family that looked particularly contemplative to the nearest location. The two women lit a pair of candles and offered up prayers for the salvation of the city and its people. For now, that was all they could do. In her heart, Rosslyn knew that the Goddess would act through her and her father. If it was fate that the city should be liberated again, then her prayers would have an answer. There was a certain nervous tension in her body that night, as she tossed and turned, wondering if this was a task given to her or her father to accomplish¡ªif the scourge of the Demon Empire was to be purged from these lands in her lifetime. Finally, the day dawned that brought her the opportunity to act. To perhaps move toward a future where this city might be free again¡ªor at least to try to avoid a future where Wayn and the rest of Claustria met the same fate. It was time for her to execute her mission. Rosslyn had already decided on the excuse she would offer for her plan to disappear for a few hours. ¡°I am going to go and scout out more of the city. It is important to be aware of possible exit routes in the event of an emergency here, unlikely though that may seem. Otherwise the ambassador could be caught up in any unrest that might arise.¡± Carolien rolled her eyes. Her expression seemed to say, Really? Do you truly believe the Emperor¡¯s lackeys are listening in on the conversations in this building so closely? Rosslyn simply shrugged. She knows what I was trying to say. If we can communicate well enough, why not speak in code? I told her that I want to go and scout the city, and she can guess my reasons well enough. If any authorities are listening, they will fail to do so. I have to take my life¡¯s task seriously. It may be that the good I can do in this world¡ªand for the followers of the Goddess in general¡ªis to liberate this city or to strike a blow against the Empire. Perhaps it is arrogant of me to imagine it, but I have to give it my best shot. And that meant speaking in subtext when others might be listening in on her plans. In reality, as soon as she left the embassy, she meandered through the streets until she made her way to the Grand Bazaar she remembered encountering before. There, she very carefully lost herself in the crowd. When she was certain that it was impossible that anyone from the embassy could be following her, she casually entered an alley and made her way back onto the quieter streets where private residences stood proudly, almost defiant of the Demon Empire¡¯s yoke. Many of these buildings predated the conquest, Rosslyn knew. There was a marked difference in architecture that made her stop for a moment and take notice, even at the risk of possibly being late for her appointment with the spy. The older buildings were more elegant, though in a way she would have trouble putting into words. Every touch of the chisel and the hammer seemed designed to glorify the Goddess, nature, or both. There were delicate arches and ornate decorations. The newer buildings had a more brutal, cold quality to them. They might have been thrown up more quickly, Rosslyn imagined. The only touch of the human about them was that many of them featured gargoyle statues, which were thought by some to ward off evil. The subjects of the Demon Empire and the followers of the Demon God were known to be a more superstitious lot than Goddess worshipers. Even these statues looked to Rosslyn to have been uprooted from the older buildings. They were carefully detailed. A product of a better time. Rosslyn found herself falling into the mindset of a local for a moment. She felt nostalgia for a better time for Stalenton and imagined the more civilized age that had once held sway here. She was so distracted with these thoughts that she stepped into the river as she walked, though she managed to pull herself away before she actually fell in. Getting her foot wet brought her back. She resumed her walk, searching now for the hotel where she was to rendezvous with her contact. Retracing her steps, Rosslyn found her way back onto the main road through the residential area. She began remembering the directions her father had given her before she left. She walked for half an hour before she began to worry again that she would be late for the meeting. Even if I was late, she would still be at the hotel, right? She would not leave without passing on the information we need. Rosslyn silently prayed that she would find the hotel quickly, or that, failing that, the woman she was instructed to meet would remain in place regardless. The building almost snuck up on her as she began to feel anxious about finding it¡ªlooming over her from among a group of uglier newer buildings. Her eyes focused on the sign across the facade, and she confirmed that she was in the right place. The Royal Hotel. It added an air of greater class to the street it inhabited. An old building like this felt like it might be around until the end of the world. Ironically, the hotel had outlasted the monarchy it was constructed under and named for. Maybe it was one of the pillars of the earth. Perhaps all of us royals will go the way of all flesh, and you will still be here, standing tall, Rosslyn thought morbidly. Then she marched briskly toward the hotel. Once in the lobby, she strode past the bellhop, waving him off with a brusque gesture, and continued to the front desk. There was a woman on duty there who chewed on the nib of a quill pen as she looked Rosslyn over with a careful, appraising eye. The clerk¡¯s name plate said ¡°Adalhaid.¡± ¡°Are you here trying to get a room for the night?¡± Adalhaid asked slowly in Demontongue. ¡°No,¡± Rosslyn replied in Ursabian, which she guessed was the woman¡¯s first language, ¡°I am here to meet someone staying in the hotel.¡± ¡°Do you know where you are going?¡± Adalhaid asked in quick, fluent Ursabian. ¡°I do,¡± Rosslyn replied. ¡°Very well. Please enjoy your visit.¡± The woman gestured to the stairs behind her. Rosslyn tried to move casually while she was within Adalhaid¡¯s sight range, but as soon as she made it to the second level of the stairs, she broke into a light, quiet sprint. She was still running late for the meeting, and it was still possible that she might fail to meet her contact. It was only when she was on the correct floor¡ªthe twelfth¡ªWhy does this woman have to choose a room right beneath the rooftop?!¡ªthat Rosslyn allowed herself to slow. She walked to the door, and she gave it a firm knock. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. After a moment, she heard a female voice and then a male grunt in response. Then she heard the creaking of the floorboards as someone heavy approached. The door swung open, and Rosslyn saw a large man in long, flowing silk robes with a ring through his nose like one she would expect to see on a bull. He wore a stern, intimidating expression on a slightly rounded face. Rosslyn would have assumed he was someone of importance, given his clothing, except that his neck bore the collar of a slave. He stared down at Rosslyn with suspicion in his eyes. ¡°Lagash, who is it?¡± called a female voice from somewhere in the hotel suite. Hopefully the woman Rosslyn was here to see, but it was impossible to know for certain. Rosslyn could not see much past Lagash¡¯s robes, and the scowling man¡¯s forbidding expression demanded her attention in any case. He stamped his foot twice. ¡°The guest we were expecting, then?¡± asked the woman, her voice almost laughing. Lagash stamped his foot twice again. Is that two stamps for yes? ¡°Let her in and take a walk, then, Lagash,¡± the woman ordered. ¡°Make it a long walk. A walk until suppertime should do well. The guest and I have much to discuss between us, and you will not want to hear any of it.¡± Lagash uttered a guttural growl, lowered his eyes, and looked Rosslyn up and down. She felt a slight urge to cover herself, which she successfully suppressed. Then he brushed past her and walked out of the room. Rosslyn stepped in where he had left and closed the door behind her. Something about that man was off-putting. Wrong somehow. She did not want to give him the chance to change his mind and come back. It was not that she was afraid, of course. Simply that something about him disturbed her, and she could not put her finger on what. As she turned around to move further into the room, Rosslyn finally took in the environment. She found herself in a massive suite. Gilded furniture, a tasteful oil painting, silk curtains, and natural light streaming in through a huge window all spoke to the luxury afforded to the person who could manage to stay in this room. Which made sense, given who Rosslyn was meeting. She heard the sound of dripping water and turned to see a woman standing in a large bathtub, naked except for one arm covering her bosom and steam that obscured the area below her waist. That water must be quite hot. The woman covered her mouth to stifle a yawn, and her large breasts barely moved with the hand covering them removed. ¡°So, you are the King¡¯s new messenger?¡± the woman asked. Rosslyn simply nodded, slightly stunned at the naked woman in front of her. She was not normally the type to be jealous of another woman¡¯s appearance, but the Emperor¡¯s concubine was shockingly beautiful. Her long hair, the color of ripe orange rind, was something Rosslyn knew was prized in this region for its rarity. Her figure was partially concealed by the steam, but the combination of large, firm breasts and small waist was visible. Especially considering that Rosslyn knew this woman to be roughly twice her own age, her looks were incredible. Maybe if I looked like her, I would already have a good match, Rosslyn thought¡ªand instantly hated herself for thinking it. ¡°You are not much of a talker, are you?¡± the woman asked, raising a single perfectly sculpted eyebrow. ¡°I speak as much as I think necessary,¡± Rosslyn said, her voice slightly tight. ¡°No, no, that will not work,¡± the woman said, shaking her head. ¡°Please take off your shoes. Feel free to take off the rest of your clothes, too, if you like. Make yourself at home. In fact, I would be most comfortable if you at least dip your toes in the water. It is very pleasant.¡± ¡°Do you normally like to spend your free time¡­?¡± ¡°In a state of nature?¡± the woman asked. She looked as if she was thinking about the question seriously. ¡°It certainly feels better than clothing one does not like.¡± Rosslyn began removing her shoes. This was the concubine¡¯s show. She was the one taking the biggest risks to be here, having this conversation, not Rosslyn. She who pays the piper gets to call the tune. ¡°Now, what should I call you?¡± the woman asked. ¡°I am called Jocelyne.¡± ¡°My name is Rosslyn,¡± Rosslyn replied. She already knew this woman¡¯s real name, but she did not mind using the name the concubine went by here. It was likely that no one had called her by her birth name in years. ¡°Two ¡®Lyns,¡¯ eh? How about that?¡± Jocelyne shook her head as if the coincidence was unbelievable. Her enthusiasm brought a little smile to Rosslyn¡¯s face. Maybe I can get along with her. She seems very open-hearted. It was strange to think that one so apparently guileless could be a spy¡ªbut then, that was probably what made her effective. Rosslyn approached the water and dangled her toes in. ¡°Much better,¡± Jocelyne said, beaming at Rosslyn. The concubine walked through the water to where Rosslyn stood at the other end of the tub. Then Jocelyne extended her hand, and the two women shook. ¡°It is a pleasure to meet you,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°The pleasure is really all mine,¡± Jocelyne replied. ¡°Normally my circle is limited, as you can imagine. Other women of the harem, the guards, and of course, the Emperor.¡± Rosslyn sat down at the water¡¯s edge and bowed her head. ¡°Your country thanks you for the sacrifices you have made in its service,¡± she said. ¡°I know how the peasants live, so I certainly do not bemoan my fate,¡± Jocelyne said, ¡°but I will admit, I wish I could have known my family for longer before I came here.¡± Rosslyn knew the bare outline of the woman¡¯s background. She was the oldest daughter of a Claustrian noble family. The family agreed that she might be trained as a concubine, with the plan that a trustworthy ship captain who was known to procure women for the Emperor would deliver her. The family received a quiet promotion from Barons to Earls. And it was theoretically not a terrible fate for their daughter. Imperial Concubines enjoyed a privileged position in the Empire, so at least Jocelyne¡¯s servitude must be comfortable. The current Emperor gave her two weeks off from her duties each year, and she was enjoying one of the two vacation periods right now. It was still horrific to think about. And concubine training began at thirteen years old. Within the Empire, that was the preferred age for a new concubine to enter the Imperial Harem. ¡°I cannot imagine what you have been through,¡± Rosslyn said, lowering her head again. ¡°I doubt that,¡± Jocelyne said, her smile turning wry. ¡°I think it is easy enough to imagine. As I said, it is not as bad as some possible fates that might have befallen me. Lagash, for instance, lost both his manhood and his tongue so that he could serve effectively as a slave to the Emperor in the Imperial Harem. Compared with him, all that I have lost is some independence and the opportunity to have children of my own.¡± Her smile turned bitter. ¡°The Emperor prefers that his favorite toy never changes its shape, you see. But otherwise, he treats me more kindly than many husbands treat their wives. I know. I hear the stories. I am never beaten. I eat well. I enjoy many privileges.¡± ¡°You still help us willingly,¡± Rosslyn said. The words came out almost as a question. She did not quite understand what would motivate a woman like this to keep faith with the Kingdom. ¡°I do,¡± Jocelyne agreed. ¡°There are some matters more important than my personal comfort. The security of the nation apparently rests on my slender shoulders¡ª¡± Another thing I have to be jealous of, Rosslyn thought. Her own shoulders were prominent for her body type. Reflective of all the physical training she had undergone over the course of her life¡ªbut she had heard this was not what men preferred aesthetically. Why do I keep thinking about this? Rosslyn was annoyed at herself once more. ¡°¡ªand I have sworn to serve,¡± Jocelyne finished. ¡°I will not break my oath. Even if the Emperor sends men with hot tongs to pull out my nails and cut out my tongue.¡± ¡°You are very brave,¡± Rosslyn said, giving her a small smile. ¡°You and I both,¡± Jocelyn said, reaching out and patting Rosslyn¡¯s leg. ¡°I am surprised to see the King send a woman in as his spy. He must trust you a great deal¡ªfor some reason?¡± She gave Rosslyn a suggestive look. Rosslyn understood the implication. ¡°I am his daughter,¡± she replied icily. Jocelyne stared at Rosslyn agape for a few seconds. When she finally spoke, she was profane. ¡°Fuck! Shit! Goddess, why? Seriously? The King sent you into the lion¡¯s den? This is almost as bad as if he came himself¡­¡± She shook her head and muttered, almost under her breath, ¡°No, this is my fault as much as anything. If I could have communicated with the palace sooner, he would not have felt such urgency that he would resort to sending you.¡± ¡°Why is it bad that I was the one he sent?¡± Rosslyn asked, a prickling feeling creeping up her spine. ¡°It is part of the intelligence I was going to give you,¡± Jocelyne said, ¡°after you updated me on how my family is doing. But given this difficult situation¡ª¡± ¡°Your family is well,¡± Rosslyn interrupted. She would at least make certain that Jocelyne got the information she wanted, before the conversation shifted to Jocelyne¡¯s information for her¡ªand the faster this conversation proceeded, the better. Rosslyn reached into her robe for a rolled up piece of parchment. ¡°Your baby sister gave birth to her second child.¡± Rosslyn held up a painted image of a baby girl with wispy red hair so that Jocelyne could see it without needing to touch it with her wet hands. ¡°And your brother inherited the estate,¡± Rosslyn finished. ¡°Very good,¡± Jocelyne said. She drew herself up to her full height again. ¡°Your Highness, I should not waste any more of your time. The news I have to tell you is grim. The Emperor will be ready for war by the end of this winter, and he will march no later than the beginning of summer. He believes that military technology on his side has advanced enough to secure the victory¡ªand he has another advantage.¡± ¡°What advantage is that?¡± Rosslyn asked impatiently. ¡°He has had a spy in the palace for some time now,¡± Jocelyne said. 67. The Traitor Part 1 Lord Baranack shook his head. ¡°Please, Your¡ªI mean, my lady, please try to enjoy the city a bit. I could show you another side of it. Some places you may not have seen with your, ah, colleague.¡± The Queen frowned. ¡°I appreciate your effort, but I cannot imagine a side of the capital that could erase the first impression so thoroughly as to render the city enjoyable,¡± she said. ¡°I think¡ª¡± Baranack began. A man quietly cleared his throat from the corner of the room, and Baranack spun like a startled rabbit. A figure stood before him dressed in servant clothing, but he had the smaller than normal horns that tended to characterize a mixed race demon-human hybrid. Is he one of the serving staff the Emperor provided for the embassy? Baranack wondered. But we are closed today, and I do not recognize him. Just how did he enter so stealthily? ¡°Are you here for me?¡± he asked. The slightest hint of nervousness crept into his voice against his will. He was not a man who had ever liked surprises. He needed to be in control. ¡°No other, my lord,¡± the stranger said. His voice carried a mixture of cold indifference and courtesy that Baranack found surprisingly reassuring. This was at least familiar. ¡°Um, my lady, I apparently have some business to attend. Diplomacy never rests.¡± Carolien simply nodded and left the room, moving with that elegance and grace that seemed almost as much a part of her as her hands and feet. Once she was safely clear of the room, Baranack turned to face his guest. ¡°Do you have some message for me?¡± he asked. The figure silently reached into a hidden pocket in his sleeve and produced a small, rolled up piece of parchment. Baranack almost snatched the paper from the other man¡¯s hands. As soon as he had seen it, he had recognized the seal. ¡°This is¡ª¡± He stopped himself. Even if the door was closed, the room was not especially secured against spycraft. He swallowed and, ignoring the message-bearer¡¯s presence for now, walked to a corner of the room to open the message away from prying eyes. He broke the seal. The note inside was very brief. ¡°The recipient of this note is to accompany the messenger to the Chamber of the Bear. They are not to be obstructed in their progression.¡± Baranack looked up at the messenger. ¡°You, then?¡± Baranack asked finally. ¡°Me,¡± the messenger said, nodding. ¡°You are to accompany me to the location specified. I will ensure that no harm comes to you.¡± You? Baranack looked the man over as unobtrusively as he could given that they were facing each other. Well, big threats can come in small forms. For reasons he did not immediately grasp, his mind jumped to the palace garden in Wayn. Then he shook his head. No time for the mind to wander. ¡°I will go with you,¡± he said simply. The man nodded. Baranack turned toward the door he had just closed, but the messenger strode confidently in the other direction. Baranack turned and saw the man was moving toward a book shelf that stood against one of the interior walls. ¡°Where are you¡ª¡± The man stepped just past the bookcase and began running his hand along the wall, apparently searching for something. He pressed his fingers against a small stone in the wall that looked like any other. The stone slid into a recess in the wall, and Baranack¡¯s mouth opened slightly. What? There was a sound of metal clicking, and a door opened in what had seemed to be a solid stone wall beside the bookcase. Baranack stepped forward to look at where the door led. ¡°What the¡­¡± Baranack didn¡¯t finish the sentence he had in mind. He was in awe. There was no mere small hidden room behind the wall. Rather, there was a stone staircase leading into an underground passage. This building does not have a basement, Baranack thought. So this passage might extend all throughout the area beneath it. There could be paths that lead into every room¡­ ¡°What? Did you forget that the Empire built this place for the Kingdom¡¯s use? Why would we construct a building we could not enter if necessary?¡± The voice of the messenger was almost gloating. Baranack turned back to look at the man again, with different eyes now. His face was curled in an arrogant smile. It reminded Baranack of a cat playing with a mouse. ¡°Who are you?¡± he asked. The man straightened his expression in an instant and became a cypher, giving no information away. ¡°My name is of no importance,¡± he said. ¡°Only the role I serve matters. I handle the matters the Emperor deigns to assign to me. Other than that, my life has no worth.¡± He reports directly to the Emperor directly, then, Baranack thought, mind whirling. How many officials does that describe? And to be given a mission like this¡­ ¡°You are Agar¡ª¡± He found himself choking the end of the name back as the other man turned a deadly stare on him. ¡°My name is of no true importance,¡± the man said. ¡°I am merely a tool. But if you speak the name here, you might endanger both of us.¡± Anyone who hears our conversation here will already have enough information to hang me, Baranack thought. But he did not argue. He could feel now that this man was dangerous. Deadly. What is the head of the Empire¡¯s Assassination Unit doing here? Why send him? He swallowed. Am I to be disposed of in that underground passage? The assassin stepped forward and into the dark stairway. Then he glanced back up at Baranack, an impatient expression on his face. ¡°Are you coming voluntarily?¡± Agarov asked. ¡°Um, yes, of course,¡± Baranack said. He quickly stepped in after the assassin. Agarov pressed a stone button on the wall beside the doorway, and the panel slid shut behind them. This place was not completely dark after all, Baranack could see once the light from the room was gone. Some stones glowed in the darkness around their feet and occasionally near their heads. He had never seen anything like it. Stolen story; please report. To be expected of a superior civilization, he thought. The Empire experiments, while we stagnate. That is why Claustria must eventually become a possession of the Empire. The best thing for everyone concerned, really. He followed Agarov further into the near darkness, and the two walked in almost complete silence for the better part of an hour. There were forks and twists in the path that Baranack could not keep track of, but Agarov never seemed to lose his way. How much time has he spent in this darkness? he wondered. What does he do in this place? Has he been watching me since I arrived? Observing for any sign of disloyalty? Just when Baranack was about to ask how much further there was to go, Agarov stopped at what seemed to be a normal wall. The tunnel looked to go on for an unknown distance yet, but Agarov looked for something in the wall. Baranack realized this must be the destination. There would be another door, and then they would be let out somewhere outdoors. Sure enough, a moment later, he heard stone shifting. Agarov stepped back from whatever button or lever he¡¯d pressed, and daylight hit Baranack¡¯s eyes. It was almost blinding after so long in the dark. He allowed Agarov to take him by the shoulder and lead him forward. After blinking a few times, Baranack found himself standing behind a thick bush. He looked up and saw that a great wall sprung up behind him. There were soldiers atop the wall. He turned left and right, and he saw the wall had a much more obvious curve than the longer walls that defended the city as a whole. He was inside a smaller fortification. Castle Stalen, he realized. He is taking me to the Emperor directly! Agarov grabbed his shoulder again and tugged him firmly but gently around the side of the bushes until they stepped into the open courtyard. ¡°Where to now?¡± Baranack asked, his heart beating faster. I will meet the Emperor himself today¡­ ¡°We must still be cautious,¡± Agarov whispered. ¡°The walls have eyes and ears, and it is possible that not all of them are ours.¡± Baranack nodded and exhaled. ¡°Yes, of course,¡± he said. ¡°I will take you to one of the Imperial Guard who I trust,¡± Agarov said. ¡°Follow my lead, and let me do the talking until we are beyond the outer layers of security. This is for your own safety. Many of the Emperor¡¯s soldiers who are perfectly loyal will be loath to trust a human.¡± You are half human yourself, are you not? Baranack wondered. Do you not suffer under the same prejudice? But then, Stalenton had more racial mixing than most of the Empire. It was a cosmopolitan city. A man like Agarov would probably not stand out as unusual here. Baranack walked obediently in front of Agarov with the other man holding him by the forearm. It made him feel a bit like a prisoner, but he could see that the first pair of guards they passed looked surprised to see a full human in the courtyard and then seemed relieved that Agarov had hold of him. I suppose there are not many humans who run in the highest circles of the Empire, he thought. As they were about to enter the main body of the castle, a pair of guards in plate armor holding pikes stepped out from beside the doorway. The long pairs of horns poking out from the openings in their helmets and a reddish tinge to their eyes showed that both were full-blooded demons. One of them raised a hand to order them to stop. ¡°Who do we have here?¡± he asked, smiling so that all his teeth showed. Baranack swallowed. The man¡¯s face was scary enough without him showing how sharp his canines were. Almost like a wolf¡¯s teeth. There was a feeling about the guard as he stared at Baranack. As if the armored man just might eat the smaller figure who stood before him. Only Agarov could prevent it. Baranack anxiously looked back at the assassin. ¡°Show him your command, my lord,¡± Agarov said, letting go of Baranack¡¯s arm and gently pushing him forward. Baranack quickly drew out the piece of parchment. He had never handled a piece of paper so quickly in all his life, and the guard hardly had to exert any force to pull it from his shaking hands. ¡°Hmm. The Imperial Seal,¡± the guard said. ¡°I hardly ever see a document with that on it. Highest level of authority. Difficult to forge.¡± He licked his lips. ¡°Not impossible, though.¡± ¡°Are you saying that you doubt its authenticity?¡± Agarov asked brusquely. ¡°The seal is clear, and the Emperor is not a patient man. His guards all have to have perfect eyesight. But maybe the Captain of the Guard made a mistake with you. Perhaps the Emperor¡¯s Mercy can test your vision.¡± The guard visibly paled. ¡°You¡ª¡± ¡°The note says not to obstruct us,¡± Agarov said. ¡°Does it not?¡± ¡°Right you are, sir,¡± the guard said. Now he was the one shaking, Baranack noticed. The guard stood aside and yanked open a door, and his companion quickly stepped back to open the other. Agarov took back the parchment and returned it to Baranac, and then they advanced. As the doors closed behind them, Baranack could not resist asking. ¡°The Emperor¡¯s Mercy?¡± he whispered. ¡°The imperial master of torture,¡± Agarov replied without batting an eye. ¡°A personal friend. She makes men weep before she even lays a hand on them. I would call her an artist.¡± ¡°Right. Yes. An artist.¡± Baranack began to doubt his decision making, then shook his head. The Emperor does whatever is required to advance the Empire. That is the key principle. Agarov continued to lead him forward. They walked down a long corridor. The surroundings were decorated with elegant paintings, beautiful statues, and tapestries depicting epic historical events, but Baranack barely noticed them. He was ready to faint at any moment. Finally, two guards appeared¡ªseemed to step almost out of the thin air, they moved so silently and stealthily. Agarov seemed unsurprised, but Baranack had to use all his self-control not to jump. Both figures wore plate armor as well, but it was colored red, either with paint or some trick of metallurgy. ¡°Well met, Master Assassin,¡± said one of the guards. Agarov broke into a wide grin, and he pulled the speaker into an embrace. As Baranack looked on in surprise, the guard Agarov was hugging removed his helmet¡ªrevealing a face identical to Agarov¡¯s. ¡°My twin brother,¡± Agarov said as he stepped back. ¡°This is the man I trust most in the world.¡± ¡°Well, that would make a lot of sense,¡± Baranack murmured. He bowed his head slightly. ¡°A pleasure to make your acquaintance, sir.¡± ¡°The pleasure is all ours, I feel certain,¡± said the twin. ¡°We are fortunate to have such an important person here with us. I will escort you to the Chamber of the Bear, then.¡± The twin and the other guard, who remained silent and kept his helmet on, walked Agarov and Baranack further down the hall. Other guards appeared at what seemed to Baranack random intervals, but they ignored Baranack and Agarov once they saw who was escorting them. Finally, they stopped at a small, ordinary-looking door. There was an insignia of a bear on the outside of it. ¡°This is where I leave you, then,¡± said Agarov¡¯s twin. ¡°With luck, I will see you soon,¡± Agarov said, smiling. ¡°I hope so,¡± the twin replied. His face curled in a smile, too, but there was something melancholy about it. It made Baranack wonder. Was the Emperor an impulsive person? Was he the sort of man who, in a meeting, behaved unpredictably? Was Agarov¡¯s brother wondering if he would ever see Agarov again? Most importantly, by extension, was Baranack in danger? But it was too late to stop and think now. Agarov knocked on the door, and there was an immediate answer. A deep, rich voice said simply, ¡°Come.¡± And then Agarov was pulling him through the doorway. Baranack gaped as he looked into the room. It was full of furs. Almost all bear furs. Sitting on a large wooden chair in a corner of the room by a roaring fire was a man who bore the long, thick horns and wore the silk that indicated he was of high social status. A human serving girl dressed in scanty clothing stood next to him holding a tray with drinks on it. But Baranack didn¡¯t need any of those visual indicators. He could simply feel something different about the man in the heavy chair. A pressure to the air around him like nothing Baranack had ever experienced before. This was the Emperor. As Baranack stared into the room, he heard the door close behind him. Only then did he hear the Emperor¡¯s voice again. ¡°My dear servant Baranack.¡± His bass voice seemed almost to ring with mockery. ¡°Why have you appeared in my city so unexpectedly? Have you failed in your mission? If so¡ª¡± He sighed and shook his head¡ª¡°what is to be done with you?¡± Baranack swallowed but managed to suppress the urge to turn and run from the room. He would be fine. He had good news. ¡°I have not failed in my mission, Your Divine Majesty,¡± Baranack said. ¡°I have brought you a great gift. The Claustrian King¡¯s heir.¡± 68. The Red Slayers Part 2 Adon danced backward and tried to pull out of reach of the wasps as they hurled themselves at him. He didn¡¯t get far. His back slammed into the back end of the tunnel, and he found himself pressed on all sides by wasps trying to stab him with their stingers. Adon knew he was nowhere near having fully charged his Mana ball, and he suspected if he tried to unleash the attack now, it would do next to nothing to the insects crowding all around him. He made a snap decision, pulled the Mana back into his body, and began snapping at the wasps with his mandibles instead of using them to hold Mana. He ripped one of the red slayers in two as multiple stingers pinged off of his back harmlessly. At least my exoskeleton is holding up, he thought as he tore into another wasp. The tunnel was too tight around him and the enemy creatures for him to shoot out his venomous spines anymore. They were pressed tight against his body by the back of the burrow where he¡¯d found himself. But it also meant there were few angles he could be attacked from. Even as he successfully¡ªalbeit slowly¡ªtore his way through the wasps that attacked him from just in front of him and to his sides, most of the creatures were busy moving the vole corpses away, not engaging with Adon. They knew that in the cramped space he had pulled back into, they could only fight him in small groups. It became a battle of attrition. Adon¡¯s advantages were his ability to enhance his body with Mana, his incredible physical power, and his position with his back against the wall. The red slayers¡¯ advantages were their venomous stingers, which had been potent enough to kill off the voles, their ability to move through the air quickly and fill in gaps whenever Adon killed one of their number, and their coordination. While Adon would eventually grow weary of fighting, a whole colony of insects could not tire in anywhere near the same amount of time. With stingers sticking Adon over and over again, although they did him no physical harm, his exoskeleton required a constant flow of Mana to keep him safe. The defense ran through his Mana resources faster than anything he had ever attempted before except the Mana ball. How can I get out of here? he wondered. Even as the bodies of wasps fell in pieces around him over and over, the number of them did not seem to be dropping. Reinforcements kept appearing where the previous enemies had hovered, fresh and eager to try stabbing Adon. As his Mana reserves began to dip dangerously low, he contemplated trying to break out of the tunnel¡ªor perhaps just collapsing it on himself and the wasps. With his superb physical strength, he thought he could do it. It was obvious that these things were too persistent to just let him go. Adon decided that it was better to attempt a cave-in and deal with digging himself out in the aftermath than it would be to try to escape in the open air. And he threw himself up, as hard as he could, against the ceiling of the part of the tunnel he was in. Nothing happened. I didn¡¯t have the proper leverage, he thought. His legs were slippery with the guts of dead wasps that he¡¯d surrounded himself with. He pushed a little Mana into the ends of all his limbs now, even at the expense of slightly weakening his exoskeletal defense. This was his last chance, he could tell. Soon he would run out of Mana and collapse. He thrust himself up and struck the ceiling of the tunnel harder than he¡¯d ever hit anything in his short insect life. The ground all around him shook¡ªand dirt began falling from the ceiling. A wasp stinger found Adon¡¯s back and penetrated. He ignored it and thrust himself upward once more. Ahhhhhh! Fuck! Argh! Goddess¡­ why?!? Suddenly, he found himself suffering the worst pain he¡¯d experienced since his rebirth. The red slayers¡¯ sting packed an unexpectedly vicious punch. Then the lights went out. Adon knew nothing for a time. When he came to, it took him a moment to remember who he was and what had happened. He was in horrible pain, and everything was black around him. I bet I got those wasps, though, he thought weakly. That brought it all back. I actually managed to bring the tunnel down. Take that, you freakin¡¯ monsters! Goddess, why did you make something like those wasps? Seriously¡­ He started pulling his limbs through the soil. Even though he felt like his back was ready to explode from sheer pain, he needed to move forward. He wasn¡¯t certain how long he could survive buried underground, but he knew he needed air to live, and there wasn¡¯t much of that down here. Fortunately, the voles¡¯ tunnel hadn¡¯t been that deep¡ªor so he thought. Adon dug as best he could with his limbs that weren¡¯t particularly adapted to the task, but after a minute of doing this, he recognized that he wasn¡¯t digging against gravity. He was digging sideways. That realization helped him orient himself, and he started moving in the right direction, pushing slowly upward against the weight of the earth above him. He found himself wishing that he had acquired the digging-specialized limbs that he had briefly considered, but then he dismissed the idea. I¡¯m making progress. I¡¯ve never been buried underground before, and I don¡¯t intend to be ever again. An Adaptation isn¡¯t for one-time use. What a waste of Evolution Points! Gradually, he felt the soil above him growing thinner. Thank the Goddess, he thought. I¡¯m almost there. Adon pushed his way higher and higher with each passing moment, until he could see daylight. His head pushed its way free¡ªand a stinger stabbed into the space just behind it. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Ahhhh! No! You¡¯re supposed to be dead! Two more stingers joined the first one, stabbing Adon in the back before he could infuse Mana into his exoskeleton and boost his defense. The agony tore through him and made his movements more difficult. He tried to strike them, but the movements became mere violent flails, and the red slayers responded with more stingers stabbing him in the side as more of his body revealed itself above the surface with his attempted counter attack. Even as some of them impaled themselves on his venomous spines, they made sure to inject their payloads into Adon¡¯s body before they tried to pull themselves free. Adon counted at least a dozen injections of venom into his body, and at that point, he stopped moving. Not because he gave up, but because he simply could no longer control his limbs. At first, he thought it was the sheer pain that had weakened his control. But then his body slumped to the ground in disobedience to his commands. As he lay there, several more wasps jabbing him with their stingers, he realized he was paralyzed. Okay, I¡¯m done already, guys, he thought sullenly. You did your job. I can¡¯t believe this is how I die¡­ He thought of Goldie and Red. He would never see his friends again. He thought of the Princess. He would never be exposed to the wider world that she had seemed capable of introducing him to. I¡¯m a loser, he told himself. Why did I ever think it could be different this time? I don¡¯t know what the Goddess even saw in me. Why she gave me this last chance at a life. It was a waste. I¡¯m sure there was someone much more deserving¡­ As he lay in a depressed near-stupor, the red slayers reached out with their twig-like limbs and latched onto him, grasping him by his legs or even gripping bundles of his venomous spines. What are they doing? Adon thought. Trying to hold me still? I¡¯m already fucking paralyzed, you dumb bastards! What more do you need to do? Just fucking eat me and put me out of my misery already! He wished he could cry, not for the first time in this life. But it was something he had never expected to miss from his human life¡ªuntil he became an invertebrate. To Adon¡¯s surprise, he heard the wasps¡¯ wings begin to vibrate as the red slayers worked together to carry him through the air. The fact that he was moving distracted him from his despair. Is this how wasps actually behave? he wondered. In all my previous lives, I remember them being annoying bugs that would sting you as soon as look at you. And that¡¯s what they did to the voles too¡­ Is this how they hunt creatures small enough to be their prey? Something felt off to him. He did not think this was typical wasp behavior. It was atypical for every insect he¡¯d encountered in this entire life¡ªatypical even for non-insect creatures he¡¯d tangled with. Mantises, bush crickets, ladybugs, snakes, spiders, bats¡ªnone of these animals had ever tried to simply carry him away without severely injuring or even killing him. The only animal that he¡¯d ever seen try to do that was the bluebird. But that was because the bluebird knew it was at a massive advantage compared with any insect, he thought. Do these wasps think I¡¯m that defenseless compared to them? Even after I killed so many? They can¡¯t be that dumb, right? He thought for a moment, and a revelation hit him. Wait, that wasn¡¯t the only reason the bluebird acted that way. She wanted to feed the bugs she found to her young. Crap. If the wasps are doing something similar¡­ His mind began racing through possibilities, the despair clouds parting as he considered how he might survive this situation. They were stronger than the Kleptomaniac Dewdrop Spiders had been, he could feel from their ability to maneuver him with just a handful of wasps, but just like those creatures, the wasps were no physical threat to him except for by their venom. He could hear the loud droning noise of dozens more insects buzzing. It was clearer how many there had to be now that he was in the open air with them. He couldn¡¯t see the exact number. Being surrounded by wasp bodies limited his range of vision and motion. But he knew he was heading into the heart of the swarm. He knew there were a lot of these things. Perhaps these workers would pass him onto some other worker wasps, and those would carry him back home to the hive. That would give me some time to make some kinds of preparations and recover from the venom¡­ How many Evolution Points do I have now? At least I can still use the System as long as I¡¯m conscious. I don¡¯t have to move to make selections. He opened up his Status to check his options.
User: Adon, Mystic Toxic Butterfly Larva Age: 13 days Sex: Male
Status
Health: 95/250
Mana: 45/655
Strength: 250
Agility: 249
Perception: 249
Dexterity: 249
Constitution: 251
Intelligence: 325
Will: 330
Charisma: 249
Skills: Identify, Impeccable Memory, Mana Manipulation II, Past Life Connection, Shed Skin, Spine Shot II, Spiritual Sight
Evolution Points: 3892
Biomass: 120/150
Yikes! That¡¯s not a lot of Health left, or Mana. That venom must be extremely powerful. But that¡¯s a lot of points, at least. Maybe I can do something after all. Okay. Should I buy some new Skills, Adaptations, or just pour points into Will and Intelligence? Obviously I need to upgrade Toxin Resistance first¡­ He knew that Will and Intelligence directly correlated with Mana. And if Adon had more Mana, any number of wasps should not be a threat to him, at least in theory. If he could keep his focus. He could think of a lot that he could do with enough Mana. Hundreds of Mana balls, obliterating wasp after wasp until any few who survived fled with their stingers between their legs. And he should be able to balance that with pouring Mana into his exoskeleton for defense. Yes. Increasing my Mana is the right call. Adon placed Toxin Resistance III and IV in his shopping cart. Then he allocated a thousand points each to Will and Intelligence. It would leave him without enough points to pay for his Evolution, but he would worry about that later. If he survived this, there would be plenty of other creatures for him to prey upon. And perhaps the wasps would be worth a fair number of points when he¡¯d killed them. He wasn¡¯t sure how many of the points he had gained recently were from the python versus the wasp he¡¯d killed. As his points in Will and Intelligence rose, Adon felt a surge in power. And he thought his mind was processing information more quickly. A hundred and twenty wasps buzzing. He had the mental bandwidth to estimate the number of wasps by the sound of their droning now. It was more than he¡¯d initially imagined, but fewer than he thought himself capable of dealing with now. The wasps were lifting him higher now, and Adon felt that he was moving closer to the center of insect activity. The buzzing intensified further. He felt inexplicably nervous, as if something bad was about to happen. Then he heard a noise. He examined everything in his field of vision carefully, looking for what the source might be, before realizing the sound originated in his mind. Hello Adon, said an eerie female voice, soft but sinister. It¡¯s such a pleasure to finally meet you. 69. The Red Queen Part 1 Adon felt every nerve in his body stand on end as the unfamiliar voice rang through his mind. Who are you? he thought. There was silence for a moment. Then the strangely melodic female voice continued, as though Adon had said nothing. Adon, do you know how long I¡¯ve waited for this meeting? Maybe a week, Adon thought. Less than two weeks for sure! Are you going to answer my question? Silence reigned once more. It took Adon a moment to realize that all of the thoughts he had been thinking had lived and died inside of his own mind. He had not reactivated Telepathy since he stopped talking to the voles. He quickly corrected that. I do not know how long you have waited for this encounter, um, noble wasp. Do you mind if I ask how you know my name? Do we know each other, perhaps? The speaker paused for a moment, as if surprised. I was starting to wonder if you had Telepathy at all, she sent finally, her voice less eerie now that it sounded almost puzzled. If you were completely nonverbal, it would explain why I couldn¡¯t read your mind the way I normally do with my, um, allies. As for how I knew your name, I just used Identify on you. Adon¡¯s spirits fell a little. I had hoped we might know each other a little, perhaps from a previous life. Now he knew he had no reason to expect any mercy from her. I do feel as if the red slayers¡¯ venom is wearing off a little, though, he thought very quietly, making certain not to broadcast that. Maybe if I can just keep her talking a little while¡­ I remember little of my last life, she sent. Do you remember more, then? It¡¯s good that she¡¯s curious about me, he thought internally. I do, he replied. Do you mind if I ask where you are? I assume you¡¯re one of the wasps nearby me, but it¡¯s a little awkward to talk to someone I can¡¯t see. Oh, of course! she sent. One moment. The wasps that had him firmly in their grasp began flying higher up, above most of their brethren, and Adon began to wonder if he would regret asking for a face to face with this thing that could clearly control all of these wasps. She was probably a big, scary wasp. And Adon had already decided much earlier that these things were almost certainly natural predators of his species. Face to face also meant more convenient to eat. But he had already set the encounter in motion. Now he would simply have to make the best of it. As Adon rose above the din of the general crowd of red slayers, he expected to stop and be faced with his conversational counterpart at any moment. Instead, the drones that held him kept moving, floating higher and higher until he was at eye height with the roof of the palace. It was then that he saw her. Hovering above the palace roof, there was a truly massive wasp. Her body was surrounded by a gentle purple glow. Though the glow was soft, it gave Adon a feeling of malevolence. She was ringed by other wasps that looked beefier than the ones Adon had seen before, roughly exactly in the middle between the Queen and her drones in size. Identify. Regina, Red Slayer Spider Wasp (Queen) Of course she¡¯s the Queen, he thought, keeping it to himself. She¡¯s huge! He didn¡¯t want to accidentally call the Queen fat, but she certainly wasn¡¯t small. Her form was just as slender and elegant as that of her drones. She could have been one of them, except for her size. But on that metric, she was almost on a different scale. Her drones had seemed unusually large for wasps. Almost an inch and a half long. Significantly smaller than Adon, but large when one considered that he had drastically increased his size over and over through his short life. The Queen must have been about five inches in height, and her wingspan was naturally even longer. She rivaled a small bird in size. He turned his gaze on one of the other large wasps that surrounded the Queen. Red Slayer Spider Wasp (Royal Bodyguard) That¡¯s interesting, he thought. Also ominous. It implies they have enemies¡­ Well, now we can see each other, the Queen sent. Her tone sounded slightly impatient, as if the silence had been annoyingly long for her to bear. Yes, Your Majesty, Adon sent in a sycophantic tone. It¡¯s a pleasure to finally look at you. You are quite radiant¡ª You can spare me that, Regina sent, cutting him off. I was hoping to find a friend in this garden, not a boot-licker. I know I¡¯m a Queen, but royalty gets that kind of treatment all the time. What I really want is more of an equal than anything else. Oh, of course. That makes sense. Do you mind if I ask, then, why your subjects here attacked me? If she wanted someone who could speak to her as an equal, he could give her that too. He could communicate very frankly, given that his life seemed to depend on it. He found that his usual social awkwardness had melted away quite a bit in this situation, and he filed that information away for future use. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Well, the answer to that is complicated, dear Adon, she replied. It¡¯s a good question. First, can I ask you, what¡¯s your relationship with Princess Rosslyn? Huh? The question took him off guard. He knew in an instant he would have to tread cautiously. Your relationship with the Crown Princess of Claustria? Next in line for the throne. Ringing any bells? Regina sounded irritable again. Adon decided not to beat around the bush, but also not to be any more polite to her than she was to him. I know who you¡¯re talking about, Adon sent. I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re asking. There¡¯s almost no relationship to speak of. We¡¯ve spoken exactly once. Are you sure about that? she asked, her voice still prickly. You need to tell me why you¡¯re asking these questions¡ªand for that matter, why the hell did you order your creatures to attack me in the first place? I am not volunteering any more information. I¡¯m not your subject. Adon had heard there were some people who needed to be spoken to very directly like that, and it seemed to work well in entertainment programs he was fond of in his last life. The Queen floated in the air for a moment, silently stewing. I suppose those must seem like fair demands from your current position, Regina sent. Adon had to restrain himself from nodding. He could feel that his basic capacity to move was back again, but he recognized that he couldn¡¯t trust her with that information. Not right now. Especially not while he was in midair, vulnerable to being mobbed by hundreds of wasps before he could touch the ground. In the back of his mind, he began formulating a plan of escape. You need to have it made clear to you what your exact circumstances are, the Queen continued. You have little bargaining power in this situation. Unless, of course, you do not value the lives of your little spider friends by the garden wall. Adon was suddenly torn. He wanted to ask what Regina meant by threatening Red and Goldie. Was she going to send her drones to kill them? Were there creatures already there, ready to fulfill her orders? He wanted to ask questions and make demands, but he forced himself to remain as calm as possible. Suddenly it seemed as if one wrong word could get his friends killed. There¡¯s no need to bring anyone else into this situation, Adon sent. I¡¯m trying to cooperate with you. And those two spiders are just the only people I¡¯ve had the chance to talk to in this garden. They¡¯re not, um, important or anything. He felt sharp pangs in his abdomen as he formulated the lies. In case this interaction went further South than it already had, he desperately wanted to prevent the Queen from jumping to the idea that she should kill his friends to retaliate. You don¡¯t need to lie, Regina replied. They¡¯re the only life forms I can associate you with besides the Royal Family. So if things go badly here, you can rest assured that whatever I feel about you, I¡¯ll take out on you and them. Even if I might be mistaken, that¡¯s what will happen. Can we try to keep this calm? Adon asked. I still don¡¯t know why we¡¯re talking about things going badly. He heard a sigh through the telepathic link. Then silence for a moment. Perhaps the Queen was trying to calm herself. Regain some of her regal demeanor, to the extent that she had any to begin with. Adon, I¡¯ve worked very hard, she began. I remember when I hatched, less than a mile from here, months and months ago. I was the only egg to survive the cruelty of nature. You probably wouldn¡¯t know much about that, growing up as the pet insect of the Royal Family in the seclusion of their garden. Fed on table scraps and taught magic by members of the family. Given all sorts of unfair advantages over your fellow creatures¡­ He wanted to break into her monologue and object to the misleading characterizations¡ªI¡¯ve gotten almost no help aside from the table scraps, even though the Princess actually asked me if I wanted help¡ªbut it did not seem productive to interrupt the Queen, who was working herself up as she spoke. I watched you from an early age, you know. Well, that¡¯s not entirely accurate. My worker wasps watched you, and I used their eyes and sense of hearing to get an idea of what was going on. Telepathy is a marvelous gift! Especially once you train your subordinates to allow you to use their senses like video to explore the world¡­ The Queen waxed poetic for a few minutes about how much of the world she had seen. It amounted to a few miles in each direction, which Adon had to admit to himself, though far from impressive, was substantially more than he had seen in this life. But you have no idea what I¡¯ve been through. Regina finally got back on track with the story she apparently wanted to tell. When I hatched, I was a simple worker wasp. I could feel the shortness of my lifespan in my body. I would only live a matter of weeks. I had to work my butt off to evolve and become a higher species, and from there, I evolved into a queen. Each time, I extended my lifespan and grew more powerful. Yet in all that time, I was alone. Sure, I could create workers and drones once I was a queen, but they were no good for social activity! They just wanted to be commanded. None of them were like me¡ªor you. There was hope, though. I had been watching the Royal Family for some months, before you came along. I thought it was a stroke of remarkable good fortune that I would happen to be born near a palace. That they might be interested in me. Understand me. Value what I could contribute to their nation. I purchased the humans¡¯ language from the Evolution Store. I had already purchased Telepathy much earlier, so I could control my subjects more efficiently. With a new goal in mind, I enhanced Telepathy repeatedly. I thought, just maybe, I might be able to make connections among the humans. Then my long struggle to pull myself up from the muck would finally have something to show for it. My isolation, which had threatened to drive me mad, would be at an end. Finally, I would have a friend¡­ That sounds like a wonderful idea¡ªAdon began. Until you ruined it! she continued. Nothing can ever be easy in this life, huh? he thought very quietly, keeping it to himself. I don¡¯t quite understand what her grievance is, but it feels like this is really a crazy misunderstanding. Can¡¯t we just be friends? I could put aside her workers stinging me into paralysis as a hilarious prank. How did I ruin it? Adon finally sent. The Queen had not resumed her monologue. She seemed to be silently fuming. He took that into account and formulated his words carefully, trying not to waste a syllable. Aware that the conversation could break down into violence if he wasn¡¯t cautious. I can tell you I had no intention to hurt you in any way. I¡¯ve been hoping to make friends in this life. If I just knew you were out there, maybe we would have connected before now. Please believe me, he thought. Please understand. Please accept my good intentions. You ruined my plans to befriend the Princess, the Queen finally answered. You got your hooks into her first. How? That¡¯s what I really want to know. What did you say or do to endear yourself? What made her decide she liked you enough to start treating you with such favoritism? In other words, what could I do? 70. The Red Queen Part 2 Adon remained silent for a few seconds while he processed everything the Queen had said and tried to come up with the best strategy possible to talk his way out of this situation. Do I actually try to give her advice on how she could make friends with the Princess? No, that¡¯s probably out. I don¡¯t even know why Rosslyn took an interest in me, other than the fact that she likes butterflies and likes the garden. Kind of random, honestly. And what would I even tell Regina based on that? ¡°Oh, you can get along with her great, you just need to be a butterfly?¡± That¡¯ll go over really well. Then what should he say? Surely the Princess herself had given him some information he could use here¡­ Adon thought back to the conversation. He found he was able to pull the memory up like it was a video saved on a hard drive. Better than a video, in fact, because it was enhanced by his own intellect and awareness of what was important. The whole conversation with the Princess played back perfectly in his mind, but at a heightened speed that slowed for critical moments in the conversation. She burned the Vendetta Ants, she told me she was going traveling for a bit¡ªmaybe that emboldened Regina to act now, while Rosslyn was gone¡ªshe knew that Goldie and I were friends and that we both had names. All that¡¯s useless. She said the Vendetta Ants come back every year. She asked about other talking bugs. That might come in handy. She was enchanted by the idea of monsters and mystic beasts having unlimited growth potential. She was interested in the fact that I was intelligent and seemed really stunned that I was connected to my past lives. She wanted us to meet other people¡ªwanted to introduce us to the wider world for some reason. She said I shouldn¡¯t turn away from greatness. I bet Regina will love hearing that; it sounds right up her alley. And Rosslyn also wanted to talk to us when she got back from her journey. I don¡¯t think there was anything else useful. Adon refocused on the present. The Queen was still waiting for his answer. Only a few seconds had passed, but he already knew how impatient Regina was. He framed his response carefully, trying to ensure that Regina would see she needed him alive to make her connection with the Princess possible. I could introduce you to the Princess, Adon sent. I think she would like you. You already guessed that we have a bit of a rapport. Well, you¡¯re right¡ªshe¡¯s friendly! She seemed interested in meeting Goldie¡ªthat¡¯s one of the spiders¡ªand seeing me again when she got back. She¡¯s very interested in intelligent nonhumans. I think that if I introduced you, she would like you too. The Queen hovered in the air thinking for a moment. Then she shook her head. Her voice came out eerie and sinister again, pushing its way into his mind like a poisonous gas seeping through cracks in a wall. I don¡¯t like that plan, she sent. It requires me to trust you and get your help. I want to know how I could meet the Princess and catch her eye on my own¡ªwith you out of the picture. This garden isn¡¯t big enough for the both of us. I may as well tell you, you¡¯re not leaving here alive. The only question is whether your spider friends are going to join the vole family we just found as food for the next generation of wasps, or if it will just be you. Why? Adon sent, frustrated. Why are you so hostile to me specifically? Why can¡¯t we work together? We could both be friends with the Princess. And each other. There¡¯s plenty of room in this garden¡ª No, Regina replied. The kind of friendship you and the Princess have¡ªit¡¯s not the kind of thing that can divide evenly. I would never be her favorite the way you are. I¡¯m telling you that¡¯s not true! Adon sent. I¡¯m nothing special. I¡¯m not important to her! I¡¯m just a curiosity. A freak of nature that reminds her of her family¡¯s coat of arms. The wasp nodded. Yes, her coat of arms is the butterfly¡ªthat makes a little more sense of it. I remember I saw her carriage had the butterfly emblazoned on the side. But that¡¯s it¡ªthat¡¯s the whole explanation. We don¡¯t have a super special connection. Regina was shaking her head now. That can¡¯t be all of it. She wiped out a whole species of ants for you. My worker saw it. You¡¯ve been trying to downplay your connection with the Princess this whole time, but that kind of loyal support isn¡¯t something I could get. Not while you¡¯re here. I need you out of the picture. Permanently. Adon was stunned for a moment. Well, I guess that was a pretty extreme action, he thought to himself. And it was for me, yeah. I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s just the sort of thing the Princess would do even without a good reason, but probably not. It¡¯s possible that she¡¯s more attached to me than I realized¡ªshe did say that I represent some kind of hope for her country and that she might have to tell the King about me if they¡¯re in real trouble. I didn¡¯t quite understand it at the time, and really I still don¡¯t. Ugh. If I just understood the Princess better, maybe I could tell Regina what she wants to hear¡­ He began transmitting again, injecting a pleading note into his tone this time. Listen. There¡¯s no reason this has to escalate to violence. I could leave the garden. I would be happy to go explore the world. I was planning on doing that anyway, after I go through metamorphosis into a butterfly. If they bother you, I could take the spiders with me, and the Princess would never be the wiser. She would just think we decided to leave. Please. I don¡¯t want to be your rival or any kind of thorn in your side. I just want to live. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The Queen fixed her eyes on Adon for several long, tense seconds. Then she shook her head sharply from side to side. I don¡¯t believe you. Why should I trust a strange insect? Especially one who¡¯s done as much killing as I know you have. A species perfectly capable of surviving on leaves, but you¡¯ve chosen to eat other bugs. You¡¯ve gone beyond that, too. I know you¡¯ve viciously attacked even animals as big as snakes and birds. Isn¡¯t that just what you¡¯re doing by going after me, my spider friends, and the voles? he replied instantly. Eating meat when you could survive on fruit and vegetation? Wasps aren¡¯t that different from caterpillars, are they? Exactly, the Queen replied. We¡¯re not so different. Both ambitious. Determined to rise. No matter how many have to suffer for us to reach the top. I respect it. But I know that coexistence is impossible. Trust is only possible for us if we understand that. We¡¯re two conqueror insects. Each trying to spread our wings in both the garden and the context of the larger human world. The only thing we can trust is that if both of us remain alive, we must eventually fight. Even if you allow me to temporarily occupy a superior position, I know you¡¯d come for my head eventually. Just look at what you did to that poor snake. Adon tried to come up with a response to what Regina had said. He did not identify as a conqueror insect, whatever that was supposed to be, and he often found himself regretting that he had to get his hands so dirty. But there was just a little too much truth in her judgment of him for Adon to simply rebut it. Am I ambitious? he thought to himself. Well, yes. Not like her, though. Right? I¡ªI don¡¯t think I¡¯ve been as vicious as she¡¯s saying. Have I? Maybe it started out as a little bit at a time, and then I started to accept it more and more, until finally I was a monster. Something that would kill and eat anyone¡ªor anything¡ªto advance. Haven¡¯t I eaten baby birds and ladybugs and anything that would hold still for long enough at this point? The Queen interrupted his self-pitying train of thought. I¡¯ll give you one last chance to give me useful information for befriending the Princess. If you can do that, my subjects will only kill and eat you. If you can¡¯t, both you and your friends die. Wait a second! he sent, his tone slightly desperate. You and I might both be predators in this life, but we also both have past lives as normal humans. What about our common humanity? If I give you my word that I¡¯ll go and practice my predator lifestyle elsewhere, why do you have to reject that? Why can¡¯t we live and let live? Pfft, the Queen scoffed. Common humanity. I don¡¯t identify with humanity at all. I¡¯m a wasp, and I¡¯m happy with that. They¡¯re vicious and ambitious. I have unlimited growth potential, as long as I keep my eye on the ball. As long as I keep advancing. In the end, humanity is just another stepping stone for my advancement. She paused for a moment. Really, that¡¯s how I know you would just break your word. You and I are just alike. We¡¯re both too ambitious to be restrained by something as flimsy as a promise. Just like I was going to break my word and eat your friends even if you helped me. No point in hiding it anymore. Adon instantly sent a surge of Mana throughout his body, reinforcing his exoskeleton. He had been ready for the outbreak of violence. He thought the paralysis effect of the wasp venom was mostly gone now. He was prepared to endure the assault of the hundreds of wasps. And he was beginning to be very angry. Regina had intended to break her word the entire time. Even if Adon was willing to help her and die, she would still have killed his friends. As he strengthened his exterior, the Queen sent a telepathic message that she seemed to be directing broadly. Adon could hear it, but quite clearly, so could the whole wasp colony, because they all began to move as the words entered Adon¡¯s mind. My children, go forth and do my bidding! Kill the caterpillar. And capture the spiders that we marked for extermination earlier. Don¡¯t let a single one of these creatures escape. They are valuable nourishment for the juveniles! As the words rang through Adon¡¯s mind, he saw they were also accompanied by images. Images the Queen had dreamed up of the wasps attacking him, and images of Red and Goldie being eaten by juvenile wasps. No! Adon thought. I won¡¯t just let this happen. An increasing number of wasps began moving toward Adon, while the ones holding him began trying to stick him with their stingers. The tips of the stingers bounced harmlessly off his exoskeleton, doing so little to drain his now vast reserves of power that he could afford to ignore them for a moment as he focused on something else. He listened. Beneath the loud droning noises close to him, he heard the sound of receding buzzing as some wasps began breaking off to carry out Regina¡¯s will. They were indeed heading in the direction of Goldie¡¯s web. No! No no no! He felt an almost blinding rage at the thought of Goldie and Red being hurt after all they had been through together. Acting with incredible speed, Adon reached out to the place in the dark magical realm where he had first uncovered mental magic, and he connected himself to that power. He was executing an impromptu plan, inspired by the fact that the Queen had connected herself and him to all of the wasps in the area with her mass telepathic communiques. Feel my intention, he thought, almost praying to the statue in the darkness. Give me the power to hurt them. To hurt them until they can¡¯t hurt my friends anymore! Summoning a massive swell of Mana, he unleashed a vicious wave of mental magic through the telepathic connection, aiming to harm and destroy as many of the wasps as he could. For a moment, the air was still and silent. Then wasps began falling from the sky. 71. The Traitor Part 2 ¡°Lord Baranack is a traitor,¡± Rosslyn finished. She continued to speak in a low whisper. She hoped the sound of the river would drown her words out for anyone who might happen to pass by, though the street was nearly empty as she spoke. Carolien¡¯s eyes were teary. ¡°I trusted him so completely,¡± she said. ¡°I know, but you have to believe me¡ª¡± ¡°Of course I believe you!¡± Carolien said, almost indignant. ¡°I know you would not deceive me about something like this.¡± They stood in silence for a few seconds as the river rushed by them. ¡°What do we do now?¡± Rosslyn swallowed. ¡°We have to make our way home from here without him. As quickly as possible, before he realizes we know. Take whoever we can with us, because their lives will be forfeit once he realizes we have departed.¡± ¡°We could leave at our leisure, if we killed him first,¡± Carolien said. The words rang with a malice that Rosslyn had never heard in her stepmother¡¯s voice before. ¡°Um, I agree with the sentiment,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°Treachery should always be punished appropriately.¡± She lowered her voice. ¡°But we are in a city surrounded by enemies. If anyone should get an idea of who we are, or if we were to make a loud scene and fall afoul of the authorities¡ª¡± She swallowed. The possibility did not bear thinking about. It was terrifying to contemplate. They would be used as bargaining chips to weaken Claustria at best, tortured and killed at worst. Depending on whether the authorities here knew who they were, probably. I do not want to dishonor my family by revealing my identity, just so that I might live on as a hostage. So it would be torture and death, then. ¡°I understand,¡± Carolien said. ¡°I suppose I just feel personally betrayed. I have known Lord Baranack for so long. He was almost an older brother to me. In my household, we treated him as family.¡± ¡°How do we do this?¡± Rosslyn thought aloud. She realized she had completely ignored her stepmother¡¯s feelings as soon as the words were out of her mouth. But to her relief, Carolien broke into a crooked smile. ¡°You are so practical, my dear,¡± Carolien said. ¡°And of course we should focus on our escape. If we want to leave today¡ª¡± Rosslyn nodded¡ª¡°then we should go back right away and gather the rest of our company. If we make our way to the walls quickly, we can get there around sunset.¡± ¡°When they change shifts,¡± Rosslyn finished, relieved. Thank goodness you remembered, Rosslyn thought. I paid attention to father¡¯s briefing on the city, but apparently not enough. I completely forgot about the sentries¡¯ schedule until you mentioned it. ¡°It should be our best window of opportunity,¡± Carolien said. ¡°I will follow your lead, then, stepmother.¡± Carolien shook her head. ¡°I am still deciding whether I can trust my own judgment after being so mistaken about something so fundamental in the character of someone we knew for so long.¡± She shuddered, then turned a kind eye toward Rosslyn. ¡°Your father trusted you with the fate of the country. I will follow your lead this time.¡± Rosslyn smiled despite everything. And the two women turned and began walking back toward the embassy. ¡ª ¡°That sounds like quite a gift,¡± the Emperor said quietly, his face not twitching with any hint of emotion at Baranack¡¯s pronouncement. Baranack thought the Emperor must be using all his famously superhuman force of self-control to keep his feelings contained, hidden beneath a veneer of quiet calm. ¡°Explain to me exactly how I might enjoy it. How do you intend to give me the King¡¯s heir?¡± ¡°Well, not in any metaphorical sense, Majesty,¡± Baranack said. He explained the circumstances of his gift¡ªin a self-serving way, of course, leaving out the fact that the Princess and Queen¡¯s presences had been forced upon him by the King. ¡°So they are a part of your diplomatic party,¡± the Emperor said. Lord Baranack nodded slowly. I can foresee some potential problems with that, but nothing that should inhibit the most powerful being in the world from acting against his enemy when she steps into his city. ¡°That limits my options somewhat,¡± the Emperor murmured. He locked eyes with Baranack. ¡°But it is still a useful gift. I cannot simply take them prisoner, because they are officially part of your diplomatic entourage. It would be a naked violation of international norms around the treatment of diplomats. And in these times, when we daily prepare for the next war, that would disrupt the delicate balance of relations with other key powers.¡± ¡°You will still be able to do something with the Princess, Divine Majesty?¡± Baranack asked. He had felt slightly anxious ever since he finally entered the Empire¡¯s capital. If Rosslyn somehow learned of his entanglement with the Empire, he had no doubt that bloodthirsty girl would create an opportunity to kill him. ¡°We tragically have a significant crime problem in Stalenton,¡± the Emperor said. ¡°I cannot be held responsible for what a gang of bandits might do to some unwary people touring the city. We will of course express our regrets at the tragedy. But if only the King had informed us that we were hosting high royalty, we would have taken precautions. Provided security. Yes. It will serve. Those who wish to believe it is a tragedy, or those who want to pretend they believe that, will have an appropriate fig leaf with which to maintain deniability.¡± ¡°You will¡ª¡± Baranack swallowed nervously¡ª¡°you will guarantee the safety of the Queen, will you not?¡± ¡°Ah, yes. Our agreement.¡± The Emperor chuckled. ¡°Yes, we will spare the Queen. As promised, once we successfully acquire Claustria, you will be governor there, and she will be your slave.¡± Baranack suppressed his desire to grin and instead simply bowed his head in thanks. ¡°Divine Majesty!¡± Agarov spoke up so suddenly from beside Baranack that he almost jumped. He looked at the assassin, who was bowing to the Emperor as if in apology for speaking out of turn. ¡°You may speak,¡± the Emperor said. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Please give me the honor of killing the Princess and her escort,¡± Agarov said. ¡°The Long Blade are the Empire¡¯s best¡ª¡± ¡°No,¡± the Emperor said bluntly. ¡°There will be none with any demon blood involved in this attack. Deniability, Agarov. We lose it by inches and then all at once.¡± Agarov visibly deflated. ¡°You will want them, then.¡± ¡°The Iron Blood, yes,¡± the Emperor replied. ¡°I know how you feel about them, but they have as much claim to be the best as the Long Blade.¡± Baranack vaguely remembered rumors around the Iron Blood. He had certainly heard of the elite Long Blade killing squad, but the Iron Blood was a quasi-mythical group. Supposedly the Empire had a forced breeding program for captive human nobles who were known to have particularly powerful genetics. The products of that program were raised to be assassins from a young age, brainwashed, and castrated to ensure their complete loyalty to the Emperor. I thought it was just a rumor. A ridiculous myth. But¡ªBaranack¡¯s head snapped to the side involuntarily. He sensed thick tension in the air. As he looked to his side, Baranack realized the tension was emanating from Agarov. The assassin was apparently so frustrated that the anger rolled off of him like steam. Baranack had to resist the urge to step away from him. The emotion did not seem to be directed at the Emperor, but Baranack could not help wondering if the ruler would take offense at his top assassin appearing so angry in his presence. When Baranack turned back to look at the Emperor, however, the Emperor was not even looking in his and Agarov¡¯s direction. He was sipping a drink from the serving girl¡¯s tray and ogling her advantageously displayed assets. Baranack looked at Agarov again, and it was as if the anger had never been there. It was a bit frightening, how completely he had bottled the emotion up. ¡°Of course, Divine Majesty,¡± Agarov said finally. ¡°I will pass word to the leader of the Iron Blood. After that, I will not lift a finger or involve myself in any way.¡± There were two ways to interpret what Agarov was saying, Baranack noted. The exact wording was to the effect, Of course I will do exactly as ordered, sire, but the implication was, On your own head be it, because I will do exactly as ordered. Baranack found it impressive that the other man had reined in such obviously intense emotions so quickly¡ªand composed such a passive-aggressive response, at the same time. There was nothing in it for a reasonable person to be offended by, even though the words were coming from a place of anger. Right. This is the Empire. That is the way of this place. A pit of vipers, as it is sometimes said. And I will have to become accustomed to it. After the Princess is dead, this will be my home forever, whether we defeat Claustria or not. Even if the international community may believe the Emperor¡¯s version of events, King Alistair will certainly reject it. He is not an especially quick-witted man, but he will certainly piece together my involvement eventually. The idea gave him a queasy feeling. If Rosslyn was a tigress that might rip him to pieces for his treachery, the King was a dragon that could kill him with its breath. Alistair had been a great warrior in his time, and he was still one of the most physically dangerous humans on the continent. Neither of them will live through the next year, he reminded himself. Killing them is the Empire¡¯s problem. Demons are usually stronger than humans anyway. I have every reason to think the Emperor or his emissary will defeat the King. Soon, that territory will be mine to rule. ¡°You can both excuse yourselves from my sight, now,¡± the Emperor said, cutting into Baranack¡¯s thoughts. ¡°Agarov, you know your task. Lord Baranack, I would prefer for the assassins to do their work outside, so that the explanation that a roving gang killed the King¡¯s heir might appear more credible. In order to aid their effort, I order you to return to your embassy and find some pretense to send the Princess outdoors. Then you will only have to wait. The assassins will begin their work quickly. In the event that she temporarily escapes them, simply refrain from letting her back in. They will do their work even if they have to chase her to your doorstep.¡± Baranack bowed, allowing himself a small smile. ¡°Of course, Your Divine Majesty. It is my pleasure to be of service.¡± I have almost accomplished everything. ¡°You performed well in executing your previous mission,¡± the Emperor added. ¡°If the Princess had some male defender, it would make our task of subverting Claustria that little bit harder. Even if we assassinated her, a fianc¨¦ could have opposed us in her place. Instead, once she is dead, there will only be the King.¡± ¡°It was hardly any trouble, truly, Majesty,¡± Baranack said. ¡°The girl has a reputation as a difficult person, and who would willingly volunteer to stand beside her, knowing it would mean opposing you? The suitor would have to be desperate to improve his station¡ªor mad!¡± ¡°You might be surprised,¡± the Emperor mused. ¡°People make stranger decisions every day.¡± Baranack dipped his head in another quick bow. Then he and Agarov exited the Chamber of the Bear. ¡°Are you able to find your way back to the embassy?¡± Agarov asked. ¡°Do you mean by going out through the front door and returning via the city streets, or back into that maze of tunnels you led me through to bring me here?¡± Baranack replied. ¡°I confess, I did not memorize the route.¡± Since it was utterly impossible to remember the way on a first visit, and I could hardly see where we were going in some places, he thought. Agarov sighed and shook his head. ¡°Obviously, after the efforts we have made to be discreet, I cannot allow you to be seen leaving the castle on the same day the Princess is to be murdered,¡± he said in a low voice, scowling. ¡°Very well. I will guide you back through the underground. Wait here for a few minutes while I alert my counterpart¡ª¡± He almost spat the words out¡ª¡°that he has a new mission.¡± ¡°Ah, yes, of course,¡± Baranack said uneasily. Agarov walked away, and Baranack stood, trying to look inconspicuous in the hallway. It was strange, Baranack realized as he waited, how nothing seemed to move in the building. He knew there had to be guards around here somewhere. He had seen them. But now it seemed that the Emperor¡¯s defenders did not want to make themselves known, and so they were hidden somewhere. He wondered if it was a form of magic. He looked up and down the corridor and saw nothing. And then his curiosity began to work on his discipline. Where do these guards conceal themselves? Invisibility magic is not a discipline the Empire has, right? Baranack had heard that there was a small island nation somewhere where invisibility magic was practiced, but it was only a legend as far as he was concerned. He wondered if he could figure it out by looking carefully. Baranack¡¯s curiosity had brought him to where he was now. His tendency to think about how the world could be different¡ªand his hidden passion for a woman who was forever out of his reach except by means of deception and warfare. But the underlying force was curiosity. He decided to see if he could penetrate the guards¡¯ concealment. Agarov was not here now, and he had said he would take a few minutes¡­ Baranack stepped forward from where he¡¯d been told to wait and twisted his head around to peer into a shadowy alcove. ¡°What are you looking for?¡± Baranack jumped at the sound. It was just Agarov, but he had approached silently and spoken from what seemed to be right behind Baranack¡¯s head. ¡°Nothing,¡± he said finally. ¡°We must go, then,¡± Agarov replied through gritted teeth. ¡°I want us back in the embassy before the Iron Blood have set their trap.¡± The assassin dragged the traitor back off toward the secret entrance they had arrived through. 72. Escape Rosslyn and Carolien entered the embassy and immediately made a beeline for Lord Baranack¡¯s receiving chamber, the largest room in the embassy. They needed to get ahold of him and either restrain or kill the treacherous ambassador before they proceeded with their escape plan. But the receiving chamber was empty. The two proceeded together to each room in the building that Lord Baranack was likely to frequent, before they finally gave up. For better or worse, he was not in the embassy. ¡°Where in Stalenton did he go?¡± Carolien asked, her tone slightly frustrated. ¡°It does not matter right now,¡± Rosslyn said firmly. Carolien looked at her, gritted her teeth, and then simply nodded. ¡°If he returns, we subdue or kill him as quickly as we can,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°If he does not return before we leave, for whatever reason, it was simply fate that he survived this trip.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Carolien said. The two split up and each covered half of the building, quickly gathering the soldiers who had accompanied their convoy here. Time was of the essence now. Six carriages worth of soldiers amounted to a small platoon¡¯s worth of people. More than two dozen soldiers that Rosslyn and Carolien would have to sneak out of Stalenton. As they gathered the whole group into Lord Baranack¡¯s receiving chamber, Rosslyn began to explain the situation. ¡°We do not have time for a long discussion, but Lord Baranack is a traitor who has been working for the Empire¡­¡± ¡ª Baranack sucked in a breath as quietly as he could from behind the hidden door into the embassy. How did she find out? There was no way the King knew, or he would never have sent his wife and his heir with me. He swallowed, keenly aware of Agarov frowning beside him. ¡°What do we do?¡± Baranack mouthed. ¡°Let them finish discussing their plans,¡± Agarov whispered in response. The two stood in silence, listening as Princess Rosslyn detailed an escape plan I could have been in there, Baranack thought apprehensively. If I had walked more quickly. If I had actually known the way back and not required Agarov¡¯s guidance. The plan was for me to try and talk them into going outside. Thank goodness I did not try to find my way back alone! It was apparent from the tenor of conversation about him that he would have probably died if he had returned just minutes earlier than he and Agarov actually arrived. For the first time, the potential consequences of his betrayal felt horribly real. Steady, he reminded himself. They are more likely to die than you right now. Remember that. We are still in the Empire. We have the advantage here. Baranack swallowed, then realized the room on the other side of the door had fallen silent. He raised his hands in a defensive posture, trying to make himself ready to fight in case he and the assassin had somehow been discovered in their positions behind the wall. ¡°They are about to leave,¡± Agarov whispered. ¡°We should go. We will have to use another exit, of course. My counterpart will have to be informed. The tactics of our situation have changed. The Princess and Queen will be accompanied by dozens of soldiers.¡± Baranack nodded, eager to get away from the embassy. He followed Agarov down into the tunnel once again, taking a different path than they had on their previous journey into the darkness. The trip was much shorter this time. Agarov stopped in front of an iron ladder that was planted in the wall. ¡°Above is the house where the leader of the Iron Blood should be camped out with his best killers,¡± he said. ¡°Do you want to come up with me and meet them?¡± There was a challenging tone in his voice, as if he thought Baranack lacked the courage to meet these hardened killers. ¡°Of course,¡± Baranack replied brusquely. ¡°We serve the same master. Why would I not want to meet them?¡± Agarov gave him a smile that sent a shiver down Baranack¡¯s spine. ¡°Indeed.¡± The assassin led the way up the ladder, and Baranack reluctantly followed him. When they reached the top, Agarov gave a complicated knock on a door above them. A signal of some sort. Then the door opened, and Baranack found himself staring up into the coldest pair of eyes he had ever seen. The gray irises reminded him of cold steel. As he looked up at the figure, Baranack saw that despite the icy eyes, the man had a strangely pale, almost babyish face. The odd combination made the first impression even more unsettling. ¡°Hello Agarov,¡± the man behind the eyes said in an eerily soft voice. ¡°To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?¡± As he spoke, Agarov was pulling himself up into the building, and Baranack quickly followed him. ¡°We have had an unfortunate change in circumstances, Mihaly. The embassy you and your colleagues are watching¡ªthe occupants are somehow aware of our friend here and his treachery.¡± He tilted his head at Baranack, who was just sticking his head up into the room with them. Baranack responded by waving nervously. He could see all of the assassins in the room now, though it was a dimly lit space. A dozen figures in various postures. Two stood looking through a window toward what Baranack imagined was the embassy, though he could not see it from where he was. The others mostly sat or lay in various positions of repose. The only one close enough for him to see clearly was Mihaly, but Baranack could already discern at least one trait the assassins all had in common. Their heads were shaved. Even the women. As he stared, he saw that Mihaly was not simply bald, but had also removed his eyebrows and any facial hair he might once have possessed. The strange face and lack of any hair made him look like something unnatural, some sort of monster that had donned a humanoid face. ¡°Do we have any idea how this will alter their behavior?¡± Mihaly asked, keeping one eye on Baranack as he spoke to Agarov. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°Yes, they intend to go over the wall at sundown and flee back toward Claustria,¡± Agarov said. ¡°I suggest we abandon the assassination altogether. The Princess will be surrounded by dozens of trained soldiers.¡± ¡°Just a few dozen trained soldiers?¡± Mihaly replied. He stroked his chin with strangely long fingers. Baranack could see the space where Mihaly¡¯s eyebrow should be as the skin shifted in a skeptical expression. ¡°Surely you do not doubt my team¡¯s capacity to handle ordinary soldiers?¡± ¡°I am simply aware that is not your specialty,¡± Agarov replied diplomatically. ¡°Nor is it any assassin¡¯s specialty, frankly. The art of assassination is a dagger in the night. Poison in a goblet. Death that the enemy never sees coming, that comes in the time and manner of our choosing. But of course you know all of this already.¡± ¡°True,¡± Mihaly said, smiling coldly. ¡°We know. We learned well. Everything our teacher had to share, until we began refining the craft ourselves.¡± Baranack felt tension building between the two men and wondered how he might ease it. He did not like the odds of emerging from this room alive if a fight broke out among the assassins. ¡°I suppose the Emperor will settle this matter for us,¡± Agarov said. ¡°Since this is a mission of some delicacy.¡± To Baranack¡¯s relief, Mihaly nodded. ¡°We should go immediately. There is little time before sundown.¡± The two assassins gave Baranack a look, and he instantly understood. He lowered himself from the door sill and began climbing back down the ladder. ¡ª ¡°Go now,¡± Rosslyn whispered fiercely. The first group of soldiers stepped out onto the street, chatting merrily as if nothing unusual was going on. Just a group of friends out walking, moving vaguely in the direction of the city¡¯s edge. Their armor was hidden under layers of clothing, and they looked as inconspicuous as they could. The patrol of the city watch was distant enough now, Rosslyn believed, that even if her soldiers stood out like sore thumbs, they should not be spotted by anyone who would dare to interfere with them. Yes, she thought. This will work. It has to. Another group of soldiers followed after the first. The plan was to sandwich Rosslyn and Carolien in the middle of the groups of soldiers. The first group was to reach the crossing point, confirm there were no witnesses to raise the city¡¯s alarm, and kill any guards as necessary to ensure that the area remained secure. They would cross to the outside of Stalenton and hide in the nearest cover they could find to be prepared to provide support when the next group crossed. With Rosslyn and Carolien in the middle, between two groups of soldiers on each side of the wall, their escort would be ideally positioned to defend them against attacks on either or both sides as they crossed. Quickly, the second group was lost from sight. Then it was Rosslyn and Carolien¡¯s turn, along with the only two female soldiers who had accompanied them to Stalenton, to walk toward the section of the city wall they had selected. The sun was already well below the horizon by the time Rosslyn and her stepmother left. The last rays of daylight cast an orange glow over the whole city, and Rosslyn¡¯s mind tried to convince her for a moment that the city was on fire¡ªor perhaps that she and her companions were descending into the bowels of the underworld. But that idea is silly, she immediately reminded herself, shaking her head at the slightly superstitious thought. This is far from the descent. That was days ago. This is the escape! The city streets were quiet as twilight came on. The human population seemed to have a curfew, or such was Rosslyn¡¯s interpretation of the eerie isolation she felt. It was a good thing, for now. No one outside to see them. No watchers that she could see in the windows. Even if someone did think they saw something amiss, they might wait until morning to go out and report on the Claustrians¡¯ movements to their demon leaders. One day, I will return to liberate this city, Rosslyn promised herself. There was something unholy about this stillness. The silence that almost resembled the tempo of a dead place. It was impossible to ignore it as they walked through layer after layer of Stalenton, making it through each of the inner circles of the city until they were in the outermost section. At last, Rosslyn, Carolien, and the two soldiers with them reached the wall. The first two groups had crossed already, but Rosslyn could see the grapple they had used and the rope that extended down from it. So it did work, she thought. ¡°I should go first,¡± Carolien said. ¡°In case they ran into some trouble.¡± Rosslyn shook her head and gently took the rope from Carolien¡¯s hands. I appreciate your protection, stepmother, but I know I can handle myself in a fight better than you can. She pushed Mana into the soles of her feet and began walking up the side of the wall. ¡ª ¡°What did the Emperor say?¡± asked Baranack. This time he had been left out of the meeting, and he did not particularly mind. He could hear the muffled contours of a hushed but heated disagreement between the assassins through the door where the conversation was taking place. The room must have been quite tense, and Baranack realized he was perhaps not made for the level of strain that seemed to be typical in the Empire¡¯s typical order of business. At least as a regional governor, I will not have to be in the room with the Emperor for many conversations, he thought. That would be the status quo after Claustria fell. And for now, he would simply have to endure. ¡°We are going ahead with the mission,¡± Agarov replied uncomfortably, a pink hue creeping into his normally extremely pale skin. ¡°The Emperor was pleased that the Princess decided for some reason to escape Stalenton,¡± Mihaly said, beaming. ¡°He ordered us to lay an ambush for her somewhere outside of the city. If the Princess is killed nearer the edge of the Empire¡¯s territory, no argument that they were guests here, serving a diplomatic mission, will be tenable. The Empire should escape all diplomatic consequences.¡± ¡°Assuming the mission is executed successfully,¡± Agarov added. ¡°If you fail to kill the Princess, or you leave one trace of your presence behind with the bodies¡ª¡± Mihaly¡¯s broad, creepy smile vanished, and he looked genuinely angry for the first time since Baranack had met the man. ¡°We are the Iron Blood,¡± Mihaly snapped. ¡°We leave no trace. Not a drop of blood, nor a single hair.¡± He ran his long fingers over the bald top of his head and then nodded to himself, seeming to calm down at the feeling of his own hand touching his smooth skin. ¡°And we will be going now. Thank you for your contribution, Agarov. We will be sure to remember you when we receive the Emperor¡¯s thanks.¡± Baranack felt a tremendous tension ripple through the air from Agarov at that jibe, but Mihaly was walking away already, and Agarov¡¯s fury seemed to calm almost as soon as it rose. ¡°What now?¡± Baranack asked him. ¡°Are you going to help them out?¡± Agarov sighed. ¡°No. The Emperor was very clear. If the assassins are all human, we have more deniability. He is still cautious of the possibility of failure. Now, all we can do is wait¡ªand hope those fools accomplish their mission.¡± But he sounded almost as though he was rooting for the opposite. ¡ª As Rosslyn reached the top of the wall, she placed the rope between her thighs, took hold of the wall¡¯s edge with her hands, and poked her head up over the side cautiously. She looked to her left. Nothing. Then she looked to the right. The bodies of two guards slumped in a half-seated position, leaning against a merlon and each other. The one closer to Rosslyn looked like his head had been twisted around until it was almost backwards. She frowned. I know it was probably necessary, but those were two human beings. It is a shame to kill those who should be our allies. Those who were our allies in generations past¡­ She pulled herself all the way up to the top of the wall. Then she gave the rope two sharp jerks behind her, the signal for Carolien to begin ascending. Rosslyn looked over the wall¡¯s edge to the exterior of the city. All she could see out there was darkness. Is this too easy? she wondered. Lord Baranack never returned to the embassy, and the soldiers who came before me only had two guards to deal with. Is the Empire¡¯s defense truly this thin? If so, we probably could have snuck into the city at any time. Rosslyn sighed. Even if there was some trap ahead of them, there was no safety to be had in turning back. There was only one way for them to go: forward. 73. Red Showdown Part 1 Adon turned his head and saw dozens of Red Slayer Spider Wasps falling from the sky all around him. The ones closest to him seemed to be the worst affected. Those that had gripped his limbs released their holds, and their bodies began to tumble limply through the air, lifeless. Adon did not know precisely how he knew those wasps were dead, but he knew. Perhaps he had simply seen enough death, done so much killing, that he knew it at a first glance. He managed to turn his head back before he started losing altitude, so he could see what had happened to Regina. The Queen was dropping as she moved her wings more erratically, and she was holding her forelimbs to the sides of her head as if she was in intense pain, but she was unfortunately very much alive. She was also much further away from Adon, all the way on the palace rooftop. Then he began to fall, and the Queen quickly receded from view. I wonder how I killed the ones that died, he thought. I know the mind is powerful and can have drastic effects on the body. But, just what did I do? Ideas flashed through his mind for the mechanism of death. Perhaps he had overtaxed their brains and caused them to fail. Brain death was what scientists considered the definitive form of death, wasn¡¯t it? If the brain died, even if the rest of the body was theoretically fine, then eventually the person would simply die of natural causes. But it didn¡¯t matter. He was grateful that whatever the mechanism of the attack, it had been supremely effective. He suspected that the handful of wasps who had been holding onto him were not the only ones he had killed. Too bad I couldn¡¯t do more for the voles. If I had only known I could apply mental magic that way¡­ But there was no point in hypotheticals. He had needed to be desperate to recognize the offensive capability inherent in mental magic. Adon struck the ground, bounced once, and rolled to a stop by a thornbush. As usual, the fall did him no significant harm. He darted his head from side to side to make certain that nothing was flying toward him, and he found that he seemed to be all right for now. Then he rushed forward into the thornbush. The wasp colony wouldn¡¯t all be dead. His movements were still clumsy, his body not completely recovered to its normal power and speed after the countless wasp stings. He activated Color Change to blend in with the thorny branches. Then he reached out to find healing magic, and he jump started his recovery. How do I protect myself and my friends now? he considered. Regina will still go after Goldie and Red, I know that. What do I do here? Rush back to them? Or do I try to get Regina? Will that stop the rest of her colony from pursuing us? He thought the latter strategy might be his best shot. The Queen didn¡¯t seem like the type to give up easily, but without her, the red slayers would lack leadership. They wouldn¡¯t have any particular reason to continue after him or his friends, or so he hoped. At the least, they would have no reason to connect him and the spiders in their minds. This is the best I can do, he decided. He leaped down from the branch where he was resting. He had only spent a few seconds healing himself, but given that he had decided to climb up to the palace roof, he needed to move fast. Fortunately, his non-magical regeneration seemed to be working with the healing magic to restore his strength. Hopefully I make it up there in time, before Regina tries to go for Goldie or just flies away to recover from whatever damage I did¡­ Adon raced across the garden path, his Color Change struggling to keep up with his movements as he crossed ground more quickly than he ever had before. He didn¡¯t mind so much if the wasps spotted him and attacked him again¡ªwith Mana still flowing through his exoskeleton, he felt nearly invulnerable¡ªbut he was afraid that the workers might see him coming and warn the Queen. If she escaped, he, Goldie, and Red would never be safe again. He reached the palace wall after what felt like forever but was probably less than a minute of faster-than-ever-before movement. Adon began scampering up the side of the building. He still maintained Color Change, easier in this position because the palace was a well maintained building with the entire wall in a similar color and texture. With his simple eyes, Adon made out that there was movement from behind him now. It didn¡¯t appear to be rapidly approaching him, but the sight confirmed that there were still airborne creatures floating around somewhere, probably somewhere far from him. Some of them were almost certainly Regina¡¯s subjects. By Adon¡¯s estimation, at least a dozen wasps still fluttered gracefully through the air. And those are just the ones I can see, he thought. Their buzzing was still audible from where he was positioned now, but it was a distant droning noise. Adon recalled the royal bodyguard wasps beside Regina, and he imagined that if she had survived his mental attack with only a mild headache, most of her bodyguards were probably fine too. As he made it to the edge of the rooftop, Adon was acutely aware that this could be a bad idea. Even a suicidal idea. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. If I don¡¯t do this, we¡¯ll be looking over our shoulders for the rest of our lives, he reminded himself. This fight has to happen. If it happens now, at least I have a little bit of an advantage. The magic took her by surprise. She won¡¯t be expecting me to have partially healed up. The Queen also seemed to have deactivated Telepathy¡ªor, more likely, she had simply kicked Adon out of her network to try and limit the amount of damage he could do. But I have Telepathy too. I might be able to pull off the same kind of attack again using just my Telepathy. If I have to. He wasn¡¯t certain if he could establish a telepathic network between multiple bugs, the way Regina seemed to be able to. He had practiced a great deal with Telepathy and repeatedly enhanced the Adaptation, but he had not practiced that specific ability. Goldie had initially been reluctant to try talking to Red. When she changed her mind, Adon discovered that Red could not communicate verbally. Princess Rosslyn had never met Goldie and Red. So all of the conversations he had attempted had been one on one. We¡¯ll see, I guess. Mental magic wasn¡¯t the only trick he had up his nonexistent sleeves. Adon poked his head up and saw them immediately. The Queen and her retinue of bodyguards, plus a dozen more of her workers, hovered at the edge of the roof. The buzzing was very noticeable now. Perhaps a bit louder than usual for their number, but he imagined that was just the bodyguards being larger and noisier than their fellow red slayers. They seemed to just be standing there, and then Adon realized, They must be waiting for me. It was the only possibility that made sense. Regina knew she had started something with Adon that could only end in one of their deaths. Perhaps the Queen thought that if she fled back to her nest, he would be able to track her there. Adon had no such abilities, but considering his success as a hunter, it would be reasonable for her to think he did. So they waited out in the open for him to walk into their trap. She probably thought that with her bodyguards supplemented by a dozen workers, she had more than enough numbers to take him down. But she had another thing coming. Adon ducked back down below the edge of the roof, out of view once again, and he began charging his Mana ball. He skittered along the roof¡¯s edge, maneuvering to place himself so that most of the wasps would have their back to him, and the group as a whole would be too close to react quickly to his attack. As he drew closer to the corner of the roof, Adon heard the sound of buzzing intensify. This is really too loud, isn¡¯t it? A few pieces clicked into place in his mind. So that¡¯s the trap. The force of wasps Adon had seen in front of him when he peeked out over the rooftop had looked formidable, but beatable without too much struggle. Now, as he focused on the sound of buzzing that came not just from the rooftop above him, but also just around the corner below the level of the roof, he realized there were another two dozen wasps lying in wait. The Queen had ordered them to hide on the other side of the wall that Adon was crawling along now. If he suddenly attacked the mass of the Queen¡¯s defenders that were arrayed on the rooftop, her reinforcements would appear and change the dynamics of the fight. I don¡¯t think the numbers are that big of a deal, though, he thought after a moment. Fighting them in the tunnel wasn¡¯t great, because it was hard to hit them. My best attacks are long range. Wasps fight up close. I¡¯ve only seen them use their stingers. So they had the advantage. Up here, though, their numbers just mean it¡¯ll be hard to avoid hitting them. Especially if they try attacking me instead of just defending the Queen or even running away. He tried to consider how he would have handled this situation if he was Regina, but it was difficult to put himself inside of her perspective. He still had trouble grasping what fundamentally motivated her. Was it envy? Insecurity? Fear? Hatred? Fundamentally, do you want to destroy me because I¡¯m a threat, or are you mainly trying to kill me to get me out of the way of your imagined future friendship with Rosslyn? He thought the wasp was probably more motivated by fear than anything else. She had lied to him more than once during the conversation, but the one thing she had said that he thought she must genuinely believe was that if they remained in the same space for long, she believed he would come after her. If that¡¯s the case, her head is in the same space mine is. If she wants to stay here and live in relative peace, she has to kill me now. Otherwise, she¡¯ll be looking over her shoulder for the rest of her life. If that was the case, everything was as it seemed. The wasps were just positioned for an ambush. This should turn into a straight fight as soon as he showed himself. The numbers might be against him, but there shouldn¡¯t be any more tricks besides the effort to conceal how many there were. Adon felt that his Mana ball was ready to fire now. He had a good sense for how much power was actually needed to make it a powerful attack that could cut through multiple insects¡¯ bodies at this point, and he imagined he would need to economize on Mana. He had already used multiple ostentatious Mana-burning powers over the course of this encounter, and if he hadn¡¯t increased his total reserves, he would be empty already. So this attack had slightly less power infused in it than his previous Mana balls had consumed. He leaped over the side of the rooftop and fired his Mana ball into the thickest part of the crowded mass of wasps that hovered in front of the Queen protectively. The ball tore through the air and then collided with the closest wasps before they had time to react. Adon saw the orb strike and pass through, leaving no impact. What? There was a slight ripple in the air where the ball passed through the wasp. That was Adon¡¯s only visual cue. There was an audible clue as well. As the ball continued in its path of travel, it passed through what looked like a patch of empty air¡ªonly for Adon to hear a sizzle as if the orb was tearing through moist flesh. Then he saw a wasp corpse tumble to the ground. From out of the air where nothing had been visible before. Adon felt a cold dread begin to creep over him. The Queen can use illusions. The sound of buzzing intensified, even as the image of wasps before his eyes remained exactly the same. 74. Red Showdown Part 2 Adon heard and felt, rather than saw, as the wasps attacked him. Their stingers stabbed and jabbed and careened off of his armor like so many bullets striking a thick steel plate. Some of them whizzed by, but most of them struck home without penetrating. The attacks were utterly harmless¡ªfor now. In fact, to the extent that they were damaging, they were only harming the wasps. Adon felt some of his venom spines impale the creatures he could not see and break off inside their bodies. Still, he knew that his situation was potentially very dangerous. The Queen could afford to spend as many wasp lives as she had available, as long as she forced Adon to burn through his Mana reserves before she lost her whole colony. She had apparently decided it was worth gambling her entire species on killing Adon. I have to come up with a solution to destroying these things before I run out of Mana or they find a way to hurt me. The expenditure of all his Mana seemed less of an immediate danger than the wasps coming up with some weapon to penetrate his armor that he had not seen before. Poisonous gas, or even just foul-smelling gas, was the first idea that came to mind for how he would want to fight a creature like himself. He suspected his Mana-infused exoskeleton would hold up well even against acid, though it was hard to be certain, having never faced it. But the wasps¡ªreally the Queen, since she seemed to be the only brain behind the swarm¡ªwould have to take time to come up with possible countermeasures to Adon. Just as he needed time to find a counter to her illusions. Adon sidestepped as he heard the sound of buzzing moving in on his right side, and he managed to reach out and grasp hold of a thin membrane¡ªa wing¡ªand rip it free from the body. He heard the wasp fall somewhere and skid to a stop on the rooftop, but he still could not see its body. That¡¯s it, he decided, resuming his train of thought. I need to think faster. He reached out to the power in the darkness again. Mental magic. As he found the source of the ability, a half dozen stingers struck Adon on three sides and glanced off, but he ignored them this time. His focus had shifted completely to the task of destroying his enemies. With his current level of defense, dodging did not appear to be necessary to that process right now. With his body moving on autopilot and only play-acting at fighting the wasps, Adon¡¯s mind was free. He began analyzing the situation at incredible speed. Around sixty enemies total are still in the air, judging from the sound of buzzing. The bodyguards are throwing the sound off slightly. Their wings are significantly larger and therefore noticeably louder. I can¡¯t see any of their real bodies based on the way the sound is carrying. Can¡¯t trust my eyes at all except possibly to tell me where the edge of the roof is. Even that might be dubious, since the one wasp whose wings I ripped off was still out of view when it hit the rooftop. He continued tanking attacks as his mind raced, and occasionally struck back at his attackers. Ripping off a wing here, or a leg there. A few times, he got lucky and grabbed a wasp¡¯s head. They popped off easily when he could actually get a grip on them. But it was slow going. I think it¡¯s likely that only the Queen has magic. If it wasn¡¯t that way, they would be reinforcing their bodies to take my attacks without being dismembered¡ªor even reinforcing their stingers to penetrate my exoskeleton. There¡¯s no point in sending dozens of wasps to their deaths when you could win without making that kind of sacrifice. The Queen herself isn¡¯t approaching me even though she can hide her appearance with magic, because she¡¯s scared to get into close quarters. She¡¯s probably physically weaker than me even though she¡¯s so big. It¡¯s also likely that she lived her last life as a human. If her life was anything like mine, she¡¯d have been a lot more sheltered as a human. Maybe she¡¯s reluctant to get her hands dirty, like I was just after I hatched. She claimed she¡¯s had a hard time in this life, but I already know she¡¯s a liar. Maybe she was born a queen rather than becoming one. If she hasn¡¯t needed to fight much since creating all these minions, it would make sense that she doesn¡¯t have the courage to do it now. He shook his head slightly. Her motivations don¡¯t matter that much. I only need to know information that helps me end the fight. The only way I can win is to find a way to locate the wasps and tear them up. I can¡¯t aim my spines if I don¡¯t know where they are. So how do I fix that problem¡­? My sense of smell isn¡¯t good enough to locate them with. My hearing tells me where they are, but only vaguely. I wouldn¡¯t even know which end of the body I was attacking. But that might be enough. If I could hit their wings using my hearing¡ªthose are the parts that make that horrible buzzing sound¡ªthen I could ground them. It would make locating each wasp and finishing them off much easier if they could only move along two dimensions. Flying enemies are the worst! He focused on his sense of hearing for a moment and tried to locate the wasps by sound, but the only ones he could easily pinpoint were those who kept coming at him directly. He tore the nearest one in half. Not nearly good enough targeting from just using my hearing. I would just waste all my spines. He began to feel frustration, but his mind simmered down much more quickly under the influence of his Mana. Mental magic seemed to be a powerful focuser of the mind. Wait. Maybe that¡¯s it! What about using mental magic? Maybe with mental magic and Telepathy, I can do something like what I did before. Connect to a large number of wasps at once. I wouldn¡¯t need to know where they are to knock them down again, right? That would still leave the problem of killing them once they were down, though. He had already seen that the effects of his mental attack were temporary for at least some of the wasps. Others, he knew, had died from it, but he had not verified this beyond the small group that had been holding him when he lashed out. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. I can¡¯t rely on it to be fatal, though. Only to knock them down for a bit, assuming the Queen doesn¡¯t have some way of reinforcing their minds or blocking them from me. But if he couldn¡¯t see the wasps, he wouldn¡¯t be able to take advantage of their temporary incapacity properly. They would be back in the air a minute or two later, and he¡¯d have only burned through some of his Mana. Do I have to kill the Queen before I can finish off the rest of her swarm? Since she¡¯s hanging back, that could be even more troublesome than just trying to kill the rest of the wasps when they come and attack me. At least they¡¯re voluntarily exposing themselves to danger. His mind finally hit on an idea that felt promising. If I can attack them with Telepathy and mental magic, maybe I can use it to track where they are. He activated Telepathy and focused externally, then. Reaching out with his mind. He felt them all around him. The minds of life forms he could try to converse with if he chose. With mental magic, the simple detection of their presences sharpened into something more specific. Something tangible. Deadly useful. A slowly forming pattern of mental activity that gave him an indicator in his mind¡¯s eye of where each enemy was. Each life form¡¯s brain activity was like a bright light in the darkness. Suddenly Adon had a map to the stars. The horde of wasps desperately trying to kill him formed constellations, and the beauty of the patterns of existence struck him as magnificent as he traced them through the air. In the back, behind almost all of the other points of light, he sensed a much brighter light than the others. If the average wasp was a distant star, this one was like the sun. The Queen. Telepathically coordinating all her children and shielding them with illusions requires a lot of mental effort. She¡¯s doing more than anyone else to make their fight possible. I suppose I might have underestimated her resolve. Maybe she¡¯s hanging back because she¡¯s using all her mental energy being the brains of their side¡­ Anyway, more importantly, I can pinpoint where she is now. But further examining the arrays of other wasps laid out in between him and their ruler, he realized that he would not reach the Queen if he went straight for her now. They were too well positioned to defend her. She thought of everything. She even foresaw that I might penetrate her illusions somehow. She¡¯ll still have the royal guards beside her too. He could see the pattern of dots around the Queen¡¯s radiance. That could only be the wasps she most trusted to defend her. That would explain why the smaller, weaker wasps are the only ones that have been attacking me. She fundamentally cares more about her own survival than she does my defeat. So much so that she¡¯s sabotaging her own best chance of killing me by keeping the strongest ones guarding her instead of attacking. It might be a smart calculation and not just her trying to avoid death at the expense of her children. After all, the life of the colony is the Queen, right? Adon realized that even now, when the Queen had shown that she was thoroughly beyond reason, he was trying to see things from her point of view. Trying to make sense of her. Just stop, he told himself. Kill them. You already have the method. Adon used his awareness of where the closest wasps¡ªcharging straight at him through the air¡ªwere. He pointed his spines and fired a half dozen. He observed as the brains continued moving forward, clearly no longer in precise control of their flight paths, and careened over the edge of the palace roof. Then he pointed the remainder of his spines toward the largest body of enemies. He wanted to speed run the rest of this fight, before the Queen found some way to counter him. He pushed Mana into his spines to enhance their power and speed. And he fired. Over a hundred spines flee from Adon¡¯s body, leaving his front and middle completely naked. Dozens of the lights he had detected flickered out in an instant. He could tell the spines were continuing forward beyond that, penetrating into further back wasps¡¯ bodies, because additional stars in his map of the darkness tumbled from the sky. Most of them were also snuffed out in the ensuing moments. Although the Queen had hidden her children with an illusion and only sent handfuls to fight Adon at a time, she had kept the bulk of them massed together. A fatal mistake. Adon counted just under twenty wasps still airborne after his attack, including the Queen and her guards. And finally the guards leaped into action. Adon could almost see the order leave the Queen¡¯s mind. The mental activity she was generating noticeably decreased. Every wasp but the Queen reappeared in Adon¡¯s view. Only the Queen was hidden behind illusion now. The remainder of the colony hurtled towards Adon, moving as one wave of chitinous mass. But it would not be enough, he knew. Adon ran forward to meet them. He ripped the closest two in half, turned and shot spines from his rear at the next three, and then he was engaged with the royal guards. Unlike the larger body of supporters, they took more than a few spines to kill. The first two latched onto him and began jabbing him hard with their stingers. Adon was surprised to find that he felt it, though his Mana had not yet run out. It was beginning to get low, but he still had enough to carry out his ongoing defense. Adon ripped and tore with his superior Strength, and one of the guards fell, missing the lower third of its body, but two more took its place. Stingers struck the same spots over and over again, leaving painful dents in the armor that they could not quite penetrate. Adon fired the remainder of his spines, which were mostly useless since they were not imbued with Mana. One of the guards fell. The other two that were upon him slowed for a moment. He ripped off a head. Then one of the last couple of royal guards stabbed him in a dented place, and Adon felt searing agony tear through his body. Fuck! Oww. Goddess, why did you make wasps?! Adon bit off the offending stinger, and then he threw off the guards still on top of him and dashed at the Queen. The sudden lunging movement clearly took her off guard. There was a moment where she hesitated, remained still, clearly hoped that he was just trying to escape her guards. Then she tried to fly out of range, but it was too late. He gripped her bottom legs with his forelimbs, held her steady, and finally stabbed into her abdomen with his mandibles. Her hesitation had killed her. Adon injected acid into her body through his mandibles, and she spasmed in shock and obvious pain. The sound of buzzing from her body went silent as the Queen¡¯s wings stopped moving. Then the caterpillar and the wasp tumbled together toward the ground. 75. Red Showdown Part 3 The caterpillar and the wasp spiraled down together, away from the rooftop, falling toward the soil. Adon¡¯s home terrain. As if the battle had not already more or less ended in his favor, he added a bit of insult to injury by pulling his mandibles out of her body and positioning the Queen so as to shield himself from the brunt of their fall. Their combined weight made it the hardest landing he had ever endured, though it still was not particularly forceful compared with what he had experienced in every lifetime he had lived as any larger species. The Queen¡¯s body made a quiet wet crunching noise as her abdomen smacked into the ground. Adon stepped back slightly and got a good look at her. Her lower half had almost dissolved from the combination of acid and impact with the earth. Her upper half was contorted with pain, her limbs twisted around her body as if she was hugging herself. He shook his head, moved by pity. I can¡¯t believe what I had to do today, he thought. Well, I¡¯ll put you out of your misery. Then at least this nightmare will be over. Adon opened his mandibles and placed them around the Queen¡¯s slender neck, ready to decapitate her. Please. Spare me. The Queen¡¯s voice was faint in Adon¡¯s mind, but he heard it clearly. There was a part of him that wanted to weep with pity for her. But another side of him had no tears to shed. She had done so much to deserve death. Yet he still felt a pang in his chest at the thought of killing her while she was begging to live. I can¡¯t spare you, he sent back, his tone almost pleading for understanding. You know that. You told me why yourself. She was almost certainly dying anyway, and Adon had no way of saving her other than healing magic. But he was not about to burn himself out healing her. Not when he still had some injuries of his own to fix, and they were her doing. Please. I can leave. Start a new life in another country. You will never see me again. I swear. She sounded sincere. Frustrated, he sent, Where was that attitude when I was the one who wanted to leave the garden? Things are different now, she replied in a humble tone. I have learned that you were mightier than me. It was a fact that I could learn in no other way besides fighting you. I have no reason to stay after suffering such a total defeat. Adon wanted to believe her, despite all the pain she had inflicted on him. Despite the fact that she had threatened Goldie and Red. It took him a moment to understand why he felt such strong hesitance to kill her. It was not her desperate desire to survive, exactly. She had that in common with every other creature he had killed since he had arrived in this garden, barring the ants. She thinks and feels in a complex way like me, he thought to himself. I¡¯ve never killed another thinking, speaking life form. It¡¯s different. She has a whole vision of her future. Plans. Hopes. Dreams. Is she truly so different from me? Then he shook his head, angry at himself for being soft toward someone who was so unambiguously his enemy. Yes, she is different! She started this on purpose. She killed the voles just because they were in the way of getting to me. That whole little family¡­ Their blood is on my hands, but mostly on hers. She¡¯s a force for destruction. It¡¯s true that she¡¯s like me, but that¡¯s a problem, not a reason to spare her. She¡¯s already broken her word once. And humans hold a grudge better than most other species. She¡¯ll never forget who did this to her. Unless her whole personality changes, I¡¯ll never be free of her if I don¡¯t kill her now. He met the Queen¡¯s gaze, and she seemed to see the resolve in Adon¡¯s shiny compound eyes. Her whole body stiffened. Adon closed his mandibles around her neck, just as a last thought transmitted from her mind to his. I have already sent my children to¡ª Nothing. Her head fell to the ground, and the air around Adon rang with the deafening silence that her last words had left behind. What does that mean? he wondered, suddenly apprehensive for the safety of his friends again. What did she send her children to¡ª Suddenly the remaining three royal guard wasps were upon him, stabbing with their stingers, probing for weaknesses like the dents in his exoskeleton their powerful weapons had created before. They had somehow arrived just in time to fail at saving their Queen. For a moment, Adon simply took the attacks. Enough! His frustration burst out from him in a psychic wave that knocked the royal guard wasps from the air. He looked around himself and at the royal guards twitching on the ground and realized he had harnessed mental magic again, without really thinking about it this time. It¡¯s so powerful, he thought. At least against these things. Somehow he couldn¡¯t imagine an attack like this working on the Princess or someone like her. Adon quickly moved from wasp to wasp, chomping their necks with his mandibles until the three lay dead and in pieces in a little circle around him. He tilted his head up to the sky and verified in more detail what his simple eyes were already telling him: nothing wasp-shaped was flying in the air around him. Thank the Goddess, he thought. It¡¯s finally over. His supply of Mana was almost completely exhausted. And he realized that he was almost completely burnt out too. Now that there were no more enemies to fight, he felt so tired. He wanted to collapse into a stupor. Need to check on my friends first, he reminded himself. Eat the Queen, demanded a voice in his head. Adon was taken off guard for a moment, only to realize the voice was his own. He was pursuing more than one train of thought at a time again, as he had during the fight. He was still tapping into mental magic. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Adon broke the connection and felt a sudden, intense pain in his head. That pain broke his focus on maintaining Mana reinforcement around his body, and he noticed an immediate difference as energy rushed out of his exoskeleton. Some of it made its way back into his core. Some of it was simply lost in the air around him. His pool of Mana felt much-diminished. He looked at the Queen¡¯s body. For a moment, the command of his inner voice had felt strange, because it was telling him to consume the body of a fellow thinking life form. But the Queen was fundamentally just a dead body now. The body of a species above Adon¡¯s in the natural hierarchy. Consuming her would make him stronger. Can I really do this? He shook his head again. He was dealing with the same issue as before. Just because she was sapient, he was treating her differently than all the other creatures that had attacked him in the past. She was so evil. Why does this bother me so much? He decided to eat her, before he could change his mind. Very quickly, since he needed to get back to his friends, in case they were in danger. I¡¯ll bring the royal guards¡¯ bodies back with me, too. They would be the fuel Goldie and Red could use to evolve. That would make some sense out of this ugly, chaotic day. He spun silk around the royal guard corpses and bound them around himself so that he could drag them. An experimental series of steps demonstrated that they were much lighter than the crow, despite being extraordinarily large for wasps. So they would be easy for him to drag. Then Adon turned toward the Queen, and he began eating her from the head down. Munch munch. Chomp chomp. Gobble gobble. Gulp. He kept himself from drifting into a feeding trance as he ate this time, though it was a struggle. His mind constantly wanted to drift off and just let this process automatically handle itself, but Adon had the feeling that if he just allowed himself to drowse through the feeding process, he might pass out when he was done. He did not know how long his sleep-like state could last, but he was afraid of wasting time. His friends could be in danger. As soon as he was done with this task, he needed to get back to them. He had to know if they were all right or if the Queen¡¯s minions had inflicted some horrible fate on them during the fight. She had said she ¡°already¡± sent her children to do something. Until Adon confirmed their task was not murdering his friends, he could not rest easy. He felt a sense of disgust when he thought of what he was doing, despite the fact that the Queen¡¯s corpse tasted good, a sort of sweet nutty flavor. A few times, he almost stopped and had to force himself to keep going. Fortunately, the Queen was not very large. The last bit of her body quickly disappeared into his maw, and then he was moving with somewhat renewed energy. His Mana was still shot, but he could feel that he was beginning to heal more quickly with the replenishment of his Biomass. He could sense his spines starting to grow back in, too, though he thought that might take a day or two, since he had expended all of them this time. Adon looped the silk strings he had prepared around his body and began marching forward, dragging his bundles of food a couple of inches behind him. He soon found himself passing the bodies of more wasps, ones he did not remember killing. Their general lack of visible injuries suggested to him that his first mental attack had indeed been fatal to some of his enemies. There was a part of Adon that thought he might come back and get some more wasps to eat later, but he doubted it would be worth the trip. Maybe the bodies on the palace roof would still be there. Already some scavengers were picking at some of the more distant bodies on the ground. Just like that, the garden was ready to forget about the wasps and absorb them into its other species. Adon was uncomfortably aware that the same thing could happen to him at any time. He thought of himself now as the garden¡¯s fiercest predator. But the wasps had been a mightier force than him, in most respects. Certainly, they had left a far greater environmental footprint. And now look at them. It made Adon consider his place in this ecosystem again. Made him wonder what purpose had brought him here, other than a possible mishearing of what he said he wanted for his next life. Surely there was some broader plan at work. It was hard to believe the plan was for him to stay in this savage place, where bug-eat-bug was the only law. But then where should he go? Would he have to go alone? Or would Goldie¡ªand maybe Red, if he continued to live¡ªgo with him after their children could fend for themselves? He thought he never wanted to kill or eat a sapient life form again, but he wondered if he would keep to that resolve. Surely the Queen had not been uniquely evil. His mind pondered the future for long minutes as he dragged his burden along the path. What would he do after he evolved? Would he be forced to fight more enemies like the Queen in the future? More immediately, were his friends all right? That question made him very uncomfortable, since it felt as if there was nothing he could do about it right now. Naturally, it ended up taking up a lot of headspace. But Adon gradually relaxed and allowed his mind to drift from those thoughts. The garden was quiet now. Since he lacked the energy to run, he tried to forget his worries and enjoy the journey. He was far from Goldie¡¯s web. There was still much to admire about the garden if he pushed aside the carnage he had just participated in and his fears for the future. New flowers bloomed as older ones began to fade. He guessed the new flowers, in a variety of shades of bright yellow, purple, pink, and white, were winter flowers. The ones that were fading tended to bear the colors of autumn: red, orange, and mustard yellow. The pleasure of seeing this was not merely aesthetic, but in some sense spiritual. Adon thought that he might experience the same renewal as the environment. His metamorphosis was coming. Like the garden, he was only at one stage of his cycle. An early stage. There was still much to do. The human world beckoned. The sky beckoned. The world of magic. And he had his friends. Goldie¡¯s children would be a source of joy. Perhaps Red would survive too, and see his offspring hatch and grow. The caterpillar knew that he would enjoy watching the spiders engage with their family. Even if none of them could speak from birth, or learn language, there would still be a sense of fulfillment in protecting them and watching them grow. It felt as if there were a thousand roads yet for him to walk down. I¡¯ll enjoy it, he thought. Maybe, just maybe, that¡¯s enough of an accomplishment to make this last life worthwhile. To have friends and enjoy their company. To die, not like the Queen, begging for life from a hated enemy, but surrounded by those who I loved and who loved me. Adon¡¯s stiff insect face could not smile, but he began to feel the warmth of a smile spread through his body as he thought of the future. Adon passed the place where the Vendetta Ants had lived, and the thought of those ants reminded him again of how dangerous the garden could be. He found himself suddenly anxious once more to see Goldie¡¯s web. Were his friends all right? He calmed himself by thinking of his more distant, optimistic, calm vision of the future again. He would assume they were all right until proven otherwise, since he could do nothing about it if he was wrong. What did the immediate future hold, assuming his friends were fine? Well, there was a cold breeze in the air that Adon noted mainly because it had intensified as the day wound down. Once the Princess is back, he thought, I should consider asking her if she would take us inside the palace. Even though I want to go through my metamorphosis, and I think Goldie and I can survive the winter by evolving again, there¡¯s no reason why we should endanger her eggs by keeping them outside as the temperature changes. I think Rosslyn would say yes. She wanted to help us however we could. I think I might be ready to talk to her father if she insists she wants that to happen first. It certainly could not be any harder than talking to the wasp queen. Then Adon stepped past a big, leafy plant. The image of Goldie¡¯s web with its beautiful shining bits of golden thread appeared in the distance. Adon saw his friends¡¯ home¡ªand he saw a handful of familiar shapes. Those buzzing hourglass figures he had hoped he was done with forever. A handful of wasps darted back and forth through the air above the web. By the way they moved, he could tell they were already engaged in combat with the spiders. His heart sank, and he began pushing his body forward faster, trying to make himself run. No! 76. The Deformed Forest Part 1 Rosslyn tucked her head and rolled as she landed on the ground outside Stalenton. Her body was only lightly reinforced with Mana. Some intuition told her that they might not get away as easily as the lack of glaring obstacles suggested. She needed to save her strength. The landing was relatively quiet. Even if there had been someone on the wall to hear, they likely would have missed it amidst the usual night sounds. She heard several thuds after her. A couple of the soldiers were as quiet as she was, so that she would have missed them if she was not listening out. Another pair of soldiers would, she thought, have been caught if those who came before had not murdered the guards on duty on that section of wall. But they all crawled forward once they struck earth, keeping low so that they would not break their stealth now that they had escaped the city. They kept going this way until they had reached the tree line. The Deformed Forest again, Rosslyn thought a bit nervously. It was dark within its borders even during the day, with lanterns. But for at least the first minutes of this trek, it would be dangerous for her and her companions to use any light source. So close to Stalenton, there were surely scouts who would see torches or lanterns. They would have to navigate through near total darkness. At last they were all huddled together beside the trees. ¡°What now?¡± asked a voice that Rosslyn instantly recognized as Iomhar. ¡°Next, we find the path and go back the way we came,¡± replied the voice of Sir Lachlan immediately. ¡°No,¡± Rosslyn said, her voice cutting clearly through the night. ¡°Now we find our own path through the forest. We cannot take the route we came by. It is likely that Lord Baranack and his comrades in the Empire will have laid some trap there. Once he had us in Stalenton, it was unlikely that they would ever let us leave without a fight. There was nothing beyond the expected security, which means that either he did not betray us to them¡ªunlikely¡ªor there is some plan in place in the event that we attempt to leave.¡± She felt the air go out of the group. As soon as Rosslyn had voiced her thoughts, the truth of them was obvious to everyone. ¡°Well, at least we may defy their plans now, then,¡± Carolien said evenly. ¡°Yes,¡± Rosslyn agreed, smiling at where she imagined her stepmother was. ¡°I believe we have the advantage now.¡± She understood that the soldiers with them were probably more disturbed by the idea of going through the Deformed Forest without a path to follow, at night, than they were by the prospect of some imperial trap. But hopefully they would shift their perspectives to think along the lines that Carolien was trying to encourage. Though Rosslyn did not want to leave them behind, she was all but certain that if the group tried to take the path that had brought them here, they would be caught or killed by some force from the Empire. ¡°We do not know what lives in this forest, but we know it is monstrous,¡± Sir Lachlan said, voicing what Rosslyn imagined were the unspoken concerns of the soldiers as a whole. ¡°If we face the Empire¡¯s people, at least we know what we are fighting.¡± ¡°The Empire created these abominations,¡± Rossyln said. ¡°Remember that. The worst the creatures in the woods can do to you is try to eat you. If the Empire captures us, they will want to torture us for information before they kill us. And that is the least of it. The tales that are told of their experiments on humans are heinous. We must escape without succumbing to capture at all costs. Better to die quickly in the forest than to live screaming in the Emperor¡¯s prison cells.¡± The atmosphere changed again. Rosslyn knew she had disturbed the members of the group by reminding them of the Empire¡¯s atrocities and the risks of capture, but she hoped they would take her intended message to heart. We cannot afford to make any mistakes tonight. We made it out of Stalenton. That means we have a chance. Unless the army is somehow concealed in this very spot, we can get home. The only question is the best method. ¡°How can we pass through the forest without lanterns?¡± Sir Fergus asked. ¡°We deliberately did not bring lanterns,¡± Carolien replied before Rosslyn could say anything. ¡°We cannot afford to bring lights into the forest. Enemies both human and monstrous will be able to see us from a great distance if we do.¡± ¡°I will not order anyone to join us in the forest,¡± Rosslyn added. ¡°I do not want to leave any of you behind, but I appreciate that the dangers here are unknown. If you are unwilling to take an untested path, you can make your way around the perimeter of the forest to reach the border. It will take you an additional day, though. I cannot recommend that anyone follow that path. The Empire will certainly be on the lookout for us by then, if they are not already.¡± There was silence for a few seconds as the soldiers chewed over her words. ¡°All right.¡± Rosslyn did not recognize the voice of the speaker, but she sensed movement from all around as people nodded in agreement. ¡°No one wants to be left behind, and we cannot use the cleared path, so please lead us through the forest, Your Highness,¡± said another voice. ¡°For the Princess¡¯s safety, one of you should walk in front of her,¡± Carolien replied instantly, her tone brusque. ¡°The rest of us will form a protective circle around her¡ª¡± ¡°No, stepmother,¡± Rosslyn said quietly. ¡°The forest is too dense for that. I agree that one can walk ahead of me. The others should move in single file behind me. Each of us will hold hands with the person ahead and behind.¡± That way, we should all notice immediately if someone gets picked off, she thought. ¡°Yes, Your Highness,¡± said a glum voice that Rosslyn had trouble placing. Niall, she finally thought. The others quietly repeated his words. ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± The group lined up in accordance with her orders. ¡°All of your names will be remembered regardless of what happens here,¡± Rosslyn said, trying to cheer them up a little. ¡°We will live on in poems and songs. If we make it through this forest, you will be known the rest of your days as heroes. Sir Bridei of the Southern Wilds, Lady Caitriona Ariss, Domnall of Couzens, Sir Fergus Allanach, Sir Lachlan Creag, Leith of the Watchwater¡­¡± One by one, she named each of them in turn. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. That seemed to raise their spirits a bit. There was a general change of postures as if everyone was steeling themselves to do their duty. She could not be certain if it was the thought of being remembered after death¡ªwhich she had always heard and read was something knights and warriors cared deeply about¡ªor if the effect was simply because she remembered all their names. Then Rosslyn and her party made their way into the thick of the dark forest, not bothering to look for the path that would only tempt them toward a likely trap. Sir Fergus took point ahead of her, and she took his clammy hand in hers as they stepped into the unknown. Carolien was behind Rosslyn, gently holding the Princess¡¯s hand in her soft but firm grip. As Rosslyn stepped over a thick, gnarled root the width of her thigh, it was as if someone had snuffed out a candle. The stars have gone out, she thought for a wild moment. But no. The Deformed Forest was simply that dense. Starlight and even moonlight could not pierce through the tree canopy. Suddenly she was in a place of complete pitch darkness. Only sunlight would alleviate it, but by sunrise, they needed to be long gone from here. She reminded herself of what was at stake and advanced stoically forward. She, Sir Fergus, and Carolien walked together into the thick tangle of branches, trying to bend or snap those that obstructed their path as quietly as possible. Almost immediately, there were problems as someone behind Rosslyn stumbled over a branch or a root. She heard the ring of drawn steel as one of the people in line¡ªshe imagined the one who had tripped¡ªpositioned to hack at a piece of tree that had offended them. ¡°Stop!¡± she hissed, turning to stare at the line of people behind her. ¡°No weapons unless something attacks you. If we start hacking branches apart, we will attract attention as surely as if we brought lanterns!¡± She dimly saw the outline of the figure holding the sword against the distant glow of reflected city and star lights. Then the figure put the sword back in its sheath. Rosslyn nodded and took a deep breath. ¡°We must move more slowly,¡± she whispered to Sir Fergus and Carolien. ¡°Everyone¡¯s nerves are already on edge. If we have too many of these accidents, I suspect our journey will end poorly¡ªand far too prematurely to inspire any songs.¡± She heard rather than saw Sir Fergus¡¯s expression change. He snorted and smiled. His lips made a quiet, fleshy sound as they peeled back over his large front teeth. ¡°That sounds like a good idea, Your Highness,¡± he said. ¡°You know, many I have served with do not realize that you are so thoughtful. I mean no offense. Just that some of the career soldiers look at you and see a girl young enough to be their daughter. But I am beginning to understand there is more to you than that.¡± Rosslyn smiled thinly back at him. ¡°Thank you, Sir Fergus.¡± I suppose it is a compliment. For over an hour, the line of escaping Claustrians moved slowly and cautiously through the forest. Rosslyn raised her foot high with each step to avoid tripping over any of the thick roots and branches that littered the ground. More than once, even she wished for the safety and relative smoothness of the path. Despite the slow pace, whip-thin branches sometimes seemed to appear almost out of nowhere. Rosslyn¡¯s superior senses allowed her to avoid the branches lashing at her face and arms, but she imagined that those behind her were suffering. She and Carolien whispered warnings backward at first, but the thick tangle of branches was too pervasive. They ultimately stopped rather than issue a constant stream of chatter that might compromise their security. Part of the concern about making noise was that there were monsters in the woods, as there had been on their first trip. This time, the creatures dared to get closer to them than they had when Rosslyn and her party had been safe inside carriages. Creepy long-necked owls with near human faces poked their heads curiously through the twisted, tangled branches. Monkeys with vicious, curved teeth like predatory cats and glowing orange eyes took the place of the owls as the group advanced to another section of forest. The strange red-eyed deer approached close enough that Rosslyn could have fed them by hand¡ªif they did not appear more interested in the idea of eating her. Rosslyn was constantly ready to fight, always infusing Mana through her body as the group pressed deeper into the forest. Perhaps for that reason, the creatures seemed to sense the threat she posed and ultimately allowed her and her group to pass unscathed. But the sight of the bizarre and horrifying creatures had an effect on her and the soldiers¡¯ morale. It was at the hour mark that someone passed word up to Rosslyn requesting permission to light a torch. The soldiers all had flint and tinder among their gear, and someone had the idea of breaking off a tree branch to make a torch. Rosslyn pretended to consider this idea before vetoing it. She had, in fact, already thought about this earlier. But the forest was too dangerous for torches, especially given that they were off the path. Lanterns were one thing, but an open flame in this place might set the entire densely packed forest on fire while they were right in the middle of it. There would be no easy escape from that. Even assuming that Rosslyn and Carolien outran the spread of the fire and abandoned her soldiers to their fate, they would have set in motion the destruction of the strategically valuable forest barrier and attracted a great deal of attention. The latter was unacceptable. Given what Rosslyn now knew, she could not afford to be captured. Even though her father had other children who could inherit the throne, the information Jocelyne had provided suggested that the Kingdom was in grave danger from more than Lord Baranack. The King and his generals needed to be told what was coming. ¡°Tell them no torches,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°We cannot afford to light the forest on fire around us. Wait until we get a bit further in, and I will use magic to light our way forward. No fire unless we are under attack and willing to risk burning the forest around us.¡± Sir Lachlan nodded and passed the word down. And the long walk through the darkness continued. Another half an hour passed before Rosslyn felt a tug from Carolien behind her. ¡°Yes, stepmother?¡± she asked. ¡°They are asking about light again,¡± Carolien replied. Rosslyn smiled and suppressed a sigh. ¡°I understand,¡± she said. ¡°I think that a few of them are at wit¡¯s end,¡± Carolien added quietly. Rosslyn nodded. ¡°Very well,¡± she said. ¡°We will take the risk.¡± Divine Sword, First Form, Radiant Light. A magical technique that Rosslyn felt brought her closer to the Goddess whenever she used it. A warm white light radiated from all around her until, as was her habit, Rosslyn channeled that light into her sword. It felt strange to essentially become a living torch, and if she moved the light away from her body, she had to continually order it to follow as she moved. The easiest method for her was to place the power in an object she was holding, which here meant her sword. ¡°Thank the Goddess!¡± The voice of Sir Bridei came, relieved, from some distance behind her. There were other similar exclamations as a little of the fear that had begun to rise in the soldiers¡¯ hearts receded. They probably had a feeling of being a little closer to home, Rosslyn imagined. She knew there was a legend that only the pure of heart could harness the Goddess¡¯s divine light. Of course, she herself did not believe in such stories. She knew she would be unworthy if true purity of heart was required. But if some of the soldiers believed it, perhaps they would move forward with greater courage. The Princess and her band walked further into the forest. They advanced for another hour, and although the beasts of the woods did not shy away from them entirely now that she had activated her magic, they kept a more respectful distance than they had before. Rosslyn began to think they would make it through the forest with no trouble, no need to fight at all. Then, as she stepped over a particularly thick root, she heard a hiss of air whizzing nearby. She instantly raised her sword to protect her face¡ªand a metal object too small and fast-moving for her to see with the bright light shining in her eyes glanced off her blade and spiraled into the darkness somewhere. Rosslyn¡¯s body instantly tensed. They were under attack. 77. The Deformed Forest Part 2 ¡°Ambush!¡± Rosslyn shouted. Thinking quickly, she mentally calculated the distance that she and her party had traveled. We are closer to the fortress than to the city, right? She shook her head. Either way, we need to risk it. She made a snap decision, conjured a burst of fire, and shot it high into the air. Any scout on either side of the border could not fail to miss that. But hopefully it would bring the attention of the soldiers from Fort Alistair. She did not know how many opponents they faced, but if the force was considered sufficient to ambush them, she expected the enemy¡¯s judgment of the numbers required would be accurate. Then the whole forest sprang to life around them. Dim shapes that had stood at the distant edge of Rosslyn¡¯s ability to see now moved from their positions. She had assumed they were trees. That is some impressive stealth, she thought. These must be elite assassins. Soldiers could not have remained so well hidden. Rosslyn sensed as more of the fast-moving metal projectiles entered the air around her, and she batted them away with quick back and forth movements of her sword. With three quick pings, the metal objects darted away. She risked a glance down, where one of them had embedded itself in the soil. It did not resemble weapons she had ever trained with, but she found the shape vaguely familiar. A dart? Then she had to deflect more projectiles. One, two, three, four, five this time. The enemy were becoming more aggressive now that they had broken stealth. Rosslyn almost lost her balance as she was shoved from behind, and she rounded on the person who had pushed her, only to see it was Carolien. A dart thudded into the tree between them. ¡°Ah. Thank you,¡± Rosslyn said. Carolien nodded and turned to deflect a pair of projectiles aimed at her blind spot. Rosslyn turned around and backed into Carolien, who almost jumped at her touch. ¡°Just me,¡± Rosslyn said quietly, batting away more projectiles. ¡°Just you,¡± Carolien repeated, slightly breathless. ¡°Great.¡± ¡°How are the others doing?¡± Rosslyn asked, continuing to defend as she spoke. ¡°When I turned to look at them, there were already a half-dozen down with those things sticking out of their necks or faces. Whoever is using them has magic. They penetrate deeper than they should.¡± Rosslyn nodded, then realized her stepmother could not see the gesture. ¡°Yes,¡± she said. ¡°I would assume they are poisoned as well. Elite assassins. Courtesy of our dear Lord Baranack.¡± Carolien tensed slightly at the name, and then Rosslyn felt as her stepmother moved her sword to block more darts aimed at her unprotected lower legs. ¡°This is easier now that we are together,¡± Rosslyn added. She could feel the difference in difficulty now that the zone she needed to defend had decreased. ¡°We might get through this yet,¡± Carolien replied. ¡°The soldiers who are not incapacitated are using trees for cover, though we seem to be surrounded, so I do not know how useful that will be.¡± Then the dialogue ceased. Rosslyn could think of nothing to say that would improve their situation. The next half hour was spent intensely focused on blocking projectiles that seemed to come from all directions except the earth and sky. ¡°This is becoming frustrating,¡± Carolien said at last. ¡°I can see the shapes of them in the distance,¡± Rosslyn said, ¡°but we cannot do anything about them unless they close the distance or run out of projectiles.¡± They had found little room for movement over the minutes they had defended each other¡¯s backs. Besides maneuvering to use a tree for cover on one side, they had just stayed close to each other. To do anything else was to increase the likelihood of suffering a fatal wound. In the last half hour, another three of their soldiers had fallen. The remaining group were bunched together now in a loose huddle near the royals they were there to protect, having adopted a strategy like Rosslyn and Carolien¡¯s. Now that they were defending each other¡¯s blind spots, fewer and fewer darts got near their targets. Those projectiles that made it through the defensive line tended to bounce off armor rather than penetrate, which suggested to Rosslyn that the killers might be starting to run low on Mana. There was a sudden stillness in the air, and Rosslyn realized the hail of missiles had fallen silent. ¡°Now is our chance,¡± she said quietly, intending to be heard only by her allies. ¡°If they have run out of darts, they will have to try and fight face to face like real warriors. Wait until they get close, and then strike hard and fast. I know they will not be able to stand up to Claustrian valor.¡± She could feel the effect that hearing this had on the men and women around her. Soldiers who had adopted slumped, defeated postures stood a little straighter. Tired expressions morphed into looks of resolve and a few grim smiles. Yes. These were her countrymen. The warriors who had kept Claustria independent and free for over a thousand years. They were ready to defeat these cowardly assassins and send the demons to the afterlife, where they belonged. Rosslyn was surprised when she saw the first assassin¡¯s face appear from behind a tree. Human, she thought. It was surprising. For a moment, she wondered if she had misunderstood what was happening. Is some other country trying to have me assassinated? As more of the assassins stepped into view in a tightening ring around her party, she began to understand. Their faces had a similar quality to them. It was hard to pin down when she only saw one man, but with so many examples, it was impossible to ignore. These men went through some distorted form of puberty, she thought. Or none at all. She remembered rumors she had heard, of magically gifted humans kept captive and bred for war by the Empire. Rumors that every royal on the continent had probably heard. The stories were discussed almost as fables, and perhaps not everyone believed them to be true. There was always a moral to the tale. ¡°If you let the Empire take you prisoner, our family secrets must die with you,¡± or ¡°If we lose this war, your children¡¯s children will be slaves to those heathens.¡± Most succinctly, ¡°Better to die than to be made a prisoner.¡± If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Apparently they were not rumors. ¡°Throw down your weapons and valuables,¡± the first man said, twisting his pale moon face in an ugly smile. ¡°No one needs to die here tonight.¡± He was pretending to be a brigand for some reason. Rosslyn did not bother with a reply. ¡°Attack!¡± she yelled instead. She felt and heard as the soldiers all around her sprang into life. The looks on the assassins¡¯ faces, at least those Rosslyn could see, seemed gratifyingly surprised for a moment, as if they had not expected such swiftness of action. Then she was engaged in combat with the leader, and Rosslyn¡¯s attention turned entirely to him. Their drawn swords danced in the shadows of the forest. She felt him push, then give; parry, probe for weaknesses, and then defend as she went for his throat. Two of his fellows leaped in to help him at that point, and she was forced to divide her attention. But in the brief exchange, she felt the differences between the lead assassin and herself. He is not my superior in strength or skill, she assessed. I should be able to win this, if I can just get rid of these two. The four of them engaged in a furious duel that felt frustratingly balanced for long minutes. Rosslyn channeled vast quantities of Mana into her arms, legs, eyes, and ears and dimmed the light from her sword in an effort to get an advantage, but it was all she could do to keep ahead of the blades that hemmed her in on every side. Occasionally, another assassin would try to jump in, and the tide would seem to turn as they forced her back against a tree trunk. But each time that happened, one of the soldiers or Carolien managed to intervene and keep her from being overwhelmed. Overall, Rosslyn thought she was keeping up with the three assassins facing her well. The one who had spoken earlier was the leader, she imagined, and the other two might be his most trusted lieutenants. Since she was the highest priority target, that would be how she would have organized the attack if she was in command. Lock her in a stalemate, and they might simply wear her down while the rest of their squad defeated her bodyguards. Then they could overwhelm her with sheer numbers. That would be the rational thing to do if they had no other advantages. If that was right, then she had hope. She believed that if these three were the best of the assassins, her soldiers would hold out against the rest of their band. And she felt confident that she would kill one of her assailants and gain the upper hand soon. She only needed them to make a single mistake. They were relying on her tiring, but she was optimistic that at least one of them would weaken first. And then one of the killers made a mistake. Rosslyn dodged a sword blow, and she heard the specific sound of a blade burying itself firmly into dense wood. He will not be able to quickly remove it, she decided. In an instant, she poured a fresh torrent of Mana into her sword, using a different technique. Divine Sword, Sixth Form, Edge of Light. Her blade whipped forward, slicing through the air and then the arms of the assassin trying to recover his sword from the thick, gnarled tree trunk. The blade continued on to sever the front of the man¡¯s throat. It sliced swiftly through everything it touched, like a hot knife through butter. The killer tumbled to the ground, and a moment later, blood began pouring from the wounds. Rosslyn stepped over his body and walked after the other two assassins, who had begun retreating carefully backward into the trees. Afraid of me? she thought. The sweaty smell in the air told her that she was right. For a moment, she savored the taste of their fear. Then she reminded herself that she could not maintain this technique forever, and she accelerated after the assassins. Cannot let them separate me from the group. This may be a strategic retreat rather than simply trying to avoid immediate death. She managed to turn her head back for a fraction of a second to check on her group. They were locked in combat with the rest of the assassins, who had them outnumbered. More than a dozen of her soldiers¡¯ bodies littered the ground, but they had killed almost as many of the assassins. And she saw that Carolien was following after her. Thank the Goddess, she thought. With her help¡ª Suddenly she saw something that made her breath catch in her throat. ¡°Watch out behind you!¡± Rosslyn yelled. Carolien managed to dip forward and spin to the side, but the slash downward that should have severed her head still managed to chop into Queen¡¯s armor. Rosslyn could not see how serious the injury was, as Carolien¡¯s back was to her now, but she heard the groan of pain and took a step toward her stepmother. The sound of the blade cutting air alerted her to the attack coming from behind her, and Rosslyn barely managed to dodge, throwing herself flat to the ground. Right, no honor, attacks from behind are their preferred method, she thought bitterly. She rolled to avoid the next downward stabs aimed at her as both of the assassins she had engaged earlier tried to reclaim their advantage. She hit a tree and stopped, then pushed off the ground with the three limbs that were not holding her sword. She felt a blade barely touch her armor, and then she was above the assassins. Rosslyn took her sword in both hands and slashed downward at their necks. The leader managed to react in time, while the other man¡¯s head tumbled away from his body. She let go of the sword with her right hand and reached out to grab the tree. The thick branch she took hold of held her for a moment. Then she pushed off of it with her feet, leaping toward her stepmother, who was now isolated, fighting two assassins of her own. Rosslyn soared through the air using the momentum from her kick. The assassins noticed her when she was already within striking range. She held her sword tightly, refreshing the glow of light around it. The nearest assassin raised his sword to meet hers. There was a ring of metal as the blades clashed, then a sound of scraping as her sword chopped through his and sliced his head off above the lower jaw. His forehead and nose fell in one direction, and his tongue and body fell in the other. Distantly, as she set her feet on the ground, Rosslyn heard the sounds of more people arriving. Warriors in armor, from the sounds of their heavy footsteps. Reinforcements? she wondered briefly. But she had no time to worry about that. There was a loud whistle from behind her¡ªthe leader, she imagined¡ªand suddenly, the whole body of assassins seemed to abandon engaging with the soldiers, almost all of whom were dead or bleeding from numerous wounds by this point. They had killed more than their number of assassins, but the remaining dozen now swarmed all around Rosslyn and Carolien. The two women were forced into fighting back to back once more. This time, it seemed impossible that they would make it out alive. Rosslyn took cuts now that she would have previously been able to avoid, as did Carolien, unable to muster the same power as earlier after hours of walking and an hour of Mana-fueled combat. The light around her sword sliced through a few enemies one by one and then weakened and faded, as the strain of the long battle began to take its toll. ¡°To the Princess! For Claustria!¡± She heard a shout from behind her and realized the loud footsteps she had heard were not reinforcements for the assassins. It was the troops from Fort Alistair. She felt like cheering, but instead, she forced her exhausted brain to keep its intense focus on the fight she was currently in. There were only a handful of killers left, but these were the most furious and determined. They no longer bothered to dodge her attacks, only attacked furiously until the moment they were struck down. Every strike they aimed was meant to be a death blow, no parries or attempts to wound either woman. Twice Rosslyn saved Carolien from death at the edges of their blades, and Carolien returned the favor three times. The assassins were more consumed with killing Rosslyn than with trying to kill her stepmother. But at last, after what felt like a long wait, Rosslyn could see the soldiers of Fort Alistair coming through the trees, in the gap between the assassins¡¯ shoulders. The last four assassins were still fighting, and as the joy showed on her face, they moved more furiously. Four swords swung down at her from four different directions. Carolien parried one. A soldier tackled one of the assassins to the ground. Rosslyn managed to dodge one. We did it, she thought. We survived the night. For those last minutes, it had seemed impossible. Then the last blade slashed through her blind spot, and as she turned her head, a searing pain ripped through her right eye. 78. Red Ending Part 1 Adon tried to run, though his body was still worn down from the fight with the Queen and the bulk of the Red Slayer Spider Wasp colony, and the burden of the silk-wrapped wasps slowed him down. He quickly used his silk cutters to cut the royal guards¡¯ corpses away from him and marginally increase his speed. As he raced across the distance that separated him from Goldie¡¯s web, Adon¡¯s mind went over everything he had done that day. Was there some way he could have prevented this attack? Could I have avoided the fight with the wasps? No, I don¡¯t think so. The Queen was going to come after us no matter what. Maybe if I¡¯d found a way to incapacitate all the wasps with that magic attack right at the beginning, but I didn¡¯t even know if it was going to be effective or not. Maybe I should have spared Regina after all. She might have come after us later anyway. Or I could have given in to her. Would she really have bothered to go after Goldie and Red if I was helping her, giving her exactly what she wanted? I didn¡¯t experience any goodwill from her, but it¡¯s hard to believe any life form is completely cruel. Maybe if I hadn¡¯t eaten the Queen¡ªwell, no, that only took a couple of minutes, as compared with the much longer time I spent walking home with food for Goldie and Red. And I was so weak after the fight¡­ If I didn¡¯t eat, I might have collapsed on the way. Maybe I should have left all the other dead wasps behind. They definitely slowed me down a little. I took at least as much time wrapping them up as I did eating. But I didn¡¯t know¡ªI hoped she might be saying she had already sent her children away, that she was still begging for her life¡ªI couldn¡¯t believe she would really send her children here, to do this. I still don¡¯t understand. What was the purpose? How does it help her or the wasp colony? Hot anger swelled up within him. Especially since they¡¯ll all die here! As he drew close to the web, Adon took in more details of the scene. On the ground by the web¡¯s edge, there lay a pile of at least a half dozen dead wasps amidst bits of off white chunks of debris that he did not easily recognize. He instantly felt a little better. Goldie and Red had clearly been busy before he arrived. There was something gratifying in seeing that his friends were far from helpless. A horrible guilt had been boiling up inside him at the thought that he had left the two spiders here undefended. He needed the reminder that they were predators too. Somewhere within the web, his friends were still fighting, but they had already defeated more than the number of wasps that he had seen hovering in the air. They might have been able to win this one without me, he thought with a touch of pride. Goldie has gotten stronger since I met her. Red probably has, too. I just don¡¯t know how he invests his Evolution Points, since we haven¡¯t really been able to talk. He leaped forward, hurling his body up into the web. He did not want his friends to fight alone for a single moment longer. As he set foot inside of Goldie¡¯s web, he was immediately greeted by the sight of another thirteen wasps. Some of these were not yet dead. The handful of live ones wriggled and writhed weakly, but they were stuck fast to the web. At a glance, they almost looked as if they had embedded themselves into the silk. The material around their bodies looked thicker and more tightly wound than the rest of the web in general. But he did not examine them beyond a single glance. There was no time. Adon jumped over the captured wasps, moving roughly, damaging the web substantially with each touch of his feet as he went. It was impossible for him to worry about the spiders¡¯ home when they were in danger, and he could not instantly remember which threads were sticky and which were not. He raced up the side of the web toward where he could now see Goldie, locked in a struggle with the six wasps that remained free. As Adon drew closer, he could tell something was very wrong. His friend was barely moving, just clinging to the web, her back legs entangled¡ªapparently deliberately¡ªwith both sticky and nonstick threads. And he could see why. The wasps were trying to drag her off, alternately grabbing and pulling at her front with their legs and jabbing her in the back with their stingers. He could see the marks that repeated stings had left on the parts of her body that were not blocked from view by the wasps. The rage in Adon burst into flame. He lunged across the rest of the distance keeping him and the fighting bugs apart, and he instantly joined the fray. He grabbed the first wasp he touched with his mandibles and forelimbs and ripped it in half. Like the flick of a switch, the wasps¡¯ attention switched instantly to him. Three of the remaining five stopped attacking Goldie and threw themselves at Adon¡ªwhich was just what he wanted. He tore into another wasp with his mandibles and chopped it in two with a single ferocious bite. The other two began stinging him, and Adon did nothing to defend against it. What little Mana he had needed to be saved for healing Goldie and Red¡ªas soon as he found out where Red was. Adon had not seen the smaller spider at all. Stolen story; please report. Instead of defending, he simply continued the attack. He tore the head off one of the wasps assailing him, shot silk at one of the other¡¯s wings, causing it to fly out of control and careen down into the web, and then jumped on his last remaining attacker and struck it with his right forelimb and second limb. The two-legged punch knocked that wasp out of the air and into the web, where its wings quickly became enmeshed in the golden spider silk. Finally, Adon turned back to Goldie. He saw nothing but an empty spider web strewn with chunks of off white debris. What? Then his simple eyes detected movement overhead. Damn it! Adon hurled himself straight up, ripping chunks of spider silk free along with his body as he did so. He reached eye level with the wasps, and they began desperately vibrating their wings faster, trying to move away. The two insects had Goldie clutched tightly in their limbs, gripping her around her midsection. They were trying to capture her for some reason. Probably planning to eat her, just like everything in this garden. You can¡¯t have her, he thought. Adon twisted his lower body into position so that he could throw silk at the wasps, and before they could get more than another few inches away, he had landed an anchoring thread on Goldie¡¯s midsection. Then he was falling through the air, and he felt the thread grow taut behind him. And he noticed the wasps and Goldie falling along with him. He turned his body to look up and saw that in addition to sticking to Goldie¡¯s body, he had also tangled one of the wasp¡¯s wings in his thread. The other one apparently was not strong enough to carry the heavy load of a spider, a very large caterpillar, and another wasp with its wings. It¡¯s over, Adon thought. A moment later, all four of them struck the spider web, rocking the whole structure with their weight. Despite the damage Adon had done earlier, somehow it held. As he shook his head and prepared to kill the wasps, he saw they were bound up in the web just like all the other surviving insects. His body instinctively relaxed slightly. All the enemies were dealt with. Then he sprang into action again. This time, he rushed to where Goldie had fallen. She had landed on her back, but she was unmoving, not even trying to fix her position or make certain that she was safe. She must have been stung too many times. He reached touch range with his friend and instantly drew upon his connection to healing magic. He could do it by sheer instinct now, he dimly recognized, without even thinking of the dark place from which he drew the knowledge. Green energy flowed from Adon¡¯s body into Goldie¡¯s, seeking out her hurts and mending them. Please please please please please, Goddess, he prayed. I don¡¯t know if it bothers you when people ask you for things, but I promise I won¡¯t ask you for anything else in this life. Please please please just help my friends. As he concentrated on healing Goldie and on willing those thoughts to reach the Goddess¡ªnot by telepathic means but simply by hoping that the ruler of the universe was always listening¡ªAdon turned his head and took in more of his surroundings. There was not much to see in the direction he was facing, toward the edge of the web. He could not even see the pile of wasps he had passed on his way up here. But he wanted an answer to the mystery of what had happened to Red. Had other wasps already carried him away? Perhaps killed him, perhaps taken him for their Queen to eat¡ªwhich would undoubtedly have been the order while Regina was still alive? Would Adon need to embark on a rescue mission? Unfortunately, Adon did not see any clues as to what had happened to Goldie¡¯s mate. The web was a mess, he saw, but that was no mystery. Adon had done most of the damage to it himself, with the rough steps he took trying to reach Goldie. Hopefully she would be able to repair her home once she recovered, or they could simply move somewhere else. The garden seemed even less safe now than it had before he¡¯d come to his friends¡¯ rescue. Somehow he had imagined he had wiped out nearly all of the Red Slayer Spider Wasp colony, yet around twenty had survived to attack Goldie and Red. Are there still more of them out there? Or some worse predator I haven¡¯t even seen yet? His focus returned to the present problem. Where in the Goddess¡¯s name is Red? I know he would never abandon Goldie and her eggs in a situation like this¡ª His mind jolted to a sudden stop. The eggs! Adon suddenly remembered what Goldie¡¯s eggs looked like. His memory was essentially perfect in this life, like a hard drive he could search at will. Now the images appeared as pictures in his mind. Stiff, small, pearl-like spheres. Off white color. Glued to leaves that were webbed together to conceal them. With that context, he realized that he had seen broken pieces of the eggs. Some chunks of egg were strewn about the top part of the web, though at the time, Adon had hardly noticed them because that was where the wasps and Goldie were struggling. And some chunks were scattered around the bodies of those wasps. None of the eggs he had seen were intact. Oh, no. Are there any eggs left? Suddenly a shudder of motion in front of him pulled his mind back to the present. As he looked for Red and examined the events of the fight, he had continued healing Goldie. Now her legs were moving, and it seemed to him that she had regained consciousness and was trying instinctively to right her flipped position. Though her movements were quite weak, Adon felt a powerful surge of relief. At least he would not be left completely alone, no matter what had happened to the eggs and Red. If the two of them were the only survivors of the attack, he and Goldie could mourn their losses together. Thank you, Goddess¡­ Adon activated Telepathy. Goldie, are you all right? 79. Red Ending Part 2 Adon, Goldie thought. Her inner voice sounded tired and muddled to him. As she formulated the thought, she was still wiggling her legs as if she could turn right side up by dog paddling through the air. I¡¯m here, Goldie, he replied instantly. He moved around to her side to help her up. I was in the space between this world and the next, I think, she thought. I saw the Goddess¡ªunless it was all in my head. I feel confused. Everything hurts. What happened? You were hurt, really badly, he sent. He began pushing her side, and with his help, she managed to turn right side up. Wasps attacked¡ª Wasps! Her voice inside his head became suddenly clearer and frantic. I remember now. My eggs¡­ Red! What happened? Where are they? Adon, have you seen my eggs or Red? He shook his head sadly but forced himself to answer her question more fully, even though it was painful to do so. I saw some of your eggs, broken, but I haven¡¯t seen Red. No¡­ The word came through the telepathic link along with a choked sound like a human sob. My babies. My mate. I have to¡­ She began moving toward the edge of her web, but it was painfully slow, clumsy, and hard to watch. He could tell she was far from healed. Stop, please, he sent. I¡¯ll go look! He was trying to protect the eggs, she thought sadly. Trying to protect our little ones¡­ I wish I could remember more. All in fragments. The wasps¡¯ venom is strong¡­ Adon felt her pain like it was his own. Please sit tight, he sent. I will find Red if he¡¯s here. He went after the wasps eating our eggs, Goldie thought. It is coming back slowly¡­ Adon threw himself over the edge of the web before Goldie could get overwhelmed with emotion and try looking for Red herself again. He had an idea for where he wanted to start looking at least. He had seen a pile of dead wasps surrounded by pieces of Goldie¡¯s eggs. The area around it seemed as good a place as any to find Red. He did not have to walk far. He almost landed right in the middle of the dead insects as he fell. Adon approached cautiously. Though he had not seen a single wasp stir, and they were in the exact position he remembered them in from before, he did not want to underestimate these things. He snipped the necks of the wasps at the bottom with his mandibles before he finally admitted to himself that they were not playing dead. He was just stalling, afraid of what he might find. Adon pulled the wasps bodies to the side one by one. At the very bottom, buried under a half dozen creatures, each of which were multiple times his size, lay Red. Adon did not need to do more than look at him to know that he was dead. His legs had curled in on themselves, the way that spider corpses¡¯ legs often did in his memories from previous worlds. He sent a telepathic probe to Red¡¯s mind, the mental equivalent of a nudge, and it ricocheted off. Like nothing was there. As if Adon was trying to communicate with the dust. Nearing despair, Adon stepped closer, reached out, and touched Red¡¯s body with an antenna. But as expected, Red did not move. Adon¡¯s touch confirmed that the spider¡¯s body had gone stiff and lifeless. Goldie¡¯s mate, one of Adon¡¯s only friends in this world, was stone cold dead. You¡¯re gone, Adon thought. You¡¯re really gone. He tried reaching out one more time. This time, he touched Red with the green healing magic that had done wonders for Goldie. The waves of aura rippled off Red¡¯s corpse as if there was no damage to repair. Everything was done. Now the reality was final. Irrevocable. Could I have saved him? If I had moved faster, could I have saved him? Adon felt a terrible headache coming on that he did not think was related to Mana consumption. Though he was getting relatively low again, he now had a much deeper pool than he had enjoyed just that morning. He put his forelimbs to the sides of his head and restrained his desire to scream. That would not help Goldie, after all. She was the one most affected by this. He had to tell her. He had to let her know that Red was dead, and it might be Adon¡¯s fault. If I had just been a little bit faster¡­ He stared at Red, still unwilling to move, obsessively going over everything that had happened that day from morning until now. At first, he barely saw what he was looking at, but then he realized that Red¡¯s body did not bear many of the conspicuous puncture marks that covered Goldie¡¯s frame. He had a couple of stinger wounds, but not nearly as many as her. I guess it didn¡¯t take as much to kill him, he thought. Red was so much smaller. At least he died for Goldie and the little ones. But that thought felt like a stab in his chest. As far as Adon knew, there were no little ones left. So Red had died pointlessly. No more stalling. I¡¯ll tell Goldie now. Maybe she¡¯ll tell me to get lost. I would understand if she hates me after this. If she wants to kill me and eat me, I won¡¯t fight her. Adon jumped back into the web, expecting Goldie to be near the edge, close to where he had left her. She was nowhere to be seen. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Did she see what happened to Red and decide she wanted to be alone? He looked around for clues, and he saw a swathe of the web that had been ruined. Threads with long strands of Goldie¡¯s exoskeleton clinging to them, chunks of the fabric that were torn from the body of the web. Goldie was so exhausted that she could no longer navigate her own web effectively. But it left a trail that Adon could follow. He tried to keep in Goldie¡¯s tracks as much as possible, walking on the chunks of exoskeleton she had left behind. As he reached nearer the top of the web, he saw what looked like a hollowed out husk of the spider. She shed her skin. I hope it helped her heal a bit, and she didn¡¯t just have to do that because she had damaged her exoskeleton too much crossing the web. In the distance, in Goldie¡¯s usual preferred concealed perching location, he saw the spider. She lay amid those chunks of off white debris that were so familiar now. The shattered remnants of her eggs. Did any survive? He wondered for a moment if he had accidentally sent the thought, but Goldie did not react as if she had heard anything. She just sat there. Adon approached and saw his friend had curled her body around something. It resembled Red¡¯s dying posture slightly, which made him worried. Had they both succumbed to the wasps¡¯ venom? Goldie? he sent. Silence. He probed gently with his antennae. She stirred slightly, as if disturbed in the middle of sleep, but did not respond otherwise. He deactivated Telepathy. She only passed out again, he decided. He began channeling healing magic again. He would give her the bad news when she regained consciousness. For now, he would be the best friend he could be and ensure she survived this. After some minutes of this, he could see the wounds on her body¡ªshallower now that she had shed her skin, but still present¡ªhad begun to close. After half an hour, she looked almost as good as new to his eyes. Her body had lost a little of its usual luster, as if her skin was as tired as the rest of her somehow. He chalked that up to low Biomass and thought that, at least, was something they could fix. She stirred again, and he reactivated Telepathy. Goldie? he sent. She seemed startled as if awakened from sleep, then immediately relaxed. Adon. Thank Goddess for you. The guilt struck him again, like a slap in the face. Please don¡¯t thank me, he sent. Red is dead, and I think all this is my fault. He proceeded to explain the entire story of what had happened to him since he left the web that morning, trying to leave nothing important out. When he was done, he sat nervously awaiting her judgment. Goldie was silent for a few seconds, quietly processing. It made him slightly uncomfortable when she withdrew into herself this way, and he did not know what she was thinking. With his improved Telepathy and mental magic, he was fairly certain he could have looked into her mind, but such a violation of her privacy was unthinkable. No matter how painful it was, waiting for her to say her piece. Adon, this is not your fault, she replied finally. Let me explain what happened us while you were gone. She told a story almost as complete as Adon¡¯s. It had been an uneventful day until around an hour before Adon¡¯s return. The wasps had arrived at the web, by Goldie¡¯s estimation, around the same time that the rest of their colony was confronting Adon. So they were never going to leave us alone, she added. Red and Goldie had retreated to the underside of the web at that point, and Goldie purchased another addition to her collection of silk manipulation Skills and Adaptations. This one was a Skill for throwing out silk nets and lariats, Silk Lasso. The wasps were initially slightly hesitant to approach the web, which gave her mind time to properly absorb the Skill. By the time they did try to get close to the web, Goldie had prepared silk that was thicker and stronger than usual, and she knew, through her Skill, how to throw further and more forcefully than normal. The first wasps to approach the web were forced to retreat higher into the air to avoid being captured, and then Goldie was in a kind of deadly competition with the wasps. They dodged and fell back when her lariat almost caught them, while she used her silk primarily as a tool to keep them at a distance. The wasps were too large to easily maneuver through the gaps in Goldie¡¯s web at the speed necessary to avoid her silk cable, and the gap that separated the underside of the web from the ground was too small for the wasps to sneak through there without being snared. A pair of them tried, and Goldie almost captured them. All the while, she was waiting for Adon to arrive and trying to bide her time. But eventually, the wasps found her weakness. They had the numbers to do more than one task at a time, she thought bitterly. While some were looking for a way around my lasso, others found hiding place for my eggs. A pair of them tore the egg sac down from where it was safe, and they started eating my eggs in front of me! Adon heard a terrible despair ring through her voice. Red went after them. He had not been able to do much before. Just stood by ready to bite anything that came through web, but nothing did. But he couldn¡¯t stand by for this, Adon sent. Goldie nodded. Neither of us could. He rushed up and attacked the wasps that had my eggs. I had never seen my mate so fierce. A note of pride was obvious in her voice. I followed him. We fought together for a little while. But there were so many. A few tried to carry my eggs off and fly away, but Red was fighting them, injecting venom over and over. I could not see what happened to him; too many wasps in my vision. And now I know. He died fighting. Obvious emotion swelled up in the spider, and she stopped transmitting for a moment. Adon stepped closer and wrapped his limbs around Goldie in the strange embrace that was the closest he could come to a proper hug with this body. After a moment, she returned his squeeze with her forelimbs. Her lower legs continued to be clenched tightly around the web, as if she thought a breeze might blow her away. They continued to hold each other as Goldie resumed talking. It felt like their numbers were impossible. I used so much venom. Kept going until I ran dry. Threw wasps into the web, but there were so many. And so big. Then I saw a wasp taking a break from the fight while others kept me busy. It was eating my eggs again. Another wasp joined him, but it did not bother eating my eggs. It simply smashed as many as it could. I still do not understand what happened then. I went wild. I barely remember¡­ but I think I killed most of them while I was like that. Goldie, I¡¯m so sorry, Adon began. It is not your fault, Adon, Goldie replied insistently, cutting him off. Last thing I need is you blaming yourself. Attack began on us at the same time as on you. Red died long before you finished your fight. Nothing you might have changed could have made difference. Still. Even if you¡¯re right. She attacked you, because you were associated with me. Even if it wasn¡¯t my fault, I had something to do with Red dying. With your babies dying. How could I blame you for what happened? Goldie thought. Even if I wanted to, I would only hurt myself. You are the only one left who cares for me. And there is still hope. Goldie gently released her grip on Adon, and he took a step back, uncertain what she meant. Then she raised her body up on her back legs, and he saw what she had been holding onto all this time with her middle limbs. A half dozen spider¡¯s eggs, intact and beautiful, hung from the underside of her abdomen, stuck there with a clumsily applied layer of silk. 80. Red Funeral Adon felt the tension in his body suddenly relax. There¡¯s something left, he thought but did not transmit. I¡¯m so glad you saved some, he sent after a moment. I was just lucky, Goldie thought. We were both lucky. I know how wasps are. They hit like natural disaster. That kind we fought is not unique. They came once when I was young. A different breed than the ones we saw, but similar. I always hid from creatures like that. If you hid too slowly, they would carry you off. I think they used our bodies to feed their young. It was the only way I could explain them carrying us off instead of eating us on the spot. Amazes me that now we are strong enough to fight them. I never thought that day would come. I can¡¯t believe you endured attacks like that before, Adon transmitted. It must have been terrifying. It was terrifying to see them carry off my siblings, Goldie replied. But this attack was different. They targeted you and me individually. Not out of hunger. But personal hatred. Maybe even envy. A malevolence like nothing I have seen in this life. It is part of why I cannot blame you for what happened. This behavior is unnatural even to predators like wasps. Hatred made them crazy. Sounds like the Queen you dealt with was rotten. You cannot predict something like that. I wonder if the rest of her hive is still out there somewhere, Adon sent. I doubt she would just let her colony die out like that. Her ego was too big. She wanted to be the most important creature in the world. Maybe I could find a way to track them down¡­ It sounded like an impossible task, tracking the origin of a group of flying creatures that could have come from miles away. They might live as close as the palace rooftop or as far away as the middle of a distant swamp. His mind nevertheless immediately started sifting through his abilities, trying to come up with ways he might determine the location the wasps had come from. But Goldie was shaking her head. I do not see the point, she thought. Revenge is a pointless pursuit. You killed the Queen. We have nothing left to worry about. You were just saying that these things eat spiders, Adon sent. Isn¡¯t that something to worry about? Then will you kill every wasp in the world? Goldie asked. Only the ones who are close enough to threaten you and your children. The ones who might know what we did to the previous generation. No creature in this garden that I have ever seen has inherited its mother¡¯s grudges, Adon, Goldie thought. Please just let this rest. They attacked. We survived. We killed all the wasps that came. Now we have to look after each other and the young ones. Would you really leave me alone now? Adon felt the exhaustion and the pleading in Goldie¡¯s tone, and all the argument went out of him. No, he sent. I¡¯ll stay here. We can forget about the hive. Um, do you need more healing? A memory presented itself to Adon unbidden as he thought about the potential future problem of the wasps. He remembered an Adaptation he had seen when flicking through his Evolution Store options days ago. The description had mentioned that it would allow him to mimic the scent of ant larva. The obvious purpose of that Adaptation was to infiltrate an ant colony to kill and eat wasps while disguised as a harmless larva. It was arguably less violent than the wasps¡¯ approach, but the memory reminded him that he and his kind were potentially not very different from them. I should be trying to escape from the brutality of nature, he reminded himself. Not holding onto grudges. This bug eat bug environment is the problem. I could use a little more healing, I think, Goldie replied. But I do not know if you should waste your energy. It might be better if I simply evolve. I can do it safely now that you are here to watch over me. If the process is like last time, it will take a few hours. That¡¯s great, Adon sent. There is just one more thing I would like to do before I evolve, Goldie thought. Well, two things. My body will need full Biomass to complete the process. And the other thing is, I want to bury Red. Will you help me? Adon felt the guilt of his failure to protect them in his stomach again, but he forced himself to nod. Of course I will, he sent. Red deserves better than to be left for some scavenger. I¡¯ll bring his body up to keep it safe, and then I¡¯ll get you some food. Adon returned to the ground, tied Red to himself by a silk thread, and brought him back up to Goldie. She covered her eyes with her forelimbs and emitted a telepathic sob again. He decided to give her some time alone with Red, to say her goodbye. He went back to where the wasps Red had killed himself had fallen and bound them all up with silk. Then he waited in silence for what seemed to him a respectful amount of time, his body falling into the near-sleep state that it reached when he was exhausted and inactive for long enough. Finally, he tied the package of dead wasps to his body and jumped back up onto the web. He found Goldie almost cradling Red in the crook of one limb and stroking him with another, like a mother soothing a baby. Thank you, Adon, she thought when she noticed his presence. She placed Red in the old hiding place she often used, near the top of her web, and they sat down to eat the dead wasps. They ate in silence at first, but gradually, Goldie seemed to become comfortable talking. I wonder what his next incarnation will be, she thought. Stolen story; please report. They speculated about that, back and forth, each idea grander and more outlandish than the last. A penguin. Human. Elephant. Dragon! Then Adon changed the subject. Do you, um, have any particular traditions for funerals? he asked. Spiders in general, or you in particular? Goldie shook her head. No. I would appreciate if you would say few words, though. You are better with them than me, and you knew him almost as well as I did. The idea instantly made him feel slightly queasy, and he had to force himself to continue eating his hunk of wasp. Well, only Goldie will hear it, Adon reminded himself. She¡¯s always been very accepting of my lack of social skills. I¡¯ll do my best to honor him, he sent. I appreciate it, she thought. With the meal finished, both were a bit stronger. They descended from the web, carrying Red¡¯s body on a silken litter between them. They walked under the gap that separated the web from the soil, and together, with limbs poorly adapted for moving dirt, Adon and Goldie dug as deep a grave as they could manage for Red. It was deep enough, in Adon¡¯s analysis, that Red¡¯s body would probably be eaten by worms or other underground creatures rather than excavated and consumed by some random surface insect. And Adon gave his best attempt at a funeral oration. Dear Red, he transmitted, you have left us today, but you will never leave our hearts. You died as you lived, protecting your mate and your children with your life. I know you loved Goldie, as Goldie loves you. You could not say it, but you showed it with your gestures. Adon paused and looked for more words. How exactly had Red shown his love? But Adon quickly found examples of what he was trying to say. Your protectiveness, your willingness to fight, and your constant proximity. You never left her alone. Even when she wandered the garden, looking for food to take care of me, you did not let her face monstrous creatures by herself. You fought them beside her when you could have escaped alone. I know that Goldie¡¯s and your hatchlings were your world. Adon faltered again, this time because emotion was hitting him harder. Even though you will never meet them, you loved them until your dying moment. Most of us are abandoned by our parents in this place, but not your eggs! You raced into death for them. Because the creatures in the garden were that dangerous, and you were determined that they not be exposed to that danger. I promise that we will honor your sacrifice, Red. Goldie loved you, but I think you were my friend too. No, I know you were my friend! We will make sure your children have a better life than you had, whether they can talk or not. So please rest in peace. Enjoy your next life. We¡¯ll miss you, but don¡¯t spend too much time thinking about us. We¡¯ll be all right. Thank you for everything. Goldie almost collapsed onto Adon as he finished talking, her body shaking. She gripped him tightly with all her limbs, and it took him a few seconds to react. Finally, he hugged her back. That was wonderful, she thought. Did not know you could speak so well. Can I? he wondered. Am I a good speaker? Or am I just up to spider standards? Even in this moment, he could not keep from doubting his own abilities. But he did keep his doubts to himself. They buried Red then, and returned to the web. Goldie¡¯s posture looked different, and Adon dared to hope that he had actually made her feel a bit better about losing her mate. Either that, or burying Red was simply that cathartic of an experience for her. What did you mean about giving the children a better life? Goldie asked after they had arrived back in the middle of her now tattered web. I had this idea. It¡¯s not the first time I¡¯ve thought about it¡­ Adon explained his thinking about getting them and Goldie¡¯s children into the palace. Then the spider stood for a moment thinking quietly to herself. It cannot be any more dangerous than life in the garden, she finally thought. Good, Adon replied. Then once you finish evolving, can we return to my plant? That¡¯s where the Princess knows how to find me. I know you might be more comfortable here. This is your home¡ª No, Goldie interrupted. Wasps destroyed it. She waved an arm to indicate the destruction the last fight had wrought upon her web, much of which Adon was responsible for. We lose nothing by going to your plant. He thought about apologizing for the damage to her web, but he decided that would only be to salve his own conscience. Goldie had heard enough apologies from him for one day. The sun was setting now, and rather than trying to ease his feelings of guilt for helping to destroy her life, Goldie ought to be getting on with the business of evolving. I¡¯ll watch you, he sent. Go ahead and evolve, and then we can go. She nodded. See you on the other side, my friend. Then she moved up the web, to where she liked to be when she was looking out from her web. Adon followed her from a distance, just trying to keep within sight. He wanted to give her space, but he was also unwilling to let her out of his sight if he did not have to before she finished evolving. When she stopped, he stood to watch her. At first, it looked like she was doing nothing in particular at all. Just holding unusually still. Then he saw a gauzy surface appear between himself and her body, and he realized she was shedding a layer of exoskeleton. So this is what Evolution looks like. Over the next several hours, he watched from a distance as Goldie shed layer upon layer of exoskeleton. After just a few layers, there was a thick shield of tissue surrounding Goldie in all directions that made it impossible for him to see her main body clearly. The tissue shield was larger than Goldie herself was. The one thing he could tell for certain was that underneath the thick layers of discarded skin, Goldie was growing larger. He could see the glint of her bead-like eyes through those first few layers, and they stood at a greater height than they had before, though as far as he could tell, Goldie had not shifted her position aside from that. And the process continued. Adon tried to count how many times Goldie shed layers of exoskeleton as she evolved, but it was impossible to keep track. He guessed it must be hundreds. It seemed impossible, but Adon doubted that word applied to much in this world of magic and self-directed Evolution. Finally, a stillness settled in the air. The moon was out now, and the moonlight made the tissue of skin gleam elegantly. It took up almost half the web now. Adon had been forced to move backward to avoid becoming entangled in Goldie¡¯s hundreds of layers of discarded skin. Now the thick layers of accumulated exoskeleton moved and swayed as if there was a breeze in the air, and Adon could sense that it was Goldie moving underneath. He wondered if she needed help. He was certain the process must have taken a lot out of her. And he was almost as curious as he was concerned. She would probably be all right after going through Evolution¡ªshe had done it safely before, after all¡ªbut would she be the same? How would she have changed? Goldie? he sent nervously. Adon, she replied instantly. Are you all right? he asked. I need food, Goldie replied, but I cannot remember when I have ever felt stronger. It is hard to describe. Her inner voice sounded clearer, stronger, and more resolute, he realized. Evolution seemed to have done wonders for her. Adon quickly moved in, dragging a wasp corpse up toward his friend. 81. Evolution As Adon stepped foot into the thick tissue of discarded skin, the fabric of it moved, and he instinctively jerked back as if scalded. He was a little nervous, he realized. Even though he knew Goldie was his friend, her species was a natural predator of his. That was only made more obvious by the fact of her Evolution into another species that was clearly much larger than she had been. Then he saw her head poking out. Goldie was stepping onto the surface of the bits of exoskeleton she had shed over the last several hours, and her newfound size was enough to easily shake the frayed, inadequate structure of her old web. Her whole body quickly moved into view, and Adon took her in like he was seeing her for the first time. Adon¡¯s first reaction to seeing her was a slight tinge of fear¡ªbuilding on the existing thread of nervousness¡ªand an overwhelming sense of appreciation. Awe. She was so big. Where before, she had been only a couple of inches long at most, she was now the size of a large human hand. Bigger than any spider he remembered seeing in any of his previous lives, although not all of those worlds had been magical ones of continuous progression opportunities. Goldie¡¯s basic color pattern had not changed much since he first saw her. Her legs had retained their yellow and black bands and added red bands, as if to warn, This spider is venomous! She had the same little tufts of hair at her leg joints. Her body was still a dark reddish brown, but now her small yellow speckles had reformed into a yellow and black hourglass shape across her back. And there was her aura, of course. The slight, yellow glow that had surrounded Goldie since Adon met her. It seemed to be the only quality of hers that had not changed at all. You¡¯re even more beautiful, he sent. She stepped over the bunched up cloth of exoskeletons and wobbled noticeably on her feet. Thank you, she thought. Looks like I need time to get used to these legs. Adon just sent back the sound of laughter. He felt a twinge of guilt about laughing at anything only hours after they had buried Red, but it subsided quickly. Red would not begrudge him this. Then he stepped in closer to Goldie, the nervousness from earlier vanishing almost as suddenly as it had appeared. She was still the same old spider, his friend. He placed a wasp in front of her, and she almost pounced upon it. The movement was so quick and fierce that he had to exert self-control to stand his ground. Then she consumed the creature in the usual, mildly gross way that spiders did, and Adon had no further time to be disturbed by how much more predatory Goldie seemed. He busied himself bringing her more to eat, and she rapidly wolfed down¡ªor, more accurately, sucked up¡ªeverything he gave her. I need to make certain I gather plenty of food after you begin your Evolution, Goldie thought. Did not realize I would feel so famished. Did not get quite so hungry last time. I¡¯m sure there will be plenty of dead wasps to eat, Adon replied. But he was not certain it would be enough. As Goldie continued eating, she depleted everything that had died around the web. Adon was a bit peckish himself, but in order to keep the wasps for his friend, he restricted himself to eating Goldie¡¯s discarded skins. He had done the same thing with his own skin in the past, and he knew it was a way to restore some of the Biomass lost from shedding his skin. They were not very flavorful, but the layers of exoskeleton filled his stomach and made it easier to find the last few wasp corpses that had been hidden during her Evolution beneath the ballooning layers of skin. Finally, when Goldie had consumed everything in sight, the very hungry spider proclaimed herself satisfied. That¡¯s good, Adon sent. I think that¡¯s all the food. His friend had turned to survey the web as he spoke, and she stood stiffly for a long moment, reviewing the damage in full one last time. She articulated her feelings just as the silence had begun to feel awkward. And now we can say goodbye to this place forever! Goldie thought finally. There was a fierce edge to her tone. Adon could feel the mixture of anger and grief swirling just beneath the surface. He sensed that she would probably never wish to return to this corner of the garden again¡ªor perhaps to the garden at all, once they had departed. The memories would be too much. We can say goodbye to everything, Adon replied. We can make a new, safer beginning for your eggs. Yes, she thought. Goldie tested her legs out, and she seemed to be capable of walking much more easily now that she had consumed more than her body weight in wasp guts. She made certain that her eggs were still secured to her abdomen, applying another protective layer of silk just to ensure they would remain attached and insulated from attack during the journey. With that last task done, they descended from the web and began their walk across the garden in near complete silence. Their eyes wandered the landscape, but they moved in lockstep beside each other without ever letting their bodies move more than an inch or two apart. In their own minds, each had resolved they would not allow themselves to be separated again. Adon briefly paused to eat the royal guard wasps as they reached the place where he had cut their corpses loose from his body so he could run to Goldie¡¯s rescue. They were still wrapped in silk. The scavengers had clearly made attempts to tear through it, because the silk was frayed in a few places from nibbling. But it seemed they had been forced to give up before they reached their goal. Though this was the only sign of life he had seen since leaving the web, it reminded Adon to keep an eye peeled for any wandering bugs that he might like to eat. He wanted to stockpile spare Biomass before he entered his chrysalis, in case he ended up as ravenous as Goldie. But the walk continued uneventfully. The garden was quiet, perhaps because a giant spider and a mass murdering caterpillar were on the prowl. Nothing wanted to get in their way. If the caterpillar had not been at the apex of the garden¡¯s food chain before, he realized he certainly was now, in company with the monstrous spider. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. This train of thought caused Adon to wonder if he had made a dent in the garden¡¯s population with his activities over the last few weeks since being born. He was surprised to realize that he hoped he had not. He could do without the existence of wasps entirely, but he did not want to be the cause of a major disruption in this ecosystem. He hoped that his slaughter had been a sort of statistical blip. Just a minor deviation from normal garden life. He searched for the reason why he felt this way, while also badly wanting to leave the garden behind and try to lead a more civilized and secure existence. He came to a conclusion that even he found a bit lame and unsatisfying. For better or worse, no matter how vicious the lives of arthropods could be, they were lives. Adon hoped other creatures like him and Goldie would appear here again. Bright, shining, sapient lives. Precious and rare. But it was more than just that. He even hoped that there would be many more voles and bats. For reasons he did not fully understand, he wished the surviving residents of the garden well. The fact that he had never truly been vengeful, despite all that had happened to him¡ªdidn¡¯t it prove that he did not truly hate this place? He had only ever killed to survive and to improve and extend his own life and those of his friends. With all its cruelties, the garden also gave birth to life, beauty, and friendship. Love too. It was this environment that had created him and his friend Goldie, after all. It¡¯s just life, he thought. Maybe life is inherently good. I think it must almost always be better than the alternative, at least. I miss the lives I don¡¯t have. Even though I was a hopeless guy back when I was a human, I still wish I had that life to do over. Not because I wish I didn¡¯t end up here¡ªI would still want to wind up in this place, at this time, so I could meet Goldie. But there was so much I could have done, so much I could have learned, so much I could have been. Let alone that time I was a noble girl, or when I was a dragon! I don¡¯t even know all the potential I¡¯ve wasted in all these lives I¡¯ve failed to lead. What are you thinking about? Goldie thought. Life is beautiful, Adon sent, choosing not to filter himself at all. I think being at the end of all these life or death struggles gave me a lot to consider. My thoughts aren¡¯t organized, but I¡¯m just grateful to be alive, I guess. Thankful that I came here and met you. I even feel like I appreciate the little things more than I used to. I¡¯m not really thinking much about them, but I¡¯ve been observing the flowers as we walk past. The winter flowers out now are so different from the autumn ones. It just makes me want to turn the page¡ªI mean, it makes me want to see the next season. Am I making any sense? The garden is beautiful, Goldie replied. I am with you about leaving it, but I always loved living here. Even when I was afraid for my life. It was a complicated feeling. This place is home. I met you and Red here. I built a home here. I planted the seeds of a family. The flowers are beautiful. I saw these ones bloom once before. It feels remarkable to think that this beauty appears in winter. It is still sad I never got to share the beauty of the fireflies with you. But that would require us to go through another two seasons in the garden, and neither of us wants that. Maybe we¡¯ll return one day, Adon sent. As tourists instead of residents. Goldie nodded thoughtfully, and they resumed walking in silence, taking in the beauty of the flowers and trees as the garden continued its slow transition to the dead season. Adon noted that her vocabulary and speaking skills seemed to have improved since her Evolution, but he could not find a way of expressing it that would not feel insulting or condescending. So he kept quiet. They reached the old stomping grounds where Adon had first emerged from his shell, what felt like forever ago. He noticed that someone¡ªperhaps the royal gardeners¡ªhad removed the plant beside Adon¡¯s birth plant that he had chopped down when he first tested out enhancing his mandibles with Mana. His birth plant looked particularly scrawny and insignificant now that it had no neighbor. But it did not matter. That was where the Princess knew to expect him, so that was where he was going. Be it ever so humble, there¡¯s no place like home, he thought to himself. Goldie told him, without him having to ask, that she would stay with him on the plant. For however long it took for him to finish his first Evolution, she would be there, as he had been there for her during her transformation. If necessary, she would even build a web on his and the surrounding plants and begin catching food. The first Evolution can take some time, she explained. My first took longer than my second Evolution, the one you witnessed. You already know I am a bit of a homebody anyway. Thank you, Goldie, he replied. I appreciate you looking out for me. In my other lives, I¡¯ve heard caterpillars are extremely vulnerable while going through metamorphosis. Goldie nodded. Probably more than most creatures during Evolution, from what I have seen. But I cannot wait to see what sort of butterfly you will become. Or perhaps a moth? That reminds me, Adon sent, what was your new species? I am now a Willful Golden Hourglass Spider, Goldie replied. I still have not explored what that means yet. I chose the individualized Evolution option, though. So I know it was personalized for me by the Goddess. Is the System controlled by the Goddess directly? Adon thought but did not send. There was so much about this world he still did not understand. If the Goddess was always watching, why was her world so horribly violent, at least at the micro level? Why was every world Adon could ever remember living in a violent one, at least at some point in its history? He did not want to get into a lengthy philosophical conversation about the nature of divinity right now, though. He wanted to climb into his plant and initiate the next phase of his life. So instead, he replied, Wish me luck! I hope the Goddess chooses something great for me too. Oh, I feel certain she will, Adon, Goldie thought. I think sometimes that you do not realize how special you are. If she cares at all what happens in this world, the Goddess has plans for you. The words sent a chill through Adon¡¯s body, though he was uncertain as to the reasons why. Part of him wanted some grand destiny in this life, but perhaps another part of him was afraid of what that might mean. Greatness and happiness rarely went together from what he remembered across the universes he had experienced. I¡¯ll see you on the other side, Goldie, he sent finally. It¡¯s always good to have you believing in me. Then he climbed his old plant and purchased Specialized Chrysalis Evolution. Then his body, half under his control and half prompted by an outside, unseen force, began to prepare to evolve. It was as if Adon was being told the steps to a strange ritual by a presence that was living inside his own body. And at the same time, he was living through the tutorial of those steps. Fascinating. Bizarre. Almost an out of body experience. It was the most emotional distance he had felt from his own body since the egg days, when he had hoped and wished to be some other kind of creature. When he, for some time, did not even know what sort of animal he was going to be. His body employed his silk spinner to stick itself to a firm part of the plant near the main stem. Then his skin began shedding by itself. He was dimly aware that he could stop it if he chose to, but he had no desire to delay. He might somehow miss his own Evolution, and what would be the point? This was exactly what he wanted. More layers of exoskeleton puffed up and separated themselves from his body. The wall between Adon and the outside world slowly grew thicker and thicker as he began the transformation that would leave his caterpillar body behind once and for all. I wonder if I¡¯ll dream. That was his last thought before the world disappeared behind another layer of shed skin. 2-01. Metamorphosis Adon lost sight of the sunlight and the outside world in an instant as the Evolution process finally kicked into gear. He shed another layer of skin and realized that suddenly, what had been his insides felt wet and exposed. And outside. This doesn¡¯t seem right, he thought. Liquid moved around him within the chrysalis, and he was fairly certain that some of them had been his bodily fluids. But now they were next to him instead of inside of him. Stay calm, he told himself. This is probably perfectly normal. The liquid began to burn him, quietly searing wherever it touched like liquid fire. Adon had deactivated Telepathy before he entered the chrysalis, but he checked to make certain it was inactive. He did not want Goldie to hear his internal whining. At first he was more angry than anything else. The pain made it harder for him to imagine that this was a perfectly normal phenomenon that every creature went through. How would species ever perpetuate themselves if they all had to go through something like this before they reached maturity? Or is it just caterpillars turning into butterflies? Why?! Why is my Evolution like this? Goldie went through hers in a few hours, and she didn¡¯t mention anything about her body dissolving¡­ That was what was happening around him. He could feel his limbs breaking down in the acidic juice all around him. His legs, prolegs, spines, antennae, silk spinner, silk cutters, and even his trusty mandibles¡ªeverything that he had developed as a caterpillar, everything that had made him unique or powerful, was breaking down. Even his eyes were disappearing, though he still had some non-visual sense of what was going on around him¡ªalmost as though the chrysalis itself were still his living tissue, and he could in some way appreciate everything that happened to it or within it. The process would have been fascinating if it was not such an unpleasant affliction. It felt like a kind of death. Like he had died, missed his trip back to the Goddess somehow, and now he was inside an egg again. He was so helpless. The difference was that his egg stage had not been particularly painful. In a sense, he knew, this was a form of death. The caterpillar life was over. It would never return. As the outermost layers dissolved away, the inner tissue began to burn, and Adon achieved a level of agony that for a time erased all thought. There was only silent, still suffering. He couldn¡¯t even writhe much. Every muscle he would have normally used to wiggle and thrash about in a torture-adjacent situation was burning up in the liquid fire. Gradually, the most sensitive parts of his body seemed to have been all burned away¡ªor perhaps he had simply lost most of his nervous system and therefore could not appreciate all of the pain his body was in. In any case, the agony died down to a dull, burning ache through most of his body. Only a few regions continued to burn with an urgency that mocked him, as if he had the power to do anything about it. Please stop burning me, he thought at the liquid. I¡¯ll tell you what. If you stop burning me, I¡¯ll give you a nice wasp to burn instead. Wouldn¡¯t that be fun? Please please please stop¡­ With nothing to think about but the slow and steady ongoing dissolution of his body, Adon had deduced that whatever substance was dissolving him now had probably been in his stomach before this. That was the most logical explanation for how his body could suddenly, spontaneously, without any noticeable use of magic, produce a substance to destroy itself with. Wait, no, I have some other kind of acid-producing organ! Adon remembered that until his mandibles had dissolved, he had an Adaptation that allowed him to inject acid into his enemies¡¯ bodies. Why did I even feel like I needed that? It was clearly overkill! Not to mention one of the most painful ways to die imaginable. He could see it clearly if he allowed himself to dwell on it: his body dissolving itself fully into pure goop, with nothing left to connect the nervous system to tissues and appendages. He would go to the Goddess again, and perhaps his soul would be consigned to oblivion this time. Right now, that almost seemed like a relief. At least it would end the pain. But he could not dwell on the idea of an end to his pain. The other major consequence of his possible death was too much at the forefront of his mind for that. Goldie. His friend would wait for him to emerge for a long time, perhaps indefinitely. She had waited for almost her entire life to find another intelligent life form she could converse with. She would not give up on Adon even if he somehow took longer than he should to emerge from his chrysalis. Even if he was dead in there and did not respond to telepathic entreaties. But if he died, eventually, the sac of fluid would just decompose in front of her. She would know she was alone. Her last tie to this world besides her children, suddenly and inexplicably gone, right after she lost her mate. She would probably even feel guilty for making Evolution sound safer by downplaying whatever discomfort she might have felt when she transformed. And what would become of her all alone in the garden? A single mother with no friends and no one to talk to? Would she devolve? Lose her ability to think rationally? He knew that solitary confinement was one of the worst non-physical punishments possible in human prisons. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Maybe she would not be alone. It was possible the Princess would take her in. But would Rosslyn recognize the spider after she had evolved, if Adon was not there to connect them telepathically? Would Goldie even be in the mindset to go anywhere with a human after she had lost her friend? Adon spent a fervent few minutes praying to the Goddess that the extra acid in his body relative to a normal caterpillar was not going to kill him. Even if it was the only way to stop this pain for good, dying was not the answer. Prayer seemed to be the only thing he could do in this cramped, weakened, limbless, suffering state. He found that it worked to take the edge off the pain slightly. Hours went by, and the pain dulled further. Adon was fairly certain that his body was more liquid than solid now, but the compensation for no longer having any apparent ability to move was that the constant pain diminished to the point that it became bearable. I wonder if I could live like this, he thought. If I had to somehow stay in this condition indefinitely. Then he supposed that he was going to be in the chrysalis indefinitely. At the moment, he had no indication of how long this process would take. I wonder if it was an option to stay a caterpillar forever. Maybe that would explain why I haven¡¯t seen other butterflies floating around in the garden. The others of my kind have an instinctive knowledge of what this process entails, and the vast majority who make it through the first week or two as a caterpillar just chicken out at this point. Then he recalled his wish to fly. No pain, no gain. The pain was not so bad now, really, anyway. He could endure this for however many more hours it would take. And he had so many memories he could look through while his body was changing. Like in-flight movies. Maybe I can try and develop some social skills. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ve seen some people who were cool before, even if it was just on video. If I can just copy some of them, I¡¯ll be ready for social life when I come out as a butterfly¡­ He pulled up a memory, almost at random, only to realize that he was a rabbit in this one. No, that won¡¯t work. Adon searched for human-specific memories and began to review the life he¡¯d lived as the noble girl. He had died young in that life, but he had also interacted with servants and other nobles, even if he had not made any friends. His wicked stepmother in that life had enjoyed exceptional social skills. Maybe it was time he got something for the suffering he had experienced at her hands. ¡ª I hope Adon is all right, Goldie thought. It had not been long since he entered the chrysalis, but she already missed being around him. Even when they were not talking, his presence was comforting, especially at a time like the present. The pain of Red¡¯s death was still fresh. But she had also wanted Adon to get on with his Evolution sooner rather than later, so she had tried to downplay how lonely she would be. She might need his help chasing her little spiders around after they hatched, after all. When will I see you again? she wondered. Goldie had no real conception of what a caterpillar¡¯s Evolution process was like, except that she knew it took more than a day or two. The prior time she had seen a caterpillar go into a chrysalis, she had also seen the chrysalis eaten by a possum before the insect managed to complete its transformation. But Goldie would not allow that fate to befall Adon. She was confident that her venom was deadlier now than it had ever been before. Potent enough, perhaps to be threatening to large mammals. Goldie also had a more carefully considered plan to defend her friend and herself. A tried and true technique. She first secured her eggs to her friend¡¯s plant, right next to his chrysalis; she did not want to expose them to accidental danger while she worked. Then she began spinning a web around Adon¡¯s plant, using her strongest silk and employing all of the surrounding plants as support beams. She had an ambitious project in mind. It would be the largest web she had ever created, and larger than any web she had ever seen before. Its mission was not simply to catch food. She wanted to stop any threat from getting close to her or Adon without getting stuck and hopefully immobilized. She had not been prepared enough for the possibility of a wasp attack in her prior home, even though she knew that they sometimes appeared in the garden from her experience the previous year. This time, she would be prepared for attacks from any angle. Instead of relying on a single surface, this web would have multiple faces of tightly woven silk. That way, Goldie could retreat within the structure and stand next to Adon, protected by sticky walls against attacks from all sides. She could counter attack enemies at her leisure or simply wait for them to go away. As long as the creature was not large and strong enough to simply sweep her web away, she was confident in her web¡¯s ability to dissuade predators. And once this web was done, she imagined that not even birds would be able to easily bypass it. Occasionally, she stopped to kill and eat an insect that was walking nearby, just to replenish the Biomass the construction project was burning. None of the normal garden creatures posed much challenge to her anymore. After building a particularly draining section, Goldie dropped down directly on top of a praying mantis and sank her fangs instantly into its back. It tried to whirl and strike with its scythe-like limbs, but her casual hold on its body proved instantly unbreakable. Soon she was slurping up its insides. It was immensely satisfying, beyond the physical sustenance. Even the mantises that she had once feared now fell victim to her sheer size and power. Killing it yielded hardly any Evolution Points, as she was now a superior species relative to any mantid. But the satisfaction of being the predator rather than the prey was more valuable than Evolution Points right now. She could not help wondering how she would perform against larger creatures. Mammals or even birds might not be out of reach with the right approach. Spiders were good at fighting by stealth, after all. And she was confident that when she tested her venom, it would be far more effective than ever before. Thank you, Adon, she thought. I could not have evolved without your generosity. Her friend had given her a new lease on life. Perhaps she would no longer need to hide from enemies inside a web. She did not yet know the depths of her own potential. Her Evolution had given her some new options. Things that she needed Adon¡¯s help to fully exploit. But that could wait until he was finished with his transformation. She had no reason to rush things. Goldie looked back up at his chrysalis. I hope you find everything you have been looking for inside. 2-02. The Kings Walk King Alistair stalked out of the palace, his body tense as a compressed spring. Scurrying behind him came the figure of Lord Callum, quiet determination running through his posture. ¡°Your Majesty¡ª¡± The King abruptly turned and walked in another direction, moving more quickly than his advisor could follow. He had a moment of quiet before Lord Callum caught up with him. ¡°Your Majesty, please, we must discuss matters of state!¡± Lord Callum exclaimed. The King turned around and glared down at him. His tall and powerful frame appeared suddenly prepared for violence, and the smaller man instinctively shrank back for a moment before he found his courage. ¡°We have important affairs to resolve,¡± Lord Callum said, lowering his voice. ¡°Lord Callum, you know that my daughter remains in her coma, correct?¡± King Alistair asked. ¡°I do, sire.¡± ¡°And that my Queen was wounded in the same attack?¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty, but¡ª¡± ¡°What affairs do you imagine are important to me right now? I am taking the air, and in a few minutes, I will return to their side.¡± His voice emerged as a low growl. Lord Callum¡¯s face turned pale, and he said nothing for a long few moments, simply staring at the King as if he feared imminent death. And for a moment, King Alistair saw how he must appear in this man¡¯s eyes. Unshaven, the hair on top of his head long and unkempt, and his clothing dirty. He had not properly groomed himself or bathed since he heard the news about his wife and daughter a week before. He had already been under the weather before this information reached him. I must look like a wild beast, and I heard the way I sounded. He took a deep breath. The strongest warrior on the continent, according to what people say, and now I rave like a madman. No wonder he is afraid. Calm yourself, Alistair. He is not responsible. What happened to them was your fault. ¡°My apologies, my lord,¡± he said through gritted teeth. He let out a sigh. ¡°You will forgive my display of emotion. Please say your piece, and I will answer it as best I can. And then you will please leave me to my walk.¡± ¡°Um, yes, Your Majesty,¡± Lord Callum said, releasing a long breath he had apparently been holding. ¡°There are a few matters. There is the national defense, of course. The Parmonians have proven amenable to the mutual defense pact you proposed. They are sending a representative here to put the matter to writing. The Dessian Duke¡¯s heirs are on their way as well. After your last correspondence, they moved their trip up. Should we ask that their visit be canceled¡ªer, I mean, postponed? Perhaps to the original time?¡± The King glowered at him. Canceled. As if he doubts that my Rosslyn will ever wake. He forced himself to rein in his temper again and thought about the question more seriously for a moment. No. If either of them is to be a candidate for her hand, this is not a bad time for them to see her. In truth, they should see her vulnerable. No one is always strong. They may very well see her weakened again at some time in the future, and I would like to know how they will react. When she marries, her husband must remain at her side in sickness as well as in health. ¡°You will not cancel or postpone their visit,¡± he said curtly. ¡°And there is also no need to inform them of the Princess¡¯s condition. Make certain that information remains in a tight circle. Along with the business about the mutual defense pact. No one should know about that, at least until it is finalized. If word leaked, it might accelerate any potential attack.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty,¡± Lord Callum replied. ¡°We will keep the information within a closed circle. The other matters are¡­¡± He began discussing domestic law and economic policy questions, and it was not long before the King¡¯s head began to hurt. Does he have to discuss this now? he thought. None of these matters are urgent. ¡°Do what you think best, Lord Callum,¡± King Alistair said, interrupting the man. ¡°I am not in the best frame of mind to handle minor policy questions at the moment.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty,¡± he said, instantly bowing his head. The King waited for the other man to leave his presence, but Lord Callum stayed in the same position, hesitating to move, as if he had something else he wanted to say. ¡°Is there another matter?¡± King Alistair finally asked. ¡°I apologize for broaching this delicate subject, sire. How is the Princess?¡± The King let out a heavy sigh. ¡°Her condition seems to be unchanged, almost since she arrived.¡± ¡°I see. Your Majesty will remain at the Princess and the Queen¡¯s bedsides until they make a full recovery, then?¡± ¡°I will probably take an hour to make myself more presentable soon,¡± King Alistair replied. ¡°Since my Queen awakened for a short time this morning, I expect she will soon be spending longer periods of time awake. I would not want to inflict my presence in my current state upon her. But I will be focusing my attention on my family at this time, Lord Callum, if that is what you mean to ask.¡± ¡°Just so, sire,¡± Lord Callum said. ¡°The affairs of the Royal Family are the affairs of the nation. We all understand that you must handle those first, before anything else.¡± ¡°What is it you want to say?¡± the King asked. Once again, the man paused, apparently doubtful about what to say. ¡°If we are to continue this conversation any longer, you will follow me on my walk,¡± the King said. ¡°I have held still for too long. I think better on the move anyway.¡± He began walking, and he sensed the other man moving briskly to keep up. They moved along the garden path in silence for a few minutes, and King Alistair felt some semblance of inner peace returning. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Things would be all right. Rosslyn would wake soon. Carolien would fully recover. They would negotiate for the return of Lord Baranack to Claustria, and then King Alistair would have him hanged, drawn, and quartered. He shook his head at his own unrealistic optimism. And I will live out my days in peace, my border with the Empire quiet and secure, and see Rosslyn marry and produce healthy children, and I will pass my throne on to her. Pleasing notions, at least. ¡°It is about Lord Baranack,¡± Lord Callum said abruptly, breaking the King¡¯s train of thought. ¡°What?¡± King Alistair asked. ¡°What about Lord Baranack?¡± ¡°I have heard a rumor¡­¡± He allowed his voice to trail off. ¡°Do not leave me in suspense as to this rumor, my lord,¡± the King said. He waited. ¡°A rumor that he betrayed the Kingdom,¡± Lord Callum finished. ¡°I heard that was the last thing the Queen said to the soldiers before she succumbed to unconsciousness.¡± King Alistair slowly nodded. ¡°Aye. It was.¡± The two men walked in silence for a short while, leaving him alone with his thoughts. Lord Baranack¡¯s treachery was also nearly the first thing the Queen said upon opening her eyes, after she praised the Goddess to awaken by my side and asked about Rosslyn¡¯s fate. Despite his generally poor mood over the last week, the King smiled as he remembered the brief conversation before Carolien fell back asleep. I am lucky my life has worked out as well as it has. I have made so many mistakes in my reign, but they were rarely punished. Because I lived in a time of peace. Until now. ¡°It is hard to imagine,¡± Lord Callum said, finally breaking the silence. ¡°He was so trusted.¡± ¡°We were all blind,¡± the King agreed. ¡°It was almost impossible to imagine that one of our own would betray the Kingdom.¡± In the past, the Empire had corrupted many people into servants of its cause, but they had almost all been commoners. It was extremely rare that someone from the privileged classes could be persuaded to sell out his land and his faith to work with the enemies of the Goddess. Such events usually only occurred under great duress in the midst of war. The King still could not fully wrap his head around it. There was no rational, self-interested reason that a man in his position could have to betray faith and country¡ªboth his native and adopted countries, in this case. What could the Empire have promised him? Wealth? Lord Baranack was already a noble, though not an especially important one by birth. He could have lived a life of luxury and done no significant work at all until his dying day if he had chosen. His peers might have looked down on him, but he would have suffered no true punishment for it. Unfathomable. ¡°What can we do about him, Your Majesty?¡± Lord Callum asked. ¡°We will negotiate for his return from the Empire if we can, and if not, we will find an opportunity to remove him by other means,¡± the King replied. In some respects, Lord Baranack¡¯s punishment was already beginning. King Alistair had already sent word to his aging father-in-law by secret messenger to inform him of Lord Baranack¡¯s treachery. In the days to come, the traitor would be quietly tried in absentia and his lands seized. But of course, that was not nearly enough to compensate for the harm the traitor had done. They walked in silence for a little longer, but just as the King was ready to turn back and return to the palace, something caught his eye. He stopped and tilted his head down to get a better look look. An unusually large spider¡¯s web, including some threads that gleamed golden-yellow, presented itself. Behind it, the King saw something he had not seen in years. ¡°What an auspicious omen,¡± he murmured. ¡°What is, sire?¡± Lord Callum asked. King Alistair simply pointed at the chrysalis that stood behind the silk net. ¡°A butterfly in metamorphosis,¡± Lord Callum said. ¡°Just the sort of thing I want to see when I walk around out here,¡± the King said. ¡°Not that I expected it. This is just¡ª¡± He searched for the appropriate word for a moment¡ª¡°a happy accident.¡± ¡°Do you know what species it is?¡± Lord Callum asked. ¡°Identify did not work for me for some reason.¡± ¡°That is because the creature is in the midst of its transformation. Its species is in flux.¡± He did not want to say more to Lord Callum. He felt inexplicably drawn to the tiny creature. Then he felt a chill on his skin. That reminds me. Winter is here. Perhaps I can take him inside. ¡°Does its presence bother you?¡± the Lord asked. ¡°I can have a quiet word with the gardeners¡ª¡± ¡°No, no,¡± King Alistair said. ¡°Far from it. I think something like this might be good for my Rosslyn. A living thing.¡± In his mind, a dozen legends were swirling around, competing for primacy of place. But no matter which one he focused on, he knew the core lesson of all the history of butterflies in the Kingdom of Claustria. ¡°It is a good omen,¡± he reiterated. Barely thinking about it, he reached toward the creature, his hand breaking instantly through the fragile web that surrounded the chrysalis. He continued moving forward but then caught movement from the corner of his eye. A massive spider. Pretty, with something like an hourglass shape on its back. He caught those details as the arachnid leaped toward his face. The King blocked the spider from landing with his right hand and turned his attention to it. I wonder what kind it is. Identify. Goldie, Willful Golden Hourglass Spider (Female) I cannot recall this species. She must be a rare one. And she has a name. He maintained a sense of wonder and curiosity about the spider even as she hissed at him and repeatedly bit his hand¡ªor tried to. Her fangs repeatedly stabbed at the webbing between his first finger and his thumb, but they lacked sufficient power to break the skin. The King¡¯s body was constantly reinforced with Mana. He had abundant reserves that he had trained himself to keep in use at all times, including while he was asleep. ¡°Your Majesty, are you all right?¡± Lord Callum asked urgently. ¡°We should have the gardeners exterminate these creatures. The brazenness¡ª¡± The King waved for him to be quiet. ¡°I am fine,¡± he said. ¡°You should be careful, though. This little one is a biter. A pity. She seems to be a unique species. I would have liked to let someone study her. But anyone other than me might suffer poisoning.¡± He grasped Goldie¡¯s back legs between two vice-like fingers and carefully walked her over to another plant, around twenty feet away from the chrysalis. Careful not to harm her, he set her down on the plant and then walked briskly away. He sensed that the spider was trying to follow him. Is she trying to protect the butterfly from me? Or is she waiting to prey on a superior species as soon as it emerges fully formed from the chrysalis? In either case, he easily outpaced the little spider, strode over to the chrysalis, reached down to the soil, and plucked the plant, along with a handful of earth around it, from the ground. ¡°We are going inside,¡± he said. Barely breaking his stride, he rose and walked past Lord Callum, who quickly moved after him. The advisor spoke as he caught up with the King. ¡°Sire, are we just allowing the aggressive, venomous spider to roam the garden freely, then? Or should I tell the gardeners to deal with it?¡± ¡°She is no ordinary spider,¡± the King replied. ¡°Just as this is no ordinary chrysalis. Tell the gardeners to wear long sleeves and gloves, but they are to leave her alone unless they are attacked. If that happens, they are to trap the Willful Golden Hourglass Spider if possible or kill her if absolutely necessary.¡± His heart was beating more quickly as he stepped back into the palace, and he could not help looking down at the chrysalis once more. When did creatures like these last appear in our garden? The King walked straight toward the room where Rosslyn and the Queen were recovering. Perhaps foolishly, he imagined the creature in his hands might be able to do something for them. Thank you for appearing in our hour of need, he thought. Please help my family. 2-03. Infiltration Goldie fumed helplessly. How dare he? What gives him the right to just pluck Adon away like that? But of course, she knew what gave him the right. This was his garden. In the week that had passed since Adon entered his chrysalis, Goldie had purchased Claustrian Language Comprehension. Listening in on the whispered conversations among the gardeners who regularly moved through the space near her new web was a way to pass the time in between consuming creatures that entered her home. Through that medium, she came to understand the situation inside the palace. The Princess who Adon had conversed with was apparently unwell, and the Queen was sick too. Neither gardener knew how they had taken ill, but it was the talk of the palace staff. They seemed to be worried that she would not survive her affliction. The King himself was at their bedsides day and night, refusing to see anyone besides the doctor. And now, it was apparent that the King believed that having a caterpillar chrysalis by his daughter¡¯s bedside might bring her good luck or health or something. Even though his motivations might have been sympathetic, Goldie could not simply let him run off with Adon. Just because he is a king, he thinks he can tear through my home and kidnap my friend¡­ She had checked that her eggs were in place, firmly attached to her back with the strong, thick silk she had applied, and then chased after the kidnapper King. But his long human legs had proven much faster than her short spider ones, even with her increased size and speed post-Evolution. She ended up drumming her forelimbs against the palace¡¯s closed garden door, frustrated. This is not the end, Goldie thought. She took a few steps back to get a good look at the building. As with her size, venom, Intelligence, and Will, her Perception had improved with Evolution. She could see much more clearly than she had before. She saw that the palace¡¯s exterior wall was a rich, cream-colored stone, that there was a second and a third door in the garden-facing surface, and that there were a half-dozen windows on the ground level and another half-dozen on the floor above. And Goldie¡¯s eagle eyes fixated on one of the windows on the second floor. She had to stare for a few seconds to realize how she could tell that someone had left it slightly ajar. The angle was wrong for her to see the window sill itself, and the window was not open enough for her to see the actual opening. Then she recognized that she could tell the breeze from outside was gently blowing the curtains within the room. Satisfied, she moved back toward the wall and began skittering up the side. As she climbed, however, she quickly detected motion from above and behind her. Reaching the first floor, she recognized the moving object was drawing closer to her rapidly. She stopped and turned her head to look. Goldie¡¯s eyes caught the profile of the crow, and then the bird was upon her. Perhaps it is not such a good thing that I have grown so large. The crow¡¯s claws scraped against the wall beside Goldie¡¯s head. She retreated down the wall, narrowly avoiding the attack. The sounds of wingbeats told her without her needing to look that the bird was coming around for another attempt. That was fine with her. She had not tested herself against a truly challenging opponent since her Evolution, and Goldie was not interested in running. She turned her body to face the bird, felt the shift in the wind as the crow¡¯s wings brought it closer to her, and saw the glint in the crow¡¯s eyes as it dove at her with its beak wide open. At the last moment before it could reach her, she jumped forward into the middle of its breast. Almost as she landed on the soft bed of its plumage, she sank her fangs into its flesh and injected a huge dose of her improved venom. I think I must be close to the heart, she thought. That is near the center of the chest in mammals and birds, right? Goldie did not know where this random bit of anatomy trivia came from. As was so often the case, she simply knew something and had to assume it was vaguely related to a past life. The bird twisted and jerked in midair, then flailed its wings at Goldie, trying to beat her off of its body, but she resisted being knocked away. You started this. Now you become food. In her heart, she was a little nervous about her remaining eggs, but she knew that they were well secured with her strongest silk. She did not believe this clumsy creature would be able to break them unless it also succeeded in breaking her body. A few seconds later, the bird began dropping, and the blows it landed on Goldie¡¯s body as it fell were progressively weaker and weaker. The heart is failing. Good. Goldie threw herself clear of the bird as it hit the ground, trying to avoid being trapped underneath its bulk. Her body bounced twice and then skidded to a stop. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. She checked the eggs on her back with one nervously shaking limb and confirmed that they were unharmed. Her whole body relaxed. And she began walking back toward the crow. It was breathing with great difficulty, its chest rising and falling erratically and bleeding from where she landed her bite. The bird pushed against the ground with its wings, trying to move to an upright position, but it kept slipping and flopping back down onto its face again. The strength seemed to have gone from its body. Goldie was darkly satisfied. I will not be left behind now, she thought. All Adon¡¯s growth in the time she had known him had taken him to a different tier of power from other insects, and even above arachnids like her. She had begun to feel that she was becoming a burden for him to carry. Not that he would ever complain; it was more in Adon¡¯s nature to feel guilty and think that he was the burden. But Goldie wanted to be a team member, not have to hide in a corner. If I was just a bit stronger¡­ Her mind returned to the subject of her mate¡¯s death, until she forced herself back to the present. I have a mission. I cannot think about that now¡­ Goddess, please hold Red close for me. Thank him for being so brave. And tell him I am sorry. For not having the courage to love him as I should have while he was alive. Goldie was being unfair to herself, but there was no one there to tell her she was wrong. The spider felt somewhat better after she had liquefied and consumed the choicest bits of the hapless crow. She set off on her quest again, and this time, nothing was unwise enough to disturb her walk up the wall. Goldie finally arrived outside of the window she had noticed and targeted before. As she reached the opening, she darted quickly inside, wary of the possibility of someone or something suddenly closing the window on her. But the only movement her eyes detected as she entered was the curtain itself, blowing gently in the breeze. She surveyed the room and verified that it appeared to be empty. A look at the furnishings¡ªwooden chairs artistically carved to portray images of animals, a wooden chest carved with similar decorations, and a bed made up with silk brocade covers¡ªtold her that this room belonged to a member of the royal family. The toys on the floor informed her that it must be one of the children. The Princess is certainly too old to play with wooden knights, she thought. One of her siblings¡¯ rooms. The thought made her nervous. She had seen those boisterous human children from a distance once before. They seemed like the sort of humans to fearlessly stomp on a spider if they saw her. After her Evolution, it probably would not injure her, but they would certainly call an adult if they failed to kill her. She imagined that no one would hesitate to kill a venomous spider found in a royal family member¡¯s bedroom. As she looked around, she thought she heard the sound of distant play coming from somewhere further inside the palace. It was only for a moment, but it was enough to make her wonder when the child would happen to come back into this room. Goldie began walking quickly down the interior wall. At least she had made it inside of the palace. Now she simply had to remain unseen until she could get to where Adon was. She worked her way around the room, keeping close to the wall, so she could run up its side or under a dresser if a human came in. When she made it to the door, she poked her head out cautiously. There was a long hallway. Standing suits of armor, tapestries, ornate wallpaper, and the occasional painting lined the walls, but little of it interested Goldie. I think I can use the armor as cover if someone comes in. But those were spaced out. Goldie would be exposed to sight for at least a few seconds if anyone happened to look at the ground when she was not near one of the armors. The thought of being discovered was frightening. She still remembered how the King¡¯s skin had simply rebuffed her fangs like they were blunt. Biting him¡ªor rather attempting to bite him¡ªhad actually hurt. Were other humans like that? She could imagine that Princess Rosslyn was. Were the household staff superhuman too? She rushed into the hallway before her courage could fail her. As she scuttled along, she found the hallway almost unnervingly quiet. She could have heard a pin drop. On the one hand, that hopefully meant that no one was coming just now. On the other hand, it felt wrong for a place where living things existed to be so quiet. Her understanding of human behavior felt vague and unhelpful right now. This palace was their home¡ªbut was it also a hunting ground? Would a human sneak up on her while she navigated this hallway? Goldie stopped and hid behind the armors¡¯ metal boots far more often than she felt the genuine need to. It gave her a sense of security, as if she was suddenly safe and could breathe more freely. In this way, she made her way slowly down the hall. She looked into rooms as she went, but all she saw were another pair of children¡¯s bedrooms and a much larger chamber that she guessed was used for eating. She had a vague idea that the massive wooden table she saw was for dining. She continued forward¡ªthen stood stock-still outside the next door. She heard a human voice quietly groaning. ¡°Oh, Alistair, help me¡­¡± It was a woman¡¯s voice. That told the spider that this could be the right place. Goldie broke her paralysis and decided to risk a peek into the room. As she thrust her head around the door frame, she saw two beds in a room with decor that was otherwise similar to the other royal chambers she had passed. There were two sleeping figures in them, and the one closest to the door was tossing and turning and moaning quietly in her sleep. But Goldie barely paid attention to the humans. On a table between the two beds, sitting in a pot covered by what appeared to be some form of glass case, she saw Adon. He remained safely ensconced in his chrysalis, and it still hung from near the top of his birth plant. She stepped into the room, slightly shocked that her quest should end so easily. Well, I found him, she thought. And she began to wonder what she should do next. She had been determined that she and Adon not be separated¡ªand vaguely worried that something might happen to him if he were out of her sight¡ªbut now they were together again, with only roughly a human body¡¯s length separating them. What would Adon want? He had already expressed his interest in getting them into the palace, if only for security and warmth through the winter. Now they were there. But he had not come into the palace by his own volition, or under circumstances that he could have foreseen. The benefactor they were planning to rely on to keep them safe inside the palace was the Princess, and she was apparently seriously ill. Are we safe if the Princess does not survive this illness? Would Adon want to stay here right now? Should I try to remove him? As Goldie was weighing her options, she heard the sound of footsteps at the end of the hall, and without stopping to look and see who might be approaching, she raced further into the room until she found a hiding place in the darkest space under the Princess¡¯s bed that she could find. A pair of large feet in silk slippers appeared in the doorway, and her heart sank. The King. If Goldie had wanted to leave, it seemed it would be impossible for the foreseeable future. 2-04. Moment of Decision Goddess damn it! The King again¡­ If the King saw Goldie again, he would surely throw her back outside at the least, if not decide that she was better off killed. It seemed unlikely that the human would understand the bond that connected her and Adon. If he had understood before, he would not have left her all alone when he took the chrysalis inside. He would have brought them in together, especially considering that her bite could not harm him. Goldie resolved to remain in her dark hiding place under the Princess¡¯s bed until the King left. As she decided this, the King¡¯s feet carried him past the bedposts to the other side of Princess Rosslyn¡¯s bed. Goldie heard a gentle creak and realized the man had seated himself on a couch. So this would be a long wait, then. That was fine. Remaining still for long periods of time was not difficult for her, and she did not mind boredom. Before she met Adon, boredom was almost constant. In fact, it was the ideal state of affairs. When she was not bored, it was usually because something was trying to eat her. It was only when she found her mate, Red, and met her friend Adon that excitement and activity started to mean something different in Goldie¡¯s life than merely preying or being preyed upon. They had helped her to rediscover some essential quality to herself that she lacked the vocabulary to name. Things that I lost when I was reborn, she thought wistfully. But I have the better part of myself now. I hope. She sat in place for some time, enjoying the silent stillness and taking in the sight of motes of dust hanging in the air. It was mildly amusing to her that even a royal palace was not free of dust. She had tried to keep her space tidy most of the time when she had a home, but there was an inevitability to disorder. It felt affirming to know that humans who probably had permanent cleaning staff suffered the same problems. Goldie had been allowing her mind to wander, but suddenly, and then gradually more and more, the silence was broken. The King began talking. At first, Goldie thought he must be talking to someone, so she listened intently and tried to make out the other voice so she could hear both sides of the conversation. Gradually, as no sound from the supposed second speaker materialized, she realized the King was talking to himself¡ªor rather, talking to his sleeping daughter. He began with apologies. Repetitive expressions of regret for some events that had transpired with someone called Barank or Baraka. Goldie¡¯s hearing was not perfect, especially with the mattress between her and the King. Gradually, she inched closer. Although she did not think of herself as an eavesdropper, she recognized that the King might say something that would prove relevant to her and Adon later. It continued to be mostly apologies, for endangering the Princess by sending her to a city in a place the King simply called ¡°the Empire.¡± Just as Goldie was thinking of slinking backward into the deeper darkness, though, he began transitioning to updates on current events. He told the Princess about the chrysalis he had discovered in the garden, which was now beside her bed. Goldie gathered from the contents of this that there were legends about butterflies in this Kingdom that the Princess was somewhat familiar with. Goldie wished the Princess could speak up and tell her father that he should have brought in the spider who was with the chrysalis. The King discussed some domestic policy matters that the Kingdom was dealing with. Most importantly, they had been forced to raise taxes, because the Kingdom needed to be prepared for the possibility of war after some other power¡¯s brazen assassination attempt against the Princess. And he began to discuss international relations further from there. As he began this part of his monologue, the spider decided to settle in and hear everything the King had to say. He mentioned names of places that Goldie did not recognize, but she did her best to commit them to memory. Adon had conversed with the Princess before. Maybe he would know them. Apparently, there were as yet no signs that the Kingdom¡¯s scouts could discern that the Empire¡ªapparently the country that tried to assassinate the Princess¡ªwas moving its soldiers near the border. A country called Parmonia was apparently an ally of the Kingdom, and the King seemed quite pleased about that. Another place called Dessia was sending two dukes¡¯ sons to visit, though Goldie was hazy on the specifics. Even with her lack of background knowledge, over the next couple of hours, Goldie felt rewarded by her attention as she slowly began to understand a little of the international situation. It seemed Parmonia was a country that elected its royalty¡ªodd though that sounded to the spider¡ªand that shared borders with the Empire and, very slightly, with the country Goldie was apparently in now, Claustria. There was another Kingdom that stood between Claustria and Parmonia across the rest of the eastern Claustrian border, but for some reason, the King did not seem to think that country was a good fit for alliance. Dessia was somewhat more distant, off to the Northwest somewhere, or so it seemed from the route the King described the dukes¡¯ sons taking. And the Empire¡ªwhich she eventually learned was actually called the Demon Empire¡ªwas apparently a threat to all of it. Even the countries that were not near the Empire¡¯s borders could be in danger if the states between them and the Empire fell under the Emperor¡¯s influence. Goldie appreciated the history lesson. The world was larger than she had ever imagined. But it also made her long for the simplicity of her garden. Her web, her eggs, and her plants were easier to understand and less frightening than the environment the King lived in. What a small corner of the world we have occupied all this time, she thought of herself, her kind, and her friend. She wondered if she should want to explore more of it. She did not feel the tug of that desire, but perhaps that was a defect in her character. Adon certainly seemed to be interested. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. In the end, Goldie was thankful when, as the orange glow of daylight slowly faded around him, the King stopped talking. She had more than enough to think about without further exposition from him. The answers to what she should do and what sorts of lives she, Adon, and the hatchlings should lead would come from within themselves, anyway. She felt that in her heart. A low rumbling noise began to fill the room, and Goldie looked around, slightly startled. Lost in her own thoughts, she realized she had missed it as the King¡¯s feet disappeared from the floor, and apparently some other life form entered the room and began to make that strange yet somehow familiar sound. Goldie took in everything around her. She saw that the whole room was dark now, although her night vision seemed to be better than it once had been, so she could take in much of what was going on in the room without difficulty even without much light. Nothing visible stirred. She gathered her courage and decided to find out what was making the noise. It was her intention to either rescue Adon and take him away from here or to make herself at home in this place, but she first needed to know if there was some predator making that strange rumbling sound. That would naturally affect whether she and her friend could stay here safely or not. Goldie scuttled out from under the bed, turned her head to the left, and saw only the door to the room, now closed, and the Queen¡¯s bed. She turned her eyes to get a better angle on the top of the Queen¡¯s bed, but nothing stirred there. Just the Queen, tucked carefully into a comforter that went up to her neck, her chest slowly rising and falling as she slept. The spider turned to the right and saw the Princess in much the same condition, though Goldie now noted that the Princess¡¯s eyes were covered in bandages. And then she noticed the shape on the other side of the Princess¡¯s bed. Goldie almost jumped when she saw the large, dark figure was moving. Then she heard the low, rumbling noise again, coming from that figure, and her mind began to put together what she was seeing. The King. She was relieved to realize that the dark body was just the figure of the King, shrouded in greater darkness than his wife and daughter, turning in his sleep. He had never left the room, which explained why she did not hear him go. He simply put his feet up and laid down on the couch he was sitting on before and went to sleep. And although Goldie did not know the word for it, he was snoring. Why do I recognize that sound? There was some dim memory lodged in her brain, of a life when she must have been human, and a lover or a family member had snored, but it was irretrievable. In any case, her whole body relaxed as she realized that there were no predators here but the humans themselves, all asleep. She tried to leap onto the bottom part of the Princess¡¯s bed cover to explore the room from a higher vantage point, but she failed to gain purchase with her feet the first time. After a couple of tries, she managed to climb onto the top of the Princess¡¯s bed and look around. The room was almost empty, besides the beds and couch, a dresser, the bedside table with Adon and his plant, and a large mirror that hung on the wall opposite the Princess¡¯s bed. There is truly nothing to be afraid of, she told herself. What are you, scared of the dark now? What would Adon think if he could see you? Or Red? That last thought sobered her up. This whole place was a predator¡¯s dwelling. What happened to Red occurred because the wasps¡¯ queen wanted to establish a connection with these humans¡ªbecause they, not any of the insects Goldie had faced before, were the ultimate predators in this ecosystem. It would not pay to lower her guard and forget that. Without much further thought, she crossed over the comforter until she stood at the head of the bed, beside the Princess¡¯s sleeping face. At rest, she looked much younger than Goldie had realized before. Her unlined face was soft and vulnerable. She could understand why the King felt guilty about sending someone so young into harm¡¯s way¡ªeven setting aside that this was his own daughter. She will forgive you, she thought, directing her attention to the sleeping King for a moment. Even if you were as foolish as you made yourself out to be earlier, the bond between parent and child cannot be broken as lightly as that. Then the spider stepped from the covers up onto the wall. Her feet found easy purchase on the surface, and she walked up the side diagonally until she stood above Adon, his plant, and the glass case that had been placed around them. The case was open at the top, probably not intended to trap the butterfly-in-progress but to protect him. It would be easy for Goldie to pluck Adon out. It might even be possible, with some carefully applied silk, to lift the entire small pot out of the glass case and remove the plant back to the garden. She could replant it in a different spot, somewhere the King would be unlikely to find it. She stared down at her friend¡¯s chrysalis, hesitating at the moment of decision. Why do I suddenly feel uncertain about taking him out of here? I was just thinking that the humans are dangerous¡­ As she tried to work up the resolve to remove him, her mind came up with reason after reason why she and Adon should stay here. They had wanted to be permitted into the palace anyway. These humans did not seem inclined to dissect Adon or eat him. When the King kidnapped him, he at least did not harm Goldie or Adon physically. He only separated them. Goldie was a species that might naturally seem dangerous to a human, and he might have believed she intended to prey on Adon. But the crux of her change of feelings was Goldie¡¯s experience of listening to the King talk to his daughter. It sounded as if he felt incredibly guilty. Somehow, he desperately hoped the chrysalis by the Princess¡¯s bedside might do something for her. The Princess had expressed her own interest in Adon, so Goldie could believe the humans truly thought he could do something special for them. Heal the Princess with his magic, or restore her sight if she had gone blind from the assassination attempt. Perhaps he could do something. Goldie realized she had begun to empathize with the King despite herself. Though he had been her enemy that morning, now he was just a fellow parent trying to take care of his daughter. All right, she said to herself softly. We will stay. For now. She shook her head at her own sensitivity. I guess I am beginning to understand some of what Adon sees in these humans. Goldie slowly descended the wall and began to contemplate building a new web in the space between the Princess¡¯s bed and the table Adon¡¯s plant rested on. If she was going to be here for longer than the time it took to sneak out, she would need a new home base. She looked back up at Adon¡¯s chrysalis and wondered once more if she was making the right decision, but she realized she could not know. No further thought would shed any additional light. Hopefully I will not come to regret this. 2-05. Cleaning House Goldie measured twice before spinning her silk once in constructing her web, as she tried to do consistently when she was not in a hurry to build a new home. Normally, with the practice she had accumulated over her life in the garden, it only took her around an hour to build a basic web. But she liked to take longer. Goldie preferred to make more ornate and beautiful webs. On this occasion, though, she emphasized function heavily, almost entirely ignoring the beauty of her creation. She was in the territory of potential enemies, and she wanted the web to protect her above all else. If it could slow down a predator for a few crucial seconds while she skittered away under a bed, that would be well worth an extra fifteen minutes of effort now. Goldie had only the dimmest understanding of how humans lived, since her previous life was only a faint echo in her mind. Since the garden was theirs, and the palace was also their territory, she assumed she would encounter animals here, too, at some point. It was sheer luck that she had happened upon an area uninhabited by other creatures¡ªor perhaps fear of the dominant species in the ecosystem, the humans. In any case, she wanted to be ready for the unexpected. She crafted a web of strong and dense fibers, deliberately compromising on stickiness to a degree. If nothing disturbed her web, she would build a second one to catch prey tomorrow. She did not need to eat every day unless she exerted herself every day, and the crow she had killed that afternoon had boosted her Biomass enough that she should not need to eat for some time if she simply refrained from moving around much. After she had set her web into place, using the wall-adjacent bedpost, the table, and the floor to anchor her threads, and leaving only a small space between the web and the ground, Goldie stepped back and examined her handiwork. An ugly web, she thought. But densely layered and solidly constructed. Hopefully it will be as strong as it looks. She still remembered how the King had simply pushed through her carefully constructed web outside using nothing but his bare hands¡ªwith no apparent effort. Hopefully the King was simply stronger than a normal human. She did not want this web to be swept aside so easily. Satisfied with her work¡¯s durability if not its aesthetics, Goldie withdrew to the empty space just beneath her web. She allowed herself to enter the sleep-like state common to both her kind and Adon¡¯s. All there was to contemplate was the future and the past, so she tried to keep her mind blank during this rest. Fortunately, the hours seemed to fly by. Her fears and regrets yielded to her effort to keep them at arm¡¯s reach, and night melted into day. As the glow of sunlight returned, Goldie sensed activity in the room and stirred from her quiescent state. The first thing she realized was that the King¡¯s silk slippered feet were touching the floor, and from their positioning, he must be awake. The second observation was that it was not his activity that had stirred her from her trance-like state. There was movement in the Queen¡¯s bed. The human was moving. She is waking, Goldie thought, a little uneasy. Will she turn over in bed and look down to where I am? And if she does, what will she do? Suddenly, her choice of locations seemed very unwise. She only wanted to stay close to Adon, but it was entirely possible the King and Queen would decide she was prey to be killed or consumed now that she had appeared in their lair. Goldie opened up the Evolution Store. She had been considering purchasing Telepathy ever since she completed her Evolution and found that the option had become available again. She had intended to discuss it with Adon once he emerged from his chrysalis, but she was nervous that an emergency might arise before then. She bought Telepathy I for 100 Evolution Points, then upgraded it twice, spending almost all of the Evolution Points she had obtained from killing the crow. How did Adon get so many Evolution Points so early in his life? she wondered. Then again, she suspected it was possible that the Adaptation cost more for her than it would have for him. Different species had different aptitudes, and earlier stages of development were probably more malleable than later ones. She locked in the purchase, and she felt a sudden, intense, throbbing pain in her head. It felt so painful that she lost awareness of her surroundings for some time. When she came to herself, the King and Queen were talking. He had moved to a standing position beside the Queen¡¯s bed, his back to Goldie. Thank the Goddess, no one has seen me yet¡­ ¡°I would prefer not to leave your and her side,¡± the King was saying. ¡°A walk will do you good, husband,¡± the Queen replied. ¡°Trust me. I will watch over Rosslyn while you get some fresh air.¡± He leaned in close to her and whispered, ¡°Do not stir from the room, then. We have already had one spy close to home. I fear there may be others. We can trust no one.¡± Goldie heard the Queen suck in a sharp breath. She could not see what the Queen was doing, but she heard movement. Goldie guessed that the woman must be nodding, because the King leaned in closer, kissed his wife tenderly, and then straightened up and turned to leave. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°I will see you soon,¡± he said. Goldie could not suppress a stab of jealousy at the happy couple. Her mate was so recently dead, and here they were, protecting their daughter together. They had no way of knowing that someone was watching them, of course, but it was painful just then to see anyone else who had what she was missing out on. The door opened, and the King stepped out, but the door did not close behind him. Two figures stepped into the door frame instead. Goldie could only see them from their feet up to the bottoms of the long skirts they wore, but by the fabric of their clothing, she could tell instantly that they were not members of the royal family. The spider knew fibers intimately, and the material the pair¡¯s clothes were made of was more like the crude silk she had used to make her current web than the elegant, high quality fabric that the King¡¯s clothing and the royal bed linens were made of. Subjects of some sort, she thought. Then one of the women spoke. ¡°Your Highness, since the King has stepped away, may we give the chamber a quick seeing to? We of the staff had no expectation that this room would see so much use in these, um, circumstances. We would appreciate the opportunity to bring the room closer to the royal standard. If it would please Your Highness, of course.¡± ¡°I know you want to see how Princess Rosslyn is doing, Celeste,¡± said the Queen. Goldie could hear a smile in her voice. ¡°You may enter. Both of you. Do not mind me. Oh, if you could send for Lady Margay after you finish here, I would appreciate it. I would enjoy some company, as my stepdaughter remains asleep. Perhaps the Lady might read to me.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Thank you, Your Highness!¡± The maid¡¯s emphatic voice rang through the air clearly, and she and her companion entered the room. The maids¡¯ dark figures moved across the space in front of Goldie, and one of them seemed to be moving toward her web. Quick, decisive strides carried the woman forward, and Goldie began to worry that she had been seen. Her whole body stood on edge as she wondered what was about to happen. Then she needed to wonder no more. The maid reached for something behind her. What looked like a thick branch with a thick coat of bristles at the end. The woman lifted the branch, and the bristly part cast Goldie and her web entirely in shadow. And there was a crashing sound directly overhead as the large bristly endpoint of the branch collided with her web. The blow shook the web and even the table it was attached to, but to Goldie¡¯s satisfaction, it failed to tear through the web. It had fulfilled its purpose. It was tough enough to last these key moments. As the maid pulled the broom back and prepared to smack it down on Goldie¡¯s web a second time, the spider made a mad dash for freedom. She skittered under the Queen¡¯s bed, making a beeline for the open doorway. A voice behind her shrieked, ¡°It¡¯s a spider! Kill it!¡± And Goldie ran faster, while also formulating her very first message to send telepathically. Somehow, she had an intuitive knowledge of how to use this ability she had only just now acquired. She dodged around another blow of the broom and jumped through the door, and she sent her message. Please do not kill me! Goldie projected to the nearest human, both maids having given chase. I am friends with the caterpillar. Ask the King! ¡°Who¡¯s talking?¡± asked the maid whose voice Goldie had not heard as much. They continued moving toward Goldie, and she gave up on trying to make herself understood. She simply ran, chased by two pursuers armed with cleaning tools. They chased Goldie in the opposite direction from which she had entered, so she found herself dashing further into the palace, down the hall, toward what looked like a fence of some sort with gaps in it. The broom smacked down beside Goldie, and she threw herself to the side and rolled forward to get away. A moment later, another long cleaning implement smacked down beside Goldie, and she began to think she was not going to make it to the end of the hall. That was a shame, because she thought the gaps in the fence looked like something she could fit through. The next slap of the broom hit her but only dealt Goldie a glancing blow. It failed to stun her, and she pulled free from the painful bristles and ran with an even greater speed born of sheer desperation. She weaved to the side now, a rudimentary plan in her mind. Goldie moved close to an armored boot, and an implement swung down at her body with great force¡ªmissing and striking the boot! The armor rattled loudly with the blow, and several pieces tumbled to the floor around Goldie. The maids had to slow down for a moment to navigate the fallen pieces of armor, and in that second, Goldie regained a small lead. The little fence at the end of the hallway was only roughly one human body¡¯s length away from her now. She made a mad dash, trying to sprint that last bit of distance. Broom and implement both swung through the air, aiming to capture or crush her before she could escape. Goldie threw herself through forward, leaping with all her might for a gap in the fence¡ªand she saw something strange. The hallway ended with a series of steps. Small changes in altitude. As she successfully passed through the gap in what had seemed to her a fence¡ªbut was actually a stair railing¡ªshe found herself facing a much larger change in altitude. The spider dropped straight down, passing almost instantly from the second floor to the first. Happily, the landing was not as painful as being struck with a broom had been, and although the maids rushed down the stairs to chase after her, she had a definite lead now. Goldie darted under the closest door she could, compressing her body easily to fit underneath. She found herself in a room lined with attractive star patterned wallpaper. But she could not afford to take any time to enjoy the sights. She quickly examined the room, found a small gap between the floor and the wall, and thrust herself through it, as hard and as far as she could push herself. Whatever happened, Goldie did not want the humans to find her. Not until she could talk to the King, who might decide that if the caterpillar was worth keeping around, so was his friend the spider. Goldie could hear the two women opening the door behind her, so she forced her body further into the tight space, heedless of any risks, desperate to get away. 2-06. The Secret Room ¡°Where is that spider?¡± Goldie heard the voice from behind her, but with most of the wall in between her and the speaker, she could not tell whose voice it was, only that it was a woman speaking. She desperately pressed herself more forcefully into the crevasse¡ªand then heard a sound that made her whole body freeze up. The smallest cracking noise. No, my eggs! She had thought the thick and tough silk wrapped around them would protect against any environmental damage, but clearly it was not enough to keep the eggs completely secure. Goldie heard the fall of the broom somewhere behind her. ¡°There she is!¡± said a voice. She stretched her forelimbs forward to feel the gap in front of her, and to Goldie¡¯s relief, it seemed like a wider space than that she was currently occupying. She pressed her body as flat against the ground as she could. Then she pushed forward, hoping and praying that she would not hear that sound again. Her body seemed to advance agonizingly slowly, step by incremental step. But the voices of the maids grew more difficult to hear. And to her relief, there were no further sounds from the silken package on her back. The gap that she traversed widened until she could no longer reach the top of the passage by feeling with her forelimbs, and before she could process what that meant, her head popped out¡ªinto what appeared to the spider to be a vast hidden room. What is this place? One thing she felt instantly certain of: the maids did not know this place. It was full of dust, small crawling insects, and spider webs. Six of them, she counted in an instant. With who knows how many spiders living in them¡­ Hopefully they do not make trouble. Of course, if the other spiders did cause trouble, Goldie was confident she could deal with them more easily than the maids. She immediately knew she was probably going to stay in this place for some time, at least while she figured out her next moves. After she had taken a moment to assess the situation, she moved on to the thing she was afraid of: inspecting her eggs. She took them down from her back and immediately saw what had happened. Over one of the eggs, the strong silk she had applied had been worn away from her repeated close scrapes with hard surfaces. That egg had a thin crack. But Goldie felt relieved. You will be all right, she sent to the egg telepathically. Mother is here. She might have imagined it, but she thought she felt a faint sound back from within the egg. Something she picked up telepathically? Or was it only in her head? Goldie waited for something more from the egg, but she did not hear anything else. She thought it must have been a product of her imagination. She stroked the egg gently with the tip of a limb, then spun and applied a thin strand of sticky silk to mend the cracked place. I think that egg will survive. Now to set up for my survival. She peeled off the protective silk and checked the other eggs before resealing it. And then Goldie started work on another web, this one much larger and more elaborate than the last. She had the feeling she would be here for a while, and even in the dimness, she wanted to make her surroundings as homey as possible. She went into a near autopilot mode, as she constructed a web that was almost a perfect replica of the web she had lived in when Adon first met her. The web where she had met Red. When Goldie was done, she had to admire her handiwork. This will be almost the same as the garden, she thought. I have already seen insects walking around. The surroundings are a bit less attractive right now, but I imagine this momentary discomfort will all be worth it in the end, when the Princess wakes, and we are recognized as honored guests. For now, she withdrew to a hidden area at the top of her new web, where she had deliberately added a canopy of silk above the web, both to shield herself from view and to hide her eggs from any passing creature. Hours passed, during which time little happened. This secret room behind the palace walls was a much less high traffic area than Goldie¡¯s section of the garden. She could not help wondering if the location where the other spiders had built their webs, at a higher elevation, had better circulation of bugs. She did not need to regularly eat, but when her hatchlings emerged from their eggs, they would certainly be hungry. She needed to gather provisions for them. As Goldie was beginning to contemplate an expedition to check on the other spiders, however, she received her first tug. A simple, short pull on one of the threads she was monitoring pulled her sluggish, half-quiescent brain out of contemplation. Her attention was drawn to a small brown bug with yellow stripes and tiny protrusions sticking out like little hairs all over its body¡ªnot like Adon¡¯s spines, but more similar to the little hairs Goldie had on parts of her legs. Identify. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Black Carpet Beetle Larva (Female) Goldie did not recognize the species name, but it looked nice and juicy to her, and she found it a good sign that she had caught something on her very first day. She decided to taste the creature¡ªjust a small amount of its innards¡ªto make certain that it was suitable for her offspring. The spider strode confidently across her web, ignoring the larva¡¯s increased flailing as she drew closer to it, and then she bent and injected it with a small, lethal dose of venom. She stepped back to watch how the larva reacted. The creature writhed and seemed to involuntarily contort its body, though its movements were restrained by the strong, sticky threads. Then it lay still. Not immune to venom. That is good. Goldie stopped to sink her fangs into the creature¡¯s body once again. This time, she sucked in a little of its inner fluids, tasting it. She lacked the vocabulary to express the flavor, but it was similar to chestnuts. Slightly bitter aftertaste, but I do not think it is poisonous. She wrapped the larva in tightly wound silk, pulled it free from where it lay bound, and moved back up to the top of her web to wait again. This process repeated itself a few times over the next several days. At one point, she left her web, making sure to hide her eggs in a dense tangle of spider silk that she coated in venom. She walked up the wall, careful to avoid going anywhere near the spider webs that occupied much of the airspace of the secret room. She used her memory of how she had navigated the other rooms of the palace to figure out generally where Adon, the Princess, and the Queen were staying. And she searched the wall along that room to find an opening by which she might visit Adon. Ultimately, she found a way into the room through the ventilation system, which included small metal pipes that she discovered connected the second floor¡ªand probably every floor, although she was primarily interested in the second floor, since that was where she wanted to be¡ªto several exterior chimneys. The pipes would have been far too small for any human to crawl around in, but for Goldie, the interconnected piping system was spacious and easy to move through. She had some difficulty when she finally managed to navigate to where she wanted to be, after several false starts. She ended up at a slitted air vent, but there were no openings in it wide enough for such a large spider to pass through freely. Instead of trying to find some way to pass through, she accepted that it was impossible and simply looked out through the slits. She heard the King talking to his sleeping daughter, and she saw the outline of Adon¡¯s chrysalis in the distance. After confirming that nothing substantial seemed to have changed, Goldie weighed the pros and cons of speaking up to the King now. But being chased so determinedly by the maids had shaken her sense of how the palace might value her. She felt no confidence that revealing her presence would lead to good results right now. Better, she decided, to wait until Adon emerges from the chrysalis. He will know what to say, and he will make certain that the King and the Princess understand how important I am to him. For the moment, she returned to her position in the secret room. And aside from this brief adventure, Goldie¡¯s life in the dark space passed peacefully. The small area that Goldie now inhabited was quiet, and her time passed uneventfully. When she was not killing some insect that had stumbled into her web or repairing the damage that repeated arrivals to the web slowly and inevitably did, she was inactive, conserving Biomass. Keeping track of time, but otherwise not even thinking much. She suspected that a caterpillar of a rare and powerful species would take some time to emerge from his chrysalis, so the major milestone she was waiting for right now was her eggs hatching, which she expected to happen first. Although she was accumulating some reserves of food for her babies, the spider grew more and more nervous about whether it would be enough. If she did not have enough food, her children might starve¡ªor even try to turn on their mother. She had seen it happen to other spiders, though not her specific kind. She had no illusions that her children would have any inborn loyalty to their mother. And if they tried to consume her, it would be her own fault for failing to feed them. Goldie was eating very little herself¡ªonly nibbles here and there to be sure she was not leaving anything poisonous near her little ones. Yet Goldie¡¯s indoor web was simply accumulating far fewer insects than her garden web had. Perhaps it was due to the overzealous maids keeping the palace too clean and not attracting enough bugs. Or maybe I simply do not control the best real estate in this space, she thought, looking coldly up at the other webs in the regions far above her head. Even if she had known for certain that her web was in the ideal location, Goldie would probably have thought about invading the other spiders¡¯ territory at some point anyway. After her Evolution, there was no reason for her to peacefully coexist with what she guessed were a weaker species of spiders. Where she had once been merely a peer to other arachnids in the garden, she assessed that she now likely stood at the top of the food chain, relative to both other garden creatures and those that lived inside the palace. Rather than being a threat, those spiders in the webs above were probably mere walking Evolution Points. Why should she occupy only one area of real estate, when she and her babies could control this entire chamber? She could cover the walls and ceiling in her webbing if she did not have to avoid straying too near the webs of the other spiders. There was a sense of urgency to her thinking now, because with each passing day, she could hear a little more activity from within her eggs. She knew it would not be long before they hatched. So Goldie began planning an attack. She broke her usual rule of inactivity more and more often, taking long, meandering walks around the secret room. If the other spiders were watching her and had enough intelligence to understand that she was a threat, they still might not recognize what she was doing: examining the setup of their webs, looking for lines of attack, and keeping her eyes peeled so that she could see what sorts of enemy species she was dealing with. Gradually, she was able to see and Identify the creatures she was up against. To her relief, the spiders living here did not appear to be especially impressive. Common House Spiders and Brown Recluse Spiders. To her surprise, there were two different populations of spiders living in the six webs. There were two, clearly mated, Common House Spiders living in one web¡ªshe felt only a slight twinge of guilt at the prospect of destroying this happy couple¡ªand there were two smaller Common House Spiders in two other webs that were not too far from the couple. And each of the other three webs, scattered at a greater distance from each other and from the Common House Spiders, held a single Brown Recluse Spider. Goldie felt a bit less guilty about going after the Common House Spiders once she saw the Brown Recluse Spiders. She had seen this species before, though not often, in the garden. Apparently they had escaped the chaos of the garden and come here. One of their behaviors that she remembered was that Brown Recluse Spiders were active hunters. And with the paucity of insects in this space, even if Goldie had never showed up, they would eventually have hunted their neighbors down. So how should I do this? she thought. Do I pursue the hunters first, or the prey? 2-07. Hunting the Hunters Once Goldie had thought about it for more than a moment, the choice became obvious. You have to start with the Brown Recluse Spiders, she thought. If you leave your eggs alone to fight them, at least you know that they are occupied with you. If she attacked the Common House Spiders first, she would be worried about her eggs the entire time. With that decision settled, she opened up her Status. She would make some improvements before she went hunting.
User: Goldie, Willful Golden Hourglass Spider Age: 15 months Sex: Female
Status
Health: 750/750
Mana: 298/298
Strength: 130
Agility: 159
Perception: 129
Dexterity: 200
Constitution: 151
Intelligence: 90
Will: 208
Charisma: 140
Skills: Claustrian Language Comprehension, Identify, Mana Manipulation I, Shed Skin III, Silk Lasso I, Silk Manipulation VI, Silk Weaving VI, Venom Manipulation IV
Evolution Points: 2470
Biomass: 200/450
There were meaningful changes through Evolution, she thought with satisfaction. All of my numbers are much higher than they were, and my Skills improved too. I never had Mana Manipulation before¡­ The Goddess must have sensed how Goldie longed to keep up with her friend and shaped her new form to better accomplish that task. Thinking of Adon, a part of Goldie wanted to go and check on him again before she committed to warring with the spiders, but she resisted that urge. He would almost certainly be in his chrysalis still. She had an idea of how long it might take for him to emerge, and though her notion was vague and lacked much basis in experience, she felt it was unlikely he had finished. She knew how to find him now, but she also knew he was far away if she navigated through the pipes, and it would probably take hours to make her way down the correct path again. And Goldie also had the sense that she might be shucking off her responsibilities if she tried to run to Adon at this moment. She could win this fight. She had no reason to try to drag him into it. I am just trying to rely on him to fight another of my battles, she told herself. I have leaned on his strength too much already. Through no fault of Adon¡¯s, wasps attacked my web, and I was unprepared to defend it. That is why Red died. This place is going to be my home now, at least until the children are big enough to fend for themselves in a few weeks. I have to be able to defend it. To manage that effectively, she should take a leaf from Adon¡¯s book. Diversified her abilities and worked to actively hone new powers. As she searched the Evolution Store, those were the ideas that occupied her mind. Things seemed to have become more expensive since her Evolution, though happily, many Skills and Adaptations that had not been available before were now a possibility. Telepathy was the obvious example, but not the only one. She bought the Magic Perception Adaptation and upgraded the Mana Manipulation Skill to Mana Manipulation III. Most importantly for the battle to come, she purchased the Venom Projector Adaptation. There was another Adaptation that she was interested in, called Venom Sense, which would allow Goldie to sense the location and Health condition of a creature she had afflicted with her venom, but she could not afford it with the other, higher priority purchases. Important to have something to strive for, Goldie thought, thinking of Adon. When she finalized her selections, the world seemed to spin. Her head pounded, and the flesh around her fangs burned, as the Adaptations modified her body. Sensory information rushed past her while her brain adjusted to the new ability to perceive Mana. Goldie endured the pain and confusion quietly. And she reveled in the new knowledge she was receiving. As she stood in place, her senses overwhelmed with her newfound ability to sense a form of energy inside herself that she had never interacted with before, she also felt her knowledge of magic and Mana deepening. Mana was an energy that flowed through all things, but that only some organisms could access and manipulate. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. For most life forms, it simply flowed out through the core and was lost in the atmosphere, like water evaporating from a puddle and leaving for places unknown. The transformative power of this energy was staggering. She had thought of it as simply something that allowed Adon to destroy physical barriers with pure power, or to boost his and Red¡¯s existing Intelligence temporarily, but new uses occurred to her. I could strengthen my webbing with Mana or use it to better protect my body. At the same time, she noticed that as her fangs reshaped to be able to spray venom, she had also gained a sudden awareness of how to use the ability by squeezing certain muscles. This was less conscious than the magic information, which felt much more alien to Goldie¡¯s mind and consumed most of her attention, but it was still a big deal. She had not felt so transformed by Evolution Store purchases since her first big investments in silk and venom, over a year ago now. I will experiment with Mana later, she thought, recalling that it had taken her friend time to master Mana to the degree that he had. Perhaps I will do it with Adon there to guide me. For now, she tested her Venom Projector by aiming a spray of venom at the lower half of her web. With a few bursts of venom, she got the hang of aiming and shooting. Then Goldie adjusted the composition of her venom. That was what her Venom Manipulation Skill was for. She had tinkered with it many times in the past, before she arrived at her pre-Evolution venom. She knew intuitively that it had improved in potency since her Evolution. As a higher tier organism, her body was now capable of producing more toxic substances than it ever had before. In order to maximize the utility of her venom, she increased the toxicity as much as she could bear for the mission. She did not want a single enemy spider walking away from this. Finally, she turned back to focus on her eggs. Obviously, she would not be taking her babies into what she knew would be the thick of battle. She looked hard at them and noticed how their exterior covering had become more translucent, so that she could see the tiny but fully formed spiders inside. She knew this meant the babies were almost ready to emerge from their shells. I am so excited to become a mother, she thought. I wish Adon could be here for this. And Red¡­ She tried to push those thoughts away. She had a mission right now. She would spend more time mourning Red once she had secured her hold over this secret room, just as she would spend time with the hatchlings. I will tell them all about you, my strong, silent protector. That was how she would honor her lost mate. Returning to the present situation, she produced the thickest, densest silk of her life and used it to web her eggs to the beam she was using as one of the support structures for her web. In the corner they now occupied, the eggs were protected by both shadow and the dense application of webbing. Satisfied with her work, Goldie crafted more of the ultra-dense silk and wrapped it clumsily around her body, creating the closest thing she could manage to armor. Finally, she set out to hunt the hunters. She climbed up the wall where the Brown Recluse Spiders made their ugly, asymmetrical disorderly webs. Goldie climbed above their position to approach from the spiders¡¯ blind spot. The element of surprise would probably only last for one or two spider ambushes at best, but she wanted to make the most of it. These creatures had been living in relative peace with Goldie. They would not expect this. Goldie crossed over a beam and passed above the middle of the nearest of the Brown Recluse Spider¡¯s web, to stand directly over the shelter where she knew it would be. This was the most tangled, densely woven part of the web. The most disorderly, to her distaste. A little cubby hole designed to make any predator that entered it stick midway through, allowing the web¡¯s owner to defend itself. She let go of the wall and allowed herself to drop straight down. There was activity as soon as she landed. The Brown Recluse Spider that occupied the web immediately came rushing out of its shelter, and Goldie sprang into action, sinking her fangs right into the side of his head. She released her grip and thrust the dying creature away from her, then threw her body up and out of the web, leaping onto the wall just above. There was some activity, she could see, as the other two Brown Recluse Spiders sensed motion and moved out of their shelters to see what was happening. Goldie took advantage of their confusion and sprayed venom down into the nearest spider¡¯s eyes. The accuracy of it was apparent as the Brown Recluse Spider twitched and writhed under her attack. The third Brown Recluse Spider moved out of its web and toward the second one that was wriggling in pain¡ªwhether to take advantage of its weakness or to offer some protection, Goldie would never be certain. She leaped down onto the third one and latched onto it as it was stepping onto the wall, and the two tumbled down together, locked in a deadly wrestling match, both biting at each other. Goldie quickly managed to inject her venom into the center of her opponent¡¯s mass, while it tried and failed to bite through her dense silk covering. The Brown Recluse Spider stopped moving before they landed. When they struck the floor, it bounced and rolled until it struck the wall again. Then its body lay still on the ground. Goldie walked up to it and bound it up tightly with silk, in case it was only playing dead. Then she ascended the wall again. The second Brown Recluse Spider saw her coming halfway, and rather than trying to fight her as the others had, it ran up the side of the wall, forcing her to give chase. Goldie half-galloped up the wall and held the final Brown Recluse Spider tightly in her forelimbs while she injected a more-than-sufficient dose of her newly improved venom into its body. Then she turned and dropped it back into its own web. She would clean that spider up later. She returned to both the webs of the spiders that had died there and bound them up with silk. Then she dragged all three of the Brown Recluse Spider corpses back to her web and left them beside the rest of her mound of food. That was much easier than I expected, she thought. Maybe I prepared more than I needed to. Goldie went around to the Common House Spiders¡¯ webs, and she repeated the treatment she had given to the Brown Recluse Spiders. They put up even less fight than the Brown Recluse Spiders had. She felt a little bad about killing the mated pair of Common House Spiders, especially after she invaded their web and found that they had an egg sac of their own. Just like her, they had tried to hide it by webbing it up in a corner of their home. With her newly improved Perception, she easily saw through the deception, though. Goldie banished her regrets and reminded herself that these little ones would only have been competitors of her own hatchlings one day if they had been allowed to live. She dialed up the acidity in her venom to the maximum she could. And she bit into the egg sac and injected the highly acidic venom until she heard the slight sizzle of the eggs dissolving into fluid. While their parents would become food for Goldie¡¯s baby spiders, she ate the unborn creatures herself. She did not want to force her little ones to try to digest something so intensely acidic before they reached maturity. I won, she thought. The secret room is all mine and the babies¡¯ now. It felt like a bittersweet victory, slaughtering her own kind like this. But it was the victory that Goldie¡¯s animal nature had told her she needed to pursue. For the hatchlings. 2-08. Visions of Days Gone By Part 1 Rosslyn dreamt. She knew she was dreaming and that the visions that presented themselves before her eyes did not represent her reality, nor even, as far as she could tell, her own past lives. She remembered fighting a group of assassins and losing vision in one eye. She remembered her life from before this great sleep. Instinctively, she felt more and more, the longer the visions went on, that something must be wrong. Although time was always distorted in sleep, she was almost certain that she had been dreaming for longer than she ever had before. My body must be consuming a great deal of energy to heal itself. So much so that it refuses to regain consciousness. Otherwise, how would I have time to witness so many events from the history of my country? This was the substance of Rosslyn¡¯s visions. Scenes of days gone by. Moments that had been formative in the national life of Claustria. She barely recognized some of the earlier scenes, and perhaps her sleep had been deeper at the time those scenes had appeared, because they had a haze around them that made them feel dreamier than some of the more recent scenes. There was an encounter between a man and a magical butterfly. The human seemed ordinary to Rosslyn¡ªhe was dressed like a peasant¡ªbut there was a certain cast to his jaw that she recognized. Her father''s jawline was similar. The creature whispered secrets in the man¡¯s ear, and he attempted to do magic following the butterfly¡¯s instructions. The initial attempts failed¡ªand then the vision was fading. The second vision showed another man, in another time, with another butterfly. The human wore a tunic of high quality silk wrought in an ancient style, but Rosslyn recognized this too was one of her ancestors. At some point, they had made the jump from peasantry to nobility. The man and the butterfly stood before the walls of a small, crude city, and the nobleman spoke animatedly to the butterfly, flailing his arms. He looked highly agitated. The butterfly flew high above the city, its body glowing with Mana, and before Rosslyn¡¯s eyes, the city vanished. As Rosslyn watched, the butterfly flew down until it entered the space where the border of the illusion¡ªfor the butterfly must have created an illusion¡ªwas located. Then the creature also disappeared. A few minutes later, Rosslyn saw an army appear in the distance. These were humans, though Rosslyn could not recognize the nation. They rode chariots in the direction of the city, passing right by it without being able to see their apparent target. Then this vision faded too. Further visions showed Rosslyn key moments in history, only a fraction of which involved butterflies in any way. Most of them were moments of politics or warfare. Conquest of neighboring regions. Marriages for alliance. The expansion of the city, which she gradually came to recognize as Wayn. The Claustrian Duchy¡¯s elevation to the status of Kingdom by decree of the High Priest of the Goddess¡ªwhich was essentially just recognition of the facts on the ground by that point, coupled with a desire to inspire stronger, united opposition against the rising Demon Empire. The leaps and bounds of history began to slow to a crawl with the birth of an only child, a girl. Rosslyn quickly recognized her from the descriptions and illustrations in her history books. Warrior Queen Maud. Rosslyn¡¯s visions followed the Warrior Queen¡¯s life much more closely than they had the stories of any other moment in Claustrian history. She saw how Maud grew up a solitary child, neglected by her parents. How the Princess¡¯s father spent most of his time trying to conceive a son to replace her as his heir. How Maud¡¯s impressive physical and magical power frustrated her parents rather than pleasing them, because her natural gifts showed how powerful their son might be, if they could only conceive one. Claustria had only rarely had ruling Queens before, a total of three in its long history. Two of them were assessed by historians as disastrous. Both law and nobility opposed it. The King divorced his wife with the blessing of the High Priest of the Goddess. He ignored how his daughter withdrew further and further into herself, only emerging from her bedroom for physical and magical training. Instead of paying attention to the child he had, he began looking for the woman who would solve his fertility problem¡ªand finally give him the son that custom demanded. But his quest was unsuccessful. The King died of a heart attack in bed with his new young wife¡ªRosslyn avoided witnessing any of the details of their activities by simply refusing to look¡ªand he left the thirteen-year-old Maud all alone in the world. The child who had been neglected suddenly came to the throne. Shy, gawky, and unsure of herself, she had little idea of what to do with the power she now held. The court nobles who surrounded her began issuing commands in Maud¡¯s name without consulting her, while another faction in the western half of the country gathered around her cousin Lachlan and began conspiring to place him on the throne. Rosslyn bounced back and forth between the two settings as the rebellious nobles whispered flattery and anti-Maud poison in Lachlan¡¯s ear and the corrupt nobles made more reckless and self-serving decisions in Maud¡¯s name, raising taxes on the common folk and neglecting critical duties such as enforcing the law and maintaining the military while they looted the treasury. Some of the most affected common folk began to turn against Maud. And Duke Cornelis of Galton began conspiring with Lachlan¡¯s faction of nobles while secretly maneuvering to take advantage of any civil strife in Claustria to expand his own holdings. But even as nobles on both sides of the political divide brought the country closer to ruin, Maud was growing older and watching carefully. Learning. When she turned seventeen, Maud hosted a banquet for the nobles who had been most instrumental in the misrule of Claustria. She invited members of Lachlan¡¯s faction, too, but none came. By this time, they were already discounting her and discussing who would perform which roles on Lachlan¡¯s ruling council. At the dinner, Maud¡¯s other cousin, nineteen-year-old Count Brian, proposed a toast. ¡°To the wise and learned officials who have ruled in my dear cousin¡¯s stead all these years!¡± Some people raised their wine glasses with jubilant expressions, while others looked askance at each other. One could almost hear them thinking, What do you mean, ruled in her stead all these years? Is this brat trying to say that there is some change coming? You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. But none had the chance to voice that objection. While some at the table were draining their glasses, the serving men were barring the doors. A few of the nobles seated began to object. ¡°What is the meaning of this?¡± ¡°Your Majesty, why have the doors been barred?¡± Then several of their number began convulsing, their bodies responding quickly to the poisoned wine. The supposed servants¡ªin fact, elite knights in disguise¡ªdrew swords and axes and slaughtered everyone at the table but Brian and Maud. When a few of the more powerful nobles were able to defend themselves effectively, despite the poison in their bellies, the Queen and her cousin took up arms and helped finish the slaughter. Afterward, Maud¡¯s enemies would speak of that occasion as the Black Banquet and say that Black Brian¡ªfor so they called him after this¡ªhad clouded the Queen¡¯s judgment and caused her to authorize the murder of her loyal supporters. But Rosslyn saw everything in the vision. Maud had asked for her cousin¡¯s help to organize the coup, so she could finally be out from under the thumb of the high nobility of Wayn, and she had approved every detail of the evening personally, down to the music. And Rosslyn thought that it was far from the criminal undertaking that Maud¡¯s enemies¡ªand some historians¡ªhad tried to make it out to be. The Queen¡¯s courts were not her own, her supposed advisors held all the power, and if she had not tried this approach, she might never have obtained her independence. She had had little choice but to throw off their influence for the good of the country. This nevertheless provided a casus belli for the other faction of nobles. The Queen¡¯s counselors had been murdered, they claimed to anyone who would listen. Either the Queen had fallen under the influence of an evil man, or her own mind must be poisoned. She had become a tyrant. They whispered coarser slanders, too. That she had been seduced by her cousin. That she was a nymphomaniac who took a different lover from among her knights every night, the better to bind them to her. The reality, as Rosslyn observed, was that Maud remained as awkward around the opposite sex as she had been as a girl. She lacked the social skills¡ªand perhaps also the desire¡ªto obtain male companionship. What she did enjoy was battle. Maud had not simply withdrawn into herself in all the years she had been alone. She had been reading books. Military histories and accounts of great battles were the romances of her girlhood. And with her control over Wayn now secured, she wasted no time in reversing the policies of her advisors and strengthening the country¡¯s institutions¡ªparticularly the military, which she chose to lead personally, making Brian her chief of domestic matters. When Lachlan¡¯s forces mobilized and marched across Claustria to Wayn, Queen Maud gathered her own army and headed them off before they could approach the city. Leading them from the front, she killed hundreds of men with her own hands, alternately cutting them down with her sword and with concentrated beams of light. As it became obvious that he was outmatched, and the carnage grew more intense, Lachlan fled, destroying the morale of the attacking force. When the enemy¡¯s strength broke, and they began running, Maud restrained her army from giving chase. In her eyes, these were all still her countrymen. In the aftermath, she tried to recruit as many of Lachlan¡¯s soldiers as she could into her own force. She even wrote letters to him as she marched west, begging him to surrender and allow the country¡¯s divisions to be healed. Perhaps recalling the Black Banquet, Lachlan chose instead to flee to Galton. Initially, they gave him sanctuary in secret. But when Maud chose not to request Lachlan¡¯s return, the Galtons betrothed him to a member of their ruling family and raised their own army with the aim of placing him as a puppet king on the Claustrian throne. As the rumors of this reached the now twenty-year-old Maud, she marched at the head of her own forces again, preemptively invading Galton. This was a much more brutal war than the short succession battle had been. Galton was a real country with an established military, not a handful of nobles with puffed up ideas about their own significance. They fought to the last man in several battles and scorched the earth whenever they actually retreated, to leave Maud¡¯s forces no food to eat or wood for siege engines. Then they retreated into their fortifications. Maud¡¯s army was reduced to robbing the peasantry for provisions, though at least the war was fought on Galton¡¯s soil, so it was Duke Cornelis¡¯s peasants rather than Maud¡¯s who were starved as a result. Ultimately, they managed to besiege the capital of Galton, Yelloway, and prevent any supplies from entering for several months until the city¡¯s food supplies were exhausted and some discontented soldiers opened the gate in exchange for Black Brian¡¯s promise that they and their families would not be harmed. Maud kept her right hand man¡¯s promise. She allowed anyone who was capable of moving to leave the city with as much of their worldly goods as they could carry in their hands. She gave strict orders to her soldiers that the civilians be left unmolested, on pain of death. Then she allowed the army to sack what was left, burned the surviving buildings to the ground, executed the sitting ruler, and negotiated the marriage of one of her young female cousins to the new Duke, a twelve-year-old boy who she brought back with her to Wayn as a hostage to ensure the Duchy¡¯s good behavior. Lachlan escaped again, however. Even the Galtons did not seem to know where he had fled, though Maud had several key advisors and the former Duchess put to the question to find out. She was much less interested in forgiving her cousin now that she had been forced to wage a second war to fend off his ambition to rule. The vision cut to some years in the future. Rosslyn observed the Warrior Queen as ruler, the vision intercutting between seemingly almost random scenes of the ruler simply governing. Queen Maud remained in firm control of her country, with her loyal cousin Count Brian ruling by her side. Rosslyn remembered from the history books that she had encouraged him to marry one of their distant cousins as a way of tamping down the rumors that still circulated about the two of them. Rosslyn thought the rumors were a bit ridiculous, especially now that she could see¡ªat least a version of¡ªthe historical events that gave rise to them. The way that Maud looked at Brian was affectionate, but in a familial sense. The gossips could not possibly be basing their talk on any kind of honest firsthand reporting of the pair¡¯s interactions. Though Rosslyn thought the Count might have had some romantic interest in the Queen in years past, she could tell Maud¡¯s tastes seemed to run in a very different direction. To Rosslyn¡¯s surprise¡ªthis was not commonly accepted in Claustria¡ªthe Warrior Queen seemed to prefer women, though Rosslyn could only guess it from Maud¡¯s lingering looks at certain noble ladies in her circle. Despite having assumed absolute power, the Queen was just as chaste now as she had been as a teenager. The rumor in Rosslyn¡¯s own time had been that the Queen did not want to share power with a husband, so she died without ever knowing a lover¡¯s touch. The scene shifted again, to a room Rosslyn recognized as the great chamber of the palace she herself had grown up in. Brian was in dialogue with Maud about the movements of the Demon Empire, which had been behaving aggressively toward Ursabia. His young son Aulay was sitting in on the meeting. Rosslyn thought the boy had intelligent eyes. She also noticed the same distinct jawline as her father and the ancestor who had first encountered the magic butterfly. This is my ancestor, she thought. It was a shame that the Warrior Queen had never married and produced children, though Rosslyn thought that she now understood at least a part of why. A man in messenger¡¯s uniform burst into the room, interrupting the conversation. ¡°Please forgive the intrusion, Your Majesty,¡± the man said breathlessly. ¡°I have urgent news.¡± 2-09. Visions of Days Gone By Part 2 ¡°Go ahead,¡± Queen Maud pronounced calmly, gesturing for the messenger to speak. In the intervening years since the time skip, she seemed to have acquired a calm and steady quality. She was confident now, not just on the battlefield, but also on the throne and in council chambers. Rosslyn¡¯s lips curled into a smile as she looked on. Even though she thought she knew the tragedy that was about to unfold, she enjoyed seeing her predecessor more comfortable in her own skin as she confronted a challenge. Rosslyn always enjoyed seeing any kind of excellence, especially from her countrymen. When it was a member of her own family, she felt even prouder. ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡± The messenger unfurled a scroll and began to read aloud. ¡°The Demon Emperor¡¯s provocations have at last reached the level of our greatest fears. Despite their recent internal political strife, they have raised a mighty host to crush the Ursabians. The King indicated in his letter that his army was too small to meet a force of that size in open battle. He has withdrawn the population into Stalenton, and he begs for our aid. The High Priest refuses to intercede, as we expected. We have raised our army and are riding to the Ursabians¡¯ relief at once. Please rendezvous with us at your earliest convenience, in keeping with our pact. Signed, Niklas, King of Parmonia, Shield of¡ª¡± ¡°You can leave off the extra titles,¡± Maud said curtly. She turned to Count Brian. ¡°What does the treasury look like? Can we wage effective war without the priesthood¡¯s support?¡± Why would they not have the support of the High Priest? Rosslyn wondered. The Demon Empire is a threat to all Goddess worshipers. Her cousin swallowed nervously. ¡°It is a difficult thing,¡± he said. ¡°Our finances still have yet to fully recover from the last war.¡± She grunted. There was silence for a few seconds. ¡°Well, we march in any case,¡± the Warrior Queen said. ¡°We will not allow Ursabia to fall. Even if we were willing to break our ancient pact and bury our heads in the sand, the Empire would immediately begin eying us or Parmonia next. Niklas thinks it would be them. I disagree.¡± She turned to the messenger, who had stood in the corner, silently sweating, while Maud and Brian spoke. ¡°Go and tell King Niklas that we will meet him on the battlefield, as soon as we can.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty!¡± The man put a fist to his chest and bowed, in the fashion of the Parmonians. Then he left the room, almost at a run. ¡°Cousin, have you considered King Titus¡¯s proposal?¡± Brian asked softly. Her posture immediately stiffened. ¡°You know I have given it all due consideration,¡± she said, her expression hardening. ¡°I know you have discussed it with your other advisors,¡± he said. ¡°I only bring it up because of the contents of his last letter. He made it a point to mention that he could smooth over relations with the High Priest. And his army is forty thousand strong¡ª¡± ¡°Why do you insist on telling me things I already know?¡± her voice came out sharp and cold. The Count sighed. ¡°I am simply worried that we are in a fight we cannot win, even with your strength.¡± ¡°With mine, Parmonia¡¯s, and Ursabia¡¯s strength combined, though?¡± she replied, her voice a bit calmer. ¡°Aye, perhaps,¡± he said. ¡°Things never go the way you plan for when you march off to war, though. Sometimes they turn out to be much easier than you expected, as in your first battle with Lachlan. Other times, they go much worse.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Maud said. ¡°But even if I agreed to Titus¡¯s proposal, and his forty thousand soldiers started marching today, they would be too late to relieve Ursabia. They would take a month to reach Wayn. Whereas we can march from Wayn today with¡ª¡± She hesitated¡ª¡°how many, do you think?¡± ¡°Twenty thousand, at most,¡± Brian said. ¡°That will be enough.¡± The scene faded, and Rosslyn found herself watching the disastrous Third Battle of Stalenton. The Parmonian cavalry charge that broke on an Imperial shield wall. The counter attack that ended in the slaughter of the Parmonian Royal Guard and King Niklas¡¯s impalement on a half dozen pikes. The remainder of King Niklas¡¯s forces fled in disarray. She saw it all from a distance, as if the details of what unfolded outside the city walls was unimportant. The vision quickly faded. Then she was watching the Claustrian military suffer a similar, but much smaller scale, defeat. Having a less numerous force than the Parmonians, they quickly retreated to the Ursabian Woods, where they waged guerrilla warfare. With the Warrior Queen alive and in command, the Claustrian Army achieved a much more orderly withdrawal than the panicking Parmonians. Still, their activities were like pinpricks trying to bleed a bear to death. The vision gradually faded out before Rosslyn found herself in Wayn again. The city walls had been fortified since she last saw them¡ªperhaps even stronger than they were in present day, to Rosslyn¡¯s eyes¡ªbut Queen Maud¡¯s expression was grim as she stared off into the distance from the top of the wall. Before her, the approaching vanguard of the Demon Army was rapidly closing the distance to Wayn. Fresh from the conquest of Stalenton, their enthusiastic war whoops were audible even from over a mile away. Count Brian stepped up beside her, his face similarly bleak. ¡°What more is there to do, Your Majesty?¡± he asked, his tone strangely formal. ¡°Nothing more we can do,¡± she replied. ¡°We must hold them off, or they will enslave everyone in the city.¡± ¡°No possibility of terms, then,¡± he said glumly. The Warrior Queen raised a hand and pointed off into the distance, beyond the vanguard, at something Rosslyn could not perceive. Count Brian¡¯s followed the gesture, and he strained his eyes, trying to see what his cousin saw. After a few seconds, he gave up. ¡°What are you showing me?¡± he asked a little impatiently, turning back to the Queen. ¡°Oh. I forget sometimes,¡± she said. ¡°Beyond the vanguard, near the center of the enemy¡¯s mass, there is General Vizzini. Beside him, I see cousin Lachlan.¡± She swallowed a lump in her throat. ¡°You see, there is little point in my trying to negotiate terms. They already have my replacement right there. Their puppet.¡± Count Brian nodded. ¡°I understand. I will say no more about terms. It is victory or death.¡± ¡°You do not suppose they would accept a duel to decide the outcome?¡± she asked sarcastically. Single combat to decide a battle was an ancient tradition on the continent. There was a special blue flag that could be raised by either side of a battle to propose such a duel, though traditionally, the aggressor tended to do so more often. Claustria had secured its independence with single combat twice in its history. The Empire had used it as a tool of aggression. Their borders expanded more quickly via single combat than any observer had predicted, due to the tendency for demons to be naturally stronger than humans in general. The Empire had grown from a marginal power in a desert to an upstart nation to the menace of the continent. But a duel to decide the outcome of a battle had to be agreed to by both sides. Where the battle seemed one-sided, it would not be offered. ¡°Given your reputation and their numbers, that seems unlikely,¡± Brian said gently. The Queen suddenly turned and gripped her cousin¡¯s arm with what Rosslyn could see was a frightful strength. The Count winced until she loosened her hold. ¡°Sorry,¡± she mumbled, eyes downcast. Rosslyn could see the overwhelmed young girl that Maud had been in her face as she spoke. ¡°I never thought my reign would end this way. Those are a hundred thousand men out there. And no one is coming to the rescue. If you wanted to, you could hand me over to them. I have always taken a capsule of poison into battle with me. What if you promised to be their puppet in exchange for turning me over. I could take the poison and¡ª¡± Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Brian shook his head angrily, cutting her off. ¡°No more of that! If you want to die in defense of this city, I will die beside you. You know that any one of the men who has fought alongside you would do the same. Do you think we want to see slaves shuffle down the streets of Wayn? Our mages and knights castrated? Our daughters trafficked as concubines? The palace turned into the Emperor¡¯s bordello? Our houses of worship desecrated? Do you think any loyal citizen of Claustria would ever choose the Emperor¡¯s mercy over you?¡± He turned to face the outside of the wall and hocked a thick glob of saliva in the direction of the Demon Army. ¡°They advance this far, and no farther! We will have peace with honor or none at all. Rest assured, neither I nor any true man of Claustria will betray you here.¡± The Warrior Queen inhaled and exhaled several times, then nodded and withdrew from the wall top. Archers took their places on top of the wall. In a matter of minutes, the enemy army stood outside the gates. A rider approached and tried to read a message out, but the soldiers on the wall threw stones at him and cursed him out loudly so that no one could hear what he had to say. None of them fired arrows, since he was merely a messenger, but they were all united in their resistance. Negotiations having failed to get off the ground, the Siege of Wayn began. Rosslyn tried to estimate how many soldiers she could see waiting outside the gates, and she arrived at somewhere around a hundred and fifty thousand. The historians had never been certain of exactly the odds Queen Maud faced in this battle. Now Rosslyn felt as if she knew the answer to that question, even if this was merely an elaborate dream. The Demon Army set to work surrounding the castle, felling trees to construct tools of war, and pursuing the other arts of siege warfare. Rosslyn could see a distant crew of men at work tunneling underground, while another group put together ballistas from parts the army had brought with it from their last siege. Through the night, work went on. The Claustrians maintained a perimeter around Wayn by keeping the area around the walls brightly lit and shooting down any soldiers who stepped within range. The Queen slept peacefully for the last time before the battle began in earnest. The next day, the city awakened to bombardments of stone and ballista bolts aimed at the city walls. Since they were not as formidable as those of Stalenton, Wayn¡¯s walls were deemed a viable target. Maud had already been roused on Brian¡¯s orders, and she stood at the wall and performed an act that Rosslyn had always assumed was mere legend. She poured Mana into the stones of the wall and reinforced the entire perimeter of the city with her own power. Rosslyn simply stared without being able to react for a moment. Not only was this something she was far from powerful enough to do, it was something she did not believe her father could perform for more than perhaps a quarter of an hour. The normal use of Mana in a fight was to reinforce one¡¯s body, one¡¯s armor, and one¡¯s weapon. The reason for this was that Mana was a limited commodity for everyone. It could not be stored. Each person¡¯s body could only produce a certain amount daily, even accounting for food to refuel the body. Occasionally, fancier usages of Mana would come in handy¡ªsetting fire to one¡¯s enemy or blinding them with light were abilities Rosslyn might employ¡ªbut the basics were usually most practical. The idea of dispersing one¡¯s power to reinforce a wall that encircled an entire city was mind-boggling. It showed seemingly limitless resources. The Warrior Queen was truly more than human. It was no wonder people had composed songs and poems to honor her after this battle. The heavy stones and ballista bolts struck the walls and ricocheted off with supernatural force, landing among the Demon Army and killing a few dozen of their men. None in the Demon Army had reckoned on the Warrior Queen being so unreasonably powerful. The day continued with more such attacks from all sides of the city, as the Empire looked for any weakness in the walls and spent soldiers¡¯ lives cheaply to find such a hole. But every projectile, and even charges with battering rams, was repelled with greater power than it had begun with. Hundreds of soldiers died in some of these incidents, but it was obvious the commanders were not concerned with losing a tiny fraction of their number. Rosslyn thought it could make a difference by the end, but this was already going far differently than she had imagined. The Warrior Queen was holding steady inside the city walls, reinforcing them via her constant presence, rather than stalking the battlefield like a specter of death, chopping off heads. The presence of her cousin Lachlan on the opposite side of the battle was also something that had not gone down in the history books. And of course, the role of the commoners had been grossly understated. This was not a war of knights¡¯ charges or mages raining death from the sky. The common soldiers¡ªand civilians pressed into service to face the common emergency¡ªwere the ones doing most of the killing, aside from Maud with her deadly ricochets. It was the ordinary soldiers who shot down enemies who got too close to the city walls, including those who carried battering rams, forcing a great part of the Demon Army to hang back and its engineers to construct siege towers and additional shields for those who advanced closer to the walls. It was the ordinary soldiers who dug their own tunnels and attempted to counteract the sappers trying to dig under their walls and collapse them. Perhaps most impactfully, the ordinary soldiers burned some of the siege towers, shot many of those who manned them with arrows, and then fought in close quarters with those of the Demon Army who nevertheless reached the top of the wall. The knights participated in this last conflict as well, causing the Demon Army to lose ten soldiers for every one defender killed. But the city was still on the wrong side of a battle of attrition. Rosslyn could not see how they would win. Even the histories of the siege were muddled on how Wayn had survived. By nightfall, Maud was visibly exhausted, and a squad of three dozen elite mages and knights relieved her, pouring Mana into the walls from evenly spaced positions all around the city so that the Queen could rest for a few hours. Even with all of them giving their all, the wall was weaker than it had been under Maud¡¯s reinforcement. Rosslyn could see the difference. But the attacks were fewer at night too. The soldiers most familiar with siege engines were tired from the day¡¯s activities, and those who were active now could not manage as high a rate of fire. The catapult barrages came once an hour, and though they were not repelled with the same great force as they had been, the walls held firm. Brian awakened Maud midway through the night, so she could resume her duties, and a miracle happened. Underground, the soldiers who had fought repeated engagements with the enemy sappers encountered the largest group of sappers yet. And the Claustrian soldiers began to die by the handful despite the tight space. Word somehow reached the surface that General Vizzini was below, supervising the digging of this tunnel himself. He was responsible for the high rate of casualties. Upon hearing this, most of the knights gathered under Count Brian, and they split into two groups. Count Brian led a small contingent of knights disguised as normal soldiers underground to confront General Vizzini, and the rest of them dispersed through the front gate and sallied forth to distract the Demon Army, aiming to cut through to the other side of the tunnel and cave it in, trapping the General underground. The knights of Claustria fought like demons that evening, killing and maiming dozens as they rode forth. The main body of the enemy force roused slowly, then mobbed the knights, picking them off one by one from the edges of the formation. But the knights continued charging forward, an arrow aimed at a precise target. Only a handful reached the hole¡ªtoo few to collapse the entrance with sheer force while being attacked, but they killed those who defended it and then charged in to cut off General Vizzini¡¯s escape route. In the ensuing underground melee, the General was killed. He died of half a hundred stab wounds, fighting Count Brian and a half dozen other knights armed with swords, daggers, halberds, and mainly knives. The surviving knights managed to return above ground and collapse the tunnel. And the next day, to Rosslyn¡¯s bewilderment, the Demon Army camp disintegrated into arguments about what they should do next. The great strength of the Claustrian army had been stretched to its breaking point, in her mind, yet the surviving officers appeared to be unwilling to take responsibility for ordering further attacks. Gradually, they agreed to pack up their gear and go. All but one commander. Maud¡¯s cousin Lachlan had been only a nominal leader in the war thus far, but he had a brigade of several thousand men under his command. He demanded that the attack continue. The officers narrowed their eyes, looked away, or spat, and continued their preparations for retreat. As the sun began to set that day, the Demon Army officers had pulled back with almost their entire force. They had withdrawn so far off into Wayn¡¯s horizon that Rosslyn could no longer see them. It seemed they were truly going home. This left Lachlan and five thousand soldiers to face off defiantly with Queen Maud and her numerically superior force. At sundown, Lachlan led a suicidal charge at the walls, and for some reason that Rosslyn did not understand, instead of simply allowing the charge to fail, the Queen opened the gate and led a mass of soldiers to confront him. This was true to the history books, aside from their failure to mention Lachlan specifically, but the histories had never been clear on the reasons why. Now Rosslyn understood why the histories were speculative and ambiguous, even if she still did not know the underlying cause. Whatever the reasons, before her eyes, she saw the spectacle that had defined the legend of the Warrior Queen. She loomed larger than life. A single, towering figure who charged ahead of her soldiers and cut down enemy troops, four at a time, five at a time, killing everyone who stood between her and her objective: Lachlan. And to his credit, for once, her rival for the throne did not run away. As if trying to recover his lost honor, he stood and fought. The two of them entered a duel in the middle of the melee. They exchanged three sword slashes apiece, and the would-be usurper¡¯s head tumbled from his shoulders. The enemy began to break and run, recognizing they were beaten. Many of the Claustrian soldiers chased after them, but not Maud. She strode back within the gates of the city, standing straight, head held high, confident and poised. She stepped to the side of the gate, out of sight of the enemy, and she collapsed. Count Brian knelt at her side, cradled the Queen¡¯s body, and tried to pour healing magic onto her, but she waved for him to stop. Rosslyn knew what had happened. She had overloaded her body with her expenditure of Mana, shortening her lifespan in her defense of the city. Even the Warrior Queen was not invincible. ¡°Rule well,¡± Maud said, her voice a croak. ¡°I updated my will before the battle.¡± She caressed her cousin¡¯s cheek. ¡°You will be a wise king.¡± Then Claustria¡¯s most notorious Queen passed away. 2-10. Past Lives Adon rested. His body had adapted to the acidic environment in which it rested, and now he was capable of drifting into that sleep-like state that he had periodically entered during his life as a caterpillar. Even semi-conscious, he continued acting on the program that he had begun before, of trying to search through his human lives and find examples of good social skills that he could copy. Sadly, his past selves had been uniformly socially unsuccessful, but on the bright side, his wicked stepmother when he was a noble girl was adept at the art of human interaction¡ªshowing one face to a friend, another to an enemy, and her true self probably to no one. As he drifted from the sleep-like state back to wakefulness, Adon recognized that something around him had changed. Even though his eyes had dissolved away, he still had some limited sensory information on his environment¡ªas well as an awareness of what was going on with his body. In addition to an awareness that he was starting to form new organs and appendages, he could detect whether there was pressure on the chrysalis, how his own body was oriented relative to the pull of gravity, he could sense temperature, and he could feel light. The quality of both the light and temperature had changed. The strange thing was that Adon¡¯s orientation toward the environment did not seem to have changed. He could imagine that the temperature and the quality of light that fell on him might change if he fell from his plant onto the ground. But he was still upright, which should be impossible if he had fallen. He was almost certain that he was still hanging from his plant¡ªor hanging from something, at any rate¡ªso he had no way of explaining why his limited sensory experience was so different. Is it the changing of the season? A different time of day? Maybe it¡¯s just cloudy today or something. But those explanations did not satisfy him. Winter had been approaching, but his current environment felt warmer, not cooler. The time of day could not explain the change in temperature either. The idea of the day being cloudy was contradicted by the evidence of his senses. He felt fairly steady light coming from one direction for a long period of time, followed by the gradual onset of darkness. Adon felt he had the mental strength to activate Telepathy, so he did it. He reached out for his friend with his mind. Goldie, are you out there? He did not sense the spider, however. Goldie had a warm, gentle presence. By now, it was unmistakable to him. It gave him a pleasant feeling to connect with her mind. He sensed intellects around him, but none that felt as familiar as Goldie¡¯s. He was alone. Wait, is that the Princess? The familiar presence eased his sudden feeling of loneliness and gave him another clue as to where he was. I¡¯ve been taken somewhere, he thought. Probably by humans. Decent odds that it¡¯s the palace. That would explain why he had seemingly not been removed from his plant. Humans liked doing that sort of thing. Taking a plant and whatever creatures were living on it and simply moving them somewhere more convenient. Based on the changes to lighting and temperature, it would make sense if he had been moved indoors. In which case, I¡¯m probably safe¡­ but where is Goldie? Adon tried to reach out to the only mind that he recognized near him. The Princess was there for some reason. Maybe she was hanging by in case he wanted to ask someone why he had been moved and where his friend was. But his mental probe bounced off like it had hit a wall. He waited a little while and tried again, with the same result. The Princess¡¯s mind was closed for business for some reason. So he gave up and returned to reviewing his memories. Later, as he drifted between the sleep-like state and attempting to pay half-hearted attention to his environment, Adon fell into a memory he had not intended to review¡ªone from a lifetime he had never spent any significant time thinking about. He found himself in a strange, clumsy body. Adon was in some underground place, and as he looked through his former incarnation¡¯s eyes, he saw himself tearing into some other creature¡ªa sort of reptilian monster that looked like it could walk upright¡ªwith a set of long, sharp, vicious claws. What is my name in this life? he wondered. What am I? But as the memory went on, he thought it possible that he might not have a name¡ªand even that his species might not have a name. This incarnation wandered the underground without anything approximating friends or a kin group. It never encountered humans or human-like lifeforms. The beast never had anything approaching communication with other living creatures. It did not seem to engage in abstract thought or check a Status screen. The monster appeared to live merely to ambush and prey on other creatures occupying the underground. Its body was built for efficient killing. On the bright side, whatever creature he was¡ªthere were no mirrors or bodies of water for him to see his reflection, so he only knew that he had long, powerful claws¡ªwas at least a successful predator. It never went hungry, and as it lived on, it only grew larger and more powerful. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. But Adon managed to find the dark cloud to that silver lining. Even when I¡¯m a badass monster, he thought, I¡¯m still socially isolated. Is this a defect in my soul? Shouldn¡¯t a mindless beast running on autopilot have instincts that would lead to reproduction and the creation of some kind of a family unit? Watching the beast go around killing and eating everything it could was depressing, and Adon considered leaving the memory behind. But in his strange quasi-dream state, he did not seem to be able to simply abandon ship and switch to a different memory. Adon never had the chance to see if his beast self would eventually stumble upon a mate in the dark of its cave. Perhaps it was a blessing that he did not have to witness himself engaged in some undignified bestial rutting. What actually happened was far stranger. He felt a sudden shift within the beast. Its directionless mind achieved a kind of sudden clarity. An image of a village suddenly popped into its mind. Humble houses made of molded mud. Adon would have found the image charming. A quaint, ancient form of housing construction. But his beast incarnation was filled with an inexplicable rage at the mental image. It pawed at the ground restlessly as if it wanted to charge, though the empty space around it, as if that would allow it to reach the place in the image. An imperative entered the incarnation¡¯s mind. It was wordless but powerful and specific enough to compel action. The feeling it carried was, Go forth and destroy this place. As his incarnation sprang into motion, moving with a sudden awareness of where the location was, Adon deliberately distanced his emotions from those of this past version of himself. He tried to understand what was going on. I¡¯m a monster, he thought, but something is controlling me. There was something admirable in being able to control such a ferocious beast, in his opinion, but it also left a bad taste in his mouth. It reminded him all too much of the Red Queen who had done so much damage in the garden. Murdered his friend Red and slaughtered so many of Goldie¡¯s eggs. All through minions just like this hapless creature. So, is it another monster that¡¯s controlling him? Adon wondered. A kind of King-Claw? He tried to imagine what the super-evolved form of the creature in whose perspective he had passed this vision might be like, but drew a blank. He barely had a conception for what this incarnation itself looked like. Long claws and fur. Big. That was it. Then he was following along for the ride as the creature moved through the darkness, every step filled with implicit confidence that the brute was moving in the right direction. One good thing about not being intelligent is that I didn¡¯t have the same self-doubt as a beast that I do as a human¡ªor now, as a quasi-human thing with the body of a bug. And the creature seemed to be making progress. As it moved, Adon could tell the beast was gradually rising through the elevation of the underground. Other creatures slowly pulled alongside it, all moving on the upward sloping path that Adon found his past incarnation ascending. Does this mean you always knew the way out of this dark, dank place? And I¡¯ve just been watching you kill things in this cave for no reason, when we could have been outside? The cave widened, the number of beasts around Adon¡¯s incarnation continued to increase, and he found himself excitedly anticipating what the outside world would look like. What sort of planet was this? It must be habitable for humans, since he had seen houses in the vision of the place his past incarnation was being sent to destroy. Would it be a world he had seen in another past life? So far, Adon was not certain whether he repeated visits to worlds where he had already lived in the reincarnation cycle, or if they were new every time. He had begun to suspect that he did. Places from his dragon life felt familiar relative to the small number of places he had been in this life. Mainly the palace, which he had begun to believe he had flown over as a dragon at least twice. As he questioned which world he might be on¡ªand whether it would be a place he was actually familiar with or not¡ªAdon¡¯s attention was pulled back to the cave. His incarnation could see a shaft of light coming through a small opening, and now Adon knew that the beasts were, in fact, rushing toward the exit. They were all responding to the same call, it seemed to him. He took in the sight of so many different creatures around him¡ªlarger versions of the reptilian thing his incarnation had killed, large monsters of all sizes and shapes, a group of giant sloth-like creatures, goblinoids, scaly monsters with hideous-looking tentacles¡ªand it chilled him to recognize that they were all responding to the same master. Not some super claw monster, then, probably. Something that stood above them all. A higher power. The creatures took it in turns to move through the exit now. They organized themselves into an orderly, single file line so that all could fit. One would never know that these monsters had once been each others¡¯ predators in the cave, to see their behavior now. Adon¡¯s incarnation burst through the cave entrance, into blinding light that hurt his head¡ªthe pain carried through time and space, piercing Adon in the present somehow. But the creature forced itself to keep moving. It leaped and rushed forward semi-blindly, stumbling for a moment when it bumped into one of its fellows. As its eyes began to grow accustomed to the blinding light, Adon could see shapes of the other monsters all around him. The claw creature that provided Adon¡¯s point of view began to gallop forward on its clawed feet, racing to catch up with those beasts that had the lead. Adon knew somehow that all of these creatures, running in the same direction, were traveling the right way. Navigating to this place none of them had ever been, without fighting among themselves, all through the influence of the unseen puppet master. His incarnation ran for an hour through dry, mountainous terrain. It seemed tireless to Adon, especially since the task seemed thankless from his point of view. But the beasts kept going without complaint. They made neither groan nor whimper as they continued along the punishing route. Where creatures were no longer physically capable of keeping up with the leaders, they pulled to the side and dropped behind, toward the back of the pack, but without his incarnation needing to turn its head, Adon could tell none of them actually stopped running. Every beast was determined to fulfill the unseen master¡¯s wordless instructions. Then the buildings pulled into view. Adon became a bit anxious about what he imagined his past self was about to do, but he tried to control his emotions. This was not him anymore. Present-Adon was just along for the ride. As the horde of beasts charged downhill, Adon¡¯s attention captured a last bit of pertinent information before the carnage could begin. This must not be a world he was familiar with¡ªor at least not a region he had ever explored. The inhabitants who emerged from the buildings to defend their village were not humans. Though their figures were humanoid in shape, their heads were crowned with horns. 2-11. Death and New Life Adon watched in horror as his incarnation and the other lead creatures in the horde of beasts engaged the horned humanoids. Although ¡°engaged¡± would have been a misleading term to apply. The fight was a bloody, one-sided slaughter. Adon¡¯s past self mindlessly tore into those enemies who were bold enough to confront him, grabbed at those who tried to flee and slashed them with its claws, and then smashed its body into the buildings, trying to get at those occupants of the village who hid from its wrath. The rest of the rampaging monsters acted likewise, killing the humanoids in their own preferred ways. Though his past self was not especially interested in what his fellow beasts were doing, Adon found it morbidly fascinating whenever he caught a glimpse of one of their myriad killing methods. The tentacled monsters liked to drill a hole through the abdomen with the tip of their tentacle appendage, and Adon thought they might be implanting eggs inside their victims. The giant sloth-like creatures tended to slit open their victim¡¯s throat or belly with that characteristic long claw of theirs. And the reptilian creatures were just savagely tearing into things like whatever Adon¡¯s incarnation was. The creature whose point of view Adon shared kept turning away from the carnage other creatures were inflicting, however, to focus on its own mission of violent destruction. Adon thought it could afford to just sit back and watch. This was only a small village, but it seemed to Adon to be inhabited by a disproportionate number of women and children. So many of them seemed to be dying on his past self¡¯s claws. Perhaps those were the creature¡¯s preferred prey. Or possibly Adon simply felt those deaths more. Why is my past self¡ªno, why is the being who sent my past self here¡ªdoing this? What possible gain is there? He had the sense that this village was not a militarily significant entity that could defend itself. More and more, Adon wished that the creature whose body he now inhabited would ease off. He had no way of turning off his ability to see through the monster¡¯s eyes, and he sensed that the bloody horrors he observed would not soon leave him. Adon wondered if the Goddess was actually the reason why he was experiencing this specific memory. That would explain why he could not leave. She was working in her mysterious way, and her work could not be disrupted. Perhaps this was one of his earlier incarnations, and all this wanton death had stained his soul forever. Maybe these killings were the source of all his bad karma. And this was what he was being punished for by being alone and unhappy in so many of his future lives. He chewed on that thought for a moment and could neither accept it nor disprove the idea. Of course, it was possible this vision of the sins of his past did not mean what Adon imagined they might mean. In any case, the brutal violence was disgusting. Within a few minutes of the beginning of the assault, Adon estimated that as much as a quarter of the village might have been slain in this unexpected attack. The bodies were beginning to stack up, as the monsters did not completely eat the humanoids before moving on to the next victim. Adon could feel his incarnation¡¯s claws and fur growing increasingly matted with blood and gore as it repeatedly reached for its next victim, killed them, and moved on. He wished to be somewhere else. Anywhere else. Then creatures around Adon¡¯s incarnation began falling. Dropping dead suddenly, gushing blood. The beast Adon inhabited took a moment to notice, as it was preoccupied with snapping a small child¡¯s neck. Then the monster turned, and Adon was able to see the new enemy. A group of a half dozen male horned humanoids standing in a semicircle, between the monsters and another group of females and children. Some of them wore bits and pieces of armor or carried weapons, and a few glowed with magical auras as they prepared to cast attacks of some sort. Clearly they had not expected this fight, from the fact that they did not appear entirely prepared for battle. But it appeared the defenseless village had some fighters after all. As if on cue, the wave of monsters charged together. Adon could feel creatures pressing in on all sides of him as his incarnation and the other beasts tried to rush the defenders. There¡¯s no way they can win this, he thought. There are just too many¡­ Then he found himself staring down at the ground. Although he felt the incarnation¡¯s pain at a remove, he could still sense the hole that had suddenly opened in his past self¡¯s chest, and the thick torrent of blood that gushed from it. It was obvious that the wound was fatal. Thank the Goddess. It¡¯s over. The vision faded to black. Adon could not help wondering if the humanoids had somehow managed to fend off the tide of creatures¡ªif perhaps some rescuers had appeared on the horizon that his incarnation had not lived long enough to see¡ªor if the overwhelming force had snuffed them out. I never thought I would be glad that one of my lives ended early. He felt unclean after witnessing what his past self had done at the behest of some unseen master. Killing predators who were trying to eat him, or even the offspring of predators, was one thing. Hunting down innocent people¡ªor whatever the humanoids were¡ªjust because some force told him to do so was something else. How many similar crimes would I find, if I went through every memory of my past lives? It made further exploration of his history during his chrysalis days into a suddenly much less appealing prospect. Adon forced his brain into an increased alertness until he finally felt confident that he was fully awake. It was a relief to sense what he interpreted as the dim morning light in the room around him. He thought his eyes might have grown back in the last day or so. It was hard to be certain, since even without his eyes, he somehow sensed some of what was going on around him, and even with the eyes, he only had a vague sense of his surroundings through the thick chrysalis. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. He tried not to think too much about the vision he had just experienced. I won¡¯t let myself sleep again until I have to. And he would try to find happier memories to dwell on next time. Hopefully that would prevent a similar experience from recurring. For now, he reached out with his senses, conducting a systems check across his whole body. In addition to his eyes having regrown, he could feel a number of appendages. The legs he had always had seemed to have regenerated, there were short spines growing in like a layer of hair around his body, and some new parts made themselves known from up on his back. Adon felt a fluttering inside himself as he tried to wiggle the new parts. He knew what they were. Finally, he thought, and, I wonder how long I was asleep. He could swear he had not possessed much in the way of wing development before he descended into that memory. I must be almost done. Another day, perhaps, and he would be reborn. He wanted so badly to be free from his chrysalis now. To see Goldie again. To meet her children. Simply to move around freely! The prospect of flight was breathtaking to think about. As he was pulling up a memory of the majesty of flight from his dragon life, he sensed movement around him. Adon turned his head¡ªthough it was difficult, the chrysalis having grown surprisingly tight¡ªand saw the shape of a figure lying down, tossing and turning. He recalled that it was in this direction that he had sensed the mind of the Princess. So she was now moving. Had she awakened yet? As she lay still over the last few days, Adon had slowly recognized this was no ordinary sleep. It was the stillness of the comatose. At least now she¡¯s starting to look more like she¡¯s just dreaming rather than dead to the world. He thought about trying to reach out to her with his mind again, but decided, even assuming that he could reach Rosslyn, that it was better not to disturb her sleep. He activated Telepathy anyway, though. He reached out for Goldie again, but he could not find her anywhere near him. He had been hoping she would appear at some point. He would not feel quite right until he knew that his friend was nearby. Where is she? Adon wondered. How are she and her eggs doing? ¡ª In the same building as Adon, a level below where he was completing his Evolution, Goldie rested at the center of a large complex structure of webs. She felt a sensation like a cool breeze passing over her exoskeleton, but as she looked down at her web, nothing had moved. So there was no breeze. Perhaps the room was simply growing cooler. Winter was coming, after all. Goldie shifted closer to her little ones, aiming to keep them warm with the meager warmth that her body provided. Only a little longer now, she thought, caressing one of their hard exterior shells. Soon you will walk beside me, in this almost completely safe environment I have created¡­ No humans or other large animals had entered the secret room in the last two days since she had exterminated all her arachnid competition. Unchallenged, she had connected the other spiders¡¯ existing webs to hers in a large superstructure of webbing. Nothing could fly through the room now without being caught in a silk thread. Nothing could cross the entire height and length of the room¡¯s wall space without touching a sticky strand of silk either. It was almost a perfect death trap for her prey. If Goldie had more time, she would have put down a layer of webbing on the floor, too. But she wanted to be by her eggs at all times now, and she knew the additional silk was unnecessary. As a result of her carefully applied violence, the amount of food that she harvested each day had increased sixfold. Goldie now possessed such a large stockpile that she felt no anxiety about whether her babies would have enough to eat. So most of the last forty-eight hours had been her simply watching over her children as they prepared to hatch. Goldie stared down at her eggs expectantly. They were almost completely transparent now, and she could see the spiderlings¡¯ pale bodies slowly moving within the tight confines of the shells. They did not yet have the color patterns they would develop once they had consumed enough Biomass, acquired sufficient Evolution Points, and passed through their first Evolution. The Evolution that she intended to help them achieve. Red, Adon, I wish you could be here to see this. At the same time that she missed her mate and her friend, however, Goldie felt that this might be the single most important moment of her life. She did not mind meeting it alone. The joy of meeting her children would be profound, with or without the arthropods closest to her. She knew that her bond with her young would be unlike any relationship she had ever experienced, excepting the possibility that she had been a mother in a previous life. Come out, my beautiful ones, she thought. It is time. Plenty of food for you¡­ Then she activated Telepathy and sent the sentiments into the eggs, trying to make the thought as gentle as possible. She remembered how Adon had actually damaged wasps through Telepathy, but she wanted to encourage her babies if she could. For a moment, Goldie was not certain whether any of the little spiders had understood her. Then her eyes were drawn to a flicker of movement from the smallest egg. The hatchling inside of that one was extending a limb. As Goldie stared, stupefied, the spiderling tentatively tapped at the edge of the shell. A thin crack appeared. All around the first-moving spiderling, the siblings began to move as well. Copying the smallest one, the others tapped the sides of their shells with their forelimbs. They were much less tentative, as if now that they had seen the little one do it, they were confident it would work. But Goldie¡¯s eyes kept returning to the smallest one. Although it had started off cautiously, she now saw that the little one¡¯s vigorous and repeated taps were breaking through its shell the fastest. As if it was racing the others, she thought. You are a brave one. Rushing out into the world as if there was nothing at all to be afraid of¡­ She was not certain if she had ever been like that, even at the moment of her birth. As she watched, the thin hairline fracture in the shell became a spider web of cracks. A little head poked out of the shell, the newborn¡¯s eyes fixed on Goldie¡¯s. The spider felt a profound sense of connection. She reached out to stroke its head lightly with just the tip of her forelimb. Hello, little one. I am your mama, she sent. Mama, the littlest spider echoed. Mama. 2-12. End of the Chrysalis Days A new day dawned, and Adon felt a surge of energy through his whole body. Part of it was the light hitting him more directly. The outside wall of his chrysalis had grown more transparent, so that he could see the outside world as if through a slightly fogged window. The quality of the liquid inside had clearly changed. Adon could sense it through his legs somehow. The best way he could describe it to himself was that he could somehow taste through his legs now. Something he would have to get used to. The taste difference he noted was that the liquid all around him had shifted from highly acidic, to much less acidic over time, and now it did not feel as if it could damage his body at all. And the sunlight seemed to give him back some of the strength that he had enjoyed throughout the latter part of his life as a caterpillar. Adon thought he was almost at a hundred percent again. As the sensation of power spread through his body, he knew that today was the day. Finally, I¡¯ll see Goldie again. I¡¯ll meet the people who moved me into the palace. I¡¯ll spread my wings and fly. Excitement rose in Adon¡¯s chest, and he started stretching his limbs, testing his range of motion and physical strength. He touched his forelimbs against the wall of the chrysalis, and giving in to impatience, he tried immediately to push through it. And the glass-like surface began to give way under his pressure! Adon pushed harder and further, attempting to break through once and for all. After he managed to plunge forward by a couple of millimeters, however, it began to push back slightly. Another millimeter or so, and the force trying to propel him backward became stronger and harder to ignore Pushing with just the two forelimbs he was already using, he could hold his position. But Adon also felt that the surface was more resistant than he had initially thought, and that it would sap his strength if he kept this up. He did not have as much energy as he had imagined, and the material of the surface was surprisingly strong¡ªthough it was made from his own, pre-Evolution body. He allowed the chrysalis to push him back. It did not shove his limbs entirely back to their starting positions. The material was not elastic or robust enough for that. As he focused his eyes on where the tips of his forelimbs had left their impression, he saw a satisfying dent in the wall. That told him he would not need to wait another couple of days to build up to full strength, or even infuse his limbs with Mana to make them more powerful. I might not want to try using Mana actually, he thought. I remember I heard during one of my lives that you shouldn¡¯t help a butterfly out of its chrysalis. Something about how they need to use their body¡¯s own strength to do it. Mana is sort of part of my strength, but if there is any broad truth to the idea about using the body¡¯s strength, I might be weakening my physical body permanently if I relied on Mana here. So instead of supercharging his limbs with Mana, he just waited a few seconds to allow his forelimbs to rest. Then he reached out with all six of his limbs¡ªlonger and more supple now than they had been when he was a caterpillar, although they also felt very flimsy to him, possibly from disuse. He used all of them to push against the spot where he had made the indentation in the chrysalis, applying as much force as he thought he could risk without possibly tearing a ligament. The chrysalis fought him again, trying to maintain its shape. It held his limbs in place for a moment¡ªbut he could feel it giving way. Six limbs shoving against the same spot was far more powerful than two. Then Adon¡¯s limbs were touching empty space. At the same moment that he felt that emptiness, there was a tiny popping sound. Adon detected a little rush of air flow in through the tiny hole he had made, and a feeling of satisfaction flooded through his body. Yes! I can do this. For the next ten minutes, Adon used his forelimbs to widen the hole. It was harder than he might have expected, mainly because it was difficult at first to fit the tips of two limbs into the opening he had made. Then there was the resistance the material provided against the level of force he was capable of exerting at that moment. His limbs were still drastically weaker than they had been when he was a caterpillar. At times, it felt like he was trying to tear a hole in thick plastic using nothing but wadded up wet paper towels. They would need time and practice, he could tell, to build up the same physical power he had enjoyed in his last days in the pre-Evolution stage. On the bright side, he could feel fluids pumping through his body as he struggled with the chrysalis. He did not know what to call those fluids. Blood? Whatever stuff gave a butterfly¡¯s wings their color? Something else? Whatever the stuff was that was now pumping through his body, he was dimly aware that it was waking up the cramped, as yet unused lumps of flesh on his back¡ªhis wings. Fluid flowing through his body as he fought against the tough material of his old skins was also driving circulation through his promising new appendages. This struggle might be a part of what I need to do to make my wings work properly once I¡¯m out of the chrysalis, he told himself. Just then, however, the struggle was quite frustrating. He had only perhaps doubled the hole¡¯s size. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. He tried, at that point, to lean in and chomp the hole wider with his mandibles, only to suddenly realize that those mouthparts¡ªthe bladed, piercing, acid-injecting mandibles that he had invested so many Evolution Points in¡ªno longer existed. Instead, he had some sort of tube-like structure on the end of his face. It flopped uselessly against the tiny opening to the chrysalis, smacking softly like a wet french fry rather than cutting or piercing as he had expected. What the¡ª? He wrestled with his desire to solve the problem¡ªcontinue widening the hole via the means actually available to him¡ªand his feeling of frustrated confusion at the sudden and unwanted change to this critical part of his anatomy. The frustration won out. Adon spent the next few minutes feeling up the long tube with all his limbs, just trying to get a handle on what in the world it was. He began to feel a bit like an elephant, except that his trunk was a bit longer than average. Quite a bit. He finally settled on an idea of what it was. He had seen pictures of butterflies before. He had an idea of how they typically fed. It was not the same as what caterpillars did. A straw, he thought indignantly. I have a straw attached to my head. A straw that¡¯s about as long as my body, from how it feels. That will be just great for self-defense. Gosh! Adon had to remind himself that the butterfly lifestyle was typically nonviolent¡ªor at least it was nonviolent until and unless the butterfly was eaten by a predator. He would probably have to get used to avoiding fights, unless he wanted to invite that fate. Though he was open to vegetarianism, he could already tell it would be a big shift. He had chosen eating other insects over leaves as a caterpillar, after all, even when leaves had been highly available. For the first time, he wondered if he was going to regret undergoing Evolution. He could not avoid maturing into a butterfly if he wanted to live out his life properly, he imagined, but he was not prepared for the idea of going from predator to prey. That did not feel like Evolution. It felt like a step back. Eventually, he figured out how to coil his new proboscis up to keep it out of the way of anything he might want his head for. It was another new muscle he would have to train, but that described basically his whole body at this point. And he resumed working at the opening of the chrysalis, though it continued to be slow going without the bladed mandibles he had expected to find. I wish I had invested in bladed limbs instead. Just after he had formulated that thought, one of Adon¡¯s limbs pushed down onto the chrysalis, and instead of coaxing it a little further apart, the limb went right through, tearing a long rip in the previously stubborn material. Adon¡¯s body was suddenly half-exposed to the open air. Huh? What happened? At first, he tried to peer through the hole to see who was slicing into his chrysalis. But Adon could not spot any curious cats or naughty children who might have decided to cut into his self-made prison. Slowly, he came to the conclusion that he had somehow ripped through the chrysalis himself. So, how exactly did I do that? Adon looked down at the limb in question, and he saw a thin blade¡¯s edge had somehow appeared on the tip. The sight was jarring. It looked as if a scalpel had suddenly been grafted onto the end of one limb. What is this? He turned his head to look at the other forelimb, and he saw no such modification there. Then he looked back at the first limb. And the blade¡¯s edge was gone. Adon felt a strange sense of alienation from his body, a cold creeping through his guts. I don¡¯t understand. What just happened? What happened to my limb? Am I hallucinating? He managed to keep a grip over his mood by reminding himself that even if the blade on his limb was gone, he could still see a big hole in the side of the chrysalis. So I¡¯m probably not crazy, unless I¡¯m hallucinating more than just the ends of my limbs changing. He went over the events in his head, and he realized the likely connection between his wish and the actual physical change to his body. I thought, ¡°I wish I had invested in bladed limbs instead,¡± and presto change-o, I suddenly had a bladed limb right where I was trying to make a tear in the chrysalis. It can¡¯t be that easy, can it? He tried willing the change again. Need a bladed limb to finish cutting open this chrysalis. Adon did not even look down at the limb as he swung it toward the gaping chasm in the chrysalis¡¯s side. He wanted to have all the faith he could in this apparent new ability. And his strange new body did not disappoint. The tip of his forelimb slit the remaining length of the chrysalis like a hot knife sliding through butter. It was easy. Adon looked down at his limb again. The whole world was suddenly open to him through the massive hole in the side of the chrysalis, but he was now more fascinated with his new body than with anything else. What does this mean? Did my Evolution extrapolate some investment I made while I was in the larva stage? What would give me an ability like this? Does it use Mana? And what else could I change? What are the limits¡­? As he was thinking about this question, a shadow fell over Adon. He froze for a moment and just stared out through the open wall of his chrysalis. There stood a middle-aged man of imposing physical stature, with thick, unkempt hair and a beard that grew wild all over his face as if he had not shaved in weeks. His clothes appeared to be of fine quality, but they were slightly dirty, as if he had been wearing them for a few days in a row without bathing. He stared down at Adon with intense eyes that made the newly reborn butterfly want to shrink back and close the chrysalis up again. Adon activated Telepathy reflexively, though he did not yet know what to say. Even with his newly enhanced body, his confidence had not grown much from his caterpillar days. He did not feel quite ready to meet someone new yet. And the man¡¯s piercing gaze made it hard for him to think clearly. Fortunately, as Adon was struggling to formulate a sentence, the man spoke. ¡°Hello there,¡± he said, his voice hushed. ¡°Mystic Crystal Butterfly.¡± 2-13. Awakening Good morning¡ªer, I mean hello, sir¡ªYour Majesty! Adon stumbled over the realizations that it might not be morning anymore and that the intimidating figure he was speaking to was probably the King. Fortunately, the man he was speaking to did not seem to mind. ¡°It is a pleasure to meet you, Adon,¡± the King said. ¡°You must have had quite an¡ª¡± he paused to search for the proper word¡ª¡°experience with your chrysalis. I hope you will enjoy the palace. Think of yourself as an honored guest. You are, of course, free to roam as you wish, or to leave anytime you desire.¡± Thank you, Your Majesty, Adon sent after carefully considering his words. I will try to behave appropriately to your expectations, so that you will not regret extending your hospitality. ¡°You do not need to be so formal,¡± the King said. ¡°You can call me Alistair. Our view of butterflies¡ª¡± Suddenly, Adon sensed motion to his left, and the King fell silent, his mouth gaping slightly. Is it the Princess? Adon wondered, careful not to send the thought. He did not know Rosslyn¡¯s medical situation in any specifics, and he did not want to upset the King. ¡°She appears to be waking up,¡± King Alistair said under his breath. ¡°For the first time since she made it home. This is¡ªdid you¡­?¡± He looked back and forth from Adon to the Princess indecisively for a moment, then glanced back at Adon one more time. ¡°My apologies, Adon, but I may wish to ignore you for a few minutes,¡± he finally added. ¡°I hope you understand. My daughter has been ill, and she seems to be recovering at last.¡± He stepped to the side, toward his daughter¡¯s bedside, and his body dipped down until it rested in a chair. Adon resumed what he had been about to do before the King spoke: pulling himself out of the chrysalis. Now he had a new motivation. He wanted to see what was going on with Rosslyn. His body remained weak, so it took him a few seconds, but crawling out of the chrysalis was not close to as hard for Adon as breaking through the side of it had been. He pulled slowly but steadily, with all six legs clinging to the smooth edges of the hole he had made. Then he was out, standing on top of the slowly withering husk of his chrysalis. He could turn his head from side to side and see the whole room. He could tell he would not be able to fly yet. Without even looking, he simply felt that his wings were not ready. Too wet or still a bit weak. That did not matter for now, though. He did not need to go anywhere. Adon turned to look down at Rosslyn, who was moving more quickly now, sitting up and pulling at the strips of bandage that covered her eyes. No one had been on the other side of the room when he looked, just a made up bed. ¡°I am glad you are with us again,¡± King Alistair said gently, placing a hand on his daughter¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Of course, father,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°Where else would I be?¡± She was clearly trying to emulate her normal speaking tone, but her voice shook as the words came out. It was apparent that she was not quite well yet. As she finished her question, the bandages came off. ¡°Who else¡ª¡± Her voice broke off, and Adon could see why. Where the bandages had been, he could see her eyes, blinking slowly open and shut over and over. But nothing her eyelids could do would change what had happened to her right eye. The iris had turned a startling gray-white color. Adon could see it was not adjusting its size to reflect the light in the room, unlike her healthy eye. A hair-thin scar across a small area of her forehead and cheek¡ªthe space where the blade had cut her before reaching her eye. Rosslyn¡¯s face looked pale and almost panicked as she realized what had happened. ¡°Blind.¡± She mouthed the word. Then she shook her head dismissively, as if the loss of her vision in one eye was unimportant. ¡°Father, I think I told someone before, but Lord Baranack¡ª¡± ¡°We know, Rosslyn,¡± the King said. ¡°The knight you told before you collapsed brought word to us. Then Carolien woke up, and she corroborated it.¡± He took her hand. ¡°You should rest for now. You have been through a great deal of late.¡± ¡°No¡ªwe have to prepare¡ª¡± Rosslyn looked around as if trying to take in everything in her surroundings more carefully. ¡°Who else is here? I cannot reveal¡ª¡± Her eyes locked onto Adon. ¡°Oh! You made it into the palace somehow, then.¡± Adon was about to reply, when he heard a cry from the door. ¡°Praise the Goddess! The Princess is awake!¡± All heads turned to a woman poking her head around the door¡¯s edge. From her clothing, Adon took her to be a servant of some sort. ¡°I am alive, yes!¡± Rosslyn called back, smiling and plainly trying to look cheery. There was a hubbub for several minutes as a number of people Adon thought were servants, cooking staff, and gardeners found excuses to appear near the doorway, lay eyes on the Princess, and extend their well wishes. The commotion fed on itself as more people heard that Rosslyn was all right, so that it took quite a while for the hall to quiet. Adon heard the King quietly ask Rosslyn if she wanted him to tell them to clear out, but she shook her head, smiled, and continued replying to greetings and polite questions about how she was doing. How does she stand this much attention? Adon thought. If it were him in the bed, he would have asked the King to send them away already. I guess I should be grateful Rosslyn woke up just now. The way she and the King talk about butterflies, I feel like we¡¯re supposed to be kind of special. Maybe it could have been me getting all these people staring at me like I¡¯m magical. Then again, I guess I am magical, but that¡¯s sort of normal for this world, right? At least for some people. Probably not for insects. I only ever met the Wasp Queen who could do magic, and she was clearly another reincarnator. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Um, Your Highness, did it hurt, what happened to your eye?¡± Adon tuned back in. A boy¡ªperhaps around thirteen years old¡ªwho looked to be dressed in basically the same outfit as the kitchen staff¡ªhad gone off script. Instead of simply asking after the Princess¡¯s health, he had asked about the affected eye. I wonder how she¡¯ll react to that. Adon thought he himself would probably say something incomprehensible¡ªbecause poorly thought out and suffering from nerves¡ªand then get up and slam the door in the faces of all the well-wishers. He already almost wanted to crawl back into his chrysalis just from standing in the reflected spotlight that was focused on the Princess. The only reasons Adon continued to expose himself to public view at all was that his wings were still drying out, his body was clearly getting stronger by being outside of the chrysalis and under more direct sunlight, and he wanted to be able to fly sooner rather than later. Instead, Rosslyn smiled, and it seemed to Adon the most genuine smile he had seen from her since she had awakened. ¡°It did hurt, but you should have seen what I did to the assassin!¡± The gathered members of staff quietly applauded. King Alistair used the interruption in questions as an opportunity to break up the impromptu assembly. ¡°All right, I think that will be enough questions,¡± the King said, smiling. ¡°The Princess needs quiet so that she can fully recover.¡± His smile tightened. ¡°It should go without saying that word of her recovery, as with word of her illness, should not leave this building.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Majesty!¡± rang the chorus of servants. ¡°Please make certain that everyone else knows, too. Some of you stopped in to check on the Princess and then returned to normal duties. I would not want any misunderstandings.¡± There was a slightly threatening undertone to his voice that Adon found chilling. From his first good look at the King, he knew that this man, though he seemed kind, was also very dangerous. ¡°Um, do you want anyone to do anything for the butterfly there, Your Majesty?¡± A woman dressed as a servant¡ªAdon thought she might have been the first to speak up and notice that Rosslyn had recovered¡ªpointed at Adon. The King responded by interposing his body between Adon and the servant. It was a seemingly casual movement, but Adon thought the King was trying to prevent anyone from having a good look at him. Perhaps trying to keep people from using Identify on him. The King had mentioned Adon¡¯s species name earlier, and his voice had conveyed a sense of importance about it. ¡°The butterfly is just fine for now, Bernadette, but thank you for asking. You know how the Princess loves nature. I thought having a pet nearby would be good for her recovery.¡± Interesting. Why is the King lying? That¡¯s definitely not the way he¡¯s been thinking about this, unless I¡¯m totally misreading everything he¡¯s said. ¡°Is there something wrong with its wings?¡± Another female voice spoke up. ¡°The color¡ª¡± Wait. Is there something wrong with my wings? Adon had not had a moment to fully examine himself since he emerged from the chrysalis. He had been engaged with the King and the Princess and then busy watching the small crowd that had gathered after that. Now he took a moment to look behind him, at his wings. Ohhhh. I see. Adon¡¯s wings were completely and perfectly transparent. It was as if he was staring through an incredibly thin pane of glass. Somehow, he felt underwhelmed. Maybe there is something wrong with them¡­ But then, maybe it¡¯s just typical of my species type. Adon made a mental note to check his Status as soon as he was alone. He looked down at his body, which was not transparent, but was a strange, silvery gray color that appeared to be reflective. With the short spines poking out of his sides, he appeared as if anything that touched him might come away with metal splinters embedded in it. This can¡¯t be right, can it? I look like I might have been exposed to nuclear radiation or something. It¡¯s not exactly ugly, I don¡¯t think, but it¡¯s not really what I expect a butterfly to look like. Wasn¡¯t I supposed to be colorful? I had an image of myself sort of pretty, almost glowing with colors. I guess I can probably still change it if I want to, unless I lost that ability in Evolution. ¡°There is nothing wrong with the butterfly, thank you, Celeste,¡± the King said, cutting the servant off. ¡°If there is, we will figure it out.¡± ¡°But Your Majesty¡ª¡± ¡°For right now, I must insist on privacy,¡± he interrupted. ¡°We will certainly let you know when we need your assistance, and I am certain the Princess is eager to become reacquainted, but I do not wish to further test her recovery.¡± He stepped forward, and the gathered people retreated away from the doorway. Then he closed the door. As the King resumed his position in the chair beside Rosslyn¡¯s bedside, he let out a slow, soft, exasperated sigh. ¡°Goddess,¡± he muttered. ¡°Can we not have half an hour to ourselves?¡± He looked over at Adon. ¡°I hope you will be all right with the attention,¡± he added. ¡°With luck, they will gossip about Rosslyn and not about you. We have easy answers if anyone asks questions about her condition. I do not know that there is a way we can explain where you came from that does not raise further questions.¡± I am not entirely certain where I came from myself, Your Majesty, Adon sent. I mean, my species'' origin is a mystery. I know that I lived another life before this one¡ªHe broke off, realizing he was probably oversharing. The King had not asked him any personal questions, after all. But King Alistair was simply nodding, his expression suggesting that he was absorbing the information calmly. ¡°Very interesting,¡± he said. ¡°I wonder if this is a common circumstance among previous mystic beasts. We have a few texts on the history of your predecessors, though I have not had any cause to consult them in many years.¡± He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. ¡°In truth, I have never truly had cause to wonder about the nature of mystic beasts. I was merely curious, and perhaps grasping at straws, looking for anything that might increase the security of the state. There are many legends about other butterflies like you, you know. How they have appeared at pivotal moments in the nation¡¯s history.¡± ¡°Father, I do not mean to interrupt,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°I am also very interested in the reasons behind Adon¡¯s appearance at the present time. However, I had more information to share than Lord Baranack¡¯s treachery. Um, secret information. Best not said in a room vulnerable to eavesdropping.¡± What, from me? Adon thought. ¡°No, not from you, of course,¡± Rosslyn hastened to add. Adon realized he had sent that last thought telepathically. Oh, please do not mistake me as having been offended, Adon replied carefully. I was just surprised. ¡°No, the problem is that this room is not secure,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°We had a spy in our midst before, and I suspect there may be others, not as highly placed, who might be interested in hearing what else we have to say.¡± ¡°Perhaps we could move the conversation to that other place, then,¡± the King said in a confidential tone. He turned to Adon. ¡°I hope you will not mind us leaving you here on your own.¡± I don¡¯t mind, Adon sent. Only, I am wondering, did you happen to encounter a spider when you found me, Your Majesty? My friend Goldie was probably sticking very close by. Maybe she could keep me company while you and the Princess go over the secret information. ¡°Oh. Yes.¡± The King¡¯s face took on a chagrined expression. 2-14. Goldies Web Goldie¡¯s heart soared as she heard her firstborn child¡¯s voice. Mama, the tiny voice said once more. It was a little, weak, but clearly male voice. A small one, she thought, but clearly smart. He already knows his mama. She felt proud of him already, and only slightly silly for being proud. He had to genuinely be something special. As far as she knew, he was the only spider besides herself that she had ever encountered who had anything approaching language. There was a sudden noise of cracking, and Goldie turned her head slightly. All of the other eggs were opening up at once, following the first hatchling¡¯s example. As she moved, she sensed the first spider moving in her peripheral vision. Then she felt him. Her firstborn was climbing onto her body. Why¡­? She wondered no more. The other five children came out of their shells and immediately began fighting among themselves, trying to bite and tear. Stop that! Goldie sent immediately. A shudder rippled through the babies as her voice struck them. No fighting, she added. Be good. Be nice to each other. There is no need to fight. We have plenty of food. She reached out with one of her long limbs and shoved over a big clump of food, then watched the little ones crawl over it, eating like savage beasts. It would have been frightening if they were not so small. Newborns¡­ Though Goldie had almost forgotten about it over her long months of life, as she watched her babies, she remembered how her own birth had been. Violent, with hundreds of her siblings tearing each other limb from limb while she tried to hide. There had not been enough food for all of them, but even so, just like these little ones, the hatchlings had gone after each other before they even looked to see whether there was food nearby. Is it instinct for us to try to kill each other? she wondered. Eliminating competition or something? She thought back to her own experiences. I am not so different, am I? I killed a few. I told myself I was defending my life, but was that really necessary? Her head started to hurt as she thought about killing her own kind, and she refocused elsewhere. Her children were here. Goldie watched them calmly until she felt a barely perceptible prodding at her back. She realized that her first hatchling had not come down and joined the others. Oh, right, you are still up there?! Goldie sent. She picked up a smaller lump of food and passed it up to her apparently shy firstborn. You can go down and be with your siblings, you know. I might get eaten, the little one thought back at her, his voice tiny but firm. Well¡­ Goldie found that she had no counter argument to her newborn son¡¯s point. I am already losing arguments with my kid on day one of his life, she thought to herself. Yes, she sent. Yes, you could get eaten. On second thought, perhaps you should stay up there. You and I will help the others learn some manners with time. Like not eating the other spiders with you at dinner. She focused on the little ones below her. Do any of you want more food? she sent. They had already almost fully depleted the lump she had given them of nutritional value. The dead bug she had wrapped up was a shriveled husk of its former self. All they gave her in answer was a collective screech. Food, she sent, throwing in an image of what they had just eaten. More food? She added an image of a pile of additional protein. Foo, sent one. More foo, added another. Foo, they chorused together. Goldie slid the group another large, silk-encased lump of protein. She felt confident as she watched them begin to devour it that she had more than enough food for the little ones. But the interaction had raised other questions. Why are you the only one who can talk? she sent to the little spider quietly consuming the hunk of insect she had passed up to the top of her body. I don¡¯t know, her firstborn said in a tiny voice. She waited a few seconds for him to think something more for her to pick up. When he did not, she replied, I think you do know. You do not have to be shy with me. I am your mama. I will love you no matter what you tell me. Or even if you choose not to tell me the truth. There was a much longer silence this time, as Goldie simply watched the other little ones and waited for the firstborn to make up his mind whether to say something. It occurred to her that perhaps it should not matter to her if he did or not. She had meant what she said. She already felt unconditional love for all of her children. Perhaps she should not place this pressure on the relationship so early. Then again, he was her firstborn, her first-talking child, and probably the smartest and the best conversationalist of her children. It would be a shame to begin their relationship with lies. I am different from the others. The little one had finally spoken up. I think the talking must be because I remember a time before. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. How do you know the others are not like you? Goldie could not resist asking. They attacked each other as soon as they got out of the shells, he replied. Like spiders who have never been anything except spiders. And when we were still in the eggs, I tried tapping on the walls to communicate. I never heard anything back. Goldie found herself more and more impressed with her son. Tell me, little one, do you have a name? She wanted to have something to call him, and after all he had just said, she sensed that she should be cautious about giving him a name herself. He seemed to be clinging to much of his past identity, as Adon had. If she took this child¡¯s old name from him and replaced it, perhaps he would lose more of his grip on who he had been¡ªbecome less him and more someone else. It seemed intuitive to Goldie that no mother should want that for her child. The placement of Goldie¡¯s eyes allowed her to see up to the top of her back, where the hatchling was sitting. After she asked him for his name, he sat in place, his forelimbs pressed against his head, as if he was trying to think as hard as he could, for what felt to Goldie like a long time. She let him be. The other hatchlings were done with their meal now. They had left it half-finished, their bellies stuffed, and their activity was winding down. Like most spiders, with their appetites sated, their instinct was to be still. Raising spiders will be easier than raising humans, Goldie thought. Then she wondered why she had thought of that. For a moment, images of a vague past seemed to outline themselves before her mind¡¯s eye. Under the slightest scrutiny, they vanished like the morning mist. But it surprised her that anything was there at all. I had thought that those memories were nearly all lost¡­ Samson. The voice of her precocious little one chimed in through her still active Telepathy channel. I¡¯m pretty sure that was my name. As his words rang through her mind, Goldie detected a greater confidence and firmness in her son¡¯s tone. Samson, a wonderful name, she sent. I am so glad you have started to remember something of who you were! A part of her was a little afraid of what that might mean. How much would it change the nature of her relationship with her son, if he remembered his past life? But she felt that she owed it to him to try to connect him¡ªor keep him connected¡ªwith his whole self. Something her own mother could not give. She listened on with slight nervous trepidation as he began to tell her about himself. He nodded. I have started to remember. To begin with, I know that I lived a long life, mother. Very long. I was an old man. I don¡¯t feel old now, but my memory is telling me I was so old that that was what killed me! My body failing of natural causes¡­ It¡¯s strange. I only have a haze of images and memories to sift through, but I remember enough to have a sort of tie to my former self. I don¡¯t know how much it means. Much more than me, she replied. When I reincarnated, I think almost all of my memories were lost. Probably partly because I did not have anyone to talk to for over a year. That must have been terrible! Thank you for saving me from that, mother¡ªI mean mama. Um, I know I just said that I was an old man before¡ªbut is it all right if I continue to call you that? Even though I had another life where I was probably older than you are now? I just feel like a kid. I don¡¯t feel like an old man. I barely remember him. I feel like I¡¯m different. Separate, while still having a connection? I feel like you¡¯re where I¡¯m supposed to be. My strong connection is with you¡ªnot with my past. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m making any sense. Goldie was relieved to hear the same filial affection in Samson¡¯s voice that she had hoped she might receive from her children in general. I was worried that you might not feel that way, she admitted. You don¡¯t need to worry about making sense. Not for my sake, anyway. I love you, son. That¡¯s enough. I¡ªI love you too, mama. Samson approached Goldie¡¯s head and tried to wrap his forelimbs around it. His reach was not extensive enough, but his feelings came through in the gesture. After the hug was over, Samson added, almost as an afterthought, I¡¯m glad that you found someone to talk to. Someone to keep you sane. It sounds like I owe this person a lot. Or this spider? Actually, he was a caterpillar, Goldie sent. Soon he will finish his metamorphosis, and you will be able to meet the butterfly Adon is becoming. Adon? Samson¡¯s inner voice rose in pitch. She detected surprise. Yes. Not Aidan or Adam? he asked. No, definitely Adon, Goldie replied. He made a bit of a joke about it once. Why? Is the name familiar or something? Yes. No¡­ No, it¡¯s definitely a yes. Definitely familiar! I don¡¯t know why. I need to sift through the memories more. But I think someone with that name, or a name like that, was very important to me, once. Maybe I¡¯m remembering wrong. I¡¯ll think about it. We have plenty of time, she sent. Relax and take it slowly, all right? He will be in his chrysalis for days before you even get to meet him. Yes, mama. The two of them allowed their dialogue to lapse into silence, then. All of the spiders in Goldie¡¯s web gradually stilled, until all was at peace. Thus began the happiest period of Goldie¡¯s time in the secret room. Perhaps the happiest period in her life, though she felt guilty at occasionally thinking that way, with Red dead and Adon gone from around her. Over the next few days, she finally got her wish to be a mother and act as a mother. She taught her children how to hunt and use the web to snare prey. She showed them some of the advanced techniques of web manipulation that she had spent an entire lifetime learning. She mediated disputes between the children¡ªmainly trying to get her children not to try to eat each other. Gradually, even Samson grew brave enough to dwell in the web with the rest of his siblings. Goldie taught the spiders as much as she could of the Claustrian language. Her method was limited by the need to use audiovisual cues to communicate what each word meant. She could not make the children stay still long enough to learn letters if she transcribed them into her web, although Samson proved very interested in learning about writing. Eventually, she was satisfied that the rest of her brood was making progress, though. They seemed to acquire enough words to be somewhat capable of acting in a socially acceptable way, at least in Goldie¡¯s optimistic line of thinking. The children learned words like ¡°spider,¡± ¡°web,¡± ¡°caterpillar,¡± ¡°butterfly,¡± ¡°insect,¡± ¡°bug,¡± ¡°friend,¡± and ¡°family¡± within the span of a day, with positive steps reinforced with food. It took them a little longer to pick up verbs, but she was pleased that they were learning more rapidly than she might have imagined possible. Goldie thought that feeding them a great quantity of the best food she could find from an early age was key to giving them the capacity to learn, so she continued hunting as frequently as she could for the largest and most dangerous prey that she could find in the hidden room. She went from centipedes up to mice and later rats. During these expeditions, she would instruct the children to stay put, leaving Samson in charge with instructions to send out a loud thought if the others tried to leave. And her conversations with Samson grew deeper. His inner voice seemed to become more distinct and mature the longer she spoke with him, though it never sounded to Goldie like an old man¡¯s voice. I think I discovered what Adon¡¯s relationship to me is, he confided in her one afternoon. But as he was beginning to explain, they heard a loud commotion from upstairs. I think that noise is coming from the room where Adon is transforming, Goldie sent. Goldie and Samson corralled all the other hatchlings onto Goldie¡¯s back¡ªSamson brought up the rear to keep them all in the saddle¡ªand they began the complex, winding descent from the secret room through the ventilation system, to see what had become of Adon. 2-15. Family Reunion ¡°You see, Adon, we encountered your friend¡ª¡± The King stopped speaking, suddenly. There was a loud racket from somewhere around the floor level. A noise of something thumping against thin metal. Adon, King Alistair, and Rosslyn all turned their heads at once. Adon! The sound of Goldie¡¯s inner voice reached him from a place he could not see, below the height of Rosslyn¡¯s bed. ¡°It appears that your friend is behind a ventilation grate in the wall,¡± Rosslyn said, her expression carefully composed. Adon suspected that she was having trouble keeping herself from laughing, but nothing in her face or body language gave it away. Could one of you¡ªer, one of Your Majesties¡ªplease let my friend into the room? Adon asked. ¡°It would be my pleasure,¡± the King said, smiling uncomfortably. He crouched down in the space between Rosslyn¡¯s bed and the wall, and Adon heard the scrape of metal on metal as the King quickly prised the ventilation grate away from the wall. There was a clink of wood on metal, which Adon guessed was the sound of a screw from the grate popping off and landing uselessly on the floor. Did he just rip a vent off the wall with his bare hands and nothing else? Adon wondered. I think I would have noticed if he was channeling Mana. Is the King actually super strong? Adon thought of those hands taking hold of his delicate body and ripping his wings away, and he had to suppress the urge to shudder. He isn¡¯t like that, as far as I know. Adon heard the King whispering something, although he only caught the word ¡°apologize¡± from the hushed sentence. Then the King turned back to face Adon, and he saw Goldie sitting on top of the King¡¯s hand. I am so happy to see you again, Goldie sent. My eggs hatched! You look great, by the way. Thank you, Goldie, Adon sent back. ¡°Where would you like me to place you, Goldie?¡± King Alistair asked. ¡°My daughter and I were just about to leave for a short while to discuss some matters of state. I assume you and Adon would like to become reacquainted.¡± Please put me on the table next to him, Goldie replied. And it will be good to reunite with my friend¡ªand take in the glory of his new form. Thank you, Your Majesty. The King set Goldie down on the table. Adon turned his back while Rosslyn threw a silk robe on over her bedclothes. Then the King and Princess were gone. Adon could see six little white spiders on Goldie¡¯s back. One of them glowed with an aura like its mother¡¯s but slightly brighter. As always, whenever he saw it, Adon wondered what the halo of light meant. How did everything go, Goldie? Adon asked, immediately curious. Your eggs hatched. I see you have the children on your back. Are they all healthy? Any of them, um, talking yet? They are, Adon. I spent the last week preparing until they were finally born. I have not named them yet. I wanted to get your opinions and get to know them a bit. Well, there is one with a name. One of the little white figures crawling around on Goldie¡¯s back stopped moving, turned to face Adon, and raised a forelimb to wave. Hello there, Adon sent. It really is you, the little spider¡¯s voice came back. I can¡¯t believe it¡­ what are the odds? Was this a plan? Someone¡¯s idea of a joke? The sound that filled Adon¡¯s mind was shockingly familiar; he recognized it not from this life, but from his immediate previous life. It only took him a moment to pin down exactly who he was talking to. He had heard the other¡¯s voice too many times to forget it, even if he had not received the gift of perfect recall from the Goddess. Samson?! Adon¡¯s voice rang through the mental space between himself and his younger brother¡ªor, more accurately, the spider who had once been his brother. How are you doing, Adon? Samson asked. Adon detected new information in his brother¡¯s tone. He had not noticed before how old his brother¡¯s voice was, but it seemed at once much older than he remembered and also immeasurably youthful. And something more. Is he unsure of himself? Adon wondered. It seemed so unlike Samson¡ªwhose take-charge approach to life Adon had always envied. Even if he had some self-doubts, Samson had never been the sort of person to express them in front of his loser older brother. What happened to him to make him unsure of himself in front of me? He kept all of these thoughts below the surface of his mind so that they could not transmit. I¡¯m doing well, Adon finally sent. I¡¯m doing the best I can be. I¡¯m in a magical fantasy world, I¡¯ve been trying to make friends¡ªI know you¡¯ve met Goldie¡ªand I completed Evolution and turned into a butterfly. I guess it¡¯s a dream come true. And I¡¯m very happy to see you again! That last sentence, Adon was not certain about yet. In the back of his mind, he felt the same uncertainty about this reunion that his brother¡¯s tone seemed to express. But Adon was trying to carefully conceal this ambivalence. His relationship with his brother in this life was not set in stone yet. If he had lived a long life in the last world, as Adon suspected from the old-young sound of Samson¡¯s inner voice, then Samson would barely remember Adon. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. I¡¯m glad to see you, too, bro, Samson replied. Congratulations on, um, being a butterfly. That sounds so weird, but then, I¡¯m a spider now¡­ You know, I missed you. We all really missed you. My memories have been pretty mixed up. But I know the family was torn apart after what happened. What happened? Goldie chimed in. I hate to interrupt the reunion, but I would love to know more about you both. My son and my friend. I¡¯ve never pried into Adon¡¯s past before. It¡¯s pretty embarrassing, Adon sent. But I guess I shouldn¡¯t feel bad about it. This was literally in another life. He relayed the details of the incident that led to his death. So you were on your way to exercise, huh? Samson thought. That¡¯s horribly ironic. Yeah, I guess the Goddess has a sense of humor, Adon replied, unable to keep a slight bitterness out of his tone. I am sorry you had such a traumatic death, Adon, Goldie sent. It could have been worse, Adon sent. It could have been slow too. I think it messed with our mother in that world, Samson thought. A part of her always believed it was her fault. Goldie shuddered. That sounds like just how I would feel. Adon shook his head. I died because I tried doing what she suggested in her last note to me¡ªshe wanted me to exercise¡ªbut I¡¯m sad she wound up feeling that way. I never meant to cause her any grief. Maybe you¡¯ll meet her again in this life, Samson thought. Or in another plane of existence someday. I never would have thought I would see you again. It¡¯s haunted me too. But with reincarnation, you never know how the timeline works, Adon pointed out. I guess you don¡¯t remember any other lives but your last one, but I¡¯ve had many¡ªand trying to put them in any sort of order is hard. I don¡¯t think that just because you and I met again here, and we recognized each other, it means that Mom would even be the same person. I mean, even if she remembered her past life, she might have lived another between this and the life she had with us. So, even if you met her, you might never recognize each other, Goldie summarized, her voice suddenly small, far away, and forlorn. How sad. We should talk about the future, and not focus too much on the past, Adon, Samson thought. It struck Adon that his brother was showing solicitude for Goldie¡¯s feelings rather than trying to follow up on the conversational thread they had just been exploring. Trying to change the subject to keep her from feeling sad. And that seemed strange. Then again, in this world, Goldie and Samson were parent and child. It was a relationship closer, at least in theory, than any that Adon had as a butterfly. He tried to quell the slight jealousy that he instinctively felt at how close his brother had instantly become to Adon¡¯s dearest friend. And he failed. At least he could act as if he was not jealous, for now, though. Good idea, Adon sent. I wonder what sort of spider you¡¯re going to want to be! I¡¯ll probably try to grow up just like my mama, Samson thought back. She seems to have the hang of things. Well, I am trying my best, Goldie sent modestly. I took control of a little room downstairs while I was waiting for the eggs to hatch. But I think Samson is starting off with a better base than I did. He has you and me, Adon. Perhaps he can emulate your path and learn how to use magic. There it was again, rising in Adon¡¯s chest like a sickness. Envy. Fear. Distrust. He hated the idea that his brother might show him up again¡ªmight prove, even in another world, even when they were both arthropods, that Adon was pathetic and that Samson was superior. Adon thanked the Goddess silently, for far from the first time, that he did not have a face with expressions that he needed to hide. He forced himself to reply in a chipper tone, Of course! I¡¯ll be happy to teach him some of what I¡¯ve learned, although I have to admit, it¡¯s not much. At least the royals like me, Adon told himself. The King didn¡¯t bring Goldie in with him when they took me from where I was. That probably means they don¡¯t have a weird thing for spiders like they do with butterflies. Actually, I remember Rosslyn said one of their allies had a similar relationship with spiders to theirs with butterflies. Hopefully that means there¡¯s no chance of Samson ever actually taking my place in their minds. I don¡¯t know why I care so much about this now. Before Samson appeared, I don¡¯t think I was this stressed about my status. Or even close to it. I appreciate it, bro, Samson thought back at him. Thanks to mama, I have a lot of Evolution Points already banked. I was thinking about investing them into magic stuff, and knowing I have you here pushes me over the edge. The words were agonizing for Adon to hear. Awesome, he sent, then lapsed into silence as his inner monologue took over. I¡¯m still not the best, he thought to himself. Or even if I am the best for a moment, it¡¯s a fragile thing. I can never rest. Adon wiggled his wings gently. He could tell they were almost there. Not quite ready to fly, but very close. There was a part of him that wished he could just fly away. Travel to parts unknown and never return. But he would not willingly abandon his friends. Even if Goldie seemed very taken with her new children, that did not mean she would be content to lose Adon¡ªanymore than being friends with the Princess would have made Adon content to lose Goldie. There¡¯s no reason I have to be in competition with my brother anyway, Adon reminded himself. Stop stressing. It¡¯s the trigger of someone from your old life doing this to you. There is no reason to think you¡¯re in some kind of race with the person who always used to be, honestly, better than you were. Life isn¡¯t that cruel. The Goddess has been exceptionally kind to you in this life. Given you opportunity after opportunity. You¡¯re a crazy magical species of butterfly in a country that loves and honors butterflies. And you dominated that garden where you were born! By the end of your life there, you were killing snakes. His abdomen flooded with a warm feeling as he reminded himself of both his advantages and how well he had done. That¡¯s right. You¡¯re not a failure. Adon felt a renewed desire for forward motion and tried fluttering his wings again. It was slightly frustrating. They were so close to being ready to fly. I can¡¯t wait until my wings are ready, Adon sent to Goldie and Samson. I want you two to see me fly, more than anything else in the world. Maybe I can even carry you with me sometime. 2-16. Family Secrets Rosslyn barely kept pace with her father as he strode briskly through the palace halls. She made the struggle to do it, however, despite the sensation of weakness running through her whole body. Every so often, she would see servants poking their heads out from rooms where they were dusting or performing some other task¡ªor pretending to do so, so they could be in position to check on how she was doing when she walked by. As a member of the Royal Family, she had to remain constantly conscious of how people perceived her. And Rosslyn was the heir. At least her new lack of depth perception did not present an insurmountable problem. She simply had to follow in her father¡¯s footsteps, and she would not bump into any of the various hall decorations. Nevertheless, Rosslyn found that tapestries, suits of armor, paintings, and other innocuous objects that she had never taken much notice of before seemed to swim out of her blind spots to cause opportunities for accidents and embarrassment. She had to be extremely careful. The walk was exhausting. It was only when they were past the doorways walking down a narrower section of hall¡ªand after looking behind her to check that no one was watching from the other end of the hallway¡ªthat she took a chance to grab her father¡¯s sleeve and pull slightly. That got his attention. He immediately slowed. ¡°Thank you,¡± she whispered. ¡°I am still recovering.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± he replied in a hush. ¡°Yes, I am terribly sorry. I was so excited to have you awake and the butterfly here¡ªI need to take things a bit more slowly. It is only natural that you would still be weak from the poison.¡± ¡°Poison? So that was it¡­¡± ¡°Yes, you were asleep, because your body shut down all nonessential functions to purge the poison from your system. That was what the healers informed me of.¡± ¡°So, I have already received the attention of our best healers,¡± Rosslyn said slowly. She swallowed a lump in her throat. Her fingers reached up to hover over her blind right eye. Her father stopped and looked back at her, his face troubled and guilty. ¡°Yes,¡± he said. ¡°It is as you imagine. Healing magic can only accelerate your body¡¯s natural healing process. So your body was unable to completely heal from your injuries. You have some scarring. Mostly minor, on your arms. But there is also your eye.¡± She nodded, took a deep breath, and buried the urge to scream. Her turbulent eyes calmed. ¡°Very well,¡± she said quietly. ¡°That is my fate.¡± To be half-blind is not as bad as losing both eyes. I will train to overcome it. After a moment, she asked, ¡°How are the others who were with me? My stepmother and the knights?¡± ¡°Carolien made an almost complete recovery. She will be glad to see you back on your feet again.¡± ¡°Almost complete?¡± Rosslyn asked. The King shrugged. ¡°One of her arms suffered some damage of a kind the healers could not clearly explain to me. She will never be quite as strong as she was. But she is content with her situation.¡± His voice turned dark. ¡°As for the knights, only three survived.¡± He shook his head. ¡°The poisoned weapons the assassins used allowed them to slay far better men than themselves. When the bodies were examined, almost none of the dead had suffered more than superficial injuries. But a simple cut was enough to get a lethal dose of poison into the bloodstream. Only two were strong enough to endure the poison besides you and Carolien. And one fighter was fortunate, or skillful, enough to avoid being cut.¡± All the men I led, who I promised to remove from harm¡¯s way¡­ Almost all of them died. ¡°Would you please tell me the names of the survivors?¡± Rosslyn had to speak around a lump in her throat. She tried to hold back the tears. Her father pulled her into a tight embrace. ¡°You do not need to pretend to be strong with me, Rosslyn,¡± he murmured in her ear. ¡°I know that this cannot be easy for you. To lose the knights serving under you, and your eye¡ªit is right to mourn them.¡± She fought with herself for a few long seconds, before she allowed herself to relax into her father¡¯s arms, and a few tears finally flowed from her eyes. After a few seconds, she felt her father change his posture slightly and knew that he was channeling Mana. Then the power left him. Rosslyn pulled back and saw that her father had conjured a wall of light behind them. She looked toward him questioningly. ¡°I know you would not want anyone else to see you cry,¡± he said quietly. ¡°Eventually, we will draw the attention of the staff. And I also do not want anyone else to see where we are going.¡± She nodded. ¡°I am well now, so let us move on.¡± He sighed and shook his head. She could tell that he was thinking she had suppressed her feelings again, but he said nothing. They continued down the hall. To her surprise, her father did not lead her directly to the palace chapel. Instead, they entered the library. ¡°I must recover some books for our conversation,¡± he said. ¡°Items that we do not simply lend out to anyone who walks in.¡± I had thought that I would be doing most of the talking, since we have not yet discussed what our spy informed me of in Stalenton. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. He walked toward a corner of the library where Rosslyn could see a comfortable leather armchair, but no books. She raised an eyebrow but followed silently. As he reached the corner, he touched one of the wooden panels on the wall. His hand seemed to press in slightly, and the panel slid aside to reveal a small cache of what appeared to be dusty, hand-made books. ¡°What are those?¡± Rosslyn asked quietly. ¡°The secret history of the country,¡± her father replied, his voice very low. ¡°Also of our family, its rise to power, and our relationship with the butterflies.¡± As he spoke, he kept his eyes fixed on the books themselves, until finally he bent slightly and began gathering them up in his hands. She stared at him until he looked back at her. ¡°What?¡± he said. ¡°I was waiting for the part where you tell me the joke,¡± she replied. ¡°Is there truly a secret history of this country?¡± ¡°Their names were Sir Lachlan, Sir Fergus, and Sir Leith,¡± her father said evenly, evading her question by jumping back to one she had asked much earlier. ¡°I had not realized that Leith of the Watchwater was a knight,¡± Rosslyn replied quickly. ¡°Father, are you telling me I was lied to all my life? Or that things were kept from me, even though I was next in line for the throne?¡± ¡°I knighted Sir Leith myself, as an acknowledgement of his sacrifices in getting you home. He lost a sworn brother in that forest, I understand.¡± Silence filled the room for over a minute as Rosslyn waited for her father to address her question directly, while he avoided her eyes. ¡°Let us move on to the chapel,¡± he said, finally meeting Rosslyn¡¯s gaze. ¡°Where we can talk uninterrupted.¡± He swept the books up into the crook of his arms, took a blanket from atop the armchair, and draped it over his body, carefully protecting the books from any prying eyes. This is real, Rosslyn realized. I did not expect it to be a joke, but this is something father is taking completely seriously. What strange secrets will those old books unfold? She followed her father through the hall again, as he led the way to the chapel. She allowed her mind to wander. She did not need to try to figure out the books¡¯ contents. They were about to be explained to her. Instead, she revisited her conversation with Jocelyne¡ªthe information she needed to make certain she conveyed to her father before they left the chapel. Her mind also played over the visions she had experienced during her coma and that fateful night in the Deformed Forest when she had lost half her field of vision to an assassin¡¯s blade. She was so wrapped up in memories that she bumped her head as she and her father rounded the corner to enter the chapel. This will take some getting used to, she thought irritably. Then she followed her father to the same nook where they had spoken last time. He set down the stack of books on a pew. The two settled into their seats, and Rosslyn¡¯s father began to speak. ¡°The story of our country¡¯s founding is not so different from the one people know,¡± he said. ¡°There is a small detail that most people miss.¡± He opened one of the books. On the first page, there was an illustration of a man with a butterfly sitting on his shoulder. ¡°Is the detail the butterfly?¡± Rosslyn asked, raising an eyebrow. ¡°I know they were a friendly species to humans¡­¡± ¡°More than that,¡± her father said. ¡°They are responsible for teaching our ancestors how to use magic¡ª¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°I think I remember this.¡± Her father raised an eyebrow but waited silently. ¡°I remember a man wearing the clothing of a peasant talking to a butterfly,¡± she said slowly. ¡°The butterfly was magical, and he was trying to teach the man how to use magic too. But the instructions did not work for him.¡± Something was wrong with that sequence of events, she now recognized. Something that had not been as glaring in her coma visions. Subsequent members of our family had magic, but magical gifts are understood to run in bloodlines. So how did it change? Did the man turn out to have a hidden aptitude that I did not get to see before the vision shifted? ¡°How do you remember that?¡± the King asked, his expression dubious. Rosslyn shook her head. ¡°I do not know. It was a vision from my coma. I saw many scenes from the past.¡± She quickly relayed the basic outline of her visions¡¯ contents to her father, and his face gradually transitioned from skeptical to confused to shocked. ¡°The Goddess is acting upon you, daughter,¡± he murmured when she was done. ¡°But why?¡± she asked. ¡°Perhaps it will become clearer once we have told each other everything,¡± he said. He held up the book again. ¡°This was our first ancestor of note. The story that is written in these pages is what happened to change his life, as he told the story to his eldest son, and as that son told it to his eldest son. The first couple of generations were illiterate, so that was the first son who was capable of keeping a written record.¡± ¡°That must have been over a thousand years ago,¡± Rosslyn said, shaking her head. ¡°How did we keep something a secret for so long?¡± ¡°It helped that every other family that leads one of the Holy Kingdoms was keeping the same secret,¡± he said. ¡°No humans in that time had any natural talent with magic. Our ancestor had children with the butterfly, and those children carried the creature¡¯s magical gifts in their blood.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Rosslyn simply stared at her father, mouth slightly open, for several seconds. ¡°I know,¡± he said after letting her digest the information a bit. ¡°It sounds incredible.¡± ¡°It sounds physically impossible.¡± ¡°No,¡± he said. ¡°Any sufficiently powerful magical creature gains the ability to change its shape.¡± ¡°Oh my Goddess¡­¡± ¡°Yes, it is quite strange to think about,¡± he said. ¡°The butterfly and the peasant, long ago, not knowing they were creating a dynasty that would last a thousand years.¡± ¡°Where would they even get the idea from?¡± Rosslyn asked. Her father shook his head. ¡°I have no idea. I know that the creatures we call mystic beasts have been interbreeding with humans for some time. The descendants of the families touched by those relationships had powerful gifts. Sometimes the magical blood would run thicker or thinner, and it had to be preserved by intermarriage between magically gifted families. But that is the true origin of all the world¡¯s magical humans. That was how the Holy Kingdoms acquired their rulers. Almost all great families on the continent can trace their lineage to some magical creature or another.¡± He held up another of the handful of books. ¡°We have attempted tracking who is descended from which creature, though our information recorded in this book is potentially unreliable. These matches have historically been hidden from the public. Some of those with the strongest blood were not even royals. One of our ducal families has tended to have a particularly powerful strain. Those of us who were aware of this ancestry placed the species our families had a history with on our flags.¡± Rosslyn breathed slowly in and out as she tried to calmly consider what her father was telling her. ¡°I can guess why we would keep this secret,¡± she said finally. ¡°It is a scandalous piece of information,¡± he said. ¡°You know that the High Priest of the Goddess is hostile to monsters, for understandable reasons. Imagine if it became known that a monstrous heritage is the secret behind our power. It could become an excuse for revolution or for greater oversight by the priesthood.¡± He paused for a moment, then continued, ¡°And giving us our magic is not the only way the butterflies have helped us historically. The second matter is something I did not intend to discuss in front of this butterfly.¡± 2-17. Secrets and Lies Rosslyn raised a hand, trying to slow the conversation slightly while she processed each separate piece of what her father had said. I have mystic beast blood. That is why I can manipulate Mana. I suppose that is true for every other magic-using human, or at least that is the theory. ¡°Um, just a moment, father,¡± she said. ¡°The way you described our heritage¡ªyou used the word monstrous. Was that a slip of the tongue? Mystic beasts are¡ª¡± ¡°No different from other monsters, as far as I know.¡± ¡°That is far from what we tell people.¡± ¡°A few of us in power in the Holy Kingdoms wanted to create the distinction for purposes of protecting our allies in the natural world,¡± her father said. ¡°There are many who would harm them. It could also protect us from being viewed as monstrous ourselves, in the event that our families ever became insecure in our power. The peace of society is a fragile thing.¡± Rosslyn took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then again. And once more. Every few sentences seemed to bring some new revelation that the world she knew was a lie. All these years, we spread lies about the mystic beasts. I suppose we protected them from ignorance, but it sounds as if we were mainly protecting ourselves. Her mind wandered to Matilda, the prisoner and slave who had sparred with her a few times before she left for Stalenton¡ªwhat felt like a lifetime ago now. She had shown such disdain for the King. Was it because she knew that the Kingdom was lying to people regarding basic facts about how the world worked? No, that might be a little bit of an overstatement. The mystic beasts are benevolent, as far as I have ever seen or heard. Adon certainly does not disprove that. Perhaps the lie is directionally accurate even if it slightly misrepresents the reality. The truth appears to be ambiguous. She looked up at her father. ¡°I know this is not an important question, but I badly need to know the answer nevertheless. When were you going to tell me about any of this?¡± ¡°I might not have told you at all,¡± he replied slowly. ¡°I would have left you the books with a letter one day. You would receive them sometime before my death, or perhaps shortly after my death. I already have the letter written and sitting in my bedside drawer. I will give it to you soon. The heir always inherits information along with the throne. That is how it was with me and my father. Only when there is a living mystic beast residing in the Kingdom does it seem necessary to explain the full story to anyone other than the sitting monarch. Keeping the circle tight prevents information from leaking. Recent events have only proven this policy correct. I do not always choose whom to trust correctly. Sometimes it is better not to trust anyone and not to place the burden of making that decision on anyone. Now it will be your burden too, deciding who can know this information. I know you are old enough now to see the damage that could be done by our full lineage becoming public knowledge.¡± Rosslyn sucked in another long breath and then let it out again. ¡°All right,¡± she said finally. ¡°I think I am ready for whatever revelation you have in store next. What was it that you wanted to tell me but not Adon?¡± Rosslyn could not keep a trace of defeat out of her voice. She could not remember a time in the past when she had been aware of her father lying to her. Now that long record of honesty was thrown into question. If these secrets had to be kept from me for my own good, what other secrets is he hiding? What will I find out only after he is dead, when I have to assume the throne and all his burdens with it? The King pursed his lips as if he could imagine the direction of his daughter¡¯s thoughts. Then he shook his head. ¡°Yes, very well. The next piece of information I wanted to discuss. Regarding Adon, I believe we have to do whatever we can to keep him in the country. Without resorting to coercion, of course.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Rosslyn broke in. ¡°Every time any mystic species of butterfly appears in Claustria, he or she ends up becoming a key figure in this country¡¯s destiny. The butterflies¡¯ effect can be seen wherever you look. The earliest mystic butterfly that we know of gave us magic, which allowed our family¡¯s rise. Another hid the entire nascent city of Wayn behind an illusion to protect it from an invading army that would have destroyed it. A third gave its life at the Battle of the Divine Gate so that our army could retreat without being destroyed, which allowed us to preserve our independence. On another occasion¡ª¡± ¡°I get the point, father.¡± Rosslyn found herself cutting her father off for a second time. She was surprised at how impatient she felt with him all of a sudden. She forced herself to take another couple of deep breaths. ¡°I actually saw some of these scenes in the visions I mentioned. So I know what you are referring to.¡± ¡°Then you know Adon¡¯s importance as a national security asset,¡± her father said. The words began to flow out of him in a rush, as if he had been holding back what he wanted to say for days. Perhaps he had. ¡°Especially if we enter into a state of war with the Demon Empire. The only reason I have not already marched on them to avenge your attempted assassination is that I know we could not possibly win an offensive war. But the army is preparing. Our allies await word. The next war of demonic expansion could be the last one in which Claustria participates. The front line will be our lands. You have seen what happens to a people when the Empire takes over. And no one believes that the Emperor would stop with us. Nations like Galton are ill prepared to fight in their own defense. Even Parmonia could not stand alone if we fell. All of which is to say, we need an ally like Adon more than ever before.¡± Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Rosslyn could tell her father had just barely avoided saying ¡°asset¡± instead of ¡°ally.¡± She nodded for him to continue. ¡°If he helps us save ourselves from the Empire once more, he may be saving the whole civilized world from the demons¡¯ tyranny. This could be the high water mark of their influence. That is why I want us to do whatever is necessary, as long as it is consistent with honor and justice, to keep him here.¡± Rosslyn sat, silently digesting everything her father had said and comparing it with what she already knew, both from the visions and from her conversation with Jocelyne before she left Stalenton. But he seemed to take her silence as doubt. ¡°Perhaps you feel that I am expressing this in an overwrought way,¡± he began. She shook her head. ¡°No. Far from it. As I was planning to tell you, the Empire intends to attack sometime within a year before next summer.¡± ¡°Less than a year from now,¡± the King said. Rosslyn nodded. They both sat, the silence in the room as heavy as the dead air in a crypt. ¡°That is what our friend in their capital told you, then,¡± the King said finally. His shoulders slumped. Rosslyn was reminded again of the terrible weight that rested on her father. ¡°Yes,¡± she said simply. ¡°Well, better to know now than to live with the fear of it forever,¡± he replied, his posture straightening again. Something like a smile came to his lips, and Rosslyn was reminded for a moment that she and her father shared relatively close blood ties with Queen Maud, who had been their ancestor¡¯s cousin. With cousin marriages to keep the bloodline strong, family traits remained distinct generation after generation. There was a part of him that wanted to be tested as the Warrior Queen had been tested. Perhaps a long-suppressed, buried part of him. But a part of him nonetheless. ¡°Well, I suppose I can feel slightly better now,¡± her father said, seemingly out of nowhere. Rosslyn raised an eyebrow. ¡°I have been so angry with myself for letting you go into the Demon Empire with Lord Baranack and placing you in harm¡¯s way, Rosslyn,¡± he said. ¡°I still am. Trusting him was the mistake of a lifetime. I could not imagine that someone in his position would betray us¡ªbetray all his people. Those who try to live their lives according to some concept of the good cannot comprehend the depths of evil. But if I had not sent you there, I would have had to send someone else in your place. I do not know who I might have trusted. Perhaps your stepmother. Without you, she would not have had the strength to escape the imperial assassins. She would have wound up dead or a prisoner of the Emperor.¡± He shuddered as he spoke those words. ¡°And he would never release her, because she would have our friend¡¯s information about his battle plans,¡± her father continued. ¡°If I did not send Carolien, it would have been Lord Baranack himself. Then, instead of gaining a warning about the attack, we would have lost our spy and perhaps the country. So, despite everything, I am feeling a bit better about the decision now.¡± Rosslyn¡¯s hand traced the scarred skin over her right eye as she thought about what her father was saying. His eyes followed the movement, and a guilty look flickered across his face. She knew that he was still angry with himself. ¡°I do not regret the decision myself,¡± she said slowly. ¡°I would die for our country, as¡ª¡± Her mind went to Queen Maud¡ª¡°as many others have before. Losing an eye is no great sacrifice compared with death.¡± ¡°I know it is a great sacrifice for you, Rosslyn,¡± her father said quietly. ¡°Just to learn the timeline of an attack that you and I always expected were coming¡ª¡± ¡°Our spy gave me more than just a timetable,¡± Rosslyn said, interrupting. ¡°She gave me details. Troop movements from the eastern regions of the Empire as the generals consolidate the Demon Army. Snippets of war plans that she overheard or that the Emperor found it amusing to tell her. We can look over a map later and see if there is anything we can use from the specific information she gave me. Probably most of it is out of date now. I think the most useful item was the timeline¡ªand that they have a new form of weapon. One that will sap the strength of our military and render our greatest assets almost useless.¡± He smiled dryly. ¡°Good to know we have been worrying over nothing all this time.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She snorted, then paused for a moment as a thought struck her. ¡°I think this information might be part of why the Goddess sent me the last vision in particular.¡± Rosslyn described the time she had spent in the vision with Queen Maud with more detail than she had gone into earlier. ¡°Did this vision of her battle with the Empire give you some insight as to how we could win our own war?¡± her father asked. ¡°Not exactly. In fact, I would say that it convinced me that even she would probably fail to defeat the current Demon Army.¡± ¡°Oh, Goddess¡­¡± The King shook his head and began using one of his large, powerful hands to massage his temples. Rosslyn felt that her father had suddenly been pulled from being excited, at least on a subconscious level, back to a full awareness of his responsibilities and what would happen to the over two million subjects of the monarchy if he failed to protect them. Rosslyn wanted to say something that would cheer her father up, but realistically, she knew there was nothing to say. Neither of us can live up to Queen Maud. She was a freak of nature, exceptional in any way. Perhaps Adon can help us bridge the gap, but I cannot see it. I think it would take a miracle. ¡°Well, tell me about their new weapons, then,¡± her father said finally. ¡°Perhaps we can form some new strategy or engineer some weapon of our own to counter it.¡± Rosslyn began to explain the details as she understood them. 2-18. Wings Adon, Goldie, and Samson exchanged some more news. The other children, while far from Samson¡¯s level of proficiency in Claustrian, were learning the language rapidly. Goldie credited the fact that Samson was helping her reinforce the terms she taught his younger siblings¡ªwhich was all of them, since he had been the first to poke his head out into the world. Adon almost made a remark about Samson not being the little brother in this world, but it felt like it would be catty. He would have to be careful what he said. He knew in his heart that he was much too reflexively defensive about his past self¡¯s relationship with Samson. He needed his friendships with Goldie and Samson to work out, to get what he wanted out of this life¡ªpositive and meaningful relationships¡ªand it was only natural that Goldie would become defensive if Adon started randomly verbally attacking her firstborn child. So the days of Adon just saying whatever he thought were over. Hello friend, thought a tiny spider. Adon¡¯s attention returned to the little ones, who Goldie had just instructed to say hello to her friend. Hello friend, echoed another three spiders. Hello mama friend, thought a spider that seemed to be more of an independent thinker. Adon raised a forelimb and waved awkwardly. It is a pleasure to meet all of you, he sent. I hope we will all be great friends. Goldie was fidgeting excitedly as Adon transmitted his thoughts. The sight of her made Adon feel a bit better. She was clearly incredibly happy to be around her children and her friend, and some of her joy rubbed off. I¡¯m interested in testing out some of the new abilities I got in the Evolution, Adon sent to her and Samson. He raised a limb, and with a thought, he turned the end of it into a scalpel-like appendage. The spiders stared, both suddenly motionless. What kind of power is that? Goldie asked. That looks very sharp. Her limbs moved instinctively to keep her hatchlings close to her so that they would have no chance of cutting themselves, though Adon was over a foot away and in control of his ability. But it was hard for him to take it personally. He had only just discovered that he could do this. More testing was needed before it would feel truly safe. Is it magic? Samson asked. I really don¡¯t know, Adon replied. He opened up his Status to check if it would offer any clues.
User: Adon, Mystic Crystal Butterfly Age: 1 month Sex: Male
Status
Health: 200/200
Mana: 9000/9000
Strength: 250
Agility: 2000
Perception: 500
Dexterity: 1000
Constitution: 500
Intelligence: 3000
Will: 6000
Charisma: 1000
Skills: Identify, Impeccable Memory, Mana Manipulation V, Past Life Connection, Shed Skin IV, Spine Shot V, Spiritual Sight
Evolution Points: 108
Biomass: 45/50
Well, my Status confirms that whatever this is, it¡¯s an Adaptation rather than a Skill, Adon sent. Adaptations don¡¯t show up on the Status screen, and Skills do. The Status screen got a lot less informative now that I¡¯ve evolved and don¡¯t know what all my own body¡¯s attributes are, he thought to himself a little uneasily. That means I might have a bunch of intrinsic abilities I have no idea about, because they¡¯re body modifications instead of techniques. He looked back up toward the top of the Status screen. The only thing really worthy of note on here is how much my Stats changed. Most of them ballooned up nicely. My Mana¡¯s up to 9000! That¡¯s more than ten times what it was pre-Evolution. My Agility and Dexterity are pretty crazy too. But I actually lost a lot of Health. My Biomass is super-low too. It¡¯s around what it was a few days after I was born. I guess butterflies don¡¯t eat as much as caterpillars¡­ Adon was surprised to realize, as he thought about the changes to his body, that he did not feel particularly hungry. Normally, taking on a bunch of new Adaptations¡ªusually changes less dramatic than growing a new pair of wings¡ªwould leave him famished. Pre-Evolution Adon would have definitely eaten his chrysalis already, just as he had eaten his eggshell. Right now, though, he only felt the desire to fly. Since I can¡¯t fly yet¡­ He began to visualize how he might use the vastly expanded pool of Mana to compensate to some degree for his lack of Health and the fact that his Strength remained as low as it had been pre-Evolution. I could spam Mana balls, I guess. As he considered that idea, Adon realized the Mana was already flowing through him, toward his head, where he normally charged that particular attack. He ordered his body to stop that, and the Mana settled back into his core without any further thought. It was very interesting to him that this happened when he simply thought about firing Mana balls, though. Pre-Evolution, he had needed to focus to use magic. It seemed as if some barrier to the application of his powers had fallen. I think my Mana was moving faster, too. Considering the name of my new species, this body must be a lot more adapted to using magic. It had been the same way when he wanted to cut through the chrysalis. The end of his limb had just transformed into a blade with hardly a thought from him. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. That gave Adon a big idea. He allowed himself to think of the idea for a few seconds, holding it in his head as clearly as he had the idea of shooting Mana balls. After a moment, his body began to respond. Adon¡¯s wings, which were still slightly damp, changed shape. They grew noticeably in square footage. Just as suddenly, they stopped. Adon found himself confused. He had visualized the wings expanding out until they were basically wallpaper, the size of the wall space between his body and the ceiling. Instead, they expanded only a few inches in every direction. Adon, what are you doing? Goldie sent. Experimenting? Yes, he replied. What were you trying to achieve? Samson asked, his eyes clearly fixated on the enlarged butterfly wings overhead. I wanted to make them bigger, Adon sent sheepishly. Butterfly wings are extremely thin, Samson thought. I would be careful not to overdo it. Samson sounded much more like the little brother Adon remembered than at any moment before this one. Adon¡¯s knee jerk reaction was to want to prove Samson wrong¡ªto show that he was capable of growing his wings to a much larger size than this, safely. Worst case scenario, I can use healing magic to fix them, he thought. And he still remembered the initial purpose he¡¯d had for expanding them. If they were bigger, they would dry faster due to the increased surface area. With luck, Adon would be able to fly in minutes, rather than hours. He pushed a bit more mental energy into expanding his wings, and after a moment, he felt it beginning to work. How are you doing this? Samson¡¯s voice cut into Adon¡¯s mind. But Adon was not certain himself. He watched as his wings expanded from the size of a very large sheet of paper, until they almost touched the ceiling. He wiggled them slightly, and he felt and watched them move far more convulsively than he intended, fluttering wildly with just a hint of motion. He felt two other things as well: the wings were much drier than they had been¡ªand he was growing a little weaker with every moment that he kept them that size! Adon opened his Status again to try to figure out what was going wrong. The answer jumped out at him immediately. Mana: 8500/9000. Mana: 8300/9000. Mana: 8100/9000. Crap! But he kept a cool head. This was one of his Adaptations. He needed to understand how it worked. Adon kept his wings at their vastly inflated size for a few more seconds, both to show his brother and his friend what he could do and to measure his own capabilities. As he watched, the rate of Mana depletion slowed without stopping. That¡¯s not bad¡­ I could work with that. If I needed to, I could expand the size of my wings for a little while. And that¡¯s without increasing my Mana reserves or practicing using this Adaptation. The rate of Mana loss was something he could handle for a few minutes, as it had stabilized at a lower level of depletion per second than it had demonstrated while he was staring at his Status. Maybe 50 per second once I had been doing it for fifteen seconds or so? The initial loss of Mana was a killer, but perhaps changes he made to his body acquired some ontological inertia the longer he maintained them. If that was the case, it might be possible for him to make changes to his physical shape permanent if they were not too radical. Wings the size of a house, too much. Turning my proboscis back into mandibles¡­ I think that might be possible. Adon, you have to explain what just happened! Samson thought. That was crazy, Goldie sent. You can change your size?! I had to use Mana, Adon sent. That lets me change my shape a little more than I can do without that. It seems like a lot more, Samson thought. If I had any doubts, that settled it. I¡¯m going to buy the Mana Manipulation Skill right now. Make sure you get Mana Perception, too, Adon sent, resisting the slight reluctance he felt. He is my brother, he reminded himself. I should be helping him get used to this world. Not resenting him for existing and having hopes and dreams of his own. Thanks, Adon! Samson thought. I will also buy Telepathy. Mom made sure we ate lots of good stuff before we came up here, and I¡¯m in the mood to splurge! Great idea, Adon sent back. This way, you won¡¯t need your mama or me to facilitate conversations anymore. The thought of Samson talking to the King and Princess sent another stab of jealousy through Adon, but he pushed it down. The Royal Family aren¡¯t mine, for the Goddess¡¯s sake! he told himself. Just because I met them first¡­ I have to get a grip on myself. His whole body shuddered as he fought the unpleasant emotions. But the tremor that went through him also reached his wings. He felt them as if they were limbs waking up for the first¡ªwhich, in a way, they were¡ªand he knew instinctively. It might be clumsy, he might need to practice to get used to them, he might crash into things¡ªbut they were ready to fly. My wings are ready! Adon sent excitedly, all traces of envy banished for the moment. How could he possibly be jealous of a landbound spider, when he was about to take flight? Go Adon! sent Goldie in a tone of exultation. Show us what you¡¯ve got! Very cool, bro, Samson added. Adon felt that his brother was not as impressed as Goldie¡ªhe had seen plenty of insects fly in the past, and it was not as impressive to him as a former human who had a much greater recall of his past life than his mother did¡ªbut Adon did not care. He felt the urge to fly as the culmination of everything that he had done in this life. The greatest possible expression of the freedom he liked to think he had gained from his past self. The liberation that, in the darkest parts of his heart, he knew he was actually still working to achieve. Adon shrank his wings effortlessly back to their normal size¡ªit was as easy as simply cutting off the energy he¡¯d poured into the transformation. Then he funneled all of his emotions into muscle power, he flapped hard, and his body lifted off of his plant. He felt the air more sensitively than ever before, began to fall, and flapped his wings a second time. His body rose to a level just above the chrysalis, began to fall, and he flapped again. And he entered into a rhythm. His flapping grew more consistent, more elegant and graceful, more controlled and precise, with each passing second. Even though his Strength had not increased since his Evolution, Adon felt immeasurably powerful, almost invincible, as he flitted around, defying the law of gravity. I am the air, he thought. I am the sky. As he relaxed and let his body do most of the work of guiding his flight, he imagined he could taste the clouds outside. Feel the touch of salty sea air against the membranes of his body. But mainly just being the air. It was hard for Adon to describe the transcendent feeling of flight any other way. He could imagine how it could be better, if he had more of a breeze to flutter on, but the sensation of being airborne was so beautiful in this first flight that he could not possibly have found something to complain about at that moment. Adon! Goldie¡¯s voice called out to him, breaking the feeling of immersion. Bro, where are you? Did you fall? Samson thought. Are you all right?! Goldie seemed almost panicked. Adon forced himself back to the present moment to address their concerns. What exactly is wrong? he sent, more curious than annoyed at the interruption. Where did you go? Samson thought back. Go? Adon replied. I didn¡¯t go anywhere. But as he turned his head to look around, he understood what Samson was talking about. 2-19. The Magic Teacher Adon focused his mind on how his body was supposed to look, and after a moment¡¯s thought, he returned to his previous post-Evolution coloration. There you are! sent Goldie in an obvious tone of relief. So cool, thought Samson. For a few seconds, as he thought of becoming one with the air, Adon had unintentionally turned his whole body invisible. Not simply clear, as his crystal-like wings had been naturally since the moment he emerged from the chrysalis. Rather, Adon had become so perfectly translucent that even his outline could not be seen. This is more than just changing my color, he thought. This is a bit like Color Change, but it seems like a highly upgraded version. Even a chameleon was not perfectly invisible to a close observer with good vision. Yet Goldie and Samson had been less than a foot away from him for part of the time when he was translucent, and they nevertheless managed to convince themselves that something had happened to him. I wonder if I was bending light around my body or something, Adon sent. This new version of Color Change functions just like the body modification thing I did with my wings and when the ends of my limbs turned into little scalpels, he noted to himself. It only requires a thought. Even a really abstract, almost accidental, mental image can transform my body. I¡¯ll have to be careful and get used to this before I go out into the world. He flapped his wings and fluttered around the room a bit more. He thought about the wind and the air, but he could see he was not becoming invisible. His own limbs were the easy proof of that. I did not know light could bend, Goldie sent back. Samson¡¯s posture shifted, and Adon could see that he was considering thinking something at them, but he apparently thought better of that. He was probably about to explain that light is a wave and a particle, or something like that, Adon thought to himself. The butterfly knew nothing more than that about the substance of light, and he was fairly certain it was a piece of information he had repeatedly learned across a few human lifespans. That is, he had been taught it, had dutifully memorized the information for a test, and had then never used it again. But Samson was a better student than me, just like he was better at everything else. What does it even mean for light to be both a wave and a particle? Isn¡¯t that contradictory? He shook his head. No, I need to stop thinking about that. I don¡¯t care. He returned to enjoying the joy of flight. For several minutes, Adon continued moving around the room, almost floating up like a bubble at times, and at others soaring down rapidly like a little bird¡ªperforming stunt-like maneuvers for his own and the spiders¡¯ amusement. Then Samson spoke up, and Adon almost crashed into a bedpost, only saving himself at the last moment with a frantic flurry of flapping. Would you be willing to give me some pointers on magic now, Adon? Samson asked. Adon knew from that request that Samson had already purchased Telepathy, Mana Manipulation, and Magic Perception. The latter two were the Skill and Adaptation that Adon had recommended for learning magic, while the former was evident in the request itself. Rather than catching Samson¡¯s thought as he brought it to the forefront of his mind, Adon had received it, like an arrow shot from Samson¡¯s mind. The feeling was quite different than that of communicating with someone who did not have Telepathy. Adon had already experienced it when Goldie began talking to him with Telepathy after his Evolution, but in the excitement at seeing his old friend again, he had not taken note of it. So, now there are three of us who can use Telepathy who came from the garden, Adon thought. Rosslyn said that was rare. I guess the garden insect Class of Whatever-This-Year-Is really outperformed expectations. He felt again a painful loss of uniqueness, of something that he had thought made him special in this world. Then he realized that he was lost in thought, and his brother had been waiting a few seconds for Adon to respond to his request. A simple enough request, it must have seemed to Samson. Adon knew a little magic, so why not share it? And Adon could not think of a good reason to refuse off the top of his head, though a part of him desperately wanted to. How much of my self-worth is tied up in these things I can do? he reproached himself. Surely I¡¯m more than just a magical butterfly who can talk¡ªright? There was no reassurance foreseeable in that line of thought. Sure, Samson, Adon sent. Goldie, do you want to get in on this too? At least he would be helping his friend as well as the brother he felt such mixed emotions toward. I should just be happy to see him, Adon told himself. What in the world is wrong with me? I would love to learn, Goldie replied. I bought Mana Manipulation just for this purpose. I hoped you would teach me! Adon heard the pure joy in Goldie¡¯s voice, and he felt better. I can¡¯t believe I was sort of considering trying to come up with an excuse not to teach Samson, he thought to himself. Imagine how he and Goldie would both have felt then¡­ What sort of brother am I? There was a knock at the door, and Adon thanked the Goddess for sparing him further self-loathing silence. Come in! he sent. The knob turned, the door opened, and the head of the Princess poked through. ¡°I hope all has been well,¡± she began, then suddenly stopped. Is something the matter, Your Highness? asked Goldie. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°It is just¡ªAdon, are you flying already?¡± Rosslyn asked incredulously. Yes, I am flying, Princess, Adon replied, puffing himself up as best he could despite being a small invertebrate. Thank you for noticing. Goldie turned toward Adon. He could not read her emotions, since she had no face, but her posture looked slightly bemused to him. Or maybe amused. Despite how long he and the spider had known each other, it was impossible to read her body language sometimes. ¡°Usually, I had heard your wings take a bit longer to dry,¡± she said. ¡°That was all. I suppose you are, um, precocious. And you fly very majestically!¡± Thank you! Adon replied. As for me being precocious, I¡¯m probably just a little impatient, honestly. I¡¯ve been looking forward to flying for so long¡­ I used a new ability I don¡¯t know the name of yet to grow the size of my wings temporarily so that they would dry faster. ¡°Oh, you can transform your physical shape,¡± Rosslyn said. Her expression became inscrutable for a moment before she smiled down at him. For Adon, who craved appreciation more than anything else, the warmth of the Princess¡¯s smile felt like a second sun shining down on him. It seems that I can, he sent after what he realized was an unnaturally long delay. Um, within some limits that I haven¡¯t yet explored very well yet, Your Highness. ¡°I think I told you this before, Adon but you¡ª¡± She turned to face Goldie and her hatchlings¡ª¡°and your friends can simply call me by my name: Rosslyn. Think of how many words you will waste in pointless formalities, otherwise, when in this Kingdom, your status renders it completely unnecessary. If and when you have to meet some foreign leaders, we will discuss proper protocols for those encounters then. For now, please be at ease.¡± That is very kind of you, Rosslyn, Goldie sent before Adon could say anything. It was strange to him. For a moment, it felt a bit like Goldie was cutting him off on purpose. Nah, it couldn¡¯t be, he thought. Goldie went on, As for how things are going, Adon was about to start teaching us magic. That is, teaching me and my firstborn child Samson. She reached up and tapped her son on the head. It¡¯s so weird that Goldie¡¯s son is my brother, Adon thought. Although I have always felt a kind of big sister connection to her. ¡°That is wonderful,¡± Rosslyn said. She waved. ¡°It is a pleasure to meet you, Samson, as it was a pleasure to meet your mother and Adon. I would have been happy to teach you what I know of magic myself, but it might be better for you to learn from Adon, depending on what types of magic you intend to study.¡± Adon felt as if he had been thrown an inadvertent lifeline. I think it might be more useful if Rosslyn taught you guys, actually, he sent quickly. I was going to give you what I know, but I¡¯m sure she received much better instruction than me. I only know what I learned haphazardly through the System. So I¡¯m really just a few steps ahead of you guys, while I think Rosslyn has been training with magic for years. She nodded. ¡°That is true. I try to practice every day.¡± She smiled a little bittersweetly. ¡°When I am not in a coma.¡± Her right hand twitched slightly, as if she wanted to raise it and touch her eye again. But she kept it under tight control, at her side, so that Adon imagined that only he had noticed. Thank you for your kind offer, Rosslyn, Goldie sent. We would be happy to accept your instruction. ¡°Very good,¡± the Princess said. She took a seat on the bed in front of them. Adon flew up to the bedpost to stand and watch the lesson. He wondered how different it would be from how his self-taught experience had been, but he could not feel jealous of Samson or Goldie getting this personalized instruction from an expert. He had a certain sense of pride that he had discovered what he knew about magic by himself, with only the System as a guide. Since Samson and Goldie both had Mana Manipulation, they had roughly the same possibility to do it on their own as Adon, and in much more favorable conditions. In some intangible way, he felt affirmed in his own skill level, validated for having managed to learn magic alone in the wilds of the garden. And I get to keep the secrets of the specific types of magic I learned to myself, he thought a little greedily. He immediately felt a bit guilty for having that wish, but there it was. Adon wanted to be special. He could not be special if other people kept having and being able to do the same things as himself. ¡°The first step toward learning magic is to meditate for long hours on the flow of energy through your body,¡± Rosslyn began. ¡°This is to locate your Mana core¡ª¡± Um, I¡¯m sorry, Princess Rosslyn, sent Samson, but I don¡¯t want to make you repeat things we¡¯ve already learned. We got the Magic Perception and Mana Manipulation Adaptation and Skill through the Evolution Store. We completed that first step already. Adon wished he could roll his eyes at Samson. Be patient, man! he thought to himself. She¡¯ll get to where you are, probably one step beyond that, in a little while. Plus, maybe the hours of meditation would do you good. We have no way of knowing if the quick and dirty way of doing things that the System prompts us toward is the best way or the right way. We only know it¡¯s our way. This was part of why Adon wanted to watch Rosslyn teach the others, rather than continuing to test his new wings. He wanted to know if there was something he was missing, some part of his foundation that should be improved. ¡°Congratulations on having moved through the first step so quickly,¡± Rosslyn said, smiling. ¡°I will always be a bit jealous of you nonhumans for being able to do that. On to the next stage, then¡­¡± She explained about pulling Mana from the core and moving it around the body, and Adon relaxed and watched his friend and his brother as they began their first attempts at manipulating Mana. This stage lasted several hours, taking up most of the afternoon. Adon watched Samson and Goldie struggle to get the hang of moving their Mana around their body. He felt bad that it seemed to be taking Goldie a while to get the hang of it, but secretly a little gratified that Samson did not get the hang of it immediately. There is, after all, something I seem to be more naturally talented at than him. Despite what Adon felt was slow progress, Rosslyn was encouraging. ¡°You are both moving along nicely,¡± she said. ¡°This is something you can practice on your own. For now, I think we should break for lunch¡ª¡± Is there anything more advanced that you could give us to practice? Goldie asked, interrupting her. I¡¯ve never known Goldie to be so impatient, Adon thought. What¡¯s gotten into her? Rosslyn hesitated for a moment, then said, ¡°I cannot see why I should not. We are all friends. It is not as if you would ever use this knowledge against us.¡± To Adon, she looked as though she was wrestling with her self-doubt. The thin scar gave her a different look. Where before, she had seemed untouchable, somehow above it all, now she looked acutely vulnerable. Betrayed. That was the word that came to his mind. He didn¡¯t know the details of how she had gotten the scar. Who hurt her? ¡°You must understand that every noble family has its own magical specializations,¡± Rosslyn continued. ¡°The only shared competency is healing magic, because it is universally understood to be too important to risk that knowledge dying out. So our household¡¯s fire magic and light magic are a secret, and I would ask that you keep them to yourselves.¡± Of course, Goldie sent. I promise, Samson added. Me too, Adon transmitted hastily. ¡°Very well,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°I will give you the Royal Family¡¯s book of magic to review, along with a lecture on the basics, after lunch. There is too much for me to go over quickly.¡± A book? Adon asked. A book and a lecture? Too much to go over quickly? He questioned why the Royal Family¡¯s process for using magic sounded so different from his own. Had he been doing something unusual all this time? Perhaps something wrong? 2-20. A Dangerous Method ¡°Yes, Adon,¡± Rosslyn said, a question in her tone. ¡°We recorded most of our knowledge of the particular disciplines we have a grasp on in a book. I had actually been wondering about how you learned magic. Whether you were born with it, or found a book somewhere¡­¡± She allowed her voice to trail off doubtfully. No, Adon sent. I guess monsters have a different method available. A way that doesn¡¯t involve studying, exactly. I went to a dark place and sort of connected with some statues that seemed to represent . Rosslyn¡¯s eyes widened as she listened. Did I do something wrong¡­? Adon transmitted. The Princess processed what he had said and took her time answering. ¡°I have heard of another, more dangerous method of acquiring magical affinities,¡± she said slowly. ¡°A forbidden method that no one allows ordinary mages to attempt anymore. Archmages sometimes attempt it, because no one has the power to stop them or punish them, but it is frowned upon.¡± So I did something I shouldn¡¯t have, Adon thought. Rosslyn seemed almost to read his mind, although that thought had not been transmitted. Perhaps there was something in his body language. ¡°You should not take that to mean that your method was¡ªor is¡ªwrong, Adon.¡± Her expression turned to what appeared to be one of admiration. ¡°People believe it is the way that all magic originated. The statues are thought to represent a specific way of channeling and thinking about Mana, which humans interpreted with words, ideas, and descriptions of physical sensations in books. All of which was to imitate the effects of certain statues without requiring the wielder to make contact with them. ¡°If you knew the risk you were taking, you might think it was mad to try what you successfully attempted. But the forbidden method is the only way that anyone discovers a new affinity or acquires an affinity they have no books or instructors in. It is the way of the scholar. The one who is willing to risk madness, death¡ªor worse! Potentially a path to great power, for those willing to take the risk¡­¡± Her voice trailed off at the intriguing thought. The room was quiet for a few minutes as each of those present considered Rosslyn and Adon¡¯s words. Adon wondered, What sort of fate worse than death does she mean? His mind naturally jumped to the idea of an end to the cycle of reincarnation, which he had almost fully made himself accept weeks ago. He felt a little leery about the idea of bringing this question up, but he recognized that he needed to. Adon still wanted to expand his magical powers. He was not content with having healing and mental magic only. He wanted to be more than a support player. From what Rosslyn was saying, the black void was one of the most effective ways for him to acquire unique powers. What fate worse than death have people suffered? Adon finally asked. Everyone looked at him, but he told himself he would not feel uncomfortable for getting their attention. Only Rosslyn and the spiders were here, after all. And this was a completely legitimate question. He would not look lazy, dumb, or cowardly for asking it. ¡°There have been a few,¡± Rosslyn said. She spoke in tones of reluctance. ¡°Are you certain you want to hear about this? I listen to you talk, and I hear inner conflict. I did not mean to discourage you from pursuing what you have done successfully in the past.¡± I appreciate that, Adon sent, nodding. Tell me anyway. Please. ¡°Some have ended up possessed by things from that realm, so that they became monsters that attacked their own loved ones. And we believe that some experience the shattering of the soul.¡± The end of the cycle of reincarnation, then, Adon replied. That was what I expected. Rosslyn shook her head. ¡°Our understanding is that the soul is eternal, but it can be broken into fragments for a time. You might lose the identity that you, in particular, have struggled so hard to retain. Your progress as a soul over multiple incarnations would be lost.¡± Adon nodded silently. That¡¯s better than I thought, he told himself. I won¡¯t let fear stop me from going back to that place sometime in the future. ¡°Well, as I was saying, I think now is a good time for all of us to have some lunch,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°We requested some special meals prepared for our guests, so I hope you will all enjoy.¡± She got up and stepped out of the room, and Adon was left wondering what the special food would be. A minute later, two male servants entered the room. Each held a plush pillow, one in red and one in a brilliant shade of blue. The servant holding the blue pillow approached Adon and stood between where he and the spiders were, while the other servant moved to the opposite side of the bed, closer to where Goldie stood. ¡°The Crown Princess of Claustria requests the honor of your company at lunch, noble creatures,¡± pronounced the servant standing in between Adon and Goldie. He lowered the pillow, and Adon realized he was meant to hop on and be carried through the palace. His mind conjured up images of royalty being carried through the streets on a litter, and he felt slightly embarrassed. I know it¡¯s me that they mean, but¡­ He felt a lingering sense of unworthiness, and his mind brought up the memory of his dragon self encountering the villagers and then fleeing in the opposite direction in a previous incarnation. Though he still did not understand the exact meaning behind that encounter, he knew he felt that he had failed those people in some way. Would he fail Claustria too? Remember that you¡¯re a butterfly now, he told himself unconvincingly. You¡¯re their national animal, and you¡¯re magically talented. Why wouldn¡¯t they like you? How can you fail? They¡¯re not even expecting you to do anything. At least not yet¡­ This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. He hopped onto the pillow before he could talk himself out of it. At least that way, he would not have to talk much to the servants. Thank you, he sent. The man holding him bowed his head reverently. ¡°It is my honor,¡± he said simply. Goldie secured her children on her back¡ªshe would not be leaving them behind for any reason, and certainly not when a free meal was being offered¡ªand then stepped onto the other pillow. Then they were carried into the hallway. Since Adon did not have to engage the servants in conversation, he simply absorbed the surroundings. The palace looked as opulent as anything Adon had seen or heard of in representations of royal medieval living. Expensive oil paintings and tapestries were the main wall decorations. There was hand-carved wooden furniture in every room he passed that had an open door; it looked expensive to him, because Adon¡¯s most recent world was one in which virtually all furniture was cheaply prefabricated. The servants turned into what appeared to be a small dining room for just the family. Although it was small, there were multiple paintings and large mirrors hanging from the walls and a crystal chandelier above the table. The silverware¡¯s distinctive sheen gave Adon the strong impression that it was made of actual silver, which had been valuable in most of his past lives, even in the more high tech universes he had inhabited. Rosslyn and her father sat near the head of the table, with a woman Adon guessed was the Queen sitting opposite the King. Beside the Queen, four children sat. The oldest and closest to Adon was a ten or eleven year old boy. Beside Rosslyn, there were two empty places that were clearly intended for Adon and Goldie. At one seat, instead of a plate, there were a half-dozen goblets filled with a variety of different liquids¡ªclearly in consideration of Adon¡¯s proboscis. At the next seat, there was a plate containing several small, plucked but uncooked birds. We¡¯re really eating with the Royal Family, Adon thought. Not even just Rosslyn and her father. His head swiveled to look at the children, who were muttering excitedly to themselves while pointing at him. I guess I¡¯m really going to find out how the other half lives. Adon felt a nervousness that he had not experienced much in this life bubbling in his stomach. He had to deal with people now. There was no getting around it. This is when we see if I have what it takes to become a social butterfly, he thought, fighting his desire to fly away from the dinner table. If they had to coax Adon down from the chandelier, he knew the Royal Family¡¯s dinner would be ruined. He tried to place his fears in context. This was vaguely like he was in the company of a foreign country¡¯s celebrities. He lacked the context to be truly awed by their status. But he knew these people were important. As the servant placed Adon¡¯s pillow on the table beside Rosslyn, he worried that if he tried to speak, he would place his foot firmly into his mouth and forever destroy both Rosslyn¡¯s view of him and the reputation of butterflies in this country. Just have to take it one word at a time, he told himself. Just one word at a time. This looks wonderful! Adon jumped as Goldie¡¯s telepathic voice chirped from beside him. As Adon looked at her, she turned to face the King and Queen and continued, Adon, my family, and I are all most grateful for your hospitality! Then Goldie performed a little spider bow, folding her right forelimb and middle limb so that she dipped her body slightly. So now Goldie has better manners and communication skills than me, Adon thought. He felt sort of happy for his friend, while thinking that this made him look like a total loser. Then he turned and bowed to the King and Queen as well, and it seemed to satisfy them without Adon actually needing to speak. ¡°We are honored to have two wise and distinguished mystic beasts in our home,¡± said the Queen. She had a rich, mellifluous voice, as if she had pursued a singing career or at least taken voice lessons at some point in her life. ¡°Yes,¡± agreed the King. ¡°Some light has come back into our land with your return.¡± The children gave their own greetings, less courtly than their parents¡¯, from youngest to oldest. ¡°Thank you for coming to Claustria,¡± said the littlest one, a girl around the age of four or five who was missing one of her front teeth. ¡°My name is Ailsa!¡± ¡°Please take good care of us, blessed beasts,¡± said the next oldest in a serious tone. The speaker must have been around six years old. ¡°My name is Cormac.¡± ¡°Thank you for coming here,¡± said a girl around eight or nine years old. ¡°I am Oliva. In Claustria, we love butterflies.¡± She looked at Goldie and added, ¡°We are also fond of spiders!¡± There were smiles around the table at Oliva¡¯s tactful words. ¡°You can count on our sincere friendship and our fullest support,¡± said a boy around ten or eleven years old. The boy had a mirthful face that looked like it ought to be smiling and laughing all the time, but Adon found him surprisingly serious. ¡°My name is Baltazar.¡± ¡°We honor our ancient covenant with the mystic butterflies,¡± said Rosslyn, speaking last. She turned to Goldie. ¡°We are privileged to host you as well, noble spider.¡± Then she smiled. ¡°I believe both of you already know my name.¡± What does that bit about the ancient covenant with the mystic butterflies mean? Adon thought. It sounded strangely familiar, but he could not instantly place where he had heard it before. All heads turned to look at Adon. Oh, I need to say something to acknowledge what they¡¯ve all said, of course! My name is Adon, he transmitted, keeping his inner voice as steady as he could. It is a pleasure and honor to eat all of you. For a moment, he thought he had nailed it. Then Goldie chimed in. I am called Goldie. My friend Adon gave me the name. I am also happy to meet all of you. On my back are my children, who I am trying to shape into magical beasts as well. The oldest one is Samson. The others are still waiting to be named. The emphasis the spider placed on the word ¡°meet,¡± and a few quiet titters from the children before their mother raised a single sculpted eyebrow at them, brought home to Adon what he had said. Oh, Goddess damn it! he thought as quietly as he could. This is why I don¡¯t talk to people. Then he began transmitting a quick explanation. I didn¡¯t mean¡ª But Rosslyn shook her head and cut him off. ¡°We know you will not eat us, Adon,¡± she said quietly. Then she smiled a little mischievously. ¡°Because we made certain to prepare enough food for you!¡± The Princess winked. Now the two youngest children could not help laughing. The Queen shook her head in an attempt to show disapproval, but Adon saw the beginnings of a smile pulling at the edges of her lips. And the butterfly relaxed a bit. Just be yourself, Goldie sent to Adon alone. Awkward and insecure and all. Rosslyn likes you. You know I like you. The rest of them cannot help but accept you. A warm feeling blossomed in the middle of his thorax. That¡¯s right, Adon told himself. I don¡¯t know why I go into survival mode every time I have to talk to someone new. Nothing life or death about this. It will be fine. 2-21. Liquid Lunch ¡°Let us eat,¡± said the King, smiling ingratiatingly. ¡°I hope our guests will find the meals prepared to their satisfaction. If not, our kitchen staff will bring additional options for you.¡± Adon, already impressed with the variety of options that he could see in front of him, had nothing to say to that, except a quiet Thank you, Your Majesty! He felt like he ought to add something more, but both his imagination and his courage failed him. Instead of making conversation, he simply flapped his wings and flitted up to the lip of the nearest goblet. It was really kind of them to consider my new mouthparts, he thought. His proboscis was optimized specifically for drinking things rather than chewing. Although he believed he might be able to use his strange new partial shapeshifting to form it back into mandibles, he wanted to give his body a chance to succeed in eating in the way that was most normal for a butterfly. Adon began to unfurl his coiled up proboscis and had almost dipped it into the goblet, when he realized he might be making a faux pas. He turned and looked to see if the King or any of the Royal Family had begun to eat yet. They were all staring at him. Now I¡¯m that kind of guest, he thought. No manners¡­ ¡°Please, um, dig in, Adon,¡± the King said. ¡°Unless you would like to say our mealtime prayer.¡± A few seconds passed before Adon could muster a response. No, please go ahead, he sent. I will start eating after the, um, prayer. The King bowed his head, closed his eyes, and began to speak. ¡°Thank you, Goddess, for this life-giving meal. Thank you for the table, the palace, the country, and the people. Thank you for nature and light. Thank you for sending us our guests.¡± He smiled. ¡°Thank you for making this marvelous world and giving each of us our place in it. May the beauty of Your creation abide with us all the days of our lives. So be it.¡± The King raised his head and opened his eyes again. Without further prompting, everyone at the table began lifting utensils and eating their lunch. Adon saw that the humans had what looked and smelled like meat pies on their plates. They were decorated with an intricate butterfly-themed pastry design. Like a puzzle that was made out of interlocking butterflies. The sight of the pies made him slightly more nervous, if that were possible. It really feels like we¡¯re celebrating me with this lunch, even though the Princess only just recovered from being in a coma. Adon stuck his proboscis into the drink in front of him, which he saw was amber-colored. He sucked in a gulp, but he did not taste anything in his mouth, even as he swallowed down the liquid. He felt as if he was drinking something alcoholic and bittersweet, but it was hard for him to be sure of how he knew it. He took a few seconds to try and isolate where the taste was coming from. Wait, do I have taste buds on my legs now? It felt like the most absurd twist of Evolution yet. So, do I need to lower myself into the cup if I want to taste it more strongly? He was not sure whether he should do that or not. If he tasted the beer more directly with his legs, would that contribute to getting him drunk? Adon did not want to get hammered in front of the Royal Family. ¡°Would you be so kind as to tell us a little more about yourselves, Adon and Goldie?¡± The King¡¯s voice interrupted Adon¡¯s train of thought. Adon was struck silent for a few seconds, while he tried to think of anything about himself that was worth knowing. He was saved by the spider. It is very kind of you to ask, Goldie sent. My friend and I were both born¡ªor, more accurately, hatched¡ªin your garden. We both previously lived lives as humans, although my memory of my previous life is almost nonexistent. Adon¡ªGoldie looked his way as if she wanted him to speak. Then she seemed to decide that he probably wasn¡¯t ready yet. Adon remembers more. It is thanks to him that I have kept my sanity all this time. Until the birth of my children, I had no one else to talk to. Adon saw that even as Goldie transmitted her surprisingly diplomatic and eloquent introduction to the King, she and her children were also eating the raw birds that had been placed before them. As they were employing the usual spider method of eating¡ªpartially liquefying the birds and then sucking out the juices¡ªhe forced himself to look away so as to avoid losing his appetite. I need to say something now, Adon thought. But he stood paralyzed for a few key seconds. ¡°That is marvelous,¡± said the Queen. ¡°Congratulations on the safe birth of your children,¡± said the King. Goldie¡¯s posture shifted slightly, and Adon recognized that the word ¡°safe¡± had upset her slightly. This pushed him to speak up. Goldie went through a lot at that time, Your Majesty, Adon transmitted. It was dangerous, but she managed to survive. He felt at once relieved that he had managed to say something and annoyed that he hadn¡¯t made it more thoughtful or eloquent. They all know she survived, dumbass, he told himself angrily. She¡¯s right here! ¡°I apologize if my choice of words was insensitive,¡± the King said in a subdued tone. ¡°Of course, survival cannot be easy out there.¡± He gestured vaguely in the direction of the garden. Well, we chose to remain out there, Goldie sent. The Princess had offered to bring us into the palace much earlier, but we preferred to take our chances for a little longer, until Adon and I had completed our Evolutions, and I had hatched my eggs. What Goldie said was not quite accurate¡ªAdon had essentially made the decision that he was not ready to meet new people and then sold Goldie on that choice¡ªbut he appreciated her taking half of the responsibility from his shoulders. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. It¡¯s my fault that we were attacked by the wasps, he thought guiltily. My fault that Red died. No matter how many times Goldie tries to make me feel better, I¡¯ll always know it¡¯s true. His eyes focused on Samson for a moment. Did his reincarnated brother know what Adon had denied him, with Adon¡¯s poor decision making? Perhaps the resentment that had boiled up in Adon since he encountered his brother in this world was not a one way street. I¡¯ll have to ask Goldie about that, he thought. Considering how she¡¯s whitewashed my decision making just now, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if she conveniently forgot to mention it to Samson. Adon heard the Princess¡¯s voice, and he was pulled out of his self-obsessed pattern of thoughts. ¡°I am glad you have chosen to join us now,¡± she was saying. ¡°I hope you will find the interior of the palace more to your liking than the garden.¡± I like it much more than the garden so far, Adon sent without thinking much of it. At least I can sort of talk to the Princess, he thought. Unlike the rest of the Royal Family, she was not new to him. Besides Goldie, she was the person he had spoken with most in this world. ¡°How is your meal, honored guests?¡± the Queen asked. Adon looked down at the drink that he now felt fairly certain was beer. Um, it¡¯s beer¡ªAdon stopped himself from rambling further, then added a simple, I haven¡¯t tried the other goblets yet. Goldie turned to face Adon, and he read her posture as indicating that she was surprised about his total lack of social skills. She was probably just standing the way she always stood, but that was how it felt to Adon. All I said was that it was beer, what is wrong with me? Adon shouted inside of his own head. They¡¯ll think I hate it! ¡°Yes, um, do you dislike beer?¡± the Queen asked slowly. ¡°Would you have preferred wine? You do have a fermented fruit drink in one of your goblets that my dear husband¡ª¡± She smiled at the King¡ª¡°ordered specially prepared for you.¡± ¡°Two different fruits in two different goblets,¡± the King said, grinning. ¡°We have others that were brewed, but we did not want to overwhelm you. I know butterflies do not typically eat as much as caterpillars.¡± I do not dislike the beer, Adon sent, angrily forcing himself to act like a normal person. I will make sure to try everything. He flitted to another goblet, and as soon as his legs touched the rim, the air around the liquid brought him a strong flavor of overripe strawberries. Adon was simultaneously aware that if he was a human, he would have considered throwing this batch of strawberries into the trash¡ªand that the fruits had been aged just the right amount for him to enjoy the liquefied berries. Oh, this is going to be delicious! he thought. He stuck his proboscis into the mixture without further thought, and he began eagerly drinking the fermented beverage. I think he likes it, Goldie transmitted to the table. We are also enjoying the birds that were so thoughtfully prepared for us. I hope it was interesting for the young princes and princesses. Adon became aware as Goldie spoke that Rosslyn¡¯s siblings had barely been eating. Instead, they had mostly been staring in fascination at Goldie and her children¡¯s plate as the family of spiders ate the birds that had been provided for them. ¡°I feel certain that it is very educational,¡± Rosslyn replied quietly. ¡°In this family, the natural sciences are something of an intergenerational passion. The dining habits of spiders are as interesting as the Evolution of a butterfly for us.¡± ¡°We hope they have given no offense,¡± added the Queen. None to me, Samson sent, speaking up to the whole table for the first time. Your Majesty. The Queen rose from her seat and walked around the table to get a closer look at Samson. ¡°What a precious young thing,¡± she murmured. She looked at Goldie. ¡°He is so young. My husband was just telling me earlier how rare telepathic arthropods are. To achieve that so soon after hatching¡ªyou must be very proud.¡± Goldie¡¯s body visibly relaxed under the Queen¡¯s praise. I have tried to raise them well, Goldie sent. Dear Samson here remembers his immediate past life, a lot like Adon, Your Majesty. ¡°I do not know if anyone has mentioned this yet, but you mystic beasts do not have to call us by honorifics,¡± the Queen said. ¡°We consider you as royals of your own species, effectively, so there is no reason why we should not all relax around each other. My name is Carolien.¡± I should say, I do not remember as much as Adon, Samson sent, jumping in. Though I do remember we were brothers. ¡°Brothers in your previous life, eh?¡± the King said, raising an eyebrow. ¡°What are the chances of that?¡± He looked intrigued. ¡°If the Goddess wants it to happen, then it was a certainty that it would,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°Then the only question is why,¡± Carolien said. ¡°What task are these two meant to accomplish?¡± Adon flitted uncomfortably to another goblet. His strawberry drink was almost completely finished. He had gulped it down quickly as the conversation went on. He was in the awkward position of simultaneously feeling uncomfortable with being the center of attention and not wanting his brother to start getting the spotlight. And as he moved, more clumsily than he had before, in a kind of ungainly zigzag through the air, he realized he might be in the early stages of getting drunk. Should not be possible, he told himself. I didn¡¯t even have that much beer¡ªoh. Adon realized he had sent that sequence of thoughts as a telepathic missive rather than keeping it to himself. Well, that means I¡¯m definitely getting drunk, he thought to himself much more carefully. ¡°What were you, um, saying, Adon?¡± Rosslyn asked. Nothing, he sent immediately. I was just appreciating the quality of these beverages. Adon felt a little better about himself suddenly. That was a competently constructed reply to what she said, he thought. ¡°We are very glad you are enjoying them,¡± the King said. ¡°I meant to introduce myself, too.¡± He nodded toward his wife. ¡°My name is Alistair, and you should all feel free to use it.¡± I will try to make certain I do, Your Maj¡ªer, Alistair, Adon sent. It will take some getting used to! A quiet jubilation swelled up in Adon¡¯s chest, as he realized that the alcohol in the fermented fruit drinks was making him less nervous¡ªor at least preventing him from holding much back. I have to be careful how I manage this, he told himself. Buzzed is one thing. If I get drunk, I¡¯m going to start spilling all kinds of embarrassing secrets. He began drinking from a goblet that smelled like slightly sweetened water rather than fruit. I wonder what this drink is. ¡°That one is just sugar water,¡± Alistair said, smiling. Adon realized he had again sent that last thought out, rather than keeping it to himself. Oh dear, he thought very quietly. He continued hydrating¡ªand wondered if this meal would end before he said something that got him and his friends thrown out of the royal household. Maybe you could tell us something about your family¡¯s long history with bugs, Goldie transmitted to everyone, perhaps trying to cover for Adon. Out of everyone at the table, she was the one who was most likely to recognize there was something slightly off about her friend. 2-22. Digesting Thanks, Goldie, Adon sent, very carefully targeting his friend alone. Are you all right? she sent back. Flap twice for no, and I will make an excuse for us to leave. I¡¯m just a little tipsy, Adon replied. Going to drink some water and try to let my body burn through the alcohol. He found that he could reliably target who he wanted to receive his telepathic messages even while he was slightly intoxicated. He just had to focus a bit more. Looks like getting buzzed isn¡¯t that different across different incarnations, he thought. Adon refocused on the Royal Family. The King was speaking on what Goldie had just asked about. ¡°The first mystic butterfly our family encountered taught us magic,¡± Alistair explained. ¡°Ever since then, we have been curious about the relationships between our race and the nonhuman species that live peacefully alongside us. Gradually, that curiosity metamorphosed into an interest in scientific study. We have funded many researchers over the centuries. If you are interested in reading some of our books, I can show you to the library later.¡± Adon allowed Goldie to lead the conversation for the next half hour, although he occasionally chimed in and added his own thoughts. He kept himself carefully balanced between sober and drunk, which helped to alleviate some of his nerves at talking to the group of relative strangers. Besides the fermented strawberry beverage, beer, and sugar water, there were goblets of fermented peach beverage, ale, and flower nectar. Everything but the sugar water and flower nectar increased his intoxication. By the end of the lunch, Adon had almost drained all of the cups, and he felt almost full enough to shed his skin again. He had also become more confident and comfortable around the Royal Family. He managed to tell them bits and pieces of his life, both in this world and in others. They seemed surprised and oddly impressed that he remembered more than one of his past lives. Something told him they might think he was lying if he said he remembered details from all of them, so he kept his explanations vague. And at the children¡¯s request, he showed off how he could change from a clear crystal style of wing to multiple different colors and patterns at will. He switched to being a parchment color at the end and decided to simply leave his body that color pattern for a while, to make it easier for everyone to see him. It was easy for Adon to control his color scheme now; all he had to do was think about his intentions once, and his body adapted. It was almost scary how much easier it had become. I feel like I¡¯m popular now, he sent to Goldie as the servants were coming to take the plates and goblets away. Of course you are, she replied instantly. I told you that people cannot help liking you, as long as you are true to yourself. Having a great wing-spider helps, Adon sent. Honestly, a little liquid courage didn¡¯t hurt either. You did mention being a little tipsy, Goldie replied. I am glad it helped. What is a wing-spider? Adon explained the concept of a wingman in dating, which wasn¡¯t easy for him since he had only read about it and seen it represented on entertainment programs. But Goldie seemed to get it on a basic level. Someone who helps you find a mate, she sent, the words coming out slowly and thoughtfully. That makes sense. It is easy to imagine being shy, or simply lacking confidence in one¡¯s judgment. Adon nodded. That was close enough. Then the arthropods were being carried on their pillows, back to the room where Adon had emerged from his chrysalis. Princess Rosslyn followed after them, and Adon silently willed himself to sober up more quickly. He remembered that she had mentioned she would continue the magic lessons after lunch, and he didn¡¯t want to embarrass himself by performing poorly just because he had consumed too much of the fermented fruit juices. Despite his wish to become sober, Adon recognized that he must be a lightweight, since he had never consumed alcohol in this body before. The hall seemed to whirl and spin around him as if he was on a carousel, and it was all he could do to keep from vomiting or walking off the side of the blue pillow. At least Rosslyn can¡¯t really see me, he thought as he swayed uncontrollably from side to side. There was a bright side to being a nearly invisible Mystic Crystal Butterfly. He looked down at himself and remembered he was parchment colored now. Well, hopefully people will think I¡¯m just swaying because I¡¯m small and the servant is moving quickly with the pillow. The servants placed Adon and the spiders back on the bed, and he managed to avoid toppling onto his back or stumbling off of the side of the bed. I¡¯d better not use my wings, he thought. Zigzagging flying patterns, or even flying in circles, would be a dead giveaway that I had way too much to drink. As Rosslyn entered and sat down in a chair beside the bed, Adon steadied himself and did his best to listen carefully as she lectured on the fundamentals of magic as humans understood and used it. Unfortunately, much of what she said was lost on Adon as he used most of his fortitude and willpower to simply remain awake and upright. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. But as she carried on, Adon¡¯s body began to defeat the poison that he had inflicted on it, and he found himself better able to focus. ¡°The most important ability to make Mana useful is giving it an affinity,¡± she was saying. ¡°Just pouring unaltered Mana into someone or something will not necessarily have the effect you want. You can enhance your own body with Mana, because when you pour it into a specific place, your body has an instinctive knowledge of how to use it. But when you push Mana into something else, the effect depends on a combination of your intent and the kind of Mana you use. ¡°For instance, you could push Mana into a wall or a stone, and you would probably just make the wall stronger. The stones in the wall, or the particles in the stone, accept Mana and use it to maintain their present shape and condition. But that might not be the best way to apply your Mana. What if you wanted to destroy something rather than preserve it? Or what if you wanted to change the shape of the wall? What if you wanted to specifically try to heal someone rather than just enhancing their body generally?¡± Rosslyn looked at her students as if she expected them to have an answer, and Goldie dutifully tried to provide one. You need to change the affinity, like you were saying, Goldie sent weakly. ¡°Yes, that is the best way,¡± Rosslyn agreed. ¡°What I really meant to ask is, what do you think the result is if you just pour Mana in and try to accomplish those goals without changing affinity?¡± It sounds inefficient, Samson transmitted, the words coming out slowly as he thought carefully. That fits with my experience, Adon sent. Everyone looked at him as if surprised he was paying attention to the conversation, and he felt awkward until Rosslyn spoke up again. ¡°Very interesting, Adon. What was it you were trying to do?¡± I used a burst of concentrated Mana as a projectile weapon, Adon sent. Rosslyn raised her eyebrows high for a moment, then seemed to try to compose herself quickly. Even as she spoke up again, Adon could tell that she was surprised. ¡°How well did that work?¡± she asked. ¡°I mean, how far did it go, how much damage did it do?¡± It burned through some plants, Adon sent. Then it buried itself into the ground. ¡°You must have had a lot of Mana to even achieve that result,¡± Rosslyn replied. ¡°For a baby butterfly¡ªI mean, a larva¡ªto be so destructive is impressive.¡± I actually did a little damage to your rooftop another time, Adon admitted. I killed a crow. Goldie¡¯s body shook quietly, and Adon could tell that in her own mind, she was laughing. ¡°Well, I am glad the bird did not get to eat you,¡± Rosslyn said, shrugging. ¡°Anyway, all of you are right. You need to change the affinity to get the best possible results. Using standard issue pure Mana produced by your body, unfiltered, is usually an inefficient way to accomplish something, unless your goal is simple enhancement. If you wanted to kill someone by pouring your Mana into them, you would have to use a lot of it, or you would have to heavily concentrate it, like Adon did with his attack. To heal someone without using healing magic specifically, you would probably have to empty your full Mana reserves, depending on how bad the injuries were. Fortunately, that is the only magical affinity that has become common in every region known to man. And to change the shape of a wall, rather than reinforcing it, without channeling a specific Mana affinity¡ª¡± Rosslyn shook her head and frowned a little sadly¡ª¡°is probably impossible.¡± Impossible? Adon asked. Not just difficult? ¡°If you just pour power into something, there is no reason to think it will reshape itself according to your will,¡± she replied. ¡°Reality is stubborn that way. It does not want to be reshaped. A wall does not want to become a door. It needs finessing, not a brute force approach.¡± She chuckled. ¡°Well, a brute force approach also works, if all you want is an opening where the wall used to be. Otherwise, you need earth magic or something similar.¡± Can we learn these affinities from you? Goldie asked eagerly. ¡°It would be better if you practice manipulating Mana around your bodies first,¡± Rosslyn said. She paused, then added, ¡°That said, there is no reason for me to assume that life in the palace will remain as calm as it is now. I might as well give you something to practice in the event that you get a good handle on controlling the movement and concentration of Mana. I should say that I cannot teach you many affinities. Our family only possesses two affinities besides healing, and I can only share one of those with, um¡ªpeople who are not members of the family.¡± She looked slightly uncomfortable. Which attribute is it? Goldie asked, with what Adon thought was a very deliberate enthusiasm, intended to reassure the Princess that whatever she offered would be valuable to the bugs. Rosslyn smiled. ¡°Fire magic.¡± She began to explain the basics as she knew them. ¡°The key attribute of fire magic is rapid motion. The tiny particles of Mana vibrating so intensely that they ignite flame. Once you achieve the right level of intensity, you can set objects afire with a touch. Even at a weaker level, you can superheat an object that you touch with this affinity. If the object happens to be a living thing¡ª¡± Her mouth twitched as if she had remembered something amusing¡ª¡°well, suffice to say that it can be an effective combat technique.¡± I remember when you used it on the Vendetta Ants, Adon sent. Fire magic is scary stuff, he thought to himself. ¡°Yes,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°Fire magic is one of the deadliest affinities that we know of. Our family¡¯s other primary affinity, light magic, is also deadly, but it has limitations that fire magic does not. Light follows stubborn rules. For instance, you only get out the amount of energy you put in, whereas a small amount of fire can grow by consuming objects nearby.¡± You mentioned setting objects on fire with a touch, Adon sent. That¡¯s how healing magic works, I know. I¡¯ve used it. Rosslyn simply nodded. But when you killed the Vendetta Ants with fire magic, you didn¡¯t touch them, did you, Rosslyn? Adon asked. ¡°No,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°I did not have to touch them.¡± How? Goldie asked. ¡°There is another ability that runs in my family. Sometimes it skips a generation or two. We got it from some distant ancestor, but very few noble families have it. Telekinesis. Moving objects with our minds. Mine is fairly weak, but I can throw my Mana around very easily.¡± Wow, Adon thought. ¡°What might be encouraging, if you find that ability interesting, is that it is not unheard of for nonhumans, whether mystic beasts or monsters, to possess the same ability. If you can get it, Telekinesis is very useful. Even if mine is weak, it could still give me the edge in a difficult fight.¡± Very interesting, Adon sent. Thank you for sharing that. Rosslyn shrugged, and Adon thought she seemed slightly sad, or perhaps even guilty. ¡°It is not as though I am behaving selflessly,¡± she said. ¡°If it helps the two of you grow, I think it will be a good investment for my country.¡± I hope so, he replied. Adon wished that he could take away some of the invisible burdens that Rosslyn was clearly carrying. 2-23. Growth Mindset As Rosslyn watched Goldie and Samson practice moving Mana around their bodies, Adon was still thinking about the Telekinesis ability. He realized that he did not know if it was an Adaptation or a Skill. Rosslyn had not distinguished between those at all in any conversation with Adon that he remembered off the top of his head, and he was not certain humans had the same System interface as monsters in this world. Which might mean I could have obtained Telekinesis without realizing it during my Evolution, he thought excitedly. Just like I got some kind of shapeshifting Adaptation and didn¡¯t realize until I wanted my limbs to do something they couldn¡¯t naturally do. That would be pretty cool. If I don¡¯t have it, I¡¯ll just check the Evolution Store. But it would be awesome if I suddenly found out I had the ability to move objects¡ªand Mana!¡ªwith my mind. Adon focused his mind and tried to reach out to move the pillow at the head of the bed with his mind. Use the Telekinesis, Adon, he told himself. It surrounds and it binds¡­ He tried this for a few minutes, before he recognized that it was not going to work. All he succeeded in doing by staring at the pillow was causing his forelimbs to extend like small tentacles to try and grasp the pillow, which was not at all what he had intended. He ordered them back to their normal size and shape, and he gave up. All right. I don¡¯t have Telekinesis. Why am I surprised? He shook his head and opened the Evolution Store.
Evolution Store
Adaptations
Evolutions
Skills
Interesting that ¡°Evolutions¡± is grayed out but still appears as a thing I could click on, if I had enough Evolution Points¡­ It was possible that there was a step further beyond where Adon already was, and he found that very interesting. He was not accustomed to his current body yet, though. He would wait a while. He opened up Adaptations and scrolled down. There are a lot of options that there weren¡¯t before, he noticed immediately. New options included Beguiling Pheromone Production, Extrasensory Perception Organs, Primitive Vocal Cords, Regeneration I, and most interestingly, Transformation II. Implying that I already have Transformation I? That must be the Adaptation that allowed him to change his shape. It was a bit frustrating that Adon could not read the descriptions for any of the Adaptations he was looking at, however. They were outside his price range, so their text was grayed out. How expensive are these? Did I not get Evolution Points from all those beverages I got drunk on at lunch? Adon opened his Status up to check.
User: Adon, Mystic Crystal Butterfly Age: 1 month Sex: Male
Status
Health: 200/200
Mana: 9000/9000
Strength: 250
Agility: 2000
Perception: 500
Dexterity: 1000
Constitution: 500
Intelligence: 3000
Will: 6000
Charisma: 1000
Skills: Identify, Impeccable Memory, Mana Manipulation V, Past Life Connection, Shed Skin IV, Spine Shot V, Spiritual Sight
Evolution Points: 158
Biomass: 65/50
So I did get some Evolution Points from lunch. Just fifty. Adon remembered when that had seemed like a lot. Now he had more expensive tastes. Finally, he opened the Evolution Store back up, returned to Adaptations, scrolled down, and confirmed that Telekinesis I was available. Like all of the other options, it was grayed out, so Adon could not read any details about it. The only Adaptations that he seemed to be able to afford were Extended Antenna I, Poison Generation I, and Stench Defense I. Those cost a hundred Evolution Points each. Wait, weren¡¯t those available back when I was a newborn? He searched his memories and found that was accurate. Back then, they had cost two Evolution Points apiece. I suffered some severe inflation with Evolution. I¡¯m glad Evolution used up most of the Evolution Points I had saved before, since they apparently decreased drastically in value. I wonder if that happened to Goldie, too. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. He turned and glanced over at the spider, thinking about asking her how her experiences of Evolution had been. But Goldie was clearly extremely focused on her Mana training. Her whole body was stiff with tension, and he could see how she was struggling to get Mana to shift from one region to another. As he turned away again, he realized Rosslyn was staring down at him. Oh, hey, Princess, he transmitted awkwardly. ¡°Hi Adon,¡± she replied. ¡°What are you up to?¡± I was just looking into getting Telekinesis I, he sent. It sounds useful. ¡°Oh, did you get it?¡± No, afraid not. I need to earn more Evolution Points. ¡°I see. Do you want help? We could arrange to get you something more nutritious to eat, if that would make a difference. I must admit, we humans have only a flimsy understanding of how Evolution Points and your growth as a mystic beast works.¡± I appreciate the thought, he replied. Let me think about it, if you don¡¯t mind? Rosslyn simply nodded. Adon was relieved that she did not follow up with further questions. The truth was, though he did not want to be rude by saying so directly, he did not think there was anything the Princess could do to help with this. He could feel the food he had consumed at lunch was nutritious and exactly what his body wanted. But being a pet fed by hand did not seem to be what the Goddess¡¯s System rewarded. Adon was already considering the possibility of a solo journey. A hunting trip to test out the strength and versatility of his new body. If I went out into nature and managed to gather that much nutritious food, I¡¯m sure I would have gotten more points, he thought. When I was a caterpillar, I became very accustomed to interpreting what would be rewarded. Fighting and effort are more heavily rewarded than just consuming high quality food. Even if the Royal Family acquired a lion and tied it down for Adon to kill, he felt certain he would only get a fraction of the Evolution Points he would acquire otherwise. Because they were making it too easy. By the end of my caterpillar life, I accrued more points for killing the Wasp Queen than I did for killing a snake. It wasn¡¯t because the Wasp Queen was more nutritious than the snake. At least I don¡¯t think she was. It was because she put up much more of a fight than the snake did. I have to find something that puts up the biggest fight that I can handle. That¡¯s the only way I¡¯ll grow the way I need to. He looked back at Rosslyn. That¡¯s the only way I can help her and her family out. Although saving a kingdom was a task larger than Adon could really wrap his head around, there was apparently precedent for butterflies having a big impact. That was why they were treating him like he was literal royalty now. He turned and looked over at Goldie and Samson. He knew he owed them a great deal. Goldie was his first friend. He felt an obligation to protect her, Samson, and the other hatchlings, even if it was complicated by Samson being Adon¡¯s envied brother in a previous life. As Adon looked, he saw that the other spiders were practicing making webs in the corner of the bed, using the bedpost as a base. Meanwhile, Adon¡¯s friend and his brother were still trying to make Mana circulate around their bodies with visible difficulty. There was a little part of Adon that was satisfied by seeing that. At least there was one area where he remained ahead. But mostly he wondered if he could help them get past this initial hurdle. If he was going to go and seek out danger to get stronger, he wanted to at least do a little something for Goldie and Samson before he took off. That way, they¡¯ll be as advanced at magic as me by the time I come back. He was uncertain whether he believed that or not¡ªand equally unsure how he felt about it. The idea of Samson catching up to him gave him an instinctive queasy feeling, but he felt nothing like that at the thought of Goldie learning magic. Before he could overthink things, Adon flapped his wings once, twice, and quickly flitted over to where Goldie and Samson stood. I don¡¯t know if this will help, he transmitted, but I think I can show you guys how Mana moves around my body. If an example is useful, great. If not, then I¡¯m just showing off! Adon sent the last sentence with a touch of humor in his tone, but he knew it was also true. The thirst that he felt to prove himself would be sated for a little while after this. He first reached within himself until he found the core of his power. It was easier than it had ever been before. What had once been a tiny light inside himself, somewhere between a candle and a torch from the beginning of his existence to the time he entered the chrysalis, was now more akin to a great bonfire. It was more effort for Adon to pull only a tiny amount of light away from it than it would have been to light the whole room with his reserves of Mana. Still, it was only a trivial effort now. Something had changed in Evolution. Not just his body¡¯s qualitative features, but the quality of his control over his body¡ªand by extension, his control over magic. Now that I think about it, I never saw any magic-related stuff in there, did I? He tried to remember whether he had skimmed past anything in the Adaptations section of the Evolution Store that would have made his magical abilities stronger, but when nothing immediately jumped out at him, he pulled his attention back to the present. He had a little ball of Mana in his focus now, and he could move it freely. More freely and easily than he ever could have before. He shifted it from one area to another easily, smoothly, holding his body as still as possible so that the spiders could see exactly how everything was moving. Then he circulated the ball of Mana around his body¡ªmuch greater in surface area now than it had been when he first started doing this exercise as a caterpillar. Once. Twice. A third time. He moved the ball in new patterns. Circles and loop-de-loops. He moved it with such ease that he almost put himself to sleep. His body and mind were on autopilot. He lost track of how long he had been doing it. Adon did not know if it would make any difference for them, but it did him no harm. Finally, he heard a sound that pulled him out of his almost trance-like state. ¡°Are you going to keep doing that forever?¡± Rosslyn was asking. Adon pulled the little ball of Mana back into his core. How long did I go for? he asked. ¡°You do not know?¡± she replied. ¡°How do you manage that? For young humans, it requires great focus.¡± I think it helps that I was practicing magic before Evolution, Adon replied modestly. He turned his head and saw that Goldie and Samson were still moving Mana around their bodies. It still was not nearly as smooth as Adon¡¯s movements, but he could see the progress. They were on track. Perhaps after a few days of that, they would be ready to attempt more focused applications of Mana. Then Rosslyn¡¯s fire magic. I hope I helped with that, he thought. ¡°That was kind of you,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°You have not even tried using fire magic yet, after I explained the method. Instead, you focused on helping your friends.¡± Well, they are my friends, Adon replied. He felt that it was an inadequate explanation of just how deep his connections with Goldie and Samson went, but Rosslyn would pick up on what he was saying between the lines. ¡°Would you like to try using fire magic now? I was going to go train. We have a room with very thick walls, so that the damage you can unintentionally do with magic is limited.¡± I would like that, Adon sent. Fire magic would be an excellent ability to have under his belt in the wilds outside the palace. This training room would also be a good place to tell Rosslyn that he wanted to go and train alone for a little while. There was a pit in his stomach at the thought of leaving Goldie, Samson, and Rosslyn. A little part of him wondered if they would be upset with him. If the Royal Family might think he was ungrateful. If Goldie and Samson might feel that he was abandoning them. That was the furthest thing from the truth, of course. Adon knew he would be back. But telling Rosslyn would help him get his choice of words right for when he mentioned the idea to Goldie. ¡°You can hop on my shoulder if you want a ride,¡± Rosslyn suggested, smiling and tapping her upper arm. Adon flapped his wings once, twice, and almost floated down until he was perched on the Princess¡¯s shoulder like a parrot. Then Rosslyn took him away. 2-24. Catching Fire As Rosslyn conveyed Adon down the halls, her mind sifted through possibilities for the future. How quickly would Adon pick up fire magic? He seemed like an extremely talented magic user, but she had not actually seen how well he picked up new abilities yet, only heard about it. There was a part of her that saw Adon the way she knew her father saw him. An ally, an asset, or more bluntly, a weapon that still needed to be honed. He could be the savior of their nation, if he lived up to family lore¡ªno, to the now confirmed history of his predecessors. But she felt instinctively that saying something like that to Adon directly would be placing too much pressure on his wings. Carrying him on her shoulder was a reminder of how small and fragile the butterfly was. He weighed so little that she could easily have forgotten he was there, if she was not thinking about him consciously the entire time as she walked, avoiding getting too close to suits of armor or other hard, low-hanging objects that might knock him from his perch. It was easier back when I had both eyes. She resisted the urge to run her fingers over the scar again. It would only upset her, and she did not want to cry in front of Adon. She could not remember if she had already done so when she woke up to find she was half-blind. The day had been a blur. Be strong, she told herself. The Goddess loves things that are strong and beautiful. Although she doubted she would qualify as beautiful. Probably not anymore, if she ever had. Rosslyn moved toward the training space where she had sparred with Sir Jaren, Matilda, and various nobles, what felt like a lifetime ago. It has only been a few weeks, right? she thought. A part of her felt as if she had been under a magic spell and slept for years. So much had changed while she was asleep. She felt so weak. Lost. And she was afraid of how her capabilities would have deteriorated with the complete loss of her depth perception. Any rustiness from her long sleep would be recoverable, but her eye was never coming back. Rosslyn rounded the final corner and returned her focus to the present. She could already smell the slight, permanent odor of sweat, the light tang of rust in the air, and even the faint whiff of Sir Jaren¡¯s cologne. At least her nose still functioned as normal. Sir Jaren stepped out to greet her¡ªor at least to see who was coming into his place of work. His eyes widened when he saw Rosslyn¡¯s face. ¡°Princess!¡± The man at arms exclaimed. ¡°Yes, sir?¡± she replied. ¡°I¡ªI am thrilled to see you out of bed,¡± he said after an awkward pause. ¡°I had not yet heard¡ª¡± He could hardly speak. A genuinely joyful smile was overtaking his whole face, and it appeared to make it hard for him to speak. ¡°Well, I am glad to be the one to deliver the news,¡± Rosslyn said, a grin tugging at the corners of her own lips. Besides her family, no one would be happier to know that Rosslyn was still alive than Sir Jaren. His eyes lit on the butterfly that stood on her shoulder. ¡°Your Highness, are you aware that you have a butterfly there?¡± he asked. Rosslyn chuckled. ¡°I am. He and I are going to do some training, if the room is not already busy.¡± ¡°If it was, I would clear everyone out for you anyway,¡± Sir Jaren replied. ¡°But the nobles are less motivated to train when there is no King and no Princess around to watch them or express approbation of their actions. It has been quiet around here, except for your knights. Today, it is only us.¡± ¡°Excellent. Would you please ensure that no one else enters this time?¡± she said. Sir Jaren bowed his head. ¡°Certainly. I will lock the door behind you. Would you like complete privacy?¡± Rosslyn thought about it for a fraction of a second. Sir Jaren was like an older brother or something. If she could trust anyone, she could trust him. ¡°No, you can watch,¡± she said. ¡°Just please avoid telling anyone how rusty I am.¡± She pointed at her eye. ¡°Or how clumsy.¡± His expression turned sad as he seemed to notice her disfigurement for the first time. ¡°I have been utterly out of the loop,¡± he said quietly. ¡°Who did that to you, Your Highness? I know nothing about your trip, except what little you told me before you left. If I knew there was a chance of violence, I would have asked to come along myself.¡± His voice took on a deadly tension. ¡°I would love to meet the person who cut you.¡± ¡°He is dead now,¡± she replied, smiling grimly. ¡°I wish that I could raise the dead, so you could have the pleasure of killing him yourself.¡± They shared a malicious smile, and then Sir Jaren held the door for her and Adon as they entered the training area. He locked and bolted the door behind them, then opened the door to the next room so that Rosslyn could change. ¡°You can wait with Sir Jaren, Adon,¡± she said quietly. Even if you are a butterfly now, you were a man in your last life. She imagined the instincts of a man did not fade if the identity of that man was preserved as strongly as she thought it was in Adon. As she stepped through the doorway, he flapped his wings and settled on the wall outside of the changing room, next to Sir Jaren. Then she tied her hair back and changed into the same set of padded armor that she usually used. She was quick and efficient. This would be just like riding a horse. All she had to do was get back in the saddle. Her pulse quickened as she thought of sparring with a human again, though. Rosslyn knew herself well enough to recognize the cocktail of nerves and excitement. It was a balance that could teeter to either side at any moment, depending upon how things went. She would want to start with baby steps. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. She was glad that Sir Jaren was here. If she decided to spar with a human, rather than just training by herself and assisting Adon with his training, she knew he would not put much pressure on her. As she emerged from the changing area, she saw Adon perched on the same wall where he had been, while Sir Jaren had moved away. I guess that they were not talking. It was possible that Adon believed the Royal Family wanted to keep his nature a secret¡ªwhich was true, although Sir Jaren was within Rosslyn¡¯s personal circle of trust¡ªor, more likely, that he wanted to keep his own sentience a secret still. He did well talking with my family, but I suppose he is still mistrustful of humans in general. ¡°I think this is the best spot for you to practice,¡± Rosslyn said. She pointed ahead of her, then entered the combat circle. Adon flew from his perch on the wall to land on the ground opposite her. His movement through the air remained strikingly beautiful to Rosslyn. Like watching flower petals blow with the breeze, except he was clearly in complete control. ¡°I will be re-familiarizing myself with the use of the sword, but please go ahead and tell me if you want any advice or feedback.¡± Certainly, Adon replied. Thank you, Rosslyn. She was pleased to note that he was using her name, not ¡°Princess¡± or ¡°Your Highness.¡± Another area where she appreciated the value of baby steps. The butterfly seemed to go into focus mode at that point, and Rosslyn grabbed a practice sword and started her own training. She swung up and down, back and forth, moved forward and back, all while keeping an eye on Adon, who was channeling Mana but otherwise remained motionless. Rosslyn found that she had been correct in thinking that her body was rusty. Even though she still remembered all of her moves on an intellectual level¡ªshe had been in a fight just before her long nap, after all¡ªeverything was sluggish and stiff from barely having been moved in weeks. As she got into her moves, she paid less attention to Adon for a while. Rosslyn did not become aware of the butterfly again until after she had gotten into the groove of her usual techniques again. It really was just like riding a horse. I did not lose anything important, she told herself, feeling the lie only slightly. I will be back to fighting at my usual level soon¡ª A sharp intake of breath from off to the side pulled Rosslyn¡¯s attention back to the world around her. It was Sir Jaren. He was staring at Adon. Rosslyn looked and saw that Adon¡¯s Mana had changed visibly. He had mustered a lot of Mana around his body earlier, but now it was moving rapidly, swirling like a whirlpool. He is getting closer, Rosslyn thought. She knew why Sir Jaren was surprised. The level of focus Adon seemed able to muster was inhuman. Rosslyn did not know how long she had been practicing with the sword for, but since she had not yet broken a sweat, it could not have been too long. Most students of magic took days to advance in a new affinity, if not months. Mastery could take years. Rosslyn had been a quick learner¡ªthe positive trait that compensated for reserves of power that were lower than would normally be expected of a Royal Family member¡ªbut even she had taken weeks to get a strong grasp of fire magic. Then she had spent a year learning healing magic. Light magic was more difficult and conceptual, and she had spent years mastering it. As she knew from personal experience, it typically became more difficult to learn additional affinity types once one already had one mastered. The body became used to reflexively performing the affinity transformation that it had already learned. Yet Adon had more than one affinity type in his repertoire, and he appeared to be making rapid progress with fire magic. Sir Jaren caught her eye, a wild smile slowly spreading across his face. He shook his head in disbelief. He had probably never seen a nonhuman using magic, unless he had fought a skirmish with a demon. Even then, demons were humanoids, just pale-skinned and with horns. To see a butterfly doing this must be like witnessing one of the Twelve Wonders of the Planet firsthand. Rosslyn nodded with satisfaction. Adon might be the most promising magic student we have ever had in the palace¡ªif we have enough time to train him up. She continued exercising, but the movements now were basic. Easy. Thoughtless. So she could keep an eye on her arthropod friend. It was rewarding. The air around Adon had been glowing with the intensity of his Mana movements. Over the next hour, as she watched, she saw sparks appear in the whirlpool of moving Mana. The first time it happened was a blink-and-you¡¯d-miss-it moment. Almost a fluke. Adon moved as if surprised, then settled back down. Another quarter of an hour passed before he did the same thing again. A spark appeared right in front of him. A minute passed. Then two sparks appeared on either side of Adon. Then three sparks. Then four. A dozen sparks appeared on all sides of Adon. ¡°When did he start learning this?¡± Rosslyn jumped at the sound of Sir Jaren¡¯s quiet voice, then raised her hand to stop him from apologizing. She did not want to break Adon¡¯s concentration. ¡°Today,¡± she whispered. Sir Jaren shook his head. ¡°Truly?¡± She said what he was thinking. ¡°He is a prodigy.¡± She stopped exercising, and they both stood and watched Adon as he pushed his Mana closer and closer to embodying the fire affinity. After another ten minutes, Rosslyn was grinning uncontrollably. ¡°You are incredible,¡± she said quietly, unconscious that she was even speaking the words aloud. The Mana cloak around Adon was glowing a gentle orange color now, as the transition toward fire affinity moved ahead at a breakneck pace. Gradually, from simply generating sparks, his whole aura had been kindled to the temperature of a low-level flame. As Rosslyn looked on, she knew that if she¡ªor anyone other than Adon¡ªwere to try to reach through the veil of Mana around him now, they would be burned. It was so close to fire affinity. Another twenty minutes passed, and Rosslyn began to wonder if she should tell Adon to stop. She wondered how much Mana he could have, being such a small organism. Perhaps that was silly. Mystic butterflies had performed incredible feats of magic before. None of them had been much larger than Adon. But she found herself wondering if he would be all right if he kept pushing himself. His health was more important than quick progress. He had already made days or weeks of progress in a matter of hours. As Rosslyn took a tentative step forward, there was a sound that reminded her of flint striking steel. A flame was kindled in the air all around Adon. The atmosphere caught fire, in a glowing halo whose shape reminded her of a burning heart. The aura all around him had turned red. Incredible. In just one day, he did it. Instead of taking another step toward him, she hung back in awe. Rosslyn held her breath as she stared, all thought of stopping Adon forgotten. 2-25. The Girl on Fire Adon felt a surge of unique power all around him as he added fire magic to his roster of abilities. I didn¡¯t even have to go into the darkness this time, he thought. That thought was a quiet one, almost fully drowned out by his focus on what he was doing. He was still feeling out fire magic, trying to intuit how to keep it stable. That had not been part of Rosslyn¡¯s lecture, he was certain. Perhaps because she had not expected any of her students to start using magical affinities anytime soon. ¡°That is amazing, Adon.¡± Rosslyn¡¯s voice came to him from what felt like far away. Adon tuned back in to reality. Sometimes, when he was doing something¡ªand perhaps this was especially true of attempting magical tasks¡ªhe completely zoned out. Probably a side effect of one of my Skills or Adaptations, he thought. He was fairly certain, without searching through his memories, that he had been this way pre-Evolution. He knew he had not been like that in his last life. He had been as easily distracted by his various screens as any of the humans around him¡ªas though he was living his entire life vicariously. But he did not think any further about it. Rosslyn had just praised him. It was time to bask in her approval. Thank you, he transmitted. Do you think I¡¯m starting to get it? ¡°Your talent is remarkable,¡± Rosslyn replied instantly. ¡°I could not say how many days it took me to produce my first spark when I learned to harness fire.¡± You could talk to Sir Jaren, too, if you like, Adon heard her think. You can hear this, right? What do you think, Sir Jaren? Adon sent, communicating with both of them now. ¡°I think I have never heard a nonhuman speak,¡± Sir Jaren said, looking slightly stunned. ¡°Witnessing one perform complicated magical maneuvers is another first. I myself do not know how to use any magic affinity other than healing.¡± Adon read a subtle sadness on the man¡¯s face. Affinities run in families, Rosslyn said, he reminded himself. I wonder if Rosslyn would be all right with him learning it. But it seemed likely, as he thought about it, that she probably would not be. She had mentioned how noble families and royals jealously guarded their affinity knowledge. Sir Jaren had clearly known the Princess for a long time, and neither she nor the King had ever given him a primer on fire magic. There was no way that was an accident. I bet Rosslyn would prefer if someone in their family¡¯s service could learn the secret family techniques, but I guess I can think of good reasons why that¡¯s not allowed, he thought. To Sir Jaren, he simply sent: I am honored to have left an impression on you, good sir. Adon realized as he transmitted the thought that the knight made him less nervous than any human he had ever met. They could talk normally without Adon consuming alcohol or anything. It probably helped that Sir Jaren was not royalty¡ªor female. There was no feeling that Adon might disappoint Sir Jaren by saying something dumb. His calm, down-to-earth demeanor settled Adon¡¯s social anxiety. It was almost as if the butterfly was talking to himself. ¡°Well, I am honored to be talking to the national creature,¡± Sir Jaren replied immediately, a smile tugging at his lips now. He turned to Rosslyn. ¡°I am correct in my guess, am I not, Your Highness? This is the sort of magical butterfly represented on your family¡¯s emblem?¡± Rosslyn looked slightly flustered at the question for a moment, then she shook her head and gave Sir Jaren a smile in return. It looked tense to Adon, though. Practically painted on. ¡°If you will keep it between the three of us¡ª¡± Sir Jaren nodded. ¡°Yes, he is the national creature,¡± Rosslyn confirmed. ¡°We are trying not to let anyone know that we have a visitor of such importance right now. As the threat of war grows more imminent¡­¡± Sir Jaren was nodding again, and he seemed to pick up everything Rosslyn was saying, both verbally and in subtext. ¡°I will keep it between us, Princess.¡± Rosslyn visibly relaxed at the words. That¡¯s good, since it¡¯s probably your head if someone finds out from you that I¡¯m here, Adon thought very quietly. He was beginning to understand how careful the Royal Family was about their secrets. He imagined that they had to be, but there was still something a bit unsettling about it. Dangerous. He hoped the nice knight understood how serious the King and his family were about things. As he was contemplating Sir Jaren¡¯s possible fate, Adon felt the fire around his body weaken slightly. He poured a little more Mana in, and the flames blazed back into full life. It was amazing how much easier magic had become for him since Evolution. Just like Color Change, it required a fraction of the focus and thought that had once been necessary. This body was truly specialized in magic, coupled with an insane knack for manipulating Adon¡¯s own appearance and shape. ¡°Would you like to test your new affinity out with me, Adon?¡± Rosslyn asked. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Adon sent an immediate Yes. He could not ask for a better opportunity to refine his technique, now that he had grasped the basics of what Rosslyn had explained earlier, than showing her what he could do. It¡¯s really amazing that I can do anything with fire magic at all, he told himself, considering I was drunk for the lecture. If I was this smart in school during my last life, I would have ended up as a college professor or something. But he had his Impeccable Memory to thank. It seemed that even if he had been semi-drunk, he could remember the broad substance of lessons he had been given. It was just slightly more effort to recover it. ¡°Sir Jaren?¡± Rosslyn said. Adon saw the knight nod and then withdraw out of the circle that Rosslyn and Adon stood in. Sir Jaren pulled way off to the fringe of the room, as if he was anticipating that Adon and Rosslyn were about to destroy the whole area within the circle. That seems ominous¡­ He turned back to Rosslyn, and Adon saw that she had summoned what seemed to him a great quantity of aura that surrounded her whole body below the neck. If that¡¯s to protect her, why isn¡¯t there any around her head? Adon was halfway to thinking that might be how Rosslyn ended up with a scar over her eye, when he got his answer. The aura around her body turned red and then burst into flames. The girl was on fire. She looked like Adon imagined a living sun would look. The flames covered everywhere below the neck. She must have kept it from going above her neck to avoid accidentally burning her hair. How she was keeping the flames away from the rest of her body, he thought he understood, since he was doing the same thing with the cloak of flames that surrounded him. But if her hair got loose from the tie that held it in place, it might char black in an instant. ¡°All right, Adon,¡± Rosslyn said. He could hear power and excitement in her voice. ¡°Show me what you can do.¡± She¡¯s fighting fire with fire, he thought. I did not know today was going to go this way. A part of him wanted to laugh. But a larger part found itself sharing in her excitement. All right, Princess, he sent. Fighting and magic were the two things he had discovered he was good at in this life. He threw out an experimental tongue of flame. It struck the mantle of fire around her body and bounced off. She just stood there, a challenging smile on her face, waiting. I¡¯ll just do my best, then. Adon threw out a half dozen whips of fire now, and Rosslyn actually moved. She used her flaming arms and legs to flick the flames aside. Then she stepped in closer, as if she was going to launch her own attack. Adon reflexively flapped and flew backwards, opening up some distance between himself and the Princess, but she did not pursue. She just stood there smiling. I guess this isn¡¯t a fight, even just a training fight, Adon thought. She¡¯s letting me use her as a punching bag. An invincible punching bag. Adon threw out a dozen flaming tendrils, having had a moment to collect himself. He knew the Princess was trying to teach him how best to use these flames. Since he did not have Telekinesis, he could only control fire magic that was directly touching his body, rather than doing what she had done to the Vendetta Ants and manipulating flames to land on anything she wanted, separate from her body. Theoretically, that put him at a big disadvantage relative to Rosslyn. But she was also not using Telekinesis right now. She was just wearing the fire as an extra layer of armor, using it to reinforce punches and kicks and to block attacks. That was probably on purpose. She deflected the dozen flaming tendrils without changing her posture, using punches, kicks, and her sword, which she drew so quickly from her side that Adon completely missed the movement. He did see that the blade was glowing gently, and recognized that she had infused some Mana into it, though it was not of the flame affinity. Adon threw out more fire attacks, aiming for quantity rather than precision, and to his surprise, Rosslyn stepped to the side and completely avoided half of his next barrage of attacks. The flames spent themselves on the ground and the wall that had been behind her. Sir Jaren seemed to react to that off to the corner of Adon¡¯s peripheral vision, but Adon had little time to notice that. Instead, he maintained a laser focus on Rosslyn. She had broken a slight sweat now, but it did not create any openings for Adon to exploit. The droplets evaporated as they dripped down her face, leaving faint streaks of salt. It smelled strangely good to Adon. He had a moment to wonder if that was another weird butterfly thing, or if that was a weird Adon thing. Then he threw out his next barrage of attacks, nearly thirty flame tentacles that he aimed at every part of her body he could see. It was only at the last moment, when he lacked the power to call the flames back, that he realized he had also aimed one of the tendrils at her head¡ªand the specific area of her blind spot, no less! Shit. Shit shit shit¡­ The Princess was delicately pretty, with fine-boned features. Even if she had looked like a warthog, Adon would not have liked the idea of leaving burn marks on her, if she should fail to deflect one of his wild attacks. And he knew, from having seen Rosslyn¡¯s face recently, that even with healing magic to patch a person up, human wounds could still scar. He did not know if it was because the assassins who had attacked her had used poison, or if it was some other cause. Insect anatomy was different¡ªor such had been Adon¡¯s experience thus far. Injuries to him were something to be shrugged off with a new skin. Venom was something that he slept off with no lasting effects. But there was nothing he could do to pull his attack back now. She was deflecting the other blows with her flaming arms and legs, flawlessly as usual. But she had not reacted to the tentacle of flame that closed in on her blind spot. The tendril was so close now. Adon could almost feel it, about to lick her cheek. He braced himself to hear the Princess scream. He would have to try and switch to healing magic instantly. Then there was a sudden flash of light. Adon saw it for a fraction of a second¡ªher glowing sword making contact with the flames, somehow appearing in the last few inches before they touched her face. The flames ricocheted harmlessly off of it. Oh my Goddess! Wow. Holy crap! I¡¯m glad I¡¯m not in a real fight with her. I don¡¯t know how I¡¯d win in a million years. I¡¯d have to get lucky, and she¡¯d have to not take me seriously. It was right in her blind spot, too¡­ Adon watched as Rosslyn batted away the last couple of flaming tendrils with her arms and legs and returned to what seemed to be a ready position. Her eyes said, Go on, keep going, but Adon thought he¡¯d had enough for one day. The attack that felt like a near-miss had left a bad taste in his mouth, and he was also growing tired. The flurry of attacks, coming as they did after over an hour of figuring out how to use fire magic, had burned through most of his Mana. I think I¡¯m ready for a time out, he sent. I¡¯m getting pretty low on Mana. I used up a lot of power just figuring out how to make fire magic work. I could really use a snack. Maybe you¡¯ll join me? 2-26. Heart to Heart Rosslyn¡¯s body crackled with the fire that still blazed all around her as she thought for a moment about what Adon had just said. The adrenaline was still flowing through her, amping her up. It was fun being in a sort of quasi-sparring session again. Her senses were all heightened, her body was losing the rust that it had accumulated from her long sleep quickly¡ªand Adon wanted to quit. All right, she thought. But it wasn¡¯t quite. Is he truly tired, or is this about my missing eye? Rosslyn could not help noticing that Adon was calling for the break right after one of his flame attacks almost struck her in the face¡ªor seemed to get close to striking her face. In fact, although the attack had come from her blind spot, she¡¯d had no trouble blocking it. Though it was a reminder of her defect. She had to rely on her thermoception sense¡ªher ability to sense heat¡ªto know exactly when to block. She had batted the attack away with her sword when it was just a few inches from her face. But back when she was whole, she probably would have allowed it to get even closer. Trusted her sword technique more. Simply being able to see the attack coming was easier for her. Even though she was magically an order of magnitude more powerful than Adon, he had still managed to make her feel slightly clumsy. Rosslyn seriously considered asking him outright if he was trying to take it easy on her. It was a little insulting, for someone with her technique and experience. Mainly, it made her feel a little insecure, because it felt justified, despite his relative weakness. Rosslyn was also much weaker than she had once been. Less precise. Adon¡¯s instincts were good. I am not what I was¡­ The thought pointed toward some bitter pills she might have to swallow going forward. But Rosslyn would not confront those right now. She cut the supply of Mana to her cloak of fire, and the flames began diminishing immediately. ¡°A break sounds wise,¡± Rosslyn replied. ¡°We should get you a drink.¡± Adon fluttered over to her, the flames around him dissipating as quickly as those around her. No fermented fruit this time, please, he transmitted. Or maybe very little. ¡°As you wish,¡± she said, a smile beginning to form on her lips. I thought you seemed a little off when we had lunch. She placed the thought at the forefront of her mind, where Adon would be able to easily receive it. I didn¡¯t mind getting a little tipsy earlier¡ªalthough it was unintentional, he replied. I think it helped me deal with meeting your family. But I would like to keep my wits mostly about me today. Maybe just a small amount of fermented fruit. We will strike a balance, then, Rosslyn thought, now fully smiling. She turned to Sir Jaren, who had stepped closer to the combat circle in the aftermath of both Rosslyn and Adon extinguishing their flames. ¡°I will get this cleaned up,¡± he said quietly. Rosslyn did not need to look around to know what he meant. There would be scorch marks all over the ground and the wall behind her from Adon¡¯s frenzy of attacks. ¡°Thank you, sir,¡± she said. Adon flapped his wings at the corner of her vision and then flitted back up onto her shoulder where he had been perched before the spar. Um, I hope I¡¯m not imposing, he sent. She resisted the urge to laugh. You are fine where you are, but I need to change out of my training gear first. Adon flew over and landed on the wall nearest them. Did I do all right for my first time in here, Sir Jaren? she heard him ask. Then Rosslyn dipped back into the other room. There, she undressed, mopped away the sweat from her face and body with a sponge wetted in a basin¡ªshe would have liked to take an actual bath after that amount of hot exercise, but Adon was waiting for her¡ªand clothed herself again. When she came back, Adon and Sir Jaren were talking animatedly. Sir Jaren was doing most of the talking, explaining how combat between humans with magical abilities typically unfolded. Thank you for the lesson, sir, Adon sent in a respectful tone. ¡°It was my pleasure, noble creature,¡± said Sir Jaren, his eyes twinkling. Rosslyn had nearly forgotten how much her old instructor enjoyed having someone to teach. Maybe I should arrange for him and Adon to spend more time together. They would probably both enjoy it. The butterfly fluttered over and landed on her shoulder again. ¡°Thank you for taking care of us,¡± Rosslyn said. She and Sir Jaren waved goodbye, and then she carried Adon to the dining room where he had eaten with her family earlier. Since it was not supper time yet, the room was vacant. Rosslyn set Adon down at one of the places and then sent a servant for butterfly-appropriate beverages and Adon¡¯s pillow. ¡°I hope you are enjoying the palace,¡± Rosslyn said when she was alone with Adon again. She was surprised to note some hesitation from him before he answered, but she was reminded of the fact that he was connected to nature in a way that she did not experience as a human. I am enjoying your company, Princess, Adon sent after a moment. I appreciate the family¡¯s treatment of me, and I am excited to have learned more magic¡ªand magic that can be used offensively now. It is also wonderful that my friends are here. They are like family to me. ¡°But?¡± Rosslyn asked. She could feel a ¡°but¡± coming. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Just then, the servant she had sent came back in. He carried a platter of drinks in one hand and the pillow tucked under his other arm. Rosslyn and Adon stopped talking for a few minutes while the servant set everything up. He placed two goblets by Rosslyn¡¯s place. One was a local wine. The other was one of Adon¡¯s more exotic fermented fruit drinks, which she had decided to try. By Adon, the servant placed wine, sugar water, flower nectar, and a much smaller serving of two of his fermented fruit drinks than he had consumed before. Then the servant fluffed Adon¡¯s pillow, Adon moved onto the pillow, and the servant left them alone. ¡°We were saying,¡± Rosslyn said. Adon seemed reticent. I am hoping to develop the Telekinesis Adaptation that you have mentioned before, he finally sent. ¡°Do you need different food?¡± Rosslyn asked. I think I need it to hunt and gather it myself, Adon replied. I am rewarded differently¡ªand less¡ªwhen food is given to me as opposed to my hunting it. ¡°Fascinating,¡± Rosslyn breathed. ¡°You must have hunted so many other insects to become¡ª¡± She gestured at his body. Yes, Adon sent. He seemed to puff himself up slightly as he said that, and Rosslyn smiled again. It is good to be proud, she thought. Somehow I imagined that the food I brought him in the garden might have made some sort of difference. But it sounds as if his success is self-made, more than anything. ¡°Now that we know, we can create more conducive circumstances for you. My father has occasionally hunted in the woods nearby. You can find boars there, birds of prey, wolves¡ªalmost whatever your heart desires as quarry. There are even dogs kept to flush out the beasts. We could all¡ª¡± But Adon seemed to be shaking his head slightly. Perhaps even unconsciously, as if he did not deliberately mean to decline, but in his heart, he wished to refuse. His posture shifted as he looked at her more directly. Why did you stop talking? Adon transmitted. ¡°I feel as if you have something you wish to say,¡± she replied. I know I¡¯m not transmitting thoughts accidentally right now, he sent. I haven¡¯t even touched my drinks. And I¡¯m not human. I don¡¯t have a face. So how¡­? ¡°Body language,¡± she said simply. Now what did you want to say? she wondered. Rather than asking directly, she sat and waited. She could be patient. Adon fluttered up to the lip of one of his small, fermented fruit goblets. Looking for a little liquid courage? Rosslyn thought. I did not think I said anything to make him nervous. This must be something delicate for him. Adon extended his proboscis and took a sip of the drink before he responded. Rosslyn picked up the goblet of fermented fruit drink that she had asked for, tried not to wrinkle her nose at the smell, and took a cautious drink. Bleh! It took all of her self-control not to spit it back out. Finally, she swallowed it down. ¡°Goddess, I do not know how you can drink this,¡± she murmured. Adon looked at her curiously. It is for butterflies specifically, he replied. She took a sip of her wine. Then she gave the foul butterfly brew another quick taste. Maybe I could get used to this, if I had no other beverages available. She allowed the thought to hit the surface of her mind, where Adon would be able to read it easily. Adon sent her the telepathic sound of his laughter. Suddenly I don¡¯t feel so silly, he transmitted. ¡°What felt silly?¡± she asked. I was a little reluctant to tell you this, but when you suggested we all go hunting together, I had a negative reaction, Adon replied. ¡°I had noticed that.¡± It could not have been more noticeable if you had recoiled from a hot stove, she thought quietly, below the surface. Well, I love being around you and Goldie, Adon sent. I enjoy Samson and the other spiders and the whole Royal Family. But¡ªwell, do you ever feel like you need time away from your family? Maybe to get a breath of fresh air, or just to figure things out? Rosslyn thought about her relationship with her stepmother, sometimes loving, sometimes tense or fractious. She thought about how her trust in her father had been undermined by the recent revelations regarding the various secrets he had kept over the years. She thought of how her younger siblings could sometimes be a handful. She nodded, half to herself. Yes, she understood the feeling. ¡°I have had the experience,¡± she said finally. Well, I have that feeling about this found family of mine, Adon confided, his tone growing quiet and a little guilty. He began to explain a little about his relationship with Goldie, his past life relationship with Samson, and the complicated feelings that had been stirred up by Samson having reincarnated soon after Adon and right alongside him. There was a part of Rosslyn that reflexively thought the Goddess must have a plan by placing Adon and his brother close together, but she had the sense not to say or loudly think that. Adon was baring a clearly uncomfortable part of his past and his heart to her. Saying something about how the Goddess worked in mysterious ways would be trite and unhelpful¡ªlike a slap in the face. Her butterfly friend was clearly uncomfortable already. As he telepathically spoke, he flitted from the edge of one goblet to another, sipping each of his drinks in turn, his careful approach to consuming the beverages forgotten. Instead of saying anything back, Rosslyn just nodded along and occasionally sipped her wine or the outrageously tangy fermented fruit beverage. So, I have conflicted feelings, Adon sent, in what Rosslyn could sense was the beginning of the end of his monologue. On the one hand, I love my brother. I wish him nothing but the best, and I want him to learn everything that he can learn about magic and become an amazing spider that Goldie will be proud of. On the other hand¡­ Rosslyn thought that Adon had been brave so far, speaking the uncomfortable truth about his own emotions. But there were some thoughts and feelings that were impossible to vocalize. She did not even vocalize what she thought he was driving at. She left it in the realm of thought. On the other hand, you do not want to feel that he is taking your place, or that your new life is in any way compromised by him suddenly appearing, she thought quietly. You certainly do not want to carry him along with you while you try to achieve your peak. You do not want to take him along hunting, or help him catch up to you in magic, because this is a you thing, not a group thing. Adon had visibly deflated as she articulated what she thought he was wrestling with. His wings were slumped like shoulders. He looked ashamed. It was not a posture Rosslyn had ever imagined seeing on a butterfly. ¡°There is nothing wrong with how you feel,¡± she whispered. He tilted his head up as if he needed to see her face better. He was looking for signs of insincerity, she knew intuitively. But he would find none. Rosslyn reached out a hand and ran the backs of her fingers over Adon¡¯s wings. ¡°It is all right to be selfish sometimes,¡± she said. ¡°You have to look out for yourself before you have room to think of anyone else.¡± As she spoke, the words morphed from a validation of his feelings to a confession of her own. ¡°Selfishly, I would like to keep you around the palace. My father and I have this perhaps strange idea that you will make a great difference in the war to come with the Demon Empire. I know it probably makes no sense to you, because you are a butterfly.¡± She shook her head, tried¡ªand failed¡ªto make herself smile, and continued, ¡°I will make certain that Goldie, Samson, and the other hatchlings are taken care of while you adventure alone. We have no right to ask this of you, but I hope you will come back. You owe us nothing, and I cannot articulate a good reason why, except that it might be important for our country. But I hope you will consider it nevertheless.¡± Rosslyn took a deep breath. Then she almost added, I suspect the only way for you to truly deal with these feelings is by proximity to Samson. But although that felt to her like the right approach, she recognized that her reasoning might be self-serving¡ªand just as importantly, the right reasoning for her and not Adon. So she kept her mouth shut and allowed the butterfly space to mull over his thoughts. 2-27. The Open Air As Adon shared his feelings with Rosslyn, he felt anxiety boil up within him alongside shame. He had never openly told anyone how he had felt about his brother and sister in his previous life before. How inferior. Like an insect or something, ironically. On the one hand, it was a relief that Rosslyn seemed to understand his feelings, somehow, despite clearly¡ªat least from what Adon had observed¡ªbeing her father¡¯s favorite child, and incredibly gifted at the things her family valued. On the other hand, even as his feelings of shame diminished somewhat, he was aware that he would have to tell Goldie and Samson that he was leaving on a hunting trip. What if they wanted to go with him? Would he say, ¡°Butterflies only,¡± or something? He watched Rosslyn carefully as she carried him back to the room where the spiders were staying. Would Rosslyn be good at keeping a secret? Would Adon be able to express himself in a way that did not make his feelings of inferiority obvious? Would he damage his relationships with Goldie and Samson in the course of trying? Those questions ended up being completely moot, as Rosslyn, perhaps sensing his trepidation, did most of the talking for Adon herself. ¡°Adon is interested in trying to obtain the Telekinesis Adaptation,¡± Rosslyn explained. ¡°We were discussing it after training, and it seems that the most efficient way for him to gain the Evolution Points he needs would be to take a hunting trip.¡± Can I go? Samson transmitted. I would love to see a little more of the world. ¡°How is your magic training going?¡± Rosslyn asked. ¡°Adon has convinced me that he can kill anything that threatens him out there, with his level of proficiency.¡± She fixed her eyes on Samson. ¡°I am a little concerned, honestly, that if you join the hunt, something might step on you. Goldie, of course, I know you are at a further stage in your development, but¡ª¡± I have not made much progress in my magic, Goldie sent. I also cannot fly. I think I would only hold Adon back. My venom might be useful, but unless Adon believes he needs me¡­ She allowed her thought to trail off, but the implication was obvious. Well, that was easy, Adon thought to himself. Maybe it had been a little too easy. A part of him wondered why Goldie had given in so easily. Then again, her experiences of the outside world had been traumatic. Both she and Adon had seen a great deal of death in their time, and Goldie had been around for much longer than Adon. I can hardly blame you for wanting to stay back, Adon sent. I¡¯ll make sure I bring you and Samson back something nutritious. It was the best Adon could think of to dull the sting to Samson of not being included. Goldie leapt on the idea immediately. Such a thoughtful idea, Goldie sent. We will wait for you here, then. Maybe we can go on the next trip once Samson and I have more of a grasp on magic. So it seemed the matter was settled. Rosslyn asked her to let him know when he was ready to go, so that she could open the doors for him and see him off. And Adon could not think of a single reason to stay any longer. He felt a little strange about leaving Goldie and Samson here¡ªalthough that was mainly because he had thought that he and Goldie were never going to be separated again before he went through Evolution. Now, only a little while after he re-emerged into the world, it seemed they had a good reason to split up for a while. At least she seems happy, staying here with her children, he thought very quietly to himself. Most importantly, the palace should be a safe place for them. You know, I think I¡¯m ready to leave right now, he finally sent. Rosslyn nodded as if she had expected nothing else. She waited for Goldie and her children to climb onto the spiders¡¯ pillow, and then the Princess tapped her shoulder for Adon to sit there. He fluttered up to perch on her shoulder and tried to contain his excitement. Even though he had very mixed feelings about leaving Goldie, Samson, the other spiders, and Rosslyn, he could not deny he was excited about finally exploring the open air. Sure, Adon had flown around the palace a bit already, but it was one thing flapping from the table to the bed indoors, and it was quite another to fly like an eagle in the vast azure sky. As his mind turned over the possibilities of flight, he almost quivered with pleasure at the thought of the open air running across the scales of his wings. Above any other instinct, beyond even basic things like survival, eating, and reproduction, Adon knew this was what being a butterfly¡ªor any flying creature¡ªwas really about. How are you feeling about this hunting trip, Adon? Goldie sent, breaking into his train of thought. Adon¡¯s head was spinning as he contemplated different aerial maneuvers and tried ineffectually to pull himself back into the present moment. It took him a few seconds to compose his thoughts. I¡¯m going to touch infinity, he finally replied, turning and looking over at her. I feel amazing. The spider seemed to be preparing to say something back to him, but at that moment, Rosslyn opened the garden door, and bright light burst over all their faces. Adon felt the warmth of the sun strike his wings and the cool, crisp air run across his sensitive antennae almost at the same instant, and he shivered. This is just perfect, he thought, unintentionally transmitting it to everyone. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°I hope that you will enjoy yourself,¡± Rosslyn said, smiling sweetly. Oh, undoubtedly, sent Samson. This is what he has been waiting for his entire life, Goldie added, though Adon wondered if he did not feel a little sadness coming through in her tone. But his focus was pulled away from that by a thought that was not telepathically transmitted, but simply close enough to the surface for him to pick it up. And that you will be back reasonably soon, Rosslyn thought quietly. I do not know how father would feel if he knew that you were taking this trip. The words came out so quietly that Adon realized she might not have intended anyone to hear her. As he glanced around, he saw that neither Goldie nor Samson seemed to have noticed it. They were both sitting in place and had not reacted in any way discernible through body language to the Princess¡¯s surprising thought. Rosslyn normally had great control of her thought processes and whether she allowed thoughts to be audible to creatures using Telepathy. Adon wasn¡¯t certain why he could hear what felt to him like one of Rosslyn¡¯s guarded inner thoughts. He had an idea of why it seemed that only he could hear this one, rather than Goldie and Samson picking it up as well. Adon had repeatedly invested in higher degrees of Telepathy, as well as mental magic. He was also extremely close to Rosslyn¡¯s brain, sitting on her shoulder, while the spiders were being carried down at waist height. Maybe the combination of his focus on Telepathy and mental magic, and his physical proximity, was enough that if he wanted to, he could start penetrating through to deeper, more secret levels of thought. Naturally, Adon rejected that idea out of hand. He wondered why Rosslyn thought her father might be upset at his departure, but he did not want to press for an answer for that¡ªcertainly not if Rosslyn was going out on a limb by walking him out. I will be back soon, Adon transmitted. I¡¯m very excited to fly in the open air, but I promise I won¡¯t be gone for more than a few days. Since he was talking to just the people he was most comfortable around, he found himself adding, I know you guys would miss me too much! That is true, Goldie sent back. Rosslyn nodded in agreement. Go discover something no one has ever seen before, Samson transmitted. Adon was struck that his brother did not sound either like he would miss Adon or that he resented being left behind. It felt like Samson was genuinely wishing him well. I guess I shouldn¡¯t be surprised, Adon told himself. He never had any feeling of rivalry toward me at all. This is a game I¡¯m playing with myself. I¡¯m in my own head, and he¡¯s got nothing but love for me. When you¡¯re stronger, I¡¯ll take you with me, Adon sent. He still had time to be the big brother in this life that he never was in his last one. I¡¯ll hold you to that promise, Samson replied instantly. Farewell, my friends, Adon sent to everyone. He flapped his wings and floated above Rosslyn and the spiders as they all waved to him. If Adon had possessed tear ducts as a butterfly, he knew he would be crying right now. He knew that the quality of his relationships with Goldie, Samson, and Rosslyn was more than he deserved. The crisp autumn air and the bright steady sun stacked on top of that felt like too much goodness and beauty to take. The warmth of real friendship plus the joy of flight seemed to Adon to make his circulatory system move faster. It might have been only in his head, but he perceived radiating energy waves rolling off his exoskeleton and wings, as if the overflowing emotions were too much for his body. Before he could say something else that might embarrass him, the butterfly took off toward a higher position and left the world behind. He flapped and moved up until the Princess was the size of a butterfly herself. Soaring through the open sky, finally surrounded by nothing but open blue and clouds, was phenomenal. When I was an egg, and just after I hatched, I never had overly high expectations for this life, Adon thought. Then, when I was a little larger, I started to dream. One of the things I started to dream about was this. I knew flying would be good. But it¡¯s so much better than I could have imagined. It was even better, somehow, flying as a butterfly, than it had been to fly as a dragon. When Adon was a dragon, he had been a miniature mountain of flesh and bone. Flight was an effort of insane muscle power mixed with more than a little bit of magic. Flying as a butterfly was something different. It was entirely natural, and the sensation resembled flying a kite¡ªexcept that in this situation, he himself was the kite. For a little while, he simply flapped his wings and let his wings take him all over, flitting back and forth over the garden. The others were watching him, he felt, from the place where he had left them. But Adon could not pay them much attention. He was far too engrossed in what he was doing just then to think about anyone or anything else. Finally, probably around the time that he noticed the others had gone inside, he changed his pace. The ground receded quickly as he ascended again and began playfully experimenting with the wind and his wings. Adon ascended to around treetop height, and he began working on gliding. He quickly found that he could accomplish a great deal of forward motion without much effort. His antennae could feel the direction of different air currents, and by adjusting his altitude or the position of his wings slightly, Adon could glide from one spot to another much more quickly using the wind alone than he could have by flapping his wings with no wind at all. A butterfly can get so much further out here, and move so much faster, than indoors. When Adon moved from the top of the highest tree in the garden to just over the garden wall, he covered the distance at a speed he thought would compare favorably with a professional cyclist riding at top speed. And it was effortless. What could I do if I really tried? he wondered. The hunting trip purpose of this flight was almost forgotten for a while. Hours flew by, as Adon spent the rest of the afternoon in flight practice. I¡¯m glad that I didn¡¯t promise them I would be back inside by tomorrow. Though he was having a great deal of fun, he had made no progress toward actually hunting any living creatures. He did stop and feed on flower nectar a few times, as the initial energy expenditures of his flight adventure quickly diminished his Biomass, which had a much lower maximum cap than it had when he was a caterpillar. But as the quality of the light around him began to change, indicating that the sun would set soon, he had not even left the confines of the garden. You¡¯re not afraid to leave, are you? Adon asked himself. He thought the answer was ¡°No.¡± So the butterfly ascended again, this time combining the use of air currents and a generous supply of muscle power to climb to the greatest height he had yet achieved. Adon knew he was several miles up, although he had no way of gauging the exact distance. Unlike his dragon form, his butterfly body was not itself an adequate measuring stick for the vast intervals that his winged body was capable of traversing. He exulted in the mad heights even as he managed his wing position carefully. The winds up there were far wilder and more unpredictable than they had been when he was closer to the soil, and he knew that a wrong move could send him tumbling toward the earth. As Adon spun and moved with the wind, far above the palace, he noticed something for the first time. This feels familiar¡­ 2-28. Smooth Flight Yes, this is definitely familiar. Adon floated in a wide circle above the palace and saw the now-tiny-looking building from several different angles. It was while he was wheeling around in the air that he looked down from a certain position that changed his perspective. It was as if a gear suddenly clicked into place and gave him access to the specific memory that made the view feel familiar. I flew above this place as a dragon, he remembered. The image floated in his mind¡¯s eye beside the live image he was seeing now. It hovered there, clear as a photograph, leaving no room for doubt. Certainly, it looked different. The shape of the city was much more developed than it had been. But the palace was more or less the same, and the contours of the earth around the capital had not changed very much over time. This is so strange. So, when I was a dragon, that was the same world. Was I one of these mystic beast things back then too? And I wonder how many of my lives might have been lived in this world¡­ He already suspected that the memories he had experienced where he was some nameless monster were also from this universe. It was only a suspicion, but he could not think of any other reason why he had been pulled into those memories and forced to watch their entire contents if not because they were directly relevant, in some way, to this life. So, I¡¯ve probably had more lives here than in my last world. I thought that choosing to send me here was sort of random, just because the Goddess thought I wanted to become a butterfly, but now it¡¯s starting to feel very deliberate. Kind of calculated. Why does the Goddess keep sending me back to the same place? It was unnerving to think that he might be quite directly the subject of a deity¡¯s careful planning. Did he truly have the freedom that he believed he did, or had his every action been according to some design of hers? Adon wanted to investigate what had happened in his dragon life and piece together how it intersected with his choices in this life. But back then, he knew he had been bound somewhere for a longer journey. In this life, he had promised Rosslyn he would return to the palace. He had other reasons for choosing not to follow the trail of his memories. A part of him thought he might be playing into some manipulation by the Goddess. Though for the most part, he still wanted to believe that she had good intentions, he also did not want to feel like a puppet on a set of invisible strings. It would be a massive distraction from his hunting trip, though that was beginning to feel unimportant compared with the possibility of discovering his intended role in this universe. Perhaps most consequentially, he doubted that he would be able to make it as far in this life as he had when he was a dragon. It had been a lengthy journey for dragon-Adon, and considering butterfly-Adon¡¯s endurance while flying, he probably did not have the lifespan to complete it. Not without undergoing some additional Evolution to turn him into a more powerful and long-lived creature first. Butterflies don¡¯t live long, I don¡¯t think. Though Adon did not know much about magic butterflies. Adon pushed down a wave of frustration at his lack of knowledge before it could build up. That¡¯s right, he told himself. Butterflies don¡¯t live long. All will be made clear, or it won¡¯t. I¡¯ve already wasted so much damn time with resentment! He turned to face his body upward, though that meant he immediately began slowly tumbling downward. He wasn¡¯t worried about falling. He was an insect, after all, and he had lost Biomass since becoming a butterfly. Even a fall from several miles up shouldn¡¯t be able to hurt him. He wanted to try and send a thought upward, to where he imagined the Goddess was. High in the sky. He reached out with Telepathy, and although he didn¡¯t sense anything up there, he took his shot anyway. Don¡¯t rely on me to complete whatever your design is, Goddess, he sent. I¡¯m just here trying to live as best I can. I¡¯m probably not the guy whose story goes down in legends. Everything in my history as a reincarnator tells me that. I¡¯m zero for several hundred in terms of successful lives. So just don¡¯t lean on me, all right? He paused, then added a Please at the end. Adon waited a few seconds, as if he really thought that a message he sent into the sky was going to result in an answer. It wasn¡¯t until the disappointment hit that he realized he actually had imagined that the Goddess might answer his quasi-prayer. But that was arrogant¡ªperhaps ridiculous. The being that had set in motion this universe and also transmogrified his soul to fit into the body of a caterpillar¡ªthe being who did everything that needed doing in all of creation that was above the humans¡¯ paygrade. He really thought that being was going to respond to him personally. Adon shook his head and righted himself. Then he began to glide back down toward the earth. It had been a very smooth flight, on the whole. He thought he had the fundamentals of flying down after the last few hours. He could never have mastered them to this extent by staying indoors. But the sun was setting now. The warmth in the air was dying away, and Adon was much too high up. His body was starting to feel uncomfortably cold. He could burn Mana to keep himself warm, but he would also need to do the same to keep himself flying. Adon didn¡¯t know the mechanism, but he could feel the sunlight was giving his body more energy to fly with, or some similar effect. He was weakening as the rays of the sun faltered. He would rest for the night and begin the hunt in the morning. He did not want to give anyone who might happen to be watching the garden the sense that he was giving up already, so Adon directed his path carefully away from the palace greenery. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Even if he was not going far tonight, he would at least get a little ways away from the palace. He could see a forest nearby, a little ways beyond the exterior wall that enclosed the palace and just outside the next wall, which protected the city from attack. He steered into the canopy and managed to land carefully atop a tree with a thick covering of greenery. As he landed, the sun finally dipped completely out of sight. Safe! Adon felt the sense of emptiness that told him he was ravenously hungry. This would be the fifth time his stomach had approached empty today. His appetite was less each time, but food was no less a concern for him as a butterfly than it had been for Adon as a caterpillar. No one ever told me that, he thought. Still, he did not want to try hunting for nectar in the dark. He was too weak to fly with the same speed and grace that he had learned he was capable of over the last several hours, with the sun now down and his Biomass nearing empty. He allowed himself to rest. That sleep-like state that his body entered at night would keep him from burning too much of his fuel. He would stay in this tree until sunrise, when his energy levels would naturally recover somewhat. Then he would feed himself and get hunting. I think there was a Photosynthesis I Adaptation in the Evolution Store, now that I consider how important the sunlight is to my general energy levels. It might be worth considering. He would be able to rack up Evolution Points and Biomass just by sitting out in the sunlight. Then again, as Adon had experienced when the palace started feeding him, his life was perhaps not meant to be that easy. For now, the question did not matter. He lacked the Evolution Points to purchase much of anything. And thinking was beginning to feel energy-intensive. His body was almost painfully empty. There was a sort of ascetic pleasure to be had in that, but Adon was not in the head-space to appreciate it at that moment. Slightly uneasy at being surrounded by the unfamiliar sounds of the woods, the butterfly nevertheless allowed himself to drift into his sleep-like state. The dark had well and truly settled over the forest when something disturbed Adon¡¯s rest. It was a sound that he almost did not notice. Something subtle, carried on the wind. But the noise brought with it an unmistakable sense of danger. Adon remained completely motionless as the sound rippled through the air around him. He knew without knowing immediately how that it was the quiet noise of a wing flapping. Then he realized that it was because these wings sounded remarkably similar to his own. Keeping his body as still as he could while still looking around, he slowly, carefully swiveled left. He stared to the left for a few seconds. Nothing there moved. Then he slowly, carefully swiveled right. He found that a giant, four-eyed face confronted him. Adon threw himself backward, mentally prepared himself for a fight, aimed his spines¡ªand realized that what he had seen was not a face at all. It was a pair of large wings shaped vaguely similarly to what he imagined his own looked like. There was a pattern on the wings that looked like eyes. Only in the darkness could he mistake that for a face. You big dummy! Adon thought. Do you know how close I came to killing you? Identify told him that the creature was a Giant Peacock Moth. Well, that explains why you¡¯re such a big sucker, he thought. Get out of here before I eat you. I¡¯m pretty hungry, you know. If I didn¡¯t feel like you were a distant cousin, and I wasn¡¯t used to stuff that tastes better than you probably do by now, I would totally chow down. As he had that thought, the moth fluttered closer, almost touching him. Adon flapped once more and moved to another branch. You¡¯d better back off, buster! I¡¯m not playing here. He activated Telepathy and sent the moth an image of itself flying away. The moth¡¯s mind conjured up an image in response to Adon¡¯s that could not have been a conscious attempt at a reply¡ªAdon did not give the average insect that much credit¡ªbut that definitely communicated something. I should not have left my coloring the way it was earlier, Adon thought, slightly grossed out. He had shifted his body to parchment tone at lunchtime, when he was interacting with Rosslyn¡¯s family, so that it would be easier for everyone to see him. Now that he saw the moth¡¯s mental image, and what it wanted to do with him, he realized that his color scheme looked uncomfortably similar to the Giant Peacock Moth¡¯s, but minus the fake eyes. It would be easy enough for the creature to think that he was one of its own kind and form a misunderstanding as to the possibility of future romantic prospects. It apparently had been easy enough. Step off, or I will kill you, Adon thought. He sent an image of his spines tearing a dozen holes in the moth¡¯s exoskeleton. He didn¡¯t want to waste energy killing a creature that he was almost certain would not be a nutritious meal. But the moth was starting to leave him very few other options. Despite his messages, the moth fluttered close to him again. It settled on a branch next to his and adopted what Adon interpreted as a sort of ¡°come hither¡± posture. Adon was preparing to deal with the moth permanently when he heard another sound, even quieter than the moth¡¯s wings. Yet this pair of wings was much larger, he knew instinctively. His senses were on another level since Evolution. We must have gotten something¡¯s attention, was all he had time to think. Adon made a desperate leap to the far left, trying to get as far from the Giant Peacock Moth as he could in a single bound. The moth fluttered its wings, made as if to follow Adon one last time¡ªand then a mottled dark shape crashed up through the branches beneath them. Even the landing, despite breaking multiple twigs, was almost silent. When the small owl emerged from the tangle of sticks, it held the moth clutched triumphantly in its beak. Stupid moth, agitating a Goddess-damned owl! Adon held very still and waited to see what the bird¡¯s next move would be. He thought he should be able to kill an owl now, but he was a little worried about what sort of creatures a fresh commotion would draw. If that moth trying a mating dance on Adon had attracted an owl, he did not want to see what sort of creatures would appear if he got into a scuffle with the owl. Adon and the owl made eye contact and held each other¡¯s gazes for a long few seconds. The owl, much smarter than the now crushed moth had been, seemed to Adon to sense that something was off about this butterfly. The potential juice from attacking him was not worth the squeeze. And so it finally flapped off into the night, its wings still remarkably quiet. Right, Adon thought. I¡¯m back in nature again. How did I ever let myself hang out at the palace for as long as I did? Practically torture. I almost forgot about how much I missed this stuff¡­ He crawled underneath a layer of leaves this time, to conceal himself better from hungry eyes. And he changed his coloration to match the leaves. Adon had no interest in attracting a mate this evening. 2-29. Dragonfly Adon¡¯s torpor the rest of the evening was slightly uneasy. He was awakened much more easily by subsequent stimuli than he had been by the moth. The pitter-patter of raindrops falling softly for around a quarter of an hour. The soft scamper of a weasel across the small number of dead leaves that had already fallen to the forest floor. A handful of Little Brown Bats flying through the air, not even aware of Adon¡¯s presence and giving his tree a generous berth. Each time, his mind jolted into activity again, only for the butterfly to feel a strange combination of put-at-ease and disappointment as he realized the sound was nothing. Right, he reminded himself. This is what nature is like. False alarms all the time. Nature never stops moving. Why did I want to come back out here again? As the last hours of night passed, he was able to enjoy a longer period of uninterrupted rest. The sun came out, and Adon pushed himself forward from among the leaves he had mimicked. He lightly fluttered his wings to shake off as much of the morning dew as he could. Then he sat still for perhaps a quarter of an hour before he felt warmed up enough to take flight. Adon was surprised at how quickly his body absorbed warmth from the morning sun. I guess I¡¯m designed a little bit like a solar panel, though. His broad, thin wings were perfectly shaped to absorb as much light and heat as possible. Soon, he was taking to the air again, fluttering down toward some wildflowers that grew along the forest¡¯s edge. It was time to refill his Biomass meter, which now sat at 2/50. He would stock up on reserves of energy so he could make it to the actual targets of this hunt. Wild beasts that lived in the woods. Or maybe wild beasts that lived in the mountains way off to the East. Or birds of prey. Adon was in no state to be picky as he considered his future plans. He could feel his body almost ready to eat itself as he held his wings semi-stiffly for an almost effortless glide down. He was almost to the ground when he heard it. He still had not let his guard down from the previous evening, and this sound drilled down into his psyche and reminded him instantly of one of his most disturbing memories from this life. A time when he had felt completely helpless. The chainsaw-like sound approached a bit closer, and Adon knew in an instant, though he could not yet see the creature, that it was after him. He did not waste a moment. He reached into his core, found his magical power, and pushed it throughout his body, infusing his weary frame with an energy that his metabolism alone could not provide at the moment¡ªat least not without beginning the starvation process. Adon used the power that surged through his body to push himself into a loop-de-loop maneuver. And not a moment too soon. In his peripheral vision, he saw the dragonfly rush through the empty air, filling the space Adon had just vacated only a fraction of a second after Adon had moved away. That winged assassin again, he thought. As he watched, the dragonfly made a series of improbable and unbelievably quick zigzags through the air, until it was close to Adon¡¯s front. The dragonfly charged at Adon straight on, seeming to decide that the butterfly could not possibly pull off a move like that again. Adon gave a supernaturally powerful flap and blew the dragonfly and himself in opposite directions with the force of the resulting gust of wind. The dragonfly spun like a top, taken completely off guard. If Adon had possessed a pair of lips, he would have smiled then. You know, I used to be so afraid of you, but you¡¯re not so big anymore. I can win this. It felt absurd to be so pleased with himself for evading a dragonfly¡¯s strikes, but he was. And he knew instinctively that, magical or not, butterflies were extremely vulnerable to dragonfly attacks. There were many natural predators that Adon needed to be wary of, but only a few had given him the same gut feeling of dread that he¡¯d experienced when he first encountered a dragonfly. And now look at you. The dragonfly had been flung backward and thrown off-balance by the sudden change of winds, but to its credit, as Adon was internally gloating, it performed another series of strange zigzagging movements that reminded him of a helicopter. Its wings cut through the air, and the backward movement slowed and then stopped. The predator had stabilized itself. Adon watched closely as the dragonfly hovered, up and down, back and forth, looking at the butterfly to decide on a new angle of attack. It had no way of knowing that Adon was the cause of that insane burst of wind. It could only have felt that the wind was random. A fluke. The butterfly would die soon enough. There was a part of Adon that wanted to continue this dance with the dragonfly and overcome another of his fears. Right now, his body was running on pure Mana. His control of it was not as fine as he would have liked, but his movements were extremely powerful, and he could harden his entire exoskeleton with his large reserves so that no dragonfly attack could get through. Another part of him was grimly aware of the possibility that he would run out of energy and pass out if he and the dragonfly dueled for too long. He needed this power to take him to feed on the nearby flowers. He should not waste it on a creature like the dragonfly, which was surely no longer far above him on the food chain. Still, Adon had developed a certain measure of pride as the garden¡¯s deadliest predator. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. He hoped the dragonfly would give him an opportunity to kill it. There would be nothing much to eat there, but it would feel like a triumph over his past self. And then the dragonfly seemed to make up its mind to get away from the strange magical butterfly. It hovered up, then it flew a zigzagging path back and to the right relative to Adon¡¯s body. Adon didn¡¯t let down his guard, though. He could still hear and feel the chainsaw sounds of its wings vibrating somewhere not far away. That first attack, it positioned itself in my blind spot, he thought. It¡¯ll do it again. Adon began changing the form of his Mana, vibrating it as Rosslyn had taught him, ready to spark flame in an instant. He heard the sound of the chainsaw grow a little louder and then suddenly quiet, and he knew. The moment was here. Adon ignited his Mana and pushed a burst of flame connected to his body out in all directions. Then he folded his wings and dropped his altitude quickly. Adon¡¯s body whirled and spun in the air as he fell. His keen eyes saw the dragonfly closing in on the flames that were still explosively expanding. The airborne assassin tried to change its momentum, suddenly zipping up and to the right¡ªand successfully avoiding the brunt of the small explosion the butterfly had created. But not all of it. Adon saw the edges of the dragonfly¡¯s right pair of wings blacken and char as their flimsy gossamer substance brushed up against the unavoidable flames. The rest of the fire passed the dragonfly by, as it had gained enough altitude to evade, but a moment later, it began to tumble toward the ground. With its two right side wings slowly crumbling, it was incapable of flight. Flapping the left pair more rapidly only hastened the dragonfly¡¯s spiraling descent. As Adon continued to fall, the dragonfly made a strange drilling motion through the air, falling faster than Adon by its efforts to remain airborne. Wow. That was a definite win. Adon fluttered to the closest flower with the last of his natural, Biomass-fueled energy, uncoiled his long proboscis, and began sampling nectar. As he did so, he watched the dragonfly, which had landed in the grass nearby, struggle and writhe against the sudden and irreversible weakness of its position, trying to rise again. The taste of the nectar was sweet. Not as sweet as whatever premium butterfly nectar the palace knew how to prepare for any butterflies that happened to pay them a visit. And not as sweet as victory. Adon got a certain morbid satisfaction out of watching the dragonfly. He had no feeling of personal malice toward it, since this creature was only doing what it needed to do to survive. But it had tried to kill and eat him. And he had overcome it. When Adon had finished the first flower, he moved onto another one. Then another after that, closely followed by a fourth flower. It would take a lot of flower nectar to fill his Biomass to the brim, it seemed, although he did not intend to fill completely up. For now, Adon was enjoying the process of not starving and appreciating the subtly different flavors of the disparate wildflowers. With every flower he landed on, his feet picked up a different flavor. Some of them reminded him of the taste of honey. Others were closer to sugar. Still others were even sweeter, almost like artificial sweetener. He could have spent all day doing this, except that Adon did not actually want to fill up on flower nectar, and he had started to feel sorry for the dragonfly. He had not stopped watching the creature, and it had not stopped moving. Perhaps it did not yet understand that it was permanently disabled. Half of its wings and, now that Adon had gotten a closer, more prolonged look, two of its six legs were unusable. Clearly, no one had told the dragonfly. The poor creature just kept on trying to fly, although it lacked the appendages required for it. The closest it got was sort of throwing itself off the ground with its remaining legs, vibrating its wings, and spinning for a moment in a dizzying downward trajectory until it spiraled back into the earth and crashed. If it had been a helicopter¡ªthe closest non-living thing to the dragonfly in terms of its movements and maneuverability¡ªit would have blown itself up already with repeated crashes. As a lightweight insect, the dragonfly did not have that problem. It was slowly killing itself instead. Burning rapidly through the reserves of energy that had once allowed it to move through the air with such incredible speed and grace. Adon had half expected that another insect would come by and deliver the coup de grace while he was watching, but no mantises or ladybugs or anything else had stopped near the dragonfly. It was possible they all heard the half-chainsaw sound of half the dragonfly¡¯s wings vibrating, and they knew on an instinctual level to stay away from that. They had no awareness of the weakness of the predator yet. The butterfly lifted off from the last flower. He had not been interested in killing the dragonfly himself, once he felt that he had won the fight. But the decent part of him thought that it was the right thing to do, if such a thing as right and wrong could be said to exist in this bug-eat-bug world. His Biomass was almost halfway full now, and a dozen flowers had been relieved of the burden of their nectar. The relatively small share of Mana he had used up had rebounded. He had plenty of energy for what would come next. I¡¯ll just rip his head from his neck with my legs, Adon thought. But as he got close to the dragonfly, he heard a sound of wings flapping, clearly moving toward the position of Adon and the dragonfly. Adon started to see a distant shape flying in out of his peripheral vision. It was a bird. Finally, something was coming to finish off this pathetic wounded creature. Adon fluttered up and out of the way and fully turned in the air so that he could get a better look at the creature flying toward him. He found its coloration strikingly beautiful. Somehow I didn¡¯t know the Goddess made birds that colorful besides peacocks. The top of the bird¡¯s head was a melding of orange, yellow, and green feathers. Its eyes were a beautiful shade of dark red. There was a pale blue streak under its eye, and a smear of black all around the eye itself. Like the bird was wearing eyeliner. The rest of its body was similarly attired in beautiful feathers, though with a greater emphasis on the blue than the orange, yellow, and green. Adon got an excellent and prolonged look at the bird, because it swooped down quickly, pinched the dragonfly in its long, sharp beak as if the bug wasn¡¯t a moving target, and hovered for a few seconds. Then its head turned up, and it looked intently in Adon¡¯s direction. He felt himself and the bird make eye contact. Uh oh. It seemed just possible that the dragonfly had not been this living rainbow¡¯s real target. Adon was involuntarily reminded of the bluebird that had pursued him weeks ago. Well, I did leave the palace looking for a fight, Adon reminded himself. The dragonfly wasn¡¯t equipped to give me a very long one. And this bird isn¡¯t that big¡­ It was actually slightly larger than the bluebird had been, and its body was more specialized to prey upon insects, but Adon¡¯s perception of his own size had changed over time. And he was far more powerful than he had been. He used Identify and braced himself to read the eccentric-looking bird¡¯s name. 2-30. Bee-Eater The bird¡¯s species name displayed for Adon. It was surprisingly far from intimidating. Rainbow Bee-Eater (Male) Well, the first part of the name makes sense. Does this guy realize I¡¯m not a bee? But if the bird knew what sort of creature it was dealing with, Adon could tell that it did not care. Adon had hoped that the name of the bird¡¯s species would give it some clue as to his next steps. Instead, the name was totally unfamiliar to him, and its body language was telling him everything. The Rainbow Bee-Eater bobbed to the side¡ªno, it performed a head fake, trying to make Adon think it was moving to the side!¡ªand then slowly fluttered just a bit closer. This thing is pretty smart. Adon flapped his wings to move a bit closer to the nearest tree, his mind racing. He had many methods for killing enemies, and he went through each of them as he considered how he wanted to deal with the bird. Probably not fire magic. He still did not have the hang of controlling it completely¡ªas he contemplated that option, his mind leaped unstoppably to the moment when he had almost burnt Rosslyn¡¯s face by accident, or at least thought that he was going to. It was a scary precedent. And he wanted to consume his prey on this hunt, not burn it to a crisp. He could fire a concentrated Mana ball, but the bee-eater was awfully agile, and that attack only covered a small area with each burst. Adon might have to let the bird get dangerously close to assure a fatal blow. If he did that, he might also inadvertently blow the creature to bits. It was much smaller than the crow had been. Venom spines? As he had this thought, the bee-eater finally made its move, rushing up from below Adon and quickly cutting the distance to a fraction of what it had been. Adon fired a volley of dozens of venomous spines at the bee-eater. Some of them missed. A few of them glanced off of its wings. But it could hardly evade at the speed at which it was rushing toward him. He had the gratifying experience of seeing many of the spines land serious hits. The bird¡¯s right shoulder, left leg, left wing, and right eye were all struck with spines. There was nothing to suggest that the venom was working in the first couple of seconds after the Rainbow Bee-Eater was hit. But there was something about the way its body moved, the way its posture shifted, that told Adon the bird had recognized that it had gotten into something more difficult than it had intended. Already, Adon was putting up more of a fight than any bee could possibly match. Still, the bird came on. Adon danced through the air, floating backward in a leisurely way. Now that the bird had been stabbed in multiple areas of its body and was bleeding slightly, the butterfly felt comfortable with turning this into a battle of attrition. The bird would wear itself down first. If the spine that had penetrated its eye did what Adon¡¯s spines usually did, the bird¡¯s movements would start to break down soon, as the venom worked its way quickly from the eye into the brain. But as if it knew it was on a limited time horizon, the bee-eater threw itself at Adon with a ferocity that he had rarely seen before. He flitted through narrow gaps between overlapping branches, only for the bee-eater to crash through the nearby flimsier twigs in its desire to chase him down. Shit, this thing is persistent! Adon infused his body with Mana and flapped with more force than he could normally muster, trying to gain some distance. It just seemed to give the bee-eater a greater sense of urgency. The bird accelerated to follow him faster. Adon began to feel cornered. Which was absurd. He was just playing a waiting game with this thing. Right? He heard the sound of flapping wings again, and he reacted instinctively, flapping his wings hard to change direction and plunge straight toward the ground. He sensed as a winged shape passed overhead, from the opposite direction to that which his pursuer had come from. Another bird is after me? Adon stopped himself before he could crash into the ground and immediately had to change directions as the new enemy¡ªanother Rainbow Bee-Eater¡ªrushed toward him. He flitted up into the leaves of the nearby tree, where he hoped his Color Change would buy him time to assess his situation. He looked directly at his new pursuer, which was fluttering in a little dance with the original pursuer, flying around it in small circles. Identify. Rainbow Bee-Eater (Female) Adon instantly knew what was going on. They¡¯re mates. That was the only explanation for why a bird would come to another¡¯s aid against such a dangerous opponent, unless they were like the ants or wasps. But Adon had never heard of eusocial birds. He at once felt sorry for them and slightly more threatened. They probably had no chance of defeating him, since he was magical and could do a lot more than he had shown already. But if they were mates, they would work together and struggle with Adon to the bitter end¡ªfight harder for each other than either ever would have fought on its own behalf. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. It¡¯s time to finish this. Adon remembered how he had reinforced his venomous spines with Mana back in his caterpillar days. With his much larger supply of Mana now, he came up with a more ambitious and decisive plan for how to kill these two birds off. The venom spines already seemed to be working on the male bee-eater, though not as well as he would have liked. It was visibly slowing as he watched the two birds flutter around beneath the canopy looking for him. But it was still flying, which ran counter to his expectations. Perhaps it had specialized into some form of venom resistance over the course of its life. Adon concentrated and ran a surge of Mana from his core throughout his entire body, but focused to a much greater degree on the edges of his wings. They were not sharp, exactly, but he hoped that would be good enough for what he intended. He had suffered paper cuts enough times, across hundreds of lives, to know that thin and strong was almost the same as sharp. His wings were already thin. His Mana would supply the strength. Rosslyn told us a lot about what Mana can do. Hopefully I¡¯m not wrong thinking it can do this. If he was, he would be caught in a bee-eater¡¯s grasp and have to resort to brute force with his legs and proboscis, because his wings would have proven nearly useless for fighting. He should still be able to win, but he would be a lot more comfortable if he was right. Adon waited with his wings charged for a moment where the bee-eaters separated, and the female was closer to him than she was to the male. It took a few minutes, during which his Mana was slowly depleting, but at last, the female seemed to notice movement in the branches over her head. She let loose a quiet chirp, then flew up to check it out. It was at that moment that Adon struck. He rushed down to meet her. As her beak opened wide to latch onto him, Adon flew straight at her open mouth. His wing struck the hard edge of her beak, then the soft inside of her mouth¡ªand it kept going. He felt rather than saw as his wings began cutting through the flesh of the bird¡¯s head. Hot blood bubbled up from within the bee-eater mouth and throat. She had time to let out a single surprised shriek. Then her head tumbled away from her body. Both pieces dropped like stones toward the forest floor. It worked! Adon had no room to celebrate, as the male shrieked and threw itself at him. The butterfly found himself struck with the sharp tip of a beak, talons, and wings heavier than his own, as the bee-eater tried to batter him to death¡ªor simply reacted with emotional rage at the death of his mate right before his eyes. None of it damaged him. The steady flow of Mana through his whole body ensured that. It just pushed him backward through the air, knocking him back toward the tree in which he¡¯d concealed himself. I¡¯m sorry, Adon thought. Mainly sorry you dragged your mate into this. You started the fight, though. He flapped and secured a little distance from the enraged, but still slowed-down, bee-eater. As he pushed more Mana into the edges of his wings, the bird rapidly closed the distance between them. Adon turned his body sideways and aimed his wing at the bee-eater¡¯s breast. A moment later, he was inside the bee-eater¡¯s chest cavity. The bird let out a pained shriek and flapped its wings wildly, almost convulsing, giving Adon the chance to pull away before the bee-eater dropped. It was gushing hot red blood all over him as he pulled out of its innards, flapping his wings with magically enhanced force to stay in the air despite the weight of blood. His feet tasted the dark, hot, red liquid, and a strange sensation rippled through his body. Delicious. So good¡­ The taste of a bird¡¯s blood was, it seemed, as sumptuous as any wine the humans could prepare for him. A few droplets of the red liquid had, he half-consciously realized, made their way into Adon¡¯s proboscis, and he instinctively sucked the morsel of fluid up as he floated opposite the bee-eater. It felt immediately satisfying, and the way Adon looked at the bird changed. Need more. Meanwhile, the remaining bee-eater finally seemed to fully realize the extent of his injuries. The bird¡¯s wings slowed almost to a stop as he looked down at himself. It started to lose altitude, when Adon¡ªoperating by instinct and sheer will rather than any conscious plan¡ªreached out to stop the bird from falling. He still did not have Telekinesis, but ever since his Evolution, he had the next best thing. His six legs stretched. They elongated and thickened. The joints sort of faded away as the limbs changed shape to accomplish their owner¡¯s task. Then they wrapped around the dying bird like so many tentacles rather than the spindly insect legs that they originally were. The butterfly was barely aware of what he was doing now, but he felt such a violent and urgent thirst that reason seemed to have left him. Adon¡¯s proboscis unfurled and snaked its way inside of the bee-eater¡¯s body. As his wings flapped with supernatural power, the butterfly ignored the dying bird¡¯s feeble resisting movements. He fed. Slurp slurp. Guzzle guzzle. Gulp. For the first time since his transition to a butterfly, Adon slipped into a feeding trance. He was only aware of what happened after that in short bursts. He became dimly aware when he had sucked nearly all of the blood out of the Rainbow Bee-Eater¡¯s body. At some point, Adon had allowed the bee-eater and himself to descend to the ground and land in the soft forest soil. Fortunately for the bird, it was dead by this point. Its body was stiff and cold and almost completely dry, thanks to Adon having removed all of its fluids. There was a dim thought of moving onto the next bird. Then, still operating on instinct, Adon expelled some fluid from his proboscis and into the bird¡¯s chest cavity. There was a sick sound of sizzling flesh and bone, and he recognized that he still had some variation of the acid Adaptation that he had paid for weeks ago, back when he had mandibles. The difference was that his proboscis was not quite as potent of an injector. For a situation like this, however, where the prey was already dead, the ability was perfect. As the flesh and bones slowly dissolved, Adon sipped the soup that his acid had created. Slurp slurp. Guzzle guzzle. Gulp. Mmm¡­ The world faded away again. When Adon became aware of himself again, he was repeating the same steps with the female bee-eater. The butterfly did not become aware of himself again until the prey were both sucked dry, turned into hollowed out, dried up husks of skin and bones and feathers. When he emerged from the trance, he could hardly believe that he had done it, but he had the scraps of memory to prove it. This slaughter was definitely his work. I guess I don¡¯t have a right to think the way spiders eat is gross anymore, do I? Adon thought weakly. 2-31. The Golden Eagle Adon looked around uncomfortably for another minute or two before he thought about next steps. He felt like he was in the middle of a crime scene. The hollowed out, feathered husks of his prey were the evidence of his butchery, and he had the ridiculous impulse to hide or bury the bee-eaters¡¯ remains. That¡¯s silly, he told himself. You¡¯re part of the circle of nature. The decomposer animals will be out in force later to clean up after you. Relax. It¡¯s time to move on. Adon forced himself to take to the skies again, though he was warier this time. He used Color Change and made himself one with the wind, again, the way he had back at the palace. He did not want to be seen by anything or anyone. It would be good to be alone with his thoughts for a while. Though he had no particular course in mind, Adon instinctively steered away from the capital. He knew he did not want to go back yet, though the garden where he had been born, the palace it belonged to, and the friends he had made there, felt like home. He moved toward a forest¡ªand, on the distant horizon, a mountain range loomed. He had wanted to earn at least enough Evolution Points to purchase Telekinesis I, and although he had acquired several hundred from the escapades of the morning, he still did not have enough. Adon thought he had a decent idea of the way Evolution Points were distributed now. They were a reward for accomplishing tasks that demonstrated he was fit to survive. Mainly feeding and fighting. The wilder the environment he moved toward, the better chances he would have of demonstrating his fitness to the System. Telekinesis I must cost close to a thousand Evolution Points, he thought. The option was still grayed out. The Evolution Store tended to price most of its wares in nice, round numbers, so perhaps it would be a thousand points exactly. If so, Adon had a fair amount of work to do. But it was far from daunting. Adon felt excited, now that he was over the shock of how he had liquefied the bee-eaters. Being back in the wild, hunting superior species and gliding through the air, he was in his element. It¡¯s a good thing I go into a feeding trance when I¡¯m eating something good, or I¡¯d probably have a lot of trouble getting that stuff down the hatch. I¡¯m probably pretty strange. The killing part is the least stressful thing for me right now. For most humans, I¡¯m guessing it would be the eating, which is the part that seems incredibly strange to me at the moment. For a while, Adon allowed himself to simply glide, not thinking of much of anything, just enjoying the sensation of floating above the world like a kite without strings. The morning sky was still bright and clear and slightly warmer than it had been last time he glided, because Adon had chosen to fly at an elevation where the air wasn¡¯t as cool as what he had endured before. As he glided through the air, Adon spent very little Biomass relative to distance covered. His wings just had to change position¡ªor occasionally, shape, taking advantage of his unique powers as a magical creature¡ªto catch a beneficial current of air and keep moving. But as the hours passed, his Biomass slowly wound down nevertheless. With his lower post-Evolution Biomass ceiling, even taking advantage of the natural flow of the air, he couldn¡¯t get very far. Is this the normal cycle of a butterfly¡¯s life? Adon wondered. Constantly eating, just like a caterpillar? Or is this the universe¡¯s way of pushing me into more fights? Either way, he needed to descend. He could push his body to keep flying, fueling himself with Mana instead of Biomass, but he didn¡¯t like to use up all his resources in both categories. And when his Biomass drew low, it gave him a hollow feeling inside that he didn¡¯t like. Adon looked down and inspected the forest he was flying above. He saw that the densely packed pines were broken up by a small clearing with wildflowers within easy gliding range. That looks perfect. He began shifting his color again, to become visible. He adopted the parchment color he had used with the Royal Family. Adon wasn¡¯t necessarily looking for a fight¡ªhe was just flying toward a small cluster of flowers, after all¡ªbut if some creature decided to start something, he would not mind if food decided to offer itself up to him. Flowers were a less filling food source than protein, after all. Then he allowed himself to fall, only using his wings to guide the general direction of his descent. There were many negatives to being as small as he was, but he still enjoyed the fact that he could simply fall out of the sky and not worry about suffering any damage at all. With wings, he could now even control exactly where he landed. He steered toward an intensely blue flower that looked to be in full bloom. He landed and immediately observed the taste of it, which reminded him of very lightly sweetened cereal. Over the next few minutes, he consumed nectar from the blue flower and a dozen of its neighbors. His Biomass slowly, steadily rose. And then he noticed something approaching him where he sat on the latest flower. A large bird was walking toward him along the ground, perhaps moving in the area that it thought was his blind spot. Adon stood, watching it and letting it approach, for several seconds. The bird¡¯s appearance was striking. Its shape and feather arrangement was like a smaller, more colorful version of the turkeys he remembered seeing in a previous life where he had grown up on a farm. Its tail feathers made a fan shape, though this bird¡¯s fan was black with white splotches, and the turkey tails Adon remembered had been a plain brown color. The bird¡¯s upper body reminded Adon more of a pheasant or a chicken. Its body feathers came in a dark gray color, while the breast feathers were a dark green. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. It¡¯s crazy that wild birds can be so pretty, Adon thought, recalling the Rainbow Bee-Eaters. These guys must really rely on good looks to get a mate. He already knew that one of his big mistakes in his last life as a human had been staying indoors, with his entertainment systems, rather than getting out of the house, but the beauty he kept encountering¡ªand killing¡ªunderscored all that he had missed out on when he had been a man. Identify. Capercaillie (Male) Adon did a cursory search of his memory banks for any reference to this bird and came up with nothing. Not familiar, dude, guess I¡¯ve never encountered this species in any previous life. Maybe you¡¯re unique to this universe? Although I have been to this universe before¡­ He supposed it was possible he had simply eaten one of these chunky things as a dragon without wasting time getting its species name. Dragons didn¡¯t care that much about the names of the things they ate, unless they put up a fight. It didn¡¯t matter. Soon this specimen would be extinct. Hopefully it wasn¡¯t the last of its kind. As the bird cautiously closed the distance with Adon, bobbing its head from side to side as if wary that some other creature would come up and eat it, Adon began gathering his Mana at the edges of his wings. He was getting ready to perform the same move that had killed off the bee-eaters. Perhaps that would become his signature when fighting birds. They lacked hard armor that might repel his bladed wings, and they were happy to approach him directly, since he looked like an easy snack. The capercaillie tilted its head to the side as if suspicious, and Adon wondered if the reason he had never encountered this bird before as far as he could remember was that it was exceptionally cautious. It still wasn¡¯t close enough for him to just hurl himself at it and slice through the neck in one move. Just take a single additional step, he thought. As if responding to his silent command, the capercaillie raised a foot¡ªand then a deafening crash shook the air all around Adon. He dropped from his perch atop the flower, stunned. His eyes took in everything that was happening, and his brain processed the sudden event more quickly than pre-Evolution Adon possibly could have, but he found himself too shocked and intimidated to move quickly in response. What would be the point? Adon asked himself. I can¡¯t possibly kill that thing. Just need to stay out of its way. Seemingly having dropped straight down from some impossible to see position high in the sky, a truly massive bird stood before Adon, its talons embedded in the capercaillie. Its dark wings extended majestically to each side as the bird struck a statuesque pose. Its brown feathered head turned from one side to another, and its gleaming orange eyes glared down at the area around it as if challenging all comers to attack. Adon didn¡¯t really need to use Identify. He knew what he was looking at. He did it anyway. When the enemy was something so overwhelming, it was important to at least have a name for it. Golden Eagle (Male) Yeah. Thought so. Holy shit. Adon sensed movement from below the eagle and tore his eyes away to look beneath the apex predator. The Capercaillie was still alive, fully impaled through the back on the eagle¡¯s talons. The movement Adon had noticed seemed to be the creature¡¯s death throes. Blood gushed from its broken mess of a body, while a trickle of red dripped from the poor creature¡¯s beak. Little gasps escaped around bubbles of blood at the corners of its mouth. Something about the pitiful sights and sounds brought Adon back to himself. What am I thinking? ¡°I can¡¯t possibly kill that thing.¡± Bullshit! It¡¯s just an animal. I¡¯m not a victim like the Capercaillie. I¡¯m a Goddess damned magic¡ª There was a sudden gust of wind and a sound almost like thunder as the eagle flapped its wings. The unexpected blast of air caught Adon across his body and hurled him lightly backwards. As he tumbled in the wind, spinning uncontrollably, he realized the eagle was about to take off again. He concentrated the Mana into the edges of his wings even more forcefully, then managed to steady himself. He flapped once, and fluttered in the air, landing lightly in the cup of a flower. Adon took a step forward and prepared to hurl himself at the eagle¡¯s neck. Perhaps his wings wouldn¡¯t be able to cut that massive throat. Then again, perhaps they would. He was eager, almost suicidally so, to find out. Then another burst of wind struck him. The sheer sound of it hit him like a thunderclap once again. Both force and sound seemed wildly out of proportion to the eagle¡¯s size and plausible muscle strength. In response to the flapping wings, two things happened at once. The mass of muscle and feathers shot into the air at unbelievable speed. And the butterfly was sent spinning backward again. This time, Adon slammed into a flower¡¯s stem, stopping his momentum, though the force of the impact bent the stem in two. It took Adon a fraction of a second to shift the way he was distributing his Mana so as to strengthen the entire surface area of his wings rather than primarily focus on the edges, so that he could muster the strength to actually navigate the gale and get back up off the ground. I can do this, he thought. I can fight through this wind. I think. But in that brief window, the eagle had accelerated. As Adon took flight, the bird of prey was already shrinking to a little brown dot, diminishing in the sky even as he barely lifted off the ground. I think I still have eyes on him. He¡¯s so small all of a sudden. Shit. I¡¯ve never seen a bird like that before. It reminded him of the blue bird¡¯s weird air sucking attack from back in the garden. This was a larger, more impressive version of the same sort of thing, wasn¡¯t it? Are we sure that animals using magic is rare? There¡¯s no way that mini typhoon could have been natural, right? Excitement pulsed through his body as his eyes chased the eagle through the sky. It had stolen his next meal, but it was hard to be angry. It felt as if Adon had just witnessed a glimpse of the top of the food chain, without having been directly endangered or threatened himself. It was a stroke of good fortune. Adon knew instinctively that if he could take down a bird like that, then nothing in the natural world would be able to resist him. The Evolution Points would be nothing to sneeze at, either. Adon stared after the bird for what felt like a long time, but was really probably less than a minute. Just thinking. Daring himself. Wondering if he might possibly have what it took to end the eagle¡¯s reign atop the local food chain. I have to give it a shot, he thought. Yeah. I might not do so well trying to talk to royalty. But this, I understand. All right. I''m going after it. Adon flapped his wings hard, using both magic and muscle, and began to climb into the sky, looking for the air current that might allow him to catch up with the Golden Eagle. 2-32. The Pursuit Adon used Color Change to become effectively invisible once more. He knew that in the open air, a massive bird like the Golden Eagle would have a speed and power advantage over him. If he was to stand a chance, in the event that they actually fought, it would have to be by using his unique gifts¡ªin particular his nigh-invisibility. With that done, he rose through the sky, testing the air currents with his body, until he found an altitude where the winds felt so powerful that they could be dangerous to him if he wasn¡¯t careful. His fragile wings¡ªand consequently his whole body¡ªshook and shuddered like a kite cut loose in a thunderstorm. It reminded him of how the Golden Eagle¡¯s wing beats had affected him. The weather isn¡¯t even bad, he thought. The sky was not particularly cloudy. I have to remember not to underestimate the power of the elements. I¡¯m still just a small creature. He poured Mana into his wings to turn them as hard, strong, and stable as he could. And he held tight to his resolve. The wind continued to wreak havoc, pushing him around and requiring constant adjustments so he would not go careening out of the air current he was riding. Adon refused to shift to a different altitude that would put him in another, slower air current. It was a trial by fire, forcing him to sharpen his steering and control on the fly so that he could keep pace with his adversary. At least the Golden Eagle no longer seemed to be drawing further away, now that Adon was putting his body on the line to chase it. But the creature didn¡¯t appear to be getting much closer either. Adon wondered if it was actually trying to get away from anything. He thought it was extremely unlikely that the great bird would be worried about a scrawny creature like himself, but perhaps it had seen something else, more threatening, and that was why it had seemed to take off and build distance in such a hurry. The alternative, that this was just the eagle¡¯s normal speed of travel, was daunting to think about. Adon reckoned, as the minutes slowly turned into hours, that he and the eagle were probably doing something like sixty miles per hour. Like a car on the highway. Faster than any butterfly could fly, he imagined, without magic to strengthen its body. The ground flitted by far beneath them, the trees looking like dark-colored shrubs. Day faded into evening. In the distance behind them, the mighty Claustrian capital receded and turned from a collection of imposing buildings enclosed behind a high wall into a gathering of tiny game pieces. The eagle was heading into the mountains, Adon could now see. All he could do was follow as best he could, trying not to burn through too much energy as he sought to ride the strongest air currents he could harness. The strategy seemed to be working. As the sun approached the horizon, the little brown shape that Adon tracked was steadily getting larger and more recognizable. The butterfly was slowly but surely gaining on the eagle. Perhaps the bird was tiring, or perhaps it was merely slowing down because it was getting closer to home. Either way, in another half hour to an hour, Adon thought he would catch up to the Golden Eagle. Then he felt the familiar hollow feeling taking hold inside of him. No, come on, not now¡­ His Biomass was starting to get low. But I¡¯m so close! The empty sensation in his gut continued to develop as he flew for the next few minutes. He finally decided to shift his focus from the air to check his Biomass and saw he had only 4/50 Biomass remaining. It only confirmed what he already knew. Despite having done his best to limit his physical exertion by keeping to the most powerful air current he could ride, he had already burned through most of his meager reserves of energy. Soon he would have to stop and eat. But for the moment, Adon forced himself to keep going. Just a bit further. He slowed down a little, to use even less energy. Anything to continue for an extra few minutes. He had already intended to stop somewhere to feed before he challenged the Golden Eagle, but he needed to know where it was going. The sun would set very soon. If he knew anything about eagles, he was fairly certain that they were diurnal. Adon might be running out of power, but the eagle was surely going home now, and it would want to be safely ensconced in its nest by the time the night predators emerged from their dens. Even an eagle could be killed if a creature like a mountain lion came out to hunt and found where the bird slept at night. I just need to see where it nests, and I can attack it in the morning. The pursuit continued as another quarter of an hour slowly passed. Adon felt like a plane that had run out of fuel. He was still gliding along, but he thought he might drop out of the sky if he had to keep this up much longer. He had managed to get even closer to the eagle, which had continued its relatively slower pace. With a few minutes of truly determined flying, Adon probably could have touched his opponent. But it felt like a hollow victory. The butterfly would have to give up soon, and the Golden Eagle showed no sign of stopping except that it had continued its relaxed pace from earlier. Even that could simply be because the air current the eagle was riding had lost steam somehow. Or the bird was only just now getting tired and beginning to conserve energy. It might have miles to go before it slept. Adon didn¡¯t believe that was it¡ªthe sun was hugging the horizon like a dance partner now¡ªbut he knew that he couldn¡¯t win if this became a battle of attrition. Even as he followed the massive bird, he had been scouting a place at ground level where he might be able to feed on some flowers. He could see a place he should be able to reach quickly if he stopped soon. But if he followed the eagle for another mile, he would start to enter starvation mode, as well as increasing the distance to his prospective food source. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. If the chase continued longer, things were going to become very uncomfortable. The butterfly was camouflaged with Color Change, but if he hadn¡¯t been, he would almost have thought the bird was mocking him. Adon was moments away from abandoning the pursuit when the eagle began to lose altitude. Really? Yes! Yes, please! The Golden Eagle did not rush to its destination, but it moved steadily downward as Adon had hoped it would. The bird descended gracefully toward a chunk of the mountainside that looked the same as any other spot to Adon¡¯s eyes. The eagle drew close to the mountain, almost touching it, and then seemed to vanish. Adon resisted the temptation to fly closer and investigate. He had accomplished everything he needed to. He was pooped. It was time to rest and eat. Undoubtedly, in the morning, he would find some crag the eagle had nimbly slipped into, which he could not easily see in the twilight. Adon began his own descent. It amounted to him doing as little as possible with his wings¡ªbesides protecting them with Mana¡ªand trying to drop like a stone. He was not in a position to worry about elegance right now, and no one was watching. Once he was out of the powerful air current he had been riding here, he even pulled the Mana back from his wings. Every bit of energy saved would count. He angled his wings delicately to catch a weaker air current blowing toward the ground, and he let that carry him, with very little muscle movement, to a flowery meadow near the foot of the mountain. When he landed on the closest flower, he wanted to shout, ¡°Home free!¡±¡ªor drop over from exhaustion. But there was no one there to hear a telepathic shout, and collapsing wouldn¡¯t do him any good. He unfurled his proboscis and began to drink, first from one flower, then the next, flitting quickly from one to another in a quick, businesslike fashion. Once he was done with this, he imagined he would slip into a torpor that might last more than a night. When was the last time he had pushed his body this hard? Right after the final fight with the ladybug larva, maybe. Back then, he had been both injured and hungry, and he had also ended up poisoning himself with the ladybug¡¯s flesh. Well, when I think about that, this trip was practically a relaxing walk in the park. He flitted to another flower and forced himself to feed again. He was still hungry, with Biomass in the middle of its range, but his body wanted him to be still and rest. Now that he had found food, Adon intended to keep eating until he was sated. He wanted full resources for his planned fight with the Golden Eagle tomorrow. He landed on another flower and sensed movement in the darkness. Though Adon remained essentially invisible, he paid attention. If he saw something nutritious walking around, he might skip the rest of the flowers and just eat whatever approached. He had already proven to himself with the bee-eaters that his butterfly body enjoyed consuming blood and melted flesh¡ªthough the thought of how he had consumed it was still a bit disgusting. Something in the darkness moved again, and Adon got a lock on its location. Whatever sort of animal it was, the dark, sleek, long-bodied creature was walking down the side of a tree. Probably coming to hunt its dinner on the ground. Identify. Continental Pine Marten (Female) Adon had a vague memory¡ªfrom which past life, he wasn''t sure¡ªthat the pine marten was a creature somewhat similar to a weasel. All right, I think I can take that down. I¡¯ll wait until she¡¯s preoccupied, in the middle of hunting something. Or maybe when she tries to go back up the tree. If the pine marten is in the tree, I think being able to fly will be a bigger mobility advantage than it would be if she was on the ground. For now, Adon simply sipped nectar and watched the pine marten move. He noticed as it was climbing down from the tree that it seemed to be listening for noise of anything else moving. Sharp hearing and eyesight, then, I guess. That was somewhat par for the course for a nocturnal animal, but every bit of information he gathered could come in handy when he made his move. The pine marten touched the ground, darted its head from side to side, and then lifted its snout. The nose twitched as it scented the air. Then it started walking, its snout slightly lowered, clearly following an olfactory trail of some sort. Let¡¯s see where we¡¯re going, Adon thought, though he was already imagining he would prefer to ambush the pine marten when it was preparing to return to its home in the tree. He flapped his wings and took off, invisibly and as quietly as he could move, after the pine marten. His dark-furred prey continued to follow its nose along the ground until it came to a small hole in the ground, hidden among some grass. Adon realized it was a hole only because the pine marten stuck its snout in. At first, it just looked like the end of the pine marten¡¯s head had disappeared. Then it pulled back out. In went the paws, and Adon flitted onto the side of a nearby tree to watch as it dug into the tunnel. Less than thirty seconds of digging widened the tunnel enough for the pine marten¡¯s whole head to fit inside, which Adon imagined meant the whole body would fit in. The pine marten stuck its head in, and for a moment, Adon just waited. He was content to simply watch and see what happened next. Then he heard a sound that brought back a painful memory. Hissing, from more than one creature¡¯s mouth. It was followed by the sounds of an underground struggle, and then an unpleasant shriek. There¡¯s a family of voles in there, Adon thought. It reminded him of the Red Queen. He knew these were a completely different and unrelated family¡ªthe others were dead, after all¡ªand that nothing he could do for these voles would help the dead ones out. Still, he had always felt a bit bad about what had happened to those voles. They had let him hide out in their home, until it was obvious that he was bringing danger with him. And then the danger that followed him had killed them. I don¡¯t owe these random rodents anything, but I was going to kill the pine marten anyway. Now that he¡¯s distracted, it¡¯s the perfect opportunity. Adon took flight and moved toward the hole. The pine marten¡¯s back legs and long, bushy tail still stuck out, presenting themselves as a tempting target. There was an almost silent sound of wings flapping, and a slight change to the breeze. Those were the only warnings that stopped Adon before he got close. He watched incredulously as a swift, gliding shape struck from above. The light brown blur latched onto the pine marten¡¯s tail and yanked forcefully, while Adon stared in disbelief. Twice in one day? he thought. Really? Another predator had appeared to snatch Adon¡¯s prey. 2-33. Eagle-Owl The great bird¡¯s body partially unfolded as it yanked up on the pine marten¡¯s tail. But despite what it had been doing underground before, the pine marten had become fully focused on the surface once it felt a firm grip on its tail. It must have dug in its claws to resist the bird¡¯s pull, because its body only barely shifted with the bird¡¯s exertion. As the creature moved, Adon saw two horn-like feather protrusions sticking out atop the bird¡¯s head. The first thing he knew, even in the dim quarter moon light, was that this was not the Golden Eagle. An entirely different beast had appeared for him to deal with. The positive effect of a large, predatory bird trying to steal Adon¡¯s prey out from under his nose for the second time in a day was that the butterfly was not at all stunned by the creature¡¯s arrival. He instantly used Identify to see what he was dealing with. Brown Eagle-Owl (Male) That makes sense. As he looked over the body, it had a mighty figure like that of an eagle, but the head was distinctly the shape of an owl¡¯s. Maybe the name means it¡¯s some kind of hybrid? The round head turned, and the orange eyes gleamed in the moonlight as the owl opened its wings and flapped once, still clutching the pine marten¡¯s tail tightly. The pine marten shifted another inch out of the hole, even though Adon guessed that it continued to hold on for dear life underground. Interesting. I guess the wings are a strong tool even for hunting on the ground. Adon started charging a Mana ball almost immediately now that he knew what he was fighting. He had already been thinking that a little energy bullet would be the perfect tool to dislodge the pine marten without destroying too much of its tasty flesh. That was even truer of the large eagle-owl. A whole right in the middle of the breast would be the perfect method for killing the bird. Mana began gathering along Adon¡¯s antennae, pooling at the ends that pointed from Adon¡¯s head directly towards his target. The eagle-owl seemed to react to Adon¡¯s Mana charging¡ªor perhaps it simply became impatient with the pine marten¡¯s resistance. It took flight, just an inch or two above the ground, and it placed its other claw in a tight grip on the pine marten¡¯s tail. Then the bird simultaneously yanked with both its clawed feet and beat hard with its wings, creating a downward draft of air. The force of the wind, Adon observed, was nowhere close to what the Golden Eagle had mustered before. It was just the ordinary strength of a bird. This will be good practice, he thought. The pine marten came loose as Adon¡¯s Mana ball was finally fully charged, and the eagle-owl took off. Darn. Adon flapped his wings and gave chase. The eagle-owl hadn¡¯t made much distance, and Adon could see its brown shape clearly under the pale moonlight. But it couldn¡¯t see him, he didn¡¯t think. At least, it wasn¡¯t moving unusually quickly as if it was worried about him. He had a moment to reflect. This whole situation is pretty strange, he thought. I mean, I was just chasing a large, predatory bird across the sky an hour or two ago. Not that any of this is out of character for me, but it¡¯s a little ridiculous that this is happening twice. He swelled up with pride. For any other butterfly, this would have been impossible. Then again, apparently the previous mystic butterflies could do some wild things¡­ Then he poured his energy into chasing the eagle-owl. It still held the pine marten clutched in one of its claws, but it appeared to be using the other claw to repeatedly stab the poor creature. The pine marten writhed in pain and tried unsuccessfully to twist up so as to bite or claw the great bird¡¯s underside. When it did this, the eagle-owl briefly released its grip, then latched back on, holding the pine marten by the body instead of the tail. This made the resistance the pine marten had been attempting essentially impossible. And the eagle-owl resumed stabbing with its other claw, producing pained squeals from the pine marten. Trying to kill its prey while airborne seemed to be slowing the big bird down, as well as forcing it to fly in a predictable pattern, so Adon decided now would be the best moment to try his attack. He drew to within ten feet of the owl and waited a moment to make certain that it seemed to be flying straight. Then, from his position behind the eagle-owl, Adon released his Mana ball. The projectile arced through the air, following the trajectory Adon had intended. It drew almost close enough to the eagle-owl to scorch the feathers on its back¡ªand then the big bird weaved to the side, just before it could hit. The Mana ball succumbed to gravity and fell harmlessly off into the darkness somewhere. Did this guy do that on purpose? Adon wondered. Was it a coincidence? The eagle-owl had returned to its previous trajectory, which made the swerve look like a completely unnecessary movement¡ªexcept for the purposes of evading the Mana ball. Of course he dodged. Even if he couldn¡¯t see me, he saw a bright shiny energy ball hurtling in his direction. I thought I fired into his blind spot, but he must have turned his head and seen it when I wasn¡¯t looking. He pondered what attack to try next. Fire magic would be just as visible, and Adon would probably char some of the meat in the process of killing the owl. Adon decided to close the distance and try his bladed wing attack. This time, in addition to infusing Mana into his wings, he used his shapeshifting power to transform the edges of his wings into actual blades, with hard exoskeleton edges much like his pre-Evolution Bladed Mandibles. Then he flapped harder and faster, trying to shrink the distance between himself and the eagle-owl even further. Adon shot forward, closing to within three feet. Two feet. One foot. His body got almost close enough to touch the eagle-owl, and he poured even more Mana into the edges of his wings and swung himself down like a throwing star aimed at the middle of its back. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. And the eagle-owl spun to the side, performing a mid-air twirl, apparently to avoid Adon. It lowered its head to the pine marten as Adon was recovering from his last burst of acceleration, and the eagle-owl ripped the pine marten¡¯s head from its body with the combination of beak and claws pulling at both ends. I guess the pine marten won¡¯t be helping distract him anymore, Adon thought as the eagle-owl opened its jaws wide, flicked its head back, and tossed the pine marten¡¯s head into the air. But how did he know that attack was coming? What¡¯s going on? I¡¯m sure he didn¡¯t look back this time. I was paying close attention. This thing doesn¡¯t have eyes in the back of its head. Does it? The pine marten¡¯s head came down in the eagle-owl¡¯s beak, which had opened wider than Adon would have believed possible. And the eagle-owl started to swallow the pine marten head whole. What the hell? The pine marten¡¯s head going into the eagle-owl¡¯s throat caused it to visibly bulge and swell as if the eagle-owl was a python swallowing a feral hog or something. It was almost grotesque, and it looked likely to take a while, as the progress of the head moving further inward seemed very slow. The eagle-owl¡¯s eyes carried a hint of suffering. Can he really eat that thing? Adon wondered. Is this what an eagle-owl normally does? Or is this closer to the dictionary definition of biting off more than you can chew? Most relevant, from Adon¡¯s perspective: Why would he put himself through swallowing something so large, when he¡¯s in the middle of a fight with me? Does he not realize something is pursuing him? He looks so uncomfortable. There¡¯s no way he can defend himself adequately while trying to swallow that giant head¡­ It made him wonder if the previous instances of dodging his attacks had been nothing more than flukes. That seemed implausible somehow. Adon pivoted to chase the eagle-owl. He just flew straight at it this time, with no particular plan. The eagle-owl shouldn¡¯t be able to see him right now, because of Color Change, but even if it could, its beak and one claw were already occupied. Adon drew to within six inches, and the eagle-owl suddenly flapped both its wings and sprung up above the butterfly, increasing the distance to a couple of feet within a few seconds. He can¡¯t see me, right? What¡¯s going on? He threw himself at the eagle-owl again, and again it performed a spinning maneuver to avoid him, even as it looked like it might choke to death on the pine marten skull that was slowly, laboriously inching its way through the owl¡¯s throat. This is getting ridiculous! How can he keep moving out of my way at the last minute when he can¡¯t possibly see me¡ªand in this horrible condition, with a huge chunk of meat stuck in his throat?! Adon was tempted to break off the fight for a while and find a body of water or some other reflective object, just so he could get a good look at himself and verify that he was still more or less invisible, but he thought it would be pointless. There was no reason to think his powers had stopped working except that the eagle-owl was evading him. And if he took five minutes to search for a lake that he and the Golden Eagle had flown over earlier, the Brown Eagle-Owl would certainly get away. So instead, he continued the reckless dance he had begun with the eagle-owl, paying careful attention now and trying to uncover the secret of what the beast was doing to avoid him, rather than worrying about doing damage. Over a ten minute period, Adon managed to avoid burning too much energy as he and the eagle-owl darted, pivoted, and whirled through the sky and the nearby treetops. Every time he seemed to be getting close enough to do real damage, the eagle-owl would perform some improbable evasion, even though on several occasions, its dodges caused it to almost collide with trees. Adon confirmed definitively that the eagle-owl could dodge him even when he made it seem that he had broken off the attack and then re-engaged, flying right into its blind spot. So it¡¯s definitely not relying on seeing me coming every time, if there was any doubt about that. And he could tell that he had burned through much of the eagle-owl¡¯s energy. Though it had finally swallowed the pine marten¡¯s head, near the end of their engagement, the eagle-owl moved far less nimbly than it had at the beginning of the pursuit. Every wing beat was just a bit weaker, every dodge came a little more narrowly. After one particularly bad dodge, when the eagle-owl almost brained itself on a thick tree branch¡ªand actually did scrape off one of its horn-like feather protrusions¡ªAdon thought he had figured out some part of the secret. It¡¯s something to do with the way the wind touches the feathers. The Brown Eagle-Owl, like the Golden Eagle, had some sort of wind-related ability that no animal from a non-magical universe would have. When Adon attacked from upwind of the eagle-owl, it seemed to sense him coming and make a skillful maneuver to get out of the way. When he attacked from downwind, the eagle-owl appeared to get a kind of last-minute notice of it, as Adon entered the cone of air that the eagle-owl¡¯s flight made around its body. There¡¯s no way for me to get close without him sensing me with whatever Adaptation or Skill this is. The strange thing was that Adon did not sense any Mana being used; when he or Rosslyn used Mana, he could actually see the color and intensity of it, with the intensity represented as visual thickness. But I couldn¡¯t see the blue bird using Mana when it tried to suction me up with its breath attack, either, Adon thought. And the same is true for the eagle¡¯s weird miniature typhoons. Maybe there was some natural organ or body part the animals had that was harnessing Mana in some unseen way inside of the body, where he wouldn¡¯t be able to see it. Maybe that was why humans thought of most animals as being non-magical. The theory of it didn¡¯t matter to Adon. What was important was that he thought he¡¯d found a weakness. Not only was the eagle-owl more vulnerable to attacks from downwind, where the wind wouldn¡¯t carry its warning to it as quickly, but it was also getting tired and having trouble navigating obstacles. Adon combined all three of those factors into a single plan. He flapped up to a height above the eagle-owl, then flew right down at it, as he had done over and over again. The eagle-owl spun in a downward spiral to get away, and as it entered that flight pattern, Adon fired dozens of Mana-reinforced spines at it. The eagle-owl tried to change direction, but it was caught at a low elevation, and as it turned, a tree stood on each side. Adon flapped up above it, to cut off its possible retreat there, and the eagle-owl hesitated for the first time since Adon had been pursuing it. It finally managed to swing itself at one of the trees, keeping its force somewhat controlled so as to only lightly impact the tree. But a half-dozen of the Mana-reinforced spines stabbed it in the legs as it struck. The blow to the head had only stunned it lightly, and as Adon glided down to press his attack, the eagle-owl seemed to finally become fed up. It turned, squawked angrily at him, and tried to snap with its beak at where it must have imagined the attack was coming from. Adon darted under the snapping jaws, reinforced his wing edges with Mana, and sliced sideways across the bird¡¯s throat. The eagle-owl flapped its wings in a fury, trying frantically to get more altitude, to escape, as it felt its life¡¯s blood bursting forth from its opened neck. The pine marten dropped from its claws in its panicked effort. Adon noted where it landed, then looked back up after the eagle-owl. It was flying straight up, gushing blood all the way. This continued for another few seconds, until finally, what went up came crashing down. Adon floated eagerly down after it. The practice for the Golden Eagle had been a resounding success, and it was time to reap the rewards. As the eagle-owl was still flailing from its position on the ground, trying with its last dying strength to beat away the unseen attacker, Adon started his meal with the pine marten. He inserted his proboscis where the eagle-owl had torn the creature¡¯s head from its shoulders, and he began to feed, much as he had on the bee-eaters. Slurp slurp. Guzzle guzzle. Gulp. 2-34. Always Time for Regrets After Rosslyn and the spiders saw Adon take off and begin his open air flight practice, Rosslyn carried the spiders back inside. She spent another hour working with them, overseeing their magical practice. She tried to be encouraging, though it naturally felt like somewhat slow going after having witnessed Adon¡¯s exploits. While the butterfly had somehow gotten the basics of fire magic down in a matter of hours, the spiders demonstrated a much more normal pace of development. They continued working hard at simply moving Mana around the body, getting the fundamentals under better control. To soothe their minds and hopefully help them focus, Rosslyn had a pianoforte brought in, and she played them a composition that she found relaxing. Rosslyn was pleasantly surprised that her half-blindness did not affect her ability to play the music. Her depth perception did not matter; her fingers remembered where the keys were even if she could not see what one hand was doing some of the time. When the song ended, she glanced over at the spiders, and seeing that the music appeared to be helping, she started over and played the same piece again. Then she shifted to other compositions by the same artist, a young Parmonian composer named Alfons Gorecki who led the Wayn Philharmonic Orchestra. After an hour or so of this, Rosslyn herself felt quite relaxed. She had almost forgotten her slight nervousness at Adon¡¯s departure¡ªher concern that she might be in some way disobeying her father by letting him leave. Then a sharp knock came at the door, jolting Rosslyn out of the piece she was playing. It was Celeste. ¡°Begging your pardon, Your Highness. Your father, the King, would like to invite you and your guests to come to supper now. The hour draws a bit late.¡± Rosslyn noticed for the first time that the quality of the light streaming through the window had faded. The sun was setting. ¡°We will be right along, Celeste,¡± Rosslyn replied. ¡°Is the butterfly coming, as well, Your Highness?¡± Celeste asked in a guarded tone. ¡°He will not be,¡± Rosslyn said slowly. ¡°Has my father asked about him?¡± ¡°Not in so many words,¡± Celeste replied in a low voice. ¡°Not to me, anyway. But I think that a couple of the staff are paying a significant degree of attention to the movements of your friend. And I do not know if they would do that without some inducement or command¡­¡± I see. So, father already knows. He has someone watching Adon¡ªwatching all of us? And he did not bother to tell me. ¡°Thank you for letting me know, Celeste,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°I will go and speak to father, and then we will join him for dinner.¡± Better not to tell him that Adon is gone in front of the spiders, she thought. I wonder how he will react. ¡°Yes, Your Highness,¡± Celeste said. ¡°We will be waiting in the hall when you return.¡± She curtsied and withdrew. Rosslyn left the room and knew immediately where she should go to find her father. She walked down to the palace chapel and found him in the same darkened nook where she had met him when he first explained the security importance of that room¡ªthe same place, also, where he had explained some of Adon¡¯s importance. ¡°It is good to see you,¡± he said. ¡°How are things going with our arthropod friends?¡± He already knew that Adon was gone; Celeste had more or less told Rosslyn that. Was he trying to test Rosslyn¡¯s honesty? Or trying to keep secret that someone had been watching her and the bugs? She walked toward him down the center aisle of the chapel, approaching until she could get a better look at the expression on his face. As was so often the case with him lately, he looked tired, though still strong. ¡°The spiders are progressing at a decent pace toward acquiring magic,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°Is Adon well?¡± he asked. ¡°Adon is taking the air,¡± Rosslyn replied. ¡°It is rather late for that, is it not?¡± Her father did not pretend to be surprised by this news. ¡°That depends on who you are,¡± Rosslyn replied. ¡°For a member of the Royal Family, it might be unusual. For a creature that originates in nature, there would seem to be no right or wrong time to enjoy the outdoors.¡± ¡°Will he come in for supper?¡± The King asked. ¡°No, father,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°He wanted to go hunting.¡± ¡°Hunting?¡± He sounded skeptical. ¡°Yes, hunting. Adon still wants to get stronger, and he will not improve as quickly if he only eats what we give him.¡± ¡°Did he consider that we could bring him beasts to kill?¡± ¡°I think¡ªand I may have misunderstood¡ªthat he acquires more Evolution Points for performing tasks that are more difficult and dangerous. Every step in the process that we remove for him weakens his eventual outcome. A bit like how you told me, when I was a girl, that I could not cut open the side of a chrysalis to help the butterfly escape. Or it would only come out frail and unable to properly use its body.¡± Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Hm. I see. I respect and appreciate Adon¡¯s desire to become stronger as quickly as possible. But I am concerned that he might become much weaker if, for example, something eats him. Even if he had to hunt his prey by himself, could we not have sent soldiers to accompany him? He may hunt alone, but if he appears to become overwhelmed, they could rescue him.¡± ¡°I think they would only have slowed him down,¡± Rosslyn replied. ¡°Adon is stronger than most ordinary soldiers, and he seems to move quickly now that his wings have come in.¡± ¡°Is he intent on going a great distance?¡± her father asked. The conversation was beginning to feel like an interrogation. ¡°He said that he would be back within a few days,¡± Rosslyn said. The King looked frustrated. ¡°Hopefully war does not break out before then, and he returns in one piece,¡± he said after a few seconds of silence. ¡°I have not sent him into a lion¡¯s den, father,¡± Rosslyn said as gently as she could. ¡°I only let him go outside.¡± He visibly bristled at that comment, and Rosslyn realized that there was a way he might have taken it personally. That was far from her intention. She did not blame her father for what had happened back in the forest. ¡°I have made more than my share of mistakes as a ruler, but I believe that my position, if nothing else, still merits consultation prior to allowing a national security asset to leave the country.¡± I think that would have been a mistake¡­ ¡°Would you have Adon believe that he needs your permission to go outside?¡± Rosslyn asked. That would be the natural result, Rosslyn believed, if she had tried to ensure that Adon did not leave without the King¡¯s permission. Her father sucked in a sharp breath and pursed his lips. ¡°I know he is important,¡± Rosslyn continued, ¡°though we do not necessarily know precisely how yet. But you cannot make someone a friend by making him a prisoner. We need him to know that we are friends, not jailers.¡± ¡°We need him as a military asset, not primarily as a friend. If we can befriend him, too, then I am all in favor. He might also be more useful if he sees us as his friends. But the security of over two million of our people rests on those slender wings. The approach that we take to managing Adon must bear that weight in mind. You know how to endear yourself to the soldiers, I know you do. But you would not tolerate a soldier in your command going absent without leave, or not telling you where they would be going or when they would be back, would you?¡± Rosslyn sighed. Adon is not my soldier, she wanted to say. ¡°No,¡± she admitted. ¡°I had not thought of him as a soldier, but as a foreign prince to be welcomed and negotiated with. I think we should be careful not to be too high-handed with someone whose voluntary alliance we wish to obtain. He will not be any kind of asset if he grows to hate us. I am hopeful that he will come back stronger and more confident for his travels in his new body.¡± ¡°I am simply hopeful that he comes back,¡± replied the King. Rosslyn chuckled, but her father did not laugh with her. He simply rose from his seat and walked toward her position in the aisle. ¡°I hope your recovery is proceeding well, at least,¡± he said, looking down at her thoughtfully with his sharp, slightly narrowed eyes. ¡°I am improving every day,¡± Rosslyn replied instantly. ¡°I spent a little time training Adon before he left¡ª¡± ¡°Training him in what?¡± the King asked, surprised. ¡°Fire magic,¡± Rosslyn said quietly. She wondered if he would say something critical of that¡ªthey did not usually pass on any magical ability to anyone outside of the family, after all¡ªbut when he finally spoke, his reaction surprised her. ¡°You have been very active in strengthening our friend,¡± he said, quietly chuckling. ¡°I am glad to hear that you are doing well. Your recovery is my top priority, above everything else.¡± His expression turned bittersweet. ¡°Even if the Kingdom falls apart, I want my family to be safe,¡± he added. He placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. ¡°Remember that, if things take a turn for the worse here. I know that you will always fight for our people, but remember that the safety of you and your siblings is more important to me and Carolien than anything else. We have discussed it many times¡ªwhat we would want our little princes and princesses to do if the worst should happen.¡± Her father¡¯s sudden morbid train of thought left Rosslyn far more worried than she had been. Does he believe he is going to die? How? Is he sick? He is the strongest person I have ever met! He cannot die¡­ Her expression must have given her thoughts away. ¡°Please do not be worried,¡± he said. ¡°I apologize if I gave you cause for alarm. It is just that the next year is so important. The war that we know is coming. Any little thing that goes wrong¡ª¡± He shook his head¡ª¡°can send me down a dark path. That is not for you to worry about.¡± Yet. Her mind filled in the word as if he had spoken it aloud. ¡°Let us go to dinner,¡± he said finally, pulling her forward. She realized she was blocking his forward movement, standing in the middle of the aisle the King was trying to walk down. ¡°Tomorrow, perhaps you should go into the city and choose a fine craftsman to make you an eyepatch.¡± He ruffled her hair fondly. ¡°I know you love to look your best.¡± Rosslyn felt very young again, suddenly. ¡°Perhaps after training,¡± she said. ¡°I think it is best if I get back into the saddle tomorrow. I intend to spar with Sir Jaren. Hopefully I am not too rusty after a month in bed.¡± Hopefully I am not too ineffective and clumsy after the loss of an eye, she thought. She was still getting used to monocular vision. Occasionally, she found herself almost bumping her head, because she strayed too close to an obstacle she would have been able to see if she still had two eyes. ¡°I hope we can avoid discussing any of this in front of the spiders,¡± her father said, waving his hand to indicate the chapel. They had reached the entry at this point. ¡°Of course,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°That was why I came to speak with you privately first.¡± ¡°I should have known,¡± the King said, nodding. ¡°That was excellent judgment.¡± But paradoxically, as he spoke those words, Rosslyn looked back on the course of their conversation and wondered if she might not be losing her father¡¯s trust in her judgment. Based on Celeste¡¯s hints, he was having either her or the arthropods watched¡ªand had said nothing about it, though he had not tried to conceal the fact either. He seemed to believe her decision to simply let Adon leave the palace was the height of recklessness. No, she told herself. Even if he is having some doubts, it is probably just this strange melancholy mood that has come over him. If I had started to lose some trust over Adon¡¯s departure, then logically, I should get some of that back when he returns, as I know he will. Everything will be fine. I made the right decision. Rosslyn allowed her father to lead her to the dinner table, where Goldie, Samson, and the other spiders were already waiting. She did her best to put on a stoic expression, trying not to convey the small conflict that seemed to be brewing between her and her father. It was nothing that they would need to worry about anyway. 2-35. The Possibilities of a Dungeon The dinner conversation was mostly light and relaxing, a welcome break from Rosslyn¡¯s near interrogation by her father in the chapel. The spiders gave the King an eager update on their progress with Mana, and Rosslyn¡¯s father showed his usual genteel manners despite the worries that Rosslyn knew boiled beneath the surface. The spiders ate their raw poultry, sickeningly slurped after being liquefied, while Rosslyn and her father had their usual multicourse meal. Just as she had been at her last supper, Rosslyn was hungrier than usual, having remained asleep for over a week while she recovered, during which time, she had been told, her body had sustained itself on gruel, carefully drip fed down her throat. Unlike the previous supper, this one found the table almost empty. Adon was gone, and the youngsters and Carolien were taking in a live theater performance in the city. Rosslyn¡¯s stepmother felt that the children were now old enough to begin acquiring culture. With the absence of possible judging eyes, Rosslyn allowed herself to actually eat the amount of food her body craved after a week of unconsciousness. And perhaps it was also her siblings and Carolien¡¯s absence that allowed the conversation to flow freely back and forth, without concern for what would entertain the young ones. It started off focused around the spiders, of course. But Rosslyn¡¯s father, his mind overburdened with serious and pressing problems, changed the subject from how the spiders were settling into palace life¡ªthey loved the palace, thanks!¡ªto something that he had clearly been worrying about. ¡°That dungeon is growing more active,¡± the King said, looking at Rosslyn suddenly as if she was the only person in the room. ¡°We will have to do something about it¡­¡± How do you know that a dungeon is more active than it was before, Your Majesty? asked Samson. Do people go in and explore, or¡­? ¡°Signs of the different stages of activity include mild earthquakes when they first emerge, livestock and poultry going missing in the night, and eventually monster sightings in broad daylight,¡± the King replied. ¡°In this case, fortunately, a young noble discovered and reported it,¡± Rosslyn added. ¡°I will have to put out a request for adventurers,¡± her father said with an obvious expression of distaste. ¡°We cannot afford to spare soldiers, of course.¡± Why not? What¡¯s going on with the military, if you don¡¯t mind the question? asked Samson, bright with curiosity. Make sure you finish your food, son, sent Goldie, giving Samson a look that made Rosslyn wonder if she was worried that her oldest child was annoying the nice royals. ¡°We are happy to discuss these matters with you, Samson,¡± Rosslyn said, smiling. ¡°It is rare that we have the opportunity to interact with someone freshly reborn from another world and get new perspectives on a problem. We usually do not have many soldiers to spare when dungeons become active, because dungeon activity often coincides with movements by the Demon Empire. When that happens, our military is invariably called into action to prepare for attack from without. They do not have the leeway to embark on a journey to face the threat within.¡± That sounds like incredible bad luck, Goldie sent doubtfully. Yeah, how does that work? asked Samson. Rosslyn¡¯s father put down a pheasant drumstick as he began to explain. ¡°Fundamentally, we have no idea how it truly works,¡± the King said, ¡°but the prevailing theory has been that the Emperor has some power to manipulate the monsters, perhaps a form of magic that we never discovered. If he had a card like that to play, it would be an incredible distraction leading up to an attack.¡± ¡°That is often how events seem to play out,¡± Rosslyn added. ¡°In historical chronicles of battles, the Kingdom or whatever country the Empire is attacking are often weakened leading up to the battle by monster attacks.¡± Although not in my vision of the past, she recalled. At least not that I was shown. I suppose that is a bit strange¡­ Gosh, Samson transmitted. The Demon Empire already sounded formidable from what little I¡¯ve heard. ¡°Yes,¡± the King agreed. ¡°They already were. Even without that advantage, Claustria would be hard-pressed to defend against them with our army alone. We have to rely on allies. Otherwise, defense becomes unsustainable in the long run. The Empire¡¯s population is more than twenty times the size of ours. We do not have an accurate number. Information on the Empire is shrouded in secrecy and lies. Some outlandish estimates place it at fifty times our size, although it is hard to believe that people could reproduce in such numbers under the heel of their tyranny.¡± So that¡¯s why you can¡¯t spare soldiers, Samson sent. ¡°Honestly, I think the precariousness of our situation is the main reason we tolerate adventurers making Claustria home at all,¡± Rosslyn replied. What is wrong with adventurers? Goldie asked, looking up from a bit of meat. ¡°I might ask what is right with adventurers,¡± the King replied, with a bitter humor in his tone. ¡°Ask any ruler, and they would tell you that these dregs of society are the worst citizens in a country besides career criminals. Give me a good, honest peasant farmer any day. Even if he does not like his lord, the worst he might do is lead a local uprising. Then we hang the farmer and make a new lord, who hopefully learns a lesson from his predecessor¡¯s experience.¡± Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Adventurers are typically composed of the very small share of the population who have knowledge of Mana¡ªand, rarely, even some magical affinities¡ªwithout being nobility loyal to a specific place,¡± Rosslyn explained. ¡°Some of them are the descendants of displaced nobles, or unacknowledged bastards, and some might have¡ª¡± She looked at her father¡ª¡°er, won the genetic lottery.¡± Apparently they have ancestors who were intimate with mystic beasts, she thought. Though I never would have guessed the explanation could be something like that until recently¡­ ¡°Regardless of how they achieved it, adventurers have power without accountability,¡± Rosslyn continued. ¡°They are armed and possess some level of magical power, without a connection to the social hierarchy of the country¡ªwithout necessarily having any loyalty to the country. Such people cannot be trusted.¡± ¡°If the dungeon is too dangerous, they will flee from it,¡± her father said. ¡°If the Kingdom goes to war, they are likely to disappear rather than stay and be drafted to defend their country. In more peaceful times, when there is less work for people of their unusual talents, some of them go into the professional military, but just as often, they turn to brigandry.¡± He picked up his drumstick again, then lowered it, shook his head, and looked prepared to go on ranting, but Samson spoke up first. It sounds like they¡¯re mercenaries, he transmitted. That is, in my previous world, there were people who wrote about the loyalties of mercenaries. The opinion of scholars from the period in that world that, um, seemed to correspond to this one was that mercenaries¡¯ loyalties are not to be counted on. Rosslyn was struck for far from the first time by the strange quality of Samson¡¯ speech. How he would sometimes speak with the tonality of a young adult and at other times revert to the speaking style and vocabulary of an older person. He, of course, always had the knowledge base of an adult, too. It was slightly creepy, not because she thought he had any form of bad intentions¡ªhe was Adon¡¯s brother, after all¡ªbut simply because there was a dissonance to it. As if Samson was stuck in the middle, deciding between being two different people¡ªor deciding not to decide. Just being two different people. Adon had never demonstrated that sort of strange inner conflict since Rosslyn knew him, though she supposed that was because he was still exactly the same person he had been in his previous life. ¡°That is exactly the comparison that our scholars used to make!¡± the King exclaimed, pounding the table with his fist. ¡°Just the one. I have not heard that specific analogy used outside of books, but I have always thought it was a perfect description. They are glorified mercenaries. ¡®Adventurers,¡¯ indeed!¡± I wonder what it would be like to explore a dungeon, Samson sent, his voice slightly dreamy. Rosslyn found Samson¡¯s interruption fortunate, as it would hopefully prevent her father from going on a rant. She shared the King¡¯s feelings about adventurers, but not his intensity about them. They were not, as a general rule, as steadfast as soldiers, but there were some good adventurers. As a result of the few occasions that her military unit had collaborated with professional adventurers, she felt she had been sufficiently exposed to the spectrum of their differences to make her own judgments. The adventurers of Claustria were like a small microcosm of society, with their differing backgrounds, characters, and motivations. They came from all socioeconomic backgrounds and all parts of the Kingdom, though their center of activity was Wayn. The problem, in her view, was that they felt their separateness, their rootlessness, as an essential part of their identity. They could not be trained into loyalty to a state, or even a region or a religion. They were wild cards. And for the right price, they might fight, like mercenaries, for or against the Kingdom. They were just as likely to welcome the outbreak of war as to flee it. I suppose Samson and Adon are not so different after all, Rosslyn thought, jumping back to the conversation and considering what Samson had said more carefully. ¡°I wonder what it would be like to explore a dungeon.¡± This was essentially the butterfly¡¯s attitude toward adventure, too. Adon was always eager to rush toward the next danger, the next opportunity for growth. Despite his apparent social anxiety, he seemed to be almost fearless against physical threats. Rosslyn could not be sure if Samson was the same way, but based on the dinner conversation, she found it strange to think that the brothers had not quite gotten along in Adon¡¯s previous life¡ªor, more accurately, that Adon had felt that he had lived in his younger brother¡¯s shadow. Samson just wants to do what his brother is already doing, she thought. ¡°You just may get your chance to explore one,¡± Rosslyn said after a moment of silence. ¡°Depending on how quickly your magic progresses, and how events unfold in the next several weeks.¡± Goldie stopped eating, Rosslyn noticed. The spider turned her unblinking, glossy eyes on Rosslyn. It was not intimidating, but only because Rosslyn was not afraid of spiders. The Princess wished that spiders had readable facial expressions. She had the bad, though impossible to substantiate, feeling that Goldie was giving her a disapproving look. That sounds awfully dangerous, Goldie sent after a moment. Samson was only born a few days ago, you know¡­ ¡°I agree,¡± said the King. ¡°It sounds quite dangerous. I would not willingly see any of my children wander into a dungeon unnecessarily¡ªat least not without a well prepared escort of soldiers. The soldiers who we cannot spare right now.¡± He gave Rosslyn a look that was much easier to read than Goldie¡¯s. It said, I hope you were not offering to escort that little spider into a dungeon yourself, Rosslyn. I almost lost you in the Empire, and you have spent less than two full days recovering from that episode. I am an adult, father, Rosslyn thought. If I was capable enough to be sent to infiltrate Stalenton and strong enough to face down assassins in the Deformed Forest, I think I can handle delving into a dungeon. Especially if the choice is between that and suffering monster attacks behind our lines during the Empire¡¯s invasion. The adventurers would undoubtedly handle it, but it rubbed her the wrong way to think that after all that she had done in her young life, her father apparently did not believe that she could safely take care of something like this herself. The conversation moved on to plans for the next several days. Rosslyn was most interested in training her body so as to be as prepared as possible for the outbreak of war, whenever it might come. She knew she needed more experience of fighting with one eye missing. The spiders were intent on continuing their magic training. The King said that the Duke¡¯s heirs would arrive soon, and he began going over the protocols that applied to a foreign prince¡¯s visit¡ªtheoretically for the spiders¡¯ benefit, though Rosslyn thought he was trying to give her a subtle refresher, too. Her mind was only partially in the room, though. As much as she was interested in the visit by the two young men who were theoretically meant to be new suitors for her, Rosslyn could not help but wonder, as Samson had, about the possibility of visiting a dungeon. Of course, she would not need to consider that possibility if the adventurers succeeded in clearing it out. But what if they failed? 2-36. Outside the Eyrie The butterfly came out of his feeding trance only to discover that he had consumed almost everything and settled himself on a tree branch after doing so. His trance must have bled into torpor. Aside from flecks of dried blood that he had to kick off his feet, little visual sign remained that he had killed and eaten the eagle-owl and consumed its prey, the pine marten. The animals were reduced to bits of feathers and fur respectively, held together by a thin layer of mostly-intact skin. It looked like another crime scene. It¡¯s a little weird that I don¡¯t remember moving from the ground to the tree. He dimly recalled the taste of the liquefied pine marten¡ªa gamey flavor that reminded him of eating venison back when he was a dragon¡ªand that of the eagle-owl, which was a mixture of a turkey-like taste and that same sort of gamey, wild flavor that Adon had experienced with the pine marten. Now the local ants were crawling over the hollowed out husks of the pine marten and eagle-owl, trying to salvage whatever meager portions of flesh Adon had not already eaten. His Simple Eyes detected the sunlight that was beginning to peek over the mountaintop without Adon needing to look up. In his mind, it seemed like only minutes ago that he had killed the eagle-owl. But his body showed the truth of the hours that had passed. He had begun to tire by the time he finally found the way to cut the eagle-owl down to size. Now he felt physically refreshed. Psychologically, it was more complicated. Once again, Adon found himself near what felt like a crime scene. He had committed another brutal murder¡ªthough thanks to everything the eagle-owl had done to the pine marten, it looked like two murders¡ªand he hadn¡¯t properly cleaned up the bodies. At least I didn¡¯t waste much meat, he thought grimly. The eagle-owl had been reduced to a pile of feathers and feet, while there was nothing left of the pine marten but a fine pelt. He considered whether he might take the fur back for Rosslyn, but then shook his head at the idea. It was a heavy burden that would make his trip back either impossible or interminably long, and the interior was probably still covered in the acid that had dissolved the pine marten¡¯s insides. Kind of a gross present. Adon turned to look more carefully at the rays of light the rising sun emanated from behind the mountain. It was hard for him to judge what precise time of morning it was. He had certainly rested longer than he had intended to, though. He had hoped to catch the eagle at first light. The early bird got the worm, after all. Or vice versa. I have to hope the eagle isn¡¯t an early riser, he thought. Otherwise I might not see it come back to the nest until the end of the day again. I would have a whole wasted day behind me. And at some point, Goldie, Rosslyn, and Samson will start wondering what happened to me and where I am. If he took too long out here, trying to kill the Golden Eagle, Adon would feel obliged to go back home, just so that people would not have to worry about him. That¡¯s funny. In my last life, I never had any amazingly strong attachments or friendships. Even my relationships with my family were resentful. His mind jumped to Samson. Maybe more so than was reasonable. But after a month of living in this world, I already feel like I have a home. I¡¯m basically a tourist, with my level of knowledge about Claustria, but it feels like the place where I belong. He wondered if he was being silly. But in his hundreds of past lives, he had never experienced the sensation of feeling that it was wrong to want or to feel attached to a home. So maybe this wasn¡¯t silly. Maybe it was just natural. Whether human or animal nature did not seem to matter. Adon contained both. Well, whatever. Let¡¯s go find the eagle before it dies of old age. Adon flapped his wings once, twice, three times. He got lucky and found a breeze, then floated up into the sky. Up in the air, he received the sunlight more directly, and his body positively crackled with the extra energy that it brought him. Every muscle felt stronger, every joint more supple, through contact with direct sunlight. Adon allowed himself to float higher, above the altitude that he knew the Golden Eagle nested at, to soak up more of the delicious warmth. He slowly glided over to where the Golden Eagle¡¯s rocky home stood. In the daylight, it was easier to see the crag in the mountainside where the great bird had roosted the previous evening. The place was still somewhat camouflaged by the fact that it was a rocky opening disguised behind other jutting rocks. But it was less hidden than it had been in the near darkness¡ªand no amount of camouflage could have fooled Adon¡¯s Impeccable Memory about where he had seen the eagle rest for the evening. Adon turned his body invisible and allowed himself to waft in the air, almost one with the wind, shifting from one air current to another to remain in a stasis-like position relative to the eyrie, as he waited hopefully for the eagle to emerge. He had only been floating on the breeze for around a quarter of an hour when he felt, rather than saw, as the eagle drew near. No shadow fell over him, and no sound rang through the air to announce its presence. It took him a moment to realize what it was that had set him on alert, and in that moment, the massive bird whizzed by him like a rocket. The Golden Eagle slowed as it reached the rocky entrance to its nest, and Adon was able to see that it clutched a dead and bloodied hare in its claws. Then the bird tucked its head and dipped into what must have been a fairly tight entrance, with immaculate grace. Only a single light brown feather, dislodged as it entered, floated up on the breeze as if meant to serve as a reminder that the eagle had been there. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. What was that feeling? Adon wondered. How did I know it was there? How in the world is it so fast, even when it¡¯s throwing itself into such a tight space? How does it have such control of its momentum? The Golden Eagle made the Brown Eagle-Owl look like a slow and clumsy flier by comparison. Its movements seemed impossibly swift and precise, and it had slowed down with hardly any perceptible motion to do so as it seemed almost certain to crash into the mountain. Adon did not know how he would catch something like this mighty bird of prey. Think back to the eagle-owl, then, he told himself. It had some kind of supernatural seeming ability, too. It was definitely something to do with the wind. The eagle-owl could dodge whenever I got near the wind that touched its body. Maybe the eagle itself can control the wind or something. At least the currents that touch its body. That sort of ability seemed to promise that Adon would never be able to reach the eagle¡¯s body. But hopefully it was a more active power than the eagle-owl¡¯s extrasensory perception via the wind. If the eagle had to consciously use that power, then a sneak attack might succeed¡ªassuming that Adon could catch up to the speedy bird. How do I do this? It seemed he might have some time to think, as the Golden Eagle remained in its nest and had entered with freshly caught food. First thing, if I know I might have a hard time getting close to it, I need to see about getting that Telekinesis I Adaptation. I ate the eagle-owl and the pine marten yesterday. Maybe I can afford it now¡­ It seems like an ideal power for a long range fight. With that and my spines, I should be able to land some kind of attack on the eagle even if it¡¯s too fast for me to tag with my natural flight speed. I hope. Adon had not reviewed his options in the Evolution Store since waking up; he had been too excited about hunting the Golden Eagle. So he was glad to open up the store and look through the Adaptations again. He was pleasantly surprised to find that a number of options that had been unavailable last time he checked were now within reach¡ªincluding Telekinesis I, which would cost 1000 Evolution Points. Adon now possessed 1628 Evolution Points, though it was impossible for him to know how much he had obtained from the bee-eaters, pine marten, and eagle-owl he had eaten respectively. All he was certain of was that by his rough math, he had just obtained a month¡¯s worth of the Evolution Points he could secure from living in the palace, in just a couple of days. All that without actually securing the main prey I¡¯ve been chasing, he thought. Most of it is probably from the eagle-owl. That was a big challenge. He looked through a number of other options¡ªSize Enhancement I was now available for 200 Evolution Points, Sleep Spores I was available for 500 Evolution Points, Paralytic Venom Spores I was available for 900 Evolution Points, and Amnesic Venom Spores I was available for 1000 Evolution Points. Interestingly, Transformation II remained out of reach. Implying that the Transformation I Adaptation that my Evolution gave me was somewhere over 800 Evolution Points in value, Adon noted. He wondered how many points he would need if he wanted to upgrade to Transformation II. But it was a question for another time. Although the Evolution Store was as fun to explore as it always was when he actually had Evolution Points to spend, Adon knew he wanted what he had already wanted. And he needed to get it before the eagle came out and escaped him again. He spent 1000 Evolution Points to acquire Telekinesis I, and then he wafted on the wind as he waited to endure the pain of the new Adaptation. He waited, keeping his eye on the sole apparent entrance¡ªand hopefully only exit¡ªto the eyrie. And waited. Waited a bit longer. Just at the moment when he wondered if the Adaptation was going to take effect or if he had somehow forgotten to check out from the Evolution Store, he felt a sharp pain inside his head¡ªwhich vanished almost as suddenly as it had made itself known. Wait, was that it? Perhaps his butterfly brain was more malleable than his caterpillar brain had been. His body did have strange transformative properties. Or it was simply easier for him to acquire Telekinesis I, because he had already had significant modifications made to his brain when he acquired the Telepathy ladder of Adaptations. It was hard to trust that it was really that easy. Aren¡¯t I supposed to be in excruciating pain right now? he questioned skeptically. There was only one way to know. Adon reached out with his mind, going off sheer instinct and nothing more. He imagined himself reaching out with a non-physical hand and plucking up one of the rocks that stood at the entrance to the eyrie. As his mental grip on the rock tightened, he felt a strain. He pulled with all his mental might. And nothing. The rock didn¡¯t budge. Maybe I¡¯m doing this wrong¡­ He imagined himself exerting a lot of force to move the rock. No motion resulted. Nope. He realized he might have moved himself slightly, rather than the object he was trying to lift. But it was impossible to be sure, since as he used this power, he was wafting in the wind. Adon opened the Evolution Store again and confirmed that he was now down to 628 Evolution Points and that Telekinesis II was the new, grayed out option. He had indeed purchased Telekinesis I. As if there was ever any doubt, he thought. Maybe it was just too weak to do much. He thought of the fact that Rosslyn had mentioned that her own Telekinesis was not particularly strong. He looked down and tried to check if the rock he had been trying to move was actually just a rock, or if it was fixed in place, a part of the mountain. Just then, a flicker of brown distracted his eye. That feather. It was still floating in the air, blown up and down and back and forth on the wild winds that whipped around the mountainside. Adon had hardly noticed it was still there before, as caught up as he was in his plans and trying to feel out his new power. He reached out with his mind and tried to grab the feather. He imagined the invisible hand forming a tight grip on it. And the long brown sliver stopped dead in midair. 2-37. The Diving Eagle and the Butterfly As Adon held the brown feather in the air, thinking about how he might move it through the air with his Telekinesis, a shape emerged from the crag he had been watching. In an instant, his focus left the feather and locked in on the brown shape. The Golden Eagle was back. A single, powerful wingbeat took it to the skies above Adon. As the butterfly instinctively began flying after it, slightly stunned at the sight of the majestic creature, the wind that the eagle left in its wake shook Adon¡¯s body. It had kicked up with what felt like a gale with what had appeared to be a relatively small motion of its wings. He saw out of the corner of his vision that the same winds struck the feather he had been testing his powers on, and the slender brown shape spiraled downward, twirling rapidly like a leaf in a hurricane force wind. How are its wings that powerful? Adon wondered for far from the first time. His mind returned to the possibility that the Golden Eagle could control the wind somehow, though again, he had seen no hint of Mana usage. As he considered the possibility that perhaps the eagle had some sort of special organ for manipulating the wind, he reminded himself that the big bird was getting away. The distance between them was growing by the second, even as he flapped every more frantically. The eagle was not flying anywhere near the top speed Adon had seen it employ before. It was soaring, going for height and minimal effort rather than speed and distance. The curved head looked downward, scanning the forest below the mountain. It was searching for more prey. Of course, it¡¯s hunting again, he thought. I need to take advantage of this opportunity. Adon flew up to find one of the strong air currents he had harnessed earlier, and he continued flying as quickly as he could, trying to cut the distance between himself and the great bird of prey. For a moment it seemed he was getting close, only for the eagle to wheel and turn to fly in another direction. Its head did not turn in Adon¡¯s direction, but he was tempted for a moment to think that the eagle had some ability similar to the owl¡¯s¡ªthat, in addition to forcefully propelling the wind around its body, it could also sense objects floating in the nearby winds¡ªbut Adon did not think the eagle was even in the same air current that he occupied, which had seemed to be a requirement for the owl to sense him without seeing him. He narrowed the gap between himself and the eagle again. This time, he would test out whether it could detect attacks coming from its blind spot. Adon hovered in the air above the eagle¡¯s head, in the region that he was confident it was physically impossible for the forward-facing eyes of a predator to spot him. He began charging a Mana ball, which formed quickly just in front of his curled proboscis. The attack charged more quickly than it ever had before, as Adon¡¯s eagerness and state of high energy all fueled the concentration of power in front of his head. Yes, that¡¯s it, he thought. Just another second, and¡ª A sound like a thunderclap rolled through the air, along with winds so intense that Adon¡¯s body performed a sudden involuntary somersault. His eyes were barely able to track the accompanying movement as the eagle dove out of the sky. Wha¡­? Adon felt almost certain that the eagle had not noticed the Mana ball that he was charging¡ªhe now began pulling the energy back into his core¡ªbut then why? He steadied his body¡¯s position and followed after the Golden Eagle. His opponent had descended into the woods, and Adon saw now that it was just striking the ground as he got a look at it. Its velocity had increased from its rocket-like start to its landing attack. As it struck the prey¡ªAdon poured Mana into his eyes to enhance his vision and saw that it was a small fox, probably a juvenile¡ªthe butterfly recognized the same strike, posturing, and general move set he had seen from the Golden Eagle the previous day, when it killed the capercaillie. Interesting. It strikes like a bolt of lightning, does an intimidating pose, looks from side to side as if daring a challenger to come forward¡ªbut it doesn¡¯t look behind. It¡¯s not really worried that something could ambush it¡­ although, in fairness, there¡¯s nothing else besides another eagle that could have followed directly in its path. That speed was incredible. Its claws were busy with the fox, and it was not looking directly behind it. Adon wondered if he could use this information for his own attack. He started trying to put together a better plan than his simple sneak attack idea. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. I can wait until he dives again, and then¡­ and then¡­ wait, no, that won¡¯t work. When he dives, he moves faster than when he¡¯s doing anything else. I can barely follow his movements when he¡¯s just soaring through the air without giving a thought to me. I can¡¯t keep up with his dive, can I? How is he so fast when he¡¯s seemingly just falling through the air? I guess it helps that he¡¯s no longer going against gravity¡­ Adon saw the eagle take off again, the dead fox clutched in its talons. An idea struck him for how his nascent plan might be salvageable after all. I need to test something. Adon watched the great bird¡¯s trajectory for a few seconds, then adjusted his flight trajectory and speed so as to be able to cut off its path to the crag where its nest lay. This time, he cut the distance between himself and the bird down much more quickly than he had earlier. Perhaps the Golden Eagle thought it could relax now that it had its prey firmly in its grip. When Adon got to within ten feet of the eagle, he used Telekinesis again. He visualized his invisible fist, wrapping around and grabbing hold of the eagle¡¯s head. And he pulled. As he had imagined, the invisible fist was far too weak to move the eagle toward him. However, perhaps because Adon was imagining the fist as an extension of his body, it pulled him toward the eagle instead. Without him needing to do anything special with his wings, or find any new air current, he was closing the distance with the enemy at incredible speed. Best of all, the bird did not even appear to react to Adon¡¯s Telekinetic touch. It seemed to continue flying as if everything was normal. Its strong, steady wings bore it ever upwards and forward, but slowly, without any sense of urgency. It was returning home to its mountainside, food clutched in its talons. What could there possibly be to worry about? Adon found it easy to pull himself along behind the eagle, steadily drawing closer and essentially ignoring the wind for once. It was a strange experience for him as a flying creature, not needing to worry about the effect of air currents on his flight speed and path. But even weak Telekinesis seemed to be a powerful and versatile ability. As Adon closed in on the Golden Eagle, and the distance to the mountainside closed to around fifty feet, he began quickly charging his Mana ball again. This time, he would fire it from as close to point blank range as he could¡ªlet the eagle try to get away from that! The warmth rose in his body as Mana coursed through it, pooling in front of his coiled proboscis again, ready to be launched like a sneeze¡ªif sneezes tore right through whatever organic tissue they touched. The eagle wheeled and changed directions. For a moment, Adon thought his cover was blown. But the eagle eyes still had not shifted toward the butterfly, and as he felt the wind ruffle his wings, he recognized that the bird had just shifted into a different air current, slowing down slightly as it made its final descent. It was barely even moving its wings now¡ªAdon knew that because of how much the eagle agitated the air around him with even seemingly small movements, as if it was a much larger creature than it was. I only have one shot at this, Adon thought. Time had rushed by faster than he would have imagined possible. No, it¡¯s just that even when it¡¯s moving at a leisurely pace, this damn bird is so fast¡­ He did not want to contemplate the possibility of following the eagle into its dark eyrie. A confined space with an apex predator seemed like just the wrong way to use his advantages¡ªand perhaps an excellent way to get killed. In a dark, stony hole like the eagle¡¯s home, even his invisibility would not serve him. Adon pulled in as close as he dared, tugging his body to within a foot of the back of the eagle¡¯s head. He could now see the fine details of every feather that rippled on its back. The body that seemed so majestic and graceful at a distance was smaller and more fragile up close than Adon would ever have imagined. Yes, it could tear him apart¡ªor even swallow him whole. But its body must be quite light, he observed. Perhaps as little as ten pounds? He would not have guessed that something that could kill much heavier animals would seem so small and vulnerable when he got to within firing range. And as he thought of the Golden Eagle being within firing range, the Mana ball that stood poised in front of Adon¡¯s head finally felt ready. Strong enough to go through whatever obstacle he fired it at. I should probably be regretting that I¡¯m going to take you out like an assassin with a bullet in the head, without you ever getting to see me. It seems cowardly and dishonorable¡­ except that you kind of killed the capercaillie and that poor little fox there the same way. You dropped from out of the sky with no warning at all, like one of those metal rods that the War Department from my last world would drop from space. So, I guess what I¡¯m saying is¡­ you¡¯re just getting your medicine? Um, yeah! Turnabout is fair play. With the eagle poised to enter the crag almost immediately, Adon let fly. The Mana ball flew from his head toward the eagle¡¯s body. The air hissed slightly as the orb of concentrated energy moved through it. The ball closed to within a few inches. Then it seemed that an unseen force had decided to protect the bird. The Mana ball reached perhaps two inches from the eagle¡¯s feathery head, and the wind or something equally invisible sent it careening off to the side. Instead of continuing its short, straight path down into the eagle¡¯s head, the ball curved around its neck and continued downward. What? As Adon looked on in horror, the Mana ball missed the eagle¡¯s body entirely and fell toward the soil, spinning brightly through the air as if it, too, had been caught in the power of the bird¡¯s wings, despite having been launched from directly behind where the force of those wings should reach. No. Wait. What?! How? Adon¡¯s mind flatly refused to accept what had just happened. As he stared numbly after his attack¡ªwhich fell until it struck the stony mountainside some distance below, bounced once, struck rock again, and then disappeared from view¡ªthe Golden Eagle slipped up and then around the rocks that stood between the open air and its nest. The butterfly retained the presence of mind to release his telekinetic hold on the eagle¡¯s head¡ªhe still did not want to be dragged into the bird¡¯s nest alongside it. And he watched as the prey he thought he¡¯d had dead to rights disappeared back into its home. No! 2-38. Second Chance Adon fluttered in the air just above the mountainside, helplessly staring down at the gap in the rock face that led into the Golden Eagle¡¯s eyrie. He was still processing. What just happened? Did my Mana ball just miss? No, I know that didn¡¯t happen. I was right behind the eagle. And the way it looked¡ªit looked like the energy ball just got blown off course somehow. A freak gust of wind? That I didn¡¯t feel on my body at all? Sensing the attack can¡¯t explain this. That damn bird didn¡¯t even dodge. So, it must have a passive defense. Some kind of automatic wind deflection of attacks¡ªor even just unwanted objects¡ªthat get too close. His thoughts were cut short as the Golden Eagle suddenly reemerged. What? Already? The great bird still had a hint of red on its beak, so it must have already torn into the poor fox it had taken before it returned home. Yet there was no way it had spent sufficient time inside to eat the beast, unless it simply swallowed the carcass whole¡ªin which case, why bother going into the eyrie in the first place? Adon received the probable answer, though he did not like it. The echo of a squawk sounded from somewhere within the eagle¡¯s nest, and Adon knew that this fellow he had been attempting to hunt must have a mate or offspring somewhere inside the crag, waiting for him. It was impossible to be sure which one, with the way the echo distorted sound. But either way, he instantly felt conflicted about killing the male. I¡¯m probably depriving some little eaglets of their father, he thought guiltily. The reason the eagle is spending so much time hunting is because it¡¯s the one feeding whichever family member lives in that case. I¡¯m going to make some orphans, just because I want to get stronger¡­ But he made himself follow the eagle as it began to climb into the sky. There was nothing else to do. He had pursued the eagle all the way out here, to the mountains. If Adon was going to become an apex predator in his own right, dethroning another apex predator was inevitable. Circle of life, Adon, he told himself. You¡¯re either killing or being killed. You¡¯ve been on the wrong side of that one often enough yourself. You need to make sure you¡¯re on the right end this time. The eagle is a stepping stone in your journey. Maybe the most important stepping stone so far. He didn¡¯t quite believe it, but it was enough to keep his wings working. And then he was closer to the eagle, which was soaring in a leisurely fashion on a gentle air current that kept it high above the earth. At that point, the problems of his situation were enough to take his mind off of the ethics of killing apex predators in the wild. How do I do this? It¡¯ll probably deflect any attack I launch¡­ Paradoxically, the fact that the Golden Eagle was a worthy challenge made him more comfortable, rather than less, with the thought of killing it. He would at least be working hard for his supper this time¡ªassuming that Adon actually found a solution for his problem. He followed the eagle closely, using Telekinesis to hold onto the eagle¡¯s head and keep himself within range for an attack, but no solution came to him. If the eagle could really use the wind to deflect any object that came its way, no attack would be effective. He would have to get the eagle to attack him, or he would have to predict where it was going to attack and get there first¡ªbecause the eagle certainly was not blowing away the creatures it attacked. Fat chance of that happening, though. Even if I see the prey it wants to pounce on before this Goddess-damned bird does¡ªwhich is unlikely, because it seems to have amazing eyesight¡ªI would have to outrace it to the ground. And when the eagle attacked its prey, it was faster than at any other time, suddenly diving out of the sky with a sound like a thunderclap. Oh, hell, I¡¯ll just try the dumbest, simplest stuff I can do and escalate to higher and higher levels of aggression. The worst that can happen is that I eventually get this bird¡¯s attention, and then it attacks me, which would be an upgrade to my present situation. If it tries to eat me, I can attack more easily from that position than I can if it blows away anything that isn¡¯t prey anyway¡­ The idea of attacking the eagle this way made him nervous, but Adon forced himself to go through with it. First, he would try simply tackling the bird. If his body could get through the wind defense and make physical contact, he could start cutting into the eagle¡¯s flesh with his Mana-enhanced limbs. He beat his wings hard, closing the distance further. Then Adon reinforced his body with Mana and launched his tackle. He used a combination of Telekinesis and powerful wing flaps, throwing himself as hard as he could. With all the force he could muster, Adon slammed hard into the wind that seemed to enclose the eagle¡¯s body from attack. It instantly deflected him, and his body was sent spinning through the air away from the eagle. He steadied himself quickly, having expected something like this. The eagle had neither turned its head nor changed direction. Adon was willing to wager that it had not even noticed the attack¡ªjust like his last one. He observed the way his body felt after hitting the eagle¡¯s defensive wind. It was surprisingly all right. In fact, it was kind of good. A combination of dizziness and giddiness at the sudden, swift change of direction and spinning. It¡¯s like an amusement park ride, he realized. This is kind of fun. It was the closest to playing a game that he had come since he reincarnated in this world of bug-eat-bug. All right, maybe I¡¯ll do that again, Adon thought. Um, for science! To understand my enemy. Need to try this a few more times to understand. He shook his head. Who am I trying to fool? Let¡¯s go! I want to turn my brain off and get on the roller coaster. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Adon flew up to the eagle, this time fueled by a sense of fun more than anything else, and he repeated the experiment, with identical results. Then he went again. This is so much fun! He wanted to laugh. He wanted to do a little dance, twirling through the air. But he needed to move quickly, to catch the eagle again, although it was still soaring rather aimlessly from Adon¡¯s perspective, knowing as he did how fast this bird could move across the sky. Adon spent the next twenty minutes charging the eagle a dozen more times. Despite his frank lack of effort, he did learn some things, partially by accident, partially because he did pay attention, and his Impeccable Memory made it impossible for him to forget something that had just happened, especially if he had been paying attention. He learned that he did not need to reinforce his body to withstand the wind. It was fairly gentle. Though it moved relatively quickly, there was nothing to hit his body against, as it was just pushing items in a fast-moving current around the eagle¡¯s body, trying to direct them toward the ground or other parts of the sky where the eagle wasn¡¯t. He felt that he also confirmed that the Golden Eagle was not truly aware that anything in particular was being deflected. Even when Adon flew straight at its head and got bounced off of the shield in that region, the eagle was not distracted in the least. It had continued flying calmly, steadily around its domain, looking for food or patrolling or something, without reacting to anything Adon did. Either the bird had saint-like patience, which seemed incongruous with the brutality he had seen it was capable of, or it really did not know he was there. As Adon was reviewing what he had learned, he saw the Golden Eagle change its posture. It was no longer flying around aimlessly. It was starting to flap toward something. Had it spotted prey? No, as he watched it, it became apparent that the eagle was not about to strike anything. It moved much more quickly than this when it attacked. Instead, the bird fluttered over to the top of a tall tree and perched there. Oh. I guess it¡¯s taking a break. He flapped over to a tree nearby and watched carefully to see if there were any new clues to the eagle¡¯s behavior that might help him on his hunt. As he watched, the Golden Eagle spent ten minutes simply looking all around it¡ªchecking for prey and predators, Adon guessed. Then the eagle tucked its head partially into its wings and closed its eyes¡ªor at least the eye Adon could see from where he was. One leg released its grip on the wood and disappeared under the eagle¡¯s lower feathers. The other seemed to lock onto the branch it was perching on even more tightly. The bird became very still, its breast slowly rising and falling as most of its body relaxed. Are you serious? The Golden Eagle was taking a nap. You definitely don¡¯t know I¡¯m hunting you, then. Because then this would be ridiculous. It was still a little difficult to believe that this was real. Adon fluttered cautiously closer. He had been enjoying getting some energy back by simply resting on his treetop and basking in the sunlight. But if the eagle was truly asleep, this might be an opportunity that he could ill afford to miss. Its defenses might be down. They should be down, if there was any volition involved in this wind shield whatsoever. Adon landed on the closest tree to the eagle¡¯s perch. He stared cautiously for several seconds, unwilling to make any aggressive moves. He fluttered up and over to the tree closest to the eagle on the other side. Still no movement. No signs of the eagle paying attention to anything around it. No indication that this was a trap. But you wouldn¡¯t give it away if it was a trap, would you? Adon didn¡¯t believe that, though. He began to consider what he should do if this bird was actually sleeping. I could try to tackle it now, with my wings reinforced and blade-edged with Mana and my Transformation Adaptation. But that felt at once imprudent¡ªwhat if the bird was faking and tried to take a bite of him?¡ªand less likely to be effective than some other options. Maybe it would be better to fire his Mana ball, but it made a bright light, which might catch the eagle¡¯s attention. His only advantage right now was that he was invisible. The Mana ball and fire magic were the only abilities that he had that operated within the spectrum visible to non-magical creatures, because they were concentrations of Mana outside of the body. All right then. He came up with the most cautious attack he could try while still having a decent chance of doing damage. Without further delay, Adon poured Mana into his spines and then shot a barrage of them in the Golden Eagle¡¯s direction. A dozen spines approached the still target. Adon stared and held his body rigid, afraid and excited and hopeful. The spines hit the space where the wind shield ought to have been, and they passed right through. The eagle released a little cry of surprise as a dozen spines stabbed into its body. Its eyes flung open, and Adon shot out another flurry of Mana-reinforced spines before it could move away. The spines closed to within a few inches of the eagle¡¯s body, and then he saw them go flying in all directions. Damn it! I missed my window. Adon shot out more spines, reinforcing them with Mana again, and this time, he locked onto them with Telekinesis, willing them forward, closer to the eagle¡¯s body, for more stab wounds. The eagle had spread its wings wide then, taking an intimidating posture. Its head swung slightly drunkenly back and forth, eyes blinking unsteadily, as it tried to search for its enemy while groggy. It definitely had not known that something was hunting it before now, Adon noted. The third volley of spines drew close, but despite Adon pushing them onward with his Telekinesis, the wind that the Golden Eagle semi-consciously defended itself with was too strong. He was reminded that Telekinesis I was still quite weak as the spines he had shot went flying wildly in all directions apart from toward the eagle. So now what? Adon wondered. The spines he had fired would not be enough to kill the eagle¡ªat least not anytime soon. They might slow it down, and perhaps his venom had grown deadlier since his Evolution, though he doubted that it would be enough to kill an apex predator. But any further attacks he launched would be deflected. The eagle, meanwhile, could not even see who was attacking it. It cut a slightly pitiful figure, turning wildly back and forth as if it might see the hidden predator if it just looked a bit harder. There was an emotion in its eyes that was hard for Adon to interpret. If he had to put his finger on it, though this might be his human bias slipping in, he thought the great bird of prey looked hunted. As if it felt cornered and knew something it did not understand might kill it. The dozen places where Adon had landed his spines¡ªthe breast, left wing, and the neck were all perforated¡ªbled slightly, making it impossible for the Golden Eagle to forget that something was after it. A part of Adon sympathized, even as a part of him relished the advantage he had obtained from what seemed such a disadvantageous position. Even thinking of his next step paused for a moment as the enormity of this accomplishment struck him. He had wounded an apex predator. It was as good as landing an injury on a lion. Then the bird flapped hard with its wings¡ªthere was that almost thunderous noise again¡ªand the eagle was airborne once more. I¡¯ll have to fly after it again, Adon thought, determined not to let the Golden Eagle escape. 2-39. Learning in Battle Adon felt a return to the status quo as soon as he pursued the Golden Eagle into the air. Even though the eagle was wary, shooting looks in all directions as it rose into the sky, and even though it was wounded, with Adon¡¯s spines sticking out of its body, the butterfly knew he was at a severe disadvantage as he pressed the fight. He charged in and tackled the eagle with his Mana-reinforced body once again, and bounced off just as before. He tried getting to near point blank range and using his Mana-infused spines, pushed even harder and faster with Telepathy, to break through the defensive barrier around the eagle. Nothing landed. Adon tried firing a Mana ball from right behind the Golden Eagle¡¯s head and pushing it to move in faster with Telekinesis. That only succeeded in earning a wild-eyed look in his direction from the bird as the wind around it deflected the orb, but it finally at least noticed that a bright, shining object was attacking it. The eagle clearly did not see him, though. Its eyes jumped down from looking at him to following the Mana ball as it fell toward ground level. Then the bird accelerated, and only Adon¡¯s telekinetic hold on its body kept him from falling behind. The Golden Eagle was flying scared, now, and it was gratifying to see, but the fact remained that nothing Adon had attempted since the bird woke up had done any damage at all. I could wait until it falls back asleep, he thought. But the idea of waiting rubbed him the wrong way. It would mean admitting to himself that he could not win a face to face fight. There were only a couple of moves left in his arsenal. Adon did not think he could kill the eagle with mental magic, so he began preparing himself to use fire magic. There were several reasons why he had not attempted it yet. He did not want to burn the eagle to a crisp if he succeeded. He thought fire was no more likely to penetrate a shield of wind than any other attack. And most importantly, fire magic was the other power that would make him visible to the eagle if he used it. But he would welcome an attack from the eagle anyway. At least that would require the bird to make physical contact with him. Adon¡¯s body remembered the feeling of turning his Mana into fire from last time. It was a particular type of vibration, like making a spark with tinder. Then it was replicating that vibration across multiple points in the affected portion of Mana. Finally, feeding the flame with more Mana¡ªand any physical objects or air that he happened to be targeting. It took only a few seconds for him to ignite the flames once more. At the same moment that he succeeded, the bird of prey turned back and glared at him with its intense eyes. They were at such close range, only a few feet away, that Adon realized the eyes were not quite the orange color he had thought at first glance. They were more tawny. The eagle let out a loud cry that jerked Adon out of staring into its eyes. Right. You can see me now. Or at least it could see the magic. From the Golden Eagle¡¯s perspective, it would have looked as if a butterfly shaped halo of fire simply appeared in midair. Adon felt giddy as he saw the great bird¡¯s eyes widen. This was what he wanted. Let¡¯s do this, he thought. Let¡¯s go! The bird began to turn in the air, moving so that it was perpendicular to Adon. What¡¯s he doing? Adon would not let the eagle perform whatever attack it had in mind. He pushed a wave of fire forward from his body¡ªand the eagle flapped its wing, closest to Adon, once. Hard. A gale surged up in the wake of the eagle¡¯s wing, and Adon felt his flames pushed backward. He recognized that the force was too strong for him to press his way through, pulled his flames back, and pivoted out of the way of the gust. Then he blasted his flames at the Golden Eagle again. This time, the great bird of prey flapped both wings, and the winds that followed moved more quickly and were twice as intense. The flames around Adon¡¯s body flickered out, while his body itself was tossed around in the turbulent air. The only positive thing about the flames going out was that the eagle, which rushed in after the gust of wind, still could not see Adon as he spiraled toward the ground, caught in what felt like a small-scale tornado. Remind me why I wanted a fair fight again, Adon thought as he finally managed to get control of himself. This thing is tough¡­ He reoriented his body to face back up toward the sky so that he could better see what the Golden Eagle was doing. It was circling above, eyes glaring down, trying to locate what had just attacked it. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. I need to get more creative, Adon thought. Need to find a weak moment to attack it¡ªno, a way to hide the fire. It was really scared there. That was a lot of effort to keep the fire from getting near its body. And now it¡¯s trying to figure out where I fell. The eagle wouldn¡¯t be so fixated on me now if it didn¡¯t feel threatened. So fire isn¡¯t harmless to it. How do I do it? How do I get past its defenses? Adon quickly devised a plan. He fluttered back up to where the eagle was, and he began focusing harder than he had ever focused in his life. He intended to use two different types of magic at once this time. He did not know if it was possible, but he would give it his best and find out in the best way: through experience. Adon settled himself underneath the eagle¡¯s body and latched on to its feet with Telekinesis. Then he started channeling Mana into his brain and in a halo around his body at the same time. And he activated Telepathy. Somewhere in the process of performing all of these tasks at once, his head started throbbing with the effort. He took a moment to breathe and decide if he could push through. But he didn¡¯t feel as if this was something he couldn¡¯t do¡ªthe key question¡ªonly that it would be very difficult and a bit painful. He pressed on. Have to synchronize them, he thought. He didn¡¯t want to waste too much Mana. He was at about the halfway point, now, in terms of Mana reserves. If this attack did not work, he would not be far from the point where he might need to give up for his own safety. He knew he could not endure a close up fight without Mana to reinforce him. Finally, Adon felt that he was ready. The Mana around his body was vibrating in that familiar way, almost ready to ignite. He simultaneously activated the mental magic that he had been charging inside his brain and sparked the fire magic that was waiting to be unleashed. Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh! Adon let loose a horrendous psychic scream in the Golden Eagle¡¯s direction at the same moment that the flames around Adon¡¯s body ignited. The eagle¡¯s body writhed in sudden shock¡ªand probably pain¡ªand Adon forced a blast of fire up from his body, straight at the eagle¡¯s lower half. The flames hit the area next to the bird. But even with the eagle seemingly paralyzed from Adon¡¯s mental attack, and the bird unable to flap its wings and defend itself, the wind shield had not gone away. The flames struck the wall of air, and Adon could have sworn he heard a slight sizzle. Then he felt a wall of force, as the wind blew him and the eagle in opposite directions. Damn it! What do I have to do to this bird to get through? That was the only thought running through Adon¡¯s frustrated mind as he spun through the air, watching the eagle spiraling in the other direction. The butterfly righted himself first, deactivated Telepathy, and stopped conjuring both flames and mental magic. The pounding in his head had grown more intense, but now he felt it begin to dissipate alongside the aura all around his body. He fluttered after the eagle, invisible again, and the bird finally flapped its wings and reversed its downward direction of travel. Adon saw a thin stream of smoke rising from some scorched tail feathers as the eagle turned to look wildly around in Adon¡¯s direction. All that effort, just to barely cook the ends of a few feathers¡­ The eagle glanced around once more¡ªand Adon was certain he saw fear in its eyes and in the way it fluffed up the feathers¡ªthen turned and started flying as quickly as it could back toward the mountain. This was almost diving speed, and Adon knew instantly that the bird was trying desperately to escape him. He locked Telekinesis back on and let it keep him from being left behind, and he simply hung on while trying to come up with his plan to finish the eagle once and for all. What would Rosslyn do? She was a much more experienced magical combatant. Fire was the only thing that had gotten through its defenses so far, and it was her weapon. He wished he had seen her use it more often, but it had only been a couple of times¡­ Wait a minute. That first time¡­ She had not just used fire magic, but also Telekinesis. Maybe he had been going about this the wrong way. If she could set the ants on fire at a distance, why couldn¡¯t he do the same to the eagle? Maybe he could bypass the defenses entirely. I don¡¯t know quite how she did that with Telekinesis. But he had a guess as to the only way that could work. If he simply moved a bunch of fire, it would be no different than when he shot flames at the eagle directly. I have to surround it with Mana, and hopefully that can move through the shield. Adon pulled Mana from his body and imagined a second telekinetic hand, in addition to the one that secured him to the eagle, gathering it up in its palm. A clump of Mana formed in the invisible hand. Then it grew. With Adon focusing all of his energy and attention on this, it grew quickly. Which was important, because the mountain was also growing. It was rapidly moving closer and closer as the eagle completed its desperate journey home. Adon thought he had enough Mana¡ªhe was almost completely drained now, so this would have to be enough¡ªand he closed the invisible hand around it to protect it from the wind. Then Adon pushed the hand enclosing the Mana toward the eagle¡¯s body. He got it very close¡ªit passed through the wind shield!¡ªand then he stretched the hand out, reshaped it so that the skin of it wrapped around the eagle¡¯s entire body. At that point, there was nothing between the Mana and the eagle¡¯s body. Adon reached out to his distant Mana and began moving it in the familiar way, trying to vibrate it until it sparked into a flame. It was more difficult. It felt like his Mana did not want to obey him, or perhaps it was having trouble sensing what its owner wanted. The distance made communication more difficult. The Mana slowly bubbled and gradually increased the intensity of its movements. Faster, faster¡­ Adon could see they were getting closer and closer to the mountainside. It was happening too slowly. He pushed harder. The Mana began to vibrate more quickly. The mountain loomed up, the eagle cried out triumphantly¡ªAdon thought again that he might not make it¡ªand the Mana finally ignited. All around the eagle¡¯s body, flames appeared. The windshield suddenly acted, and it looked to Adon¡¯s eyes as if the eagle was engulfed in a sudden, bird-shaped tornado of flames. The eagle flapped its wings once more, in what looked like a last, reflexive spasm of its usual defensive gesture. Then the bird¡¯s body tumbled from the sky. I did it, Adon thought, exhaustion hitting him all at once. The butterfly stopped moving his wings, let everything go, and finally fell out of the air himself, following in the same direction as the eagle. 2-40. Inside the Eyrie Gravity sucked the bird and the butterfly straight down from a dramatic height. They had been close to the mountain as the battle played out, but not close enough to land high on the mountainside when they fell. A part of Adon wanted to worry about how he might land¡ªhuman concerns that had still not completely faded yet, despite his rebirth as a butterfly. He quickly suppressed that ridiculous feeling and instead focused on the pleasant touch of the wind. The air whipping the sides of Adon¡¯s body felt exhilarating. And then there was the magnitude of his hard-won victory. He heard a coughing sound and looked over to see that the Golden Eagle had drifted closer to him. It was still on fire, and as he watched, he saw that it was coughing and wheezing, its body writhing with the effort to breathe. The smoke must be getting into its lungs, Adon thought. It was remarkable that the bird was still alive at all, but the coughing and writhing was probably a sign that the end was nigh. Adon flapped his wings and fluttered a little further away, so the eagle would not get close to him and set him on fire too. That was the thing about starting a fire, he knew. It was all too easy for it to get out of control. When it did, there was no telling what might get burnt. I¡¯ll have to be careful next time. If I used this when I was totally spent, I could end up caught in the middle of a fire. He could understand why Rosslyn had praised the efficacy of fire magic, though. The impact had been far disproportionate to the Mana expenditure. From what he saw, he had been able to set the eagle¡¯s entire body on fire. There¡¯s no way it could survive that¡­ Then the ground was looming up at him, and there was no more time to think. The butterfly struck as softly as he had imagined and rolled gently away from his landing site. Several feet to the right, he heard and saw the eagle crash with a sickening crack. Its body skidded slightly, leaving a trail of scorched earth and grass. That crack sounded like broken bones, Adon thought. Sure enough he looked and saw what appeared to be a wing, twisted at an odd angle, poking through the haze of smoke. He knew that even if he left it alone right now, the Golden Eagle would never fly again. He again felt a twinge of sympathy for the noble creature that he had brought low. It had been the king of this mountain, he imagined. Now, after one bad encounter, the eagle was near the very bottom. But that was the law of the jungle. The strong preyed upon the weak. And Adon was the strong. It was simply this creature¡¯s bad luck that they had crossed paths. You are incredibly tough, though, he thought. Remarkably, the Golden Eagle had not died on impact with the ground, despite falling from an incredible height. It still choked, wheezed, and writhed in the midst of the fire and smoke. Adon saw its scorched head suddenly jut through the fire¡ªit was almost completely bald now, the feathers having burned away except in a small patch under the chin¡ªand the bird cried out. It didn¡¯t sound hateful or even scared. The cry was one of pure pain. Even as it made the sound, its sporadic flailing movements were slowing down and drawing close to a stop. There was still more pain for the eagle to endure as the burns that continued to ravage its body killed it, but the fight had gone out of the bird. Adon knew that now was the time to finish the eagle off. He hoped he still had the strength in him to do the job quickly and as painlessly as possible. He flapped his wings and started to move toward the broken-winged bird. Then a sound rang out from way up on the mountainside. A soft cry, answering the Golden Eagle¡¯s pained wail. Adon landed beside the eagle¡¯s head and looked up cautiously, ignoring the dying bird for a moment. The cry from above repeated itself. The sound did not frighten Adon, and on hearing it a second time, he felt reassured of this impression. He struggled with the reason why for a moment, and he finally realized that the call had seemed to come from the same position both times, and it had been softer than the adult eagle¡¯s cry from earlier. If the bird calling to the dying eagle had been an adult of the same species, it would have sounded louder and slightly deeper. This must be a juvenile. The fact that the cry came from the same position both times proved that the little one crying out could not fly yet. Otherwise, it would probably rush to its father¡¯s aid. Adon felt both reassured and saddened. He did not want to think about what fate might befall the juvenile without its father to bring it food and protect it from predation. Stop feeling bad for these predators, he told himself a little irritably. They would eat you and all your friends in a heartbeat! The butterfly still opened up his Status, just to confirm that he had not, in fact, been given the Evolution Points from this encounter yet. Yeah, I thought so. It expects me to at least kill the eagle, whether or not I consume it. And his Mana was as low as he had thought. It was far from enough to heal the eagle, even if Adon had decided that he regretted this fight. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. He transformed one limb into a blade, and he quickly drew it across the eagle¡¯s charred throat. There was no more wind shield to stop his direct attacks, he noticed. Probably another sign that the eagle was circling the drain, with or without Adon¡¯s help. The knife cut into the eagle¡¯s neck. It was slightly crispy and then tender before he reached the uncooked parts. The bird¡¯s life¡¯s blood began spilling out onto the ground. Some splashed onto one of Adon¡¯s feet, and he tasted it. Ambrosia. Nectar of the Goddess¡­ Adon uncoiled his proboscis quickly so that it would not go to waste. Into his mouth pumped what he thought must be the most nourishing liquid he had ever consumed. He could feel that every drop was full of life force. Slurp slurp. Guzzle guzzle. Gulp. Adon sank into a feeding trance. He did not know how long it lasted, but when he woke up, the sun had changed position noticeably. The eagle was visibly lighter. Adon felt sluggish and heavy. He checked his Biomass, and saw that it had exploded to 75/50. He sensed that his body would start trying to shed its skin if he ate anymore, and he wasn¡¯t entirely certain how that would work now that he had become a butterfly. Better to get moving now instead of trying to be greedy. Maybe his appetite would recover if he did a little exercise. He re-coiled his proboscis, then straightened up his posture. I¡¯m going to fly, he thought. But it had roughly the same energy as saying, ¡°I¡¯m going for a swim¡± after a heavy dinner. He flapped his wings and felt very heavy, but he pushed past that and persisted in getting into the air. He moved his wings again. It was like he was trying to fly through water. Guess I¡¯ll have to keep doing this, though. Don¡¯t eat so much next time, body¡­ As he fluttered above the eagle, he realized that he had actually consumed less of the body than he thought. The front half of the eagle looked like a deflated, half-cooked turkey. But the back half was still more or less intact, if one didn¡¯t count the horrible burns. I guess it¡¯s not surprising that I couldn¡¯t eat a whole eagle, he thought. I have a big appetite, and I burned a lot of energy before, but that would have been pretty crazy. Adon flapped his wings again and began flying up the side of the mountain. Perhaps part of what made his wings so heavy was psychological. The thought of where he was going and why. Adon was on his way to the eagle¡¯s eyrie. He had the location memorized, though to anyone else, the space would just look like a random crag in the mountain. He wanted to examine the situation of the eagle¡¯s offspring. Had they already been eaten by some other predator? Would they be able to survive without their father? Was their mother alive? If they would just die anyway, Adon might take the easy Evolution Points and simply mercy kill them himself. It¡¯s not like I can stay here and raise them to adults myself, he thought. If I¡¯m gone much longer, my friends will be missing me. He rose a bit higher so that he could catch an updraft and move further up the mountain without too much effort. Though he had replenished his energy by consuming the eagle, he felt very sluggish and heavy as a result. Every flap of his wings only highlighted it more. It was as if he was human again and had just eaten half a turkey for dinner. Still very rewarding, though. Adon wanted to smile at the thought of the number of Evolution Points that were currently burning a hole in his metaphorical pockets. Only the somber nature of his journey kept him from fully enjoying his present situation. He made the trip meditatively, thinking about the nature of the circle of life as the wind carried him like an old dead leaf up the mountainside. I¡¯ve killed so many, he thought. Why does it bother me that I killed the Golden Eagle? I got 5,000 Evolution Points. Killing it probably saved me from needing to kill multiple other creatures lower on the species hierarchy. In fact, if I take a broad view, I also saved every animal that bird was going to kill to feed itself for the rest of its life. But the rationalizations did not ease the strange pit in his stomach. He had made the eaglets into orphans, and that felt wrong. It feels wrong even though I totally would have killed the bluebird back in the garden, when it had a bunch of eggs counting on it. I even set out to eat a bunch of those eggs on purpose to get back at the mother¡­ and to accelerate my own growth, but still. What is with this feeling like I did something really wrong here? My moral standards don¡¯t have any logical kind of consistency, I guess. It¡¯s just whatever tweaks my emotions that day. Adon felt lost and a bit slimy for his lack of any true moral compass. But at least he reached his destination before he could really get into psychoanalyzing himself. The opening that he remembered the Golden Eagle emerging from was small and narrow, barely large enough for the bird to enter and exit. He remembered how it had performed a sort of aerial acrobatic to get inside. For tiny Adon, of course, it looked like a gaping wide entrance. He easily entered, and as he fluttered slightly further in, he saw them. Two hatchlings. Unlike their father, who had been a uniform brown, the eaglets were covered in a mix of pure white down and a spotting of darker, more adult feathers. They¡¯re so young, Adon thought. He had the slightly ridiculous urge to pet them. They were terribly cute. He suddenly doubted that he would have the will to kill either of them, even if the alternative was a slow death by starvation or probable predation. He had killed grown creatures before, as well as eggs. But a hatched, cute baby bird might be where he drew the line. Well, I couldn¡¯t have known that without seeing them. One of the little birds let loose a soft cry that Adon recognized. It seemed to be looking at Adon. He tilted his head to look down at his own body and realized that at some point, probably during his feeding frenzy, he had allowed Color Change to slip. He was clear, glass-like, as he had been post-Evolution, but not invisible anymore. He looked back up at the eaglet that had made the sound. So, you were the noisy one, he thought. Gosh, what to do with you¡­ Maybe I could carry you back to the palace. I bet there¡¯s someone there who would raise a pair of eaglets. Nobility are always into hawking and stuff like that. I bet they can do the same thing with eagles¡ª Adon¡¯s thoughts were cut off by a loud shriek. He involuntarily flung himself backward at the sound¡ªand found himself staring up at a large Golden Eagle, even bigger than the massive bird he had just killed. The predator stared down at him, and Adon swiftly flapped his wings and flew back out of the eyrie. The mother bird chased after him, but her moves were slow and careful as she avoided stepping on her babies. By the time she reached the entrance, Adon was in the air and invisible again. At least I know that those little birds aren¡¯t alone, he thought. Adon climbed high into the sky until he could see where he was going and find the right air currents to take him there as quickly as possible. He had accomplished all he set out to do with this hunting trip. He had Telekinesis, plus Evolution Points to spare for when he had time to quietly consider his options. It was time to return to the palace. 2-41. Back at the Palace Back at the palace, Goldie and Samson were in the same room as always, engaged in the same intensive activity that had occupied almost their entire time since Adon¡¯s departure. Training with Mana. Neither Goldie nor Samson seemed to be advancing as quickly as Adon had when Goldie first met him, though Goldie had avoided verbally comparing Adon¡¯s Mana prowess to Samson¡¯s, so as to avoid discouraging her son. As they practiced together, though, the Mana moved through their bodies much more fluidly than it had the previous day. Goldie could strengthen her carapace and abdomen so much at this point that a part of her wanted to try letting a servant step on her, just to see if a human could harm her Mana-powered body without the use of magic. But one look at the maid Celeste¡¯s feet, which were somewhat larger than typical for a woman, was enough to cure Goldie of that idea. How about you try and bite my enhanced armor with your enhanced fangs? Goldie transmitted to Samson. Rosslyn said we needed to get some practice with using Mana in situations that make focus more difficult. Sure thing, he sent back. Goldie and Samson spent the next few minutes taking turns biting each other while reinforcing their fangs and bodies respectively. What they learned from that was that while Samson¡¯s Mana-infused fangs could not even put a scratch on Goldie¡¯s Mana-enhanced armor, Samson¡¯s Mana-infused armor could only barely withstand Goldie¡¯s Mana-enhanced fangs. On Goldie¡¯s first couple of experimental bites, she scratched Samson¡¯s carapace despite him pouring Mana into the specific area she was biting. When she bit a little harder, his carapace developed a crack, and the two quickly stopped. As Goldie stepped back, she saw that she had put a small hole in Samson¡¯s exoskeleton, in the size and shape of the tip of one fang. If she had been trying to penetrate through to inject venom, Samson would lie dying in front of her. Remind me not to get you mad, Samson transmitted. I am glad that you can shed your skin, Goldie replied. You are amazingly tough, despite not having experienced Evolution yet. It is good that you had the chance to see the strength of my armor. You will have a shell like mine soon too. She felt a mingled sense of pride and the desire to reassure Samson, along with a quiet sense of foreboding that she had penetrated his exoskeleton with her fangs without much difficulty. It reminded her of how Red had succumbed to the stings of the Red Spider Slayer Wasps, leaving her a single mother, just a few weeks past. She couldn¡¯t help but imagine Samson entering the same situation. Some of those wasps could still be out there. Red hadn¡¯t been a Mana user, but he had been a more experienced fighter, had passed through Evolution, and possessed much deadlier venom. Samson probably wasn¡¯t strong enough to fare any better than he had yet. At the same time, she felt certain that her baby would catch up to her before she knew it. Yes, Goldie told herself. Soon, he will be strong enough to fend for himself, and until then, he will have me. Thanks, mama, he sent. I¡¯ll do my best to live up to expectations! His tone was bashful, as if he had been hoping for a compliment and suspected that she had read what he wanted. Goldie felt a wave of affection for her cute son. She was proud of her other children, too. Though they were not yet capable of anything Mana-related, she knew they would be great spiders too. As she and Samson practiced with Mana, they had been diligently trying to memorize the written Claustrian alphabet. Goldie was happy that she had given all her children advantages that she had not been born with. But her relationship with Samson felt special. He was both her firstborn and the only one she could have in-depth conversations with. The younger spiders were still mastering their basic language skills. Samson¡¯s advantages over his siblings were both obvious and massive. How could you possibly fail? Goldie asked. Let us keep practicing. The two continued at their training for another hour in relative silence, only breaking the silence when they decided to practice on each other again¡ªthis time, only training Samson¡¯s fangs against Goldie¡¯s armor. Adon and the Princess really make this look easy, Goldie thought to herself. Then there was more Mana movement for another twenty minutes, before Samson seemed to become bored or discouraged and stopped. Do you think Rosslyn will come back soon? he asked. I think she might be at her training for a long time, Goldie replied. She seems to be a very determined person, and I suppose one-eyed vision is difficult to adapt to. The Princess had spent some part of each day since Adon left in training with her friend the man-at-arms, though Goldie noticed that each time, she seemed to come back frustrated. From that, it was obvious that the training was not going as Rosslyn wanted. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. I believe it, Samson sent back immediately. You know, I think I only had one good eye left at the end of my last life. I¡¯m trying to recall why¡­ Well, I might have lost the other one to disease or something. It was difficult, from what I remember, but I wasn¡¯t a warrior or anything like that. I can''t imagine what the Princess might be going through. That is right, I keep forgetting that you were an old human man in your last life, before you came to me, Goldie sent. I don¡¯t remember everything, and it feels weird to even think about it for too long, Samson shot back immediately. His tone was slightly defensive. After a moment, he sent another short message: You sure you don¡¯t mind having an old man for a kid? A noise accompanied his words. It seemed that he had tried to send his mother the sound of him laughing, but there was an obvious nervous quality to it that Samson had been unable to suppress. The question was one Samson had asked before, in different forms. He was always wondering if Goldie secretly had some problem with him being as connected to his previous life as he was. The insecurity reminded her a little of Adon, who was always nervous. It was a pity that the butterfly had never seen this side of his brother, in Goldie¡¯s mind. They were not so different. Samson might have put on a front of being confident, but he had the same hunger for acceptance that drove Adon. I think it is wonderful that you have a rich inner life all your own, Goldie replied, choosing her words carefully. Remember, my best friend is Adon. The butterfly who seems to remember everything about multiple past lives. I have all these blank slates over here, anyway. She pointed one long, slender limb at the other little ones. I am glad that their big brother is more of an adult, who can help with them. Samson seemed mollified by that, and they resumed training for a while. When they took a break, Goldie decided to broach the subject of Samson¡¯s previous incarnation again. If he was feeling insecure or awkward about it, she figured the best approach was to tackle the issue as directly as possible. You know, I know you had a life before you incarnated beside me, when you were Adon¡¯s brother, but I feel like I am seeing a side of you that he never did, she sent thoughtfully. Probably most of my sides are things he never saw, Samson replied instantly. There was an intense mixture of emotions in his tone, difficult to separate but clearly mostly or entirely negative. You were brothers, though, Goldie transmitted quizzically. Adon died when I was pretty young, Samson sent. At least I think he did. Sometimes I get the order of events mixed up. And I don¡¯t remember that much from that life, like I said. I try not to dwell on it. Plus, like I said, I died as an old man. I don¡¯t know if he knew me that well, if you look at my whole life. Really? Goldie asked. I mean, I know you had many years apart, but it does not take so long to know someone. Know who they are, deep down. Goldie thought of her relationships with both Red and Adon. She considered them each to be as close to her as anyone she could have known from a previous life. You think? Samson asked. I don¡¯t know. I feel like the relationship isn¡¯t that deep. Goldie wondered if he still felt bad about being left behind. I think that when you live, every big chunk of life is sort of a representation of the whole. Like a fruit. When you eat a slice of fruit, one piece is not so different from any other. I believe someone can change over a lifetime, but they do not usually make massive changes unless they try very hard. Adon and I spent a fair amount of time together, Sammy. This was a nickname she had been occasionally trying out since Samson hatched. He would talk about you, your parents, and your sister sometimes. And I think he knew you pretty well. I feel like I was more prepared to meet you after talking to him. More prepared to welcome the gift of having you. Goldie sent those last words with a burst of positive emotions. Pure, concentrated warmth that she hoped he could feel. But if she had thought Samson might feel better, Goldie was wrong. Did he actually like me, though? Samson asked. Goldie was taken aback. She took a fraction of a second to compose herself before she sent her response. He loved you¡ªloves you. She was aware, in her own mind, that this did not actually answer the question Samson had asked. I just¡ªwe always thought, or I always thought, and I think our mother thought, after he died, that maybe there was something we could have done differently¡ªthat maybe things weren¡¯t quite right between us and him. Something that we could have done might have changed his life or just prevented what happened. Maybe it doesn¡¯t make any kind of logical sense, but the way he died, it almost felt like we set him up to fail. He was only even in an upper floor room because we asked for the ground floor bedrooms, and¡ª Son, Goldie sent, cutting him off. Adon does not blame you for his death. You should not blame yourself. He has told me the story, during our long weeks together, though he found it embarrassing. He wanted to cheer me up, at the time. That should tell you how he sees it. Adon is thankful that he got this life, this new chance. Just like I know you are. Just like me¡­ Samson seemed to become lost in a train of thought that he did not send on to his mother. Goldie was determined to keep him from ruminating when Adon was not there for him to talk to, so she quickly sent another message. If you feel like you need to do something for your relationship with Adon, I support you, she transmitted. Remember, he is not dead in this life. He is alive. There is no sense in regret, when you can reach out and touch the one you love, talk to the one you love¡ª The thought of Red struck her again, hard and fast, and she stopped talking suddenly, her body stiffening slightly. He was beyond her reach now, perhaps forever. Unlike Samson, Goldie was stuck with her regrets. Thank you, Samson sent quietly. I¡¯ve spent a lot of time thinking about this. I won¡¯t waste this time. I¡¯m going to act, not just sit and stew. I feel like I made Adon¡¯s life harder instead of easier in our last incarnation. Maybe it wasn¡¯t on purpose, but I¡¯m almost certain it happened. Whether he agrees or not, when Adon gets back, I¡¯ll do what I can to make it up to my brother. Goldie ran her hand over Samson¡¯s back soothingly, massaging him rhythmically. She knew that he would be sensitive to the vibrations, as she was. It was a web-building spider thing. There there, she thought, not sending that to him. It will be all right. Goldie wondered if there was some bonding experience the three of them could have together. She, Adon, and Samson. They were a strange family, but a family all the same. Perhaps Rosslyn would know a place they could go, or something they could do, outside the palace. 2-42. Broken Doll Rosslyn was dripping sweat from what felt like every inch of skin. It is nice to know I have not weakened physically, even if my vision is not what it was. Matilda stood opposite her, panting and almost equally covered in perspiration. Having spent the last day and a half sparring with Sir Jaren to try and remove the rust from her skills following her coma, Rosslyn had decided to try Matilda again. She was the only person in the palace besides Rosslyn¡¯s father who could hold her own with Rosslyn fighting at full power. And holding back her strength in a fight had become more difficult since Rosslyn lost her eye. Without depth perception, it was hard to gauge the distance an opponent stood at, and with Rosslyn¡¯s body having remained still for the last couple of weeks, she still had not regained her usual level of finesse. It was easier just to go closer to all out, and that was also the only way that Rosslyn could ever push her own power to a marginally higher level¡ªeven more important now that her skill would forever be handicapped by being half-blind. Rosslyn charged straight in, feinting a direct attack aimed at Matilda¡¯s head. The other woman blocked the perceived attack, only for Rosslyn to drop her practice blade to a lower height, aiming at Matilda¡¯s chest instead. But the other woman, having predicted this, quickly pulled back¡ªher reflexes were cat-like¡ªand with the added space, she used the hilt of her weapon to knock Rosslyn¡¯s blade point harmlessly away. Matilda bared her teeth in a savage grin. Though she was almost as sweaty, and probably almost as tired, as Rosslyn, she was obviously having fun. It was easy for Rosslyn to understand. If I was stuck in this place all day, with no choice but to do whatever menial tasks were commanded of me, I would live for the occasional break like this. But Rosslyn did not allow herself to be distracted by thinking of how Matilda must be feeling. Any momentary lapse of attention was a gaping chasm in Rosslyn¡¯s defenses that Matilda would exploit. The woman was clearly a born warrior. After a dozen more exchanges¡ªat this point, Rosslyn was starting to want a longer break than just a few seconds without blade contact¡ªthe two combatants stepped apart again, and Rosslyn spoke. ¡°Time out for just a minute,¡± she said quietly, so that only Matilda could hear. Matilda nodded and looked at Rosslyn expectantly. ¡°How am I doing?¡± Rosslyn asked, unable to keep her slight nervousness out of her voice. ¡°Have I managed to compensate for the lack of my eye?¡± Am I going to be useful enough, if it comes to war? she wondered. Her heart was pounding from the hours of exercise she and Matilda had just engaged in. All Rosslyn wanted was to be told that she was all right. That she could still defend her people and represent her country adequately with the level of skill, strength, and coordination she retained¡ªeven absent one of her eyes. Matilda¡¯s eyes narrowed shrewdly. Rosslyn could tell that Matilda understood what Rosslyn was really asking, the reassurance she was looking for. She suddenly wondered if she could expect a simple, truthful answer, an answer that would flatter her, or an answer that would be intentionally cruel. But as soon as Matilda opened her mouth, Rosslyn knew. The cruel twist to the slave¡¯s expression gave the answer away. ¡°You are a broken doll,¡± Matilda said, speaking in the same low tone Rosslyn had addressed her with. ¡°Still somewhat pretty to look at, but useless. Before, you were just a subpar member of the Royal Family. Now, if Alistair has any sense, he will refrain from putting you forward as his heir. I imagine he must be considering his contingency options right now.¡± Rosslyn felt as if she had been slapped in the face. She knew that Matilda was telling the truth. Or some version of it. The harshest, most malicious formulation that she could devise, perhaps. The slave collar forbade its wearer from lying, from what Rosslyn understood¡ªthat sort of magic being as far from her specialty as whatever power the demons used to control monsters and make dungeons activate in the run up to an invasion. A broken doll? Her face grew hot. The impertinence of this bitch¡­ A part of Rosslyn wanted to be relieved at Matilda¡¯s analysis. She had never wanted the throne for power¡¯s sake. She had been raised to believe it was her duty to protect and guide her people, but it had never been her particular wish to occupy the role of Queen. She should have been a bit relieved, but the sense of relief was drowned out with hurt. Matilda¡¯s words seemed to confirm all of Rosslyn¡¯s self-doubt of the last several days¡ªwhich was built on the doubts she¡¯d had going back to before her injury. And even if she could tell herself that it would not be her responsibility to lead after all, where would that leave Claustria? If she was ruined as an option, who was next? Her brother was not old enough to lead, and it was far from clear how strong he would be once he reached maturity. Her father looked tired, anyone could see that, and someone would have to succeed him before Baltazar came of age. Carolien was not as strong as Rosslyn, so making her regent would not be an improvement. Plus, she seemed to have picked up a limp following the fight in the forest. It felt as if Matilda was pronouncing the Kingdom doomed¡ªand all with a spiteful grin twisting her features. ¡°Let us resume,¡± Rosslyn hissed quietly. She allowed Matilda the time and distance to raise her guard again, and then Rosslyn struck like one of those exotic, hooded snakes that she had seen when a traveling menagerie came to Wayn when Rosslyn was a child. The Princess¡¯s quick, sharp attacks put Matilda on the back foot, although the slave was still able to block most of them before they struck her armor. Rosslyn was pleased to see Matilda wince at one of the blows that landed. That was far less than she deserved for taking pleasure in the misfortune of the country¡ªand of Rosslyn and her family. Rosslyn left Matilda no room for counter attacks under her flurry of blows. If I am a broken doll, this should be easy for you, Rosslyn thought. Stand there and take this, or fight back if you can! For several minutes, Matilda simply took what Rosslyn dished out. Rosslyn vented her fury, and where before, she had begun to feel fatigue, now she felt that she could go on forever. Anger gave her greater strength and stamina. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Matilda finally managed to break out of the onslaught of Rosslyn¡¯s attacks and pivot to the side. Then she launched her own offensive, starting with an overhead swing that Rosslyn assumed was a feint¡ªbut when she tried to sidestep it, Matilda slammed the sword down onto Rosslyn¡¯s shoulder blade, almost bringing her to the ground with the sheer force employed. The Princess¡¯s shoulder went numb as she forced herself to stagger away. She is definitely using more Mana now, Rosslyn thought. She gauged that Matilda was probably taking the spar as seriously as Rosslyn was at this point. Rosslyn pushed Mana into the affected shoulder to keep her arm moving at its usual strength and speed. The two exchanged a few more of those vicious strikes before either of them spoke again. Rosslyn found that she was still not tiring. The longer the fight continued, the angrier she became. It was something that Matilda had said¡ªor rather, it was the way that Matilda had said something. The part that the slave seemed to take sadistic glee in was not the idea that Rosslyn would be disinherited. That would have been strange, since Matilda did not know Rosslyn beyond these sparring matches. No, what Matilda seemed to take pleasure from was the idea that Alistair, Rosslyn¡¯s father, was in a bind because of his daughter¡¯s weakness. Rosslyn still did not understand exactly why Matilda had this grudge against her father. She knew it had something to do with the circumstances under which Matilda had become a slave, but it could not be that the situation was simply unjust¡ªor Matilda would have said so to Rosslyn¡¯s face. There would be no better way for her to try to divide father and daughter. Another clash of blades occurred and pulled Rosslyn¡¯s attention to the present. Matilda was not pulling back now, she was pushing forward as if she thought that she could force Rosslyn¡¯s blade back far enough to get within her guard. Rosslyn let Matilda push her a bit. Rosslyn wanted to ask her something. She might as well let Matilda get in somewhat closer. She allowed Matilda to narrow the distance to within a few inches before she spoke. ¡°Why do you hate my father so much?¡± Rosslyn whispered, in a moment when the two women¡¯s blades were locked, neither of them giving another inch. Their faces were almost near enough to kiss, had either of them been so inclined. ¡°You never asked him anything about me, then?¡± Matilda replied. She sounded disappointed. ¡°He would have told you the truth. By most standards, he looks like he has the right of the situation.¡± ¡°Just answer the question truthfully,¡± Rosslyn ordered firmly. ¡°I have no desire to make my father uncomfortable or burden him with your mind games. He already has enough to deal with. It is not easy to lead.¡± ¡°You bear of a woman,¡± Matilda grumbled. ¡°Using your power like that¡ªand with such a temper!¡± She smiled humorlessly. ¡°Well, the fruit does not fall far from the vine. You are more like him than I realized when we first met. Fine, I will tell you the truth. I hate him for standing in my way. Because I wanted to be Queen, but I could not if he was alive.¡± The words looked painful as they came from her mouth. ¡°How did that work? How did you have the idea that you could be Queen?¡± Rosslyn asked. ¡°Are you a member of our family or¡ª¡± ¡°My family is just as close to the royal lineage as his¡ªyours. It is a pure matter of luck that his line ended up on the throne. My family offered him my hand. Technically, we were only a ducal household¡ªbut we were cousins. It would have been a good, logical match, a way to keep the bloodline strong. We could have ruled together. But he turned it down and married your mother instead. Arrogant fool. I had always had the sharper mind. I had seen how this country has circled closer to being absorbed by the Empire. He has seen it too, but too late to do much about it. I would have reversed that trend years ago. We would not now be on the brink of war.¡± Rosslyn could not suppress her surprise from showing on her face. ¡°Oh yes, Princess,¡± Matilda said, snorting. ¡°I know about how close we are to open war with them. The palace is full of whispers.¡± ¡°I suppose gossip is all you have to do,¡± Rosslyn retorted. ¡°How dull your life must be.¡± ¡°All I have to do now, yes. But it should have been me on the throne!¡± ¡°The law said otherwise,¡± Rosslyn said, almost certain that she was correct about that. ¡°The law is refuse. It can be bent or broken if there is good reason. There should have been an exception made.¡± ¡°You tried to overthrow him,¡± Rosslyn said in a hushed tone. ¡°You tried to force an exception.¡± ¡°I should have succeeded,¡± Matilda said. ¡°But your father has always been stupidly strong. There was no way to force him to give up the throne. In the end, I was forced to choose between execution or a life of service.¡± ¡°What makes you so special?¡± Rosslyn could not help but ask. ¡°What makes you think you would have been a good ruler at all? Good enough to justify a coup? Why not try to advise my father instead of¡ª¡± ¡°I remember three of my past lives,¡± Matilda said. So what? ¡°In one of them,¡± Matilda continued, ¡°I was Warrior Queen Maud.¡± ¡°That is not a basis for inheritance,¡± Rosslyn replied automatically. Even as her lips moved, her mind was paralyzed. She could scarcely process the information. The Queen she had most admired in history, who she had seen give everything for their country in visions¡ªthe Queen who had been so unfairly maligned by historians hostile to a woman on the throne, in full control of their country¡ªwas now incarnated in the body of the bitter woman in front of her? It was hard to believe. But she cannot lie to me with the collar on, Rosslyn reminded herself. Can she? ¡°Spare me your petty legalism, Princess,¡± Matilda said. ¡°I know that. If my coup had succeeded, I would have changed the law and made it a basis for inheritance. If I only had my previous incarnation¡¯s full strength, instead of just her heart and mind¡­ When you win, you change the law to say that whatever brought you to power was legal. And the great leaders of the past, even if they are only preserved in shadowed memories, are obviously better choices for rulers than the mediocrities of the present. Especially in moments of instability. The country needed me, and he stood in my way. I underestimated him, how much of an obstacle he would be.¡± You would have opened a new can of worms, allowing anyone willing to lie to establish a possible claim to the throne, Rosslyn thought. But her mind was still whirling with the new revelations. She could not formulate a quick reply. ¡°I think this spar has gone on long enough, would you agree?¡± Matilda said. She instantly pulled back the pressure on Rosslyn¡¯s blade, releasing the blade lock and stepping to the side. Rosslyn almost stumbled but caught herself before she could have an embarrassing slip in front of her unexpected cousin. Matilda looked almost as disappointed in Rosslyn¡¯s failure to fall as Rosslyn felt at learning that the Warrior Queen was now this. Maybe past lives do not mean as much as I have sometimes thought they did. And Matilda was Rosslyn¡¯s cousin, too. Perhaps bloodlines do not mean as much as everyone thinks they do. Blood carries power, yes, but does it convey fitness to rule? She could not imagine the bitter woman in front of her as Queen¡ªor at least not as a good Queen. Maud, what happened to your soul between that incarnation and this one? ¡°Yes,¡± Rosslyn managed to reply, suddenly aware that Matilda had asked her a question. ¡°I think that we have done enough for today.¡± ¡°Very well,¡± Matilda replied. She saluted with her sword and turned away before she could see if Rosslyn returned the gesture. ¡°I will send for you when I am ready for another bout,¡± Rosslyn called after her, trying to keep some sense of her command of the situation. ¡°If you want your father to take you seriously again, you have to prove that you are more than a broken toy, Princess,¡± Matilda called back without turning her head. ¡°If I were him, there is no way I would allow you to ascend the throne after me. I would already be planning how I would replace you with someone worthier.¡± A bitter gall rose in Rosslyn¡¯s throat at Matilda¡¯s words. She might be right. 2-43. Arrivals Rosslyn walked back to the living quarters of the palace, unconscious of the fact that each of her footsteps was more of a stomp. To observers, she gave off the feeling of an uncaged lioness hunting for prey. Her breath came hot and heavy. Though she had cleaned herself up, her body was still burning up from the spar with Matilda, and her pulse raced. Part of that was the intensity of her physical exertion. She could still feel some of the blows she had received, and those she had landed, in her abdominal muscles and biceps respectively. Some of the places Matilda had struck would bruise in the morning, and undoubtedly Rosslyn had done the same to her opponent. But the main driver behind the Princess¡¯s quickened pulse and tumultuous feelings was the conversation the two women had exchanged. That bitch, how dare she? competed with But is she right? for the foremost position in Rosslyn¡¯s thoughts. She was outraged at the one and a mixture of afraid and confused at the other thought¡ªand the latter feelings often translated for Rosslyn into more anger as a sort of coping mechanism. Where she was angry without any physical target available and deserving of her wrath, Rosslyn¡¯s interior world became a fiery cyclone. Outside, as if trying to keep pace with her mood, she could hear the pitter patter of rain that had started when she left Matilda turning into a noisy, violent thunderstorm. Rosslyn managed to maintain a stoic expression, so that the only outward sign of her inner turmoil was the intensity with which she moved. She wasn¡¯t even grinding her teeth. Still, if she had been moving through the garden, every creature within yards of her would have scattered to avoid the monstrous predator in their midst. As it was, the newer palace servants sensed some fraction of her feelings and either ducked into rooms or made themselves busy as Rosslyn neared. They had never seen the Princess in one of her dark moods before. The staff who were more familiar with Rosslyn carried on as if nothing unusual was happening. And Rosslyn, in turn, was oblivious to almost everything around her right now. Though her senses were sharp enough that she would still perceive any threat before it could reach her, at times like these, she withdrew almost fully into herself until something interrupted her. Only semi-conscious of what she intended, she was looking for her father. They would finally talk about Matilda¡ªor at least about what Rosslyn and Matilda had discussed regarding Rosslyn¡¯s future¡ªand she would press her father about whether he had truly lost confidence in her. Rosslyn knew that her position in the line of succession had not been particularly strong before she lost her eye¡ªshe was the oldest, but her father could name as heir any family member he chose, and there was a preference for strength¡ªbut she wanted to hear his feelings directly from him. I do not want the throne, she thought, accompanied by the uneasy secondary¡ªand much quieter question¡ªSo why does it bother me so much to think of losing it? Her mind unclouded for a moment as the head butler stepped across her path¡ªor she moved through his path, perhaps. ¡°Oran!¡± She called out his name, noticeably louder than she had intended to, and she flushed slightly as she felt the reactions of all the other servants in the nearby rooms and hall. The gray-haired butler bowed deeply, ignoring the volume of her voice and maintaining his usual unshakable professionalism. ¡°Your Highness, please forgive me for not asking after your needs more quickly when I saw you,¡± he said. ¡°I observed that you were deep in thought and did not wish to disturb you.¡± ¡°Oh, um, that is all right,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°I was just thinking that I should go and spend some time with my father. Do you know where in the palace he is?¡± ¡°I believe you will find him in your family¡¯s residential wing, Your Highness,¡± Oran replied, smiling. He lowered his voice confidentially. ¡°When I last saw him, he was escorting the mystic butterfly back into the mystic beasts¡¯ chamber.¡± ¡°Adon¡ªI mean, the mystic butterfly¡ªhas returned?¡± Rosslyn asked. ¡°When did that happen?¡± ¡°I do not know exactly when, but I understand that the butterfly asked a gardener where Your Highness might be,¡± Oran said. ¡°When he was told that you were busy training, he asked to be escorted back to his friends the spiders. And then His Majesty came out and brought the butterfly back inside himself. The butterfly was undoubtedly honored at the interest that you and your father have continued to take in him.¡± Rosslyn was not quite certain of that¡ªespecially if her father was giving Adon a hard time about leaving in the first place. But surely he would be more diplomatic than that. ¡°Thank you, Oran,¡± Rosslyn said, already turning and preparing to speed-walk away. ¡°You know that any trifling matter that I can help you with brings me great pleasure, Your Highness,¡± he said. There was a slight quiver of emotion in his voice as he added, ¡°The same goes for all of the staff. We are all gladder than we can say to see you up and back to your usual activities.¡± Rosslyn stepped back to face the butler, flashed Oran a warm smile, and said, more quietly, ¡°Thank you. It is good¡ªit is good to be back to myself.¡± Then she continued toward where her father and the arthropods should be waiting. She did not stop and speak with anyone else on the way there. Her mind was still fixed on the same subjects that had been troubling her during her walk. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. As she entered the room, she heard her father laugh. It was a hearty sound that reminded her of better, more secure times. ¡°What happened next?¡± he asked between guffaws. Then Rosslyn saw the King¡¯s face. The areas around his mouth and eyes were all creased, showing his laugh lines. Somehow the little wrinkles made him look a bit younger. Hello Princess¡ªI mean, Rosslyn, Adon sent suddenly. I was just telling His Majesty that I fought a Golden Eagle. ¡°That must have been quite a story,¡± Rosslyn replied, finding her lips already curling into a smile. ¡°It was a tale of twists and turns,¡± her father agreed. Adon mentioned that the eagle seemed to have a sort of power to manipulate the wind, added Goldie from the bed. I wish I could have seen it, man, sent Samson good-naturedly. ¡°I understand that the wind manipulation may be unusual for your previous worlds,¡± the King said, ¡°but our mages have studied these creatures. I am given to understand that the Goddess may have gifted some animals with primitive Mana-harnessing or sensing organs¡ªor the ability to attain those organs through a focused Evolution process. Nothing like what you have¡ªno animal other than a mystic beast or a human can do complicated magic requiring intelligence¡ªbut a good defense mechanism nevertheless, in a world where Mana is one of the fundamental laws of nature¡­¡± Her father continued with a slightly more detailed biological-magical explanation of the likely root of the Golden Eagle¡¯s defenses, but Rosslyn found herself hardly focused on the substance of the conversation. She was still caught up in her emotions and plans from before she had entered the room. Now she felt conflicted. On the one hand, Rosslyn wanted to discuss what she had come to discuss: the things that Matilda had said during their encounter. On the other hand, her father was in a good mood for once. Pulling him away from this for that conversation would almost certainly spoil it. And the King was not even giving Adon a hard time about going on this trip, as she had been concerned he might. Who cares if he disinherits me, anyway? she thought. As long as father is happy, I can be happy too. I know he does not see me as broken anyway, no matter what that woman says¡­ She forced herself to push her feelings about her eye and the succession all the way to the back of her mind and focused herself to listen in to the conversation again. She would not break up the pleasant atmosphere that Adon¡¯s return had somehow created. As Rosslyn¡¯s attention returned to the conversation, she noticed that Adon seemed to have turned to look at her in the middle of her father¡¯s explanation, but he quickly turned back to the King as her eyes moved to him. It was the butterfly¡¯s body language that caught her attention. His posture had been slightly tilted as if he had been listening to something¡ªthough the strange thing was that it felt from the positioning as if it was her that he had been listening to rather than her father. I have not said anything out loud, have I¡­? When a lull occurred in the conversation, Rosslyn found her opportunity to join in. ¡°I am sorry that you were unable to breach those defenses, Adon,¡± she said. ¡°I understand that the Golden Eagle is an apex predator in its ecosystem, and¡ª¡± Oh, no, I killed it, Adon quickly transmitted. Sorry to interrupt you. Truly? Rosslyn¡¯s mouth gaped slightly. How? I used magic, Adon added. Specifically, the, um, fire magic that I recently learned. ¡°It is all right for you to acknowledge that you learned it from Rosslyn,¡± the King said, slightly amused. ¡°I am not upset about it. I hope you understand that our other family discipline is kept strictly within the family, however.¡± It was sweet of him to remember that it was a sensitive subject, though, Rosslyn thought. Wait, did he respond to something I only thought, a moment ago, rather than something I said aloud? Or was he just continuing his story? Adon should not be able to read her mind. Though mind-reading creatures were rare in the time period that Rosslyn lived, they were not unheard of in Claustria¡¯s history. Her thoughts were protected by mental defenses¡ªthough they might be penetrated if Adon attained a high enough proficiency with Telepathy. Had he done that already? The rate of improvement Adon showed with his various powers was already enviable. It was plausible that his daily use of Telepathy as a communication tool was producing a rate of improvement with that Adaptation that exceeded even his normal growth. But I know secrets that cannot be spoken aloud in the presence of persons other than myself and father, Rosslyn thought very quietly, very guardedly. Adon is not some stranger, I trust him more than anyone outside the palace, but I will have to be more on guard. I will not inadvertently betray my country. ¡°Congratulations on your very successful hunt, then,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°I suppose you obtained everything you were looking for.¡± Yes, Adon replied. Next time, maybe we can go as a group. Samson let out a little whoop from where he stood on the bed. Goldie was more controlled, but the joy in her tone was apparent, as she sent her response: I will look forward to us all spending time together. Rosslyn found the atmosphere in the room exceedingly genial. She could not help but smile at the enthusiasm of the spiders. She also looked forward to going hunting with them. She would keep the spiders safe and observe how far Adon¡¯s training had taken him. Perhaps her father would join in, if he could find time away from the affairs of state. It was a simple, happy few seconds¡ªfor the moment, Rosslyn¡¯s happy anticipation of the future was uncomplicated by even the looming threat of war. Then a knock came at the door. Everyone turned in unison to face the slightly sweaty servant who stood panting in the doorway. As all eyes struck him, he forced himself to straighten his posture and deliver his news with careful decorum. ¡°I beg your pardon, Your Highnesses, but I have an important piece of news.¡± The King spoke quietly. ¡°Deliver it, please.¡± ¡°The sons of Duke Pruford of Dessia have arrived, Your Majesty,¡± the servant said quickly, breathless. ¡°We have them in the drawing room, and we are entertaining them with all possible courtesy in accordance with our standing instructions.¡± After that news, nothing was simple anymore. 2-44. The Attempt Goodness. I have not seen them since¡­ That was the last thought Adon overheard from Rosslyn before he cut off Telepathy again. When did I get this additional power? he wondered. He had not been trying to spy on his friends¡¯ thoughts when he returned, but it seemed that without him doing much of anything, his Telepathy Adaptation had grown more powerful. Perhaps it was linked to the fact that he had consumed the Golden Eagle, strengthening his every attribute permanently. Would his Transformation be easier to use now, too? Now that I think back, I remember I accidentally overheard Rosslyn¡¯s thoughts once before I left on the trip. It was nothing like this, though. The last few minutes had felt almost as if Adon was having two separate conversations with the Princess, the King, Goldie, and Samson, one out loud and one based on the thoughts inside their heads. He did not accidentally overhear everything those around him were thinking¡ªin fact, Adon had been doing a pretty good job of repeatedly activating and deactivating Telepathy when he wanted to speak or did not want to overhear people¡¯s thoughts respectively. It also seemed likely that Rosslyn and Alistair had some technique for shielding their thoughts or keeping them at a layer of their minds where he did not accidentally overhear them. Otherwise, he imagined that he would have been subjected to a constant inner monologue, like what someone would have suffered if they could read all of his thoughts. Instead, the leakage was limited, but he imagined some things were bound to get through. Goldie was slightly less controlled than them, Adon guessed, but had some handle on releasing or not releasing her thoughts from her long experience dealing with a telepathic Adon. Either that, or she was simply giving everyone exactly what she thought all the time. That explanation would not be entirely inconsistent with the Goldie that he knew, but he thought she must be blocking some of her inner monologue. There was no way that she was as kind and understanding as he had experienced without having some cruel thoughts about other people. Unlike Rosslyn, Alistair, and probably Goldie, Samson in particular clearly had no filter for his inner monologue. Adon had already learned things about his brother from accidentally reading his mind that he had never expected or wanted to know. For instance, Samson thought that his relationship with Adon was rather poor, and he wanted to repair it. And he was also jealous of Adon¡¯s magical talent¡ªand of the attention that Samson thought Rosslyn paid to Adon because of that talent. Adon had to exert careful self-control not to continue reading Samson¡¯s mind, given that he was receiving tidbits like those. My peace of mind is worth it, though, he told himself. Oh, and Samson¡¯s privacy. That¡¯s important too. Adon¡¯s eyes gazed up at the Princess thoughtfully as the servants scurried back and forth, preparing everything for the meeting between the young lords and the Claustrian Royal Family¡ªand bringing Adon, Goldie and Samson¡¯s pillows, of course. Such distinguished guests could not be left out of a noteworthy occasion like this one. Goldie¡¯s children were to be looked after in the room, it was explained, by two maids who were good with children and had at least read up on spiders and been instructed as to how important these particular hatchlings were. I need to tell Rosslyn that I just figured out I can do this, he thought. I need to know the protocols for how much mind-reading is acceptable in a situation like this¡ªwhether she wants me to keep it shut off as much as I can, or to take note of everything the Duke¡¯s kids think during this meeting. I¡¯m on Claustria¡¯s side in any interactions by default, because I¡¯m from here and they clearly value me. But I don¡¯t really understand the relationship between these two families. I¡¯m guessing they¡¯re at least somewhat friendly, or there probably wouldn¡¯t be a state visit happening when Claustria is worried about a war coming up. As he stared at the preoccupied Princess, another thought struck him. Princess, do you mind if I take a shot at healing your eye? Adon asked suddenly. ¡°What?!¡± The normally poised Rosslyn¡¯s mouth shot open, and she sat there gaping at him for a few seconds. A bird could have begun making a nest in her mouth. ¡°Um, Adon, we appreciate the thought,¡± Alistair said. He sounded slightly nervous. ¡°You know that all of the members of our family are trained in healing magic, right? In addition to the mages who worked on Rosslyn when she was under the influence of the assassins¡¯ poison. I do not know if¡ª¡± I know it probably won¡¯t work, but there¡¯s no harm in trying, right? Adon quickly sent, cutting the King off before Rosslyn¡¯s mind could be swayed. Adon could see from her face that he had just given her a fresh infusion of hope. Adon had no real expectation that he could really do something about the blindness that the palace¡¯s healers had tried and failed to fix, but he suddenly badly wanted to try. Having heard her thoughts as she came into the room, he knew that Rosslyn was far more insecure about her missing eye than she had let on to either Adon or her father. If I could make that better, it would make a big difference, he thought to himself. It would be crazy not to at least give it a try. ¡°I am willing to sit still for the experiment,¡± Rosslyn said, trying and failing to play it cool. She sat down on the bed beside Adon and the spiders, and Adon fluttered up onto her shoulder, just inches away from her blind¡ªmissing?¡ªeye. Even sitting still in that position, he could feel the beating of her pounding heart. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Gosh, I really hope I don¡¯t disappoint her now¡­ But there was nothing to do but try his best. Adon reached inside himself and found the place where he accessed the healing affinity. Then he pulled Mana from his core, pushing it from the center of his body up to his antennae. He reached out with those two sensory organs and touched Rosslyn¡¯s eyelid. The scarred flesh looked even sadder up close. Green energy moved from Adon¡¯s body to Rosslyn¡¯s eye, and the butterfly stood waiting to see what would happen. He pushed out power for a few seconds, then half a minute. A full minute passed, with Mana continuing to flow out of Adon¡¯s core and into Rosslyn. By now, the Princess¡¯s shoulders had sagged. She knew as well as Adon did that nothing was going to happen. ¡°Thank you for trying,¡± she whispered, so quietly that Adon thought that only he could likely hear it. I have to make this happen, he thought to himself. This is the thing about herself that makes her feel the most insecure. It¡¯s so painful. I know what that feels like. If I can just fix her eye¡­ But try as he might, the dead flesh under the scar did not regenerate. No¡­ His last, silently screamed, thought on the subject was an awareness of the futility of his effort. Mana stopped pouring out of his antennae, and Adon pulled the two delicate appendages back from Rosslyn¡¯s eyelid. The Princess reached up with two firm but delicate hands and gently took Adon down from her shoulder. ¡°Thank you again for trying,¡± she said gently, cradling him in her palms, her fingers gently stroking the back of his exoskeleton. ¡°It shows how much you care.¡± Just as delicately as she had picked him up, she set him down on the bed beside the spiders. ¡°Now, I must go and prepare for our first meeting with Duke Pruford¡¯s sons,¡± she said, speaking through an obvious lump in her throat. Adon looked at her more carefully and noticed that she was dressed in what must have been a relatively casual outfit¡ªa simple, streamlined dress without the expensive-looking fabric, ribbons, and other ornaments that would give away the fact that she was royalty. The clothing was far from cheap, but it was perhaps not what a princess would wear to greet guests. He also thought he saw droplets forming at the corners of her eyes, but she turned away too quickly for him to be sure. Then, before he could have a better look at her, she had slipped out of the room and was walking off somewhere down the hall¡ªto change clothes, presumably. Adon was left slightly stunned. Did I just make the Princess cry? he wondered. She left so quickly¡­ I didn¡¯t even have the chance to say anything to her about my Telepathy¡ªor to apologize for the garbage attempt to heal her eye. Oh Goddess¡­ The King turned, stepped toward the doorway, and looked down the hall after Rosslyn. His brow was furrowed as if he was troubled. Adon heard him thinking about going after her and trying to comfort her¡ªbut then he shook his head. No time for that now, Alistair thought. She will be all right for the moment. She is strong. I raised her strong. She can get through the next few hours. I will go and talk to her after the young lords have gone to their quarters¡­ The King stepped back inside the room and twisted his face into a sort of apologetic smile¡ªor a very poor attempt at one, at least. Adon really hoped that the King did not play poker¡ªor if he did, that he did not bet with significant stakes. ¡°My daughter is correct, as usual,¡± Alistair said. ¡°She is probably going to change into another outfit, and I should do the same. In the meantime, perhaps a quick primer on our conventions at these meetings would be in order, since all of you will be in attendance for this first encounter¡ªassuming that you are all still willing to.¡± Whatever would be of help to you and your family, I¡¯m sure we¡¯re willing to do, Your Majesty, Samson sent. I am ready to meet new people, Goldie agreed. We will listen to your instructions carefully, Alistair. I apologize for getting her and your hopes up, Your Majesty, Adon sent, his wings slumping in defeat. I still don¡¯t understand what went wrong¡ªwhy it did not work. ¡°Well, Adon, I feel almost certain that it would have worked if you had tried your healing on another insect¡ªor probably any arthropod. I have seen the amazing natural healing that creatures similar to you or Goldie are capable of. Healing magic, as we understand it, only performs the same healing tasks that the body could theoretically accomplish on its own. I do not know if a human being is capable of growing a new eye, even with incredibly advanced healing magic applied by an archmage. I have never heard of such a feat successfully accomplished. ¡°Rosslyn¡¯s situation was even more complicated, because the poison used by the assassins who blinded her is well known to us and incredibly potent. It caused more extensive and profound damage than a mere knife cut would have. Even if Rosslyn¡¯s body, owing to our family¡¯s, er, unusual fortitude, was able to grow a new eye with healing magic, the poison that spoiled the tissue around the affected area would likely have still given her some trouble. Her stepmother, for the same reason, still suffers some lasting effects from that fight. It is the Empire¡¯s underhanded tactics that are to blame, not any failure of yours.¡± Still, I shouldn¡¯t have assumed I could do something that I knew you and your mages must have tried and failed at, Adon transmitted. The image of Rosslyn¡¯s face was still stuck in his mind. Two images, in fact. The defiantly hopeful one, from before he made his attempt¡ªand the brought-back-to-reality face, from after. It was far from the greatest failure in his life¡ªeven if he only counted this specific lifetime¡ªbut for some reason, it bothered Adon more than most of the others. Maybe it was because normally, in the lives when he had been a loser¡ªor in other words, in essentially all of his incarnations except this one and maybe one or two others¡ªthe people around him didn¡¯t especially believe in him. Rosslyn did¡ªor she had, at least. Yeah, he thought to himself. Rosslyn and Goldie are the only people who have had any kind of faith in me in this life¡ªand I guess Red, Samson, and Alistair by extension. It hurts to think of disappointing any of them. You did your best, Adon, Goldie protested. Neither of us could have done anything, Samson added. At least you had the power and the willingness to make an attempt. You have a big heart. ¡°You are only dearer to our hearts for having tried,¡± the King agreed. ¡°I did not believe it was possible, so I could not be disappointed in the unsuccessful attempt. As for the Princess, Rosslyn understands that you did your utmost. She will undoubtedly forget about this momentary hope before the day is out, given the excitement of this afternoon¡ªthat is, the arrival of our new guests.¡± Adon nodded slowly. Thank you, Your Majesty. But of course, none of what the King or the spiders had said could make him feel any better. ¡°Now, I will go over some of the formalities you will see observed in this meeting¡­¡± 2-45. The Duke鈥檚 Sons The Duke¡¯s sons were at once less flowery and more flattering than the King had described them, Adon found. They bowed their heads to Rosslyn at the first encounter, to which gesture she responded with an elegant curtsy. But once they had all been introduced by the heralds and performed these gestures¡ªGoldie and Samson made tiny bows from their pillows as well, while Adon flew in a ring around the two lords before settling back onto his pillow, a maneuver that was the King¡¯s idea¡ªthe Duke¡¯s sons were almost casual. Casual and complimentary. ¡°You have grown so much more beautiful since we have been apart,¡± said William, the older brother, to Rosslyn, giving her what Adon thought was intended to be a beguiling look. He spoke in Claustrian, but with a strong, rich accent that Adon couldn¡¯t identify¡ªwhich was natural, since the butterfly had only been incarnated into this world once before as far as he knew, and he had not learned every language and accent in the world on that occasion. Quite the opposite. As a dragon, he was almost solitary. Is that accent sexy to humans? Adon wondered¡ªand then questioned why he cared. He was keeping Telepathy deactivated for now, since he was not talking yet, and because he still had not mentioned to Rosslyn how it had strengthened. ¡°Truly, the Princess has matured like a fine wine,¡± said Frederick, the younger brother, who seemed like he was being more polite rather than forward. Both siblings were classically handsome, with clearly defined jawlines, piercing blue eyes, and thick heads of hair. The younger brother wore it much longer than the older brother¡ªin fact, the younger brother¡¯s hair was only a few inches short of being as long as Rosslyn¡¯s¡ªwhile the older brother had a high and tight haircut that had only just started to grow back in on the sides. The way the older brother stood also gave off the aura of a soldier, while the younger brother had a more relaxed presence to him. Since Adon was not using Telepathy to read their minds, he did not know whether they meant their compliments toward Rosslyn or were just trying to be friendly¡ªhe did not even know if this constituted ¡°friendly¡± for nobility and royalty. Adon looked at Rosslyn. Somehow, she or her maids had covered up any sign that she¡¯d had tears in her eye just minutes before this meeting¡ªassuming that Adon had seen correctly. Her scarred eye was hidden behind an eyepatch matching the color of her skin¡ªan attempt to make the single obvious imperfection in her appearance completely invisible. Yes, she was definitely pretty. He was still in touch with his humanity enough that he had noticed that in their earlier encounters. His current body did not seem to ascribe much importance to her looks, or their early interactions probably would have been even more awkward than they had been. Her current outfit did not emphasize her beauty so much as her regal demeanor. It was exactly the sort of princess-like attire that a little girl from one of Adon¡¯s more modern incarnations would want to wear to her birthday party, except all of the fabrics on this one were real rather than imitations. Instead of being a sort of parody of royal fashions, it was the real thing. A blue silk gown with long draping sleeves and gold and silver threads woven into it in delicate patterns all over it, including an illustration of a butterfly over her bosom. An ermine stole that protected her shoulders from any possibility of chill. A slender silver circlet on her head, a silver necklace around her neck, and a decorative belt set with gems at her waist. It struck Adon, though not for the first time, that if he was still human, he probably would never have spoken to her. The deterrent factor was not primarily her attractiveness but her aura of untouchability. She was every inch a princess, and he had been not just a commoner in his last life, but a below average commoner. Back then, I would have trouble approaching a pretty girl even if she was working the checkout counter at a donut place, Adon thought, remembering¡ªbut he stopped himself from getting lost in the memory. He needed to be here, in the present moment, right now. Those were the downsides of centuries worth of memories. Always something else to look at, to get lost in, and it was sometimes hard to find what he needed. There was always somewhere else to turn when he was needed right here. ¡°You are as kind as I remember, William¡ªand you live up to your reputation, Frederick,¡± Rosslyn said, smiling politely at the compliments. Adon could not tell if she had flushed slightly at their words or if the effect was produced by rouge. The Princess was wearing makeup now, which she seemed to normally keep to a minimum. ¡°We are pleased to be favored with a visit from both of you,¡± Alistair added. Adon noticed that the King¡¯s grin was so large that it looked almost ready to break his face. ¡°It is a remarkable thing, as well, to learn that the rumors we heard once we entered the palace are true,¡± William said, turning to look in Adon¡¯s direction. ¡°The return of the mystic beasts was no exaggeration.¡± The King nodded and inclined his head for Adon to speak. All right, just like I rehearsed in my head, the butterfly thought. He held himself very still and sent, It is a pleasure to make both of your acquaintances. If it pleases my lords to interact on the basis of our given names, it would please me as well. I am called Adon. He deactivated Telepathy immediately after finishing. There would be no accidental transmissions today¡ªthough it was possible, and perhaps even likely, that his control over that aspect of Telepathy had improved now as well. The King gave Adon a subtle nod. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. It is likewise a pleasure for myself and my son to meet the two of you, sent Goldie. My name is Goldie. It is good to meet you both, sent Samson. We have heard nothing but positive reports. My name is Samson, and I hope we will get along well. Alistair shot Samson a bit of side-eye, probably for going on a little too long or meandering from the formal semi-scripted dialogue, but Adon thought his brother seemed not to see it. I¡¯m still jealous that you could somehow not notice that, Adon thought. ¡°The pleasure is ours,¡± said William, dipping his head again, though less deeply than when he bowed to the King and Princess. Frederick simply nodded in response to the mystic beasts¡¯ introductions. The young lord¡¯s eyes flitted over each creature¡¯s form in turn, and Adon could not help but notice that the younger son of Dessia looked less than impressed. It was the expression of mild disdain on Frederick¡¯s face that got Adon interested enough in knowing what he was thinking to break his own internally imposed rule. He activated Telepathy again and focused his power exclusively on the young lord. These are mystic beasts? Frederick was thinking. It is still hard to believe that our line descends from these strange monsters. Why do the Claustrians parade these embarrassing reminders of our primitive past around, as if they were something to be proud¡ª Adon switched Telepathy back off. Well, don¡¯t eavesdrop if you don¡¯t want to hear something you won¡¯t like, he told himself, trying to laugh it off. But it was a reminder that he had been lucky to hatch in Claustria¡ªor perhaps it was not luck, but the planning of his never-encountered mother and the Goddess. Either way, Dessia clearly was not the place for Adon, if this was a common attitude there. He wondered if the older brother felt the same way but decided not to push it any further before he discussed the mind-reading situation with Rosslyn. Luckily, the pleasantries of the first meeting were quickly concluded. ¡°As my young lords have come a long way, you must be weary and hungry from your journey,¡± the King said. ¡°Our household staff will show you to your rooms so that you can change out of those wet clothes, and then we can share our evening meal.¡± ¡°We thank you for your hospitality, Your Majesty,¡± said William formally. He bowed his head again. ¡°We look forward to spending this time with your family,¡± Frederick added, copying his brother¡¯s bow. Adon could not help thinking that there was something ironic to Frederick¡¯s tone and bow, as if he perhaps thought the nobles¡¯ theatrical displays of courtesy were a bit silly. But the butterfly resisted the urge to try reading the lord¡¯s thoughts again. He had learned his lesson already. The sons of the Duke were escorted from the room by a group of four servants, and the royal party all held their positions until the doors were closed behind them. It felt stilted and theatrical to Adon. Was this what royal life was like all the time? Staged? The King visibly let out a long breath once he heard the sound of the door fitting itself neatly back into the jamb. ¡°All right, then,¡± he said softly, turning to look at Adon, Goldie, and Samson. ¡°Your usual meals will be prepared for this group dinner, honored guests. I hope you will continue to honor the group by your presence at the table. If you choose to absent yourself from subsequent dinners, we will understand, but the welcome and farewell meals for foreign leaders are traditionally affairs that all important personages staying in the palace attend.¡± Adon stiffened slightly. He did not mind having dinner with the lords¡ªhe hoped he would not be expected to talk much, but he would have no trouble eating in front of the guests, even Frederick¡ªbut he needed to have a word with the King about his food. Pardon me, Your Majesty, Adon began. ¡°You can just call me Alistair when there are no outsiders around,¡± he gently replied. Yes, thank you, Alistair, Adon sent. I had a small request related to the meal. Several of my drinks¡ªeverything except the sugar water and the flower nectar, actually¡ªis rather strongly alcoholic. I don¡¯t mean to say that I don¡¯t like alcohol, but the tolerance in this body is very low. I would hate the thought of embarrassing myself and the table by becoming drunk. ¡°Oh! I see.¡± The King looked like he was trying not to smile at that thought. Adon deactivated Telepathy so that he would not hear any thoughts that might cause him to start to dislike the nice King. And he received a telepathic message from Goldie, very quiet and clearly aimed only at him. Well done in speaking up for yourself, she transmitted. You cannot let this place intimidate you! Adon wished he could smile at that. Goldie understood his struggles better than anyone else. ¡°I will have the fermented fruit beverages diluted, then, Adon, if that suits your needs,¡± Alistair continued, oblivious to the spider''s communication to Adon. Adon reactivated Telepathy and sent a quick, Yes, thank you, that sounds perfect. ¡°Excellent,¡± the King said. He nodded to a gray-haired servant who Adon only noticed when the King gestured to him. The man must have some serious stealth talents! The servant bowed and left, presumably to make Adon¡¯s request a reality. ¡°I will go and change for dinner,¡± Rosslyn said. Another outfit change? Adon thought. But he supposed that different costumes for every occasion were par for the course for royalty. The King was nodding and saying something about changing himself. Royals certainly loved their costumes. I had something I wanted to ask you about, Rosslyn, Adon transmitted quickly. Is it all right if I accompany you¡ªum, part of the way? He sent that last part of the message as he saw how the King and Princess¡¯s faces were changing. No, he did not want to follow the Princess into her room and watch her change. Adon¡¯s social skills were not so weak that he would think that was an appropriate request. Rosslyn¡¯s lips curled slightly in a small smile. ¡°That would be fine, Adon,¡± she said. She walked through the doors in the direction of her room, and Adon flew through the air alongside her. Now he could finally ask what Rosslyn thought about him using Telepathy, given that he could now inadvertently¡ªor purposely¡ªoverhear other people¡¯s private thoughts. 2-46. What Do I Look Like, a Mind-Reader? Adon explained his newly unlocked level of Telepathy to Rosslyn, attempting to do so as quickly and simultaneously thoroughly as he could. She obligingly moved more slowly through the hallways as he went on, giving the two of them more time alone to discuss what Adon was telling her. The butterfly felt grateful that the servants who they passed as they proceeded could not hear the telepathic messages he was sending to Rosslyn. The Princess herself seemed to see the value in discretion on this matter, too. Without needing to be asked, she kept her voice low as she asked follow-up questions. ¡°So, you can read our thoughts whenever you want, then?¡± she said quietly, after several other inquiries. Well, proximity seems to help, but generally, I don¡¯t seem to have a lot of other restrictions, he transmitted. ¡°Can you go as deep as you want? I mean, are the thoughts still surface-level thoughts, or just below that, or are you looking at people¡¯s childhood memories¡ªor, I guess, resisting the urge to look at our childhood memories?¡± I really don¡¯t know. I think it¡¯s still limited to surface level and just below surface level, Adon replied. Before, when we first communicated telepathically, I know you deliberately put some thoughts on the surface level where I could read them. Rosslyn nodded. ¡°Royals and nobles usually have some amount of mental training, in case we are subjected to any form of mental attack, although that ability is uncommon to almost nonexistent. I can control which thoughts come to the surface level of my mind, among other things.¡± Right, Adon sent. I don¡¯t know if that training is enough anymore, at least when it comes to the specific situation where I¡¯m the one using Telepathy¡ªI think I¡¯ve accidentally or semi-accidentally picked up thoughts from you and the young lords already, and they definitely weren¡¯t thoughts I was supposed to get. I wanted to tell you about it as quickly as possible, so you could maybe give me some guardrails¡ªI mean, basically, guidelines. This is a magical world, and you¡¯ve mentioned an awareness that telepathic creatures exist before. You even have that mental training you mentioned. Is there some kind of code of etiquette to this? Rosslyn shrugged and gave Adon an uncertain half-smile. ¡°There is none that I am aware of, and I suspect that it does not exist. If I were you, I would simply try to use this gift to my best advantage.¡± She lowered her voice even further. ¡°If there were rules of etiquette around Telepathy, they would be almost unenforceable. In order to know that you were spying on my thoughts, I would have to trick you into telling on yourself. That seems borderline impossible without help or another telepath¡ªand almost completely impossible without already knowing that your power has developed to this extent, though you were nice enough to tell me about it for some reason.¡± Well, of course I told you! Adon replied instantly. ¡°Why ¡®of course¡¯?¡± Rosslyn asked just as quickly. ¡°You did not have an obligation to me.¡± Well, yeah, but it¡¯s a little like I¡¯m reading your diary, Adon sent meekly. Doesn¡¯t the thought make you uncomfortable? ¡°I try to be an open book to the extent that I can,¡± Rosslyn replied, flashing pearly white teeth at Adon. You will of course be unsurprised that there are some things I cannot share with you, because they may concern national security or you personally, she added inside her mind. She looked at Adon, who had slowed his flight pattern for a moment. He realized that she had just caught him reading her thoughts¡ªalthough he was certain, especially by how her smile grew, that she had intended for him to hear that sentence. Well, that was clever, he thought. Maybe she can handle me using Telepathy willy-nilly like this¡­ It¡¯s not just your thoughts, Adon transmitted back after a moment. If you¡¯re practicing radical honesty, well, that¡¯s cool, but what about the Duke¡¯s sons? ¡°I have no reason to object to you reading their thoughts either,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°I would recommend that you not ask them for permission in advance if you intend to do that, though. They may simply avoid you if they learn you can pierce our mental defenses. And my father did make an effort to get them here. I would hate for them to leave prematurely.¡± Rosslyn said most of that with a lightheartedness that seemed a little strange to Adon, given what he considered the fairly serious subject matter. He tried asking the question another way. You¡¯re really all right with me spying on your friends? he transmitted bluntly. Rosslyn hesitated a moment. Then she said, ¡°They were my friends when we were small, but it would be foolish of me to say with confidence that I truly know them now. I know that I have changed. I am certain I cannot be the only one. It is not as if I am not asking you to spy on them. But if you do, I do not object. I can see the value in it. It might make us safer in a fairly dangerous time. If there is even a small chance that they might turn on us¡ªI would end up being grateful that they were exposed before that could happen. I know my father trusts their father, the Duke, but he has been deceived before. Just because the Duke¡¯s sons and I played together as children, and my father is considering the idea of a match, does not mean I can trust them. ¡± But you trust me? Adon sent, before he had fully processed all that she had said. A match? Was that something Rosslyn or Alistair had mentioned before, when they had told him about the Duke¡¯s sons visiting? Was Rosslyn planning on marrying one of these guys? ¡°That is¡­ That question is more complicated.¡± Rosslyn quickly told Adon what was probably the heavily abbreviated version of a story about an advisor to her father named Lord Baranack who had betrayed them. ¡°None of us imagined he could be a spy, because he was a noble,¡± she concluded. ¡°That placed him above suspicion. In all of the history of the struggle between the Holy Kingdoms and the Empire, nobles have almost never defected from their countries to the Demon Empire unless those nations were actively besieged at the time, and the noble was hoping for lenient treatment. None of them acted as spies behind enemy lines. The betrayal in those cases was a matter of surrendering a key castle or city. Unlike commoners, a noble has so much to lose and so little to gain by working with the demons¡­ I thought Lord Baranack was an ass and that he was bad at his job and perhaps too sympathetic to our enemy, but I could hardly imagine he would turn out to be a traitor.¡± The fact that he seemed to sympathize with your enemy wasn¡¯t a clue? Adon could not resist interjecting. ¡°If we assumed that every person who tried to understand the way the demons think was a traitor, there would be no scholars left in the Kingdom,¡± Rosslyn replied, shrugging. Also, he only truly showed that side of himself once we were outside of the Kingdom, she thought. Perhaps he was more open in discussing his theories on the Empire with my stepmother, because her political views were not as strongly anti-Empire as my father¡¯s or mine. But I imagine he was hesitant to risk giving his true allegiance away to anyone. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Fair enough, Adon replied. I guess you don¡¯t want to discourage people from expressing their real opinions. Rosslyn shook her head. ¡°No. We need our advisors to give their best advice. Anyway, all of that was meant to contrast with you.¡± Um, how did any of that have anything to do with me? Adon asked. I listened to that whole story looking for anything that guy and I had in common, and there was absolutely nothing, he thought. ¡°We never suspected Lord Baranack, because he was too much one of us to be a traitor. You are precisely the opposite.¡± You mean that you¡¯ve suspected me the whole time, because I¡¯m not one of you? Adon transmitted, slightly flabbergasted. Rosslyn chuckled. ¡°No, I mean that you have not been present in this world long enough to form strong attachments to anyone! I first encountered you in the garden when you were a newborn. All your major memories are from another world¡ªor worlds. How can we suspect you might be a secret agent of the Empire, or of any enemy, when you have had no time for that?¡± That makes a lot more sense, he sent, feeling a little dumb. It still doesn¡¯t make me trustworthy enough to read your thoughts, though, does it? ¡°I probably cannot stop you, based on what you have said. At least from reading surface thoughts¡ªand those just below the surface. It is a comfort that you are not looking into my deepest innermost thoughts, since I rarely look there myself. I have no idea what you might find¡­ Really, it is not for me to trust or distrust you. I think it makes more sense for me to try to win you over rather than make assumptions about your loyalties. I naturally hope that you have formed some degree of attachment to your birthplace¡­¡± She let her voice trail off, then tilted her head from one side to the other, back and forth, as if she was still thinking about what he had asked. You don¡¯t seem very sure, Adon observed. She let out a little nervous laugh. ¡°Um, let us just say that I trust your good intentions. At worst, you might be a little too naive. Undoubtedly a good person, though. Trying to do the right thing. You gave away much of the advantage you had gained for yourself when you acquired this enhanced ability by telling me about it at all, you know? If you wanted to abuse it, you would not have done that. And now that you have told me, I should add that I have sufficient discipline¡ªpartially because of the training I mentioned¡ªto avoid directly touching on thoughts that you should not be aware of when I am in your presence.¡± I think, she added in her mind. Adon couldn¡¯t feel any sign of insincerity in Rosslyn¡¯s tone, either aloud or in her mind. She seemed to be surprisingly comfortable with the idea of Adon inside her head. Maybe she¡¯s just a lot more confident than I would be with someone reading my mind. Adon recalled a handful of the embarrassing thoughts he¡¯d had on an average day as a human and then shook his head vigorously. She must be like a monk or something, to think she won¡¯t ever happen to think something she¡¯d regret¡­ ¡°What are you thinking?¡± Rosslyn asked. Adon realized she was looking down at him intently as he considered what she had said. He couldn¡¯t say what he was actually thinking. He looked down the hall and saw that they were drawing close to her room. Oh, we¡¯re almost there, he transmitted. She just stared down at him and waited, raising an eyebrow, clearly still wondering about the answer to her question. Um, I was wondering what you would do with this ability, Adon sent. What kind of etiquette would you impose on yourself? ¡°If I could read minds, I would not ask anyone¡¯s permission before doing it. It is too powerful an advantage. I would tell father about it, and I might tell you and Goldie, but only if I could swear you to secrecy. If father could read minds, I doubt whether anyone else would even know about it¡­¡± There was a slight pause, and Rosslyn¡¯s expression shifted slightly. But it was difficult for Adon to read what she was thinking from her face, and for those few seconds, her mind was carefully blank. Whatever emotion she was feeling, Adon could tell it was negative. You really think he would keep it a secret, even from you? Adon asked. ¡°He can be almost uncomfortably good at keeping secrets,¡± she said slowly and quietly. Would you like me to tell you anything interesting that I find out? Adon asked. Her father¡¯s apparent lack of transparency about some secret in the past seemed to be bothering her, so he thought it was a reasonable question. Rosslyn gave him a slightly exasperated look, then shook her head. ¡°You are the only person looking out for you, Adon, so use it for your own good. You are the only one of your own kind currently alive as far as we know. A unique life form with unique interests. You must learn to understand how others see you¡ªand will likely continue to see you. To us, you are a foreign prince. Such underhanded methods as reading your mind would be acceptable to us if we could employ them, to keep you aligned with our Kingdom. You do not need to place your gift at my command. There are few people in this world who are truly free. You are one of them.¡± She hastened to add, ¡°Of course, if you find out that the brothers are planning to assassinate me or my father, or sell us out to the Demon Empire, that is something I would want to know!¡± Got it, he replied with a hint of sarcasm. Spy for me, but if I find something juicy, spy for you. She let out a short laugh. ¡°Since you have been in the palace, and I have come to see you more regularly, as your talents blossomed, I have had to reconcile myself to a simple fact. At some point in the future, you might find that your interests conflict with my father¡¯s¡ªor even mine. The friend that we have been helping might develop his own, independent agenda. That is all right. You might find that you have to be a bit more selfish. For your own good. If you want to help us, do that. If you do not, do what you want.¡± They arrived at Rosslyn¡¯s bedroom door. Adon realized they were there, because she had stopped walking. I don¡¯t understand how you can be this casual about this, Adon thought. But he stopped himself from sending the thought. He realized that he was really belittling Rosslyn¡¯s feelings if he spoke to her as if she was making this decision casually. Despite the way she had expressed herself, she clearly had some deep-seated feelings or even principles that were at stake in behaving in this way. You are trying very hard not to exercise any control over me, he sent after a few seconds. ¡°I know I can influence you to some degree if I want to,¡± Rosslyn replied, looking down at Adon with a thin, bittersweet smile. ¡°But I would rather see you as an equal than someone I can control. If I did not trust you to some degree, perhaps I would try to do more than merely persuade you¡ª¡± She displayed an imagined scene in her mind, for Adon to view, in which she drew a slender dagger from a sheath at her thigh and then pinned him to the wall with it¡ª¡°but tyrannical control in the Empire, the rule of force and coercion and repression, is exactly what we are fighting against.¡± She shook her head, and her eyes looked sad and faraway. A few images of another country flashed through her mind for a moment. The people there looked harried and hollow-eyed, the architecture ugly and intimidating. ¡°If I am ever to rule, I will not become that sort of Queen.¡± Rosslyn opened the door to her room, then stopped and stood in the doorway as they continued talking. From there, the conversation meandered a little. There seemed to be little more to say. Adon wasn¡¯t fully aware of it, but he was retracing the same ground they had tread on already. As they spoke, Rosslyn raised one foot and removed her shoe, then did the same to the other. Adon, perched on the doorsill across from her, barely noticed the movements. Finally, she cleared her throat. ¡°Um, Adon, I would love to continue this conversation, but we will be late for dinner if we continue talking. I was taking off my shoes out here, because that is the most undressed it is proper for me to be in front of a non-family member. But I need to go into the room and change. Would you mind if we continue this another time?¡± Oh, yes, of course, Adon sent. Sorry! Adon flapped his wings. See you soon! Rosslyn thought. The words were accompanied by the image of a smile. 2-47. Prelude to Dinner As soon as Adon met back up with Goldie and Samson, he told them what was going on with his Telepathy. So, you can hear all our thoughts now? Samson asked nervously. No, Adon sent back. I just hear bits and pieces more than what you wanted me to hear. It¡¯s kind of complicated, and I don¡¯t know how it works yet. I can¡¯t control it except by deactivating Telepathy completely. Which won¡¯t work at dinner, Goldie finished. You need to be able to participate in the table conversation. I guess, Adon thought. I don¡¯t really know if I even want to, though. He thought about telling Goldie how Frederick seemed to feel about mystic beasts, but then he thought better of it. That would just spoil the whole dinner. And it was unfair to poison their future interactions by giving up what Frederick had thought upon first impression. For all Adon knew, the younger brother would turn out to be open-minded and would change his tune during their stay. As he was considering this, the King stepped back into the room, preceded by a pair of servants who held the doors open and stood at attention as the King entered. Alistair had dressed down slightly for dinner, in a deep green tunic and navy blue trousers, though the differences between his various clothing options felt markedly less pronounced than those of Rosslyn¡¯s options. Shortly behind him came Queen Carolien, dressed in a blue gown with a pattern of golden symbols¡ªthey resembled infinity symbols, but the dress featured intertwined rectangles instead of the circular loops of the infinity symbol. The children followed, girls and boys dressed like miniature versions of their mother and father respectively. Alistair smiled at the arthropods and then locked eyes with Adon as he entered the room. The King quickly crossed the short distance that separated him from the butterfly. ¡°Rosslyn told me about your situation,¡± he said quietly, nodding at Adon. ¡°In a very abbreviated form, but I wanted you to know that I understand. I will likewise avoid¡ª¡± The doors opened again, held this time by the same servants who had led the young lords away, and unsurprisingly, the Duke¡¯s sons entered the room next. Both were dressed similarly to the King, though in different colors¡ªcobalt blue tunics with mustard yellow trousers. Their tunics had spider insignias woven into them in golden thread. Oh. So, the mystic beast their country took as its symbol is¡­ Adon turned his head to Goldie, who was looking at the golden insignias and tilting her head slightly. What is that about? he heard her think. Adon thought about explaining it to her, but again, he felt it was a conversation better had away from all these others. ¡°We hope we are not late,¡± said William. ¡°At least not unfashionably,¡± added Frederick with a dry smile. I will avoid inadvertently revealing national security secrets, finished Alistair in his mind, turning to face the young lords. Use your ability to your heart¡¯s content. Also, in case you feel uncomfortable at dinner tonight, I wanted you to know that it is only necessary that you attend on the first and last night of the visit. If you would prefer to eat separately on the other evenings, you have only to let us know. Of course, the King had already told him this. Is it possible he forgot that he mentioned it before? Adon wondered. He knew that Alistair had a lot on his mind, but was it more than that? Is this some kind of a hint? Does it mean the King thinks I¡¯m going to cramp their style? Is he nervous himself, and that¡¯s why he repeated this? Or had the Princess also told Alistair that Adon was a little socially awkward? The butterfly did not think the King had spent enough time around him to figure that out himself¡ªor, at least, he hoped not. Adon didn¡¯t think he was completely lacking in social skills¡ªonly somewhat inexperienced in that area. He certainly did not begrudge the Princess having taken the opportunity to inform her father about Adon¡¯s mind-reading. It probably would have been irresponsible of her not to do that. But a part of him couldn¡¯t help wondering what secrets they were keeping, exactly. He hadn¡¯t a clue what information it could be critical to hide from him specifically. ¡°On the contrary,¡± Alistair said aloud as Adon was thinking. ¡°We are still awaiting the Princess. No one is ever late to dinner unless they arrive after her.¡± He spoke with an indulgent smile. Adon judged by the King¡¯s tone that Rosslyn herself would never be considered late, and the butterfly found himself wondering for the first time if the Princess might have been a little spoiled as a child. The doors had scarcely closed behind the young lords, when they opened again, this time held by female servants. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. The Princess strode into the room, and the whole room except the King seemed to gasp. Her less formal outfit was spectacular in its own way. She had changed into a tightly fitted emerald green gown with a crystal brooch at the shoulder that displayed a rainbow of colors as she moved. Adon looked at it for a moment before he realized the crystal had been carved into the shape of a butterfly. The neckline of the dress was just low enough that it showed just a hint of cleavage. Adon thought she looked softer and more feminine than he had ever seen her. Once, he had thought that she was a bit intimidating. Then he had come to know that she was reasonably kind, but unusually strong and a skilled warrior and mage¡ªand, as the next person in line for the throne, her father¡¯s confidant. But that revelation, and Rosslyn¡¯s role teaching the arthropods magic, had only made her seem more formidable¡ªlike a woman ten years older. In this dress, for the first time, Adon saw Rosslyn looking every bit as young, vulnerable, and innocent as her actual early twenties age. He felt a strong desire to protect her from anything that might harm her. He guessed that this was part of what made people want to fight and die for royalty. Even if they had no voice in their system of government, at least they were dying for a beautiful, radiant image. How does a dress do that? he wondered. She seemed subtly transformed, though he did not detect any difference in her hair or makeup. Perhaps it was something about her face. There was a quietly tragic expression there¡ªor perhaps it was only a trick of the light. She¡¯s beautiful, he heard Samson thinking. It felt like there was a slightly lustful undertone there. Adon wanted to tell his brother to keep his eyes to himself¡ªthis was an old man, as far as he was concerned, based on Samson¡¯s age when he died¡ªbut then, what did that make Adon? Even though the butterfly identified with and felt like the twenty-six-year-old human he had been in his previous life, he technically had centuries worth of past life experience. Besides, Samson was allowed to think whatever he wanted. It wasn¡¯t as if he had deliberately transmitted that thought to Adon. It was only the butterfly¡¯s telepathic incontinence that had caused him to pick up on this private thought. I¡¯m going to need to get a lot more understanding of people thinking things I don¡¯t like, Adon told himself. On the bright side, at least now I¡¯ll know if I¡¯m failing at a conversation. I won¡¯t have to guess and look like an idiot without realizing. To his surprise, the young lords did not seem especially impressed by the change of clothes. A much simpler outfit, was all William thought. And Frederick only wanted to know when they could eat. Rosslyn¡¯s younger siblings noticed that she looked pretty but quickly moved on to thinking about other subjects¡ªmainly the same one Frederick was wondering about. The royal dining party quickly advanced into a different dining area than Adon had ever seen them use before, with a much larger table that could easily have seated dozens of people. The King sat at the table¡¯s head, with the Queen at his right hand side and Rosslyn to his left. The servants carrying Adon¡¯s, Goldie¡¯s, and Samson¡¯s pillows set them down in a row next to the Queen, while William was positioned beside Rosslyn, followed by Frederick to his left, opposite Adon and the spiders. The children were seated at the other end of the table, almost as if they were at a children''s table rather than attending the same dinner as the adults. Adon heard their thoughts, and he realized that the children did not seem to mind this treatment. They were used to being seated separately from the adults at formal dinners, and they thought these affairs were boring anyway. Then the doors to the large dining room opened again, and Adon really noticed for the first time that more places were set at the table than those for the members of the family. In fact, it looked as if they were anticipating the table to be almost full. Sure enough, close to two dozen nobles entered the room, trailed by servants, and they began seating themselves at the table in the spaces between the royal party and the children. There was no jockeying over place that Adon could see. It was as if every person knew where they belonged, and their places were all based on some clear conception of social rank¡ªthat, or a detailed seating chart had been made available to them before the dinner, accounting for the fact that the young lords, Adon, Goldie, and Samson would be present. As everyone seated themselves, staff appeared bearing dozens of different serving dishes, carrying foods of all kinds¡ªoysters, soups, vegetable dishes, fish, sweetbreads, a spinach pastry dish of some sort, roasts, heavy pudding¡ªmore than Adon¡¯s mind could wrap itself around. Some of it looked and smelled good to him as well, though the same servant who had been attending him naturally brought him his liquid meal instead. It¡¯s probably for the best that I don¡¯t get solid food, he told himself. Then everyone would have to watch me liquefy it, and I think my way of doing that is probably even grosser than the spiders¡¯ method¡­ Adon waited for the cue to begin eating. The familiar sights and smells of food, along with the very close smell of his own drinks¡ªwhich he could taste from simply standing on the edge of one of his goblets¡ªhad him as hungry as Frederick. The younger son of the Duke looked like he was trying his best not to literally salivate at the plate before him. But of course, at these royal affairs, protocols and formalities came first. The King rose from his seat and lifted his goblet as he stood. Adon realized that Alistair was about to make a toast, and the butterfly felt pleased, because he knew that he would be able to take a drink as soon as the King was finished speaking¡ªwhich, for him, was the same as getting to start his dinner. Adon would get a relative head start. As the King started speaking, Adon barely restrained himself from quivering with excitement. ¡°Gathered friends, family, and fellow countrymen¡­¡± Alistair said. Thus began a long series of toasts in which the King thanked Duke Pruford for sending his sons, thanked the sons for making the long journey across Dessia and Claustria to be here, and thanked his nobles for making them welcome. Not to leave anyone out, he also toasted the arthropods, the Goddess whose grace gave life to all of them, and all enemies of the Demon Emperor. Adon imagined that he saw a couple of people near the end of the table beginning to get drunk as the toasts continued. He supposed they could not hold their liquor, a problem he found relatable¡ªalthough, fortunately for him, the King had listened to Adon¡¯s request and had the intoxicating drinks in front of the butterfly heavily diluted. The butterfly was simply happy to have a socially acceptable reason to begin eating¡ªand he felt a little bit of pity for those who were not getting all of their calories from liquids. Now if only I could also get some of that pudding¡­ 2-48. Dinner Conversation Part 1 As the toasts concluded, Adon managed to send a telepathic message to his assigned servant. Excuse me, sir, but I would appreciate a small serving of sweet pudding, if that could be arranged, he sent. The man looked around, slightly alarmed, until Adon added, This is the butterfly, by the way. Then the servant seemed to breathe a sigh of relief¡ªas if glad to discover that he was not, in fact, insane¡ªand the mask of decorum fell over him again. As you wish, sir butterfly, he thought. Then he whispered the same words. Dinner conversation had broken out around them now that the toasts were finished, so Adon did not think the noise carried. And a few minutes later, a small dish of pudding was delivered. Adon would have clapped if he had hands. The pudding was as delicious as any of the sweet drinks that he had been consuming, and it added a milky novelty to the flavor profile of the evening. He made a mental note to ask for this stuff again. The conversation between the royals and the Duke¡¯s sons began again near Adon, but he was not initially part of it¡ªaside from listening in, which he did eagerly, trying to learn as much as he could about the world of the nobility. The King and Queen occasionally jumped in, but they mostly spoke quietly to each other and let Rosslyn and the young lords talk among themselves. There was some banter back and forth, mainly about Rosslyn, William, and Frederick¡¯s respective combat training. Adon gathered from context as well as Telepathy that for Dessians, every male subject was expected to serve in the military for some part of their life. It was also understood that the sons of the Duke of Dessia would traditionally serve as officers. ¡°It is a pity none of our respective tours of service overlapped,¡± Rosslyn said. This was apparently meant to be a subtle reference to the fact that she had spent more time in the military than either William or Frederick. Both of them had served only a token period, in part because for Dessia, this was a relatively peaceful time. William was three years older than Rosslyn, while Frederick was only one year older. Adon marveled slightly at how much context he would have missed out on if he had not been getting snippets from Telepathy. ¡°I nevertheless had a good impression of you from your officer corps when my unit visited your border region,¡± said Frederick. The accompanying thought there was, They were all eager to inscribe their names on the young Princess¡¯s heart, even though they had never met her. Poor bastards. My brother has never labored a day for your country, but it will be he who wins her hand. ¡°That is curious,¡± said Rosslyn, ¡°seeing as my term of service had only just begun at the time you started yours, Frederick.¡± She detected some hidden mockery in Frederick¡¯s words, but she could not be certain. ¡°I do not know how to account for it, either, Rosslyn,¡± he said innocently. ¡°I suppose word of your prowess as a leader spread quickly.¡± Rosslyn smiled as if the words were a genuine compliment. Adon knew she wanted to frown. ¡°I have heard good things about your leadership as an officer,¡± William agreed, playing the moment completely sincerely. ¡°Though my source was within the Dessian officer corps.¡± Adon picked up that the Dessians and Claustrians sometimes engaged in joint military exercises¡ªand also that William was thinking about kicking his brother under the table. So far, the older brother seemed like a decent guy. I guess he probably will marry Rosslyn, Adon thought. If William was a bad person, Adon would simply tell the Princess whatever she needed to know to reject him. But William did not seem that way to Adon. At least not yet. The only real mark against William was that he was ambitious. He knew that he was here to try to win Rosslyn¡ªand therefore to try and win the throne of Claustria. When he could, he had steered the evening¡¯s conversation to subjects like the military, which he knew Rosslyn was interested in. He was trying to make a favorable impression and leave nothing to chance. It felt like there was something vaguely manipulative about it, but wasn¡¯t this just how dating worked, in the universes Adon had visited where dating was a thing¡ªas opposed to here, where there was no such custom? Adon did not know. He wished he had ever had William¡¯s relative charm. The man was even able to smooth out the little hiccups that his brother kept causing. Frederick clearly thought the Claustrians were a bit simple, unsophisticated compared to the brothers and the Dessian nobility. ¡°At least the rumors are good,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°I suppose I cannot complain if people talk about me with earnest approval. I have always tried to earn it¡ªfrom the soldiers in particular.¡± Adon heard the caveat in her thoughts¡ªthe only person whose approval she cared about more than that of the soldiers had always been her father. She wondered what he thought of how she was holding her end of the conversation. William¡¯s eyes fell on Goldie and Adon for a moment. ¡°Speaking of rumors,¡± he said in a low voice, ¡°I have heard a rumor that mystic beasts can shapeshift. Transform their bodies into whatever form pleases them. Perhaps it is more lore than rumor. But I have been wondering, since we got here, is there anything to that?¡± Adon choked on his drink for a moment as William¡¯s thoughts on this subject came through. They were more images than verbalized ideas. Images of Goldie in a humanoid form, performing indecent services¡ªon William¡¯s brother Frederick. William looked at Adon as the sound of the butterfly choking gurgled through the air. The young lord¡¯s expression was carefully blank. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Have to make sure I do not give away that I can read his mind, Adon told himself. His eyes darted to look at Goldie for a moment, but of course, she was completely unaffected by what William had been thinking. ¡°William!¡± Rosslyn exclaimed¡ªmore harshly than she had intended, Adon knew at once¡ªdropping the napkin she had just been holding into her lap as she spoke. Her voice was still hushed, fortunately, but the Duke¡¯s heir looked chagrined. Rosslyn, what is going on? Adon transmitted to her specifically. Her face colored slightly. Well, this is not an ideal way for you to find this out¡­ For me to find out what?! Adon wondered. Then he repeated those words, in a slightly calmer tone, to Rosslyn. Um, can I explain it later? she asked. This is a delicate topic. Adon felt a hastily erected wall blocking him from reading any deeper thoughts on this subject. He sensed that he might be able to climb over it, but he chose to trust in the Princess instead¡ªfor now, at least. ¡°Um, my apologies, Princess,¡± William said uncertainly. ¡°It is a rather rude topic of conversation,¡± she said, trying to calm herself. ¡°I understand,¡± William said, the corners of his lips turning up slightly as if he was restraining a smile¡ªwhich Adon sensed that he was. ¡°I should know better than to make a reference to, um, bodily functions at the table, in front of a lady.¡± A reference to bodily functions is not the whole problem, and you know it, Adon heard Rosslyn thinking. She remained annoyed but tried to calm herself down. ¡°I appreciate your understanding, my lord,¡± she said formally. William reacted to the use of the formal phrasing as if he had been slapped in the face. His facial expression soured, and his hand tightened on his silverware. Then he took a few quick, deep breaths and shoveled a spoonful of soup into his mouth. How was that inappropriate in your mind, if you don¡¯t mind my asking? Adon transmitted, again only directing the communication to Rosslyn. He thought he saw her blush deepen slightly. Truly? You too? she thought back at him, her inner voice flustered. Well, I would have transformed my shape in front of him, if it would reduce any tension, Adon replied. I¡¯m not embarrassed. Plus, I think that Adaptation probably became more potent after my adventure with the Golden Eagle, and I haven¡¯t really tested it out yet. Please wait on that, she thought instantly. I should add that it was inappropriate in more than one way. The remark could be construed as discussion of a bodily function at the table, which is certainly a breach of etiquette. But a more important issue is that those who know about your existence will see the country¡¯s resident mystic beasts as an extension of our military power. By asking if you can transform your shape, he is trying to assess how far your power has developed. People tend to look at a country¡¯s adventurers the same way¡­ If you just wanted to test your Adaptation out in front of an audience, Goldie or I could watch you later. Adon wanted to tell Rosslyn that trying to measure his power had not actually been at the forefront of William¡¯s mind¡ªand were the brothers really playing these kinds of games in dealing with their ally, with a war with the Empire looming over the Kingdom?¡ªbut at the same time, Adon found the actual subject of William¡¯s motives far too embarrassing to broach. And for all he knew, despite the rather lewd thought he¡¯d intercepted, the Duke¡¯s sons had come here with orders to gauge Claustrian strength. I guess I understand, Adon sent. Do you really believe they¡¯re thinking that way with the Empire on the march? It took Rosslyn a minute to formulate a response for him, because she was engaging William in a conversation about something else¡ªsmall talk about their respective palace gardens¡ªand it was understandably difficult to carry two conversations at once. The nations that are not directly on the front lines with the Empire never take them as seriously as we do, Rosslyn finally thought. Even Dessia, which has a long military tradition and has taken part in every war with the Empire waged on this continent, is probably too relaxed. It has been a century since they last had to fight the Empire. They will likely stand with us, because of my father¡¯s close relationship with Duke Pruford. But they probably believe we are in our present state of high alert, not because of how dangerous the Empire is, but because we are weak. The brothers no doubt believe that they could defend Claustria better than we could if they themselves were in charge. I will grant that Dessia has always punched above its weight in matters of war. They are still catching up to Claustria in population, but it would be impossible for us to conquer them even with our four hundred thousand additional subjects. That does not mean they are a match for the Empire, though, any more than we are. There was a short lull in the conversation with the young lords while Rosslyn was communicating to Adon, and Goldie took that as an opportunity to insert herself into the discussion. She had previously been quietly chatting with Samson. The two of you traveled a long way, I understand, Goldie sent to the young lords, Rosslyn, Samson, and Adon all together. Was it, um, safe to do that? What is it like, traveling across the land? Adon observed what was probably unnoticeable to everyone else¡ªthe concern Goldie had about the idea of leaving the safety of her familiar environments, which she was trying to use the brothers to either validate or alleviate. To them, it probably just felt like small talk. ¡°For a vulnerable young maiden, I confess the trip would have been hazardous,¡± William said. ¡°We had to hang a few bandits on our way here. But the Branden Guard protect every member of the Dessian ruling house. Even if my brother and I were not capable of defending ourselves, they would have seen us safely to the capital. They have never lost a single member of our family, whether to assassins, brigands, or monsters, in the two centuries since Duke Branden established them.¡± ¡°A most noble institution,¡± said the King, who Adon had almost forgotten was sitting right next to Rosslyn. ¡°I am glad they kept you safe on the difficult road here.¡± In his mind, Alistair added, They must have been attacked within Dessia. I am certain the army wiped out nearly all the brigands in Claustia, and none of those clever enough to survive would have been foolish enough to go after the brothers and their guards. ¡°Doubtless, our noble mystic beasts would not need to worry about traveling,¡± said Frederick. ¡°They could avoid any such enemies by simply retaining their natural shape¡ªor kill them, undoubtedly, as they preferred. I assume the three of you have mastered basic Mana use.¡± There was a question in his tone as he spoke those last words. This, Adon sensed, was an actual attempt to gauge his and Goldie¡¯s powers. He quickly and carefully composed a message to Goldie alone. Don¡¯t say anything to that, he sent. They want to gauge how strong the three of us are. Adon was about to send the same message to Samson, when his brother spoke up all on his own. We are still working on it, Samson admitted. Adon is the strongest at basic Mana use. But Samson and Goldie are both extremely promising! Adon added immediately and loudly, flustered at suddenly having to speak up. 2-49. Dinner Conversation Part 2 Adon looked around for a moment and then thanked the Goddess that only those immediately near him were in the circle of his telepathic conversation. He was terribly embarrassed at the way he¡¯d just blurted out that Samson and Goldie were promising magic users. Setting aside the question of whether it was true or not, the words did not sound true coming out of his head. At least not to Adon. He thought he sounded as if he was desperate to convince them¡ªwhich would have been an accurate reading of his intentions at that moment. If the Duke¡¯s sons were looking for signs of deception, he would seem like the most obvious liar or exaggerator in the world. But the young lords nodded in response to what Adon had said, as if they didn¡¯t think it was particularly strange at all¡ªas if he didn¡¯t even sound particularly off to them. ¡°That is good to hear,¡± said William, his eyes twinkling. I wonder how promising, he thought. If mystic beasts are a real phenomenon I have to adjust myself to, they had better at least be as strong as the legends, thought Frederick. Well, they did not know him well yet¡­ Or perhaps he wasn¡¯t as socially maladroit as he thought he was. Maybe it was still possible that he might become a social butterfly in this life¡ªinstead of the awkward creature he felt he was in that moment. Alternatively, maybe Lord William had some reason for wanting to believe the mystic beasts were strong¡ªor would become strong. It might be a factor in favor of his country¡¯s alliance with Claustria. Putting aside his doubts about his own believability, Adon took a sip of his wine and prepared a message to send to Goldie and Samson. The young lords are trying to gauge our strength as a proxy for the Kingdom¡¯s strength, he quickly transmitted to the two of them only. Oh, man! thought Samson. Then they just tricked me. I really let my guard down. But I should have known¡­ I thought they were friendly, too, sent Goldie. Are they planning on starting a war? Otherwise, why¡­? Adon agreed with her. These probing questions did not seem to him exactly the kind that you asked friends, especially not in what he considered a relatively sneaky way. But the rules for royals and high nobility were probably different. Harsher. I don¡¯t know, Adon replied. Rosslyn suggested it to me a few minutes ago, when they started asking questions about us. At first, I didn¡¯t think it made sense, but now I¡¯m pretty convinced. It¡¯s easy to believe they would want to figure out the relative power of their ally, Samson sent. Realpolitik. Even if they might theoretically like the idea of honor, they won¡¯t behave honorably if they don¡¯t think it fits with their interests. If Claustria seems too weak, they won¡¯t fight for the Kingdom despite being allies. Because they don¡¯t want to be on the losing side. Adon had nothing to say to that. It sounded distressingly accurate to him. We can talk about this later, he told them finally. He turned and tried to tune back in to the main conversation. Goldie and Samson chattered worriedly back and forth as they ate their food, keeping their dialogue contained to the two of them¡ªAdon was only looped in because of his powerful Telepathy¡ªso that the Duke¡¯s sons did not hear them. Most of the remainder of the dinner, thankfully, was consumed with smalltalk. This started with William shifting the conversation to the general subject of combat training, a topic on which Rosslyn seemed able to talk fluently and for as long as necessary with great enthusiasm. Adon felt a little less pressure from the social situation with the brothers physically turned away from him for a certain segment of the conversation¡ªin part, he suspected, because the spiders were tearing into their food next to Adon, and the way Goldie and Samson ate was not pretty. Now that they were looking away from him and that he could¡ªand frequently would, whether he wanted to or not¡ªread minds, Adon found himself emboldened to participate in the conversation a bit more. The big social advantage of mind-reading was that he could tell instantly whether people thought the things he was saying were strange or dumb or¡ªas was surprisingly often the case¡ªwhen he seemed to be winning some amount of the other person¡¯s confidence and respect. It was a major booster to his confidence. Rosslyn has been a lot of help to us in our training, Adon mentioned, inserting himself into the conversation about training. ¡°Would you participate in the fighting if the Kingdom went to war, Adon?¡± William asked quietly. ¡°Given that the Princess is training you all and that you originate from here, is that a possibility you have contemplated?¡± The words felt almost as if William had been listening to Adon¡¯s exchanges with Samson and Goldie of a few minutes before, but Adon knew that was impossible. He would definitely have heard William thinking about it. Rosslyn looked like she wanted to interject, but Adon replied instantly. Of course I would, he sent in an earnest tone. Perhaps that is the reason I was placed in this Kingdom by the Goddess. I understand that these things are not down to random chance. Would your country go to war? I¡¯m a bit naive about politics, but you are allies, right? Rosslyn¡¯s face lit up, and Adon caught a single, undisciplined fragment of a concept from her head space before she restrained herself from pursuing her train of thought. ¡­ hero¡­ The little scrap of thought drove Adon¡¯s mind into wild speculation. Did Rosslyn think Adon was a potential hero for Claustria? She had repeatedly alluded to believing he was important. Was there something to the history of butterflies in this Kingdom that made her believe he would save them? Or maybe he was reading too much into the one word he¡¯d caught before she controlled her thoughts. Maybe she thought what he had said was dumb and was resisting the urge to say something like, Don¡¯t be a hero, dummy! Before he could dwell too much on those questions, William¡¯s quick, efficient inner monologue distracted Adon. Good question, William thought. Of course we would defend Claustria unless something drastic changes, but it is prudent of him to ask it and make us declare it openly¡ªassuming this is not simply him artlessly blurting out exactly what he thought. ¡°We are honor bound to stand by our dear neighbors,¡± William replied aloud, puffing himself up. Adon noted that more than just the Royal Family and the arthropods had turned and heard the lord¡¯s loud pronouncement. ¡°Long tradition and bonds that run deeper than blood connect us.¡± ¡°None dare question the courage of the Dessian military,¡± Frederick added, with a slight edge of affront. Well played, little bug, he thought. Now my brother is honor bound. Even if he does not come away from this place with anything he wanted, he has given his personal commitment. Adon guessed from the tone of Frederick¡¯s thought that the air of mild offense in his spoken words was affected. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°We are, of course, pleased to have Dessia¡¯s commitment to fight alongside us in this time when the Empire threatens to begin another wave of aggression,¡± said the King loudly. ¡°I never doubted you, given your father¡¯s and my long years of friendship.¡± Well done, Adon, he thought, clearly suppressing the urge to smile broadly. I never would have doubted their father, but I do not know the sons as I know the Duke. They have given their word in front of dozens of nobles who will spread the news of it. The butterfly felt, after how these interactions had gone, that he had performed much better at dinner than he had expected¡ªdespite the fact that he knew that if he was a human, he would be soaked in sweat by now. At a table where people lied and flattered each other, it seemed sincerity could become a weapon. For the most part, though, Adon did not inject himself into the conversation unless he was brought in by being addressed directly. It was exhausting to try and consider what each person wanted to hear and might appreciate him saying at each moment, and he kept imagining that he would make a mistake and humiliate both himself and the Royal Family, or throw away whatever progress he might have made. But he kept being pulled back into the discussion. ¡°So, you communicate telepathically, Adon?¡± Frederick asked at one point. ¡°I mean, this whole time, I have assumed the mechanism of your communication is a Telepathy Adaptation rather than something else.¡± We all do, replied Goldie, who seemed comfortable enough with dinner table conversation and very aware that Adon was still finding his conversational legs, despite relative success. Spiders and butterflies lack vocal cords, Samson helpfully added. ¡°At least you do in your natural forms,¡± William said quietly, almost under his breath. ¡°Does that mean that you can read our minds?¡± asked Frederick. ¡°Hear what we think?¡± He tapped his temple with his index finger. I can hear what you want me to hear, Adon replied instantly. If you bring a thought up to the surface of your mind, any of us would be able to pick it up as if you were speaking. Well done, Rosslyn thought. You are not even lying. Simply omitting. He did not actually say what the limits are, William noted. He only implied them. Considering the way the butterfly handled my other questions¡­ I am beginning to think that this mystic beast is not as naive as I might have imagined. Rosslyn must have coached him for this dinner, she would know how¡ªor perhaps he has some other experience? Answering politely without giving any actual information away is a critical skill for those born into our life, but I have never met a peasant who could do it effectively who was not a criminal¡ªsomeone accustomed to lying regularly. What you described is a little disturbing, Frederick thought. Are you poking around inside my mind right now, butterfly? Have you been listening all evening? Adon carefully avoided reacting to anything they articulated, and thankfully the conversation drifted back to safer topics shortly after that. Much of the change in conversational direction was thanks to Rosslyn guiding the brothers away from subjects that she did not want the arthropods to discuss¡ªor that she herself did not want discussed. As the dinner wound down, Adon was pleased to note that despite freely consuming his beverages, he did not feel drunk¡ªif anything, he might have been slightly buzzed¡ªindicating that the palace cooks had listened to the King¡¯s orders and weakened the alcoholic content of his drinks. This meant he was able to continue participating in the conversation, as well as reading minds, until the last moments of the meal. ¡°Would the two young lords like to join me for a private drink?¡± the King asked as the servants began removing some dishes from the table. I need to lay down some ground rules before they have their first full day here tomorrow, Alistair was thinking. They were here to court his daughter, and he wanted them to go about it in a dignified and respectful way, remaining in the presence of chaperones at all times. William¡¯s face and thoughts betrayed slight impatience¡ªIs this truly necessary? I wanted to take Rosslyn for a walk before bed¡ªbut only for a moment. He had remarkable control over his facial expressions. A natural politician, Adon thought. Then William bowed his head as if grateful for the King¡¯s attention. ¡°It would be our pleasure, sir.¡± Frederick likewise bowed his head in agreement. But Alistair had noticed the quick flicker of displeasure in the young lord¡¯s expression, too. It will not be too long, the King thought. The impatience of the younger generation¡­ ¡°Then I will escort our resident mystic beasts back to their chamber,¡± Rosslyn said. The King announced the end of dinner to the rest of the guests, who were by then simply conversing, having eaten their fill over the course of the long evening. Adon could not tell quite how late it was, since the room was lit by many candles, but he guessed that it was fully dark outside judging by how the light had diminished. As the King rose, everyone else around the table began pushing their chairs back and getting up. When Rosslyn got up, she extended her hand for a moment to her left side¡ªit looked to Adon like she was simply steadying herself. Like him, she might have been slightly buzzed, since she had consumed some wine with her meal. Lord William took that moment as an opportunity to kiss the back of the Princess¡¯s outstretched hand. It was an old, traditionally chivalrous gesture that Adon recognized from many other incarnations, but it seemed to him to last just a second too long. The King noticed it, too. A vein lightly throbbed at the side of his forehead. You just arrived, Alistair thought. Control yourself, Lord William¡­ For her part, the Princess did not seem to know what she felt¡ªor more accurately, she gave ambivalent signs. She smiled as she pulled her hand away, but she also thought, I did not offer my hand, did I? Based on that thought, Adon imagined the smile might have been merely polite¡ªbut if so, the Princess was good at hiding her true feelings. It looked real enough to him. ¡°Good evening, William,¡± she said. She turned to Frederick. ¡°Good evening, Frederick.¡± ¡°Good evening, Rosslyn,¡± said William, looking her confidently in the eyes. ¡°May the Goddess give you pleasant rest, Rosslyn,¡± said Frederick, smiling affectionately. Adon sensed genuinely warm feelings from both brothers toward the Princess¡ªthough William¡¯s feelings seemed more passionate, while he read Frederick¡¯s as the fondness of a childhood friend who still held some tender¡ªbut clearly platonic¡ªfeelings toward Rosslyn despite years apart. The situation was slightly confusing for Adon. After that high pressure evening, there were such warm feelings from the young lords¡¯ side? Perhaps the Princess and the mystic beasts she kept around her had passed the Dessians¡¯ tests¡ªthe evening seemed to Adon to have featured a series of tests¡ªand now they were finally relaxing. Opening their hearts and allowing their true feelings to breathe. Or perhaps to them, the combination of intense scrutiny and tender feeling was normal and not contradictory. What in the world is Dessia like? Adon wondered. What is the Duke like? To raise two young adults who think like these two¡­ On the other hand, he could not read Rosslyn¡¯s feelings toward them at all¡ªor at least they were not as apparent on the surface as the brothers¡¯ feelings, and Adon did not try to dig deeper and explore her inner secrets. Even if Rosslyn had implied that she would not blame him for reading other people¡¯s thoughts, including her secret thoughts, trying to dig beneath the surface of her mind would feel like a violation of her privacy. Though she might never find out, he would know, and he would feel like a traitor. He couldn¡¯t do something like that to Rosslyn or Goldie, though anyone else might be fair game. Adon was surprised when his train of thought was interrupted¡ªby Rosslyn picking him up on his pillow. ¡°You are ready to leave the table, right?¡± she confirmed. I am, Adon sent, making sure he was only communicating to her. You¡¯re carrying me yourself? The servants from earlier had taken the two spiders, but Rosslyn politely shook her head at the one who wanted to carry Adon. I said I would escort you, she thought. I had also imagined you might want to talk about the dinner table conversation. I hope you enjoyed the meal. I know our guests were not entirely friendly. When people visit each other¡¯s countries, unfortunately, this is sometimes part of the trip. Testing each other, in ways subtle or overt. Looking for weaknesses¡ªand strengths. I was wondering about that, Adon replied. As they had their internal back and forth, Rosslyn had stepped out of the dining room and into a hall, lit by fewer candles than the dinner table had featured. The flickering glow made it harder to see her expressions. The servants carrying Samson and Goldie followed along behind her. Yes? Rosslyn asked. Adon was again impressed at how well she restrained her thoughts, so that nothing leaked out but what she had intended. Specifically, I was wondering what the other problem was with the brothers asking me about Transformation, Adon sent. You mentioned there was another reason it was bad or inappropriate, besides what you mentioned at the table. So¡­ what was it? It might have been a trick of the light, but Adon thought Rosslyn looked surprised and embarrassed as she received his transmission. 2-50. The Talk The air hung with a pregnant pause for a moment as Adon waited for Rosslyn to respond to what he had said. Oh, Goddess, was her first thought. Her inner voice sounded perceptibly exasperated¡ªor was it embarrassed? It was hard to tell. Adon had only rarely heard the Princess disturbed from a state of emotional equilibrium. He might have imagined it, but he thought that Rosslyn¡¯s face had acquired a slightly pink hue as she reacted to his question. Maybe it was just the candlelight flickering across her features, or maybe she now flushed more easily because of the alcohol that she, like everyone else, had been imbibing. In any case, it was gone after she shook her head and took control of her countenance again. You were still wondering about that, she thought, still noticeably thrown off. Of course you were. Um, yes, Adon, I will explain the other reason why I did not want you to discuss the Transformation Adaptation with the brothers. Let us just walk Goldie and Samson back to your shared quarters, and you and I will go outside and discuss this matter privately. I understand, replied Adon. But he didn¡¯t really. This was a conversation they needed to have outside? To get away from Goldie and Samson¡ªwho would both undoubtedly unlock the same ability if Goldie did not have it already? This was starting to feel like a bigger deal than Adon had imagined. He almost wanted to tell her to forget about it. Almost. Now that I know it¡¯s something so difficult to discuss, my curiosity is kind of piqued, he admitted to himself. If it made Rosslyn more uncomfortable than he had seen, he told himself that he would break off the conversation and drop the subject. Maybe someone else could tell him what was so special about the Transformation Adaptation. The King seemed to be an expert in all butterfly-related things. He allowed Rosslyn to carry him the rest of the way to the arthropods¡¯ room in silence. ¡°Adon and I are going to go discuss some mystic butterfly-specific magical history in the library for a while,¡± the Princess said once they had arrived and the servants had placed the spiders on the bed. He thought she lied remarkably smoothly¡ªunless the Transformation Adaptation really had a history that was specific to butterflies rather than mystic beasts in general, which did not make much sense to him. Please tell your father and his cooks that we thank them for a lovely meal, Samson replied. We will train for a little while, I think, Goldie transmitted. We do not want to embarrass you in front of the future Duke of Dessia with our magic. Thank you for the food. ¡°I cannot imagine either of you embarrassing us,¡± Rosslyn replied. ¡°Please put Frederick and William¡¯s opinions out of your minds and move at your own pace.¡± They were behaving a bit badly in bothering the three of you about that, she thought loudly enough for Adon to guess that it was meant for all three of them¡ªrather than something that leaked out to just him. We can hardly blame them, Samson sent. It¡¯s our task to appear as strong as possible so that they understand that you are a formidable enemy¡ªand a valuable ally. I¡¯m sure Adon agrees. That¡¯s why he covered for my remark by mentioning how promising we were. In a way, it¡¯s good to have something to focus on for motivation. I was beginning to feel a bit useless, trying to master mana but making progress so slowly. I think I¡¯ll grow faster now. It certainly can¡¯t hurt, Adon agreed. I¡¯ll do whatever I can to help you train now that I¡¯m back. He felt much less insecurity about his place in the world after his hunting trip. It was as if being back outside, killing enemies¡ªprey¡ªreminded him of what really counted. His place in the food chain might have some correlation to his sense of self-esteem and self-efficacy in this body. And Samson had been his brother. Even if Adon helped Samson, and the spider surpassed Adon¡¯s magical ability, that would not mean the butterfly had no place in the world. Adon still wanted to be the best, but that should not mean holding Samson back or refusing to help him advance. Rosslyn set down the pillow Adon stood on and tapped her bare left shoulder. Reading her body language, Adon fluttered lightly up to settle there. Because his feet were sensory organs, he instantly absorbed the mingled taste of jasmine mixed with oil and Rosslyn¡¯s sweat¡ªa heady brew of scents. For far from the first time, Adon felt that being a butterfly was very strange compared with both being human and his other experiences as various random species. Dragons tasted with their tongues. He had been a snake once, and they also had taste receptors inside their mouths¡ªnot their tongue, exactly, but where taste receptors ought to be. He had been a fly before, though, and they also tasted with their feet. Maybe it felt particularly strange to him because his last life, the one he recalled most vividly, had been a human one. In the present, he thought that it would only increase Rosslyn¡¯s discomfort level to start commenting on how she smelled¡ªor, technically tasted¡ªso he kept silent about the fact that his position gave him a strong awareness of it. Fortunately, it was pleasant. Almost too pleasant. Rosslyn stepped away from the bed, and the two of them left the arthropods¡¯ chamber and moved through the halls for a while. She seemed to be collecting her thoughts on some level below the surface of her mind, where Adon could not read them unless he really tried to¡ªwhich he wasn¡¯t. The butterfly was simply trying not to fall off her shoulder and getting used to the slightly intoxicating odor around him. The Princess opened an exterior-facing door, and they finally emerged into the garden¡ªthe relative darkness of the outer world. There was enough light from the full moon that Adon could still see Rosslyn¡¯s face quite well, though. She reached her hands up to Adon, picked him up from her shoulder in two cupped palms, and gently placed him on top of a bush beside a bench. She sat down on the bench a moment later and looked up at him as if thinking about how to begin¡ªor hoping that he would say something first. But since he did not know what they were really there to discuss, he kept his thoughts to himself for the moment. His head was finally clearing from the perfume-sweat buzz that had layered itself on top of his slight alcohol-related buzz. ¡°So, Adon,¡± the Princess began in a low voice, looking uncomfortable¡ªor embarrassed. ¡°I will be brief. Undoubtedly we both need rest after that long dinner. The short explanation of why the topic was inappropriate for dinner conversation is that when a human and a mystic beast become very close, well, there are, um¡­ romantic possibilities stemming from the mystic beasts having the capacity to transform.¡± Oh! Adon¡¯s mind flashed over a hundred versions of ¡°the talk¡± that he had received across nearly every life in which he¡¯d had present parents. The ¡°birds and the bees¡± was only one version. There was also a variation about fish and rabbits multiplying, and in a couple of incarnations, his parents had instructed him to observe animals mating to understand the process. Those memories in particular stood out for how bizarre they were. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°I think you understand?¡± the Princess asked hopefully, turning her face away from Adon as she spoke. Humans and mystic beasts can, um¡­ He searched for a good word. Most of the phrases he knew, even the euphemisms, felt vulgar and inappropriate to use with the Princess¡ªor clinical and scientific, which might be even worse. He finally settled on one that, while still vaguely naughty, was at least not vulgar. They can make love. Rosslyn nodded, head still turned looking away, off toward the horizon. Her face was so red that the color had gone to her neck. But now that they were actually having this conversation, Adon¡¯s mind raced with possibilities. He wanted to ask questions¡ªand then perhaps never discuss this topic again, depending on how uncomfortable the conversation became. At least one question. Do they ever actually do that in this world? he sent. Rosslyn nodded again and began to speak. She remained turned away, and her voice had lowered almost to a whisper. ¡°Some of my own ancestors,¡± she said. ¡°At least a few of them were butterflies.¡± It helped Adon¡¯s hearing that her surface-level thoughts echoed with the same words, and Adon was receiving those too¡ªthough he was not trying to read her mind, some of her thoughts were still carried passively to him as long as he had Telepathy active. Fortunately, she seemed to be restricting her brain to only formulate thoughts into words for the purpose of speaking to him. At least the level of her brain that he accessed easily. Whoa. Then they can do more than make love. They can actually reproduce¡­ Adon thought the words loudly and only realized as Rosslyn put a hand to her face to cover her expression that he had transmitted them to her in the same loud, direct voice with which they had occurred to him. He hoped he had not offended her. It was just a shock to have every world¡¯s understanding of science and biology seemingly overturned, as mystic beasts apparently had the ability to reproduce sexually with a different species. This world is magic, he reminded himself silently. Control what you transmit. Don¡¯t be a jerk. Don¡¯t make her uncomfortable with your weird thoughts. Be cool. ¡°Yes,¡± Rosslyn said, in answer to the comment about reproduction. ¡°That is the size of it. So, now you know.¡± Her tone sounded as if she wished to physically run from the garden as she spoke, but she forced herself to continue. ¡°And undoubtedly you understand why such allusions were inappropriate dinner table conversation¡ªthough the brothers would undoubtedly deny any such subtext.¡± I understand, Adon replied. Thank you for telling me. I will be careful in talking to the brothers. Just what he should be careful about, he wasn¡¯t certain of even as he sent the words, but it felt like a correct thing to say, and Rosslyn nodded as if it made sense to her. ¡°I should have told you as soon as I knew,¡± she said, her tone apologetic. ¡°My father explained our family history to me just after you emerged from the chrysalis.¡± She finally looked back at him, and Adon wished he could show her a human face, so that she would see he did not feel unhappy or betrayed in the least. You don¡¯t have anything to feel bad about, Adon transmitted. What the Princess had said had been shocking for him, and he could tell it had been uncomfortable for her to discuss. He wasn¡¯t entitled to be told that information¡ªor at least he did not feel as if he had been entitled to it, which perhaps amounted to the same thing. ¡°If you say so,¡± she said, rubbing the back of her neck a little awkwardly. So that is what the Transformation Adaptation can really do¡­ Adon thought aloud. ¡°Oh, I should have asked before I dumped all this information on you,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°Did you still want to try it out?¡± To try¡­ Adon almost misunderstood what she had said, then quickly corrected his understanding. Oh, to try and turn into a human form, he sent. She nodded. Maybe I should, Adon replied. ¡°All right. I can let you know if your proportions are right.¡± Hm. Adon thought about this. He realized that he did not want to show his previous incarnation¡¯s body to Rosslyn¡ªor to anyone, for that matter¡ªbut then what would his frame of reference be if he turned into a human right now? He had lived plenty of other human lives, so at least he had a fair number of models. ¡°Oh, wait, before you do!¡± Rosslyn spoke up, raising her hand as if to tell him to stop. Before I do? Adon sent. She turned around to face in the opposite direction from him. Um, why did you turn around? he asked. ¡°If you transform into a human, that will not create clothes, will it? I imagine that it will take all your concentration just to replicate the human form¡­ Or were you planning to flash me?¡± Rosslyn spoke those last words with a slight teasing edge to her voice. Adon nevertheless hastened to reassure her, No, I definitely did not intend that. ¡°If you complete your transformation, I suppose we will need to make certain in future that you have clothes nearby whenever you might do it. You could still try it this time. Just, um, stand behind a bush.¡± Maybe we should do this another time, Adon transmitted. No, we should definitely do this another time. Rosslyn chuckled. ¡°All right,¡± she said. ¡°Probably good thinking. It is late to conduct experiments. And I should go train and work off some of that food.¡± She placed a hand over her silk-covered abdomen as she spoke. Adon did not see any sign that she had eaten in her figure, and he guessed that she just wanted an excuse to spend some time not vaguely talking about sex or nudity with him¡ªwhich he fully supported. He could only imagine how embarrassed she must feel, considering his own awkward mix of feelings. I¡¯ll go fly around for a bit, Adon replied quickly. I might be a little tipsy from dinner. If I said anything embarrassing¡­ Rosslyn shook her head and gave him one of her winning smiles. ¡°You have nothing to be embarrassed about,¡± she said. ¡°This was always going to be a bit of an odd conversation for both of us. If I said anything embarrassing, please likewise assume it was the wine.¡± She rose and turned her back again as she moved to open the door and let them back into the palace. Adon was impressed by the way she had managed to keep her mind empty so that he did not catch any random thoughts while they had engaged in this potentially fraught conversation. I guess that¡¯s the poise of royalty, he thought. He also found his eyes noticing the way her dress clung to her athletic figure now¡ªand realized a moment later that he had started to see her with his human eyes on. Sort of sexually. It must have started as soon as she had gotten into the birds and the bees stuff. Or maybe even earlier. He had been thinking about training and getting stronger in part to protect Rosslyn¡¯s country. Was that just because he wanted to safeguard the place where all his friends lived¡ªor had he also formed an attachment to the Princess that went beyond mere friendship? He knew he had at least wanted to impress her. And had his eyes dwelled a little too long on the neckline of her dress that evening? He had definitely noticed how it looked on her. How long had he spent on noticing that? Was it longer than it should have been, from a friend? At least his gaze would not have made her uncomfortable. One of the positive qualities of insect eyes was that no one could tell what his mind was focused on within his large field of vision. Don¡¯t get your wires crossed, he told himself as she turned back to face him, holding the door open, still smiling¡ªsurely with no idea in her mind of what he was thinking about. She just told you that stuff so that you would understand the context when the brothers bring it up in the future. Don¡¯t start thinking about Rosslyn that way. You¡¯ve been doing well at making friends in this life. Don¡¯t go and try to make things complicated and embarrass yourself. 2-51. Nothing Good Comes of Eavesdropping After the awkward conversation, Adon fluttered past Rosslyn and into the palace. She walked off in the direction of the room where she and Adon had trained, and Adon had to decide what to do next. He could go back to Goldie and Samson¡ªand probably dodge questions about his chat with Rosslyn for the next ten minutes. Or he could find a way to occupy himself for a while, until the spiders had embroiled themselves in some activity of their own. Adon decided to pay the Dessian brothers a visit. Maybe it was Rosslyn¡¯s slight paranoia about the foreigners and their intentions from dinner rubbing off on him, or maybe he was holding the visitors the King had invited to a high standard in his own mind. Perhaps it was the sketchy subtext to the conversation they had started when they spoke to him and the others earlier in the evening. But he found that he wanted to know things that they would not have revealed at the dinner. He figured they would probably be getting back from their conversation with the King around then. After all, Adon knew that Alistair only really wanted to lay down ground rules for them for courting his daughter. The brothers probably would not want to hang around with the older man for longer than they had to after that conversation. Adon flew to the wing of the palace that had been allotted to them for the duration of their stay and found them in William¡¯s room, engaged in conversation already. He could hear the dull sound of the brothers¡¯ voices through the closed door, but not specific words. The walls were clearly built to be thick enough to deter would-be eavesdroppers¡ªeven though being able to eavesdrop on guests would be an advantage for the Royal Family. But of course, Adon was not reliant on the sense of hearing to know what people were thinking. When people spoke words out loud, they also thought them, either at the same time or slightly before they spoke them. He simply fluttered up to the exterior wall of their space and activated Telepathy again. She really did grow to be beautiful, thought William. Adon heard the muffled sound of the words coming out of the lord¡¯s mouth as he spoke. So, he is into the Princess, Adon confirmed. Well, the butterfly had already observed that at dinner. You do like them fierce, thought Frederick. There is little softness about her. Hardly a woman at all. Adon continued to have ambivalent feelings about Frederick. He had been critical of both Goldie and Rosslyn in his thoughts, but he also seemed to hold a genuine fondness for the Princess mixed with that critical side. Adon had not taken nearly the full measure of his character. As if you would ever be the one to complain about that, William thought. But Adon noticed that he didn¡¯t hear a voice accompanying the thought through the wall. So, maybe that was just an internal impression rather than something William said aloud. She is a tigress! This was William¡¯s inner voice again, but with sound this time. Every woman does not have to be as soft as our mother¡­ Are you really telling me that you would not be interested in a dalliance with her, at least? Her features are a little sharp, but her form has filled out well enough. And you know I like an athletic girl. She is far from the least attractive woman our father has tried to match me with. Likely the highest status match I could hope for, unless I am willing to wait the better part of a decade for Princess Saskia to come of age¡­ Adon felt a complicated cocktail of feelings as he overheard William talking about Rosslyn that way. He supposed he was glad for Rosslyn that her suitor wasn¡¯t dismissing her¡ªthough Adon was conflicted about that¡ªbut the things that William liked about her seemed quite shallow. He thought she would be fun in bed and would increase the lord¡¯s status. I guess this is how people think in this period, Adon tried to tell himself. There was silence for a moment from the younger brother. A dalliance, Frederick thought finally, with accompanying sound. You know she is not my type. All too well, came from William in both thought and sound. Silently, he added, You prefer feminine men over women. And aloud again, You know our father does not understand that, though. I can only make so many excuses for you and your lifestyle. Eventually, you will have to marry¡ªa woman. Wait, is he gay? Adon wondered. Some of the little thoughts from Frederick began to make more sense. Ugh, thought and said Frederick. I would rather bugger the butterfly. You would, eh? William thought and spoke the words, and he punctuated them with a laugh. He had a pleasant, rich voice¡ªthough it is strange to think of copulating with a creature. Adon heard the distinct note of disgust in both Frederick''s thoughts and verbal speech. It was hard for him to be too offended by Frederick¡¯s objection to human-mystic-beast liaisons, though. The idea still seemed a little strange to him. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. I don¡¯t want to sleep with you either, Frederick, Adon thought quietly. I should remind you that if the stories about their powers of transformation are true, mystic beasts can be whatever form they want to be, William responded. At least for some period. I would expect there are some limitations. But imagine that. The spider female might be a female in the technical sense, and she possesses all the biological functions of a female¡ªshe is of proven fertility, for instance¡ªbut behind closed doors, when the two of you are alone, she could indulge your most debauched fantasies with a body that would reshape itself to her partner¡¯s wishes. It is the best opportunity you could hope for in a marriage. You think me quite depraved, but you seem to have thought about this particular fantasy a lot, Frederick thought and said. Does our father know he raised two perverts? William laughed again, then spoke and thought, For someone who expects so much understanding from others, you are quite prejudiced, you know? I am just keeping myself open to the possibilities that nature offers¡ªand speaking frankly to my brother, who I dearly love and whose happiness is my foremost wish. You pretend to be so open-minded, so cosmopolitan, thought and said Frederick. Someone who has seen it all and is unfazed. But does it truly not bother you that your Princess is missing an eye? Or that she likes to spend all her days training monsters? Adon found that he disliked the way Frederick used the phrase ¡°your Princess¡± to describe Rosslyn. William had not won her yet. Adon was bothered about the comment on Rosslyn¡¯s eye, too, but he understood it. Frederick wasn¡¯t interested in her, so he was dissecting every little thing he didn¡¯t like. I do not think our friend, Sir Butterfly, would appreciate that, William thought and said. His tone started out humorous, Adon noticed, but became more serious as he spoke. He has been the very soul of chivalry since we have met him. Calling him a monster compares him with all those random creatures we have killed over the years for attacking innocent people. He seems as if he would not hurt a fly. Well, that¡¯s nice of him to say, Adon thought. Between the two of them, Frederick seemed to be the only one who might have a real problem with mystic beasts. I would definitely hurt a fly, though. Or a wasp, or a crow, or a bat¡­ In fairness, I was a very hungry caterpillar. Then Lord William continued, and he absorbed all of Adon¡¯s attention as he shifted to a different topic. As for the Princess, it is a shame. She would look better with a matching set of eyes. But maybe losing one was a good experience for her. I like her fierce, but only indoors, preferably only in one room. If she is to be Queen, it is high time she quit playing at war and settled herself to the business of making babies. When she and I are wed, the serious matters of war and peace will be my job. Adon found his body shaking with rage as he listened to what William really thought of Rosslyn. He deactivated Telepathy so that his increasingly loud, angry thoughts would not leak out and reveal his presence. Maybe it¡¯s good that she lost an eye?! Fuck you, William. Fuck you! He only seems to mind the fact that she would be prettier if she had both. Not how it¡¯s changed her life. And he thinks he¡¯s going to take over running everything when the Kingdom is all she cares about? Fat chance she¡¯d let that happen¡­ He just wants to turn her into a baby machine¡­ If Adon had been a human, his breathing would have grown heavy as he listened to the infuriating words. Even as a butterfly, though, his emotions drove his body in ways he did not fully understand or control. Before he knew it, Adon¡¯s wings were moving on their own, flying him away, getting distance, moving anywhere, as long as the path took him farther from the lords¡¯ space. He was quite sick of them. He had heard more than enough. If he stayed any longer, he might reveal his presence. His wings took him down the halls, through a maze of passages that his eyes barely saw, so infuriated was the butterfly. He didn¡¯t know what he was looking for until finally, he ducked out through a slightly open window and found himself face to face with this world¡¯s moon. The moon was bright and full that night, and a semblance of calm settled over Adon as he gazed up at it. His body settled itself. The wrathful emotions that had stirred him into action minutes earlier had begun to wind down. He still wanted to take his anger out on something. But in the light of the full moon, he was reminded of how small he was¡ªhow the universe was much larger than him and much larger than this country. His feelings were also small next to the universe. They were even small next to the country. He was reminded also that this particular life was small next to the vastness of his experience in other, distant realities¡ªother incarnations. There is nothing for me to be angry about, he told himself. What I witnessed was probably not unreasonable for this world. Remember how different social traditions are in different times and places. This world already has many customs I don¡¯t understand¡ªeven the idea of monarchy and nobility seems quaint and funny from the standpoint of certain worlds I¡¯ve lived in, right? That was all probably true. It still didn¡¯t sit well with him. Adon knew Rosslyn well enough to know that she would not want to be second-highest authority in her own country¡ªright? He thought he did, at least. Sure, she cared about the alliance with Dessia, and it might be important to Claustria¡¯s security¡­ But she had spent a lot of time and effort becoming a worthy leader to her people. She trained her body constantly and kept her magic skills honed to a fine point. That effort would all be wasted if she was expected to step aside in favor of whoever her husband happened to be, stop being a fighter, and just churn out baby after baby to secure William¡¯s lineage. Yet it wouldn¡¯t make sense for William to expect her to do those things unless that was the social norm here. So maybe she was all right with that. Perhaps she had reconciled herself to it long ago. It was hard to believe¡ªand hard to know what to do next. One thing was clear: he could not go and talk to Rosslyn about it tonight. He would not be able to control how he expressed himself. He might say things that were completely unhelpful to either him or Rosslyn. It wasn¡¯t as if his social skills were particularly refined at the best of times. As Adon forced himself to think through everything he had heard once more, he felt boiling hot emotions threatening to drive his body into wild action again. This time, he was outside in the open air. He decided to look for something wild to kill. Preferably something much larger than himself. Maybe that would calm him down. 2-52. Flying Fox The butterfly flitted through the moonlit night, his body almost glowing in the intense light of the full moon. He danced through the sky like an autumn leaf, floating just above the palace rooftop, eyes looking out for prey. The cool night air was pleasant but barely registered with Adon fully in murder mode. As he sought an opponent, he was every inch a monstrous predator despite his diminutive species. He felt a little like a big game hunter, back in his old stomping grounds: the exterior of the palace. Finally, he was truly the deadliest thing out there. He wanted to take on something larger than himself, something that a normal butterfly would not have been able to kill. It would alleviate the feelings of powerlessness and rage that he had felt overwhelmed by in the last quarter of an hour. Adon¡¯s unblinking insect eyes scanned the garden and rooftop for the creature or creatures that would become his unfortunate victims. But the night was mostly quiet. The rooftop was empty of nesting birds or any insect large enough to be worth the butterfly¡¯s notice. He saw on the ground below that there were some of the night creatures he had previously observed as a caterpillar wandering the grounds of the garden. A hedgehog, but that would be no challenge at all at this point. A vole¡ªno, he still felt bad about letting a whole family of voles die when he was afraid of the Red Slayer Wasps a few weeks back. He wasn¡¯t hurting any voles. Plus, a vole would also be no challenge. Adon saw a possum walking the grounds and shook his head. That animal was better, larger, more formidable than the hedgehog or the vole¡ªbut still too weak. A fox raced through the garden and snatched the vole up in its jaw, then ran away. For a second, Adon wanted to fly after it, but he hesitated as his conscious mind considered it. The red-brown blue darted under some bushes, and he recognized that his opportunity had passed. That fox booked it out of there, he thought, his mind a strange mix of frustrated and amused at the sight of the bushes lightly rustling with the fox¡¯s retreat. It was as if it knew that the eyes of a superior predator were upon it¡ªor it knew that the palace contained many fearsome life forms. It could have been using some sort of extrasensory perception, perhaps related to Mana. Regardless of the reason why, the creature was out of sight long before Adon could make up his mind to give chase. And he was back to scanning the ground for a suitable opponent. Damn it, there¡¯s nothing in this garden that can offer me a challenge¡­ He turned to the skies above, but they appeared empty too. Would he have to fly out to the forest nearby? He shook himself slightly. Get out of your own head, Adon, he told himself. Just kill whatever animal you see next. It¡¯s better than getting yourself even more worked up, because you don¡¯t see a fucking apex predator hanging around the palace garden. It was a laughable idea, really. As if the palace would happen to have a pack of wolves just sitting in the backyard. The palace¡ªand by extension its garden¡ªwas located within a walled city, not a wilderness. There were trees outside the walls and a forest nearby, but big, scary animals were typically afraid of the noises of human settlements. There was no reason the Claustrians¡¯ capital city, Wayn, should be any different. Adon took a moment to center himself¡ªand braced to spring at the next thing that crossed his eyes. After a moment, approaching from just outside his range of vision, some medium-sized, black shapes glided through the sky. The winged figures were smaller than owls but far too large to be moths or other, similar insects. Their bodies were furry, with stretched-thin skin wings that the yellow moonlight shone through. It took Adon a moment to be sure of what he was seeing, but when he recognized them, he felt a little shoot of joy spring to life inside himself. Bats. It looks like just over a dozen of them. Adon remembered being attacked by a bat in the garden back when he was a caterpillar and barely winning the encounter. That had been one on one. So, a group of bats might be a semi-appropriate challenge for him now. Yes, bats would do nicely. The flying creatures seemed to be moving in a near unison, like birds. Adon perversely hoped that they were as coordinated as they seemed, as that would add to the challenge. They were larger than the one he had fought before, too, he realized as he stared. It was more obvious as they drew closer to him. For a moment, he had thought that they might be the adult versions of the Little Brown Bat, if he had perhaps fought and killed a young one. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. No¡­ Actually, these things are definitely big enough that I could have mistaken them for birds¡­ There¡¯s no way ¡°Little¡± would be in their species name. They looked so much larger than the Little Brown Bat, now that they were so near him, that he doubted he would be able to eat them all. But he would bring the leftover meat home for Goldie and Samson. He hoped that freshly hunted meat would be as good for them or better as receiving the benefits of what the palace could provide. And the young spiders needed their growing food. He used Identify on one of the larger ones to figure out what this species was. Greater Claustrian Flying Fox (Male) Interesting. I guess that name is because you¡¯re so large, ¡®Flying Fox.¡¯ He rose into the air and fluttered close to the back of the group bats, which had passed over his head while he was staring at them and were now drifting toward the garden slowly, lazily, on the current of the wind. Their movements, in a swirling line, were almost hypnotic in their steady, rhythmic quality. Adon had not planned this out at all. He intended to thrust himself into the Flying Foxes¡¯ space, let the bats give him their best shot, and then he would simply counter and destroy them with brute force. He would probably mainly use the Transformation Adaptation for his offensive, along with enhancing his body using Mana. If he absolutely had to, he would try turning invisible or roasting them with fire magic, but he doubted invisibility would help, given that bats tended to have echolocation, and he didn¡¯t think he would need to use fire magic. He doubted these creatures would have any Mana-using Adaptation other than the sound attack the other bat had employed¡ªassuming that it used Mana as Adon suspected. He remembered his fight with the Little Brown Bat perfectly, and he expected that these specimens would not have any powers that he couldn¡¯t deal with. As he got close to the group of bats, a large bat near the back of the line of creatures¡ªwhat Adon¡¯s mind instantly interpreted as a rearguard¡ªturned to look at him and clearly observed his approach. Then it simply turned to face away again, following along with the group. Does this species not eat insects? Adon wondered. Or was it possible they had some other prey in mind? He was not offended that the bats didn¡¯t see him as a threat. He understood that was only natural at this point. Adon held in place, fluttering lightly to avoid falling, while he watched the bats fly down to the garden. His question was answered as he saw the first bat in the group land on a flowering tree and stick its head into a flower. The other bats joined it in tucking their heads into the first flowers they came to. The first one stuck there for thirty seconds or so and then moved to another flower. Adon was unsurprised to see the area around its mouth shining with a clear, reflective liquid. It had taken only a moment¡¯s observation for the butterfly to recognize that the bats were sucking down nectar. Just like Adon when he had no source of meat present. All right, then. Vegetarian bats, probably. No use waiting for them to attack me¡­ He glided down to the closest bat and landed on its back. The Flying Fox had its head stuck all the way into the center of a flower, but it twitched in response to the light weight landing on its body. Adon sensed that the bat would withdraw its head in a moment and try to resist him. Almost everything in nature had a self-defense mechanism of some sort, in his experience. He wasn¡¯t going to wait for this bat to try to employ its own. Before it could back its head out of the flower and perhaps try to throw him off, the butterfly used a quick Transformation to turn his proboscis into his old mandibles. He turned to get a sideways angle on the neck, and he closed his jaws decisively. Crunch. There was a crack of bone and a gentler sound of the chitinous blades cutting through the flesh around the bone. The head sagged away from the base of the neck, and the body went instantly limp underneath Adon. Then the figure of the Flying Fox slumped slightly forward, head tipping forward into the flower it had begun to feed from. The body¡¯s movements were like those of a drunk whose face had fallen into an exceptionally large mug of ale. Through his feet, Adon felt and tasted as the blood began to pour out of the Flying Fox¡¯s stump neck, into the flower bulb, and back out again, commingling with the flower¡¯s natural nectar. The salty-sweet mix of blood and nectar was richer and more intoxicating than either one alone. The butterfly¡¯s instincts told him that this brew of liquids would be an unusually nutritious meal. He quickly released his focus on the Transformation, allowing his mandibles to turn back into a proboscis¡ªthey snapped back to their original shape like he¡¯d just let go of a rubber band¡ªand he inserted the long, straw-like appendage into the flower. Then he slurped up the bloody, sugary juice. It was nowhere close to the ambrosia that the eagle¡¯s blood had been. Still, every gulp restored some of the energy he had just exerted flying and transforming his body¡ªand brought Adon a dark satisfaction. I should make sure to try this blend again, he thought. Would it be weird to ask for blood and nectar mixed together in one cup at the palace? As he consumed the first bat, Adon¡¯s natural impulse, deeply ingrained in his body at this point, was to slip into a feeding trance. He only barely registered it as the remaining Greater Claustrian Flying Foxes slowly withdrew their heads from their flowers and shifted their bodies in unison to glare at the interloper hungrily consuming one of their brethren. That is, the movements were obvious enough to Adon¡ªbut they seemed to barely merit his attention. He mostly wanted to enjoy the delicious meal in front of him. As the entire group of bats around him turned in his direction, he recognized that he could not afford to simply lapse into his usual semi-conscious state while eating. He was about to be in a fight. There was a low hiss from the largest bat, standing on a branch parallel to Adon, around a foot away from him. Its lips pulled back to show its teeth in a shuddering, snarling expression. Despite being a nectar-eater, the beast had sharp, pointed white knives for teeth. Adon¡¯s reaction was that with its mouth twisted that way, it looked even uglier than bats normally did. But he was far from intimidated. Bring it on, he thought. He shifted his weight on his first victim¡¯s body, ready to spring off at a moment¡¯s notice, continuing to drink the heady mixture of blood and nectar until the last moment. He realized he was beginning to feel excited. It made sense. He was ready. He had provoked this deliberately. Now he was getting what he wanted. The largest bat made another noise. A low, guttural sound. It took a step forward. Then the whole colony threw themselves at Adon at once. 2-53. Experiments As the Greater Claustrian Flying Foxes hurled themselves through the air just above the flowering tree, Adon felt time almost slowing down. The colony of bats had lunged at what must have been their top non-flight speed. But compared with the Golden Eagle or Rosslyn¡ªor even relative to the Eagle-Owl¡ªit was like they were leaping at him through pudding. Adon watched them for a moment, marking each bat¡¯s position in his mind before he took action. With a thought, he sent Mana pulsing from his core, through his frame, and into his feet. He took one final suck on the stream of blood still pulsating out of the dead bat¡¯s body, and then he flung himself upward. In an instant, he found himself rocketing up, above the bats that were still moving through the air, following their momentum toward the place where Adon had just been. His proboscis trailed behind him, pulling out of the dead bat¡¯s neck stump with a small pop. He reached out to the place where he had discovered mental magic weeks ago, and he connected with that power. His mind accelerated to a much faster processing speed. It was as if the slow-moving bats below him had actually paused in midair. His mind devised and discarded a dozen plans of attack in a fraction of a second¡ªand also quietly recognized, then dismissed, the fact that mental magic itself had grown noticeably more powerful than before. He estimated that he could hit all the bats with a psychic scream like what he had used on the wasps, but probably fifty percent more powerful than the previous one had been. But it wouldn¡¯t kill them, he felt certain. The scream hadn¡¯t been that effective on the simple-minded wasps, only killing a few of the physically closest ones, and mammals were an order of magnitude more complex and intelligent. If the only effect of such an attack would be to stun the bats, it would be a waste of focus and Mana. He didn¡¯t need to stun such slow-moving creatures. Most of the violent methods Adon considered revolved around the Transformation Adaptation, which had already proved effective against the first bat he targeted. Mandibles were too limited. He didn¡¯t want to kill the bats one at a time. Infusing Mana into his wings to use them as blades would have a similar issue. Adon finally settled on his method. The bats were still moving super slowly through the air¡ªnot truly paused after all, just slowed drastically down¡ªand he checked their locations once more. Then he took a fraction-of-a-second, imprecise count of how many spines his body was covered in. The number had declined post-Evolution¡ªhis body had reshaped itself to make it almost impossible that he would accidentally pole himself in his delicate wings¡ªbut he still had dozens of the deadly weapons. Should be enough. The butterfly made a series of small changes to every single one of his spines¡ªan act of extraordinary focus that he knew was only possible with the aid of mental magic. He took aim as best he could, using the slowed down experience of time he was enjoying and his recollection of the Little Brown Bat¡¯s anatomy to best advantage. And Adon launched his counterattack. Forty-eight spines shot out of his body, propelled by the combination of his Spine Shot and Telekinesis, which both caused the spines to move faster and guided them into their targets. Every single spine found its target, in a variety of critical locations on the bats¡¯ bodies. Where he could, Adon aimed for identifiable veins and arteries. They planted themselves in the mammals¡¯ delicate bodies with a pleasant series of light thuds reminiscent of darts striking a dartboard. The bats let loose a series of pained shrieks to all sides of Adon. To his relief, the sounds were no more painful to his ears than ordinary sounds of suffering and pain. That is, these bats did not seem to share the Little Brown Bat¡¯s echolocation attack ability¡ªor, if they did, they were not using it on him, perhaps worried about affecting each other in the close quarters of the fight. The butterfly stopped using mental magic and began to drink. The spines had remained connected to Adon¡¯s body by thin tubes of flesh reminiscent of the material of his proboscis. That, plus adding a hollowed out tip to the ends of the spines, were the changes Adon had made to his body with Transformation. His spines had gone from merely penetrating the enemy¡¯s body and injecting a small amount of venom to providing a straw through which Adon could drain the bats of their blood. He sucked in forcefully, and all eleven of the still-living bats began bleeding through the various regions that he had pierced and into Adon¡¯s numerous straws¡ªeffectively draining their blood into his stomach. Weakening them to make himself stronger. The wounds, most of which had deliberately been inflicted in areas Adon expected would be highly prone to bleeding, pumped blood into Adon¡¯s extra probosces, and he felt the rich, hot liquid restoring his power even as Transformation steadily drained it. The resource draining and the refueling processes seemed to keep pace with each other, keeping the Transformation sustainable. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. The bats stuck with Adon¡¯s dozens of needles wiggled and writhed in the branches of the tree, but Adon ignored their movements for now. Most of the movements were quite weak. He had struck each of them in critical areas, he was fairly certain. Even if one managed to pull off of the spines that impaled it, the bat would still have had venom injected into more than one vital area, and it would be in immediate danger of bleeding out through the resulting holes in its body. As the bats suffered, slowly but surely bleeding to death through the tubes Adon had connected¡ªand very quickly and visibly weakened by the venom he¡¯d injected¡ªthe butterfly alighted near the top of the tree, a foot above the closest bat. He watched as the dark fluid flowed from the bats into his body, and he quickly began to feel bloated. One bat finally yanked itself free from Adon¡¯s spines after a minute of struggling. Then, staggering drunkenly and bleeding profusely from a half-dozen wounds, it plummeted off the top of the tree and struck the ground, where it continued bleeding, forming a small puddle around itself. Adon looked down but otherwise ignored that single, unmoving bat. He was still drinking from the others, and he did not want to disconnect from them to go pursue the bat that appeared to be near death. When he was finally more than full¡ªBiomass stocked up so high that he thought he would begin shedding his skin if he consumed anymore¡ªAdon pulled his spines free and dismissed the Transformation. His body snapped back to its former shape like a rubber band stretched to the limit and suddenly released. The bats continued bleeding, dyeing the flowers and the leaves beside them a deep red that shone in the moonlight. Adon saw how all of the bats had fared, and he was satisfied with his performance. With only one move from the butterfly, the fight had concluded. He was becoming a very efficient killer. In fact, he felt slightly smug. He knew that these bats were nothing compared to the predators he had just hunted in the forest and by the mountain, and he sensed they were even more insignificant next to the enemies he was likely to face in the future, but still¡ªto have such a one-sided fight when he was outnumbered felt like a drastic improvement in his combat capabilities. Even the slight headache hangover from using mental magic could not dampen his spirits. On the ground, far below, a possum¡ªperhaps the one Adon had seen when he was scouting for prey¡ªpicked up the mostly dead Flying Fox that Adon had seen drop earlier. The butterfly did nothing about it. He had all the other bats, after all, for the spiders. Nothing was bothering him in the treetop. Perhaps the other animals in the garden were too prudent to try to scavenge in a place where a dozen animals had been killed within such a brief period. Adon thought about how he would transport the bodies, and he quickly settled on wrapping a half-dozen up with silk¡ªhe still had a silk-generating organ, he thought a half-dozen was plenty, and he did not think he could easily carry the rest of them, even drained of their blood. He moved up and down the leafy canopy for a few minutes, moving a selected few of the Flying Foxes closer together. Then he spun his silk around them, forming a densely packed cocoon around the bats that used up some of the extra Biomass he had accumulated beyond his point of satiety. Finally, he stood still, resting his body atop the silk-wrapped package, and he waited. Adon had alleviated his feelings of weakness somewhat, he had worked off any alcohol in his system, he had enjoyed an after-dinner snack, boosted his Evolution Points, and conducted a test of his current combat capabilities¡ªbut there was one more experiment he wanted to perform before he went inside to the spiders. After the dinner conversation with the Duke¡¯s sons and his separate time spent with Rosslyn, Adon was very curious whether he would be able to complete a Transformation into human form. It seemed to be the natural next step for a mystic beast that had reached maturity¡ªand something that Adon needed to know if he could do. Thus far, he had performed only small Transformations¡ªadjusting the size of his wings or antennae, turning his spines into needles. Shapeshifting into a whole different species was something else. The kind of power a fantastical beast in a magical world should have. He wanted to try on a thousand different skins. He could be a dragon again, or a spider¡ªor a human, of course. That had been Adon for the plurality of his incarnations in the past. Human, and a loser in his own mind. Although Adon was grateful for his butterfly life, and he would not have simply become a human if given the option, it was exciting to think about temporarily being human¡ªand doing human things for a while. Even if he could only hold the Transformation for as long as he could remain focused on it, he would enjoy being able to wear a human face for some period of time. Having a conversation in which other people could actually see his facial expressions. He thought he had the confidence for that now, at least with his friends. He was still iffy on having any conversations with people he did not know at all, and he could imagine how violently he would have cringed after some of the things he¡¯d heard and said at dinner if he¡¯d had a human face that evening. Being a butterfly had some definite advantages. But being able to throw a punch or swing a sword or perform other functions impossible for a butterfly some of the time would come with a lot of obvious perks too. Based on his experience thus far, the power would probably continue to be limited by the duration of his focus as well as his pool of Mana, but both of those had continued to grow stronger, alongside his other abilities, following his Evolution. The key question was if he could make the Transformation at all. If he could do it once, his Transformation duration would only improve with practice. So, Adon waited for the Mana he had expended fighting the Flying Foxes to fully recover. He waited to conduct an experiment that would tell him where he was in his growth as a butterfly¡ªand a mystic beast. The butterfly waited outside and alone, because although he was eager to make this attempt, he had already dealt with a roiling pot of hot and unpleasant emotions this evening. More than anything else, at the moment, he did not want anyone else, even his friends, to witness his attempt if he failed. If he embarrassed himself out here with no witnesses, Adon thought he could handle it well. That might be a bit harder if Goldie or Rosslyn or Samson saw. Under the moonlight, he waited until his Mana had filled up completely. Then Adon flapped his wings and flew down to ground level. If he was in human form, he might break the upper tree branches with his weight. The butterfly focused his mind on the shape he wanted to embody with his Transformation, and he poured his power into making that vision a reality. Adon¡¯s body began to change. 2-54. Transformation, Take One Adon¡¯s exoskeleton expanded and contracted, broke down and re-formed, as his body sought to obey his command and reshape itself to a degree it had never attempted before. The process of trying to use Transformation to shift to a different species was the closest that Adon had come to dismantling his own body since Evolution¡ªin which he had actually dissolved into a semi-liquid state before forming a new body. Rather than melting down, this transition was more of a twisting, crushing, and rearranging of the solid matter that was already there. The physical sensations accompanying this semi-destructive process were naturally far more uncomfortable than anything Adon had felt in his prior attempts at using Transformation. No¡ªas the feelings lingered, Adon had to admit that it was not mere discomfort. He was in a lot of pain! What had he gotten himself into? It seemed that expanding his wings or lengthening a limb or two was miles away from trying to shapeshift into a completely different species. Maybe he had bitten off more than he could chew right now. Be patient, the butterfly told himself. This will pass. You know how to endure pain. That¡¯s how you achieved a lot of the progress you¡¯ve already made. His mind flashed through incidents like his poisoning at the hands of the dead Ladybug Larva, his near death experience when he and Goldie fought off the ¡°thief spiders¡± mooching off of her web, and the time when he had been forced to run to the limits of his endurance to survive the Vendetta Ants chasing him. The capacity to endure unpleasant things might be what distinguishes this incarnation from every other one. It¡¯s at least one important factor. Maybe that¡¯s what life is. You endure what you have to, and just on the other side of the thing you think you can¡¯t endure, you find the treasure. If you don¡¯t push yourself beyond what¡¯s comfortable, how will you ever know what you¡¯re actually capable of? How will you ever push past your limits? For several minutes, he bore the pain in silence, attempting to be philosophical about his suffering. It was made more difficult by the fact that he could see no signs of any actual progress. Whatever changes were happening, the butterfly was not capable of examining his own body visually without the aid of a reflective surface. Adon had never seen his wings directly except when he expanded them to a massive size. And his size had not increased enough with his Transformation attempt thus far for him to see any part of himself. He only heard and felt the cracking and crunching of his exoskeleton being smashed apart repeatedly as he attempted this strange metamorphosis. The butterfly simply endured¡ªand willed the process to continue. Finally, his pain resistance began to crack under the constant pressure. It felt like a dam about to burst. If he¡¯d had vocal cords, he would have screamed or been forced to bite into his lips to contain the urge. Instead, his body actually tried to scream¡ªdefaulting to a human, instinctual reaction to try to relieve pain. What actually happened was that he forced all the air out from inside him, pushing it in what felt like the proper body movements for a scream. Fortunately, with no biological ability to vocalize loud or human sounds, all his attempted screaming amounted to a tiny, piercing whistling noise as air was expelled from his body. Good, he recognized. An actual scream would have been embarrassing. He had chosen to be outside and away from witnesses for a reason. More than pain, he was afraid of embarrassing himself. He did not want anyone to think he was weak, and if he failed to change his shape, as he was beginning to suspect he might, he didn¡¯t want anyone else to know about it. It would be a way in which he was falling short of the previous mystic butterflies¡ªjust as he had fallen short as a dragon. Even as Adon¡¯s pain threshold broke, and he tried to scream, he could tell that a part of his will had remained untouched by the physical suffering and firmly in possession of his faculties. That part of him was in the driver¡¯s seat. It was still actively willing Transformation forward. At least it¡¯s not as painful as Evolution was, that detached part of him told the suffering whole. And the willful inner observer also knew that his endurance was having some results. Even if he could not see them as yet, he felt it as his wings and spines twisted and deformed into new shapes. The sensation presented itself as an almost tortuous pain, but he could recognize that his form seemed to be changing in the right direction, expanding in size and shifting toward a more humanoid body structure. After another minute of this, he finally began to be able to see some results before his eyes. First, he saw the ends of some unidentified appendages beginning to stretch out before him. The obscure chunks of flesh elongated further in front of his eyes as he maintained his focus, and he felt the beginnings of a reward for all his patience. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. As these unfamiliar pieces of his changed body grew longer, he was gradually able to identify which pieces of himself he was looking at. Adon saw a pair of extraordinarily pale¡ªpartially translucent¡ªhands extend in his field of view. They were strange and disproportionate little hands with long, thin fingers. But they did not look like human hands. The digit ratios were completely off, there were no knuckles or other bones beneath the transparent skin, and the fingers felt completely weightless and lacking in substance. If hands like these had belonged to a human, Adon would¡¯ve had pity for them. They reminded him of a pair of white latex gloves that had been filled with air like balloons until they reached the point of bursting. Did I fail at understanding the complex structure of a human body or something? It feels like this is a copy of a copy of a copy of a pair of hands, and the copier machine ran out of color ink in the middle¡ªor like I asked for a pair of hands to be made, but the sculptor had never seen human hands before and had to go off my description. He could sense that there were wrist-like structures that attached the hands to his body as well. Perhaps the arms would grow out normally. Arms were structurally simpler than hands. Based on the hands, though, he wasn¡¯t optimistic. The wrists were probably limp, boneless spaghetti things just like the fingers on the hands. Still, he had to remind himself that he was making progress. Even the shape of hands and wrists was a great leap forward. As he was trying to look on the bright side, Adon suddenly felt the most intense pain of the experience up to that point. The fingers of the fake hands felt like there were burning hot pins sticking into them, stabbing up and down the fingers. The pinpricks were spaced one centimeter apart, from the fingertips to the base where they met the hand. All he could think was that perhaps the elastic of his balloon hands was finally approaching its limit. Maybe Adon was about to pop. Despite the pain, the willful part of him that remained in control of the process was still pleased that the wrists were extending in front of him. Every second he continued, he told himself, he drew closer to actually having a full human body under his control. If he managed to get this right¡ªor even close to right¡ªhe knew it would be easier every subsequent time he tried to do it. He focused on the coloration, and the skin of the hands and wrist quickly shifted. It became less translucent for a moment, and less inhumanly pale¡ªmore like a human¡¯s epidermis and less like a length of stretched out white rubber. Then, suddenly, everything reversed. Adon heard a series of cracking sounds, and his new hands jerked toward him so fast the fingers blurred before his eyes. Then they were gone. He couldn¡¯t feel them anymore, only his normal butterfly body. He knew, without being able to see, what had happened. The same thing that had happened to him before, whenever he released Transformation. Once again, his body had flicked back to its standard settings. Replacing the pain of the Transformation attempt was the pain of a pounding headache from the complete exhaustion of all his Mana. Damn it, he thought. The first attempt was a failure. But he couldn¡¯t deny feeling a bit of relief that it was all over, at least for tonight. Even the intense headache that gripped him was a mild sensation by comparison with the pain of trying to use Transformation to become human. He wasn¡¯t too down about this, though. In the back of his mind, he had known there was a high chance of failure with this first attempt. If he had thought he was very likely to succeed, he probably would have done it in front of witnesses. As he considered how things had gone, he even told himself that previous mystic butterflies had probably also needed to practice and train this ability¡ªor perhaps needed to hone the Adaptation to a higher tier of power. Adon was able to take the failure as a learning moment¡ªand even take a bit of inspiration from it. If he had been unable to reach a human form, when previous mystic beasts had acquired it, that meant that he had not hit a plateau yet. There was more potential to be explored, more power to be unlocked, more training that he could do. The previous mystic butterflies had probably attained a higher level of power than me before they even revealed themselves to humans, he thought. The only reason why that didn¡¯t apply to me is that I wanted to make this the lifetime in which I made friends¡ªand that Rosslyn and her father brought me out of the garden. He flapped his wings and rose from the ground level, fluttering up toward the treetop again. Adon was grateful that his body did not continue suffering the pain of the Transformation attempt as he moved through the air now. His cells seemed to have forgotten how their owner had twisted and reshaped them, or perhaps he was just hardier than he had imagined. For that matter, I¡¯m lucky nothing tried to attack me while I was using Transformation. But he supposed that he probably would have looked horrifying to any creature that saw him while he was in the middle of reshaping his body. To the extent that he appeared human-adjacent in his distorted shapeshifting attempt, he would have been especially terrifying to any of the garden creatures that had encountered the humans from the palace before. Adon landed among the leaves and saw his bundle of silk-encased bat corpses, untouched, where he had left them. He bounced over to the bundle and grabbed hold of it with his legs. Then he began flapping his wings again, trying to fly the bundle back to the palace¡ªback to his friends. He found that his body was barely capable of lifting the bats from the treetop. Trying harder seemed to make his head pound more forcefully, so he made himself stop, having only moved a few inches forward from where he had started. Right, I guess I¡¯m usually using Mana to strengthen my body. It¡¯s probably pretty amazing that I can lift the bats at all, using a flimsy butterfly body, with my Mana totally depleted. I¡¯ll have to try really hard if I want to get these things home before my Mana regenerates. He considered simply sitting and waiting. Patience was one of Adon¡¯s virtues. But he finally decided to treat it as an exercise. He had not been this constantly reliant on Mana as a caterpillar, had he? Shouldn¡¯t he be stronger after Evolution? Even if he wasn¡¯t, he should exercise to become stronger. He certainly could not allow himself to grow weaker over time. He would not necessarily be able to rely on Mana to perform every task that he needed to perform. With internal questions and arguments like those, he persuaded himself. In the end, the butterfly did not wait for his Mana to regenerate. He took firm hold of the bats, flapped his wings with a more concentrated effort, and he flew them from the treetop into the palace. Adon was proud when he set the silk-wrapped gift down in front of Goldie and Samson. He had only dropped the bats and had to pick them up again twice along the way. 2-55. Just Spidery Thoughts Welcome back, Adon, Goldie sent drowsily as the butterfly settled on the bed covers beside her. She looked up and to the right of where Adon had landed. There was a candle up there that the servant who had carried Samson back had lit¡ªto make it easier for the butterfly to find his way back to the room later, the man had quietly explained. It seemed the candle had succeeded in its mission. Thank you, Goldie, Adon sent, clearly trying to use his inside voice. Please don¡¯t let me keep you from resting. You know how little rest we need, Goldie replied. Where is Samson? Adon asked. Unlike Goldie and the younger spiders, her firstborn was not sitting on a pillow in the bed. He wanted to try his hand at creating his own web, Goldie sent. I think he went down into the room where we waited for you to emerge from your chrysalis. Or he might have decided to move in the opposite direction, up towards the top of the building. Perhaps whatever he thought would be most challenging¡­ Just like you, he is never happy except when he is doing something productive. Usually trying to teach himself to do something that he does not know how to do yet. I¡¯m sure he only wants to make you proud, Adon replied¡ªvery diplomatically, in Goldie¡¯s mind. The spider had only realized after she had sent her message that there was a way Adon might have interpreted it as a kind of criticism of his and Samson¡¯s inability to ever simply relax and be, which was not her intention. She decided to change the subject. Thank you for bringing¡ªshe looked at the tightly wrapped bundle of something that was almost as large as her body¡ªfood? They¡¯re a bunch of big bats, Adon replied energetically. The species are called Greater Claustrian Flying Foxes. Such an effective hunter, Goldie praised. I will never be able to emulate your skills. Her friend responded with his usual self-effacing denials and return compliments, and Goldie tried to convey how sincere she had been in what she had said in her message. She was impressed¡ªand grateful¡ªtwo effects Adon had often had on the spider. She¡¯d had some time to digest her dinner and build up a little appetite again. More importantly, she was pleased that her children would have the chance to feed on Adon¡¯s catch. From the size of the bundle, this would be a species far above the baby spiders on the System¡¯s hierarchy. The little ones, even Samson, still had a lot of growing to do before Goldie would feel they were truly large and strong enough to be safe without her constant watchful eye. She would probably consume one of the bats herself, since she was the largest spider and needed far more regular nutrition than the others. But she intended to leave the rest for her young. As Goldie was thinking about how nutritious the bats would be for the hatchlings, she picked up on something odd in the way Adon was moving his body. She shifted her focus from the silken package to the butterfly again. Adon was still fluttering his wings in a herky-jerky way, stutter-style, though he was clearly not trying to fly anywhere, just sitting on the bed. It was as if he could not hold still. Adon, are you all right? Goldie asked. I¡¯m fine, Adon replied. I just spent some time, um, exercising, and I¡¯m still winding down. You mean the hunting? she sent. Her friend paused for a moment, and the spider recognized that he was hesitating as he thought about what to say. She wondered if Adon had a secret of some sort. It would be a little surprising from him. Ever since they were the only fellow sentient life forms in the garden, she remembered how they had shared virtually everything with each other. But things have changed since we moved into the palace, Goldie thought. No, I don¡¯t mean the hunting, Adon finally sent. Have you acquired the Transformation Adaptation yet? No, I was planning to buy it, but I only just saved up the points, Goldie sent. I have been thinking I would ask you if it was a good idea first, or if there was something else I should acquire that would be more useful. What about it? Adon paused for a long moment again. I can tell you, because I trust you, he replied. The Transformation Adaptation is something kind of special about mystic beasts¡­ He spent the next couple of minutes awkwardly explaining why Transformation was so special. So, humans and mystic beasts? Goldie asked. It was hard for her to picture, but she thought it provided a lot of context for the noble brothers¡¯ dinner conversation. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. And Adon had just spent the last quarter of an hour or so trying to use Transformation to shift into a human form himself? What did that mean? What were his intentions if he succeeded? It¡¯s such a weird idea, right? Adon asked. There was an awkward, slightly forced laugh in his telepathic message, and Goldie wondered at the meaning of that. It makes sense, given how interested in us the young lords have been, Goldie sent, thinking carefully. And maybe the Princess and the King have been thinking about us from that angle too. Anything is possible, Adon transmitted in a skeptical tone. I guess we¡¯ll never know. You could know anytime you wanted, Goldie thought but did not send. You can listen to all our thoughts now, even when we do not try to make them easily readable for you. All you would have to do is bring up the idea in front of the Princess or the King, and you would know the answer instantly, as soon as they reacted. The spider refrained from transmitting that thought and tried to keep it contained as well as she could, because she thought it was possible that there were some things that the butterfly simply did not want to know¡ªor would at least feel uncomfortable prying into. She could respect that. If the, um, mystic beast to human Transformation subject happens to come up with Rosslyn, please feel free to let her know I told you, Adon added. The spider could not imagine a situation in which the topic could simply happen to be raised if Rosslyn did not think that the arachnids already knew about it, but she didn¡¯t bother to point that out. Adon probably already knew it, and this was his subtle way of saying that he did not mind if Goldie discussed the topic and told the Princess what she knew and how she had learned it. I wonder why she did not include us in the conversation in the first place, Goldie sent. It seems like something important for all of us to know, me and Samson as much as you¡­ She did not resent the Princess for playing favorites a little, but it was confusing in this case. Goldie could not see how it was in Rosslyn¡¯s interests to tell Adon and not the spiders about this critical piece of information, especially when the brothers had been willing to make insinuations on the subject at the dinner table that evening. I think she probably would have told you guys, too, when she had to, Adon replied. You weren¡¯t there, so I get why you don¡¯t understand her decision. My guess is, it was very embarrassing for her just to have the conversation with me. Her face was burning up. It would have been worse if she had to do it with all of us. I had actually asked a question about why the brothers wanted to know certain things, so she kind of had to tell me in order to answer my question without lying. If it was so embarrassing, why didn¡¯t she lie? Goldie wondered but did not transmit. Instead, she sent, Will she be unhappy that you told us? Was it a secret? Adon replied instantly, I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll be unhappy, but it is a secret for her family. The other humans might not like it if they know, I think. But I figure if we can keep it to the arthropods, she won¡¯t mind that I passed it on. Like I said, I really think she was going to tell you and Samson, but she didn¡¯t want to embarrass herself any more than she had to tonight. Goldie wondered, very quietly, if there was some more personal reason why Rosslyn had only told Adon, even knowing that the information would likely be passed on to the spiders later¡ªas she must have. The Princess was a clever young woman with a good ability to read people. She had seen through all of the young lords¡¯ veiled comments and questions easily enough, at least. And she had spent more time around Adon, Goldie, and the spiders recently than she had around William and Frederick. Is Rosslyn looking here for a mate? Goldie thought. She again tried to keep her musings contained far below the surface of her mind, where Adon might accidentally receive them. Well, I am glad you did it for her, Goldie sent, responding to Adon¡¯s message after a small delay. I know you are not inclined to keep us in the dark about anything. Right, Adon transmitted. There was an uncomfortable note, as if he was holding something back. Then he added, I should tell you that I passed the brothers¡¯ room when I was coming back from the conversation. They were talking about us too. Of course, they know about Transformation. And William is trying to get Frederick to pursue you while he pursues Rosslyn. You had a very complicated evening, Goldie sent. So many secrets, from dinner to your garden conversation, to things the young lords were saying in their space. How will you keep them all straight? There was a slight teasing edge to her voice, but it covered for her own feelings, which were a complicated and contradictory mixture. She was pleased for Adon¡ªand the Princess¡ªif she was reading their situation correctly. Goldie thought that there was no more considerate person the Princess could choose for her mate than the butterfly. He was brave, kind, loyal, and strong. There was an intensity to Adon, and a need to prove himself, that Goldie had never been able to soothe herself. But maybe Rosslyn was the person who could do that. Goldie had seen the way the Princess¡¯s validation of his magic skills or combat prowess would leave Adon floating through the rest of an afternoon. At the same time, Goldie was not certain she could welcome any romantic attention herself. At least not right now. Perhaps not at any time in the near future. No, the more she ruminated on the idea, the more certain she was that the idea was quite impossible. She had her children to think of, before anything else, and Red, her mate, had been dead and buried for only a matter of weeks. A widow required a decent amount of time to grieve. It was impossible for her to think of mating or even opening her heart up to another potential loss before she could think of Red without becoming too emotional. Even as she remembered him in this context, thinking about romance, her body felt heavy and hot, full of indescribable tension. Weighted down by grief. Not loneliness, exactly. She had never been lonely since her spiderlings had hatched. Samson and his siblings would keep her company, probably for the remainder of her life. Just as Adon¡ªthe other member of her family¡ªwould. Goldie did not know when she transmitted any of those thoughts and feelings to Adon. She did not even know if she transmitted them, or if Adon¡¯s increased Telepathy powers simply meant that he intercepted some of them inadvertently, soaking up her feelings like a tragic perfume in the air. She knew he must have understood something of how she felt, because Adon flapped his wings, fluttered across the bed, and then embraced her with his thin, spindly limbs. After a surprised moment, Goldie hugged him back with her much longer, thicker spider legs. The two invertebrates, both cold-blooded, could not share any meaningful body heat between them, but there was a kind of warmth in the embrace nevertheless. Perhaps it was simply that they had a shared loss, and they each cared for the other deeply. Regardless of the motivations, Adon and Goldie held each other for a long time. As they remained wrapped up together, the candle that the servant had left burning extinguished itself in a pool of hot wax. 2-56. Brunch and Future Plans The night moved quickly for the motionless Adon and Goldie. The butterfly hardly noticed that time was passing at all. At some point, he was aware of movement, but only because Samson and the other spiderlings had approached them on the bed. Seeing the way that Adon and Goldie were wrapped in an embrace, the little spiders joined them. Adon was aware that he was part of a strange bundle of exoskeletal embracing¡ªbut it was basically just a group hug, so he didn¡¯t move. In his barely-conscious mind, it was a moment that reminded him of what the spiders were to him: found family. He drifted off into the quiescent state that approximated sleep for him, and the next thing he knew, the world was bright and alive again. It was a servant passing by the door of the room that brought him back to alertness. The female servant was named Celeste, Adon dimly recalled. He activated Telepathy to say ¡°Good morning¡± to Goldie, and he was surprised to note that he didn¡¯t hear anything from the servant. Lately, he overheard a lot from other people¡¯s inner monologues, whether he wanted to or not. She must be very focused on her work, he thought. Who is focused on what? Goldie thought back sleepily. It was only then that he realized he had sent his thought out. I have to be careful about that, he told himself quietly. Good morning, Goldie! Adon sent in a chipper tone. I hope you rested well. I feel very energized, thank you, Goldie replied. She still sounded slightly groggy, but the spider began to move. How are you feeling? she added. Oh, I¡¯m all right, Adon replied automatically. The butterfly wasn¡¯t really up for assessing how he was more broadly first thing in the morning. Yesterday was crazy, he recalled quietly to himself. But he didn¡¯t dwell on it just then. As Goldie moved, he disentangled himself from her and wiggled his limbs experimentally. He found that everything was working perfectly well, despite his having rested entangled with the spider. Back when he was a human, sleeping in such an awkward position would have left his limbs useless for some minutes after he woke up¡ªassuming that he somehow fell asleep in a position like that in the first place. What are we doing today? he asked. It¡¯s really good to be back with you guys again. It depends on the Princess, Goldie replied. Do you know if Rosslyn is coming to train us today, or if she is busy? Rosslyn, Adon thought quietly. He had spent so much time thinking about her, talking about her, tangling himself in knots around her, yesterday, that his mind was exhausted on the subject. I don¡¯t know, he finally sent. We can wait a little while, then, Goldie replied. I expect that the servant who brings the morning meal might know. That will be soon, I think¡ªthough, thanks to you, I am not hungry at all this morning. That sounds fine to me, Adon sent. Both arthropods seemed to want some quiet after the fraught events of the previous night. Adon didn¡¯t exactly need to be alone with his thoughts this time. It was more that he wanted to be free not to think for a while. He and Goldie gave each other that. They stood together quietly in the shifting morning light for perhaps an hour. The spiderlings, including Samson, interrupted the silence with brief morning greetings, but after Adon and Goldie¡¯s responses, they seemed to get into the quiet mood themselves. The hatchlings were still practicing web construction, and they set about that, while Samson started practicing Mana Manipulation. Adon thought that the hatchlings looked a bit larger today than he remembered them being when he last had a good look at them, but they quickly moved out of his sight before he could decide for certain whether he was just seeing things. The butterfly sat in an almost meditative state for a while, though his eyes couldn¡¯t help darting over to look at Samson occasionally. His little brother was having trouble getting his Mana moving the way he wanted across his body. The butterfly was no psychologist, but Adon knew his brother¡¯s personality well enough that as he saw the herky-jerky movements, he thought he knew what the nature of the problem was. In Adon¡¯s eyes, it looked a little bit like a mental block¡ªlike maybe, just maybe, Samson¡¯s tendency to analyze, intellectualize things¡ªand arguably overthink them¡ªwas actually getting in his way, as it only rarely had in the incarnation in which they had been biological brothers. It was Samson¡¯s peculiarity, the element that reminded Adon that they were family. Adon had often had trouble with overthinking social interactions; Samson applied an analysis paralysis level of consideration to other decisions. It was why he ultimately took up running as a sport¡ªwhy they had a treadmill in the house that Adon had died trying to reach¡ªand why Samson had been successful academically and professionally. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Adon had just decided that he would go over and help Samson when a servant came in with a covered silver dish. This, Adon assumed, was breakfast. He activated Telepathy. Excuse me, he sent to the servant, but do you know if the Princess will be visiting with us today? The servant froze for a moment at the sound of a voice in his head, then seemed to relax as he realized the sound had come from Adon. Then he bowed low. ¡°No, honorable beast, I apologize. I am afraid that I do not know the answer to your question. However, I am aware that the King has arranged for the Princess to give the new guests the full tour of the palace grounds and the city today. I am given to understand that the Dessians have not visited Claustria since they were children.¡± Adon fluttered his wings, slightly uneasy at the thought of the brothers walking around with Rosslyn¡ªstill slightly angry about the conversation he had overheard the previous night.Then he quieted the movement of his body. The servant was looking at him, a slightly confused expression on his face. Thank you, Adon quickly sent. That does answer my question. He knew from flying over the city that any kind of a comprehensive tour would take the full day. Even if the brothers and Rosslyn stuck to the nicer parts of the city, he was certain that there would be many attractions to keep them occupied. Adon decided to put the issues related to Rosslyn and her courtship as far from his mind as he could for the day. He would focus on getting Samson and Goldie as comfortable and familiar with Mana Manipulation as he could today. He had some ideas of how he might help Samson, and he imagined that Goldie would probably benefit from some tutoring, too, assuming that her competency was around the same level as Samson¡¯s or even slightly ahead of his. The servant removed the cover from the dish, and the room filled with the odor of two freshly slaughtered and bloody birds¡ªIdentify said they were Ortolan Buntings. Beside the birds lay three small eggs, which Adon guessed were probably related to the birds. Then the servant stepped into the hallway and retrieved two covered goblets for Adon. ¡°I will return in an hour to collect Your Excellencies¡¯ dishes, if that is acceptable,¡± he said, bowing. Thank you, that should be perfect, sent Goldie. The servant smiled and departed. And the spiders dug in. Goldie had not been lying about her appetite being less than normal¡ªshe ate one of the bird¡¯s eggs but did not touch the birds themselves. But the spiderlings more than made up for her lack of appetite. Adon had been correct, when he looked at them earlier, in thinking that they had grown larger. He fluttered over to the other side of the bed and saw a small pile of exoskeletons from where they had shed their skins and allowed the remains to litter the floor. Samson had shed and grown, too, Adon realized. It was just less noticeable than it had been before, because he was always the largest of the siblings. They¡¯re really growing up, he thought¡ªand wondered for a moment whether Goldie had noticed how quickly it seemed to be happening, before he reminded himself that, Of course, dumbass, she¡¯s their mother, how would she not notice that? He found himself curious as to how she felt about it, though. Larger spiders meant safer spiders, of course, which was good. But another consequence of rapid growth was that they would want their independence sooner¡ªpotentially leaving Adon¡¯s friend feeling lonely or abandoned. Hopefully things would not play out that way, but he could not help but worry a little. The consequence of their rapid growth right now was simply that the little spiders swarmed over the Ortolan Buntings and ravenously consumed them. Adon tried a little sip of one of the birds¡¯ eggs, but he otherwise left them to the spiderlings while he consumed his own liquid foods. The little spiders devoured the eggs, with the same violent eagerness they had shown the dead birds. He thought the palace would soon have to start sending larger meals, if this kept up. Or Adon would simply have to keep occasionally hunting. The butterfly decided he would not bother bringing up the growth of the spiders and the need for more food for now. He was fairly certain that he could handle this if all it might take was hunting for more food. He would enjoy handling the issue. After the meal was finished, Adon decided to step into the role of trainer. He approached Goldie first. I was thinking, Rosslyn¡¯s probably not showing up today, since she¡¯s busy with William and Frederick, he sent, so why don¡¯t we train together? If you and Samson improve your Mana Manipulation faster, it makes it safer for all of us if the Kingdom suddenly gets attacked. I appreciate the offer, Adon, Goldie replied. And Samson and I could definitely use your training. Neither of us is close to catching up to your skills. Since you brought it up, though¡­ I have to admit, I have sometimes wondered, if the Demon Empire that has been repeatedly mentioned actually attacked the Kingdom, what all of us would actually do. What we would do? Adon repeated, a little unsure of what Goldie was getting at. Yes, Goldie replied. I do not think the Princess or the King really expect me or Samson¡ªand certainly not my littler ones¡ªto fight in a war. We are spiders, and a matter of weeks ago, I was running from a maid with a broom in the palace. I doubt that I am seen as a formidable warrior right now. But I have been uncertain what they might expect or hope for. I have thought that we would want to help out¡ªthey have been very kind to us¡ªbut I must consider what is best for my children first and foremost. They are growing rapidly, so quickly that soon they will not need me¡ªmuch though I would like to spend as much time with them as I can. She continued, Perhaps that means that I should help out in any fighting myself, to the extent that I am able, but try to usher my children to safety. The idea is frightening, but perhaps it is the right thing to do. This country honors and appreciates intelligent insects and spiders as it seems that few others do, and the Princess has earned our friendship. Then I wonder what that would mean for Samson. He is my eldest, and he is probably almost as capable of fighting as I am. Certainly, with magic, he would close the gap in our abilities. So, should I try to keep him out of the fighting¡ªor leave him to decide for himself? Then I think about you. About me? Adon replied, repeating again¡ªagain taken a little off-balance by Goldie¡¯s train of thought, and in this case by how much thought she had obviously put into it while he was hunting or at other times when she could not discuss the issues with him directly. He wondered if she had made up her mind about what she wanted to do already, before they could discuss it together. He couldn¡¯t blame her if she had, of course. He already had strong feelings about this place and the Royal Family. What do you want to do, Adon? Goldie stared at him with her unblinking black eyes. You are my only friend besides, now, the Princess. You are the one I know best and feel closest to in the world, by far. My children are family, but in the life cycle of spiders, it is likely they will be self-sufficient long before any war comes. The Royal Family talk about it as an impending threat, but that is as humans reckon time. For us, it is a long way away. By then, I will have no duty to anyone¡ªno need to worry about anyone¡ªmy children will have their own lives. Except you. For me, it all comes down to you. Me? Adon repeated. This felt like a lot of responsibility Goldie was placing on his shoulders¡ªand a fateful decision for Adon to make. 2-57. Half-Made Decisions and Training Goldie stood very still, letting her words hang in the air, as she waited for her dearest friend to decide their fate. Me? Adon asked once again. Goldie, I¡ªI don¡¯t know if I can decide something like this for you. Make you go to war or run away¡­ You¡¯re not making me, Adon, Goldie replied. She had known this was how the conversation was going to go down. Adon was never forceful, never inconsiderate, in trying to get what he wanted. It was one of his sweetest qualities. He was gentle. I¡¯m choosing to go where you go. This life, I get to choose what I do and where I want to spend my time. She had to restrain herself from mentioning that Adon had saved her life, probably more than once, and she would not be free to choose anything if he had not. Knowing Adon, he would interpret that as meaning that she thought she owed him a life debt. In my last life, when I was human, Adon sent, the words flowing out slowly and carefully, I lived in a country where life was very soft and easy for the average citizen. We never wanted for anything, and we never had to worry about wars. Goldie just waited. She knew Adon was waiting for her to ask questions, but she also knew that he had a point he was getting to. I remember one of the countries friendly to us was invaded, and they had to fight for their independence against their much larger neighbor, Adon continued. That¡¯s kind of a tangent, sorry. Anyway, there was a poll for people in my country, and it sticks out in my memory. In the context of an ally being invaded, people were asked if they would fight to defend our country. Most of them said they would, but members of my generation mostly said they wouldn¡¯t. That is, the young people who had grown up in the country when it was the wealthiest and most prosperous¡ªwhen it was the best place to live that it ever had been¡ªwere the least likely to say they would defend it. What are you saying, Adon? Goldie asked. She had meant to let him elaborate on his own, but she was beginning to feel she was losing the thread. I guess I¡¯m saying that everyone feels they have their own reasons to fight and not to fight, Adon sent. It would feel wrong for me to decide that you should or shouldn¡¯t go to war. Everyone has their own reasons, and they don¡¯t even have to be rational. It depends on how attached you feel to the place you live. Well, I am attached to you, Adon, Goldie replied. I can take the country or leave it, but I imagine you have a stronger opinion. All right, you¡¯re right, Adon admitted. I do have a stronger opinion about the country. I like it here. I like the Royal Family. I would fight for this place. And I have an even more selfish reason for wanting to fight. When I reincarnated, I wanted this life to be different than all my past lives! I wanted to be loved, have lots of friends, and make the most of this life that I could. And for me, I think the thing I can do that would make this incarnation really count, in terms of my impact on other people, is if I could help save this country from being conquered. The Demon Empire sounds awful¡ªwe¡¯ve only heard one side, but usually, the people who want to invade other countries aren¡¯t the good guys¡ªand I think maybe that¡¯s why the Goddess put me here. So we stand and fight! Goldie replied. She had been inclined to leave, personally. Goldie had a healthy self-preservation instinct. Still, she was ready to commit this life to fighting alongside her friend. A spider¡¯s life was meant to be short, anyway, and maybe they would win. It just feels awful to be responsible for making a life or death decision for you, Goldie! Adon sent. He sounded frustrated. It is all right, Adon, Goldie sent. Remember how many incarnations you have had. There will be other lives and other deaths. No, Goldie, there might not, Adon replied. What do you mean? Goldie asked instantly. The reason why I made such a big deal about this incarnation is that I think it could be my last, Adon sent. In my last life, there were advanced scientists studying the soul¡ªthe part of you that carries on between incarnations. They thought that across incarnations, souls were diminishing¡ªshrinking, disappearing. The souls in the present day were shadows of their former selves. Like worn out clothing developing holes from repeated use until there¡¯s no fabric left. So, we might not get another incarnation. That¡¯s why it bothers me so much to think of being responsible for your life and death decision. Well, that is¡­ Goldie tried to think of how to respond to what Adon had just told her. Had he ever mentioned this before? She had trouble remembering a specific conversation. It felt like something that she would remember. Maybe he had never thought it was relevant before. Perhaps he had explained it before, but she had not properly understood. She knew she had become more intelligent with the quality of food Adon had provided her and her Evolution. She remembered Red¡ªand the thought that she had occasionally had, that she might see her mate again¡ªand then she forcefully pushed the thought from her mind. Can¡¯t think of that now, she told herself harshly. Focus. Focus on what Adon just said. What does this mean? How does it change the decision? She felt that she knew the answer almost immediately. Then this life means more, Goldie agreed. For both of us. So I will fight and maybe die alongside my friend. And perhaps it will be the final incarnations for both of us. If it is, that is all right. Better to die beside a friend than to live on and die in some place where no one knows me, or live on long enough to become decrepit and a burden to my children! Goldie¡¯s words did not exactly express her natural preference. She was afraid to die. Honestly, she had sometimes felt afraid of going outside even without any obvious risk of death. A part of her suspected that she might change her mind later¡ªeven though she hated that thought. She knew that it would be a massive betrayal if she did. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. This was just a lot of new information to take in, and it was hard to know how she would come to feel about it in time. She had rushed into this decision that Adon had wanted her to make carefully, and a part of her already wanted her to take it back. But she knew that she did not want Adon to be alone if he decided to fight¡ªand perhaps eventually died¡ªat the hands of the Demon Empire. That fact stood out with bright clarity above all else. As she wrestled with those inner conflicts, Adon responded to her. We can discuss this another time, he sent in a heavy tone. Yes, she replied listlessly. Goldie wondered if her doubts had leaked out to Adon¡ªif he thought she was a coward. For now, is it all right if I try to help you and Samson get better at magic? Adon asked. I¡¯ve been thinking that it would be best if we were all able to fight to our full potential. That¡¯s true regardless of what we decide. And I know Samson wants to get better with Mana. I figured you still feel the same way? His inner tone of voice was doubtful and awkward. It felt as if the two of them had taken a step back in their deep, hard-earned familiarity. But the answer to his question was obvious. Yes, I still feel the same way, she transmitted, trying to put some pep into her voice. That¡¯s good, Adon replied¡ªalso putting some vigor into his tone. Either they were both putting a positive face on things, or his mood was starting to look up. Whether the one was true or the other, Goldie responded to the tone emotionally. She started to feel just a little better. How do you want to do this? she asked. He gestured at Samson with an antenna. Goldie saw that her oldest son was circulating Mana around his body. He had been doing it the entire time they were talking. Maybe you can do that, too, and I¡¯ll try to help you both get better, Adon sent. If you say so, Goldie thought¡ªbut she did not allow herself to send it. Positive, upbeat thoughts right now, she told herself. Sounds like a plan! Goldie sent, in a tone that felt falsely chipper even in her own head. She moved over to where Samson was, before Adon could say anything back, and she reached deep inside herself and began circulating a little spark of Mana across and over her body too. Adon opened the telepathic channel they had been communicating within to Samson. Samson, I¡¯d like to try and give the two of you some pointers on Mana Manipulation, if you¡¯re interested, the butterfly sent. The young spider almost lost his focus completely and barely retained control of the spark of Mana that was moving around his body. He brought it to a complete halt on the upper left side of his back before he responded. That sounds great, he sent with genuine excitement. I appreciate you volunteering. I, uh, wasn¡¯t sure about asking you. I figured you had other things to do. Goldie was reminded of the tangled relationship between her oldest child and her friend. Today, it seemed to be moving in the right direction¡ªalbeit at the same time that her relationship with Adon seemed to have been thrown into question. What do you want me to do? Samson continued. Um, for now, how about both of you continue circulating Mana, Adon transmitted. Then I¡¯ll watch and see what tips I can give¡ªand maybe give you a special demonstration that I couldn¡¯t do before. Goldie found herself curious what he meant, despite the slight funk she had slipped into. What had Adon learned to do now that he couldn¡¯t do before? Had he unlocked a new Mana Manipulation tier or something? For now, she shifted her focus to controlling the little spark of Mana that she had withdrawn from her core and maneuvering it around her body. She knew that she was still a little bit ahead of Samson in terms of the deftness of her Mana Manipulation practice, but they were both very far behind Adon. To Goldie, that meant that she had to put her complete focus into this exercise, or she would probably look hopeless. For the next long while¡ªGoldie had no idea how much time passed¡ªshe moved Mana around in loops, zigzags, and long cycles up and down her body. She did this as quickly and with as much control as she could. Although at first she lost control of her spark and had to fetch a new chunk of Mana a couple of times, soon she was in a rhythm. This was not so different from dancing¡ªthough she had no clear memories of dancing, she thought she must have been good at it in another life¡ªand the flow of it was pleasant. After she had done twenty cycles without losing control of her spark, she noted in the edges of her vision that Adon was giving tips to his brother, gesturing with his antennae and sending messages to Samson alone. This continued for the next three cycles. Goldie knew that Adon giving Samson attention first was probably because her son was still just slightly behind her, and she simply continued her practice and waited for the teacher¡¯s eye to fall on her. Sure enough, after some time helping Samson, Adon fluttered over beside Goldie. You¡¯re pretty good at this, he sent. Even without help, you picked it up quickly. I wonder what makes the difference between each of us. She decided that Adon was just thinking aloud, so she kept most of her focus on the spark and did not respond. Then something reached out and touched her. She felt warmth flow through her body, and a bright light passed over her range of vision as she realized that Adon had released a second spark to float over her body. She didn¡¯t know how he had done that. She could not separate her own Mana from her body, as far as she knew, yet he was not touching the little particle of light. It was moving seemingly independently. Perhaps that was what he meant by giving a demonstration that he could not give before. He mentioned that he bought Telekinesis! Goldie recalled. That must be it. Regardless of the mechanism, for as long as half an hour, the two sparks raced in silence over Goldie¡¯s body. She learned by observation and example, where Rosslyn had taught before mainly by lecture and dialogue. The spider found that a second method reinforced the lessons from the first well, and she noticed her Mana Manipulation move much quicker and more reliably as she raced with Adon and tried to make her spark beat his in laps around her shape. It was a silly game, but she felt some of both of their lightheartedness recover with the low-stakes practice exercise. Just as Goldie thought she was drawing about even with him in speed, he pulled back his spark and reabsorbed it. All right, I have one more thing I want to try, Adon sent. We cannot stop now, I was about to get ahead of you! Goldie replied jokingly. The two of them exchanged telepathic laughter. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any rush, he replied. Then Adon resumed the game with her, and they played back and forth for another half hour before he called a pause again. 2-58. Vision Training Part 1 Done already? Goldie sent, slightly disappointed. Well, I would really like to try this other idea of mine, Adon sent. I hope it might help you and Samson even more than these little nudges about Mana Manipulation. Are you ready for it? Absolutely, Goldie replied immediately. Adon sounded energized by whatever idea he was interested in trying, and Goldie was happy to try whatever would help keep him in a better mood. She already felt a lot better after playing the silly Mana spark-racing game for the last half hour. It was frivolous but very relaxing. She watched as Adon turned to address Samson. Goldie was particularly curious to see how Samson was doing as Adon faced him. In the moments before Adon spoke, she saw that the movements of the spark of Mana around Samson¡¯s body were much smoother than they had been before. Whatever Adon had said to him, it had worked. Hey, Samson, Goldie and I are going to do something to try and get you guys to the next level, do you feel like joining in? Adon sent. He still sounds shy, Goldie thought. Even though he is talking to his brother from another life. Sure, Adon, Samson replied. He immediately¡ªand very smoothly, in Goldie¡¯s view¡ªstopped circulating Mana around his body and pulled it back inside himself. What did you have in mind? Um, if you two can just sit tight for a minute, I¡¯m going to try to send you something through Telepathy, Adon transmitted. We will be waiting patiently, Goldie sent, trying to be reassuring. The two spiders opened their minds to whatever Adon was going to send them, and they waited. For a couple of minutes, they simply stood there. Goldie avoided allowing words to cohere in her mind. She did not want to become impatient or break Adon¡¯s focus with any wandering thoughts. From the stillness of his body, she guessed that he was doing something difficult in terms of mental horsepower. As she was waiting, it hit her. A strange experience that enveloped her as if she was suddenly surrounded by¡ªsomething¡ªor transported somewhere. It was hard for her to comprehend exactly what was happening, but whatever this was, it stimulated all her senses. What is this, Adon? Goldie asked, fascinated. What mama said, Samson agreed. Adon did not answer. It seemed to be taking all the butterfly¡¯s focus to keep doing what he was doing. The butterfly had opened a telepathic channel to both of them at once for the next stage of his instruction, and he had transmitted something¡ªwas still transmitting something. But what he had sent them was not a stream of his thoughts and ideas¡ªor at least it was not a stream of verbalized thoughts and ideas. It wasn¡¯t even images or sounds, or at least not images and sounds alone. Adon could never have explained everything he knew about Mana Manipulation in words to Goldie and Samson. Yet Adon had spent virtually the whole of his time alive mastering magic. Even Rosslyn had been impressed by his level of mastery in such a brief life. So, what he sent them was something different from an explanation. Something different and distinctly better. It wasn¡¯t a lecture, a visual, a feeling, a sound¡ªit was all of the above at once. Adon was transmitting whole memories from his mind into theirs. That was the only way Goldie could make sense of it. He seemed to have a perfect recall of everything that had happened to him as he was learning magic, and he made use of it here. Goldie stopped trying to split her attention between Adon and the experience he had sent them. Clearly he wasn¡¯t going to answer them right now¡ªperhaps could not answer them. She focused fully on the vision Adon was transmitting, and her vision of the present world and moment faded into the background. This was the memory of the first time he had formed his Mana ball attack. She felt the way his body interacted with his Mana, the muscles that tensed and released as the power gathered from within his core, and the degree of concentration he achieved in his mandibles before the Mana took physical shape, almost uncontrollably, preparing to burst out of his body in an explosion. Goldie even felt the background details¡ªthe surface Adon was perched on, the air touching his body¡ªbut her attention focused irresistibly in the same place where his had been focused. On the action of Mana Manipulation. She sensed how easily it could have gone out of control, how much pressure it placed on his body that first time, and how he ultimately released the blast almost as much to avoid accidental self-destruction as to test out a powerful new ability. She saw the destruction the Mana ball caused to the plants around him and felt the pleasant shock at its power from Adon¡¯s perspective. Perhaps most importantly, Goldie felt that she understood how her own body could produce the same feat. It was like he was showing her an instructional audiovisual memory of the skill he had developed, but instead of Goldie being an observer, she was able to interact with the memory as the being from whose perspective it was told. Oh, this is remarkable, Adon! she exclaimed. Like a movie, Samson added, using a word Goldie didn¡¯t know. Or a video game! Goldie felt slightly curious about that second comparison. This did seem game-like in a way, except that she and Samson had no apparent influence over what happened, because it was a memory. But what did the word ¡°video¡± mean? The vision faded to black suddenly. I could not keep it going any longer, Adon sent, offering a very brief explanation. She could sense the fatigue in his voice. Need a rest now. The butterfly fluttered down to the foot of the bed¡ªeven his wingbeats looked slightly exhausted now!¡ªand he settled on one of the bedposts where he could relax in the sun. Adon did not move or speak again until the servant came with their lunch. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Then he sent a tired telepathic message thanking the man for the food¡ªtoo tired, apparently, to send the message only to the servant, as Goldie had gathered Adon was doing earlier, when he and the uniformed man had discussed where Rosslyn was, and Goldie only heard the servant¡¯s half of the conversation. I should not let Adon use this ability to help us too much, Goldie thought. It seems very draining. If one of us ought to make leaps and bounds in magic, it should be Adon. Samson and I learning to throw his Mana ball will not make nearly the difference in a war that Adon could make if he continues to improve and learn as he has. He cannot do that if we wear him out by letting him play us his memories. Still, the progress that she and Samson had made while Adon had been sitting still was remarkable. Although she had forbidden Samson from attempting the Mana ball indoors at the outset of their continuing their practice¡ªit would be pretty terrible if they suddenly started destroying the palace just because they were finally learning some useful abilities¡ªshe now felt that she could form Adon¡¯s Mana ball if she wanted to try. And her practice of the basic exercise had improved by an order of magnitude. Where she felt that she had previously struggled to properly maintain and maneuver a single little spark of magic moving around the surface of her body, now she juggled six easily, each moving as quickly or faster than the one she could handle before. It was something in the basic way that Mana was supposed to move within and around the body. Something that Goldie had been slowly discovering and that Adon had grasped much more quickly and easily¡ªperhaps something that came to him by instinct. The spider almost felt guilty for improving so much without the commensurate effort involved. It was like she had stolen the notes of a magical genius. But she knew Adon wouldn¡¯t feel that way, so she didn¡¯t let it bother her at all. Rather, she was mainly just impressed with how much Adon had learned in such a short time. She knew she had only seen a small portion of it with the beginning of Adon¡¯s vision training. Goldie thought that he might actually be a genius, naturally extraordinarily gifted in using this world¡¯s Mana and magic systems. As she ravenously tore into her lunch, Goldie considered more exercises but felt slightly handicapped by being indoors. She really wanted to try firing Adon¡¯s Mana ball at a target. She thought she might try to make her way there after her food had disappeared. The butterfly consumed his own, liquid lunch almost as quickly and voraciously as the spider had, which made an amusing sound: an intense slurping noise that filled the room. Adon seemed to be too tired to be self-conscious or apologetic about it, but in her own mind, Goldie quietly laughed. With the wine and nectar consumed, the butterfly began to move again. He flapped his wings and crossed back over to where Goldie and Samson sat in the lunch platter. Adon was noticeably more energetic than he had been after the full-senses picture show he had given them earlier. Would you guys like to go through some more memories? he asked as he landed. I think I could do that again one more time today. How about we go outside instead? Goldie answered instantly, before Samson could say anything. I would like to practice the Mana ball attack that you showed us, but we cannot do it inside. She was almost certain that Samson would have said ¡°yes¡± to Adon¡¯s question, and she wanted to give Adon a rest. Samson seemed to read her tone. Yes, I think it would be great to see if we can do it too, he quickly agreed. It looked like a powerful attack! Um, all right, Adon replied. He suddenly extended all six of his limbs until they looked like they were made of spaghetti and reached out to Goldie and Samson. After a moment¡¯s hesitation¡ªthe spaghetti legs were just so weird¡ªthey latched onto the legs, and Adon took off carrying them. The butterfly flew through the open door and along the hallway until he came to an open window, then fluttered out into the air. A moment later, the arthropods were above the garden. I wish I had wings, Goldie thought for the first time in her life. She was not a very outdoorsy spider, and if she was out here alone, she would have been on high alert, looking for threats, but Adon¡¯s mobility was amazing. And flying gave Goldie a strange feeling that was hard to describe. Was it the wind blowing over their exoskeletons? Or maybe the feeling of weightlessness from being carried? Or the slight hint of tension at the possibility that Adon might drop them¡ªeven though Goldie knew well how harmless that would be¡­ Her mind flashed to Red. She remembered the time that she and her mate had been caught on a lizard¡¯s tongue, then saved by a bird snatching the lizard up¡ªonly to be attached to the bird by the lizard and its tongue. Red had saved her by chewing through the tongue until they fell away, safe. He had saved her. What her body remembered from that experience, though, was the experience of flying and then falling. A low-grade anxiety rippled through her. The spider¡¯s body shuddered slightly, and she clung to the spaghetti leg a bit more tightly than she had intended to. Samson, dangling beside her, seemed to notice Goldie¡¯s sudden discomfort immediately. Adon, could you set us down somewhere? he asked. It would be nice to have a solid surface to rest our feet on. Oh, of course, Adon replied instantly. A moment passed before he added, Are you two all right? Just fine, but I agree with Samson, Goldie replied quickly. You don¡¯t need to downplay it, Samson sent quietly, to Goldie only. But she gave her head a gentle shake. Adon just spent half of the night making me feel better about your father, she sent. I am missing him again, but it will pass. It is simply something I have to live with. I do not want to bother our friend right now. I know he misses Red too. All right, mama, Samson replied. Adon fluttered down to a nearby bush, where Goldie and Samson could stretch their legs. The environmentally stimulated memories began to fade, and Goldie felt her body calm down. She pulled on a happier memory of Red to try and banish the emotions she was feeling. She remembered the day that he approached her to mate. Red had been so shy. He had approached her with a hunk of wrapped up prey¡ªit might have been a cricket, but she was never sure, because it was so thoroughly covered in silk. But he had not approached directly, not at first. No, Red had moved from his web to a corner of the plant Goldie had affixed her web to, then hung out on a leaf for the first half day. He was waiting for some sign, she knew in retrospect, that she would be receptive to his advance. What got him to move was when another male spider showed up and tried to proposition her. That male was much pushier, advancing to the center of her web with his offering with no hesitation. Unlike Red, the other male had clearly already partially eaten his gift before presenting it. And Red was much more generous; his present was even larger than him. Knowing that she had a better option sitting in the leaves near her, Goldie had been considering whether to shoo the second male away or prey upon him. That was not the norm for her species, but advancing right to the middle of her web, her prime hunting spot, was also a breach of etiquette as far as she was concerned. But she didn¡¯t have to worry about it. The male suddenly writhed in pain, and as he twisted his body, Goldie saw Red on his back, biting him and injecting his venom. The approach of a rival had motivated him to close in and secure his partner. Goldie felt flattered. Normally, the smarter move for Red when facing a male of roughly equal size would be to simply move on to another web¡ªanother female¡ªor at least to let Goldie decide between them. Instead, Red had risked his life to put himself forward as the choice. She took this all in for a few seconds as Red and the other male injected venom into each other. Then she realized she needed to rush in to guarantee the outcome she wanted. By the time she made it to close range, however, the interloper male had already let go of Red. The male was crawling away, trying to escape Goldie¡¯s web. Despite having already been injected with venom, Red went after the other male, dragged him back, and stung him several more times¡ªthen presented him as part of Red¡¯s mating gift to Goldie. A warm feeling spread through the spider¡¯s heart at the memory. So romantic. 2-59. Vision Training Part 2 Goldie pulled herself back to the present. She saw Samson beside her, trying to move Mana from his core into his chelicerae¡ªtrying in a very unsteady, hasty way that looked unstable to her. Goldie wanted to warn him to be careful, but she recognized that calling out to him could be distracting and do more harm than good. She forced herself to stay quiet. If Samson blew off one of his fangs, Adon could heal him. It would be fine. Samson had to make his own mistakes. All of her children did. After around ten seconds of charging, she saw Samson lose control of his Mana. Rather than blowing off a chunk of his face, as she had feared, however, the gathered power¡ªtoo weak to do much damage, perhaps¡ªwafted away from Samson in a pale haze. Darn it, Samson sent quietly. Just try again, Goldie transmitted quickly. I will try too, this time. She stood beside him, and the two spiders each attempted Adon¡¯s Mana ball. For Goldie, it felt like this was a completely natural process¡ªas if Adon had opened a door, and all she had to do was walk through it. She reached down to her core, pulled Mana out, and directed it into her mouthparts. As the power moved quickly out of the light that dwelled in her inner darkness, she felt the development of a slowly building, steady, warm glow on the end of her mouthparts. This was perfect, exactly how she remembered Adon doing it. Next she focused on extending the Mana further beyond the ends of her mouthparts, and she could actually see the results of her actions. Just a gentle glow slightly further away from her head, still touching her mouthparts but now far enough away that if there was an enemy, she had a sort of energy dagger to strike them with that had a longer reach than her actual fangs. Now try to focus it into an energy ball, she thought. That was what Adon had done. She was so focused on this single task that she could not track whether Samson was succeeding beside her. If she turned her attention away, she might just lose control and maim herself in the way that she had feared Samson would. She felt more than saw a ball of Mana forming just in front of her mouth. Only a little corner of the ball was visible to her eyes, since it was so close to her face, but the concentrated Mana gave off very perceptible heat. Goldie had no doubt that she was succeeding in the mission. She poured more power into it until it felt difficult to contain. Then Goldie aimed it at a bush, and she tried to fire it. The ball burst forward from between her jaws and struck the plant, tearing through and wreaking havoc on the interior of the bush and the plants immediately behind it, until it struck the dirt and grounded itself. I think that was even bigger than Adon¡¯s first time, Goldie thought excitedly. I did it! She turned to see how Samson was doing, and she saw a large ball of power concentrated in front of her son¡¯s mouthparts. It was even larger than Samson¡¯s tiny body thus far. Just like his mother, he launched the attack at the poor, unsuspecting bush. The plant seemed to give up on life after suffering a second Mana ball inside of two minutes. Major branches collapsed, and half of the bush collapsed in on itself. There was a sudden flurry of motion accompanied by the indignant squeaking of chipmunks rendered suddenly without shelter. Well done, guys! Adon sent. I knew you could do it. Samson¡¯s body shook slightly after the exertion of this experiment, and Goldie wondered if he really should be doing magic when he was at such an early stage of his development. Yeah, I was sure we could, Samson transmitted. His inner voice trembled. I think you should take a rest, son, Goldie sent quietly. You used a lot of Mana just now. Why don¡¯t you both take a rest, and I¡¯ll send you another memory? Adon asked. I feel much better now than I did earlier. I have enough energy to do it once more today, and this memory should be more complete. Goldie was about to object that the last memory had been amazingly complete, and he should not strain to do any better than he had before¡ªif, indeed, that was somehow possible. But Samson responded faster. That sounds amazing, Adon, he sent. You¡¯re helping us grow by leaps and bounds, man. Adon fluttered his wings in a way that communicated to Goldie that he was pleased and flattered. Are you ready, too, Goldie? he asked. I am, Adon, she transmitted. She could think of nothing else to say. She felt bad about her friend exerting herself again so soon, but perhaps after this was done, she could convince him¡ªand Samson¡ªthat they should leave this new ability alone for a while and let Adon do some training of his own. As she was thinking about letting Adon do his own thing for a while, the impact of his telepathic ability struck her like a tidal wave. Goldie¡¯s consciousness was instantly pulled into his vision. She descended into what felt like an infinity of darkness, a black void illuminated only by an orange orb that floated overhead. This place was only vaguely familiar to her¡ªshe recognized that she had an inner location like this, from whence she drew her Mana¡ªbut she did not feel her own relative unfamiliarity very deeply. Instead, she had the sensation that it was a return visit. Goldie had to forcefully remind herself that this was not her memory. The feeling of dwelling within it was so immersive now¡ªAdon had gotten so much better at memory transmission¡ªthat she had begun to identify with the memory as if she was the rememberer, rather than the recipient of a story told via an unusual method. Once she had made herself understand again that this was Adon¡¯s memory she was experiencing, that these were his emotions and sentiments she was feeling, the dissonance made sense. In Adon¡¯s memory, of course, he knew this place better than she did. This was not, she sensed, the memory of his first time visiting the darkness¡ªalthough it was, she thought, the first time he had moved around freely within it. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. She wandered the black space in Adon¡¯s body, only half-aware of what he was looking for, because Adon himself had only half-known what he was looking for. The tug of the place was not a specific ability that he could acquire here. It was the allure of power in general. Goldie found herself gripped by trepidation as she was brought from one place to another within the darkness, though in the back of her mind, she knew that Adon must have survived this experience. In this memory, he was only a caterpillar, which established it firmly in the past. Still, the experience was distressing. Was it just Adon¡¯s imagination, or were the seemingly empty spaces in the darkness¡ªreally, shadows on top of shadows, somehow¡ªspeaking to him? Taunting him? Promising him knowledge, power, whatever his heart desired, if only he would reach out to them¡­ Goldie felt a visceral fear of this space, and she knew at once that it was not one of the secondhand emotions that this memory-vision conferred. It was her own fear. Some of the paths Adon considered¡ªfor paths somehow offered themselves to him out of pure, seemingly formless darkness¡ªset off alarm bells for Goldie but not for Adon. She wondered if her fear threshold was simply lower than his. Probably it was. Somehow, he seemed to banish the fear and the distraction of multiple paths to the back of his mind. He focused and entered into a tunnel-vision-like state, moving toward his desire. His thought in the memory was so specific and clear that it resonated through Goldie¡¯s mind. Illusions. He wanted to find illusion magic. But he does not have that, does he? Goldie thought, again taking herself out of the experience slightly. A moment later, she was pulled back in. The tunnel-like quality of Adon¡¯s consciousness in this memory gave it a greater gravitational pull. She noticed that the orb of orange light¡ªAdon¡¯s Mana¡ªfollowed along with him. That would be useful, when and if the time came for her to explore this place. Goldie experienced visions of Adon¡¯s death and recognized that he was imagining it so vividly that these images had made an impression on his memory¡ªeither that, or his memory was simply so perfect that he recalled each detail of every memory, which was believable given the detail in each of these experiences so far. Will I see my own death if I enter this place? How did you get through this, Adon? Suddenly, Adon stood before a great black statue with a crooked form and thousands of limbs. The figure was terrible and imposing, like an ancient tree possessed by some malevolent spirit. And it called out to Adon. Goldie wanted to cry out, No, stay away! But it was a memory. She could affect nothing. She could feel how close Adon was to giving in. The caterpillar was almost ready to reach out to it. And Goldie could swear the statue was reaching back somehow. Then something shifted in the caterpillar¡¯s mind¡ªor perhaps his body?¡ªboth?¡ªand he stopped himself. Thank Goddess¡­ Then she heard the thing¡¯s voice in Adon¡¯s head: Why do you run from power? Endless desperation inside you. We could give it shape, focus, purpose! Come back. Come back¡­ The caterpillar distanced himself quickly, and Goldie wanted to make him move even faster. The figure behind continued screaming after him. Why do you run?! Come back, insect! Come and take your destiny in your hands. The power is here! Goldie realized at the same time Adon did that he was running away blindly, and that was almost as bad in this place full of hazards as simply touching one of the horrors that wanted to kill him. Thankfully, the caterpillar forced himself to slow down. So this is the world of magic. She heard Adon¡¯s thought as clearly as if it were her own. And Goldie felt his emotions. Despite always seeming so fearless, Adon was genuinely frightened here. He had to fight to regain control of himself. Despite having a close run-in with something that certainly intended him harm and might have had the power to kill him instantly or torture him to death over a much longer period, she sensed the resolve in Adon¡¯s mind. He was staying here until he found what he was looking for. He refused to leave. Adon, you are crazy, Goldie thought. I am already prepared to leave, and this is only a memory. He wandered through the darkness then. From Goldie¡¯s perspective, his previous sense of purpose seemed almost to have dissolved. His resolution to get illusion magic, which had given him a specific direction¡ªor at least caused this place to offer some specific paths for him to wander along¡ªhad worn away. She thought he was looking for any kind of victory. There was little conscious thought during this part of the experience. Regardless, he walked a long time. He seemed almost semi-conscious from how little he thought and felt as he walked. He spent a long time just continuously moving forward and repeatedly rejecting shapes in the darkness. As Goldie had almost given up on seeing this memory through to the end¡ªfor surely Adon must run low on Mana or lose his focus at some point¡ªhe drew nearer to another shape in the darkness. It was a smaller, less imposing figure, but Goldie still felt guarded about it. This was not Adon¡¯s feeling. The thing emanated a warmth toward him that seemingly caused him to lower his guard. Its shape appeared, and it seemed to be a wispy thing, like a floating cloth. The outline remained completely dark¡ªhidden from a clear view by dense shadow even as he stood right in front of it. Even as Goldie remained nervous, because she still remembered the last thing he had almost touched, she could feel Adon¡¯s growing sense of safety around this shape¡ªand the sense of light and warmth that it gave off despite being cloaked in shadow by the nature of this place. Adon reached out and touched it, and warmth flowed through him, in both his physical body and the sort of surrogate body that moved around in this dark space. Then she felt Adon¡¯s wounds healing¡ªhe apparently had some physical wounds in this memory¡ªand she realized which magic he had discovered. Healing, she thought. That was lucky. What would we have done without that? Then the memory faded, and she was staring into the open sky, standing next to Samson. Adon, I almost forgot that I was not you, Goldie sent. I didn¡¯t forget who I was, but that was amazing, Adon, Samson added. I might have wished I was you, a little bit. You were so brave! The butterfly puffed himself up a little bit. Thanks, guys, he sent. His inner voice sounded tired but pleased. That was how you acquired healing magic, then, Goldie transmitted. It was not quite a question. She had felt the experience intensely and simply wanted to talk about it with someone, even though she was not certain she had much to say. It was, Adon agreed. Now, do you guys think you can try that? Goldie recalled the vivid memory, and she wondered. Would I be able to do what Adon did? She was not questioning whether she could go and find healing magic now. Adon had literally shown her which path to follow through the darkness, roughly how long it would take, and what the healing magic figure looked like. If she failed to acquire this ability after all that, it could only mean that she was not paying enough attention¡ªwhich was far from the case. No, she wondered if she would have had the courage and grit to press on despite fear and taunting, resisting the fear of imminent death. She suspected not. So I probably will not wander the darkness except on paths Adon specifically lays out for me, she thought a little sadly. I suppose I am not very brave, especially when it comes to exploring new places¡ªand that place will always be new and frightening, even if I visit a hundred times. I think we can do it, mama, Samson sent, pulling Goldie out of her musings. Oh, yes, Goldie agreed. I think we should do it right away. There would be no better time to acquire healing magic than before the experience of Adon¡¯s immersive memory transmission had faded. Samson was nodding. With a last Thank you transmitted to Adon, the two spiders both disappeared into their dark inner worlds. 2-60. The Tour of Wayn Rosslyn woke to sore muscles and a fuzzy brain. Her head pounded harder as she rose to a seated position in bed. She was definitely hungover. Rosslyn was a bit of a lightweight; she did not normally drink enough alcohol to develop a strong tolerance. I should not mix feasting, alcohol, and exercise, she thought, wincing as the light hit her eyes. Duly noted. Her body had sent her an unambiguous message. The memories of the other events of the night hit her, and she shook her head and reddened. Those damned brothers, why did they have to mention that at dinner¡­ The conversation with Adon had been perhaps the most embarrassing one of her life¡ªand had only needed to happen last night because of William and Frederick¡¯s choice of topics at the dinner table. She let out a heavy breath and then rose slowly from the bed. She had to pull herself together. Today, she was supposed to give the brothers a tour of Wayn. The Princess would not use her hangover as an excuse to shirk her duties. Not only was it against her nature to make excuses, but she was unwilling to show weakness in front of foreign dignitaries¡ªwhich William and Frederick were, even if they were nominally here for a friendly visit. With that in mind, she rose, walked to her bathroom, and ran some water. Almost as an afterthought, she closed the bathroom door behind her and then stripped off her nightgown so that it would not get wet. Cupping her hands to make a little basin, she waited until they were full and then splashed it on her face. She would not have time to bathe this morning¡ªand she had bathed the previous night, following her exercise, before she collapsed into bed¡ªbut she still felt as if she needed to wash the events of yesterday off. Rosslyn pulled her nightgown back on, returned to the bedroom, and pulled a sash to summon a servant. She would need help applying her makeup¡ªas she¡¯d had last night. Someone arrived so quickly that Rosslyn wondered if she had just been waiting right outside of the room. She heard the footsteps approaching and then the knock on the door. ¡°Your Highness, may I enter?¡± Celeste asked. Rosslyn could not help smiling at the sound of her voice. Her long-serving maid was exactly the person the Princess wanted to see right now. ¡°Come in!¡± Rosslyn called. Celeste stepped in and smiled demurely. ¡°I hope your evening went well, Your Highness,¡± she said quietly. Rosslyn knew that was as much as Celeste would venture to say without some encouragement. Unfortunately, she did not have time to coax the maid into a deeper conversation this morning. There was a schedule to follow. ¡°The evening certainly went well,¡± Rosslyn said. She was not entirely certain whether she was lying or not. A lot had happened the previous night. ¡°Would Your Highness like assistance in preparing for the day?¡± Celeste asked. ¡°Yes, please,¡± Rosslyn said. Celeste curtsied, excused herself, and brought another maid in. Then the two of them spent the next hour undressing, re-dressing, pulling, poking, painting, and generally transforming Rosslyn into the Princess that she was born to be. The process felt simultaneously tender and clinical. Their hands were soft and gentle, but they manipulated Rosslyn¡¯s body without speaking, as if she was not alive. She allowed her mind to drift through the process, wandering to other locales¡ªmainly moving through the plan for the day. At the end of the hour, Celeste gently cleared her throat. Rosslyn realized that they were done. The repetitive motions had almost lulled her back to sleep. She rose slowly, careful not to spoil any of the work they had done on her clothing, and she saw herself in the mirror she had in the corner of her room. I look like a stranger, she thought. Just like last night. Perfect. If I think I look completely different from myself, hopefully other people will see the same thing. ¡°Thank you both,¡± Rosslyn said, turning to face the maids. They curtsied, and Elspeth¡ªthe other maid Celeste had brought in¡ªspoke. ¡°We are only doing our duty, Your Highness,¡± she said. ¡°Your Highness, I should note that you will be just in time to meet the brothers for the planned tour of Wayn if you leave right now,¡± Celeste added gently. ¡°Will one of you be chaperoning the tour?¡± Rosslyn asked. She hoped it would be Celeste. Instead, Elspeth curtsied. ¡°It is this humble servant¡¯s honor to have been assigned to accompany you,¡± she said. Rosslyn disguised her disappointment and simply nodded. ¡°Thank you,¡± she said. ¡°I know I am in good hands.¡± Celeste curtsied as well. She had a slightly apologetic look on her face. The Princess moved through the palace, her mind flashing through things she might say to the brothers, the places they were going, and other bits of information that she had prepared herself with, the flotsam and jetsam of a mind still composing itself after the storm of the previous night. When she reached William and Frederick, she was pleasantly surprised to find that they did not renew the formal gestures of greeting from the previous day. Good, so we can be casual with each other, Rosslyn thought. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. She looked forward to properly getting to know the two boys she had played with as a child, now that they were grown men. ¡°We missed you at breakfast, Rosslyn,¡± William said in a confidential tone once she was close. ¡°I may have had a little too much wine last night,¡± she admitted. ¡°I rose much later than is my custom.¡± ¡°Do you want to stop and get something to eat?¡± asked Frederick. He kept himself just a little further away from Rosslyn than his brother did, as if trying to give the two of them space to be alone. It was only an extra foot of distance, but the body language spoke volumes. Only William was truly there to court her. ¡°I will be all right until we stop for lunch,¡± Rosslyn replied. She could use Mana to stop her stomach if it started to make embarrassing noises, and if she delayed the group any further, they would fall behind the plan for the day. The four took a carriage and rode into the center of Wayn, where Rosslyn showed the brothers the daily fountain show that took place in Wayn Central Park. The water moved in strange shapes and patterns, guided only by pipes and engineering rather than magic. Rosslyn had always found it beautiful, especially with the autumn leaves turning their brilliant shades of red, orange, and yellow in the background. But as she scanned the brothers¡¯ faces for their reactions, they appeared distinctly unimpressed. ¡°Do you have shows like this in Dessia?¡± she asked. She only dimly remembered their capital city of Vernitz from her childhood visits. She did not recall much entertainment. Her memories of the place were dominated by images of soldiers. It was a highly militarized country. ¡°We do not, as far as I am aware, Rosslyn,¡± said Frederick. ¡°What is the point of it?¡± asked William, sounding genuinely confused. ¡°Um, I would say the point is simply to appreciate the beauty of water in motion,¡± Rosslyn replied. ¡°Ah, that¡ªof course.¡± William gave an unconvincing smile and nodded as if he understood. Rosslyn made a mental note to tell Elspeth and the carriage driver to cancel the return visit to the park¡ªwhen the fountain show was set to repeat, with fireworks this time, to honor the special occasion of the young lords¡¯ visit. She felt certain the fireworks would not change their lack of enjoyment of the spectacle. The next destination was the Logan Museum, an art museum named for the King who had ordered its construction. Rosslyn linked arms with William as they entered the museum, and she prepared to transmit her enthusiasm to him. She would ensure he enjoyed this place by sheer force of will. The Logan Museum had rooms for every different form of non-performing visual art that the continent had produced. She tried to surreptitiously watch William¡¯s face as they visited the Room of Color and Textiles, a room full of colorful fabrics, the Room of Glass, where there were thousands of pieces of glass-blown art on display, and the Room of Sculpture, where there were sculptures made of almost every conceivable material and with almost every type of subject. King Logan had been a great patron of the arts, and Wayn still had what Rosslyn had come to believe was an incredible artistic community. Yet the brothers seemed to remain unimpressed. Rosslyn wondered silently if she was actually quite provincial in her outlook. Perhaps Dessia¡¯s great museums put Claustria¡¯s to shame, and this place was simply boring. She kept up a running commentary in the early part of the visit, but gradually gave it up as it became obvious that the brothers were only attempting to show interest to be polite. William only stopped and really stared at something once. It was an ice sculpture intended to be a likeness of the Demon Emperor. Well, not the current Demon Emperor¡ªno one in Claustria would know what he looked like¡ªbut a fierce and impressive conqueror from the Empire¡¯s long history. Rosslyn smiled as she saw what William was looking at. He had good taste. The statue was so close to a likeness of a real demon, so tall and imposing and powerful in build, that it almost made her shiver. It probably didn¡¯t hurt the effect that the figure was made of ice. ¡°Do you like this one?¡± she asked. ¡°Is it not heretical?¡± he replied slowly. ¡°Depicting the Demon Emperor this way, so powerful and triumphant?¡± ¡°Well, I think that is a specific Demon Emperor,¡± Rosslyn said. She looked at the sign nearby. ¡°Yes, that was Emperor Mundus, who lived six hundred years ago. I think that since he is already dead, it is probably harmless. And the chosen medium of ice conveys that even the greatest conqueror is only here temporarily. The Goddess will take him at the time of her choosing.¡± William moved his head from side to side as if considering, then nodded and looked at her. ¡°A viable interpretation, I think,¡± he said, half-smiling. ¡°You are clever.¡± Rosslyn returned his smile. ¡°Thank you,¡± she said. The gallery of paintings, when they entered it, felt almost like a giant warehouse. The vast space took up almost half of the museum building, with thousands of artworks arranged by subject and period all around the room. ¡°This feels so decadent,¡± Frederick declared. ¡°Decadent?¡± Rosslyn asked. ¡°I have been feeling the same way,¡± William admitted. ¡°In a country constantly under threat, do you really have the time and space to encourage people to produce art? Even if you do have some space to produce, um, imaginative works, this many? And some so large?¡± He gestured at one of the largest paintings, a massive work that depicted the construction of Wayne itself, layers of paint depicting different stages of the process. The painting was a century old and hung in a careful place so that it could be seen easily without being hit by direct sunlight. It was the masterpiece of Allanach, widely regarded as the greatest native-born artist in Claustria¡¯s history¡ªClaustria was home to many artists from other countries, as a result of Logan¡¯s legacy of supporting the arts. Rosslyn had to struggle to keep a smile on her face. What do you think we are fighting for? she wondered. It is not merely to live. If the Empire conquered us, they would not simply grind us all into sausage. If we do not care for our own cultures, we may as well be conquered. These are the things that give life much of its meaning. She herself had never spent as much time on the arts as it was often thought proper for a young lady of noble birth, but she had always sought to appreciate beauty wherever it was offered. ¡°I visited the capital of the Demon Empire,¡± she said, ¡°and they do not care much for art either. They deface images of the Goddess and steal statues from the cultures they conquer.¡± She thought specifically of the Ursabians¡¯ gargoyles, which the Empire had ripped from old buildings and placed on their new, ugly structures. ¡°They make nothing creative or beautiful of their own. I think it is one of the defining differences between us and them.¡± She realized she was perhaps not explaining her disagreement in a persuasive way, but it was the best she thought she could do without insulting the brothers. ¡°It feels frivolous to us, but you may have a point,¡± William admitted softly. ¡°Our minds work very differently, I sense. When I saw the ice sculpture of the Demon Emperor in the other room, my first thought was how impressive it was that they managed to get such a large block of ice into the city and keep it cool before Fall had even properly begun to bite. My second thought was that the subject matter of the statue was heresy. But perhaps I am a little too inflexible.¡± Rosslyn¡¯s smile turned genuine again. At least he was trying to give the city¡¯s culture a chance. As they left the museum, she found an opportunity to step away from the brothers and snag the carriage driver¡¯s attention. ¡°Forget about the other cultural sites,¡± Rosslyn said quietly. ¡°We should skip straight to lunch. After that, I think we go to the orchestra.¡± She smiled at the thought. If there was anything in Wayn the brothers would actually enjoy, based on Rosslyn¡¯s old memories of them, it was music. 2-61. The Orchestra As Rosslyn was smiling to herself, the coachman smiled in return. It may have been an unconscious change of expression, but she remembered then what a merry person Lewis was. There was a flash of something from her childhood in there¡ªa fragment of memory from a day when he had driven her and her mother to another concert¡ªbut he spoke, and the memory disappeared. ¡°Your Highness, if your party leaves lunch after an hour or so, you can make the afternoon show,¡± the driver said, bowing. ¡°Would you care for a reminder when the time comes?¡± ¡°No, thank you, Lewis,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°If we make it, we make it. If not, we will return to the palace and go to the evening show as originally planned. I hate to rush our guests.¡± She returned to the group, and all four took their seats in the carriage again. Lewis took them to a discreet cafe where the guests were separated from each other by both space and physical partitions¡ªa place made for privacy, where royalty and nobility could eat in the same building as well off commoners without either group knowing whether the other was present. Lunch was smalltalk, grilled pressed sandwiches, a few goblets of wine¡ªand Rosslyn trying to keep Elspeth from feeling too uncomfortable as the chaperone, the only servant sitting at a table with nobles and the Princess. When Elspeth got up to use the ladies¡¯ room, the conversation shifted immediately. It became considerably more real. ¡°I confess, I was surprised when you brought us to the museum,¡± Frederick said. ¡°What was so surprising?¡± Rosslyn asked. ¡°Given your situation, we expected that you would be more focused on military matters,¡± he replied. ¡°May I speak bluntly?¡± ¡°I expect nothing less,¡± she replied. ¡°It feels almost like an attempt to distract us from the fact that you¡ªor rather, Claustria¡ªis a besieged fortress¡ªif I was willing to insult a Princess with such a claim, which I am not,¡± Frederick said. That was close, she thought sarcastically. He was almost willing to insult me by accusing me of throwing up a smokescreen to conceal our situation. ¡°I can only imagine that you had more innocent intentions in mind,¡± Frederick continued. ¡°As if the culture of your charming land could take our attention away from the issue of its defense¡ªwhich will be difficult and expensive in the event that the Empire attacks¡ªfor even one minute.¡± It is true that I did not plan the full itinerary myself, Rosslyn thought. She had made suggestions to her father when she found out the brothers were coming, but then she simply followed the schedule she was given. She did not know who devised it. A part of her wondered if someone among her father¡¯s councilors might actually have intended the result Frederick described. But to admit that such an idea was plausible would suggest that their national position was far weaker than they could ever publicly admit. It would also be throwing her father¡¯s government under the bus. So, the conversation proceeded back and forth, Frederick mildly accusing and Rosslyn gently denying and parrying accusations. A very polite disagreement, as best as she could keep it. William said little. He seemed to be paying Rosslyn a lot of attention, almost staring at times. She felt his eyes like hot lights traveling up and down her face and body¡ªbut he did not accuse her of anything, as Frederick had. William instead kept his expression carefully blank, as if he was simply listening to his brother and Rosslyn disagree from a neutral standpoint, carefully weighing what each said. When Elspeth returned, Rosslyn quickly scanned the plates on the table and saw that everyone was finished. ¡°Perhaps we should move on to our next destination,¡± she said as lightly as she could. Hopefully the topic of conversation would shift with a change in venue. They all loaded into the carriage again and headed out, this time for the orchestra. The ride there was almost completely silent. Frederick seemed inclined to continue the topic of discussion he had introduced earlier, but William gave him a cold look, and the younger brother seemingly decided to leave well enough alone. When they arrived, the party entered the building through a special entrance reserved for nobility. They climbed a winding staircase until they found themselves outside the Royal Box. There was perhaps a quarter of an hour of waiting once they got into their seats, but Frederick could not resume his prior topic of conversation if he had wanted to, because William had taken the central seat next to Rosslyn, separating the two. Instead, William now set the agenda. He discussed military matters with Rosslyn¡ªa focus of conversation that always interested her, albeit less so now that she was beginning to suspect that it was all the two brothers were interested in. Was Dessia a hyper-militarized country when I visited there? Rosslyn wondered as they spoke. She had been much younger when she last made that trip, but she now suspected that Dessia had been. This might just be the local culture. Elspeth, to Rosslyn¡¯s other side, remained largely silent¡ªdoing nothing to participate in the conversation, only occasionally looking at William and Rosslyn to make certain that the young lord was taking no liberties with the Princess in the darkened space of the box. As the performance began, the conversation petered out. Rosslyn was gratified to see that the brothers seemed to genuinely enjoy the first performance, a war-like song called ¡°The Cavalry Arrives¡± that had originated as music accompanying a play about a great battle victory. For the next quarter of an hour, they seemed to get into the mood of listening to the orchestra. The martial music that the musicians had begun with was the sort that ignites passion and puts one in a bold frame of mind. Both brothers moved to the music, almost dancing in their seats. Rosslyn was pleasantly reminded of how much they had all loved music when they were children and the happy minutes they had passed listening to her mother play on the pianoforte. She was only slightly surprised when William grabbed her hand in the midst of rocking to the beat. Rosslyn suspected that he had taken some liquid courage with the wine at lunch. He had definitely drunk more than her this time. She gave him a sideways look and saw that he was grinning at her, waiting to see how she would react. Rosslyn held hands with him until the song was over, then gently pulled away. She was neither pushing him away nor giving in to any advances, as she saw it. She was allowing herself to react to the situation, in the moment. Holding hands for a song meant nothing. William looked slightly surprised when her hand left his, then put on a cocky smirk¡ªthe sort of look that says, I know you are more interested than you are letting on. Rosslyn simply raised an eyebrow. She could not deny that holding his hand had elevated her pulse a little. Did that mean she was interested? Attracted? You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. She honestly could not be certain. Rosslyn was simply not in the habit of holding men¡¯s hands. And it was a long time since she had been in the company of someone who had felt at ease enough to simply take that liberty with her¡ªsince childhood, in fact. William is here to court me, but how do I feel about that? It was a question she had hardly allowed herself to think about. Devoting any mental energy to it had been pointless before the brothers arrived; they were just a faded childhood memory before they appeared in the flesh. Once they were there in person, she had been distracted with welcoming them, talking to them at dinner, and then talking to Adon after. Then she had trained until she had nothing left in her body to think with. She felt strangely conflicted when she remembered the conversation with Adon¡ªlike there was something she had done wrong or was doing wrong. I have behaved properly, she told herself. I am behaving properly. Next to her, William had continued moving to the music, oblivious to her thought processes despite her pensive expression. He tried to grab her hand again as the music approached a crescendo, but she smoothly avoided his grasp this time. She would not let William fake his way to an unearned intimacy. Physical touch, as it had been explained by one of her tutors, was one of the tools that a person could use to seduce another. That made sense to her. Two sweaty palms touching in a darkened space¡ªthere was something erotic about it. But she would not be seduced¡ªnot right now, not as things stood. William just shook his head. He retained the confident air he had shown earlier. She knew he would try something else that afternoon. She did not know exactly what that would be. The mood in the box changed when the music shifted¡ªmoving from martial music glorifying victory in war to mellow music that attempted to capture the feeling of sailing on the sea. This was an original composition by Alfons Gorecki, the conductor¡ªone of Rosslyn¡¯s favorite composers. But the brothers did not seem to share her point of view. They stopped moving to the music and became listless. Subsequent movements of the same music only worsened the shift. William¡¯s eyelids began to droop. She thought she saw Frederick stifle a yawn. After twenty minutes of this, Rosslyn did not want to sit through any more. The clear lack of enjoyment by her guests made it difficult for her to appreciate the music. ¡°If my lords are not enjoying the concert, perhaps we should go,¡± Rosslyn said quietly, trying to keep her expression neutral. ¡°Yes, that seems in order,¡± Frederick said quickly. William turned to look at his brother. Rosslyn could not see his expression, as he was facing away from her, but she saw the tension in William¡¯s neck and on Frederick¡¯s face. ¡°Very well,¡± William said finally, shifting to look back at Rosslyn. ¡°I apologize for our boorishness this evening. I suppose my brother and I are not great fans of the arts. I hope leaving so early is not too unpleasant for you.¡± He looked into her eyes with what felt like great sincerity, and Rosslyn felt her disappointment fade a little. ¡°It is all right,¡± she said after a moment. ¡°I have heard most of Gorecki¡¯s music so often that I can play it myself, without sheet music¡ªwithout even needing to practice. If I want to hear it again, I will just ask for our pianoforte to be brought in, and I can serenade myself.¡± William seemed to think that Rosslyn was not quite satisfied¡ªor there was some other emotion lurking behind his eyes. He was not easy to read. She found herself wishing she had Telepathy. ¡°I must go and let the coachman know that we will be leaving,¡± said Elspeth. ¡°Thank you,¡± Rosslyn said, nodding. She glanced in the brothers¡¯ direction and saw that William¡¯s face had shifted. He wore a slightly mischievous expression. Almost as soon as their eyes met, Rosslyn felt the need to look away. She did not want to encourage any improper intention that William might be forming. ¡°While you let the coachman go, I will go and touch up my powder,¡± Rosslyn added. This was the polite way of saying she would find a restroom. She did not actually carry anything to maintain her makeup on her person, but fortunately, the brothers had no way of knowing that. And Elspeth was already stepping out of the box, barely listening, mind on her next task. Rosslyn quickly rose, as did the brothers in response. Then she left the immediate area and found the restroom. She waited there for a few minutes, listening to Gorecki¡¯s music as it came through the walls, carried in the pipes. It was almost like being in the room, and she felt a sense of loss. She did not really want to leave. If I married William, I suppose I would attend concerts alone, she thought. And visit the museum alone, watch performances alone¡­ She eventually shook her head and left the restroom. She thought enough time had passed that Elspeth might have returned. When she came back, William stood in the entry to their box, blocking the way in. ¡°Excuse me, William,¡± she said. She waited for him to move back into the box, but he simply edged slightly to the side, creating a small opening¡ªtrying to force her to squeeze by him to get in, she recognized. He is persistent. She stepped into the space, tried to slip by him¡ªand he leaned in, lips parted, trying to kiss her. Rosslyn shifted backward, out of the space, and dodged him by the span of a few inches. If not for the alcohol in his bloodstream, she thought he would have been a little quicker¡ªand perhaps kissed her ear or her hair. ¡°Rosslyn, come closer,¡± William said in a low voice, almost whispering. She looked up and down the dark, narrow, candlelit hallway¡ªthey were completely alone¡ªbefore quickly turning back to him and responding. ¡°I know what you were trying to do,¡± she said, feeling strangely inarticulate. ¡°Yes, you do, I think,¡± he agreed, donning the mischievous grin from before. Rosslyn tried appealing to William¡¯s sense of chivalry¡ªhis ingrained understanding of the rules of propriety. She could not say exactly what she meant, so she spoke in vague terms. ¡°You would not want a woman to form attachments to suitors with whom she had not entered into any understanding, would you?¡± she asked. ¡°These physical displays of affection always create a risk of attachment that I am given to understand can be disappointing if the relationship does not blossom beyond that moment.¡± ¡°I would have you become very attached to me,¡± William replied. He stepped in close to her, and Rosslyn forced herself to remain in place. She was annoyed at her own instincts, which called on her to retreat. She thought that if she did, he might laugh at her. William leaned in close to her and tried again. Rosslyn raised a hand and placed it between them, and his lips caressed her palm instead of her mouth. ¡°Why are you stopping me?¡± he asked. Because I did not decide that I wanted this, was her first thought. Aloud, she gave the rational explanation, which she knew by rote. ¡°We have no understanding. No words have been exchanged that would change the character of our relationship from friendship.¡± You are moving much too fast, William. ¡°Would you agree that the relations between our families run deeper than ordinary friendship?¡± William asked. ¡°It is a most long-standing friendship,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°A special relationship.¡± She did not know what else to say. Certainly, her and William¡¯s fathers were close, but that would not alter her stance. ¡°We should bind it closer together,¡± William said. He hovered close to her again, and she could smell the alcohol on his breath, thick and sour. ¡°We should discuss this another time,¡± Rosslyn said. Perhaps when you are sober. If this was his idea of a proposal, it was far from romantic¡ªor formal, or proper. She darted backward, finding the top of the staircase with her feet by sheer muscle memory. As Rosslyn descended, she almost collided with Elspeth. ¡°Your Highness, my apologies!¡± said the maid. ¡°It is not your fault, Elspeth,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°I have decided to wait for the young lords down with you and the carriage.¡± The maid seemed to recognize that something was slightly wrong, but she asked no questions. The two women descended to the carriage together and waited until the brothers joined them and they could leave. 2-62. Enemies in the City Rosslyn¡¯s party returned to the palace, a carriage ride that was mostly quiet and far from comfortable for Rosslyn and William alike, though Frederick did not seem to pick up on that¡ªhe would occasionally try to start a conversation with one of them, only for the discussion to peter out after a minute or two. Finally, they were back at the stables. As Rosslyn stepped out of the carriage, she noticed a familiar figure standing near the carriage¡ªa figure she would not have expected to see. She gave Oran a cautious look. The gray-haired head butler simply bowed his head, keeping his expression carefully blank. He has more important duties than greeting us after we returned from touring the city, Rosslyn thought. How long has he been waiting here? Is something wrong? ¡°Welcome back, Your Highness,¡± the head butler said in a subdued tone, his expression carefully blank. He raised his head after a moment, and Rosslyn looked into his steady gray eyes. For a moment, the old man¡¯s brow furrowed with worry. Then William was beside Rosslyn. ¡°Um, I thought we should talk a bit, Rosslyn¡ªPrincess.¡± He seemed to have sobered a bit. Rosslyn guessed he was a little embarrassed about their interaction outside the Royal Box. ¡°We should,¡± she said, swallowing a lump in her throat, ¡°but can it wait until tomorrow? I am afraid I have remembered a matter that requires my attention this evening.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± he said, taking a step back. She could not tell whether he had taken offense¡ªwhether he believed that she was just putting him off or genuinely had another matter she needed to attend to. As William and Frederick stepped away, however, she could not spare as much thought for them as she might otherwise have liked. The more she thought about it, the more Oran¡¯s presence outside unsettled her mind. In addition to the points her mind had raised earlier, she had recalled how her father trusted Oran. Whatever he was waiting there for, theirs would not be a happy conversation, she felt certain. ¡°Your Highness, is there anything further that I can do for you just now?¡± asked Elspeth, curtsying beside Rosslyn as the door closed behind the young lords. The Princess turned to look at her and barely saw the maid. Rosslyn¡¯s mind was simply elsewhere. ¡°No, thank you,¡± Rosslyn said quietly. ¡°Thank you for your company earlier, Elspeth.¡± ¡°It has been my great honor, Your Highness,¡± Elspeth said quickly. Rosslyn forced her lips into a smile that she did not feel, and she gave a more effortful response. ¡°Please try and see that your schedule is kept open for future outings,¡± Rosslyn said, taking the maid¡¯s hands in her own for a moment. ¡°You have fulfilled your role perfectly, and you made me much more comfortable than I otherwise would have been.¡± Elspeth¡¯s hands shook, and her face reddened slightly. She curtsied once more and thanked Rosslyn again, then rushed back into the palace through the same door the young lords had used. The coachman was maneuvering the carriage into its proper place when Rosslyn finally had the opening she had wanted to speak with Oran. He started the conversation. ¡°I hope your evening went well, Your Highness,¡± Oran said. ¡°I feel certain that His Majesty will want to hear about it.¡± ¡°Yes, Oran, thank you,¡± Rosslyn said, almost mechanically, without regard to what the words she was speaking meant. ¡°Did you have some reason for waiting out here for us?¡± He furrowed his brow again, nodded, and then leaned in slightly closer. ¡°I cannot speak of it out here, Your Highness,¡± he said. ¡°You understand? And your father will wish to see you.¡± Rosslyn nodded, taking the hint. ¡°Yes, please take me to him,¡± she said in a slightly louder tone. ¡°I would love to tell my father all about the guests¡¯ visit so far.¡± Oran returned the nod and led the way into the palace. Rosslyn followed him, and the butler led her across the palace, through the least traveled sections he could find, sometimes navigating through little used secondary royal living spaces, sometimes through servant quarters, trying to avoid anyone seeing them. As they neared the end of their journey, Rosslyn recognized that the butler had led her on an extremely indirect route to the chapel. ¡°No one knows of what you are about to see, Your Highness,¡± Oran said, his voice barely above a whisper. ¡°Just me, your father, and yourself. There were two servants who saw something¡ªbut they have been detained for the duration of the crisis. I will go to them now and ensure that they are secured in their place. If you hear that someone else knows about what you and your father discuss in there, and you cannot explain it¡ª¡± He gestured at the chapel doors¡ª¡°then you should assume that I have betrayed you and summarily execute me. Whether the information leaks from me or the two servants, the failure will be mine.¡± He bowed low after he spoke those words, and his voice was dead serious, but there was a part of Rosslyn that wanted to raise an eyebrow. Of course, he does not know that we have a telepathic butterfly living in the palace, but it has made keeping a secret much more complicated, she thought. For a moment, she considered telling Oran about that, but for the moment, her father had instructed her that it was to be kept between the Royal family and the mystic beasts. Even if Oran was the most fully trusted person in the palace, the King would have told the butler about Adon himself if he wanted him to know about the butterfly. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°Thank you, Oran,¡± she said instead. ¡°Please be careful. I know that you would never betray our family. I do not believe any of the staff would, but you in particular¡ª¡± ¡°Trust no one, Your Highness,¡± Oran replied, interrupting her for perhaps the first time in his life. ¡°No one. These are dangerous times.¡± He lowered his voice. ¡°There are certainly enemies about, even within the capital city itself. Perhaps within¡ªno, no¡­¡± He shook his head. ¡°I have said too much already, in a place where I could be overheard. Please go in, Your Highness. Your father will explain the rest.¡± Oran opened the door to the chapel, and Rosslyn stepped inside. She saw her father seated in the same place he had been when they last met in this room¡ªbut her eye was drawn away from him, toward the altar. A body lay atop the stone tablet. At first, all Rosslyn saw was that it was a man, his complexion gone the ashy gray of death. As the door closed behind her, however, and she stepped closer, she recognized that this was not just any man. Though his complexion had turned gray, and his flaming red hair had lost much of its luster, she could not mistake someone who had been a fixture in the palace for the last decade. ¡°Oh Goddess¡­¡± ¡°It is good to see you, Rosslyn,¡± her father said in a croaking voice. She looked at him and saw that the King was barely in better condition than the man on the altar. So, the two servants Oran mentioned must have seen Sir Domnhall die¡­ She swallowed. This was an ugly business. She walked over to her father and sat down close beside him so that they could speak in low voices. If ever there was a conversation that should not be overheard, it was this one. ¡°It is good to see that you are still upright, father,¡± Rosslyn said, trying to keep her voice light. ¡°Considering the condition of your food taster.¡± She had seen Sir Domnhall sitting quietly in the kitchen many times. On a few occasions, she had observed how he quickly and efficiently cut himself portions from the food that was to be served to the King¡ªseparating out and eating his share before the rest of the food was delivered to the table. Sir Domnhall was a low-key sort of man¡ªhe had said once that he didn¡¯t want anyone to remember that the King had a taster at all¡ªbut she recalled that he had always been kind to the kitchen staff. ¡°I wanted you to see what had happened to him before anyone else,¡± the King said. ¡°I wanted to strategize with you. My heir. If this is to be my end, I would like our country to at least gain some advantage from it. We could use it to root out some spy.¡± There were a few phrases that Rosslyn could have latched onto among her father¡¯s words. The fact that he called Rosslyn his heir rather than his daughter showed that his mind was in dynastic preservation mode, trying to apply cold reason rather than emotion to his situation. But her mind seized on the most disturbing thing he¡¯d said. ¡°If this is to be your end?¡± Rosslyn repeated, her voice quaking. ¡°Then, you consumed whatever food poisoned Sir Domnhall?¡± ¡°Not exactly,¡± the King said. ¡°Well, some small amount of it. But Sir Domhall was ailing for some time. He largely ignored it, because he was a man of strong constitution like myself¡ªwhich is why he accepted this duty. I barely noticed his condition, but in retrospect, his ill health should have been obvious. He had become clumsy of late, weaker than I remember seeing him in the past, and a bit near-sighted. Similar symptoms to ones that I have experienced. I think that his ailment was probably a result of the same cause that has given rise to my being in poor health for some time. My suspicion now is that someone has been slipping a slow acting poison into my food for a sustained period. If that is the case, it must be a member of our household staff. Oran bravely volunteered to taste the food that Sir Domnhall had eaten prior to dying to test my hypothesis¡ªto determine whether it was something immediately lethal.¡± Rosslyn¡¯s horror at that idea must have been apparent on her face, because her father waved his hand and added, ¡°He understood the risks and the importance of the task. It was his idea. We have no way of testing for some of the poisons the Empire has developed. And he knew that we needed to keep the circle of trust very close on this matter. Thus far, he has shown no ill effects. That would seem to mean that our theory is correct¡ªthat someone has been poisoning myself and Sir Domnhall for some time, and this particular dose, if there was a dose in the meal, is not what killed Sir Domnhall.¡± ¡°But you are not dead,¡± Rosslyn said slowly, trying to think through the implications of this. She knew little of poisons. ¡°Yet¡­¡± ¡°My understanding is that with some poisons, small dosages must accumulate in the body over a long period of time. Only when the poison reaches some critical point of no return do you feel the full effect. This makes them harder to detect by using a taster.¡± ¡°Then, you may yet live,¡± Rosslyn said hopefully. If I prepare all of father¡¯s meals myself, from fruits and vegetables that I select and animals that I kill, he cannot be exposed to any poison. ¡°Yes, yes, I may,¡± the King agreed, nodding a little impatiently. ¡°My point is that now we know why I have been ill. I¡ª¡± He rubbed his temples and looked tired and unfocused. Then he shook his head. ¡°I want you to seek the poisoner. Bring them to justice. Find anyone and everyone who may be involved. Purge the household staff completely if you must. Keep it hidden from the visiting brothers as best you can for the moment.¡± ¡°How can we hide it if you are this ill?¡± Rosslyn asked. Her father had looked a bit better on the night the brothers arrived, but if they remained at the palace, they would be exposed to her father while he received treatment from healers¡ªor the Royal Family would have to take the insane risk of not treating him until the visit was over. Either way, the brothers would surely witness radical changes in the King¡¯s health, whether improving or worsening. They would figure out that something was amiss. ¡°You can say that I was called away on some important matter of diplomacy, perhaps. You will be able to use your imagination to come up with something plausible. A matter to do with Parmonia may serve¡­¡± ¡°I think it is best if we be transparent with the brothers,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°They will wish to take your side against any and all enemies, father.¡± ¡°They will see us as weak!¡± the King exclaimed, suddenly almost yelling. Rosslyn¡¯s body jerked back in surprise. Her father tried to say something else, but his voice dissolved into a rough cough. For the next thirty seconds, he continued coughing, stifling it with a handkerchief. He wiped his mouth carefully before he took the handkerchief away and spoke again. Even so, Rosslyn spied a trace of blood on his teeth. ¡°They will see us as victims of a superior power that we have little ability to counter,¡± her father said. ¡°Even our friends do not want weak allies, Rosslyn. I know Duke Pruford. He is a good and loyal man, but also a realistic one. His sons will hardly be different. They are a virtuous family¡ªvery martially gifted, as you are no doubt aware¡ªbut they lack the instinct for softness and sympathy that would make them try to protect a weak power that they know cannot defend itself. It is a sensible position for them.¡± Rosslyn thought about the time she had spent with the brothers since they began to become reacquainted, and she slowly nodded. There was little of softness about the brothers. ¡°What would you have me do, father?¡± she asked. He thought for a moment, covering his mouth with the handkerchief again. ¡°If matters with my health do not improve quickly with treatment, and there is no way of hiding it, you may need to send the brothers away. We badly need a strong marriage for you, but that does not necessarily mean one of the brothers. Even if you determine that one of them is worthy, asking the two of them to return home can be done diplomatically, without ruining the courtship. As for the hunt for our traitor, I wondered if you might ask your friend the butterfly for his help.¡± 2-63. Trust ¡°That sounds prudent to me, father,¡± Rosslyn said, letting out a little sigh of relief. With Adon¡¯s help, finding the traitor should be easy. ¡°Then you trust the rapport you have built with him,¡± the King said with a small smile. ¡°I do,¡± she replied. ¡°How much am I allowed to tell him?¡± Her father paused for a moment, then said, ¡°Everything. There is too little to tell otherwise. Anything less, and he might make some mistake that will cost us.¡± Rosslyn nodded. ¡°And Lord Callum?¡± she asked. This was the man who had become her father¡¯s primary advisor in recent months. Her father sighed, then said, ¡°He had as much access to my food as anyone in the palace, so find a way to test his loyalty before you trust him. After that, feel free to tell him everything.¡± I am glad that the experience with Lord Baranack has made him more careful in addressing these matters, she thought. Something occurred to Rosslyn then. ¡°How long?¡± she asked. ¡°How long?¡± he repeated. ¡°Um, how long had Sir Domnhall been under the weather, before his death?¡± ¡°I could not say with any precision,¡± the King replied after a moment. ¡°More than a few weeks, certainly. Some months, perhaps. I would not think I could have been so blind as to miss it for years¡­¡± ¡°No,¡± Rosslyn agreed. I certainly would have noticed if Sir Domnhall had been ill for years, myself. And I suspect that a poison that Sir Domnhall could endure for years would not be sufficiently potent for the Demon Empire¡¯s purposes. ¡°Oh, um, how did the tour of Wayn go?¡± her father asked awkwardly. Rosslyn looked at her father blankly for a moment. ¡°I would say that it was an interesting and diverting experience for all of us,¡± she replied carefully. ¡°That does not sound particularly promising,¡± he observed. It was not a particularly promising day, Rosslyn thought. Not that it has derailed the entire visit, but the brothers and I had much less common ground than I would have expected. ¡°We are still getting used to each other,¡± she said. ¡°Well, if it does not work out, you know that you have other options¡­¡± Rosslyn nodded. The conversation was becoming a bit difficult for her. They had discussed this subject before, though always somewhat obliquely. She did not want the conversation to become more explicit. This was her father, after all. These matters were awkward for the two of them to talk about. ¡°Can I offer you healing?¡± she asked after a moment, a little lamely. She knew her father¡¯s magic was much stronger than hers, so she felt faintly silly for even offering. But the poison might have affected his powers. He had mentioned how Sir Domnhall had grown weaker over time. The poison was probably weakening the King too. Instead of answering Rosslyn, her father pulled her into an unexpected embrace. Her body took a moment to relax¡ªstill in tension from the long day in the city¡ªbut then she held him tightly in turn. His stubbled cheek against hers was pleasantly rough, and he smelled indefinably like home. Rosslyn was so small in his arms that for a moment, she felt like a young girl again. She realized that she and her father must not have hugged so tightly for a long time¡ªbesides when she had awakened from her healing sleep. ¡°I will be all right,¡± he said quietly, his breath warm against her ear. ¡°The healers will make sure of it. They will be with me night and day after we resolve the matter of the assassin. I have already spent a little energy healing myself, but there is little either of us could do on a relatively short time horizon. I will let the professionals handle the rest of it. In truth, I expect the process will be quite messy¡ªand perhaps drawn out over days or weeks.¡± Rosslyn nodded. It made sense that removing poison that had seeped into her father¡¯s body over a period of weeks or months could be ¡°messy¡± and time consuming. That was probably a polite understatement. The King was undoubtedly in for a great deal of pain, as his body removed contaminated material. That was what the healing process for severe poisoning looked like, she dimly recalled. Father and daughter separated and looked at each other with affection. ¡°Thank you for worrying about me,¡± he said, smiling softly. ¡°Traditionally, I believe it is supposed to be the other way around.¡± Well, then, do not eat poisoned food, she thought. Of course, she was too polite to say something so impudent to her father. She knew Sir Domnhall had been familiar with the taste and symptoms of many poisons, so the Empire¡¯s agent must have used some rare and subtle toxin on her father and his taster. This had probably been unavoidable. ¡°You are my father,¡± Rosslyn said instead. ¡°It is only natural. As it is natural that I would find the person responsible for doing this to you¡ª¡± Then she tilted her chin to indicate Sir Domnhall¡ª¡°and avenge a loyal subject¡¯s death.¡± ¡°Be careful, Rosslyn,¡± her father said. ¡°The assassin may have more than just slow acting poison at their disposal.¡± ¡°You will not lose me today, father,¡± Rosslyn promised. She semi-consciously touched her fingertips to the eyepatch she now wore. She already had experience dealing with assassins. ¡°Would you like me to send in my stepmother?¡± The King thought for a moment. Then, softly, he said, ¡°Test her too. Trust no one until you have verified their loyalty.¡± Rosslyn raised an eyebrow, then gave a slow nod. ¡°Yes, sir,¡± she said, keeping her expression carefully neutral. After fighting alongside Carolien against a squad of assassins, she thought there was virtually no chance her stepmother would be a part of any plot by the Empire against the Kingdom. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. But there was no reason to take chances, even infinitesimally small ones. Carolien¡¯s powers were not beyond Rosslyn¡¯s or the King¡¯s. It was not as if she could have helped much, if at all, with his healing by being told what was happening sooner. Rosslyn¡¯s father had told her to purge the household staff if need be. He was committed to avoiding any more close calls. She rose to her feet. ¡°There is one more thing,¡± the King said before she could leave. ¡°Yes, father?¡± ¡°We received word regarding the group of adventurers we hired to clear the dungeon. You know how little many of us tend to think of them. Naturally, we asked that eyes be kept on the dungeon to see if they accomplished the mission.¡± Rosslyn nodded. ¡°Well, our skepticism was fully justified this time,¡± he said. ¡°The group was witnessed deserting the challenge, fleeing from the dungeon¡¯s entrance only a few hours after they were sent in.¡± Rosslyn inhaled sharply. That could be a problem. ¡°We still have time,¡± she said, thinking aloud. ¡°So it seems,¡± her father replied. ¡°It is possible that Sir Domnhall died because the Empire has ordered an increase in the dosage of poison administered with my meals recently.¡± ¡°If so, it might mean that the attack is more imminent than we realize,¡± Rosslyn finished. ¡°They want you out of the way so that we will be headless at the key moment.¡± ¡°They underestimate you and your supporters, of course,¡± the King replied with a thin smile. ¡°Still, I think that may be the plan.¡± ¡°Thank you for informing me, father. We will find some solution to this.¡± ¡°If you have to take action while I am indisposed, I authorize you to dispatch a unit of knights to perform the task the adventurers could not.¡± Rosslyn thought that would come with its own risks¡ªit could leave the capital undefended at a key time¡ªbut she simply nodded. She took her father¡¯s main point. If she had to make decisions in the name of the King, he had given her his blessing¡ªhad put his trust in her. As if I ever doubted it, she thought, recalling Matilda¡¯s spiteful words. ¡°If you want your father to take you seriously again, you have to prove that you are more than a broken toy, Princess. If I were him, there is no way I would allow you to ascend the throne after me. I would already be planning how I would replace you with someone worthier.¡± This situation made Matilda¡¯s lie¡ªor perhaps her self-deception¡ªmore obvious. There was no one the King trusted in his moment of weakness more than his eldest daughter. Perhaps Matilda was simply far harsher and more ruthless than King Alistair. One thing Warrior Queen Maud had never been was soft. As Rosslyn walked from the chapel, her mind focused on the task ahead. She felt certain that a certain combination of words would provoke any traitor to naturally think of what they had done wrong. She would simply have to rehearse those words in her head and say them in a way that the traitor would find provocative, then have Adon there to catch the slip. It could be as simple as asking, ¡°Do you know about my father being poisoned?,¡± at least for the people who are meant to know about it, Lord Callum and Carolien. Rosslyn walked to her own room, retrieved her sword and dagger, then moved along, still deep in thought. As her feet carried her to the mystic beasts¡¯ room, she stopped, looked inside, and had to suppress a quiet urge to panic. They were not there. Had something happened to Adon and the spiders, too? If the Demon Empire knew about the mystic beasts, they would be natural targets of attack, especially if the Emperor knew that his assassin was about to be caught. Rosslyn stooped to look under the bed, mind still racing through possibilities. The floor showed no trace of anything but dust. If there were more enemies in the palace than the poisoner, or if the poisoner had somehow subdued the mystic beasts and fled with the beasts in their possession, the Kingdom¡¯s position in the coming war could be materially weakened¡ªin addition to the fact that Rosslyn would be personally upset by such events. She quickly quelled her agitation, however. Adon would have put up a fight. Goldie, too. Then she noticed that Goldie¡¯s children¡ªwith the notable exception of Samson¡ªwere, in fact, present. They were weaving a web in one of the corners where the wall met the ceiling. So, it is just the confirmed mystic beasts that disappeared, then. That observation seemed to verify that the assassin was not the cause of their absence. Surely, Goldie¡¯s other children would have been targets for the killer if Adon, Goldie, and Samson were. Samson¡¯s existence proved that Goldie could give birth to other mystic beasts; it would be foolish to ignore her other children¡ªthe most vulnerable targets¡ªand only kill the strongest ones. Rosslyn pivoted to considering where the arthropods might have gone, assuming that they had left the room of their own free choice. Once she shifted her mind to that question, the answer was obvious. As Rosslyn opened the door to the garden, her eyes immediately confirmed that Adon, Goldie, and Samson were there, in the distance. The butterfly fluttered above the two spiders, who stood on a bush. The evening light cast them all in a golden glow. There were no humans in sight. All seemed to be well. They probably just went out for some fresh air. From their perspective, today was a day like any other. Rosslyn approached. As she narrowed the distance, Adon noticed her presence and flew in her direction, cutting the gap between them more efficiently since he could simply glide over obstacles. Hello Princess, he sent. There seemed to be a moment of hesitation before he added, I hope your outing with the young lords went well. Please don¡¯t mind Goldie and Samson being silent back there. They¡¯re very focused on their magical training right now. ¡°Hello Adon, it is good to see you and your friends,¡± Rosslyn replied. A part of her was tempted to ask about the magical training, but the task she had been set was far too urgent. In her mind, she added, I intend to tell you things that cannot be spoken aloud right now, so please read my thoughts for this conversation, and ignore whatever I happen to say with my mouth. Whatever words I speak will be purely for the sake of any possible observing eyes. What¡¯s wrong, Rosslyn? Adon sent immediately. ¡°It is a beautiful day,¡± she said aloud, as if Adon had commented on the weather. My father has been poisoned, she thought loudly. The poisoner must be someone who works in the palace and has access to his meals. His poison taster died today, and my father has entrusted me with catching the poisoner. Is your father all right? Adon asked. He has been better, of course, but he is in good spirits, and his condition seems to be stable, Rosslyn thought. Does he need healing? Adon transmitted. Rosslyn smiled. ¡°You are very considerate, Adon,¡± she said quietly, almost whispering. His thought process about her father¡¯s affliction had been almost the same as hers, even though the King was not Adon¡¯s father¡ªeven though Adon owed him nothing, had no connection to him but being born in the same place as him and having interacted with him over the last couple of weeks. He has great empathy, she thought very, very quietly, trying to keep that thought at her deepest level of interiority. At her normal volume, Rosslyn thought, He is suffering now, so that the two of us can have the chance to smoke out the would-be assassin responsible for his condition. He has the power of healing magic himself, so he will use it if need be. But he has chosen to forego healing until I resolve the matter of finding the traitor. I see, Adon replied. Would you please help me, Adon? Rosslyn thought. 2-64. Ruling Out the Innocent Of course I will! Adon replied instantly. Rosslyn gave a little sigh that the butterfly interpreted as being one of relief. ¡°Thank you,¡± she said. How should we do this? he asked. ¡°Why, yes, you can perch on me,¡± Rosslyn said aloud, apparently still talking for the benefit of potential hidden observers. The idea that my father and I had was that your Telepathy would be the key, she thought. If you place yourself in my hair and transform your form slightly¡ªperhaps stiffen your body and make it slightly shinier, to look like a decorative hair pin¡ªI suspect no one will notice that you are present. Though no one outside the Royal Family should know your abilities, the best method to avoid suspicion is to make it seem as if you are not even there. You can send me a message or pull on my hair if someone thinks something suspicious, and simply remain still when all is well. That should keep the demands on your powers to what is absolutely necessary for the task, I think. Adon considered the fact that he could become invisible as easily as he could use Transformation in the way that Rosslyn suggested, but he decided that they should go with her idea. That way, he would not have to devote any attention to flying around and keeping up with her. Maintaining invisibility would probably also be slightly harder than pretending to be a butterfly hair clip, especially since any mistakes he made would be partially hidden by Rosslyn¡¯s hair. He quickly agreed and then fluttered over to the back of her head. She lifted her hair and quickly made it into a ponytail that he could grasp hold of with his legs. Your hair smells very nice, he sent as soon as he drew close. He resisted his reflexive instinct to feel awkward about complimenting a girl¡¯s fragrance. This was no ordinary odor, and his sense of smell was far more sensitive than it had been in his last life. It wasn¡¯t that weird that he was commenting on it. Right? The aroma was reminiscent of lilac. He clenched his legs around her ponytail and began subtly altering his body to make himself a hair pin. The rich odor intensified slightly with his proximity. This could get distracting, he thought quietly. ¡°Thank you,¡± she said. The back of her neck turned slightly pink for a moment. Do we need to move Goldie and Samson, or are they all right out here? Rosslyn thought. Adon¡¯s mind snapped instantly back to attention. His friends were out here exposed to any possible predators. I wonder if there¡¯s any danger to moving them while they¡¯re in the magical void, Adon thought. He imagined that there was not. As long as it did not cause them to stumble into anything dangerous in that space, it should be fine. To Rosslyn, he sent, I think we should move them back inside. It might be important to pick them up carefully, since they¡¯re doing something sensitive. Considering the problem we¡¯re investigating, I would place them in a disused room, maybe. I¡¯m guessing that someone who decided to poison your father might also want to go after us? That is correct, she thought. It would make sense for them to pursue our apparent allies as well. She walked over to the bush on which Samson and Goldie had perched, and she carefully broke the bases of the twigs on which they stood, gently picking the arachnids up. Neither spider moved an inch in response to the Princess¡¯s actions. They did not seem to notice that they were being moved, which Adon considered a clear marker of Rosslyn¡¯s success. The two of them are extraordinarily focused, Rosslyn thought. They¡¯re using the method of gaining magical powers that I discussed with you before, Adon explained. I realized that I could send them a vision of my memories, showing exactly how I gained the magical affinities I can use. Rosslyn paused and stood stock-still for a moment. That was something you could do? She sounded very impressed. I discovered I could do it just today, really, Adon transmitted. It was mentally tiring. But yes. I was able to send them audio-visual directions on acquiring healing magic. Adon, if you knew how long it takes to train most magic-users, you would understand how insane all of this sounds to me, Rosslyn thought. I told you that your method is now considered difficult and risky. But ancient sources considered it the best way to learn magic. It sounds as if your use of highly developed Telepathy will have cut the risks drastically for the spiders. Suffice to say, the Demon Empire would be wiser to kidnap you and use you to train their mages, rather than killing you, if they learned that you could do this. Well, I guess we should make sure that they know what I have to offer, Adon sent jokingly. Rosslyn swallowed, and her posture seemed to stiffen slightly as she walked forward. Adon could not read her thoughts for a few seconds, indicating that she was trying hard not to let him read her reaction. He wondered if what he had said had been too far beyond the pale for Rosslyn¡ªmaking a joke about the hated enemy that had been responsible for blinding her¡ªor if something else had made her uncomfortable. Sorry, I wasn¡¯t thinking, he began. Then her train of thought interrupted him. I was just thinking that if the Empire learned that you could do this, and they actually had the opportunity to capture you, it might become my duty to kill you, Rosslyn thought. She sounded upset. The non-proliferation of magical abilities is the highest national security priority for every country I am familiar with. These powers are jealously guarded and passed down within families. If they could be easily taught to anyone, it could destroy the international balance of power¡­ Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Oh. That was all Adon could think to respond with. Of course, Rosslyn added, there is no reason to assume the information will ever get out¡ªplease tell Goldie and Samson that they cannot inform anyone about this. You should continue training them with your new method and hone them to the highest level of battle-readiness possible. Should you tell your father about this? Adon sent. A twinge of fear radiated through his body as he thought about becoming the target of royal and aristocratic families across the continent¡ªwhether for kidnapping or assassination was almost equally disturbing. He liked being where he was. Maybe the King needed to be informed so that he could increase security. Rosslyn paused for another few seconds. I think we have to keep it to ourselves, she thought. The more people who know, the more danger you will be in. Your position is already as safe as we can make it, within the palace. We know that the palace was already infiltrated by at least one spy and one assassin. In a very small voice that Adon felt certain Rosslyn was trying to suppress, he heard her think, If my father knew what Adon could do, he might decide that he should kill Adon himself. It would be the wrong decision, and he probably would not make that mistake¡ªbut I cannot take that risk. So, I¡¯m as safe as I can be within the palace¡ªexcept from the King, maybe, Adon thought, carefully keeping that idea to himself. Rosslyn thinks I¡¯m in so much danger that she¡¯s willing to deceive her father over it. That was a surprise in its own right. She hadn¡¯t been willing to hide Adon¡¯s enhanced Telepathy from the King. Apparently this was much more consequential. I appreciate you looking out for me, Rosslyn, Adon sent carefully, trying to give no indication that he had heard what she¡¯d said about her father. That seemed like a minefield of a topic, and he had not intended to hear something she had almost certainly meant to keep private. ¡°You spend a lot of energy thinking about your friends and us,¡± she replied aloud. I do not want something terrible to happen to you, Rosslyn thought. You either, Rosslyn, Adon replied. They walked through the hall until they reached a room near the mystic beasts¡¯ room but not quite next to it, where a thin layer of dust on the mantle suggested the palace staff had not given the room attention over the last week or so. This room is seldom used, Rosslyn thought. I just wish that I could leave Goldie and Samson a note or something, Adon sent. ¡°Gone to find an assassin. Please stay here where it¡¯s safe.¡± Who says you cannot? Rosslyn thought back. Can they read? Adon asked skeptically. I don¡¯t even know if I can read or write. We will need to move Goldie¡¯s other little ones here, too, Rosslyn pointed out. You can tell them what has happened with Telepathy. Then they can tell Goldie or Samson when they come out of their trances. It is as good as a note. You would have done well as one of us, Adon sent back instantly. Um, not that I could see you as a bug, but you¡¯re good at thinking on your feet. He noticed the way her neck muscles moved slightly as she smiled. ¡°Thank you,¡± she whispered. They left the safe room and returned to the mystic beasts¡¯ room, where Adon coaxed Goldie¡¯s children down from the corner they had been spinning their web in. Rosslyn turned her back to the spiders so that Adon¡¯s body faced them, and he explained the situation to them as best he could. There¡¯s a dangerous human walking around the palace. We are moving you to another room until we catch the dangerous human. Please stay there, and tell Goldie and Samson. Adon repeated this message several times before the other spiders could reliably repeat it back to him. Then Rosslyn placed a pillow down on the floor beside the spiderlings, they climbed on, and they placed the arachnids in the room with their mother and brother. Goldie and Samson remained dead to the world, so Rosslyn and Adon simply left the room and closed the door behind them. The little spiders were already scaling the walls, heading up to another corner where they would no doubt continue practicing their web-crafting techniques. Where do we go first, then? Adon sent. I want my stepmother to know before anyone else, Rosslyn replied. I am certain of her innocence, but my father asked that we test everyone¡¯s loyalty, so please listen carefully for her reaction to what I tell her. That seems very careful of your father, Adon replied, recalling what Rosslyn had feared earlier regarding the King¡¯s reaction to Adon¡¯s newly discovered ability to teach magic more efficiently. He has been betrayed before, Rosslyn thought. That incident almost lost him his Queen and his daughter. Once bitten, twice wary. That was fair enough, Adon supposed. But he counted himself as unsurprised as Rosslyn when he observed the Queen¡¯s actual reaction to the news. ¡°Oh Goddess, what does this mean? Is your father all right? Is the war begun already?¡± The Queen¡¯s silent thought process was even more panicked than her verbal response. How could this have happened? What do I do? If the taster died, does it mean Alistair will die too? Do I go to him or stay here and protect the children? How many enemies are there? Is the city surrounded? Rosslyn stepped in close and held her stepmother. Adon sensed that there were genuine warm feelings between the two, so he waited a moment before saying anything to Rosslyn, not wanting to interrupt a tender moment. ¡°It will be all right,¡± the Princess whispered. ¡°Father is even stronger than we know. He is in good condition for the moment. He remains conscious and coherent. He has elected to delay healing until we catch the assassin.¡± ¡°How can I help?¡± the Queen asked. She is completely innocent, in case you had any doubts, Adon transmitted to Rosslyn quickly. ¡°I would ask that you and the children remain in the royal-exclusive section of the palace and that you not tell anyone else what I have told you just now,¡± Rosslyn replied. ¡°Keeping the young ones safe is the best thing you can do right now. Father should be safe¡ªeven weakened, he is a match for any lone assassin¡ªbut the children are vulnerable. If the assassin catches wind that we are on their trail, they will try to come after the princes and princesses. I will go and find loyal knights to station here and others to accompany me as I continue the search. If I have found the assassin by the end of the night, I will come and let you know. If not, please just keep my little brothers and sisters close.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± the Queen said. She kissed Rosslyn on the cheek and pulled back. Adon smelled the salt of tears that must have been running down the Queen¡¯s cheeks. ¡°I know you will catch the person responsible, though I do not know how.¡± Rosslyn nodded. ¡°I will, stepmother. By any means necessary¡ªand quickly.¡± The Princess and the butterfly left the lavish royal chambers and moved toward an area of the palace Adon had never visited before¡ªwhich Rosslyn explained was near the knights¡¯ barracks. 2-65. Confronting the Guilty Part 1 Adon kept Telepathy active as Rosslyn stepped closer to the entry to the knights¡¯ barracks area. He knew he needed to be ready at a moment¡¯s notice to read into people¡¯s hidden thoughts and motivations. If I ever wanted to be a detective, this experience will certainly satisfy that impulse for one lifetime, Adon thought to himself. It had everything. Secrets, murder, life or death stakes for the investigation, even the emotionally fraught Queen who had almost become a dowager¡ªand the King was not necessarily out of the woods yet. So, his body was full of tension as Rosslyn knocked on the heavy metal and wood door to the knights¡¯ barracks. Even though night had now fallen outside the palace, the knock was answered instantly. A slender metal slat in the door slid aside, and a pair of suspicious brown eyes looked out at them¡ªthen switched immediately from suspicious to surprised. ¡°Princess! Your Highness, what are you doing here¡ªum, if you permit such an impudent question. On second thought, never mind. It is typically customary for us to ask about a visitor¡¯s business, especially at this hour, but I have no doubt that whatever you are here for, it is proper.¡± He slid the slat closed, and Adon heard bolts turn and chains move. Then the door opened from the inside. A tall, thickly bearded man dressed in a linen gambeson stood before them, then hastily fell to his knees. ¡°Your Highness, welcome to the barracks,¡± he murmured. ¡°How may we be of service?¡± ¡°Sir Ringan, treachery is afoot in the palace,¡± Rosslyn said in an urgent near-whisper. ¡°Have you heard any news of the poisoning?¡± The knight¡¯s thoughts were all shock and dismay that anyone had been poisoned, and he quickly asked Rosslyn who was dead. Adon sent her the word clearing the knight of suspicion, and Rosslyn smoothly led the conversation onward. ¡°I cannot share names just now, because we may be overheard by someone less loyal than yourself, Sir,¡± she replied. ¡°I need brave and leal knights to accompany me as I investigate this crime. Men who will obey me without question and who are ready to sacrifice their lives to put down a threat to the Crown.¡± Sir Ringan¡¯s thoughts were remarkable to Adon. He could relate to them now, only because, after everything he had been through and learned, the butterfly did not value the same things about his lives that he had valued before. Rather than worrying first and foremost about his own survival, Adon wanted to have a life worth living¡ªand perhaps a death for something greater than himself. But Sir Ringan was there without needing to have a memory of every past life he¡¯d ever had¡ªas far as Adon knew, at least. It is my chance to secure glory and be remembered for my service, the knight thought. Thank you, Goddess, for blessing me with this opportunity. ¡°My sword is yours, Your Highness,¡± Sir Ringan said, his voice ringing with pride. ¡°I will follow wherever you lead. You will not find a man or woman here who will say differently.¡± ¡°I must speak to them individually,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°I have a method for identifying the traitors. The Goddess¡¯s holy light is guiding me. But you must mention the circumstances of my visit to no one.¡± We spread the idea among the common folk that our light magic is a sign of the Goddess¡¯s favor, Rosslyn thought. It does seem to function better when you believe you are acting in the Goddess¡¯s service, but there have been some rulers in our family who were far from devout who were nevertheless quite powerful with it. But the mythical understanding will serve us tonight. ¡°Yes, Your Highness,¡± Sir Ringan said, bowing deeply and lowering his sword to his side. ¡°I will bring the knights out one at a time, then.¡± ¡°Two by two should be fine, I think, Sir Ringan,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°We must move quickly before the would-be assassin manages to escape justice. When you go to bring people out, do not even tell them who is waiting for them.¡± He nodded and rushed to follow her orders. You really have a strong command of the soldiers, Adon transmitted admiringly once the man was gone. It is my most essential function, Rosslyn thought. If the men do not respect you, you sit on a precarious throne. Sir Ringan rushed back in, accompanied by men who Rosslyn identified for him as Sir Taskill and Sir Walrick. Both men¡¯s eyes widened at the sight of the Princess. Sir Walrick was the first to speak. ¡°Your Highness, what brings you here at this hour?¡± he asked. ¡°Treachery in the palace,¡± Rosslyn replied instantly. ¡°Have either of you men heard news of the poisoning?¡± Poisoning? My Goddess! thought Sir Walrick. So, the Emperor¡¯s assassin has moved, thought Sir Taskill. What will he want me to do, I wonder? Is the Imperial Army about to besiege the city? As soon as the Princess is gone, I will need to get a message out to inform the Empire of the success of the poisoning. Adon pulled on Rosslyn¡¯s hair¡ªgently but firmly¡ªto make sure he had her attention, then sent, Sir Taskill is a traitor! The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. The man was speaking at the moment that Adon sent his message. ¡°This is unthinkable,¡± Sir Taskill said. ¡°Is it confirmed there was a poisoning¡ªnot just a bout of illness? It is hard to believe¡ª¡± ¡°Sir Taskill, I know that you are involved with the Empire¡¯s plot,¡± Rosslyn said. Adon heard an incredibly quick movement as she drew her sword and pointed it at the knight¡¯s throat. ¡°Seize him!¡± Sir Ringan moved first. As Sir Taskill¡¯s hand was groping for the sword on his belt, the bearded knight tackled him to the floor. Sir Walrick moved next, pouncing on Sir Taskill¡¯s sword hand and breaking his grip on the blade hilt. Rosslyn quickly moved in and stepped on the other hand that was going for the man¡¯s sheathed dirk. Her foot crunched down so hard that Adon was fairly certain he heard the sound of bones breaking in Sir Taskill¡¯s left hand. ¡°Argh! What¡ªwhat is the meaning of this, Your Highness? I¡ªI have done nothing wrong, whoever told you I was a traitor is lying, I¡ª¡± ¡°I know it from your own lips, Sir Taskill,¡± Rosslyn replied. The man went silent, lips pursed tightly, body slumping in defeat. ¡°The Emperor¡¯s paymasters are open-handed,¡± he said. ¡°You men, you could make a great deal of money if you work with me against this¡ª¡± ¡°Silence, dog!¡± Sir Ringan growled, slamming his fist into the man¡¯s mouth. ¡°Some of us have honor.¡± Rosslyn smiled. ¡°Thank you, Sir Ringan. Sir Walrick. Please throw this man into a cell right away. We will need to place others in cells, but we will want each prisoner as isolated from the others as possible. They are to be questioned later, and they should have no opportunity to communicate and coordinate. Please bear that in mind.¡± ¡°Yes, Your Highness,¡± said Sir Ringan. ¡°Um, as you command, Your Highness,¡± said Sir Walrick, who sounded very confused. Rosslyn stood at the entrance to the knights¡¯ barracks, not wanting to advance further and give away her presence, until the two knights had returned. Then the procedure repeated, though for the most part less dramatically, until she and Adon had investigated the remaining over a hundred knights. This took hours. It uncovered only one other knight with compromised loyalties, who was likewise incarcerated. The remaining knights, however, were reliable to Adon and Rosslyn¡¯s satisfaction. Rosslyn ordered a half dozen to guard outside the chapel, another half-dozen to protect the other members of the Royal Family, eight to accompany her and provide her with backup, and the rest to spread throughout the palace, block all exits, and prevent anyone from leaving the palace until they received further orders from her or the King. She instructed them carefully on routes to take through the building to avoid being seen by the young lords or any other nobles who were staying at the palace. Almost above all, Rosslyn did not want the nobles to realize what was happening. Then she and her hand-picked bodyguards left. I will turn off Telepathy for a little while, if that¡¯s all right, Adon sent. He was starting to tire mentally, and although he had allowed the Transformation to lapse during certain periods of the evening, he hadn¡¯t had any similar chance to take a break from using Telepathy. I understand, Adon, Rosslyn thought. I appreciate your endurance so far. Please let me know when you have recovered enough to continue. Will the knights still be all right if we keep them working through the night? Adon transmitted¡ªperhaps thinking a little naively, even he realized. No one will sleep until the traitors are all identified and placed under lock and key, Rosslyn thought in reply. None of them have balked at the demands I have made, either. These are men and women who know their duty. Adon felt another little surge of admiration for how hard core Rosslyn and the Kingdom¡¯s knights were, but he simply replied with a quick Talk to you soon. They walked in near silence for some minutes, the knights surrounding Rosslyn on all sides and marching in a rhythmic lockstep. No sooner had Adon informed Rosslyn that he was ready to resume their effort than she pivoted down into another hallway. She was immediately ready to test more people. They were in a noble section of the palace, it quickly became apparent, because it was not the area where the Royal Family lived, and the man whose door Rosslyn knocked on was apparently named Lord Callum¡ªa key advisor to the King. Fortunately for Rosslyn¡¯s sanity, his mental reactions to the news seemed normal to Adon. There was a poisoning? And Rosslyn herself is investigating? That can only mean the victim was the King. Damn it! How did the Empire manage to place someone so highly? Once Adon had cleared Lord Callum of suspicion, she sent him to the chapel to confer further with the King, though she spoke in oblique terms. She referred to the King as ¡°your distinguished friend,¡± which¡ªas she explained in her mental dialogue¡ªwas a theatrical reference that she knew Lord Callum would understand. Rosslyn did not waste much more time in the noble section of the building. The nobles do not handle menial tasks like preparing other people¡¯s food, she explained. The typical spy or assassin would be someone low-born anyway. Lord Callum is one of very few nobles who would have the ability to do something like this to the King. I would still like the two of us to explore the loyalties of our nobles in the future, but the urgency is to find the assassin. I know we must conserve your energy by focusing on that task. It struck Adon that Rosslyn herself might have been an excellent spymaster in another life. There was a great logical organization to the way she cleared people¡ªshe had started with the people closest to the King who were essentially not plausible as suspects, meaning the Queen, then proceeded to investigate the military and remove any disloyal knights, then used the already awakened military force to lock down the palace. And, of course, she had begun by finding Adon so that she could use his Telepathy to her advantage. It was as if she was playing a strategy game and slowly cutting off all her opponents¡¯ potentially dangerous moves. The group strode into the servants¡¯ quarters, and Rosslyn quietly ordered most of her knights to move to block the exits. She led the remaining force down a long, dark, narrow corridor. This is the moment of truth, she thought. It is almost certain that someone among the staff was involved in this long term plot to poison my father. It would have been impossible otherwise. She shook her head, and Adon felt and saw the weariness in her posture. I do not understand it, Rosslyn thought. He has been as good as any man could be in his position. Kind and generous. Perhaps too trusting¡ªalmost to a fault. But is this the sort of man that one would choose to betray and even attempt to murder? Even the person who hates him most in the world would have to admit that she is not justified in those feelings, if she is truly honest. Adon saw a mental image of a middle-aged woman whose image appeared extremely tough and who had a hateful look in her eyes. He wanted to respond to what Rosslyn was saying, but he sensed that she was really talking to herself more than him¡ªand he didn¡¯t know what to say anyway. What could make it better that someone had tried to murder her father? Rosslyn¡¯s hand was steady as she knocked on the first door. 2-66. Confronting the Guilty Part 2 The door squealed like a stuck pig as it slowly opened. The sound set Rosslyn¡¯s teeth on edge. Then a pair of bleary eyes stared out of the shadowy gap. The space between the door and the jamb quickly widened as the gaze lit on the Princess. Rosslyn swallowed a sudden lump in her throat as she looked into the face of Chef MacGregor. She had not known this particular room was his. It was just a place to begin, just the room at the end of the hall. Please do not be him, please not him¡­ Rosslyn silently prayed. Memories ran through her mind of sneaking snacks from under MacGregor¡¯s faux-unknowing eye, of the chef catering afternoons spent in the garden with her mother, of MacGregor¡¯s gentle laughter¡­ If the poisoner somehow turned out to be the kindly aging chef, Rosslyn did not know if she would be able to walk by the kitchen ever again. Not without remembering how she had apparently been so thoroughly deceived by someone she had trusted implicitly. ¡°Your¡ªYour Highness?¡± the palace¡¯s head chef asked sleepily. ¡°What brings you here tonight?¡± His hands pulled his sleep robe tighter around him, apparently self-conscious that a few gray chest hairs were showing in the middle. ¡°Good evening, chef,¡± Rosslyn said quietly, somberly. ¡°What do you know about poisoning?¡± The red-and-gray-haired man suddenly seemed to spring awake, eyes blinking rapidly as he tried to process what she had said. ¡°Poisoning?¡± he whispered. ¡°Who?¡± He knows nothing, Adon sent. Thank Goddess, Rosslyn thought, exhaling softly, trying not to show her relief. ¡°I cannot share names just now, because we may be overheard by someone less loyal than yourself,¡± she replied reflexively. ¡°I am going around testing the loyalty of everyone who had access to the food we eat. Only specific targets seem to have been poisoned, which means the food was not contaminated when it arrived at the palace.¡± The chef nodded slowly, the information seemingly hitting him on a slight delay. ¡°How can I help, Your Highness?¡± he asked. ¡°You are alone in your room, correct, chef?¡± Rosslyn asked. As the head of the kitchens, he should have a room to himself. Chef MacGregor nodded. ¡°Then I would just ask that you stay there for now,¡± Rosslyn replied. ¡°If I have some difficulty in dealing with other members of the kitchen staff, I will come back to get your assistance.¡± ¡°Very well, Your Highness,¡± the chef said, bowing his head. He dipped backward into the room and closed the door gently behind him. I¡¯m glad that the chef wasn¡¯t the poisoner, Adon transmitted. Me too, Rosslyn thought. It seems like he cares a lot about you, Adon added. She simply smiled. ¡°First door at the end of the hallway is a loyal man,¡± she said to a knight who was approaching her from the group at the entrance to the space. ¡°You can stand over by his door, and be prepared to spring into action in case anything goes wrong with one of the neighboring rooms.¡± The man nodded. Rosslyn continued the slow, repetitive process of knocking on doors, priming the servants for telepathic interrogation, and waiting for Adon¡¯s verdict on each subject¡¯s complicity or lack thereof. She pumped a small amount of Mana into her brain just to counter the growing feeling of fatigue that made itself known as she continued the purge of Demon Empire sympathizers. And she tried to distract herself between conversations by talking to Adon. You know, you could make police work in the Kingdom a lot easier if you could teach Telepathy to people, Rosslyn thought. That would be amazing, assuming none of the police were spies, Adon sent. A little part of Rosslyn wanted to laugh at that attempt at humor, but another part of her silenced that impulse. Maybe some of the police force were spies. She did not know who to trust anymore. Two of the knights had been agents of the Empire, and Rosslyn had only bothered verifying their loyalty so that she would know she could trust everyone around her to have her back. She had known the poisoner would not be a knight. We might have to actually check on the police force at some point in the future, assuming we have the time, she finally thought in response. Adon sent nothing back to that. Perhaps he was as perplexed as she was. The kitchen staff after Chef MacGregor were cleared much more efficiently than he had been. Rosslyn kept idle chatter to a minimum as much as she reasonably could, and most of the staff did not have the same level of familiarity with the Princess as the head chef. The lower ranking kitchen staff also all had roommates, which meant that Rosslyn eliminated two people from her inquiries at once with each room she cleared. Puzzlingly, none of the kitchen staff that she spoke to set off Adon¡¯s alarm bells. Though it would be a relief to Chef MacGregor that none of his subordinates seemed to be involved in the plot, this information raised more questions than answers. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. If none of the kitchen staff were in on this, the number of people who could be responsible for her father¡¯s poisoning shrunk drastically. Rosslyn ordered one of the knights to make certain that no one entered or left this area of the building, and she shifted to a different area of the servants¡¯ quarters. There were hundreds more people to investigate. She wanted to finish her search before the night was over, to keep the nobles in the dark about what had happened until she and her father determined the direction their explanation would take. They would not want to reveal Adon¡¯s Telepathy to people outside the Royal Family unless it was absolutely necessary, but she was not certain yet how they would explain the events of this evening without exposing that secret. At the beginning of the next hallway, there was a room set apart from the rest. It was still clearly a residential room, but there were metal slots in the door that none of the other rooms had. Rosslyn examined them briefly and recognized there was one at eye height, for the room¡¯s occupant and any visitor to see each other, and one close to the ground, apparently sized for a tray of food to pass through. There were levers to open both slots on the outside of the room. It took her tired brain a moment to process what her eyes were seeing. The room was a cell. Oh, I know who this room is for, she realized suddenly. There was only one person in the palace who was effectively a prisoner. Rosslyn knocked on the eyehole slot and then waited for the sound of movement from within. Once the slight noise of a human stirring filtered through the door, the Princess opened the slot. Sure enough, sitting upright in a small bunk, twisting her body to face toward the door, was Matilda. ¡°Princess, what brings you to the servants¡¯ quarters?¡± her cold voice asked. ¡°Did you get bored in your part of the palace? Came to have some fun slumming it with the servants?¡± There was a taunting note in her voice, but Rosslyn was completely used to that from her by now. ¡°I am not bored,¡± Rosslyn replied quietly. ¡°I came to learn what you know about poisons.¡± ¡°Someone tried to poison your father, then?¡± Matilda asked. Rosslyn did not respond, and she tried her best to maintain a poker face. The former Duchess was just trying to rattle her. ¡°Oh, they did poison your father?¡± Matilda said, rising from her bunk. Rosslyn did not meet the woman¡¯s eyes. She wanted to be out of this conversation. Rosslyn¡¯s gaze darted anywhere and everywhere but to Matilda¡¯s¡ªto the sparse furniture, to the bare walls, and to the collar that remained around the slave¡¯s neck even during sleep. Adon, do we know what she knows? Rosslyn thought. Matilda stalked toward the door, moving slowly, like a beast of prey, seeming to savor the feeling of Matilda¡¯s discomfort. So hateful, Adon transmitted. She hates your family so much. Who is she? No, never mind, she knows something¡ªshe knew this might happen, but she isn¡¯t involved herself. She just hears things. Knows things. When she hears someone is plotting to kill your family, it delights her. What kind of sick person is this woman? ¡°You do not know anything, do you?¡± Rosslyn asked. She finally met Matilda¡¯s gaze. Matilda stood inches away, just on the other side of the door¡ªso close that Rosslyn could not even make out her expression clearly. ¡°That might be a fair description, Princess,¡± Matilda replied. ¡°I know little. The Demon Empire knows that it would be a waste of time trying to recruit me to their cause.¡± Though Rosslyn could not see her lips, she saw from the movement of Matilda¡¯s eyes that the woman had twisted her face into an evil grin. ¡°But I knew more than you, eh? I knew that something was coming. I know what happened. I am amazed that it succeeded, but I should not be. Your father was always a fool. He probably does not even have someone tasting his food. Where is he now? Is he lying in a bed, clutching the sheets while they try to leech the poison from his body? Is he already gone? Where will that leave you, little Princess¡ª¡± Rosslyn slammed the viewing slot shut, suddenly unable to hear any more from the woman. ¡°So spiteful,¡± she muttered. ¡°I could not make myself listen any longer.¡± There was a low laugh on the other side of the door, and Rosslyn was reminded that Matilda could still hear her. What do we know, Adon? Rosslyn thought. What did her thoughts reveal? Anything that can help us? Who did she overhear? Who was plotting? Even a simple physical description of the people behind this, if Matilda¡¯s thoughts emerged in pictures as well as words, would be most helpful. ¡°I would never help anyone else kill King Alistair,¡± came Matilda¡¯s muffled voice from her cell. ¡°That man is mine to murder. I would not allow another person to steal my victory from me.¡± She really means it, Adon transmitted. About wanting to kill your father herself. And I think she meant everything she said. There was so much going on inside her brain, it was a little hard to keep track of, but¡­ Oh, my head is throbbing. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because I¡¯ve been doing this for so long, coupled with the Transformation, but I need a minute or two, if that¡¯s all right. I won¡¯t forget anything I absorbed, I just need to break the Transformation and turn off Telepathy. All right, Rosslyn thought. She reached her hands back behind her head. Just climb down into my hands, then? I can hold you, so you will not have to even support your own body weight, and you can stay hidden from the guards. Yes, Adon sent wearily. Then she felt the tiny weight of the butterfly in her fingers. It was still surreal how little Biomass he had, how little space he occupied. He was too large, with his wingspan, for her relatively small hands to completely hide him, but she quickly moved her hands around to her front and cupped them against her abdomen, more or less concealing him between her palms and her clothing. She closed her eyes for a moment. Just then, she would have liked nothing better than to lie down and sleep. ¡°Are you all right, Your Highness?¡± Rosslyn opened her eyes again and saw Sir Ringan looking down at her with concern. She forced herself to smile and nod. ¡°I am fine, Sir. I will be completely back to normal only when we bring every person responsible for this crime to justice, but I am all right.¡± He nodded. ¡°We could not help but overhear some of that wicked woman¡¯s rantings.¡± He tilted his head to indicate the other knights, several feet behind him, who were standing near the entrance to this section of the servants¡¯ quarters. ¡°Would you like us to do something about her? Place her in a cell as well? Her remarks are treasonous in their own right.¡± Rosslyn shook her head. ¡°No, she is already being punished in the manner most fitting to her crimes. She is forced to live in her present condition. Forced to live with herself every day and into the night. I cannot imagine a worse outcome.¡± Sir Ringan snorted slightly. ¡°Well, please do let us know if you change your mind, Your Highness. We do not care for anyone speaking ill of our King, or wishing him dead, any more than we would if she had taken action on those desires.¡± There was movement among the knights as he spoke, and Rosslyn realized there was someone else there now¡ªperhaps more than one someone. One of the newly arrived figures appeared to be trying to make their way through the tangle of people. Initially, Rosslyn could only see an arm, as the newcomer¡¯s body was blocked from view by several knights who appeared to have stopped the person from moving forward. But as Sir Ringan turned toward the sound, placing a hand on his sword, Rosslyn finally saw the face of the person who was trying to get through the gaggle of warriors¡ªapparently trying to reach the Princess herself. ¡°Celeste!¡± Rosslyn called out. 2-67. Celeste At first, Adon did not know who was approaching Rosslyn. He heard her call out a name: ¡°Celeste!¡± The Princess¡¯s voice had risen almost to a shout. She sounded surprised and pleased at seeing this person. Adon searched his memory banks quickly and came up with an answer almost immediately. He was not particularly recovered from his exertions of recent hours, but his brain was robust enough to review its records with great speed even when he was tired¡ªespecially when the task seemed urgent. As Celeste stepped closer, Adon, still sheltered behind Rosslyn¡¯s hands and nestled against her stomach, could not see her. However, he heard the second set of footsteps advancing with her, and from that, he deduced that she was not approaching alone. ¡°Sir Ringan, you can let Celeste and the other knight come closer,¡± Rosslyn said quietly. Her voice rang with trust, and Adon doubted himself for a moment. Was it possible that woman with the twisted mind, Matilda, had confused him? Could she have adjusted the way she thought about past events to give him an incorrect understanding? That would have required that she knew someone might read her mind, at the least, but it seemed plausible somehow from her. ¡°Your Highness, please forgive me for failing to attend you in your chambers this evening,¡± Celeste said in a low, apologetic voice. ¡°I had a minor personal emergency I was seeing to, when¡ª¡± ¡°Highness, I caught this woman trying to leave the palace,¡± said the knight who had approached alongside Celeste¡ªwho seemed to have her arm locked in his grip. ¡°I have not searched her yet¡ªI did not have others nearby to assist me¡ªso I ask that you stay back for the moment. If you wish to talk to her, Sir Ringan can keep an eye on her movements while I check her for weapons.¡± Adon did not know what Rosslyn thought of that¡ªhe had deactivated Telepathy for the moment¡ªbut her body seemed to stiffen. She hesitated for a moment, deciding what to do. The butterfly reactivated his power. Rosslyn, I¡¯m pretty sure she¡¯s one of the people Matilda overheard plotting to poison your father, he sent quickly. The Princess must have shown some visible reaction to what Adon had transmitted, because the world suddenly moved very quickly. Adon sensed a rapid movement from the front, and Rosslyn¡¯s hands moved from Adon, letting him drop. No one was in a position to notice the butterfly¡¯s sudden appearance, though. All eyes were on the maid. The knight who had suggested searching her was clutching his stomach, where Adon guessed Celeste had just struck him. Despite looking relatively small and harmless in her uniform, Celeste now stood in a defensive posture, as if ready for an attack from either side of the hallway. ¡°My apologies, Your Highness, I just prefer not to be touched,¡± she said. The woman wore a strange, manic smile¡ªas if she believed that if she just pretended things were normal for a few more seconds, she might get away with something¡ªor accomplish some objective she had yet to achieve. Rosslyn held still for a second, and Celeste seemed to take that as Rosslyn showing weakness or being too surprised to move. The maid reached a hand into her apron pocket¡ªand then Rosslyn moved faster than Adon could see. A sharp, piercing cry echoed through the hall, along with a crunch of snapping bone. Rosslyn pulled Celeste¡¯s hand¡ªthe wrist twisted in an impossible way¡ªfrom the maid¡¯s pocket, and a stiletto dropped from Celeste¡¯s grip and clattered across the floor. ¡°Well, that settles that, I suppose,¡± Rosslyn muttered, kicking the knife further away from Celeste¡¯s grip. Adon heard Rosslyn¡¯s immediate thought about what had happened¡ªher first reaction after having disarmed the maid. How could it be you? How? I have known you since¡­ Though her expression did not show it, the Princess was in some distress. Adon fluttered up out of sight onto a high, shadowy place on the wall where no one would be able to spot him. Then Celeste¡¯s jaw moved in a strange way. Adon thought it was only the unusual angle from which he observed her that allowed him to see it. I think she¡¯s trying to swallow something! he sent in a rush. The Princess¡¯s right hand moved, again, more quickly than Adon¡¯s vision could track without Mana. He could tell vaguely what was going on from the way Celeste¡¯s body moved. It appeared as if Rosslyn¡¯s hand had forced open Celeste¡¯s mouth, darted into it, grabbed something inside her mouth, and then withdrew as quickly as it had entered. ¡°Damn you!¡± the maid growled. Adon heard her thinking, That was my only escape from this¡­ ¡°I will help you escort her to the cells,¡± Rosslyn said, still gripping Celeste¡¯s broken wrist with her other hand. The knight Celeste had elbowed had stepped in to secure Celeste¡¯s other arm. ¡°Is that truly necessary, Your Highness?¡± the maid asked, grimacing in pain now. ¡°You have already disarmed me.¡± ¡°Shut up, traitor,¡± Rosslyn hissed. Her right hand shook as she restrained what Adon sensed was a strong urge to slap the other woman. Many unspoken words flowed through the Princess¡¯s mind. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. How could you? You bitch! To my father. These, and a hundred variations and different mixtures of phrases. Adon gathered that Rosslyn had felt close to this maid¡ªand now she was betrayed in equal measure. He could not avoid hearing these thoughts without deactivating Telepathy, which he did not want to do while Rosslyn was standing there, in case she had something she wanted to tell him. After a few seconds, the knights selected a handful of their number to accompany Rosslyn. They took Celeste from the hall by gripping both her arms firmly, two hands on each. With Rosslyn there, Adon could not imagine how the maid could escape, but now he supposed her incarceration was doubly certain. When Rosslyn was out of sight, he finally deactivated Telepathy and allowed himself to rest. It had been a long evening, though Adon imagined it had been far longer for the Princess than it had for him. ¡ª After Rosslyn had parted from the knights and left Celeste in the darkest, most isolated cell she could find, she did not return to the servants¡¯ quarters to continue her work immediately. She still had it in mind to test the loyalty of as many people as she could that evening. She recalled that according to Adon, Matilda had heard Celeste speaking to someone about the plot to poison the King, implying that there was at least one more conspirator, but it was hard for the Princess to make herself take up the task after she had locked up one of her longest serving companions. Celeste was a woman she had thought of as almost a friend. It was a reminder that in the world she inhabited, there were very few people she could truly trust. She had been foolish to believe that Celeste ever cared about her beyond what was necessary to fulfill the duties of Celeste¡¯s job¡ªand apparently Celeste had not even cared about her job except as a means of getting at the King. When Rosslyn escorted Celeste down into the darkness, the Princess raised only one topic of conversation with the poisoner. ¡°How long?¡± Rosslyn asked in a low voice. She barely managed to keep the words from coming out with a quiver. ¡°How long were you planning to betray us?¡± Celeste had shaken her head as if confused, then twisted her neck so that she could look backward into Rosslyn¡¯s eyes. Something had apparently convinced her that it was a sincere question¡ªor perhaps she saw some other persuasive feature in the Princess¡¯s face. Rosslyn did not have the strongest control of her facial expressions as she walked the maid into the darkness. ¡°Always,¡± Celeste replied. ¡°And from the phrasing of your question, I understand that Your Highness is confused, so I will speak more clearly. I was always an employee of the Demon Empire. There can be no betrayal where there was never any loyalty.¡± ¡°You never had any loyalty,¡± Rosslyn repeated. ¡°Of course. I should have known better than to even ask. We hear tales of how the Empire¡¯s assassins are trained. You never had any agency. You were twisted from childhood into becoming this.¡± There was pity in Rosslyn¡¯s voice then. Even though this woman had poisoned her father, murdered Sir Domnhall, and lied to Rosslyn¡¯s face for years, none of it was entirely her fault. Celeste could never be forgiven, of course, but neither was she entirely blameworthy. She was effectively a soldier of an enemy nation¡ªone that considered espionage and assassinations as merely warfare by another means. Which it was. ¡°Make no mistake,¡± said Celeste in a strained tone of voice. ¡°I had no loyalty to you, because I was loyal to the Empire. That was a choice. I am not some brainwashed puppet. I even developed some affection for you personally as I watched as you grew into a beautiful and strong woman. But all of that only convinced me that what I was doing was right.¡± ¡°You are not making any sense,¡± Rosslyn said. It seemed as if a mask had fallen away from the would-be assassin, but she was not being clear. ¡°It was right to destroy you, because otherwise, you would be destroyed by the Empire,¡± Celeste said softly. ¡°Of course, I did all this mainly for my family. If your father dies from my poison, they will be richly rewarded. Even if he does not, they will be looked after in compensation for my loyal service. But I also did this for you. You are too weak to defeat them, Princess¡ªyou and your father together. Death by poison is more mercy than the Emperor would give you if you were to fall into his hands.¡± ¡°How lovely,¡± Rosslyn replied coldly. ¡°Well, think of all the mercy we will show you in gratitude.¡± The rest of the walk was completed in silence. A part of Rosslyn wanted to slap Celeste across the face, or spit on her, or find some other heinous way to punish her for what she had done. Instead, she simply turned the key in the cell door, ordered one of the knights to stand guard, and then took the key with her. She wanted to leave no opening for Celeste to escape or be mysteriously killed by some other hidden agent of the Empire. Now her feet took her to the chapel¡ªto her father, to report that at least one of his would-be assassins had been identified, and more than one traitor locked up. When the knights standing guard admitted her, she found her father in much the same condition he had been in before. He appeared pale and sweaty, but he did not look as if he was in great pain or as if his condition had worsened. She took some comfort there. ¡°I am glad to see you still well, Rosslyn,¡± he said. ¡°Thank you, father,¡± she said. ¡°I have come to report on my progress.¡± So she told him what had happened, what she planned to do next, and how helpful Adon had been. That was the one positive of the evening, she could not help emphasizing. Without his Telepathy, the night¡¯s activities would have been completely impossible. Her father stroked his beard and smiled and spoke little until near the end of her recounting. ¡°Well done,¡± he said. ¡°Please identify any other traitors as best you can, but make certain that you allow the butterfly to get some rest. You have my permission to lock the palace down for the next several days. These results are excellent. I almost want to suggest spreading the process to the city as a whole, but I cannot imagine the strain it would place on Adon¡­¡± ¡°What will become of Celeste?¡± Rosslyn could not help but ask. ¡°The one traitor you actually knew well,¡± her father said in a sad tone. ¡°You know what will happen, Rosslyn. Do not ask questions you already know the answers to, unless you only want to hear them spoken aloud.¡± ¡°She will be questioned,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°Questioned sharply, yes,¡± the King said firmly. ¡°Our professionals will extract any information that they can from her. Then she will be put to death.¡± Rosslyn nodded. It was as she had expected. She abhorred torture, but in cases like this, she understood the necessity of it. Celeste was a foreign assassin and likely spy. She might know¡ªwould likely know¡ªsomething of the Demon Empire¡¯s planning and invasion timeline. Otherwise, she would not have known the best moment to make her move. Even if she did not have that information, she would have knowledge of methods, practices, and techniques that the Empire and its assassins practiced. It could be invaluable, and it would be illogical not to extract that information when they had one such assassin in their grasp. There was only one thing Rosslyn could do for Celeste. ¡°I request that I be her executioner,¡± Rosslyn said. Her father stared at Rosslyn for a moment, mouth slightly agape. ¡°Are you that angry with her?¡± he finally asked. ¡°I suspect that I know the toll that would take on you.¡± ¡°It is not anger,¡± Rosslyn replied. ¡°It is simply that I have a steady hand, and I would make it quick¡ªand I finish what I start. I caught her. She should die by my hand¡ªor Adon¡¯s, if he preferred, since he is as responsible for our success as me. But I suspect he would cede the honor to me.¡± The King finally nodded slowly. ¡°If you still feel that way when the Kingdom is done with her, then by all means, do it.¡± 2-68. Depressing Discussions Adon clung to the wall, lurking in the shadows, for what felt like a long time, during which period his brain recovered. The mild headache that he was developing dulled and then disappeared completely. Just as Adon was starting to feel bored, Rosslyn returned to the servants¡¯ hallway and rejoined the knights. ¡°Let us resume,¡± she said, looking at and projecting her voice toward the knights but clearly intending them for Adon also. He turned his body invisible, quickly fluttered down to where she stood, and landed in the same place on the back of her hair from before. The Princess reached back and placed a hand gently over his wings, providing him cover while he shifted back to his visible appearance, emulating the look of a glossy hair pin in the shape of a butterfly. This form was easier to maintain, he had noticed, than invisibility or enlargement, because the Transformation kept him very close to his original shape and size. He reactivated Telepathy in time to catch her in mid-thought. ¡ªthing happen while I was gone? Adon could guess what the first two words of that sentence probably were. Nothing of interest happened in front of me, he sent back. Did you have enough rest to continue? Rosslyn replied. I did, Adon transmitted. Rosslyn nodded to herself and to the knights, and then the process resumed. Adon could not help noticing that the continued activity had shifted its tempo. Where before, Rosslyn had moved as if there was a fire under her, now she and her helpers advanced through the halls in the rhythm of a funeral march. The questions she was asking to elicit incriminating mental statements remained essentially the same as they had been before, but her tone was different. The butterfly hardly had room to focus on it at first, attentive as he was to the responses themselves, but soon it set in for him. Rosslyn seemed terribly dispirited. As she spoke¡ª¡°What do you know about poisoning?¡±¡ªher voice came out flat, resigned. When they identified the next traitor among the staff, she hardly reacted. It was as if she was already jaded and imagined that anyone else she spoke to could be one of the enemies¡ªand perhaps that was not far from her actual feelings. Between the unmasking of the traitor and the next room, Adon took the chance to try talking to her. Are you all right, Rosslyn? he transmitted tentatively. She hesitated for a few seconds before formulating her response. Oh, fine, Rosslyn thought. A little troubled about the way the night has gone¡ªbut fine, I think. Thank you for asking. Are you tired at all? Do you need another break? No, I¡¯m fine, Adon sent. He did not believe Rosslyn was ¡°fine¡± at all, and he decided to push a little bit, like he would with Goldie. Um, do you want to talk about it? The Princess was silent for a little while¡ªfor so long that they had to move on to the next door, just to keep pace with the knights¡¯ expectations. They did not know that their leader was talking to a mystic beast as they followed her. Rosslyn and Adon tackled a few more examinations before they moved on to another space. Then they finally had enough of a gap to properly communicate with each other again. Honestly, I have never felt so unsettled in my life, Rosslyn thought, the words coming out in a rush. There are so many traitors around us. People who lied to us for years. It is painful to think about. I look around me and wonder who can be trusted. She paused. Not you, of course. I know I can trust you. Yes, Adon replied immediately. You have me, Goldie, Samson, and your family at least. And all the people we¡¯re clearing tonight are probably trustworthy. They are at least not involved in the plot to assassinate my father, Rosslyn thought. If I started asking some more general questions to stimulate their thought processes about treachery more broadly, I would only end up looking suspicious. I think it would give away that I, or someone around me, had Telepathy. Adon could only agree. Then the two proceeded to clear another section of the palace. All the groundskeepers and gardeners showed no signs of knowing anything about a plot to kill the King. That is a relief, Rosslyn thought as they moved out. If one of them was working for the Empire, I would expect the Emperor to already know about you and the spiders. Hopefully you are still a secret. A part of Adon wanted to ask what the Empire did to mystic beasts, but he thought it might be better not knowing. His imagination had other subjects to occupy itself, so his brain would not invent torments out of whole cloth for him. But if he actually knew how the Empire treated captured enemy creatures, he imagined he would not be able to avoid picturing it happening to himself and Goldie. No one else knows about me? Adon transmitted. I know you¡¯ve tried to keep the information tight within your family, but there are people preparing our meals every day. That is true, Rosslyn thought. Celeste certainly knew that you were more than meets the eye. But she never saw or heard of you actually performing any magic. Whatever she might have passed on to the Empire will be limited. They will have no idea of your capabilities and your maturity. Whereas the gardeners have almost certainly seen some of your handiwork, whether they recognized it or not.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Adon remembered all the holes he had burned in plants¡ªand even damage that he had done to the palace roof¡ªfrom using his Mana ball over and over through his days in the garden. If they¡¯re not blind, they know, he sent. Rosslyn suppressed a little snort of laughter¡ªshe covered it by covering her mouth and pretending to cough¡ªand shook her head. Adon thought of someone else who might know about what he could do, though he had little concrete reason to think so. You never told that enslaved woman who was staying in the servants¡¯ quarters about me, right? he asked. It¡¯s just that she hates you and your father so much, I can easily imagine her telling the Empire anything she learned about me out of spite. She wants to kill the King herself, but I¡¯m guessing that the Empire getting anyone else you care about would be a victory in her eyes. For that matter, I think she would consider it a victory even if she died to accomplish her goal. Do you know why she hates the two of you to such an insane degree? Rosslyn stopped, stiffened slightly, and then continued walking. Adon could not imagine what the knights looking at her must think¡ªnot without delving into their minds, which he was not trying to do at the moment. Their dull, sleep-deprived minds did not present their thoughts as forcefully on the surface as they might otherwise have done. The knights had been working hard all night, and it was now into early morning. Maybe they did not notice the Princess¡¯s slightly odd behavior as she engaged in the telepathic dialogue. After all, she was going through a difficult night. It would be stranger if it had not affected her, arresting members of her household staff and knights sworn into her father¡¯s service. Rosslyn continued walking along in silence for a while, and Adon did not say anything to follow up on his question. He was starting to know her mind well by then, and he thought he could tell when the surface of her mind was placid because she was thinking thoughts deep below, versus when she was simply at peace. This was not one of the latter times. I never told her anything about you, Adon, Rosslyn thought smoothly. I have hardly had any dialogue with her except when we were fighting, and those were mostly words exchanged in anger. Matilda and I are not so terribly different in that regard. I think a temper runs in the royal bloodline¡ªshe is distantly related¡ªbut I think I have always been careful to avoid telling her anything that could be damaging. Is that what¡¯s wrong with her? Adon responded. She just has the royal temper in spades? Rosslyn shook her head. It is hard to be certain exactly what is wrong with Matilda. She has her reasons for her grievance against my father, but her feelings exceed all rational proportion. She believed that she should be Queen of Claustria, you see¡­ Wait, was she in line for the throne? Adon sent. Isn¡¯t there some kind of order of succession? The Princess quickly explained the families¡¯ respective backgrounds, how certain royals had died in the past and left competing viable claims¡ªand that Matilda was the reincarnation of someone called Warrior Queen Maud, who was apparently very important in Claustrian history. Was the reincarnation thing important? Adon asked. She thought so, at least, Rosslyn replied. It does not give her a legally recognizable claim to the throne. It may be relevant to understanding her reactions, though. Adon simply waited for her to elaborate. There is a theory, though some consider it an old wives¡¯ tale, that figures of the past can be affected by how they are perceived today, Rosslyn thought. The idea is that the soul of a dead person, or a group of people, might be diminished and influenced by how they are perceived today. And Warrior Queen Maud has not been given all of the credit that she deserves for her accomplishments by mainstream historians within the country. So, that led to this new incarnation being ambitious and wanting to attain the glory that was denied her previous self in history? Adon transmitted. It is hard to say for certain, Adon, Rosslyn thought. As I said, it is an old wives¡¯ tale¡ªan idea that no one has ever proven or even set out to prove. The people of our society are very in touch with their past lives, attuned to issues related to them, and curious about how the reincarnation system works. Another interpretation could be that the public idea of the Warrior Queen has soured, and she has been remembered as cruel and bloodthirsty¡ªand so the incarnation of her who returned actually became that way. And still a third possibility is that because Matilda remembers the harsh way her previous self was remembered, she decided not to care about how people view her in this life. Injustice can happen even to a person who tried her best to live a good and moral life, so why bother trying to be good? That¡¯s pretty grim as an outlook, Adon sent. Are you sure it¡¯s her past life influencing her like that? After a moment, the Princess shook her head. I have no way of knowing, she thought. I have little connection to my past lives. Rosslyn sounded slightly regretful. You remember much of your past lives, do you not? How do you think those experiences have affected you in this one? Adon thought about his past lives, and the aggregate impression of his experience that hit him as he considered it was the same as ever¡ªhe had consistently been a loser. He had consistently failed at life in every incarnation. There was no concept in his mind of how any of those versions of himself would be viewed by other people looking backward; in fact, it seemed distinctly probable that none of those incarnations would be remembered by anyone at all. It¡¯s too depressing to think about, Adon thought, very carefully not sending the words as a message to Rosslyn. After a moment, he sent, I think past lives can definitely influence your priorities in the present. He sensed that Rosslyn wanted him to elaborate further, but the feelings that filled his mind now were not ones that he wanted to share with anyone. I¡¯m not going to be forgettable this time, Adon thought, keeping the sentiment very quiet. In this life, I¡¯ll leave my mark, for better or worse. The Princess and the butterfly continued in their mission of purging the palace, united by their common purpose but alone with their thoughts. They did not find any other spies that night, to their shared surprise. Rosslyn had resigned herself to the idea that one in every fifty people in the palace would turn out to be an imperial agent, and Adon had assumed that her estimate could not be far wrong. By the end, though there were no more arrests, Adon was pleased with the progress he had made in the time they had continued the hunt. He thought his Telepathy had grown smoother and was less taxing to his brain. The thoughts of the people around him presented themselves with less effort and organized themselves for him. He guessed that he had improved the Adaptation through practice again, perhaps more quickly than the last time because he was now using it constantly. Sustained effort is the key, he told himself, thinking about the other Adaptation that he badly wanted to advance. Rosslyn was dismissing the knights as the sun rose through the distant window, sending them back to their barracks with her thanks, when Adon noticed this subtle shift in the efficacy of Telepathy. Thank you for all the help, Adon, Rosslyn thought. I¡¯m glad I could earn my keep, Adon replied modestly. I hope Goldie and Samson are still all right. 2-69. Goldie Walks Goldie walked through the darkness. Forms in the void pulsed with apparently hostile energy. At first, the spider twitched every time something moved around her. Even after she had experienced the emanations on a dozen distinct occasions or more, the movements of the powerful shaded things were still disconcerting enough to send a little shiver through her body whenever she perceived them. This was never meant to be a place for a spider¡ªperhaps for any sentient creature. It was probably particularly bad for Goldie, who brought her own share of anxieties with her. Great, dark, old things dwelled in the endless darkness. A part of Goldie¡¯s mind cursed her willingness to go and explore an environment that had intimidated even Adon the first time he had visited. A place where the butterfly still was not entirely comfortable and welcome, she believed. An inherently dangerous plane. However, she did her best to remain focused on the path that Adon¡¯s vision had laid out for her. That had been the point of the vision that he had shown them. She found that the path was still there, somewhat preserved in her memory, a safe route through the darkness. She could almost see it as a visual representation before her eyes, like a complex series of dotted lines stretching out, twisting, and turning in the dark. If she just kept her focus on the path, nothing could harm her¡ªor so she kept telling herself. As Goldie held her eyes steady on the way forward, the lurking powers in the dark seemed to pulse a little less energetically, or perhaps she simply became better at ignoring them. An intense focus had fallen over the spider. Dimly, in the recesses of her mind, she knew the shapes in the void were still calling to her in their myriad ways, but their strange siren song was faint. Goldie remembered how Adon had described the way his own brain worked at times. She had seen him lock in on a task for hours at a time, in a way that Goldie had only ever approximated when she was weaving a web. The spider had the presence of mind to wonder if she was experiencing that heightened level of focus now, temporarily, as she tried to reconstruct his path to healing magic from memory. Reconstructing a path of travel is not so different from weaving a web, she thought. But mainly she avoided musing and kept her attention on navigating. She did not allow herself to think of the potential consequences of stepping off the path¡ªof walking up and touching the wrong shape in the darkness. The orange orb of her magical power followed Goldie as she negotiated the dark space, though it provided little real assistance in understanding her surroundings. The light only told her where things were that she might want to avoid¡ªhardly even gave her a clue as to the shape of the dark universe around her. It was like this place was only made of shadows and dark shapes that defied understanding¡ªmade of things that swallowed light up rather than allowing it to simply fall upon them. The void hid its secrets well. Goldie felt only a minimal curiosity about this space, squelched as it was beneath the sharp tang of fear. How did this place get here? What was it really? Who or what were those things in the darkness? Those were questions she might have asked herself. In practice, her actual attitude to those questions might have been summed up with the phrase, Who cares?! She just wanted to find her way to the exit, after she located the power that Adon had wanted to pass on to her. Confusing geometries unfolded themselves before her eyes, impossible shapes that grew more convoluted as she moved. Goldie tried her best to ignore them and simply keep walking. They just want to pull you in and eat you. That was what the primitive, instinctual, animal aspect of her brain told her. Several times, she thought she heard voices. When that happened, it was all she could do to maintain her pace of travel¡ªnot slowing or stopping and thereby giving the source of the sound the opportunity to try and pull her in, but also not breaking into a run and potentially losing her way. The spider walked until she did not know how long she had been walking. Until her mind was almost numb, and the idea of giving up felt like it would be a relief and a mercy. Then, suddenly, a shape loomed in the dark distance. Goldie¡¯s instinct was to run, but she¡¯d had plenty of practice in the unknown stretch of time she had spent in the darkness suppressing that impulse. As she looked at the shape, she recognized that it felt smaller and less malevolent than the other monstrous forms she had encountered earlier. Perhaps not a malign entity at all, as she dimly realized. In fact, her fatigued brain perceived a certain gentle warmth. Is this it, Adon? Goldie wondered. The focus that had driven her had led her to this place, but now her brainpower seemed fully spent. She could not remember if this was the same ending of the path that Adon had experienced. The spider held off approaching the shape for a short time, wary of her own reactions, holding very still and waiting. But the smallish entity did not call out to her, nor taunt her, nor reach after her with twisted limbs shaped from the darkness¡ªan event that she knew had occurred at some point before, though her tired mind could not say for certain whether it had happened to her or Adon. At last, caution gave way to optimism. Goldie had already decided to make the leap into this void. She had trusted Adon¡¯s memories to guide her, and they had brought her this far. If Adon had survived this place and emerged with more power, so would she. And she was not likely to find a more welcoming presence in the darkness than this one.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Goldie took another step closer, and suddenly the shape hovered in front of her. If she had not already steeled herself and decided to put her fears behind her, she would again have turned and run from the unexpected movement. As things stood, she instead held very still, as invertebrates are capable of doing, and she examined the form before her one last time. Now that she was even closer, she saw that it was a vaguely wispy shape, like cloth. An outline that was completely dark¡ªhidden from a clear view by dense shadow even as she stood right in front of it. All right, she told herself. All right. Goldie reached out and touched the shape. Instantly, warmth began to flow through her body. Why was I so worried? she thought. She allowed the pleasant energy to wash over her, and all seemed right with the world. She felt her body and mind memorizing this feeling¡ªthis power and the method of its use. So, this is healing. Knowledge slowly, steadily flowed into Goldie¡¯s brain. She had no actual injuries as of the moment when she touched healing magic¡¯s power, so it felt like the figure in the darkness compensated by giving her a theoretical understanding of how it worked. This is not necessary, she thought. Adon¡¯s vision already¡ª It was at that moment that Goldie began to hear voices. The sound was so jarring that it almost brought her out of the void, but she recognized the voices and took a moment to focus on what they said before she did anything. ¡°What is happening to Samson?¡± That was Rosslyn speaking. There was a long pause. Then: I¡¯ll go to him! And that was Adon. What is happening to Samson? she wondered. Goldie instantly returned to herself and looked around. She was horrified by what she saw. ¡ª As Samson walked through the void, his head kept turning to look after the new and strange sights that greeted his eyes. The place was horrifying but fascinating in equal measure. He had some instinct that the place wanted to kill him, but he found many of the shapes alluring nevertheless. The shapes that occupied the darkness did not seem to be able to harm him without touching him, so he allowed himself to look freely. He tried to follow the path that Adon had laid out, too, but there seemed to be a conflict between his curiosity and the focus required to remember the way. Samson recognized the conflict and attempted to navigate it and perform both mental tasks at once¡ªallowing his eyes to wander and following the safe way that had been laid out. He failed. One moment, he knew where he was going and what he was doing, and he was on his way to the healing magic that Adon had wanted to pass on to him. Time passed, and for a while, he thought he was doing well at following the path. Then, quite suddenly, Samson knew he was lost. How embarrassing. Even after he knew he had strayed, Samson¡¯s most pressing concern was what Adon and Goldie would think. Although he was an old man in some ways, in this, he was a child. Samson considered popping back out of the dark space and going to Adon. If his brother had recovered from expending so much energy sending Samson and Goldie the vision earlier, then maybe he would be willing to do the same again. The little spider shook his head at that idea. Just going right back would be even more embarrassing than returning much later and saying he had lost his way and was never able to find it again. Samson was not the type of person to simply let life happen to him. He was a problem solver. The spider stood in place for several minutes while he considered his options. He could go back, but he felt a strong desire to reject that course of action. He could try to find the path again and hope that by picking up the trail, he would find his way to healing magic¡ªperhaps a little later than his mother, but still a successful trip. But there was a third option, and after considering his choices, he liked that one the best. Samson determined that he would discover something new. If he found a new kind of magic, it would impress Adon and Goldie and¡ªmore importantly, of course¡ªit would add to their total wealth of knowledge. Adon would be able to probe Samson¡¯s mind and find whatever Samson had discovered, and then he could pass the dividend of that effort on to Goldie. Samson pressed on. In the darkness, he saw shapes and figures that defied description¡ªthings that did not follow the rules of geometry or physics as Samson imagined he understood them. He tried not to let that bother him so much. He wanted to look deeper, to understand what he was seeing. He wanted to know that he would bring something of value back to his family and make them proud. He knew he had been nothing but a burden thus far, no matter what his mother and Adon might say. Samson still held the same basic ethos he¡¯d had as an old human. He was not really a baby. He was a strong individual. He could pull his own weight. He would show his worth and earn his keep. When I acquire new knowledge for us, I¡¯ll prove that I can be a support to Adon, Samson thought. I¡¯ll finally contribute something unique to Adon and mama¡¯s skillset. There was a slight childishness to the tone of his inner voice as it explored that thought. Samson didn¡¯t notice it. He explored for an indefinite amount of time, staying away from anything that looked terribly evil or predatory. There were a lot of figures in the darkness that had limbs that looked like tentacles or appeared as if they would impale him with a touch. Finally, he came to a figure that looked like a sort of impossible shape¡ªalmost like an optical illusion. Samson remembered that Adon had mentioned wanting illusion magic, but he had never found it. The spider shook with excitement. If this was the power of illusions that Adon had been so interested in, then Samson was incredibly lucky to have stumbled across it. It¡¯s fate. Maybe this is why the Goddess dropped me off here. This is the big contribution I can make to Adon. A warm feeling flowed through Samson as he thought of discovering something new for his brother¡ªfor his whole family. The spider recalled that the way to harness the power of one of these statues was by physical touch. He reached out with one leg¡ªtentative, no matter how he tried to pretend to himself that he was confident¡ªand made contact with the statue. And then he felt something terrible beginning to happen. The statue pulled at Samson, and he felt his Mana start to disappear. 2-70. The Rescuers When Adon returned to the room where he and Rosslyn had left the spiders, he sat atop her left shoulder, engaging in quiet, telepathic conversation. They were relaxing, bodies and minds drained after their long night¡¯s labors. The calm, pleasant mood completely disappeared as they came through the door. At first, Adon saw Goldie emanating the gentle green glow of healing magic, and he was excited. Then he saw Samson, just inches from Goldie¡ªsurrounded by an aura so wretched and foul that it made Adon physically uncomfortable to look at it. Yet the energy was also familiar. As Rosslyn stood-stock still in the doorway, Adon stared at his brother and tried to understand what that power was that surrounded Samson and why Adon felt that he knew it from some prior experience. ¡°What is happening to Samson?¡± Rosslyn murmured, her voice full of concern. Adon could tell from the surface of her thoughts that she had never seen anything like what confronted them before. Samson¡¯s body looked like it was slowly beginning to lose its luster. His exoskeleton was turning from its brilliant red and yellow, shifting toward an unnatural and lifeless gray. I¡¯ll go to him! Adon sent, not targeting his message but sending it to everyone in the room. He wanted Goldie to know that Samson was in trouble too. The butterfly flapped his wings and rushed toward Samson, and Rosslyn stepped in, following quickly after him. Then Adon saw the aura around Goldie move. For a moment, he imagined that Goldie had reacted to his message instantly¡ªbut no. He saw the green glow had flickered because whatever was draining Samson¡¯s power seemed to have paused in that task and reached out to take Goldie¡¯s Mana. The healing magic around her leaked out in Samson¡¯s general direction, though from her stillness, Adon decided she was still in the void, working on her magic at this moment. Is Samson able to direct this at all, or¡­? Adon continued trying to figure out what was happening as he shot toward his younger brother. As he touched down near Samson, he felt some of his own power drain. He did not allow that to worry him. He pulled on his own knowledge of healing magic and surrounded his body with the green aura. Then he reached out and touched Samson, trying to fix the damage that had already been done. Adon saw a tiny difference in his brother¡¯s body¡ªa slight recovery in the red and yellow coloration of his exoskeleton. Much more drastic was the sudden feeling that his power was being drained. The butterfly suddenly remembered exactly where he had encountered this sensation before. It was in the void. As he was about to say something about this, Rosslyn knelt beside him and touched Samson with her left hand, likewise coated in green healing aura. No! Adon sent, his voice wild. We have to get away. It¡¯s going to drain us dry! Adon, what is going on?! Goldie¡¯s frightened voice chimed in. The butterfly managed to pull himself back from Samson slightly, though he still felt the drain on his power even as he inched away from his brother. He turned to Goldie and saw the green healing aura was still pulling away from her body. It was moving toward Samson faster now, flickering like a candle in the wind, draining so quickly that Adon felt certain she would empty her reserves of power in a minute or two. Rosslyn let out a surprised, pained yelp, and Adon looked back at her. She was pulling her hand away from Samson¡¯s body with a wince as he turned his head. He saw that the flesh of her palm had withered. It looked like an old woman¡¯s hand now. The green aura around it had vanished, pulled into Samson fully. Probably because she was the last one still touching him. It functions on proximity. Adon felt himself growing weaker, and he flapped his wings and forced himself to get some distance from Samson¡¯s body. He still felt the drain, though it was not as strong. The entity that has hold of him wasn¡¯t able to reach me at this distance before, Adon thought. He felt certain of it. Which means that it¡¯s getting stronger quickly. Or hungrier. Help me¡­ A thin, tiny voice wafted up from the tiny figure on the floor. Samson! Goldie¡¯s voice could be heard next, and Adon saw her moving to protect her son with her body however she could. Bro! The tiny spiderlings were rushing toward Samson, too, now, sprinting across the floor toward their rapidly diminishing big brother. Everyone stay away from him! Adon shouted in his mind. There were physical reactions from all those around him in response to the noise, but Adon barely noticed them. He activated mental magic, and he reached out to Samson with his mind. At the next moment, Adon found himself in the void. Some distance away¡ªa distance that did not appear to be related to the physical distance that separated them in the room¡ªhe saw his brother. Samson stood there, physically touching a statue that Adon recognized. He vividly remembered the day that he had felt his power drained by an entity that seemed to represent illusion magic. Get away! Adon yelled psychically. That thing is going to kill you.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. But his brother seemed to be too weak to move. Adon whipped his wings back and forth, flying with more force than he ever had before¡ªperhaps more force than was possible for a butterfly in the physical world. He reached his brother in an instant, and then Adon yanked on Samson¡¯s body as hard as he could. The two arthropods tumbled away from the statue, its hold instantly broken. Adon found himself back in the room. His brother must have returned from the void immediately, as soon as Adon broke the connection, because Adon saw Samson¡¯s body take two steps forward, wobble, and then lie still. His entire form had turned a sickly shade of gray. All of the room¡¯s magic users leaped into action at once. Goldie, Adon, and Rosslyn each engaged their healing magic and closed the distance with Samson in a flash. They all laid limbs on the tiny, slightly withered carapace and began pumping energy into Samson almost at once. Adon observed that Rosslyn¡¯s hand was also healing from being exposed to the aura around it. The wrinkles that had suddenly appeared were just as quickly fading as her skin returned to normal. That¡¯s a relief, he thought. Samson wouldn¡¯t want that on his conscience. He already sympathized with her losing an eye. If he was responsible for crippling one of her hands, I can¡¯t imagine how he would feel. Or how Rosslyn would feel. Adon felt a surge of gratitude that the Princess was there. While he and Goldie¡ªespedially Goldie¡ªhad relatively smaller reserves of Mana than Adon would have liked, the Princess seemed to have a deep reservoir of power. This became more important as Goldie and Adon, already drained from their efforts while Samson was inadvertently sucking their Mana away, ran out. The green glows around both spider and butterfly¡¯s bodies ran out and were replaced with headaches. As usual when his Mana dropped to nothing, even Adon¡¯s Telepathy went silent. He was utterly helpless¡ªjust an ordinary butterfly for a few moments, until his Mana began to recover. He and Goldie sat back and watched in silence as Rosslyn, still going strong, continued pouring healing magic into Samson like a firehose unleashing an endless torrent of water. With Rosslyn¡¯s power flooding into him, Samson¡¯s body healed rapidly. The process looked like a Russian nesting doll being opened at super speed. Layer after layer of skin was shed and fell to his side, each new layer of skin underneath the old one healthier than the last, until his coloration began to gleam from beneath the pile of dead skins that had settled over him. Only when the red and yellow spider looked his old self¡ªperhaps better, though it was hard to tell, as Samson was partially buried under shed layers of skin¡ªdid Rosslyn stop. I¡¯m alive! Samson¡¯s telepathically transmitted voice carried from beneath the pile. Then he clambered over it and into the space where Adon and Goldie could see him. He looked more than alive¡ªhe looked vital and energetic. Goldie rushed toward her eldest son and crushed him in a tight embrace. She used Telepathy to chastise him¡ªand express her relief: I was so afraid you would die! You must stay out of that place, it is not safe¡­ Adon had enough Mana again, so he activated Telepathy too. He directed his attention toward Rosslyn. Thank you for saving Samson, he sent. Rosslyn opened her mouth to reply, but then there was a cry from Goldie. He is not moving! she transmitted. Adon and Rosslyn both turned to face Samson, who Goldie was no longer embracing. She instead poked and prodded at him, then looked at her firstborn child from a slight remove as if hoping he would start moving again if she just gave him a little space. Adon thought Goldie would cry if she had tear ducts. ¡°He will be fine,¡± Rosslyn said, breaking the suddenly dismal mood. ¡°This is normal. When healing from a severe injury, the body must direct its full attention to recovery. The fact that he moved around after being healed shows that he is still alive. He just needs time to return to proper functioning.¡± Adon recalled how Rosslyn had been in her own healing coma while he was in his chrysalis. She knows what she¡¯s talking about, he sent to Goldie. The spider slowly nodded. What do I do to help him recover more quickly? Goldie asked. ¡°We can mash up insects for him to eat. If his body will consume food while he is unconscious, that should be simple. If not, unfortunately, feeding a spider is not as easy as feeding a human, I suspect.¡± Rosslyn bent to look down at Samson¡¯s head, apparently confirming that his mouthparts were not like those of a human. We can at least set him down near a saucer of some liquid that has nutrients in it, Adon suggested. If his fangs are sort of dipped in the fluid, he¡¯ll be able to drink if his body gets hungry or thirsty. I think. Maybe. Rosslyn nodded. ¡°That is probably the best that we can do.¡± Thank you for saving my son, Goldie sent. ¡°Of course,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°I know either of you would have done it eventually, too.¡± Hm. Adon could hear the doubt in Goldie¡¯s mind as she thought over what Rosslyn said, though she did not transmit anything. He knew as well as Goldie did that both arthropods were still at the bottom of their reserves of Mana. The reservoirs had only begun to be refilled. It was unlikely that they would have recovered enough power to save Samson in time to actually do anything about the strange power that had gripped him. Adon had been using Transformation and Telepathy virtually all night long and had burned through huge quantities of energy in doing so. Goldie had been right beside Samson when the entity that had taken hold of him had begun draining power from everything in his surroundings. The thing that possessed him¡­ Adon wondered what the nature of that being was. Did it just attract anything that wandered in the void, lost? He knew that he could find that statue again if he needed to. He wished the things in the void could talk properly, like normal life forms. He wanted to ask the shape in the shadows what it had gained by almost killing his brother¡ªwhy it sat around, waiting for victims like him. Samson¡¯s rescuers carried his body away from where he stood, paralyzed¡ªthey brushed off his younger siblings, who had silently approached the spider and were swarming over Samson, poking him and trying to get him to move or react in some way¡ªand placed him on a bedside table beside a shallow saucer of nutritious liquid. There, they let Samson sit for the next week. Adon could swear he occasionally saw the level of the fluid recede slightly, but he could never be certain that Samson was actually drinking. Rather than allowing servants to come in and change the liquid, Rosslyn took care of the task herself. She seemed to have been affected quite drastically, Adon could not help but observe, by the revelation that some of the staff she had trusted for years were enemy agents. He certainly could not blame her for that. Goldie was subdued, too. Her son, the only one of her children who was really like her and Adon, was comatose. So her silence also made sense. It left Adon with a lot of quiet time. The two females in his life were both brooding, and he fell into the same pattern. Besides attempting to use the Transformation Adaptation to take on a larger form¡ªwhich Adon continued to do in his time alone¡ªhe had little to keep him busy. How could I have prevented this? What do I do next? Adon meditated on these questions daily, until he came to what he thought of as an answer, Not a perfect one, but one that would best use his limited capabilities. 2-71. Frustration During the period that Goldie and Adon were waiting for Samson to wake up, Rosslyn continued life as normal. She continued to see the Dessian lords regularly around the palace, but the interactions were slightly awkward. ¡°Rosslyn, I hope you slept well,¡± William said at breakfast, the morning after the young spider had entered his coma-like state. The Princess, feeling sleep-deprived and moody from the events of the previous night, took an extra moment to respond. Then she blinked and shook her head. ¡°I am afraid I did not sleep much,¡± she admitted. ¡°I hope the two of you slept well.¡± ¡°It was a quiet night,¡± said Frederick. Before Rosslyn could feel a sense of relief that the brothers had not noticed anything, William spoke up. ¡°I thought I heard men marching around at some point,¡± he said. ¡°When I went to look around, though, I did not see anything.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Rosslyn turned away from the brothers, trying not to give anything away with her expression¡ªbut her eyes fell on her father¡¯s chair, which sat empty. She had to look away again. ¡°Is your father well, Rosslyn?¡± William asked. She smiled and tried to think of a good lie. We are in a desperate place when I need to lie about my father¡¯s condition to our allies, she thought. But the truth was too terrible to share. Her latest news of her father¡¯s health, received on the way to breakfast that morning, was bad. The healers had begun work on him, and his body had responded badly to their efforts, twisting and convulsing like an epileptic undergoing a seizure. The only conclusion they could come to was that the poison was rooted deep now and had spread its grip throughout his body, so that any attempt to treat his condition risked sharp short term decline. With the King¡¯s consent and Rosslyn¡¯s concerned approval, the healers administered sleeping draughts and cooling agents to try to minimize the deleterious effects of their magic and resumed their work. Rosslyn did not worry about these men¡¯s loyalty. She had tested them the previous night, in her long march through the palace with Adon. ¡°Father is a bit under the weather lately,¡± Rosslyn said, still faking a smile but giving it a slightly sad tint. ¡°He had suggested he might go to Tema and take the waters if he continues to feel ill. We are to continue having fun without him, if he decides to take his leave from us.¡± ¡°Well, I would hope he would at least say goodbye first,¡± said Frederick. ¡°He¡ª¡± A sharp elbow in his side from William cut the younger brother off. ¡°What my brother means to say,¡± said William, ¡°is that we would love to express our gratitude to the King for his hospitality throughout our stay thus far. We hope we will have the chance to speak to him again before he goes.¡± ¡°I feel certain that will be possible,¡± Rosslyn lied. ¡°I have not seen him this morning, so I do not know if he has departed yet, but it would be unlike father to leave our guests and then not return in time to say goodbye.¡± ¡°If he takes a while, that is just an excuse for us to extend our stay,¡± William said, smiling wolfishly at Rosslyn. ¡°We cannot leave his Princess here, alone and undefended, in a time where war lurks around the next corner.¡± Rosslyn made herself return the lord¡¯s smile, though she felt more unsettled than flirtatious. After the previous night¡¯s events, even if their previous outing together had gone well, she would not have been in the right frame of mind to contemplate romance with anyone. They passed through the rest of breakfast engaging in small talk. All of the rest of the day was spent alternately worrying over Samson or thinking about her father. The next two days were full of frustration for the Princess. She visited her father¡¯s side. He had slipped into a healing coma, which the men responsible for his care took to be a good sign. She trusted their judgment, as the palace¡¯s healers had studied healing magic in greater depth and practiced it to a much greater degree of proficiency than Rosslyn. They even had specialized knowledge of poisons. If anyone could help her father get better, it was them. But it was painful, knowing that Rosslyn herself could do nothing to hasten his recovery. She slipped from the room and returned to the arthropods, but Goldie stood beside Samson, unmoving, and that told Rosslyn that nothing had changed there. Adon had left the room entirely, probably off hunting or training, though Rosslyn did not ask where he had gone. She felt a tension inside her like a tightly coiled spring, ready to break loose at any given moment and shatter whatever was nearby. Rosslyn changed Samson¡¯s saucer out for a fresh one and went for a walk, pacing down the palace¡¯s long halls without seeing anything. She slept deeply that night, exhausted from the previous days¡¯ and night¡¯s activity. On the second day, her father¡¯s condition was unchanged. Adon was back, but he simply stood beside Goldie, watching his brother and waiting for recovery. Rather than enter the room and disturb the arthropods, Rosslyn stepped back from the doorway and kept walking. The halls began to blur again, and Rosslyn felt her emotions tighten her chest until it was hard to breathe. It was unfair that this should happen to her family. Her father was a good man and a kind ruler. He had a gentle hand. These were running themes in her inner monologue. Samson¡¯s plight featured as well, but it was less prominent. He was not as close to Rosslyn¡¯s heart, of course¡ªand his problem was much less serious, she felt certain. The Princess had no one to talk about her worries with over those days, since Adon and Goldie were already dealing with Samson¡¯s condition, and the brothers could not be brought in on the secret. Finally, Rosslyn sought out an emotional release of a different kind. ¡ª ¡°Would you like to spar?¡± Matilda looked up from her work. She was assigned to the garden that day. Her jailers occasionally shifted her tasks to outdoor work so that she could not catch some illness that afflicted those who did not get sufficient sunlight. It was theoretically meant for Matilda¡¯s benefit, but of course, its primary purpose was to prolong the duration of her life sentence. Still, she made sure to enjoy her time out in the soil. Today, she had been in a particularly good mood. She had overheard two of the maids discussing their worry for the King. He had sweated through his bedsheets in the night. It was impossible for royal illness to be hidden indefinitely, but it was gratifying to know that the word was already beginning to spread beyond the Royal Family itself.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Matilda had wondered how the scrawny princess and her wretched stepmother would handle it, if poor dear Alistair finally croaked. She wondered, and she ran her hands through the warm, slightly moist soil, and she smiled and felt alive¡ªmore alive than her old rival, distant cousin, and the man she might have married, at least. She did not want him killed by any hand but her own, still, but she did enjoy knowing that those who loved Alistair were suffering discomfort. Then Princess Rosslyn was speaking to Matilda. The Princess stood, staring down at the slave, trying to keep her expression neutral¡ªbut Matilda could see her face flickering through conflicting emotions. There was eagerness, passionate dislike, frustration, solitude¡ªso much expressed on the canvas of the young woman¡¯s skin. ¡°Oh, I wish I could paint your face this afternoon, Princess,¡± Matilda murmured. You are exquisite when you look so distraught, she thought. Matilda had always been a great appreciator of beauty. The Princess wrinkled her nose. ¡°Is that a yes or a no?¡± ¡°That is a compliment, Princess,¡± Matilda replied. She smiled wickedly. ¡°Of course, if you would rather receive bruises than compliments, that can be arranged.¡± The two women passed into Sir Jaren¡¯s space, where the knight made certain that both wore adequate protective gear. He seemed nervous to see Rosslyn here, sparring with Matilda yet again. ¡°¡ªyou certain about this?¡± Matilda heard Sir Jaren ask as the slave came out of the changing room. ¡°I am,¡± Rosslyn said. She sounded as if she was annoyed but trying hard to contain it. Matilda thought that today¡¯s spar would be very entertaining. The knight seemed to notice Matilda was there¡ªshe saw his eyes dart in her general direction, and he lowered his voice afterward. ¡°Do you want me to act as referee?¡± Sir Jaren asked quietly. ¡°No,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°I want us to fight without restraint.¡± Her voice softened. ¡°I know that would probably be difficult for you to watch quietly. Would you give us an hour alone in here?¡± The Princess is volunteering to let me ruin her pretty face the rest of the way, Matilda thought. She must be very upset about daddy. Sir Jaren agreed more quickly than Matilda expected. Perhaps he simply had too much respect for his former pupil, now all grown up, to disagree with her. That was a problem that nobles and royals often suffered, Matilda knew. She had experienced how loyal retainers could come to share their leader¡¯s vision¡ªand encourage it beyond the point of prudence. And now all my closest supporters are dead, and my brother rules in my fief. How well listening to loyal advisors worked out for me¡­ Sir Jaren left them, although not before shooting a pointed look Matilda¡¯s way. Do not hurt her, it seemed to say. Matilda wanted to laugh. She held it in until Sir Jaren was gone and she had given him plenty of time to get some distance from the room. Then the slave let the amusement roll through her stomach and out between her lips, until her mirth echoed through the air. It lasted until her sides hurt. When Matilda came back to herself, the Princess was glaring at her. Rosslyn raised her practice sword silently, ready to fight, and waited for Matilda to take up her own stance. If I hated someone as much as this girl hates me, and I did not wear this collar around my neck, I would not glare at them, Matilda thought. I would attack them and not wait for them to put their hands up to defend themselves. She is too naive. The two women began to spar. At first, as usual, the Princess began tentatively, as if she was preserving her strength or trying to feel Matilda¡¯s intent out. Then, quickly tiring of the cat and mouse, Matilda began to pull out the stops. She poured Mana throughout her body¡ªshe knew hers were deeper than Rosslyn¡¯s by now¡ªand she unleashed a barrage of attacks. The Princess was driven back, forced to circle to avoid being pushed into a wall¡ªbut with every step she took, she had less room to retreat. You are no match for me unless you lose your temper, girl, Matilda thought. And then, much faster than Matilda might have imagined, Rosslyn did. With a piercing cry, the Princess raised her sword and charged at Matilda. At first, Matilda let two of the strikes hit her, so she could get her own licks in, but the Princess¡¯s blows stung far more than Matilda had expected. Every touch raised a welt that Matilda knew would bruise in the evening. ¡°What is up with you?¡± Matilda murmured, countering with a savage blow at Rosslyn¡¯s shoulder. The Princess did not seem to react to Matilda¡¯s words, only to her movements. Rosslyn twisted and turned with Matilda¡¯s attack, turning it to a glancing blow that barely impacted her. Then she lunged and plunged the tip of her practice weapon into Matilda¡¯s chest. Even on a blunted sword, even through sparring gear, a metal point ached when slammed with the attacker¡¯s full, Mana-enhanced body weight. And Rosslyn did not let up. She unleashed a burst of little blows that should not have been very powerful but could be felt through the armor. Matilda parried some of the Princess¡¯s attack and landed a few blows of her own in this time. Rosslyn ignored Matilda¡¯s strikes, though each was heavier than one of hers. She did not even bother pivoting to avoid the full impact anymore. None of the hits hampered the Princess¡¯s energy. She is keeping nothing back for defense, Matilda thought. What, do you think I am your training dummy? Rosslyn showed a larger opening than previously, and Matilda took the chance to swing a heavy, two-handed, hammer-like blow into the gap. She did not bother with defense this time either. There was a loud crack as Matilda¡¯s practice weapon struck Rosslyn in the side. The Princess flew across the room and slammed hard into a wall. Her body bounced off, struck the ground, and rolled a few feet. Matilda had to force herself to stay put for a moment rather than running in to try and finish Rosslyn off. As Matilda stood in place, her body quivering with anticipation, she realized that she was smiling. The two women spent the next hour slashing, stabbing, kicking, punching, and swearing at each other. It was the most honest exchange they had ever had, made possible only because there were no witnesses¡ªand because Rosslyn seemed to be unusually frustrated and angry, enough to dispense with any formalities. By the end of the hour, both of them were dripping sweat. I think she actually improved since last time, Matilda thought grudgingly. It was very difficult for a human fighter or mage who had been trained from a young age, as Rosslyn had, to continue improving over the years. Typically, they reached their potential and then plateaued forever. The Princess appeared tireless, despite being drenched in perspiration. Then again, perhaps it is just that wild temper of hers. As Matilda had that thought, Rosslyn locked blades with Matilda again, and then the Princess punched her in the face. Matilda staggered backward while quickly raising her guard again, but then Rosslyn opened her mouth to speak. A thin trickle of blood ran from a cut in Matilda¡¯s lip as she listened. ¡°Last time I was here, you called me a broken doll,¡± Rosslyn said, grinding her teeth as she spoke. ¡°You suggested that my father would be wise to disinherit me and that you would do the same in his position¡ªthat I am an inadequate inheritor. Well, I thought I would come down here and beat the attitude out of you and see if you dared to repeat those words. But I realized I do not care if you think I am broken. My eye is not coming back. Yet I am the heir, and you are one of the few people who know how much danger my father has been in recently. So, instead of talking about my missing eye, I will simply ask: what would you do if you were me, right now?¡± Matilda thought quickly, searching for an answer to Rosslyn¡¯s question that would be both true and harmful in some way. As usual, her mind was more than up to the task. ¡°You have to find a way to prove you are strong enough to inherit the throne,¡± Matilda said. ¡°Naturally, some task that you can accomplish that your father could not would do the trick. There is little need to worry, if that is what you want. The coming war will give you every opportunity possible, especially if your father remains in poor condition. If you can show that you are strong, the succession becomes more secure.¡± Matilda knew that was at least part of what Rosslyn was worrying about¡ªwhether or not the King¡¯s death would unleash chaos, right at the moment that the Kingdom needed stability and strength. It was admirable, the slave had to admit, when she was by herself later¡ªadmirable that the Princess who hated her was willing to ask her advice and seemingly took it seriously. Matilda liked to think it was what she would have done in Rosslyn¡¯s place. In response to Matilda¡¯s words, the Princess merely nodded. ¡°You agree, then?¡± Matilda asked. Rosslyn did not answer her question. ¡°That is enough for one day, I think,¡± Rosslyn said. 2-72. Away Again On the morning of the fourth day, Samson woke up. It happened when Goldie, Adon, and Rosslyn were all present, while the little spiders were in a corner of the ceiling, relaxing in a web they had constructed together. Goldie was standing motionless next to her son, Adon was in quiescence, and Rosslyn had stepped silently into the room, a saucer in hand. Then the little spider twitched, and the room slowly realized that something was happening. Adon was the first to move. Did I just see something at the bottom of my vision? He slowly fluttered his wings, trying to stimulate blood flow throughout his body and wake himself fully. Samson twitched again, and it drew the Princess¡¯s eye this time. At the first tiny motion, she had been focused on remaining as quiet as she could, so as not to disturb the arthropods. But it was impossible for even a small arachnid¡¯s movements to go unnoticed in Rosslyn¡¯s presence, when she was paying attention. The Princess took a tentative step toward the table where Samson rested. Samson? Then Goldie¡¯s telepathic voice broke the stillness of the room. I¡¯m alive! Samson declared in response. Goldie crossed the few inches that separated them, stepping over the saucer in front of Samson, and pulled Samson into an embrace. Adon finally flapped his wings and moved closer, just to be near the spiders while they hugged. He sensed rather than saw as the Princess stepped closer, just behind him. What happened to me? Samson asked after a few seconds of this. My head feels a little foggy. Goldie explained it, alternating between neutral language, tones of obvious distress, and barely restrained nagging. Adon found it rather heartwarming. She was clearly meant to be a mother, he thought¡ªand felt slightly guilty again about possibly leading her into danger in the near future. Adon filled in the gaps, the parts of the explanation that Goldie had less personal knowledge of, to all three of his listeners¡¯ rapt attention. That figure in the shadows is something I encountered before myself, he transmitted. I don¡¯t exactly know what it is, but¡­ Adon described the power-draining effect the entity had demonstrated in his first encounter with it, then elaborated how it had behaved while in control of Samson¡ªdraining not just the spider, but everyone around him in what seemed to be a gradually widening circle. That¡¯s awful, Samson sent. I can¡¯t believe I did that¡­ You do not need to feel bad, Goldie sent. ¡°No harm was done,¡± Rosslyn quietly agreed. I remember what happened now, though, Samson sent. I lost the path but kept going. I figured it would be all right to take a risk and grab for a source of power. I thought I would be adding to our collective understanding of magic. It was really reckless. I won¡¯t do it again. It was brave, Samson, Adon transmitted. You should consider trying it again. Taking risks is how we get stronger. When I went into the darkness myself, I touched the same entity that you found. What? Samson asked. Did it work differently for you or something? How are you still alive? Did the Princess save you? The spider turned to look in Rosslyn¡¯s direction. I was able to yank myself back from it, Adon replied. You just need a stronger foundation, so something like that thing in the darkness doesn¡¯t drain you instantly. Oh, great, Samson sent glumly. I just need to get stronger before I can get stronger. Got it. You will manage it, Sammy, Goldie sent. Remember that you can get stronger by eating stronger life forms. You are already progressing much faster than Adon and I did in the garden¡ªespecially much faster than me. And look at me now! I have evolved twice, and I can use healing magic! Being so negative isn¡¯t like you, little brother, Adon transmitted. You¡¯re starting to sound like me before I reincarnated. Snap out of it! Step away from the edge. Rosslyn began laughing at that, and after a moment, both of the spiders joined in, their telepathic voices echoing eerily with laughter. After the merriment had settled down a little, Adon continued, Seriously, there are solutions to your, um, current relative weakness, Samson. ¡°Like what?¡± Rosslyn asked. Adon heard the undertone in her voice, almost as explicit as a thought, Could this help me get stronger? But he would unfortunately have to disappoint her. I think we need to take another hunting trip, Adon sent. Together, this time. The hatchlings are as safe as they¡¯re going to be here, and I know our friends in the palace won¡¯t let anything happen to them. ¡°Are you sure about this course, Adon?¡± Rosslyn asked immediately. Do you perhaps wish to move away from the others and discuss it? he heard her think. Why don¡¯t I go and discuss logistics with you? Adon sent, so that everyone could hear. Maybe we can also go and get something for Samson to eat. He just woke up.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Oh, how long have I been asleep? Samson transmitted. Everything feels just slightly stiff, so I would guess a couple of hours? Spiders¡¯ bodies are different than human bodies, Sammy, Goldie replied. Adon and Rosslyn left them talking and moved into the hallway. As the Princess moved forward, she extended her arm, holding her wrist out for Adon to land on. He set down on the beginning of her forearm, and she continued walking down the hall. ¡°Are you certain about leaving?¡± she asked in a hushed voice. She thought, so that Adon could hear it, If you leave now, the capital may be at war when you return. The Demon Empire would be wise to make its move sooner rather than later¡ªwhile my father is incapacitated. It is possible that the sudden death of Sir Domnhall¡ªhis taster¡ªis because they ordered Celeste to increase the dosage, hoping to kill him in the lead-up to an invasion. Her expression hardened slightly. We will learn for certain exactly what she intended. We won¡¯t stay away long, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re worried about, Adon sent. ¡°That is not necessarily my concern,¡± Rosslyn replied thoughtfully. ¡°It might be better for you¡­¡± She allowed her voice to trail off before finishing in her mind, It might be better if you stayed away until the fighting was done. Adon felt slightly affronted. Was Rosslyn saying he would be useless in a battle¡ªor that she wanted to protect him? Either way, it did not comport with the butterfly¡¯s self-image. The reason why I want us to leave is so that we can get stronger¡ªand be useful in the fighting, Adon transmitted, trying not to insert any emotion into his voice. He was a little annoyed, though. I thought you were expecting me to contribute, honestly, he thought without sending. ¡°Well, think about what you truly want,¡± Rosslyn replied. ¡°We are in a difficult situation. We are far from assured of a positive outcome.¡± We may not survive, she thought. All of us who stay and defend this country. Some people will flee. Some people will die. If we lose, it is possible that large numbers of innocent people in our Kingdom will be put to death. That is a risk we cannot avoid¡ªnot if we wish to remain free. Your situation is different. You have options. She sounded fatalistic. The undertone of genuine fear in her voice gave Adon pause. Rosslyn was completely serious, obviously¡ªand she had a point. Adon recalled his recent conversation with Goldie on this topic, which had gone much the same way, but with Goldie in Adon¡¯s role. Recalling how he had felt about possibly putting Goldie in danger was the decisive thing for the butterfly. He had already felt guilty about exposing his friend to a war just because he wanted to participate himself. Maybe Rosslyn had a point. We¡¯ll think about it, Adon finally sent. The Princess nodded seriously, and the two of them continued the walk to the kitchens in silence. After they had secured a small bird for Samson to eat¡ªa raw woodpigeon¡ªthey returned to the room the spiders occupied. The sight that greeted them was endearing. Samson¡¯s brothers and sisters had climbed all over him and were performing their own version of a hug¡ªby perching on his body like he was their web. Is that for me? Samson sent. Guys, I¡¯m glad you care, but please move a little bit. I think I¡¯m about to eat. ¡°Yes, it is for you,¡± Rosslyn said, smiling. She set the small plate down next to Samson and picked up the saucer of fluid that had been sitting there next to him. Once you¡¯ve eaten, we should get ready to go, Adon sent. Already? Goldie asked, a little surprised from her tone. Yes, already, Adon replied, trying not to be impatient. The sooner we leave, the faster we can all get stronger. But¡ªGoldie began. I¡¯m so excited, Samson interjected. Adon caught a quiet thought leaking from Goldie¡¯s mind. He was fairly certain she had not meant it to be audible. Well, Samson really wanted to go hunting with Adon last time¡­ That seemed to settle it for all of them. Both spiders were eager to go. Adon was a little more ambivalent, even though it was his idea. He felt strange, imagining that Rosslyn and the King would believe the mystic beasts were abandoning them¡ªcreatures that they had a long history of honoring and cherishing, who had previously aided the Kingdom in its times of need. Rosslyn had encouraged him to leave, though, albeit somewhat halfheartedly. He kept an eye on her as the spiders said their goodbyes, wishing the hatchlings luck with their continued web building practice and promising to return soon. But the Princess did not want to show her feelings, whatever they were. She kept a stoic expression on her face, and her thoughts ran somewhere deep beneath the surface. If Adon had to guess how she was feeling, Rosslyn was closer to frowning than smiling¡ªbut that might have just been a matter of disposition. So, how do we do this? Goldie asked, pulling Adon¡¯s attention back to her and Samson. The two spiders stood close together, waiting for Adon to carry them away. If Samson will step onto Goldie¡¯s back, I¡¯ll transform so the two of you can stand on me. Rosslyn stood by and watched as the three arthropods made their adjustments to their positions and size respectively. Adon used Transformation to expand every part of himself, turning his wings into a big, kite-like structure and his body into a large platform for the spiders to stand on. ¡°How long can you maintain that?¡± Rosslyn asked. She stared, fascinated, as the spiders clambered on and Adon gave his wings a few experimental, Mana-infused flaps. Long enough, I think, Adon sent. He felt strong and fully charged, ready for a long journey. He had not used much Mana or Biomass over the last few days, except that he had continued to practice Transformation, trying to push the outer bounds of what he could accomplish with that Adaptation. ¡°Good luck,¡± Rosslyn said, giving a small smile now. ¡°Fly straight.¡± We will, Samson sent. Don¡¯t worry about us! See you soon, Princess, Goldie sent. We will tell the stories of our adventure when we return. Goldie¡¯s telepathic voice was steady. It seemed she had come to terms with the fact that they would be taking a trip into unfamiliar and possibly dangerous territory. Adon thought it was possible she might even enjoy this. The butterfly took off from the bed before Goldie, Samson, or Rosslyn could change their minds about this trip. Adon was convinced that this hunt would be the solution to Samson¡¯s relative weakness¡ªthat it would allow Samson to explore the dark void in search of new magical powers in relative safety. Rosslyn followed them out of the room and opened the door to the garden for them. Then she stood there in the doorway and waved goodbye. Adon and the spiders floated in a little circle above the garden at first, while Goldie and Samson got used to being high in the air. This is amazing! Samson sent. Try not to make too many sudden dips and flips, please, Goldie added, clearly slightly unsteady as Adon made what he considered a very tame change in trajectory. He committed to himself that he would not drop the spiders, though he knew it would do them little harm no matter how high he was when it happened. Rosslyn was still smiling at them as the arthropods sent their last telepathic farewells. Then the butterfly and the two spiders flew over the garden wall and off toward the woods. 2-73. Over the Garden Wall As Adon and the spiders left the royal property for the first time, the air whistling all around them, there was a period of peaceful silence, while all three arthropods enjoyed the view. For both spiders, it was their first time outside of the palace grounds, and Adon wanted to let them relish the experience of traveling beyond what they had known as the horizon. They briskly flew over the small number of buildings that separated the palace garden from the forest, along with Wayn¡¯s city wall. The views were of what Adon thought of as medieval architecture, which reminded him of history books and previous lives spent in medieval settings, but he hoped the sights were novel for the spiders. Samson only remembered his immediate previous life as a human in a technologically advanced society, as far as Adon recalled, and Goldie¡¯s memories of her past lives seemed to be even more limited. The blessed quiet continued on for some minutes further, until the trio had flown beyond the city limits and entered the forest¡¯s edge. I can¡¯t see the palace anymore, Samson sent excitedly. He had turned his body partway around on Adon¡¯s back, to keep the city and palace out of his blind spot, and Adon found the position made the flight slightly more awkward. It gave the butterfly the bad feeling that he might drop his brother if he took a particularly sharp turn. Please keep hands, feet, and heads inside the hovercraft at all times, Adon sent, trying to maintain a humorous tone. We do not offer refunds if you suffer a severe concussion after you smack into a tree. What if we just fall from a great height? Goldie sent back, trying and failing to match Adon¡¯s tone. She was clearly at least a bit afraid of actually falling. Adon considered pointing out that at her size and weight, she was unlikely to take significant damage unless she fell from much higher up, but he thought better of it. That sort of practical information wasn¡¯t going to be reassuring. He had learned that much about others in his relatively short life. If you just fall from a great height, then we will offer you a full refund, Adon sent instead, his inner voice smooth and businesslike. That¡¯s our bad! The three arthropods shared a telepathic chuckle at that. The tension palpably defused. And the flight continued on. This scenery is beautiful, Adon, Samson sent after a few more minutes had passed. Adon had lost himself in the environment, too, almost forgetting what the invertebrates were in the forest for, in his pleasure at being back in the great outdoors. The gorgeous plant life that was either evergreen or turning to beautiful autumn colors was stunning. Yes, it is, Goldie agreed. Hard to believe I waited my whole life to see it. I hope it was worth the wait, Adon sent. Goldie sent a quiet message that Adon recognized reached his mind alone. I was probably meant to die defending my eggs alongside Red or to become food for them, in truth, Adon, she transmitted. Everything after Samson and his siblings was born is just gravy. Perhaps that is why I am not so afraid to die for a friend now. Adon did not know what he wanted to say back to that, so he said nothing for a few seconds. He knew it was a discussion that loomed over this trip like the Sword of Damocles, but he had no desire to engage right now. Perhaps he would feel better about fighting alongside Goldie once he saw how strong she had become¡ªor once he had helped her become stronger. This break from the ease of palace life had more than one purpose, after all. It struck Adon that if he determined that Goldie was not strong enough to participate in the war to come, and she refused to stay out of it, he could simply leave her and Samson behind in the forest. The spiders could not fly, had no way of covering ground quickly, and would probably have difficulty even knowing which direction to walk in, unless Adon flew in a completely straight line. It would be an ugly trick to play on his friend and his brother, but it might keep them out of danger. He would have to bring her children to wherever he left her, so that she could take care of them. But with his perfect memory, finding the location a second time would be feasible for him too. Let¡¯s not think about that right now, he thought. That was a worst case scenario option, almost unthinkable. Thank you, Goldie, he sent. I hope it does not come to that, but thank you. Adon slowed his flight, began to curve the trajectory of movement slightly, and shifted his attention to the ground, using only his Simple Eyes to keep track of any obstacles that might loom ahead of him. He sought creatures that might pose a decent challenge for Samson. Strengthening the little spider was the top priority. Knowing his little brother, Adon felt confident that Samson would choose to challenge the mystical void that Adon had shown him again soon, even if it was dangerous¡ªeven if Samson had sworn to himself that he would not attempt it. Samson had always been more ambitious and driven than Adon. Determined. Usually it was a good thing. Adon saw rabbits and foxes in the area of forest directly below, and he considered what he should start Samson out fighting. Maybe I should slowly escalate the power of the creatures he fights over time, he thought. Killing a mountain lion or something wouldn¡¯t be possible for him now, and I think it might reduce the Evolution Points he gets for killing smaller prey in future anyway. So maybe I should start with something really small¡­ Samson, what¡¯s the biggest thing you¡¯ve killed since you were born into this life? Adon sent after thinking a bit. The biggest thing I¡¯ve killed? Samson sounded slightly surprised by the question. Well, I guess I¡¯ve been a bit sheltered. I don¡¯t think I killed anything other than insects since I hatched.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Okay, excellent! Adon transmitted quickly. The butterfly angled his body downward and took himself into an immediate dive. Wait, why did you ask me that? Samson asked in a slightly worried tone. I think he¡¯s going to find you something to fight, Goldie replied lightly. Yes, but what? Samson sent. Then Adon was touching down lightly on the side of a tree, a few feet above the ground. He landed silently, barely impacting. None of the creatures scampering around below changed its activity in response to the butterfly landing in their midst. Adon, what am I supposed to be fighting? Samson transmitted again, his tone impatient. The butterfly pointed with his antennae. Down there, Adon sent. There¡¯s a field mouse. As he sent the message, the little brown creature below moved slightly, chewing on a small green chunk of exposed plant root. A field mouse? Samson repeated. Oh, you can do it, Sammy! Goldie sent excitedly. I wish your little brothers and sisters could be here to see this¡­ Yeah, I guess I can, Samson sent. Honestly, I was imagining something much bigger. So, I was thinking about this, and I think we need to treat hunting sort of like climbing a ladder, Adon sent. You move up one step at a time. By the end of this trip, the idea is that I¡¯ll have you hunting creatures as strong as the ones I fight. Or maybe not by the end of this trip¡ªbut eventually, you know? What do you think? You¡¯re the expert, Adon, Samson replied. Thank you for making a plan for us, Goldie transmitted. I assume you also intend for me to participate¡ªonce Samson and I are at a similar level. Yes, as soon as Samson has grown a bit stronger, Adon sent. I think¡ªI think I could evolve if I get a couple kills under my belt, Samson sent, his inner voice shaking slightly with excitement. I¡¯ve been looking at the Evolution Store. Very exciting, sent Goldie. Just have to drop down onto that mouse and get started, Adon added. Samson began walking over to the side of Adon¡¯s wing, but as the spider crossed from the stable solid surface of Adon¡¯s back onto the gossamer of the butterfly wing, Samson slipped almost immediately and began to slide downward. Fortunately, Adon reacted quickly, curling his wing at the edges to make a cup shape so that Samson didn¡¯t slide all the way off and fall to the ground. It would not have been the most auspicious way to begin the hunt. Finally, pulling himself along the side of Adon¡¯s wing, Samson managed to drag his body to the area of edge that overlooked the area of ground where the field mouse stood. Easy-peasy, Adon heard Samson thinking. Just give myself a little push, land on its back¡­ Sensing Samson¡¯s hesitation, Adon quickly flipped the edge of his wing flat. With the edge he had been gripping suddenly yanked from his reach, the spider went tumbling straight down, while Goldie looked on from her position on Adon¡¯s back. Did you do that on purpose? she asked. He¡¯s my brother, Adon sent slightly defensively. Sometimes he needs to be tossed into things. He¡¯s really good at thinking on his feet. As they were exchanging words, Samson landed in the middle of the field mouse¡¯s back. Moving perhaps by pure instinct, the spider quickly leaned in and sank his fangs into the mouse¡¯s flesh directly adjacent to the spinal column. The mouse, which had merely twitched with the impact of the tiny spider¡¯s landing, began to writhe and whip its body back and forth like a mechanical bull as soon as it felt the sting of Samson¡¯s fangs. Samson lost his flimsy purchase on the field mouse¡¯s body and went flying into the same tree that Adon was perched on. His body hit with an insubstantial thud and rolled down the wood, back toward the field mouse. The mouse was running away at that point, and Adon took off again, flying to cut off its retreat. As he neared the ground, Goldie leaped off of Adon¡¯s back. He pushed Mana into his wings and, with a single flap, he blew the mouse toward Samson. You¡¯re not getting out of this, Adon thought. The mouse tumbled across the ground, blown off its feet, and before it could regain its footing, Samson was on it again, biting its soft underbelly and injecting venom over and over again. To its credit, the mouse understood that its immediate threat was the tiny spider. It reached out with its forelimbs and grabbed Samson by two of his legs. With a vicious yank from both sides, one of Samson¡¯s legs tore off at the joint where it met the body, while the other snapped in two. Adon saw goo trickle from the holes, but he resisted the urge to help. The Evolution Points would be greater if Samson overcame this challenge by himself, Adon was fairly certain. Use your Mana, dumbass! Adon sent. Samson immediately glowed brightly, his whole body reinforced, and the mouse¡¯s scrabbling claws failed to do any further damage. Goldie rushed toward her son, heedless of Adon¡¯s thought process. Goldie, stop! he sent. She slowed but did not quite stop until she was closer to her son and the field mouse. Samson¡¯s adversary turned to face the much larger spider that had rushed toward him¡ªGoldie was significantly larger than the little mouse¡ªand Samson took that moment to leap in again and sink his fangs into the mouse again. This time, the bites sank into the mouse¡¯s rib cage. Again and again, the tiny spider injected his venom. The mouse swung its left forelimb like a club and connected with the spider¡¯s body, sending Samson rolling away. The mouse seemed to be aware that it could not harm the spider with its claws anymore, so it was just trying to get distance now. But even as Samson¡¯s body tumbled across the ground like a little bowling ball, the mouse¡¯s body seized up. Spasms of pain rippled through the tiny ball of fur. It clawed at the places on its stomach and rib cage where Samson had landed his bites, and where the claws dug into the mouse¡¯s flesh, Adon saw bits of flesh and fur come away. The flesh underneath looked slightly rotten to Adon¡¯s eye. Wow, Adon thought. Samson¡¯s venom is already pretty potent, huh? Then his view was obscured as Samson charged back into close range and leaped into the mouse¡¯s face. Adon could not see what happened next very directly, but it appeared to him that Samson was injecting venom directly into the mouse¡¯s eyes. There was a horrendous shrieking from the rodent¡¯s tiny lungs, and it flailed again and sent the spider tumbling a short distance away. But the renewed motion from the mouse was short-lived. Adon saw its little nails claw at its face, though unlike the body, the mouse did not tear into its own eyes where Samson had apparently injected his venom this time. Then the mouse lowered its claws. They clenched and unclenched. The mouse released a final, pathetic squeak with what seemed to be its last breath of air. And all was still. 2-74. Samsons Evolution Oh my Goddess, I can¡¯t believe you did that, Adon sent, almost before he knew what he was saying. Well, of course I did, Samson replied instantly, his voice chipper. The glow of Mana faded from around his body almost immediately as he walked slowly, awkwardly back toward the mouse. Out of the heat of combat, the little spider was beginning to demonstrate the clumsiness one would expect of someone with a missing leg. Goldie stepped forward as Samson drew closer to where she stood¡ªnearer to the dead mouse than its actual killer¡ªand began fussing over her son. Are you all right, Sammy? she sent. You were incredible, even though it was so much bigger than you! Well, I do have Mana, Samson replied. And venom. I inherited that from you¡­ The two continued chattering back and forth while Adon considered what he¡¯d just seen. I remember before, I¡¯d started to think that Samson wasn¡¯t very talented with Mana, Adon thought to himself. He¡¯s definitely good at fighting, though. Is this really his first time in a real life and death battle? Did he serve in a war in our last incarnation, after I died? Once he was in close quarters with the mouse, he didn¡¯t hesitate at all. Adon recalled his first encounter with the Ladybug Larva that had become his early life¡¯s first recurring villain. The Ladybug Larva had moved to attack him, and Adon literally jumped off what felt like the top of a tall building¡ªin reality the tip of a small plant¡ªto escape. Well, I guess this just means that Samson is adapting to this reality a little better than me¡ªor maybe that a newly hatched creature shouldn¡¯t be put in a position of fighting for its life as soon as it¡¯s born. Thanks, mother, wherever you are¡­ and whoever or whatever you are, for that matter. Adon refocused on the present moment. He needed to check on Samson¡¯s condition. The little spider had lost a limb, though that should not be a major issue, considering Goldie and Adon¡¯s recovery abilities. As Adon focused in, he saw that Samson was already chowing down on dead mouse. Despite the spider¡¯s small size, the middle of the mouse¡¯s abdomen looked hollowed out. As if the poor creature had been placed on a starvation diet recently. Samson, by contrast, seemed to have swollen up. His whole body looked almost ready to burst out of its exoskeleton. Are you all right, Samson? Adon sent. Are you going to shed your skin and grow that leg back? Um, I hope the food is good. You didn¡¯t hear us talking? Goldie replied. Mama was just fussing all over me, Samson sent, still slurping up mouse innards. I can understand why your mind might have wandered elsewhere. The two of us were being kind of silly. Goldie tilted her head at Samson in a manner Adon interpreted as her being slightly hurt by his choice of words¡ªwhich felt like a mild rebuke directed at her even to Adon¡ªbut the young spider did not seem to notice. But the fussing is totally unnecessary, Samson continued. I was just trying to give him some healing, Goldie sent, breaking in as Samson paused to formulate another sentence. I don¡¯t see how that is silly. He lost a limb. One and a half limbs, though at his age, I would surely have died if the same had happened to me. What I was trying to say is that I actually don¡¯t think I need to be healed, Samson transmitted. Even though I appreciate what Mama was trying to do. I have enough Evolution Points to evolve now. Just from killing and partially eating the mouse. I guess it was considered far beyond my abilities as a hatchling spider! So, instead of growing a new limb, I figured I should just evolve. From the way you and Mama described it, it¡¯s a pretty transformative experience that should fully recover me. A whole new body. Why waste time and energy on just growing a new leg? That makes sense, Adon sent. Now that we know you got enough Evolution Points from killing the mouse, Goldie added. Before you started eating it, you were already trying to act tough¡ªlike you did not need to pause and heal. You have a good point, Mama, Samson replied mildly. I guess I¡¯m getting ahead of myself a little. That seems to be a habit with you, brother, Adon thought silently. Perhaps that was the cost of having lived a much more successful life than Adon had experienced in any of the butterfly¡¯s prior incarnations. Overconfidence, verging on recklessness. You think that Evolution is a good idea right now, Adon? Goldie asked. I do, Adon replied instantly. As long as he is not foregoing a better Evolution option that would become available if he was more patient. Adon turned his head toward Samson, to make it more obvious to the spider that Adon was focused on him, waiting for his answer. I¡¯m not, Samson replied. I already had a lot of Evolution Points from our cushy palace life and all of mama¡¯s provisioning. I just hadn¡¯t evolved yet, because I wasn¡¯t willing to embrace the lowest Evolution option. Now I can afford the personalized one that fits with your personality.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. That sounds amazing, Goldie sent excitedly. Since Adon agrees, I think you should go ahead right away. Adon had the strangest feeling that he had somehow been roped into the role of Samson¡¯s father figure, before he reminded himself that he had voluntarily chosen to be his brother¡¯s mentor in this new life. The distinction was subtle but important. Of course it was natural that Goldie would respect Adon¡¯s opinion on this, considering how successful he had been in their shared environment¡ªand how successful she had been alongside him. All right, Samson sent. I¡¯ll do it, then. Here goes nothing! He scampered over the mouse and chose a piece of ground up against the trunk of the tree. Easy to defend, Adon thought. Good spot, he sent to Samson and Goldie. Samson stood perfectly still for a minute, during which time Adon imagined the spider was looking for the Evolution option he had chosen. Then Samson¡¯s body began to glow. Light radiated from every millimeter of skin. At first, it was white. Then it dimmed slightly but began to flicker in every color of the rainbow. And there Samson stood, completely still, his body faintly glowing with mystical energy, while Adon and Goldie simply stared. A minute passed before it occurred to Adon that this Evolution, like his own, might not be as relatively quick as Goldie¡¯s recent Evolution had been. He resisted the temptation to ask Goldie how long she thought this would take. He could be patient, and the question was irrelevant. However long this took, he and Goldie would remain in place, protecting Samson¡¯s body¡ªwhich Adon assumed was especially vulnerable during the Evolution process, as Adon was certain he had been during his chrysalis days. But the butterfly also did not intend to stand idle for long. Goldie, I know you were active for a long time while I was in my chrysalis, Adon sent. Enjoying your new, stronger body. Did you get up to a lot of hunting? I remember you mentioned about the spiders in the palace¡­ That was mainly it, Adon, Goldie replied. I avoided too much hunting. I was concerned with killing any predators that might come after me and my eggs, but once I eliminated the other spiders, I mostly stayed sedentary with the little ones. Why do you ask? I was just thinking about how we make you stronger, Adon transmitted. For Samson, killing a field mouse was enough. For you, I¡¯m guessing we need to find something much larger. Something bigger and more dangerous than any species you have ever fought before. The butterfly braced himself for the spider¡¯s reaction. The prospect of fighting creatures deadlier than the Red Slayer Wasps would undoubtedly be intimidating. I think you are right, Goldie sent. I was just going to stand here and watch Sammy finish his transformation, but there is little point in us both simply sitting here staring at him. Adon was surprised. Goldie was agreeing very quickly to this barely-sketched plan for her to fight some large, deadly creature. I suggest that you scout for an appropriate challenge, then return and point me in the correct direction, Goldie continued. If you will protect Samson while I hunt, I will be able to fight with my full attention on the task at hand. That sounds like a great plan, Goldie! Adon sent. Um, how did you decide you wanted to do it so quickly? If you don¡¯t mind my asking¡­ My whole plan for this trip was for the three of us to watch each other¡¯s backs. This is a bit riskier than what I had envisioned. You¡¯re usually the careful one in the group. There was little point in second guessing Goldie¡¯s decision to accept Adon¡¯s own plan, but he couldn¡¯t help it. The Willful Golden Hourglass Spider remained his closest friend, and they had even watched each other¡¯s backs through Evolution in the past. Yet he continued to feel that she was far more vulnerable to harm than he was. And he felt a responsibility to protect her from her relatively weaker condition. It is something I have been thinking carefully about, Goldie replied. I know we have disagreed about what I should do, as our home is threatened. I have thought about what you said, and I think I understand your point of view a bit better. It was hard to see it at first, but Sammy¡¯s attempt at navigating the dark place you showed us reminded me. I can¡¯t forget¡ªor should not forget¡ªjust how much weaker he and I are when compared to you. I realized it might be hard for you to protect us in the middle of a war¡ªand hard for you to simply tell us to get lost. You tried to avoid that problem by nudging me toward running away. You did it out of care, so my feelings aren¡¯t hurt. But now that I see your reasoning, more than anything, I do not want to become a burden to you. No, I will not let it happen! I will not have you worrying about me, anymore than I¡¯ll abandon you and Sammy in the middle of the war you are both so determined to fight. Samson? Adon asked. There was so much in what Goldie had said telepathically that merited response, so much that he had to say¡ªincluding some partial misunderstandings she had of his motives¡ªbut those last words stuck out to him. Samson is determined to fight? Why are you so surprised? Goldie sent. The two of you are alike in many ways, although neither of you seems to see it clearly. I guess that is how brothers are, especially human brothers. Yes, Adon, Sammy wants to stay in the Kingdom and defend it too. He cares for many of the same things that you do. Glory, homeland, his family¡ªand the Royal Family too. Adon did not know what to say to that at first. The silence settled over the two arthropods for a minute, heavy and almost stifling. Goldie seemed unwilling to break it. She had said her piece. I¡¯m glad we all want the same things, Adon sent finally. I wouldn¡¯t say you described how I feel perfectly¡ªI would never call you a burden¡ªbut I do worry about your safety. This will help with that. There was more that Adon wanted to say¡ªfor one thing, he wanted to understand more of Samson¡¯s motivations¡ªbut Goldie did not give him more time to brood. Good, Goldie sent. Will you please find me something dangerous to kill, then? I want to be strong enough that you never tell me to run away again. So strong that you will let me worry about you for a change. Adon thought that would never happen¡ªeven if the spider grew stronger than him, the balance of worry would forever fall in the other direction, if only because Adon¡¯s approach to this life involved more risk-taking than Goldie¡¯s¡ªbut he had developed enough social skills and simple common sense to not argue the point. Whatever you say, Goldie, the butterfly sent back. With a single, strong wingbeat, Adon took off, in search of a difficult challenge for his friend. 2-75. What the Fox Does Part 1 Adon flitted through the air, flying almost effortlessly¡ªhe had allowed his wings and body to revert back to their original forms, so the flight felt relaxing. He moved in slowly widening concentric circles around the tree where Goldie and Samson waited. As he flew, he did not appreciate the beauty of nature as much this time as he had earlier. The butterfly¡¯s mind was focused. He scanned the environment for living creatures larger than himself, almost fully ignoring the plant and insect life that filled every square foot of the forest. He also ignored anything that flew through the air. Adon was looking for something specifically strong enough to challenge Goldie, but not strong enough to kill her. Most birds would be strong enough to challenge Goldie, but they would also be difficult for her to kill¡ªtoo mobile. Even if Adon dropped her onto the back of one, she would probably be thrown off before she could secure the kill. He saw a rabbit and thought, Too small and weak. He saw a deer and thought, Too big and quick. Maybe Goldie could kill it with the Mana ball, but it probably wouldn¡¯t still be here when she caught up. He spied a skunk, decided that was a nightmare waiting to happen, and moved in the opposite direction immediately. Adon kept looking until he saw something that looked a bit monstrous to him. The creature was mostly covered in gray fur, though its head was mostly white with black stripes running from the ears past the eyes. The coloration reminded Adon of war paint. The beast¡¯s bulky, muscular body looked built for brawling with creatures its own size or larger. It moved slowly, like it was drowsy, but it kept turning its head left and right as if it was waiting for a food source to walk by. You¡¯re a big one, aren¡¯t you? Adon thought. I bet you¡¯d be a really good opponent for Goldie. Identify said it was a Gray Continental Badger (Male). Darn¡­ Adon thought that it was exactly the kind of creature that would probably give Goldie an energetic fight, but it might be a little too much for her right now. He was pretty certain that some species of badger had immunity or resistance to venom. He had never been an animal expert, but if he was this monstrous thing, he would have opted for some sort of venom resistance or immunity Adaptation at a very young age, as soon as he had a few extra Evolution Points saved up. The butterfly pictured Goldie suffering a bite from the badger¡¯s strong-looking jaws, and he knew he would have shuddered at the image if his insect body had that inclination. Adon decided this one was a little bit too unreasonable, and he started to fly away. Then he heard a bestial jaw close, snicker-snack, on something fleshy that twisted and writhed. There was a noise of struggling and tearing and a slight, accompanying odor of blood as predator and prey fought. Adon used his sense of hearing to triangulate the location of the sounds. He could not be certain, but to him, the creatures fighting sounded a bit smaller than the badger had. Adon flew around a tree and finally set eyes on the source of the vicious noises. Below him, a red fox was beginning to tear into a rabbit. The body still twitched slightly, but the struggle was over. The head was almost fully disconnected from the torso, and the fox took big, gory bites from the stump where the rabbit¡¯s neck had been. Ugh. Is that what it looks like when I¡¯m eating? Adon only looked down at the fox enjoying its meal for a moment. He thought that foxes were roughly as quick as deer, but this one probably wouldn¡¯t be as quick to leave the area as the deer. It was in the middle of eating, after all. He made a beeline for the tree where he had left the spiders. The fox did not seem to have noticed him. Adon reached Goldie a minute later, fluttered down to the ground, and settled between her and the unmoving, gently glowing form of Samson. You found something, Adon? Goldie sent, clearly excited. I did, he replied. Adon described what he had seen and pointed the way toward the fox with his antennae. You can do it, he finished, trying to infuse his words with all the confidence he felt. I¡¯ll be watching Samson. So don¡¯t worry about anything. You¡¯ve got this. Just get there quick, before it gets away! That fox will never know what hit it. The spider dipped her head in a quick nod. Thanks, Adon. Then Goldie began moving away. ¡ª The spider clambered across the ground, her eight feet gobbling up the terrain faster than any rodent of her size could have accomplished¡ªbeing hampered with only four legs, they were practically handicapped.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Her eyes took in her surroundings carefully, marking where every last predatory creature was. Her reserves of Mana, honed and increased through training with both Adon and the Princess, were ready to be unleashed at any moment. She knew that only Mana could allow a creature as small as herself to survive a fight with an opponent as large as a fox. Despite her slight paranoia about her surroundings, none of the predators around made a move toward the brightly shaded spider. They seemed to recognize that her golden coloration and the hourglass on her back were not ornamental. They were indicative that the dinner-plate-sized spider was deadly, possessor of a highly toxic venom repeatedly strengthened through Evolution Store purchases and cycles of Evolution. Goldie did not consciously notice the way the other creatures looked slightly askance or even changed their direction to move away as the deadly spider walked past, but on some level, her mind perceived it. She relaxed very slightly. Somewhere within, a confidence settled over her. I can do this, she found herself thinking. That fox had better watch out! Her walk acquired confidence. Spiders could not truly strut, but there was a definite purpose and certainty to her movements. They were not a skitter or a scuttle. Closer to predatory stalking. Then, as she stepped around a tree trunk, she almost tripped over her own feet. There it was, right there! Muzzle stained coppery red-brown with rabbit¡¯s blood, still licking and crunching away at the furry brown mess at its feet, the fox had been closer than she had imagined. He exaggerated the distance a little, because he figured my walking was much slower than his flying, Goldie thought. That was it. Or maybe this is the wrong fox? She took a moment, standing still, to settle herself. The spider could tell now, after repeated adventures in the deadly outdoors, when she was working herself up into a sort of low-grade panic. You are startled, she told herself, as the fox licked blood from its left front paw. You do not need to be afraid of this fox. You are not some helpless rabbit. You are clever. You have deadly venom. You¡­ The self-talk wasn¡¯t working very well. Just be clever, she told herself. Be sneaky and tricky. Almost without thinking, she stepped back behind the tree that she had almost stumbled into. The fox still did not seem to have noticed her, despite the gilded coloration that made her virtually unique among this world¡¯s arthropods. It was too busy enjoying its meal. But it was almost done. She would have to be quick. Goldie circled around the trunk and began walking in a loop around the fox, aiming to get behind its back. In her mind, she was juggling tasks and planning. Watching the fox to see if it looked up at her, examining the rabbit and trying to guess how much eating the fox had left to do, and planning how she would best inject her venom to kill the fox as quickly as possible. The fox had little situational awareness, it seemed to Goldie, but it was no less intimidating for that obliviousness. The fox belonged here. It was perhaps not at the top of the local food chain¡ªthere were probably apex predators in this forest¡ªbut it was confident enough that it did not have to worry about ambush attacks from creatures as small as spiders. Even giant spiders. Goldie made it all the way around behind the fox¡¯s back and got to within a foot of the creature. There was a tree that stood between her and the enemy. That, and a few inches of empty air. The spider hesitated for a moment. Then she began to climb. She had decided on her method. Goldie would climb until she was just above the fox, and then she would throw herself off, onto its neck. A few bites there ought to deliver a fatal dose of venom to his system quickly enough. Goldie had an intuitive understanding of how best to use her venom on different types of creatures. It was one of the Adaptations she had purchased ages ago, and it had developed with her venom and her Evolution. But it was one thing to have intuition, and another to have actual data. Goldie had not fought anything since her Evolution that truly required more than one bite to kill. She had never really needed to worry about such a large opposing creature. As she progressed up the side of the trunk, she moved around horizontally as well, positioning herself so that when she was high enough, her jump would place her where she wanted to be. The spider came within a few inches of the fox¡¯s brush tail, which wagged slightly¡ªperhaps because the fox was well pleased with its cotton-tailed meal. She paused for a moment, sorely tempted to try and grab the swishing limb. But she made herself resist the urge. A tail was an extremity. It would be like biting the fox¡¯s toes. Painful, certainly, for the fox. Perhaps eventually deadly, depending on how powerful her venom was relative to this large creature. The fox would certainly be alerted to her presence, though. The element of surprise would have been wasted. The creature would probably get away from her, so she would not be able to eat it. At the very least, it would have the opportunity to fight. Goldie didn¡¯t want that. She forced herself to keep climbing, elevating herself to a higher position. She passed the height of the place where the fox¡¯s bottom legs met its body, then the level of the top of the fox¡¯s tail. Then she rose to the height of the fox¡¯s head. Goldie was going to climb just a little higher, so she could more easily control the direction of her fall. She was going to point, aim, and throw herself very carefully and precisely to land right at the middle of the fox¡¯s neck. She was going to leap, venom already dripping slightly from the tips of her fangs, ready to inject it directly into its neck. She wanted to do all of those things and end this fight in a few frenzied seconds of sudden, violent action. Instead, the spider stood paralyzed for a moment, as the fox turned its head around and looked right at her, staring very clearly in her direction. Perhaps it was just her nerves, but the creature seemed to her to make direct eye contact. Those fiery orange eyes bored into the spider¡¯s soul for a moment. They were intelligent eyes. Then the bloody maw curled slightly, exposing the fox¡¯s slightly reddened, gory teeth. It almost appeared to be smiling like a human. Well? its expression seemed to ask. I¡¯m waiting. Go ahead and ambush me. Jump. The creature opened its jaws a little wider and licked its lips. The fox tilted its head to the side. Its eyes had never left Goldie. One of its paws scratched at its rear. It seemed to be growing a little impatient. Fine, Goldie thought. I do not need the element of surprise. I can do this. 2-76. What the Fox Does Part 2 Goldie looked down at the fox¡¯s blood-stained smile, gathered her courage, and tried to remember every single thing she could do. Her silk was stronger than it had ever been. Her Silk Manipulation Skill had reached a new tier of power following Evolution. Her venom remained at the highest potency she could concentrate it into. Her fangs were adapted to spray her venom now if she chose. And, of course, she had Mana. She thought she would need all of her abilities as both a magic user and a spider to win this fight. Finally, she steadied herself on the tree and leaped straight down toward the fox. A part of her expected it to dodge and let her fall straight down into the clover beneath the fox¡¯s feet. Instead, the fox opened its greedy maw wider than Goldie would have imagined possible and positioned as if to swallow her. Not as smart as I thought. Goldie infused Mana into her body as she fell through the air, preparing to endure the predator¡¯s crunching teeth and inflict her deadly bite. The fox surprised her again. Its gnashing teeth twisted and moved to the side, and she realized the fox was actually pivoting and dodging her now. Had it somehow understood that she was doing something dangerous when she started harnessing Mana? Goldie tried to spray a quick stream of venom at the still wide open maw, but as the liquid spewed from her fangs, a furry object struck her and interrupted the stream. As it hit, she tried to flip her body so that she could grab onto what she quickly recognized was the fox¡¯s tail, but she was not quick enough. The spider went flying through the air, body tumbling backward. At the last moment, as she was about to be too far away, her body, acting almost on its own, spun a thin silk string, as strong as she could make it so quickly. Her front limbs looped the end. Then she used her Silk Lasso Skill and threw the slender thread, almost invisible, at the fox¡¯s tail. Goldie could not tell for a moment whether the silk loop had actually managed to make contact with the fox¡¯s body at all. Her unstable position as she threw would seem to argue against that idea. Then the beast turned and began to run away, and Goldie felt it. A sharp yank on the end of the silk rope that was still connected to her body, touching her front legs. The spider had a moment to wonder whether this had been a good idea, and then she whipped forward, pulled behind the fox as it began to run away. The sudden reversal of direction was not too jarring, but Goldie could not help wondering where the fox was taking her now. As her body was thrown through the air, she moved quickly to begin winding in the cable she was tied to. She could easily envision herself smacking into trees and other random objects as the fox ran, if she failed to pull herself closer. The fox continued fleeing, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Goldie had attached herself to its tail. The reversal of its attitude was puzzling. It went from trying to swallow me up to running away in a handful of seconds, she thought. Was that really just because it noticed me using Mana? Does it understand what Mana is? As she questioned the fox¡¯s thought process, her limbs never stopped moving, reeling her body in closer to the fox¡¯s tail, where her lasso seemed to be secured. Fortunately, the fox did not seem to notice. As Goldie reached the tip of the tail, the fox darted into a hole in the ground, and Goldie found herself plunged into darkness. She could still see; reality had just turned a bit lower resolution. She began pulling herself further up on the fox¡¯s tail, gripping it as well as she could as the fox continued moving, albeit more slowly, deeper into the hole. It did not seem to be fleeing anymore as far as she could tell. No animal would just rush headlong into an unfamiliar burrow like this. The fox was going home. This must be its den. It had become instantly more secure once it passed through the hole. It probably assumed the strange, nasty, magic spider would not be able to follow it here. Goldie managed to reach the base of the fox¡¯s tail, and then she began to disabuse the fox of that notion. She immediately sank her fangs into the fox¡¯s lower back and injected venom. The fox¡¯s whole body stiffened noticeably as she did this. Goldie paid little attention. She found another spot, slightly further away, and injected venom again. The fox let out a pained yowl, and it slammed the side of its body against the wall. Goldie managed to shift out of the way so that her legs were not caught between the fox and the wall, and she infused Mana into herself again. Then she nipped the fox just above the back left leg and injected more venom. The fox continued to make pained noises, and Goldie stuck her fangs in its flank again, injecting another burst of high potency venom.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Then she saw the fox¡¯s head trying to snake around and get at her, and she quickly crawled down to the nearest leg. There she clung, biting and injecting more venom, while the fox tried to scrape her off against the walls and continued stretching its neck and gnashing its jaws, trying to get Goldie. The beast simply lacked the room to bite into her or grab her with its teeth, and her Mana reinforcement kept her from being hurt too badly by the efforts to smush her into the dirt sides of the burrow. The angles shifted. For a moment, Goldie had a little more room, though the fox almost immediately smashed her against the wall and tried to scrape her away. Then the fox was running, and Goldie realized that in the time that the fox had been trying to snake its head around and bite her, and even when it was trying to scrape her onto a wall, it had also been turning its body fully around. The tunnel flew by them, but all Goldie could focus on was maintaining her grip on the fox¡¯s leg and, more importantly, her Mana enhancement of her exoskeleton. Otherwise the fox¡¯s scraping could actually crush her. A few seconds of bumping up against the tunnel wall later, they burst out into the sunlight again. The sudden glare was startling for a moment, as Goldie had just been pressed up against a gray surface in the dark. Her grip relaxed involuntarily as she adjusted to the bright light. Then she was sent flying, as the fox, finally able to stretch its legs, threw an abrupt kick that dislodged the surprised spider from around its hindquarters. Goldie had lost her grip on the silk thread she had used to reel herself into the fox¡¯s body while she was attacking the fox in the burrow, so instead of pulling herself back to close proximity, she just went flying. The spider¡¯s body rolled through the air, wheeling like a multi-legged frisbee toward a tree. When her eyes were turned in the proper orientation toward the fox, she could see it scratching and nipping at its backside where she had injected her venom. Even when she could not see anything of the fox, she could hear it whining. Goldie knew she had done serious damage to the fox then. Finally, her body collided with a tree, and the spider tumbled lightly to the ground. Goldie stood up and took a quick look at the fox just to make sure that it was not charging straight at her. But her adversary seemed to be too absorbed in the pain the spider had inflicted. As she watched, the fox continued nipping at its own hindquarters, and a chunk of the fur came away in the fox¡¯s jaws. The flesh underneath was blackened and looked slightly rotten. It was appetizing to Goldie¡¯s eyes, but to the fox, it must have been a sign of its imminent demise. The creature let out a low, agonized wail. Goldie took that as her opportunity to attack once more. She charged forward, taking the ground in big lunges, eager to catch the fox while it was still in pain and off-guard. The fox immediately paid attention to the spider. It bared its teeth at her and issued a low growl from the back of its throat. The beast even took a step toward her, though Goldie did not slow down or change her direction as a result. It seemed as if the fox had forgotten its newfound fear of her for the moment. Perhaps it simply lacked the capacity to run away now and was bluffing; Goldie detected a slight limp as it tried to move on the leg she had envenomated. Regardless of the reason, the fox chose aggression over retreat. As Goldie closed to within a foot of the fox, it lunged forward, teeth bared, right front paw raised to swipe down with its claws. The spider allowed the fox to get even closer to her, claws only inches away, and then she unleashed a full spray of her venom right into his face. She saw a stream of the liquid strike the fox right in the space between its eyes and then spatter into both eyes. The claw it had aimed at Goldie smashed into the dirt beside her, and the fox staggered to the side, off-balance and whining with pain. It stumbled snout first onto the ground, paws reaching up to those fierce orange eyes, which were already growing visibly irritated from the venom Goldie had sprayed. She saw the fox move its paws as if it wanted to claw out the poison in its eyes. It had to awkwardly bend its paws so that the claws were not at the forefront before it began rubbing at the irritated places. Goldie realized now would be the ideal time to try to end the fight, before the fox attempted any further resistance. She remembered the one experience she¡¯d had of using Adon¡¯s Mana ball. She walked around behind the fox, so it would be less likely to see what she was doing. She was not certain if it would be blinded by her venom attack, but it had shown some capacity to recognize Mana as a threat before. And she began to charge the Mana ball. Power gathered from her core and migrated through her abdomen and across the area just under her exoskeleton until it made its way to the space just in front of her mouthparts. It gradually gathered until Goldie herself could see it. A brightly glowing ball of energy, slowly growing. Just like earlier in the fight, the fox reacted. It was just slightly slower to the punch this time. First, its ears twitched. Goldie wondered if it could hear her Mana charging. Then it turned its head to face her. The eyes opened. They were in terrible shape. The flesh all around them was puffy and irritated, but the eyes themselves were clearly much worse. The orange was fading, replaced by a dark, slightly rotten brown at the center of each, streaked with a raw pink at the edges. The fox¡¯s eyes were slowly rotting out of its head. The rubbing had not done the creature any favors. Dimly, Goldie was aware that she was about to put the fox out of its misery, and that was a good thing. Practically, however, she was most concerned with the fact that, even with its probably permanently damaged vision, the fox was clearly looking straight at her and conscious of the threat that her next attack would likely pose. Goldie was not certain if she had the discipline and control of Mana that would be required to reinforce her body at the same time that she charged her final attack. In fact, she was fairly certain that she did not have the level of skill necessary to do that yet. So, as long as she was charging her attack, her tiny frame would be vulnerable to the brutal force the fox could unleash with its mostly still healthy body. Goldie and the fox stared at each other for a long moment as these considerations rushed through the spider¡¯s mind. Then she resolved within herself that she would not stop charging her attack. If the fox attacked her, she could still try to run and dodge. If it tore off a leg or two, she could heal those injuries. Only catastrophic damage would kill her. It was better to risk that small chance of death than to abandon her advantage in the moment of her triumph. This is what Adon would do, she thought. As Goldie made this decision, the fox blinked. Then it turned and ran. 2-77. Entrapment As the fox turned to run away from her, Goldie only had a split-second before she understood what was happening. She immediately sprang into motion to follow the creature. Her Mana ball only needed another couple of seconds. The fox was far faster than her, but in its haste and near blindness, it charged headfirst into a tree. It bounced and stumbled backward as Goldie closed the distance. The fox turned back to look at her, seemed to decide it had no option but to fight, swung its left claw in the spider¡¯s direction¡ªand it was finally ready. Goldie fired the Mana ball, barely pausing to aim. The projectile tore through the fox¡¯s paw, boring a neat hole through the left side, then buried itself in the fox¡¯s chest. The beast slumped to the ground, twitched twice, and then lay unmoving. Blood slowly trickled from the corner of its mouth. I think I¡ªdid I win? Goldie thought wonderingly. Adon, I won! She activated Telepathy, which she had not used during the fight, and sent the words as a message, as loudly as she could, in the general direction she remembered Adon was waiting. Adon, I won! From a distance, at a reduced volume, came his reply: Woo! I knew you could do it, Goldie! At the sound of his telepathic voice, something inside Goldie released. The spider allowed herself to relax. The fox was dead. Adon had answered her call. There were no deadly predators apparently within sight. All was right in the world. Goldie walked over slowly toward the fox, her legs making leisurely movements, calm and cool. She climbed onto its nearest paw, and the dead animal did not stir¡ªthere had been some tiny part of her that imagined that it would spring back to life somehow¡ªas she walked her way up the length of the fox¡¯s leg. She kept moving up the body until she reached the shoulder, where the leg met the body. Then the spider began to feed. Goldie was no caterpillar. She did not slip into a feeding trance. Frankly, even if she had been possessed of Adon¡¯s strong appetites, she was far too anxious about being in the middle of a forest to lose focus on her surroundings for even as long as it would take to fully sate her hunger. Still, despite being in what she firmly classified as hostile territory in her mind, Goldie enjoyed herself. The fresh, hot, red flesh and blood of a predator that she had killed herself, and one that was theoretically outside her natural ability, was rather intoxicating. Every time she had an experience like this, it was a little bit easier for her to understand why Adon had made hunting such dangerous creatures a major part of his lifestyle. After drinking just a small amount of the fox¡¯s flesh and blood, Goldie felt noticeably more powerful. She thought it was possible that she was getting more out of this than she had out of all the other meals she had consumed since Evolution, put together. Perhaps that is the power of eating what you kill yourself. She began to devise a plan, and as it became clearer, she began explaining it through Telepathy to Adon. I think we can make Samson stronger more quickly than I grew, Goldie sent in a loud voice¡ªthough she did not know whether that would have an effect or not, Telepathy seemed to follow similar principles to the transmission of sound generally. Thoughts grew less audible over a longer distance. Therefore, louder thoughts ought to carry further. I¡¯m listening, Adon sent back. He sounded like he was trying to yell, too, though the audio quality remained fairly weak. Even if you can¡¯t easily hear me, please assume I can hear you. My Telepathy is very strong. I¡¯m just restraining myself, because I don¡¯t want to hurt Samson¡¯s brain. The thought that Adon could accidentally harm Samson with Telepathy was a little scary, but Goldie implicitly trusted that Adon knew what he was doing. I realized that there appears to be a significant benefit to killing your prey yourself, Goldie sent. It is something I suppose I understood when I was an orb weaver. I had little opportunity to have food served to me at the time. Then again, I also was not regularly killing creatures that were substantially more powerful than me back then. Goldie paused. She realized she probably came across as unfocused. She hesitated, expecting Adon to ask a question¡ªbut the butterfly just waited silently. He knew she was going somewhere. I have an idea for how we can help Samson get the most out of the period immediately after he completes his Evolution, Goldie sent. She began to explain her plan in greater detail. As she finished, Adon responded excitedly. That¡¯s a great idea, Goldie, he sent. I don¡¯t know if it will work the way you¡¯re hoping, but there¡¯s no reason not to try. It¡¯s the best way I can think of for us to use our time wisely while we wait for Samson. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re feeling so good about the results of your fight with the fox. I know I¡¯m stuck over here, watching Samson, but is there anything I can do to help? Nothing that I can think of, Goldie replied quickly. You are already doing the most important thing. Well, all right, Adon transmitted. Goldie heard the slight unease in his voice. Knowing Adon, he was probably worried about her¡ªand maybe bored. He wished he could be doing something to contribute, something to get stronger¡ªanything but the nothing that he was probably up to currently.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The spider would gladly have accepted Adon¡¯s help if he could assist her without abandoning his defense of Samson, but this plan was something that only Goldie could do. It is nice to feel useful for a change, Goldie thought to herself. She continued eating the fox as she contemplated how she might best accomplish her mission. The flesh was extremely satisfying. With each portion she consumed, the spider wanted more. Goldie opened the Evolution Store. She knew that with the death of the fox, she would have acquired a large sum of Evolution Points. It was time to put those to work. Hopefully there would be some new Skill or Adaptation that could assist her. She saw that she had a total of 1242 Evolution Points to spend, though she could not be certain how many of those were from the recent fight and how many she had acquired through the slow accumulation of points when she was in the palace, receiving her meals without any struggle. Would I still prefer to be served my meals on a silver platter, or is hunting better? Goldie asked herself as she slurped another mouthful of semi-liquid meat. At least at this moment, the fox felt like an exceptionally delicious meal, but she did not think that was because she had hunted it herself. Is it really worth it to go out into the wild and put yourself at risk just to acquire more Evolution Points with every meal? She shook her head slightly. No, she thought. My friend Adon is just a little crazy. The words in her head were affectionate. It is definitely better to sit at home with the hatchlings and have food brought to you. She returned her attention to the Evolution Store and started scrolling through options. The spider hardly noticed that as she continued eating throughout the search, her body grew more and more swollen. It eventually came to her attention, because her exoskeleton grew so tight that her skin began to shed. Oh, she thought as the exoskeleton burst at the seams, revealing a new, fresh layer beneath¡ªand a slightly larger base size for her body. I am growing. It reminded her of Adon, back when he was a caterpillar, always outgrowing his skin. She returned her attention to the task at hand before she could grow too distracted with nostalgia. There were only a few Skills that she could see being useful for the idea she¡¯d had: Airtight Construction, an ability that would allow her to make structures that did not let air in or out; Trap Construction I, which spoke for itself; Exoskeleton Dummy I, which would allow her to make her shed exoskeletons into convincing pantomimes of a real spider; and Silk Lasso II, which was the upgrade of Silk Lasso I, the Skill she had already employed to great effect against the fox. There was also a cool Skill called Water Walk, but even though it sounded useful, Goldie could not see it coming in handy in her current environment. She was also reluctant to get near water anyway. There were also Adaptations that she could imagine being useful in the forest. Stun Secretion I, which would allow her to create a liquid that would sedate targets on contact; Paralytic Gaze I, which was a sort of quasi-magical power that allowed her to harness Mana and enhance the quality of her presence to intimidate enemies into immobility; and Projectile Hairs I, which would turn the small, short hairs Goldie grew around her joints thicker and harder, increase their number, and turn them into little projectile weapons. I shouldn¡¯t bother with Projectile Hairs, she thought. That would mainly be useful in a close range fight where I¡¯m trying to defend myself. It was a strange feeling to be choosing abilities for their potential to non-lethally defeat and capture opponents, when she had spent so much time thinking primarily about how to hide from predators and investing any spare resources into more efficient venom to kill anything that entered her hiding places. But Goldie quickly made her selections. She bought Trap Construction I for 50 Evolution Points, and after the knowledge of how to construct a basic trap had poured into her mind, she quickly upgraded to versions II and III. She purchased Stun Secretion I and II for 120 and 240 Evolution Points respectively. And she poured the rest into her stats. Goldie was tired of being the delicate arthropod who had to avoid being stepped on, and she knew she was growing ever larger, as she continued to eat large meals like the fox that she had been devouring for most of the selection process. So she placed almost all of the remaining points into Strength. Hopefully that would allow her to survive a clumsy human stepping on her head. Paralytic Gaze I was a very cool sounding Adaptation, but at 500 Evolution Points, it was too expensive to justify the expenditure right now. There would be other opportunities. After she had locked in her purchases and endured the burning pain of her body growing new glands for the Stun Secretion Adaptations¡ªas well as experiencing the pleasant sensation of her body multiplying its Strength¡ªit was time to put her plan into action. She took her first steps, and her body felt noticeably different. Much more powerful. Like there was a thunderstorm inside her body. She wondered if this was what Adon felt like all the time. She had seen how he could tear apart other arthropods, even those larger than him. I should have invested in this much sooner¡­ Goldie shook her head. This was not important now. She walked over and climbed the nearest tree and then began weaving silk as thin yet strong as she could manage. Using the knowledge she had obtained from Trap Construction, she began building webs of a kind she never had before. The simple, elegant, ornamental webs that Goldie had always used in the past were designed with a single purpose in mind: allowing her to restrain and kill prey. The new web she was crafting was intended to progressively entrap prey even while she was not present, and to restrain larger animals than she had previously been able to catch. There was a complex structure to it where one thread pulled on another, causing more and more sticky fibers to attach to whatever animal brushed past it, until it was thoroughly enmeshed in a tangled weave of strings. This was Goldie¡¯s bright idea. She would make traps and capture some of Samson¡¯s prey for him. She would not kill them herself. She would just ensure they could not escape once they had entered the kill zone. This would save them a lot of time whenever Samson woke up. Goldie entered a state of incredible focus as she worked. She had always been an artist in her web design in the past. Now she had a new set of tools and a looser construction to experiment with. She thought deeply about each new thread, as well as about where to apply her Stun Secretion to hopefully best sedate the trapped prey. As one tree was thoroughly enmeshed in nearly invisible webbing that shot out at seemingly random angles, she moved onto the next tree. Then the next. And the next after that. Whenever she began to run low on Biomass from spinning her silk, Goldie would return to ground level and feed a little more on her prey. The hours passed by as Goldie delved deeper and deeper into her task. The fox on the ground slowly diminished in size. And more and more trees were brought into the thicket of tissue-thin spider strings. 2-78. Transformation, Take Two There¡¯s nothing I can do, Adon thought. All right¡­ He looked glumly at Samson, who continued to emanate pretty lights as he changed¡ªthe little spider¡¯s body was clearly but very slowly growing larger as his Evolution proceeded¡ªand Adon wondered what else he could do to pass the time, since Goldie had refused any help. Then he thought about the Adaptation he most wanted to master, and the way he would spend the next hour or so was obvious. Adon began practicing Transformation. Focus, he told himself. Focus on the shape you want to take. His body understood the task he was demanding of it more intuitively this time than it had before. The pain was more bearable. Perhaps it was just his imagination, but there also seemed to be less of it¡ªas if his body had realized that this task was supposed to be one of its functions, not something that should cause its owner pain. After only a moment, his wings and spines perceptibly began to change shape. They twisted and deformed¡ªnot so painfully this time¡ªand combined. Adon¡¯s flesh made only a slight crunching noise as it flexed in its new shape. He felt the movement of the joints of this strange new, endoskeletal limb that now used the majority of his flesh. Adon quickly saw the pale, fleshy skin he recognized from previous attempts at Transformation¡ªhis body forming the shape of a human hand from the material it possessed. This was a triumph. He knew that immediately. His body had not been able to make a convincing humanoid hand before. It had been horribly painful, the end product had looked like an over-inflated rubber glove, and he had been forced to break the Transformation almost instantly once he formed the shape. It was as if his whole being was rebelling against what he was trying to do¡ªor saying, You can¡¯t do this! This time, the hand was still an inhuman skin tone¡ªso unnaturally pale and completely bloodless that no one would mistake it for the hand of a human of any race Adon had ever encountered. But every other detail was amazingly right. The hand had weight and substance. There were internal bones, and they bent in the proper directions. The hand¡¯s form and function were aligned. It was much better to look at. Still¡­ Adon knew that he was not where he wanted to be with this ability yet. He had made a single appendage, not even a whole limb. Even that little bit of progress had taken effort, ongoing expenditure of Mana, and continuous application of willpower. This just isn¡¯t right. I don¡¯t know what it is, it¡¯s just not right. He made a snap decision and allowed his wings and spines to snap back into place suddenly. Adon was not getting very far, trying to turn himself into a human-sized, human-shaped creature. He wasn¡¯t even making much forward progress, though he had practiced in the time when he had been in the palace, whenever he was alone. He suddenly thought that maybe he was going about this the wrong way. Adon focused on a different form that he thought might be more manageable, and somewhat to his surprise, his body obeyed immediately. Maybe he had stretched his capabilities a great deal by using Transformation so much in his everyday life, or maybe it was the repeated efforts to turn himself into a human whenever he was alone. Practice makes perfect, he thought as his body shifted again. He could tell that things were going better now. The Transformation was astonishingly smooth and quick this time. Every part of the task was easier. The whole thing was much less painful¡ªalmost painless, in fact¡ªperhaps because the changes were smaller. Holding the mental image in his mind was easier¡ªprobably in part because he was not hampered by pain. And the changes to his body were less radical. Spines, legs, and exoskeleton twisted, deformed, changed shape, reoriented themselves¡ªbut at least his wings remained the same as they always were. They were the most sensitive part of his body, he knew, and the most easily subject to damage. The process unfolded very quickly. Practice makes perfect, Adon thought again, though he had never tried this exact Transformation before. He flexed and stretched ten fingers, on two hands, this time. This was delightful. He extended his arms in front of himself¡ªbecause, yes, he had arms now. He gave his arms and hands a good look. His fingers were still pale, but they were a skin tone that was conceivably possible in a human being again. His arms were thin, pale, and hairless, but they were humanoid arms, with elbows and everything. I even have neatly trimmed fingernails, he thought, head swimming with euphoria. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I did it¡ª¡± Adon clapped a hand to his mouth mid-sentence. I spoke. I spoke out loud. Oh Goddess¡ªI have a real mouth again! A real, human-like mouth. And a voice! I could talk without intruding into other people¡¯s private thoughts now! Assuming I¡¯m willing to spend a lot of time in this form, which I have to admit is a big if. It¡¯s a little bit demanding on my energy. Though he had to admit, this form was less demanding on his energy than the ambitious project he had set for himself to start with. I can¡¯t believe I have a human voice again. In a very real sense, it felt like Adon had reclaimed a part of himself. Something he had not even realized he was missing. An element of his humanity. His fingers that had moved to cover his mouth tentatively plumbed the space between his lips. With his finger tips, he touched, and then began counting, his teeth. This is absolutely silly, Adon told himself. Tears beaded in his eyes. Silly tears, perhaps, but tears nevertheless. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I succeeded at using Transformation this way,¡± he said aloud. Then he frowned. That voice isn¡¯t quite right. Adon adjusted his mental image of the form, and he felt flesh adjusting slightly. His mind was powerful. ¡°Testing, testing.¡± His voice had deepened to its usual low tone. The sound of his voice from when he was human¡ªand the sound that everyone who had heard his Telepathic voice associated with him. He made a note in his mind that this version of his vocal cords and voice should be the model for future Transformations.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°So simple,¡± he mused. ¡°I put myself through so much pain trying to do it the other way. I¡¯ll still have to figure out how to make the other way happen, but I wish I had tried this version sooner. It feels so good to make progress¡­¡± Adon looked down at his body, still obsessed with his new shape. He had a normal pair of feet, long slender legs, male human private parts, a flat stomach¡ªwhat he wouldn¡¯t have given for that in his last life¡ªand a flat chest, unmuscled but not flabby. And I could imagine myself an even better body next time, if I wanted to, he thought greedily. He stopped fantasizing about buff pectorals and hard gluteal muscles as he suddenly wondered what his face looked like. Had it turned out as well as Adon imagined¡ªas well as he had envisioned? The face was the most important thing in some ways. It was the single feature on another human that a person assessed first. It carried trustworthiness, attraction, and emotion. Adon suddenly wished he could see himself in a reflecting pool of water. Alas, he was in the middle of a forest, with no water source visible nearby. He had never learned water magic, though he had no doubt that discipline existed somewhere. I¡¯ll just have to wait. Even as he reconciled himself to that idea, though, he felt a smile taking over his face. It was so good to be able to smile again. The solution to his problem had been so simple, albeit imperfect. Instead of using Transformation to somehow stretch his tiny butterfly body into a full-sized human form, he had envisioned himself turning into a quasi-humanoid figure of roughly the same size as himself. This body definitely had more mass than Adon¡¯s regular body did¡ªespecially considering that he still had wings on his back¡ªbut creating mass, however he did it when he used Transformation, was much easier when it was a smaller amount. So, Adon had done it. He had shifted into a human form. He stood at just under a foot tall. Incredibly large for a butterfly. Very small for a humanoid. His mind jumped back to his mental image of the Transformation. I probably have elf-like facial features, he thought. Maybe it¡¯s best that no one can see this right now. He imagined that his ears were probably pointed. Adon had only limited imagination when it came to how tiny figures should look, especially when he assumed that they would have butterfly wings. If I have pointy ears, that¡¯s a little¡­ Hm. He wasn¡¯t sure if he liked that look or not. He really needed to see it ¡°Still, either way, this is amazing!¡± Adon shouted at the top of his lungs and threw his arms back, then grimaced as he punched himself right in the middle of his wings. Those things are really sensitive, he thought. When I do this again, I should probably change their position on my back a little and make them a bit smaller, so I won¡¯t accidentally hit them while I¡¯m fighting or performing other tasks. He wondered if this would be a good form for fighting in¡ªand then he froze. Adon heard the sound of something crashing through brush nearby. He frowned. Whoever or whatever the interloper was, it sounded big. His probably-pointy ears stood up as he tried to pinpoint where the intruder was located. His eyes widened as he recognized from the increasing volume that it was getting closer. Should I go back to butterfly mode? Float away from ground level so I don¡¯t get pinned and crushed by whatever¡¯s coming? No¡ªhis eyes turned back to Samson¡¯s still rainbow-glowing form¡ªcan¡¯t forget my brother. He¡¯ll attract attention if I leave him here. Adon flitted over to Samson. His wings, he observed, were as quick and skillful as ever. He used his new arms to grab Samson up. His brother¡¯s still relatively small body fit neatly into his arms. And then Adon fluttered up into the tree. He kept moving up in height until he found a branch that was too high for any land animal short of a giraffe or elephant to reach, yet with a good view of the ground. Adon wanted to know what had scared him away. There, we¡¯re above ground level. Come on. Show yourself¡­ The creature must have been slightly further away than Adon¡¯s ears detected. That was the only way he could account for the long delay in between what he heard and what he saw, at first. He was not used to having human-like ears anymore. Then the beast came stumbling out from between the trees, moving slowly, clumsily, smacking into tree trunks hard and frequently, damaging itself further with every step it took. It was a stag of some sort. Adon would normally have been happy to encounter easy prey like this, but there was a problem. The stag already suffered from a giant wound. At first, the butterfly could not see exactly what it was, only that the stag was bleeding drastically and making it worse by repeatedly bumping into trees. But as the creature shambled closer, Adon saw what he thought was a great bite out of the middle of the stag¡¯s back. What did that? he wondered. Will it come to finish the job? As Adon was contemplating what could have done this to the stag, the beast collapsed only a few feet away from the tree. Its eyes were wide open, and it tried to rise to its feet again, but it couldn¡¯t get its hooves under its body properly. Soon it ceased trying to get up. Its chest rose and fell. Then its body slowly stopped moving completely. Nothing else followed. What in the world was that about? Adon thought, slightly agitated, turning his head from side to side. He allowed his Transformation to lapse. It was only burning through energy and would not make it any easier for him to defend himself right now. Adon kept turning back and forth, keeping a lookout, waiting for something to come out and drag the body of the stag away. Instead, it just slowly continued to bleed. The dead brown eyes seemed to look up at Adon reproachfully, as if to say, You could have done something for me. How dare you stay up there while I¡¯m dead down here?! Well, I¡¯m not going back down there, Adon thought in response. You¡¯re not lulling me into a false sense of security. A moment passed, and he wondered again where the predator responsible was. Adon reactivated Telepathy and sent out a quick message. Goldie! Are you all right over there? There was a dying deer that walked over here¡­ His telepathic voice trailed off as he realized that he didn¡¯t really need a specific response. He just wanted an answer¡ªwanted to hear her voice. There was nothing. Adon waited to hear his friend¡¯s voice answering his call, and there was nothing. He looked at Samson¡ªhis brother, Goldie¡¯s son¡ªand Adon¡¯s body stiffened. There was nothing he could do for Goldie right now. If she had run into trouble, she was either unconscious or dead. Otherwise she would respond to his messages. If she was all right, she must be out of his range, or he had broadcast his Telepathy in the wrong direction. Adon turned and repeated his warning, more coherently this time, in every direction around him, as loudly as he could. Goldie! I saw a dying animal just now. Something wounded it. Please respond! Goldie! There was still no response. I can¡¯t go after her, Adon thought. No matter where he might put Samson, the little spider¡¯s continued glowing in multiple colors would naturally attract a predator. So many creatures were naturally drawn to light. And in his current condition, Samson could not defend himself even from a spider slightly larger than himself. He was totally unresponsive, which fit with Adon¡¯s own experience of Evolution. Hurry up and finish, bro! Adon thought angrily, desperately. We have to check on your mother¡­ But Evolution would not be rushed. Adon stood there and watched Samson¡¯s light show¡ªthe emanation of colors continued, though they slowly dimmed with time¡ªfor hours, until he had almost despaired that his younger brother would ever complete his Evolution. At a certain point, Adon even began to despair that Goldie would return. He had hoped that she would come back sometime soon after the wounded animal laid down and died. He had imagined that she would walk up, completely oblivious to his efforts to warn her. Whatever killed the deer probably wasn¡¯t targeting spiders and butterflies. Right? He went back and forth with these worries, but ultimately, they led nowhere. He kept coming back to simply staring at the glowing, slowly growing, spider. Samson was almost as large as Goldie when Adon met her now¡ªwhich was impressive, considering that he was a male¡ªand the slowly growing form and ever-changing rainbow of color had a hypnotic quality. It was much more relaxing for Adon to get lost in the visual than just to think about his missing friend. Then the lights suddenly dimmed completely. Adon focused on his brother again. Something was happening. 2-79. Catchment Area As Adon stared at his brother¡¯s enlarged exoskeleton, no longer glowing, now slightly gray, cracks began to form in the carapace. Oh, of course, this whole thing is going to fall off, Adon thought. It really is a lot like my chrysalis Evolution. The space between the cracks began to widen, and Adon could see the first glimpses of the flesh underneath. He saw a centimeter¡¯s width of hard exoskeleton that glistened moistly. Then he heard a voice that pulled his attention away. Adon, where are you? It was Goldie. Thank Goddess, she is all right¡­ ¡°I¡¯m here! At the top of the tree!¡± Adon tried to say that, but a thin whistle escaped his mouth instead. Right, have to remember I don¡¯t have vocal cords anymore, Adon thought. He was going to miss having those body parts. He looked down, confirmed he could see Goldie, and activated Telepathy. Goldie, we¡¯re up at the top of this tree! Adon sent. He and Samson were not precisely at the very top of the tree¡ªcloser to the middle¡ªbut the message got Goldie looking in the right direction. She clearly saw Adon and looked slightly startled by how far away he was. She began looking around as she transmitted her next message. What are you doing up there? Is Samson with you? Did you kill this deer? Goldie sent. I was yelling in your general direction about the deer earlier, Adon transmitted, successfully keeping his slight annoyance out of his voice. I got a little worried, because you didn¡¯t answer. The deer wandered into the area below the tree, dying. I thought some kind of monster was coming, so I carried Samson up to a high branch in this tree. I was worried that whatever got that deer might go after you. That¡¯s why I was yelling. Oh, I am sorry about that, Goldie sent. Thank you for warning me. I think I was too focused on my task and did not listen properly. Nothing big and scary came and bothered you? Adon asked. No, nothing, Goldie replied. I was just busy decorating the forest with silk. She sounded proud. Another chunk of Samson¡¯s shed exoskeleton broke off, and it tumbled off the side of the branch the spider and the butterfly were sitting on and toward the ground. What was that? Goldie sent. Samson is finishing his Evolution, Adon sent back. Do you want me to bring him back down? He¡¯s just getting out of his old exoskeleton now. He turned to Samson. You all right in there, bro? It felt a little strange that his brother had remained silent during Adon¡¯s exchanges with Goldie. I¡¯m fine, Samson replied. He sounded slightly tired to Adon. Adon wondered if his brother had somehow rushed through Evolution. It would be just like Samson, who had always been more ambitious and impatient. Bring me up there! Goldie replied as Adon was trying to think of what to say to Samson next. Um, all right, Adon replied. You hold still, bro, he added in Samson¡¯s direction. Do I look like I¡¯m going anywhere? Samson asked, needled. I think someone woke up on the wrong side of the web, Adon sent back immediately. Before his brother could say anything in response to Adon¡¯s devastating retort, the butterfly was fluttering up into the air after Goldie. He heard the little spider¡¯s voice a moment later: That was a terrible pun! I know you¡¯re the older brother, but I didn''t know you were an actual old man! Then Adon was landing next to Goldie, who quickly climbed onto his back. It¡¯s a little tight here, Adon, she sent in a ginger tone. And the butterfly remembered that he had gone back to his base size. He quickly expanded and flattened out his body so that Goldie would have more space. Then he flew her up to where Samson was. Oh Goddess, Samson, you finished your Evolution! Goldie crowed. She¡¯s one of those mothers who wants to give the kid positive reinforcement all the time, Adon thought to himself. It was kind of sweet. I did! Samson replied instantly. Then half of the shed layer of exoskeleton that had covered him crumpled away from his body. Adon finally got a good look at what his brother had become. Oh, that¡¯s why he seemed to be having a hard time, Adon thought. Samson had not been tired from Evolution. He was just trying to extricate himself from a ton of tightly packed shed layers of his own exoskeleton. He was much smaller than Adon had imagined. Rather than being almost the same size as Goldie, he was only a few times larger than he had been as a hatchling. Perhaps five times as big. His coloration and build looked distinctly familiar. It took Adon a moment to realize why, but not Goldie. You look so much like Red, she gushed. And Samson did. He had Red¡¯s mixture of red and gold coloration, a similar set of colors to Goldie but with the emphasis reversed. Goldie hopped off of Adon¡¯s back and went to go look at Samson up close. Adon kept a respectful distance to allow mother and son some bonding time, but he did use Identify. He wanted to know what exactly Samson had become.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Willful Golden Orb-Weaver Spider (Male). Oh, interesting. He became a ¡°Willful¡± spider after one Evolution. Adon recalled that ¡°Willful¡± was the label that signified Goldie had become a mystic beast. Goldie and I really helped him get ahead. Congratulations on finishing your Evolution, bro, Adon sent. Thanks, Samson replied. He sounded as if he had cheered up or recovered whatever energy he was lacking when Adon initially spoke to Samson from outside his layers of shed exoskeletons. What were you guys up to while I was out? Oh, I was just watching you, Adon sent. Goldie was busy doing something else. She killed a fox and then came up with a little project to help you with your next stage. Mama? What is Adon talking about? Samson asked. It might be better if we show you! Goldie replied excitedly. Adon, can we have a ride? Adon made his body a little bit flatter and wider, to serve as a better platform for his friends. The task was easier now than it ever had been before, and he recognized that at some point, his Transformation Adaptation had probably reached a new tier of power. Hopefully it does that again, and I can take on more ambitious forms, he thought quietly. The two spiders climbed onto Adon¡¯s back, and he took off again. He flew in the direction of the fox he had pointed out to Goldie earlier. Now that he thought about it, Adon wondered how that fight had gone¡ªor if there had been a fight at all. He tilted his body slightly as he flew, pivoting to look down with his best set of eyes and using only his Simple Eyes to avoid trees and other obstacles at roughly his height. Adon expected there would be some sign of the fox when he got close to it, perhaps a dead body or some bits of fur if the beast had fled successfully. What he had not imagined was the trail of blood that unfolded beneath him. Bits of flesh and blood from a large, wounded animal spotted various plants below. Right, the deer came from this general direction too, he thought. Its path diverged somewhat from the direction of the fox, but Adon could not help wondering again, even as the blood trail disappeared from view, what exactly had happened to that deer. What finally fully pulled Adon¡¯s mind back to the present was the touch of a thread. It was feather-light, but almost as soon as he touched it, he knew it had happened. What is this? Adon sent, alarmed, as something unseen tugged at his wing, almost sending him tumbling downward. He had to flap frantically to stay airborne and level, so the spiders would not fall. As he did so, he felt another tiny thread make contact with another wing. Oh shit, Adon thought. Hold still, Adon, Goldie sent urgently. Give me one moment¡­ She climbed up Adon¡¯s side and, through some method unseen, quickly untangled him from the threads he had touched. You are all right now, Goldie sent. Free to fly! There was an unmistakable note of self-satisfaction in her voice as she returned to her previous place on his back. Wow, Goldie, Adon sent a little nervously. Is it, um, safe for me to fly around here? Oh. That is a good point, Goldie agreed. What just happened? Samson asked. Adon, could you please take us close to ground level? Goldie asked. I know you cannot put your wings away, but¡ª What do you mean, of course I can put my wings away? Adon replied, almost indignantly. Had Goldie forgotten that he had the Transformation Adaptation? He floated down to the ground and let Samson and Goldie off. Then he used Transformation again the way he had earlier, except that this time, in addition to taking a humanoid form, he also pulled his wings into his back. Almost as an afterthought, he conjured a fig leaf to cover his private area. Ta da! Adon sent. Whoa, Samson sent. So, you can put your wings away, Goldie added. You guys aren¡¯t going to tell me you¡¯re not impressed, are you? Adon asked. You look like a literal fairy or elf or something, man, Samson transmitted. It¡¯s kind of wild, but I would never say I¡¯m jealous or something, let¡¯s put it that way. Um, Goldie, what do you think? Adon sent. The spider averted her gaze. I think I want to show off what I created in this forest, Goldie sent. Please follow me, both of you, and do not extend arms or legs much beyond the space that I occupy. We are entering an area I modified to catch anything and everything that enters. Adon had the distinct sense that the spiders were not impressed by his cool new look. Fine, he thought. Whatever. The Princess is going to think it¡¯s cool. He followed Samson and Goldie into the death trap the larger spider had created. As they rounded a nearby tree, Adon could see the first trapped animal. A fat squirrel was still wriggling, and all around it were a concentration of shimmering threads. They became visible when concentrated around the squirrel¡¯s body¡ªalmost hog-tying it¡ªand then vanished further up from where the creature lay. It was like observing a puppet that had been bound for some reason. Every movement seemed to embroil the squirrel further in the tangle of threads. Oh my goodness, how did you do this? Samson sent. I learned a trap-making Skill, Goldie transmitted. I spent a lot of time practicing with it while you were evolving. The idea was to gather food for you. I figured that you get more Evolution Points killing your own prey, but we had no reason to think you have to find them yourself¡­ Adon was impressed, too. While they were exchanging words, he had turned his head and looked around. In the air, he could see there were at least a half-dozen birds trapped similarly to the squirrel. Most of them were no longer moving. As Goldie continued the tour of her death zone, the three arthropods encountered two more squirrels, a couple of chipmunks, a poor vole¡ªAdon had to resist the urge to suggest they let the poor creature go; he was developing a soft spot for them¡ªa weasel, a pine marten, an otter, and a strange-looking rodent that Identify labeled a Parmonian Desman (Male). It must have moved Southwest for Winter, Adon thought. He was vaguely aware of where Parmonia was from his conversations with Rosslyn. But he focused on the otter. This is amazing, he sent, tilting his head at the otter. I mean, all of the creatures Goldie trapped are incredible. Do you two think this guy being here means there¡¯s a source of water nearby? There has to be, Samson sent back immediately. A river, maybe. Even if it¡¯s just a lake that formed with a little catchment area, there has to be something. What is a catchment area? Goldie asked, taking the words right out of Adon¡¯s mouth. An area where rainfall naturally gathers before flowing into a lake or something, Samson explained. Do you think we could find it, Samson? Adon asked. The catchment area and the lake or whatever? Adon was mainly thinking about his desire to see his reflection, so he could decide what he thought about his own transformed appearance and make changes accordingly. The dead deer had almost slipped his mind. Even if it hadn¡¯t, Adon probably would not be thinking that wandering around the forest was a good way to encounter whatever had killed the deer. Sure, shouldn¡¯t be too hard, Samson replied. This otter won¡¯t have gone too far from home. And water almost always flows downhill. 2-80. Barely a Problem Goldie pointed out a gap area in the nearly invisible outer barrier of Goldie¡¯s deadly silken zone of death. Then Adon and Goldie followed Samson¡¯s lead as he walked down what Adon quickly recognized was a gently down-sloping hill. Oh, of course it¡¯s this way, Adon thought. How did I not notice that we were uphill before? Maybe it¡¯s because I usually fly everywhere¡­ Since he was still in his elf-like form and had temporarily retracted his wings, Adon was hoofing it alongside the spiders. Now he noticed these features of the landscape that had¡ªapparently¡ªbecome irrelevant to him since his Evolution. It was a verdant forest, and Adon had barely seen it before, when he flew over it following his bird-hunting impulse. He looked around, carefully taking in all the greenery. Perhaps as a result, Adon was also the first to notice when the surrounding flora began to show traces of blood. It was just spatter initially, scattered around what was now his head height¡ªthe spiders being much lower in stature than Adon at this point, since his quasi-humanoid body stood upright, while they were still spiders. Adon knew what he was looking at instantly; he had seen and smelled¡ªand tasted¡ªa lot of blood in this life, and despite being almost dry now, the droplets on the plants were unmistakable. He considered what to say to Samson and Goldie, but then they rounded a tree, and both of them noticed. The ground in the small open area ahead was doused with blood that the soil had not yet been able to fully absorb. This must have been where the deer was slain. Adon also saw long, deep claw marks in surrounding trees. The ground was disturbed where the deer and its predator had tussled. And there were marks of broken branches and trampled plants that seemed to form a trail leading downhill. Do we want to continue this way? Adon sent instantly. I think there¡¯s some kind of predator that killed the deer¡ªGoldie and I saw a dead deer earlier, by the way, bro¡ªand from the looks of things, it headed the same way we¡¯re headed. Isn¡¯t this a great opportunity for us? Samson replied immediately. We wanted to hunt, so we could get stronger. Isn¡¯t a predator a better opportunity to hunt? Mama already killed a fox¡­ Adon wondered if Goldie had something she wanted to say. Her posture seemed to indicate that she was about to speak when Samson beat her to the punch. But as soon as Samson gave his view, Goldie seemed to clam up. A fox is not the same as, say, a wolf or a lion or a bear, Samson, Adon transmitted. We might get stronger quickly if we keep going and defeat whatever this thing is. But we could die. They¡¯re the same in the sense that they all lack magic, Samson argued. That makes them nothing but dumb brutes to you guys, I think. Even to me. I might not have any magical disciplines under my belt, but I can still use Mana, and I completed an Evolution already. Nobody¡¯s going to kill me just by stepping on me, I can tell you that! Ugh, I can¡¯t deal with you when you¡¯re like this, little brother, Adon thought silently to himself. That irrepressible enthusiasm had served Samson well in the safe environment of their last life together¡ªit probably explained some of their difference in outcomes¡ªbut now it was making Samson reckless. Adon slowly shook his head and cast a sidelong glance at Goldie, who still had not said anything or changed her posture, as if she was actively trying to conceal her feelings on this issue from both Adon and Samson, to let them decide this on their own. He¡¯s not even thinking about how Goldie feels¡­ Adon began formulating his next telepathic message, but before he could get very far, Goldie suddenly broke her silence. I think we can do it, guys, she sent with little inflection. We came to this forest for a hunt. So, let¡¯s hunt. If this thing is higher up on the food chain, it will give us more Evolution Points when we kill it! Adon wanted to probe her thought process, because he thought she was trying to hide some fear. Her body had shrunken down slightly. It felt to Adon as if she was instinctively making herself smaller¡ªperhaps imagining herself in danger. He was formulating the message to ask her about that, when he suddenly thought better of it. Maybe Goldie was afraid. Goldie was often afraid, he knew, of the outside world in general and big, scary enemies in particular. Perhaps this was her opportunity to overcome some of that. If she faced whatever monstrous predator they were likely following on the trail of, maybe she would not be afraid of moving around outside anymore. After all, if they killed a lion, a bear, or a wolf, she would know they could handle anything. Adon looked down at Goldie for a long moment and then simply sent, Do you actually want to do this, Goldie? He wouldn¡¯t pressure her, but he was giving her one last chance to back out. No, I mean yes, I want to go through with this, Goldie replied. For a moment, I thought you were trying to talk me out of it. She sent along a sound of nervous laughter. Adon remained silent for a few seconds, wrestling with his impulse to actually try to talk the spiders out of this pursuit. What are you worrying about? he asked himself. You¡¯re here. There¡¯s probably nothing that can hurt Goldie and Samson while you¡¯re protecting them. We were here to hunt in the first place, like you said, Adon sent. So, let¡¯s hunt whatever monster is waiting further into this forest. Samson did a strange little leap, and moved his left forelimb in what Adon interpreted as a spider version of a fist pump. Then he rushed ahead, moving nimbly around the puddle of blood, now seeking the trail of the predator that had mauled the deer. The three continued their descent downhill, now conspicuously quiet. Adon and Goldie moved side by side at first, letting Samson lead the way, but Adon felt strange walking in silence¡ªand faintly guilty that he had not tried to lead Goldie away from danger. Although, as she would have pointed out, it was not his responsibility to keep her safe, that didn¡¯t mean he felt no responsibility. The transformed butterfly and the spider walked for only a couple of minutes, until they caught up to Samson, who had stopped moving forward. ¡°What¡¯s up, Samson?¡± Adon spoke aloud, and Goldie jumped slightly at hearing his voice in the real world rather than inside her head for a change¡ªwhich made the butterfly smile. Then Samson spoke up. He had not been startled at the sound of Adon¡¯s voice, which Adon thought was strange. Adon tried to follow which way the young spider was looking, but it was difficult owing to Samson¡¯s arachnid eyes. Um, guys, Samson sent, I think I found part of the trail, but I don¡¯t exactly know how to follow it. He pointed up with his left forelimb, and Adon turned his head and followed the pointer. Crushed against the tree in a feathered, bloody pulp, there were the remnants of a dead bird. It looked like it had been smashed with a great club. Only the beak remained intact. At least it was quick, Adon thought. Don¡¯t worry, guys, he sent to Samson and Goldie. I¡¯ll pick up the trail from the air.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. And that way, I won¡¯t have to keep fighting this urge to talk you both out of this, he added to himself. Adon altered his Transformation, keeping himself in his elf-like form but allowing his wings to emerge from his back once again. Then he took to the air. From his elevated vantage point, he could see more than the dead bird. Through the nearby trees, there was a dead possum, and beyond that, he saw a boar staggering around, bleeding from a wound where it looked almost as if someone had tried to scalp the creature. A bit of brain was exposed, and the beast¡¯s movements were extremely clumsy. Whatever did this didn¡¯t bother killing all of its prey, Adon thought. Unless the boar killed it. Or the boar did this. He thought of the smashed bird, which had been smeared against the tree at a point too high up for the boar to reach. All right, not the boar, then. But what kind of creature did this? Or was it even an animal? He knew mankind was capable of extreme brutality. And he knew that this was a world in which monsters could exist, though he had never yet seen one. Adon, what do you see? Goldie asked. Just a minute, Adons sent back. I¡¯m going to take a good look and give you guys a good route. He flapped his wings and took his body higher into the air. He only noticed now that his flight skills were considerably slower and clumsier than they had been in his normal butterfly form. Things to practice, Adon thought half-absently. He was focused on getting a good butterfly¡¯s eye view of the area. As he got to the height of a small building, he could see a large gap in the trees around twenty feet ahead of himself and the spiders. In that gap, Adon caught a glimpse of shimmering water. That¡¯s a lake, he thought. Maybe the catchment area thing Samson was talking about. Or whatever other kinds of lake there are. Bro, are you coming back?! Samson¡¯s voice carried up into the sky, but it stretched thinner and grew weaker as it reached Adon. Yes, yes, one moment! Adon sent back hastily. He fluttered around in a spiraling motion, trying to get a quick view of everything nearby. Besides the boar, he did not see many large animals the spiders might need to worry about¡ªnot that the even needed to worry about a dying boar, when they had Mana to reinforce their bodies with, but he wanted the smoothest path he could arrange for them. Adon also spotted a trail of broken branches and bloodied foliage that he guessed marked where the creature that had killed the possum and maimed the boar had gone. Then Adon allowed himself to float gently back down to ground level. ¡°All right, I¡¯m back,¡± Adon said aloud as he landed beside the spiders. ¡°I saw a dead possum and a wounded boar when I was up there, so I would suggest you guys go around them¡­¡± He outlined a path for the spiders to follow in the general direction of the trail of broken branches and explained what he had seen. Samson seemed to become fired up. It¡¯s really happening, the little spider transmitted. My first really real fight! Goldie was more thoughtful. You said which way we should go, she sent. What about you? I want to go back up into the sky and scout ahead, Adon replied. Don¡¯t worry about me. I won¡¯t let a bird eat me or something. He left unspoken that he was beginning to feel more unsettled about the situation they were walking into. He still wasn¡¯t trying to countermand the two spiders¡¯ expressed wish to continue the hunt. It would be patronizing, especially when he hadn¡¯t even seen what the threat was yet. If he managed to get a glimpse of this thing, however, and he discovered that it was a dragon or some other terrible beast, he could at least warn the spiders and probably get them to turn back. Adon fluttered into the air again after the exchange, and for a few minutes, he floated in a widening gyre, allowing himself to enjoy flying unburdened in the open air again and checking the surroundings in all directions as best he could despite the tree cover. There were more dead animals and more wounded animals, he saw. Some were still walking, while a few looked to be nearer to death. This really isn¡¯t right, Adon thought. He had little in the way of scruples as a hunter. He had happily killed many beasts without worrying whether they were a match for him or not, as long as he thought they would give him Evolution Points and feed his voracious appetite. But I at least try to eat what I kill. I don¡¯t leave animals wandering around wounded, unless I can¡¯t finish them off. He felt a quiet stirring of pity as he saw a badger¡ªperhaps the same badger he had seen when he was looking for something that Goldie could hunt, earlier¡ªwith a missing leg and half its face ripped off. The creature stumbled on, still moving somehow despite clearly being in agony and badly wounded. Blood continued steadily draining from the stump of its amputated leg. Finally, moved by sympathy, Adon turned himself invisible and then descended. He got as close to the badger¡¯s back as he could without setting off alarm bells¡ªthough perhaps he needn¡¯t have worried; its mind seemed to be gone¡ªthen charged his Mana ball and fired it point blank into the badger¡¯s skull. A quiet kill. Adon passed a few minutes this way, putting animals out of their misery. There were a few that were less sorely hurt that he healed, but mostly, he operated a one-butterfly mobile euthanasia clinic. Finally, he fluttered back into the sky and resumed scouting the way to the beast that had left that trail of destruction. Adon found he was unable to locate his friends on the ground from his position in the sky, now, which was perhaps unsurprising. They had been moving forward, probably, and they were still small compared with the other animals he had spotted from the air. Even with Goldie¡¯s striking coloration, she would not stand out so much. Many leaves on plants that were not evergreen had turned shades of orange and yellow. Adon began to grow a little nervous. He flapped much harder and faster, pushing Mana into his wings as he accelerated in the direction of the lake. That was the general way that the trail of destruction down below led, and Adon was flying too fast to look at the fine details below, so he just followed the broad line of the creature¡¯s trajectory. He reached the lake in a few minutes. Despite the cool air around him, for the first time in this new life, he felt sweat dripping down his body. Adon saw a large form near ground level, and he descended to get a better look. Twenty feet up from the water¡¯s surface, and forty total feet away from the incredible figure, Adon could tell what it was more easily. At the lake¡¯s edge, glaring down suspiciously at the water¡¯s surface, stood a great, powerfully built, brown bear. Adon could clearly see caked on blood around its snout and on its claws, like the bear had decided to wear dark red gloves and a burgundy muzzle that day. But the illusion was shattered by the little flecks of gore and blood that had not yet dried, slowly dripping down into the water. Still in his elf-like form with its human-style organs, Adon felt his heart beat faster. Even in his caution¡ªeven in his desire to scout ahead¡ªhe knew immediately that he had underestimated this situation. He sensed that this creature was different from anything he had encountered before. Identify. Mystic Iron Bear (Male) (Rabid) Adon swallowed hard. Shit. It¡¯s a mystic beast¡ªand it¡¯s rabid. I guess that explains why it was just mauling other animals and not even bothering to finish them off. He had been right that this bear was different from any of the animals he had hunted in the past. More right than he could have guessed. Adon tried to move slowly backward through the air. His wings weren¡¯t as graceful while he was in the elf-like form, as he had already noticed, but he managed to inch further from the bear without making sudden movements that he thought might draw its attention. He would retrace his steps and find wherever the spiders were, and he would warn them that this hunt was not worth the trouble. The bear had not noticed him yet. It had not seen either of the spiders, presumably, nor would it if they just silently retreated. There was no reason for them to walk into a deadly battle. Backing down from this situation should be easy, hopefully. Barely a problem. Adon, we finally caught up! Goldie¡¯s telepathic voice cut through the air. The butterfly turned toward the sound and saw Goldie burst through some long grass that marked the barrier between the forest and the lake. Samson stood on her back. Then she and Samson could see the bear. Oh, Goddess! Goldie exclaimed. Shit, Samson added. Please shut up for a minute, guys! Adon sent urgently. He turned back to face the bear. The bear¡¯s head had tilted up, and it stared at Adon, then looked back and forth between the elf-like creature fluttering in the air and the dinner-plate-sized spider with the much smaller spider on her back, processing these new presences in its domain. Then its nostrils flared, the bear lowered its head, and it charged in the direction of the spiders. Damn it! Adon thought. 2-81. A Hint of Things to Come As Rosslyn strode toward the audience chamber, dressed in full royal regalia, a door opened in the hall. Out of the corner of her eye, the Princess saw a male figure begin to move through the open door¡ªthen freeze as the person laid eyes on her. Then the head that had stuck out almost immediately pulled back into the doorway. Rosslyn did not need to turn her head to recognize that it was Frederick she had seen. At this point, she knew his body language well enough to identify him in peripheral vision. She hardly batted an eye, just kept walking and maintained her stoic, expressionless silence. The last few days had been a little awkward. She had not avoided the brothers, precisely, but nor had she tried to see them. She had been busy, and neither brother had sought her out. She didn¡¯t know what they were up to, exactly, but they had apparently found ways to pass the time. And Frederick¡¯s behavior over the last thirty seconds showed that their distance from her was no accident. At least that suggested William was embarrassed about how their outing to the orchestra had gone. That was a good sign. Right? Should he be, though? Should he be embarrassed? Maybe you made too big a deal out of it. Maybe you should have let him¡ª She shook her head and cleared the thoughts away. Rosslyn was not going to relitigate her feelings on that evening again. Not right now, at least. She knew she was inexperienced in affairs of the heart¡ªand on this subject, it showed. The Princess had gone back and forth in her mind about how she might best have handled that situation¡ªand about how she truly felt about it. If William was potentially to be her husband, she should want to kiss him. She had read widely as a young girl, and she remembered that was how love stories in novels, poems, and plays often went¡ªstolen kisses, unchaste thoughts, secret rendezvous. It was something she had never spent much time focusing on, ever since¡ªever since when? Almost since puberty, she had been devoted to the Kingdom. She¡¯d had romantic thoughts, and even sexual ones, but the man of her dreams was never a real, tangible thing she could imagine. Only in her dreams¡ªon the rare occasion when she dreamt of such things¡ªcould she envision such a man. But even then, she could never recall a face the next morning. Now she wondered if that meant she was broken or defective in some way. Rosslyn took her seat on the throne, the sword at her side clanking gently as the hilt struck the metal armrest. ¡°Show the first petitioner in, Oran,¡± she said in a quiet, dignified voice of command. The head butler bowed low, showing the bald spot in his wispy gray hair. The Princess thought she caught a slight smile on Oran¡¯s lips as he unbent and turned toward the audience chamber doors and signaled for the guards to open them. Rosslyn knew Oran well enough to guess what he might be thinking¡ªthat he had never expected to live long enough to see Rosslyn on the throne. She supposed it was a silver lining to the dark clouds that continued gathering, but the thought made her frown. Her father was out of commission, still in his healing coma, and the upside to that was that Oran got to see Rosslyn acting in his place. Just thinking about her father¡¯s condition was painful, and it was also irrelevant to how she would resolve today¡¯s petitions. She focused on the present moment. ¡°Your Highness, petitioner Errol Tyre, chief administrator of the Logan Museum, begs the honor of addressing him.¡± Rosslyn resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow and instead nodded. ¡°Send him in.¡± What does he want? she wondered. The doors swung open, and Tyre walked in, dressed in fine silk clothing that made him look almost noble, particularly combined with the arrogant air he wore about him like a coat. He locked eyes with the Princess, suppressed a brief look of surprise at seeing her face, and then dipped his head in a shallow bow, never breaking eye contact. Slightly impertinent for a commoner, but that was Tyre all over. At least he had a good eye for art. ¡°Your Highness,¡± said Tyre. ¡°What an inexpressible pleasure to behold your beauty again!¡± ¡°Errol Tyre, your flattery is as reliable as ever,¡± Rosslyn returned, smiling thinly. Even if the compliment was insincere, such words were never completely unwelcome. ¡°Forgive me, Your Highness, but I had thought I might be speaking with your father today,¡± Tyre said, trying to smile disarmingly. ¡°I know he likes to handle matters with our museum personally.¡± Tyre was wrong about that; her father had long delegated matters relating to the Museum to his advisors. But Rosslyn did not bother to correct his misunderstanding. Tyre had no way of knowing how the palace ran things, and there was no reason for him to be informed on the subject now. ¡°Unfortunately, you will have to make do with me,¡± Rosslyn replied, smiling unpleasantly at the man, her eyes cold. Tyre swallowed nervously. ¡°Of course, Your Highness¡­¡± He tried twice to engage the Princess in different varieties of small talk after that, until she brought him to the point of why he had come to the palace that day. The administrator hemmed and hawed and finally admitted he was there to request more funding for the Museum. ¡°We will take your request under advisement,¡± Rosslyn replied solemnly, hiding her annoyance under a thin smile. Make it through regular channels next time, and do not waste twenty minutes of time in which I could have been dealing with normal citizens¡¯ pressing concerns. She knew there were rumors circulating in the city about the possibility of war. Rumors grounded in fact. Given the circumstances, it was a bit ridiculous that the Museum had finagled an appointment to request funding at a moment like this, especially using some of the limited time the palace regularly allotted to hearing from ordinary citizens. Surely there were people afraid their country might be attacked, and Tyre was robbing them of the opportunity to ask questions or seek reassurance. The administrator took a moment to realize he had been dismissed, forced a smile, and then dipped his head in another bow, even shallower than the first. Finally, he left the way he had come. Rosslyn and Oran exchanged a look of shared annoyance, before Rosslyn shook her head. The Princess thought that, on reflection, she might want to think about reducing funding to the Museum, if she adjusted it at all¡ªor else investigating Tyre for possible fraud. The Royal Family had never stinted on the arts, yet she thought there had actually been very little new on display in her last visit to the Museum. Though on that occasion, she had been distracted by William and Frederick, she imagined that it was likely that few fresh pieces were being acquired because some of the palace¡¯s funding was being diverted. Perhaps into Tyre¡¯s pockets. ¡°Your Highness?¡± asked Oran from her left. ¡°Yes, I am ready for the next one,¡± she said. She made a gesture to her right, and the cupbearer who stood to that side poured a goblet of wine for her. She took it and had a long sip, then handed it back. This was going to be a long day, if the other petitioners were people like Tyre¡ªmen who had probably bought their way onto the palace¡¯s schedule. Must not fall further behind. Tyre had already wasted enough time trying to butter her up. ¡°Your Highness, petitioner Devon, a shepherd, begs the honor of addressing you,¡± announced one of the guards. She nodded and tried not to smile. That was a pleasant surprise. This one was a shepherd. Someone of no particular influence in the city, presumably. The doors opened again¡ªand the first impression instantly confirmed Rosslyn¡¯s suspicions. A small, quivering man dressed in sheepskins entered and crossed halfway across the room, visibly unsure of himself, then prostrated before the throne. She could smell him from ten feet away. He was definitely a shepherd¡ªdefinitely a man who worked outdoors and rarely bathed. ¡°Y-your Highness,¡± he said, raising his head. ¡°You may rise, Devon,¡± Rosslyn said, giving him her full attention. ¡°What brings you to the palace today?¡± ¡°Your Highness, I b-beg your pardon. I-I live in the outskirts of the city. Our problems are perhaps beneath your concern. We should not bother you¡ª¡± ¡°No, please tell me why you are here,¡± Rosslyn said, interrupting. For some reason, the man appeared to be terrified of wasting her time¡ªwhich was counterproductive, since she guessed he had an actual problem. ¡°Yes, Highness.¡± He bowed again and lowered his eyes as he spoke. ¡°In the area near where my flock grazes, there are creatures¡ªfoul beasts, I know not what else to call them¡ªnot normal animals of the plains¡ª¡± ¡°Monsters.¡± Rosslyn spoke firmly and looked directly at where the man¡¯s eyes were. After a moment, he met her gaze, then nodded. ¡°Yes. I lost a couple of sheep, and I do not have many, Your Highness,¡± he said. ¡°I see,¡± she said.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°I do not come here to complain about that,¡± he added hastily. ¡°Only to request that there be some protection, some barrier, please, between the houses nearby and the source of these, er, monsters. I can guide my sheep and keep them away, you see, but my wife and I, we have little ones. She has been afraid that something might carry them away.¡± Rosslyn frowned. ¡°Of course,¡± she said. ¡°I will see that something is done.¡± I had no idea the monsters were already leaving the confines of their dungeon¡­ ¡°Thank you kindly, Your Highness,¡± the man said, his whole body sagging with relief. ¡°How many sheep did you say you lost?¡± she asked. ¡°Just two, Your Highness,¡± he said, forcing a smile. ¡°We will get along with the other six.¡± ¡°The Lord Treasurer will see you compensated for the standard market price,¡± Rosslyn said. Devon looked surprised and delighted. ¡°Th-thank you, Your Highness.¡± He bowed repeatedly, and Rosslyn had to restrain herself from smiling too much, lest the peasant think she was laughing at his earnestness. She nodded to Oran to escort Devon to the Lord Treasurer, and then she called for the next petitioner. Over the next few hours, she heard complaints great and small. Someone was worried about cracks in the city wall near his house; she ordered a knight dispatched to investigate. A concerned citizen suggested that there was a recent infestation of rats on the Street of Songs; Rosslyn instructed the Palace Ratcatcher to go and give the matter a look. The Princess approved a privateer¡¯s commission for a young man who wanted to become a pirate hunter, granted a divorce to a woman whose husband had apparently run off with the neighbor¡¯s daughter, and pronounced a young couple who had eloped to the city husband and wife. Besides Tyre, this was not so bad after all, Rosslyn found herself thinking at one point. The afternoon ended on a somber note, however. ¡°Sir Oliver Holt, to see Your Highness,¡± a guard said. Rosslyn frowned. He is not a petitioner? Where do I remember that last name from? ¡°Send him in,¡± she said. The doors opened once more, and a knight in full armor entered the room. His plate was noticeably dented and dinged, and a chunk of the side of his helmet was missing as if it had been torn away. There was a large, purple bruise underneath the missing area of helmet. He removed his helmet and knelt. She saw a late twenties or early thirties man, in the prime of his fighting years. Then he rose and began speaking quickly. ¡°You Highness, may I address you alone?¡± he asked, sweeping back a long mop of sweaty brown hair that dropped unevenly around his face. Some of the hair on the side of his head near the missing chunk of helmet appeared to have been torn off. ¡°That is rather irregular,¡± began Oran, stepping toward the knight. But Rosslyn raised her hand to signal the butler to stop. She assessed the knight briefly. He did not look weak. She assumed he was not strong enough to threaten her, but she was more on guard against any potential assassination attempts than usual lately. One cannot be too careful¡­ ¡°Everyone but the two guards by the doors, please leave,¡± she said. The guards who stood at the entrance were two knights who ranked highly in terms of their relative skill compared to the rest of the Wayn barracks. The knight seemed satisfied with that. The corner of his lip on the non-bruised side of his face turned up slightly. When everyone was gone, Rosslyn spoke up again. ¡°So, Sir Oliver, what happened to you?¡± ¡°Your Highness, we were attacked on the border,¡± he replied instantly, looking her steadily in the eyes. ¡°The demons. They overwhelmed the fortress at Holt Pass¡ªrather, they will have overwhelmed them now.¡± The man choked off a sob and took a few deep breaths before he resumed speaking. That was where I remembered the name from, Rosslyn thought. ¡°What happened to your father, Sir Oliver?¡± Rosslyn asked. Should I be calling you Lord Oliver now? The man clearly had to resist the impulse to cry. ¡°He has likely given his life in defense of the Kingdom,¡± Sir Oliver said. ¡°Or will in the next day or two. My party was the last group out of the fortress before they barred the gates. He wanted us to deliver the bad news to Your Highness¡ªwell, to your father, but to your family¡ªso that you could prepare.¡± We are already preparing, but this is certainly sooner than we had expected¡­ Sir Oliver imparted further details¡ªmainly expounding how all but one of his companions had been killed or left behind on the mad rush toward the city, as they attempted to evade their pursuers from the Empire¡ªbut the bottom line was clear. The Empire had besieged his father¡¯s holdfast with a large force, though Sir Oliver could not give numbers other than something in the thousands at least; the Empire were certain to take it and either destroy it or use it to garrison troops; and once they had control of the fortress, their main force would advance toward Wayn. After he had finished speaking, Rosslyn thanked him and invited Oran back into the room, then ordered that accommodations be provided for Sir Oliver and his companion in the palace. When the knight had gone, Rosslyn considered the position the Empire¡¯s forces had seized. Assuming they seize it now, roughly around the time it took him to ride here, they should need around two weeks to get their army to Wayn, she estimated. Lord Holt might draw the struggle out longer, knowing that every day he bought would increase the country¡¯s odds of survival¡ªbut not for much longer. Her mind turned to her father. The King was unavailable, but she wondered what he would do. Raise the alarm, of course. All the vassals would gather even more quickly once the messages went out. But what else could she do? It felt like the world was closing in. Father, we need your strength right now, she thought. Rosslyn took a deep breath and cleared her mind. No, I am ready. I can do this. Rosslyn¡¯s mind shifted to Adon. When will he come back? Are he and the spiders all right? It was silly to think of them ending up in the path of an invasion force¡ªthe Empire would not even know their importance, probably¡ªbut she would feel calmer if Adon had not just taken his friends on a hunting trip. The butler stepped back into the room. ¡°Sir Oliver has been take care of, Your Highness,¡± he said. ¡°Thank you, Oran,¡± she replied. ¡°Next, and with utmost secrecy, please dispatch our fastest messengers¡­¡± She listed off the names of a dozen key nobles in different regions who she judged would be able to raise a significant number of troops and alert their neighbors to the dangerous situation. Hopefully they can make it here before it is too late. The capital was the most logical place to make a stand, the most populous region of the country and the only walled city in the Kingdom. It was also the key site the Empire would want to capture. What do I do about the dungeon? If the dungeon near the city remained active, and there was an outbreak of monsters, the city could effectively come under attack by two enemies at once. ¡°And get me Sir Jaren,¡± she added. Oran bowed his head. ¡°Yes, Your Highness,¡± he said. A few minutes later, Sir Jaren rushed in, slightly sweaty. ¡°You wanted to see me, Your Highness?¡± he asked, panting. ¡°I understood it was urgent.¡± Rosslyn nodded. He would know the palace¡¯s defenses¡ªand by extension the city¡¯s¡ªas well as anyone. ¡°Sir Jaren, there is a dungeon in the immediate vicinity of the city. I have reason to believe monsters are beginning to get loose, which means there is only a limited time before a larger outbreak may occur. At the same time, I have reason to believe that our country might come under attack very shortly.¡± Sir Jaren¡¯s face paled. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but Rosslyn continued. ¡°When and if that happens, the city will be the best place of refuge for as much of our population as can make it here. But the people taking shelter will be vulnerable to monster attacks on their way into the city, and there is every reason to expect the dungeon may contain some monsters that our walls will not keep out. Have I said anything that seems wildly incorrect thus far?¡± The knight shook his head. She nodded and kept going. ¡°Do you think we have enough strength to spare among the knights to destroy the dungeon?¡± Sir Jaren swallowed. ¡°Are there no adventurers available? Using the knights on this¡ª¡± ¡°They fled the dungeon and then the city,¡± Rosslyn said. She grimaced. ¡°They are probably well clear of this war now, on their way to some other country.¡± It was a wise decision, albeit a cowardly one in her view, given the fact that the country was on the precipice of war. They would have been drafted into service like all the other fighting-capable residents of the city. ¡°How long do we have until the enemy you anticipate arrives, Your Highness?¡± he asked. ¡°I do not know for certain.¡± She shook her head. ¡°A matter of weeks, not months.¡± ¡°There would be every possibility that they fail to clear the dungeon in time. Something about it presumably scared the adventurers away. Perhaps it is a particularly difficult dungeon¡ª¡± ¡°That is a no, then?¡± the Princess asked. ¡°We cannot clear the dungeon before the Empire arrives?¡± She gritted her teeth. We will be attacked on two fronts. The damned monsters have always historically tended to be more active around the time of an attack by the Empire! This cannot be a coincidence. ¡°I do not know if our knights will be capable of accomplishing the mission in time, Your Highness.¡± ¡°What if I go myself?¡± Rosslyn spoke the words before she had finished thinking them through. She was conscious of Matilda¡¯s words echoing in her mind after she spoke. You have to find a way to prove you are strong enough to inherit the throne, she had said. That is not a consideration, Rosslyn reminded herself sternly. I am purely doing my duty. Sir Jaren¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You cannot be allowed to do something so reckless, Princess!¡± Her eyes hardened. I am no child, Sir, to be protected from danger. We are in a time of danger, a tempestuous period. I will not be left behind when the storm arrives. ¡°Did you say ¡®I cannot be allowed¡¯ me to do my duty?¡± Rosslyn asked. She ground her teeth as she waited for a response. ¡°What I meant to say, Your Highness, is that no one would allow you to go alone,¡± Sir Jaren replied. Additional beads of sweat dotted his forehead as he spoke, and Rosslyn forced herself to soften her glare. This was Sir Jaren, after all. ¡°Anyone who hears about this challenge will insist on accompanying you, even if the idea has more honor than reason to it. So, you had best keep the information carefully contained, to those you want to accompany you, if you wish to go.¡± ¡°Would you insist on accompanying me, Sir Jaren?¡± Rosslyn asked. This time, it was his turn to look hot-blooded. His eyes flashed with passionate feeling. ¡°What a question!¡± he exclaimed. ¡°I, and any one of the knights who serve you and your father, would gladly lay down our lives in the glorious defense of our Kingdom. To die beside you in battle would be my life¡¯s highest honor. Of course I would insist!¡± Rosslyn thought of those who had died beside her in the Deformed Forest. I would rather not honor any of my loyal subjects to that extent, she thought, losing a little steam as an image of Sir Jaren bleeding out on the ground pressed itself forward in her mind. Then she nodded to herself. ¡°We will keep the circle tight on this matter,¡± she said. ¡°I was going to add, Your Highness, that if you were to be still embroiled in the dungeon when the Empire arrives¡ªthe number of knights you would have to take with you might compromise our defense.¡± ¡°Yes, I know,¡± she said. ¡°We need the bulk of our knights to remain here and defend the capital. I will take only a skeleton crew with me. Whatever can be spared from other areas.¡± Sir Jaren shook his head. ¡°So few individuals to accomplish something that experienced adventurers ran away from¡ªI confess I have doubts about this.¡± ¡°I already have specific people in mind,¡± Rosslyn replied, donning a grim look. 3-01. Barely a Crisis How do we get into these situations?! Adon screamed inside his own mind. He hoped the words did not leak telepathically, but in the moment, he knew his self-control was not the best. He had no notion of how he and the two spiders could deal with the Mystic Iron Bear that had locked onto them. Even as a part of him was freaking out, however, his body was moving almost on autopilot. He had survived so many life or death situations by now that he could only panic down to a certain point. A part of him remained always engaged in problem-solving. As the bear charged, foaming slightly at the mouth, Adon instantly released the elf-like Transformation he had been holding. In a fraction of a second, he snapped, rubber band-like, back to his standard butterfly form. Then Adon sprang into combat-oriented motion. His wings took him streaking down toward the ground, his other limbs stretched and changed their stiff texture to a longer and more supple, whip-like form, and his eyes focused on tracking the movements of all three of the creatures he was concerned with below¡ªboth the spiders he was worried about and the rabid, charging bear that raced toward them. His staring confirmed that the bear was moving straight toward the spiders, no mistaking it, and the beast seemed to be moving even faster than Adon at the moment, despite the fact that it was running through a shallow lake to reach them. Fortunately, Adon was closer. Samson was still clinging to Goldie¡¯s back, while Goldie stood her ground firmly. Run, you guys! Adon exclaimed telepathically. Run, and I¡¯ll distract him. How he would distract the bear, he did not know yet, but something would come to him in a pinch. That was frequently how things unfolded. I have a plan, Adon, Goldie sent back. You do not need to distract the bear. Please just be ready to pick me and Samson up and flee as soon as you see the signal. You will know it when you see it. Her voice shook slightly, but she sounded resolute at the same time. It was perhaps the most courageous that Adon had ever experienced her under pressure. He wanted to tell her, This bear is a Goddess damned mystic beast! It can probably use Mana, and it¡¯s a hundred times your size. What plan could you possibly have that would mitigate those disadvantages? But he hesitated to say anything to break her focus. His friend seemed so certain of her intentions. She wasn¡¯t shaking physically or retreating even a single inch. There was Mana gathering near the front of her head, but it looked slightly off position to be the Mana ball. Perhaps the difference in her demeanor was because she was protecting her son this time. Adon had never seen her in full mama spider mode in a fight before. Adon had no idea what she intended to do, but some instinct told him to let her go ahead with it. After a moment, he made a snap decision to just respect her resolve. Goldie had wanted to follow him into war, after all. Fighting a bear was no worse than fighting an army, and she wasn¡¯t even arguing that they should stand and fight. She just wanted Adon to trust her plan for their retreat. All right, he sent, altering his trajectory slightly. Instead of trying to aim for a place between the bear and the spiders, he dropped at an angle much closer to the spiders themselves. He was still racing the beast toward them, but now he had to move slightly faster to get further away from the rabid beast. Damn this bear, he thought uselessly. You really want to go after these little spiders?! Goldie was the biggest spider Adon had ever seen, of course. As a result of her Evolutions and repeated large meals, she was a bit bigger than a large dinner plate at this point. And the rabid bear seemed to be tearing into anything that moved within its field of vision, from the trail of carnage Adon had followed to find it. Even small and fast-moving animals had been splattered in its path, while larger and more robust creatures had been left maimed. Still, the spiders were not a natural prey item or threat from a normal bear¡¯s point of view. It had to be the rabies. It was as if anything alive around the bear irritated its diseased brain. Adon had only a few seconds to consider what was happening and why, though. The bear was closing in fast, splashing through the last two feet of the lake¡¯s surface area before he reached the shore with Goldie and Samson; Adon was almost within reach of the spiders with his extended limbs; and Goldie held her ground, Samson silent and still on her back. The Mana inside her body had dimmed as if what she had been doing with it was done¡ªor perhaps as if she had run out. Adon desperately hoped it was the former, but no reassuring words or signs came from the spiders. Their focus was understandably locked onto the bear. The moment of impact was almost upon them. What¡¯s the plan, Goldie? Adon thought nervously, but carefully did not send telepathically. Distracting her at the last key moment was the furthest thing from what he wanted.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. The bear closed to within a few feet and made a great leap forward, and then Adon found out what the plan was. A sudden burst of fluid shot out of Goldie¡¯s front. The sheer volume of liquid matter seemed almost like too much to have fit inside the spider¡¯s body. Adon recognized in the massive flood that there was a mixture of ominously dark-colored venom and spider silk. He thought that perhaps Goldie had concentrated her entire stock of Biomass into this one attack. As the bear barreled forward, the black, gray, and green stew flew in multiple thick streams toward the beast. It wasn¡¯t especially precisely targeted. It was more like the bear had accidentally leaped into the path of a grotesquely contaminated fountain¡¯s waters. Adon observed that Goldie had clearly gone for quantity over precision. Fortunately, as he saw it, that also meant that this attack would be completely unavoidable, no matter how good the bear¡¯s reflexes were. I¡¯m glad she¡¯s on my side! he thought, somewhat relieved. As the streams of liquid gushed forward, Adon whipped his rope-like limbs down toward the spiders, flapping his wings for a last bit of acceleration to hopefully make contact with his friends just a little bit faster. He didn¡¯t need to ask if this explosion of mixed venom and silk was the signal Goldie had mentioned. In the same moment that the ends of his limbs touched the spiders¡¯ bodies, one of the streams of venom spray struck the Mystic Iron Bear in the side of its head. The rabid beast, unable to break its momentum and dodge the fluids, had turned its left side away from the liquid onslaught. For all its blind, mad rage, it apparently still retained sufficient intelligence to mitigate the damage from this attack. Only half its head would be doused in the vile chemical mix, and its jaw was clenched tightly shut, to avoid swallowing any of the material. This guy must have been smart before he got sick, Adon thought. Was he like us? Oh, Goddess¡­ As he was reflecting on the enemy¡¯s condition, the butterfly¡¯s extended limbs wrapped around the two spiders, looping around their pedicels like two belts and then further winding around their limbs to form a sort of an exoskeletal harness. With his friends secured in his grasp, Adon poured Mana throughout his frame, then flapped his wings and gave a sharp upward yank. Fortunately, Goldie and Samson were both relatively lightweight, especially with Adon enhancing his body to better carry them off. Goldie, in particular, was lighter than Adon remembered; she really must have used up a lot of Biomass in that attack. It was a good thing for now, though. The spiders separated from the ground easily enough. Adon turned to flee, quickly pulling his friends in closer by contracting his limbs inward as he tried to gain altitude. That was amazing, Goldie, he sent. The words were rushed and barely contained inflection¡ªhe was in too much of a hurry to fully express how impressed he was. But then Goldie spoke up telepathically from behind him. Adon, I have an ability that lets me monitor the condition of an enemy I have used my venom on, she sent in a rush. The good news is that I think I blinded him in one eye with that attack. But he is doing something with his Mana right now¡ª Her telepathic voice was cut off as a horrendous roar emanated from behind them. The sound waves shook the air, and then something more than that happened. Adon felt the ripples of sound strike his body harder and harder as the roar continued, and he quickly realized that his nervous system was beginning to malfunction. At each place where the terrible noise infiltrated, his body quickly turned numb. He pushed Mana into his voice, Adon thought. I didn¡¯t know you could use it that way¡­ He tried whipping his long, tentacle-like legs up above his head to pull the spiders out of reach of the attack, but it was no use. Adon was fast, but he still wasn¡¯t as fast as the Golden Eagle he had hunted in the mountains before. And he was far slower than the speed of sound. As the sound waves rippled up his lower body, the strength left the base of his limbs, and he involuntarily lowered the spiders. As the sound spread to the lower parts of his legs, they went limp, and the spiders were paralyzed at the same time. The makeshift harness unraveled, and Adon¡¯s grip on the spiders suddenly released. The butterfly saw them drop toward the ground, spinning as they went, and he wondered anxiously how far away the bear was now. But he did not have much time to worry about his friends. The horrendous sound spread through his wings next, those wings stopped flapping, and Adon spiraled down after the spiders. As the butterfly fell, dropping in a falling kite twister motion, he got a full on view of the bear for a moment. Surprisingly, it had seemingly not moved beyond where it had stopped after the venom spray struck it. But a quick look made it obvious why the bear had not continued to advance. The image was striking. Half the beast¡¯s head and large chunks of its body were now covered in irritated pink flesh rather than fur, as the spider spray had apparently melted away some of its protective covering. One eye¡ªthe one that had been turned toward the spray¡ªappeared to be partially melted out the creature¡¯s skull. A brown-white liquid oozed, jelly-like, from the socket and down the side of the bear¡¯s muzzle, mingling with the foam around its lips. The foam was dyed crimson now with traces of the bear¡¯s blood; its mouth appeared to be bleeding slightly from contact with Goldie¡¯s ultimate attack. Adon¡¯s friend seemed to have done a number on this beast. That was gratifying at least, though it would be cold comfort if the bear ripped her in half. The bear bared its fangs, and Adon thought its body shook slightly with rage. The butterfly understood. Those injuries were horrific. Now it had an actual reason for wanting to kill them. The beast let out another, non-Mana-infused roar, and it resumed charging toward the three helpless, falling arthropods. No no no¡­ Save yourself, Adon! Goldie sent, her body still tumbling downward helplessly. She sounded afraid, yet resolute, as she had earlier. Time seemed to Adon to slow down slightly as they fell, as if to give him the opportunity to recognize how foolish he had been to question Goldie¡¯s resolve when she said she wanted to follow him into war before. Get out of here, bro, Samson agreed. He sounded oddly more at peace with imminent death than Goldie. Maybe he was satisfied to be dying in a cool way. Of course, Adon did not actually consider leaving his friends behind. It would mean certain death for the spiders, and the idea was unthinkable to him. The bear had closed to within a couple of feet of the spiders again, and Adon did not think they had any means of defending themselves left in reserve. No! 3-02. Barely Surviving No! As Adon shouted in his own mind, he recalled one of his magical abilities that did not require his body to coordinate itself. His limbs were still stunned from the bear¡¯s sonic attack, but mental magic only required one functioning organ, and his mind was not stunned. His vision went dark for a fraction of a second as he connected with the place¡ªand the statuesque figure¡ªin the darkness that gave him access to the power of mental magic. As his vision returned to normal, everything slowed down drastically in his perception. The swift-charging bear seemed to switch into moving in slow motion. The falling spiders decelerated so much in Adon¡¯s view that it was as if tiny parachutes had deployed for them. Adon didn¡¯t waste a second, though. He locked onto the bear¡¯s mind with Telepathy, and he unleashed the loudest psychic shout that he could directly into the bear¡¯s brain. Go away!!!! Adon screamed. The bear reacted immediately. It let loose a piercing, non-Mana-infused roar that told Adon he¡¯d had at least some of the desired effect. Then the beast slowed and swiped its paws in front of its face and around the sides of its head as if it suspected that the source of the noise was a bird flying in that space. And Adon heard a strange sound inside his mind. K-k¡­ Huh? Is that the bear? Even as he pondered what the unfamiliar sound¡ªvoice?¡ªwas, Adon sprang into motion to save his friends, who were still dropping in the bear¡¯s general direction. Mental magic seemed to accelerate every mental process for the butterfly, including the restoration of his control over his body. His long, whip-like limbs had gone limp and partially shrunk back toward his body, but now they extended and whipped toward the spiders again. His wings tentatively opened and closed, just briefly checking that all systems were functional, but he didn¡¯t try any more determined flapping just yet. He was afraid that he would shoot up slightly, given his present orientation, if he attempted flight. That would take him further from the spiders just when he was trying to catch up to them. Instead, he reached out further, extended his elongated legs a little more forcefully, and tried to get back into physical contact. Inch by inch, the limbs reached closer. The spiders twitched slightly as if trying to move themselves closer to Adon¡¯s limbs, too, but they clearly didn¡¯t have control of their bodies back yet. Come on, just a little more¡­ Another roar swept through the air, and the spiders¡¯ bodies shuddered as the sound reached them. Adon had a moment to recognize that there must be Mana infused in the sound waves again, before successive waves reached him. He tried to brace himself, stiffen his body and strengthen it with Mana as best he could, to resist the attack. It didn¡¯t seem to do much good. The sound vibrations swept through him like a current of electricity, and everything went limp. He at least managed to keep his limbs extended¡ªit seemed that maintaining the Transformation was more mental than physical in some sense, and his mind was still functioning at full capacity with mental magic going. With his mind working at more than a hundred percent of its usual capacity, Adon also analyzed the situation at super speed. The bear held still when it used that roar, he observed. The only reason it would do that instead of continuing the chase is because it has to. So there¡¯s a limit, at least. It has to stop running when it uses that attack. Can it disrupt my use of Mana? Doesn¡¯t seem like it. What if I try¡­? Adon started pulling Mana from his core toward his head. All right, that¡¯s working. What else can I try¡­? He started playing out different scenarios in his head, though he had clear problems in being unable to gauge the bear¡¯s capabilities definitively. I¡¯ve never fought another mystic beast before, Adon thought. The bear started advancing again¡ªthe world was still moving in slow motion, but Adon marked that change as something he would have to deal with in short order. Something at the corner of his vision also moved, and Adon felt a slight stirring of surprise. Samson, what are you doing, bro? Adon sent. The words came out in a super-quickened rush. Wait, what? Samson replied, clearly still mostly focused on his self-appointed task. He was charging Mana for something. Adon repeated himself at a deliberately much slower pace, trying not to lose his patience and keeping his eyes on the bear the whole time. Oh, I¡¯m charging a Mana ball, Samson sent. I see, Adon sent. I¡¯m doing the same, actually. You and Goldie should really run away as soon as you can, though. Let me distract the bear. If one of us has to be hitting it with attacks and drawing its attention, it should be the one who can fly away. I would rather grab you guys and fly away with you, but that might not be an option. I understand what you¡¯re saying, but I don¡¯t want to just leave you to fight on your own, Samson replied. I can do something. Even if it¡¯s not much, I can at least use this ability, just like you. Since you were going to do the same, I assume it will at least have some value in the fight. I¡¯ll just fire it once, when I hit the ground. Then we can run for it. I don¡¯t have all that much Mana to use anyway. Adon thought about trying to talk Samson out of joining in the attack¡ªany moment that the spider spent aiming and firing attacks at the bear was one that was not devoted to retreating¡ªbut he decided not to. Samson had his pride, after all, and an extra Mana ball wouldn¡¯t hurt anything. Samson could probably charge it completely in just the time it would take to fall and hit the ground.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. All right, Adon sent. At another spot in his vision, he saw another surge of Mana. Goldie was starting to charge a Mana ball as well. Of course she is, he thought silently. It wasn¡¯t as if he and Samson were chatting on a closed channel. The three of them were almost always in the same telepathic conversation by default. And Goldie was nothing if not helpful. Even if she already blew through a lot of her resources with that crazy first attack¡­ It was visible, as she charged her Mana, that there was much less of it than there had been before. Somehow she had enhanced her venom and silk combination further with her power, or she had supercharged her body to produce more of those substances at a higher speed, or something. Now she barely had enough energy to produce a Mana ball. As the arthropods all charged their attacks, the bear was continuing forward on the ground. Adon estimated the timing that the spiders would make contact with the ground and the speed with which the bear would reach them, and he concluded that the bear would get there while the arachnids were still in midair. It was just too fast. Have to charge more quickly, he thought. And Adon found that he was able to push the energy from the core of his body to the front of his head more quickly, just by focusing harder on it. The Mana ball charged multiple times more quickly than it ever had before under the amplifying effects of mental magic. Then, to Adon¡¯s surprise, the variables on the ground changed. The bear, which Adon had begun to think of as simply a mindless beast, tilted its head up. It clearly turned its gaze on Adon, and the butterfly thought the bear narrowed its eyes slightly. The bear is a mystic beast, Adon reminded himself. Even if he¡¯s gone wild now, because of the rabies, he was probably intelligent once. Wait, what am I saying? He¡¯s fighting us because he¡¯s sick. So maybe¡­ maybe I could heal him! Adon¡¯s thought processes were so fast that they drastically outpaced the motion on the ground. But even as quickly as his enhanced mind worked, the bear moved too quickly for him to take this latest train of thought any further. Seeing Adon charging his Mana ball at a faster rate than the spiders, the bear made a seemingly rational decision. It planted its feet firmly on the ground, bent at the knees, and hurled itself through the air toward the butterfly. Shitshitshitshitshit¡­ The brawny limbs of the bear launched it at a speed that the downward-spiraling butterfly could hardly hope to match. His supercharged mind grappled with countermeasures in the fraction of a second left to him before contact. The most expedient method struck him in an instant. Of course. Great idea. Have to time it right. Adon¡¯s Mana ball charged at an even higher speed for the remaining time that separated the bear and the butterfly. It was already powerful enough to fire, but Adon had no confidence that it could harm the brutal beast before him. Even with additional charging, it was unlikely to do much. But a bigger attack has more weight. Mana that¡¯s manifested physically like this definitely has mass. I¡¯ve seen it. And every action has an equal opposite reaction. Thank the Goddess I¡¯m so tiny¡­ The bear drew to within striking distance of Adon, it swung a meaty paw at him, and Adon fired his Mana ball at the paw with all the force he could muster. The attack hurled Adon in the opposite direction, changing his momentum and sending him spinning through the air, taking him out of the bear¡¯s reach. Unlike the bear, Adon had wings with which to change his direction in midair, and he was an expert at this now. He flapped once to stop the spinning, and a second time to stop the distance between himself and the bear from increasing. As much as he¡¯d have liked to run away from the bear entirely, he was fairly certain that if he managed to get far enough out of reach, the beast would turn right back to attacking Goldie. The nimble change of direction allowed him to get a steady view of how the bear reacted to the Mana ball fired in its direction. Its eyes seemed to widen slightly in surprise when Adon managed to use the attack to get away. As Adon steadied, the bear pulled its paw back¡ªnot quite fast enough to evade any contact with the Mana ball, but sufficiently quickly to that the energy attack simply grazed it. From Adon¡¯s point of view, it looked like he¡¯d just shaved a little chunk of hair off the side of the bear¡¯s paw. Damn it! What do I have to do to hurt this thing? Fire magic next, I guess, if we can¡¯t run away. As the bear dropped through the air, Adon saw a mixture of rage in its bared teeth and surprising pain in its eyes. A trickle of blood dripped from the place where Adon had thought he only shaved some fur away. Maybe we can do this, Adon thought. Maybe we can actually kill this damned bear¡­ He didn¡¯t realize that he was transmitting that thought until a moment later, when Samson replied. That¡¯s the spirit, bro! Samson sent in an energetic, fired up tone. The two spiders struck the ground a moment before the bear, and Samson made good use of that moment. He finished charging, aimed his Mana ball at the bear, and made as if to fire at the still midair bear. Lacking wings, it would have no means of dodging at such close range while it was off the ground. That would have been good, except that Adon observed both his brother¡¯s actions and those of the bear. He saw that Samson¡¯s attack looked much weaker than his own, and perhaps more importantly, he saw the bear first shift its focus to the spiders and then begin charging Mana itself. Shit, he thought. Then, Samson, don¡¯t do it! Just run! But the words came out a second too late. The little spider had fired the Mana ball, and from the bear¡¯s posture, Samson appeared to have drawn the behemoth¡¯s full attention. As the Mana ball flew through the air, the bear¡¯s Mana quickly flowed down its torso and into one of the posterior legs. Then Adon saw the fur in front of the leg stiffen and turn spiky. The Mana ball got within a certain range of the bear¡¯s body, and the bear struck out with his Mana-enhanced limb and kicked at it. The ball struck the shin and glanced off harmlessly, spiraling off in a random direction like a soccer ball kicked by a defender sprinting at full speed to block a goal shot. The bear let loose another roar, but the mood of it felt triumphant, even as Adon thought he saw the pain behind its eyes continue. The butterfly had no room to worry about the bear¡¯s pain, however, as it struck the ground, looked down, and began stomping after the spiders. Samson and Goldie had listened to Adon and begun running for their lives, and they even had the sense to run in different directions to force the bear to choose one to chase. Even so, the spiders were far from capable of outpacing a Mana-equipped bear, of all things. The titanic creature shook the ground as it scrambled after the weak link in the group, Samson. No! Adon poured Mana into his wings at superspeed and then flapped with such intensity that the delicate membranes practically clapped. He felt the air shake behind him. He knew he was moving with greater speed than the bear, for at least a moment. It wouldn¡¯t be fast enough. The shadow of the bear¡¯s paw hovered over Samson, and Adon resorted to his psychic shout again. Stop it! Back off!!! He heard the strange, quiet response again. K-k¡­ 3-03. Barely Lethal What? As Adon¡¯s body threw itself headlong after the bear, his mind tried to grapple with what he¡¯d just heard. It wasn¡¯t in Claustrian. It was a half-remembered language from one of his previous lives. Which one, he couldn¡¯t even put his finger on definitely. But that didn¡¯t matter. I heard what I heard. Right? In a strange, gruff yet quiet inner voice, grown rusty from disuse, a mind that could only have been the bear¡¯s had thought: K-kill me. Please kill me. The psychic shout had otherwise achieved the effect intended. The bear¡¯s leg wobbled as the loud interior noise disturbed its equilibrium for a moment. When the raised paw came down, it missed Samson by a wide margin. The little spider even got a few steps ahead of the bear while the beast shook itself and tried to purge the effects of Adon¡¯s shout. But the butterfly was reeling inside. It was fortunate that his mind was still processing at superspeed. Can I really kill this thing? he questioned. I mean, even if we can win, should we kill him? It was not lost on Adon that he had only really begun thinking about the morality of murdering the mystic beast once it asked for death. Maybe I¡¯m being silly thinking about it this way. Still, the bear really is intelligent. He just can¡¯t control himself, I guess? This damn rabies¡­ Man! I¡¯ve done some terrible things from a certain point of view. Killed plenty of semi-helpless animals to make myself stronger. But never something that could think and speak like a person. I guess it would be a mercy kill anyway¡­ He again considered whether he might be able to somehow heal the bear¡¯s rabies. It seemed unlikely. As far as he recalled, rabies was only treatable with a vaccine. But he had been informed that in this world, healing magic worked by enhancing the body¡¯s natural healing process. That was why he couldn¡¯t help Rosslyn to regenerate her lost eye. And he similarly doubted that he could cause the bear¡¯s body to produce an effective immune response to rabies. It might be worth a try if I get the chance, he thought. But if he¡¯s about to kill Samson, well, this thing did ask for me to kill him! Still flying rapidly toward the bear, Adon gave the environment a quick visual sweep, looking for Goldie and trying to peg down the geography in his mind. He knew where Samson was, but he wouldn¡¯t want to put Goldie in harm¡¯s way while he was trying to save her son. Following a quick scan, he couldn¡¯t see where she had gone off to, which he thought was all to the good. The fight had become quite dangerous. If she had managed to escape, at least one of them would survive this. Samson was another matter. The little spider had, as Adon analyzed the situation and continued to accelerate toward it, clambered up over and behind a fallen log. The bear simply pulled Mana from its core, quickly enhanced a claw with it, and chopped through the log. The wood split apart to reveal Samson standing in the gap, charging another Mana ball. So much destructive power that he can use so casually, Adon thought. As the chunks of log separated, Samson visibly quaked with fear at his proximity to the massive bear. With the hulking creature looming over him, Samson lost his focus on the Mana ball for a moment. The Mana that Samson had gathered near the front of his head dissipated. The bear raised a foot to stomp on the spider. Adon was almost close enough to intervene directly, just a few feet away. With a thought, he pushed a small portion of Mana into a dozen spines, then triggered them to fire in the bear¡¯s general direction. The butterfly didn¡¯t even take time to aim. As the bear¡¯s foot came down, Adon saw the spines were moving too slowly. He unleashed another psychic shout. Pick on someone your own size! More quickly than Adon would have thought possible, the bear snapped its head sideways to face the butterfly, then lunged at him, jaws opening wide to suck Adon in. Shit! The bear must have anticipated another such attack. And Adon¡¯s momentum was too strong for him to make a big change in direction now. As the big, razor-sharp teeth closed in around him, the butterfly did the only thing he could think of that might save his life in that moment. Adon¡¯s body warped and shifted as Transformation took hold. His wings bent and curled around him and grew much thicker, as Adon morphed into the strongest shape he could think of in that moment: a clamshell, made thicker and tougher than any real world clam¡¯s exterior by Adon¡¯s desperation and will to live. Once the shell had taken shape, Adon pushed more Mana into it to harden it further. Then he was inside the bear¡¯s jaws. The beast instantly snapped its mouth shut on its prey. Please hold up, please hold up, please hold up, he silently prayed as the bear¡¯s teeth came crashing down around him.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. The sound of impact was reminiscent of a car crash, but fortunately it was one of those crashes in which one¡¯s car does not take the brunt of the damage. It was extremely noisy inside of Adon¡¯s shell, but he didn¡¯t feel any pain on contact with the bear¡¯s fangs. He wondered if it was possible that the bear had taken damage to his teeth. Adon didn¡¯t think anything had broken on his own side. I¡¯m alive, he thought. Somehow. Still alive. Adon! Goldie and Samson¡¯s voices screamed in unison from the outside. Goldie sounded like she was positioned on the opposite side of the bear relative to Samson, probably in a blind spot for the beast, but much closer than Adon had expected after he failed to spot her earlier. I¡¯m all right, guys, he sent quickly. Don¡¯t do anything crazy, just try to get away! Like hell! Samson replied. You are not fighting alone, Adon, Goldie agreed. We are your friends. We can do this, but only together. Adon took note that Goldie¡¯s voice sounded a bit stronger. She had seemed worn down after her massive venom attack on the bear earlier, but she must have recovered somewhat over the last minute or so. Adon started formulating a reply, but the bear smashed its teeth down into him again and broke his train of thought. All right, I need to think about this before I tell them to get lost, he decided. I¡¯m not exactly in a dominant position here. It would be pretty dumb if I sent them away and died here. Don¡¯t know how I would explain that to the Goddess. I¡¯m about eighty percent sure she actually had a plan when she dropped me into this world now¡­ The bear crashed its teeth into Adon a couple of times more over the next thirty seconds or so, as fruitlessly as the first couple of times, but the butterfly managed to keep his train of thought going normally this time. He also sensed something more ominous going on. Mana was coalescing within the beast¡¯s core. Adon had a closer view than he¡¯d ever experienced before, and he thought the bear must be preparing some massive attack. He¡¯s either going to enhance his fangs to crush me, or he¡¯s going to try some crazy ability against Goldie and Samson, he thought. Adon waited inside the jaw of the behemoth for a moment, fortifying his Transformation and further monitoring the movement of Mana with his enhanced perception. The power was moving toward the bear¡¯s throat, he observed. Probably just another one of those sonic roar attacks, Adon thought. He didn¡¯t expect that it could disrupt his Transformation with his brain operating at such a high level, though the possibility was not so remote that he could discount it entirely. But he was fairly confident the actual target was the spiders. The bear lumbered after them in what felt like slow motion from Adon¡¯s perspective, whipping back and forth between Goldie and Samson. If it could use that Mana-infused roar to disrupt the spiders¡¯ movements for a key few seconds, the external battle would quickly be wrapped up, and the bear would only have to worry about the enemy inside its mouth. Adon¡¯s mind rapidly ran through options to deal with the bear, ideally before it could launch its next Mana-fueled attack. He considered trying to heal the bear¡¯s rabies and then dismissed the idea almost as soon as it had occurred to him. If healing magic failed to cure the bear¡¯s rabies, and the bear¡¯s small number of surface injuries healed instead, the arthropods would lose one of the only advantages they had attained in their struggle thus far. Goldie¡¯s powerful chemical attack aimed at the bear¡¯s fur¡ªleaving the creature bald, and its skin irritated, in large patches, along with melting one of its eyes¡ªhad meaningfully weakened the beast in Adon¡¯s view. What about trying to charge a Mana ball and fire it straight down his throat? Adon thought. Then he pictured the bear simply spitting him out as he charged the attack. So, that¡¯s probably out¡­ Similarly, now that he was inside the enemy¡¯s mouth, he thought it might be difficult to use fire magic. The technique for it that he had learned from Rosslyn essentially involved igniting Mana like one would normally do with kindling for a fire. It was hard to imagine that working out in the moist, tight environment that surrounded Adon currently. Then Adon remembered something he had done with Red, back when Goldie¡¯s mate was still alive and working with Adon to try to learn language. And he knew what he wanted to do. As the bear crashed its teeth into Adon once more, he began messaging again. All right, he sent finally to Goldie and Samson. We can do this together. I have a plan. I need you both to attack on my signal. I¡¯m going to make an opening for you¡­ A moment later, the spiders confirmed they were ready. And Adon launched what he hoped would be his final attack of the battle. As the bear¡¯s jaws crashed down around Adon once more, he reached up, through the roof of its mouth, and touched its brain with his power. Once, Adon had temporarily enhanced Red¡¯s brain, so that the spider could try to develop a vocabulary. Now, Adon began attempting to shut parts of the bear¡¯s brain down. He had little knowledge of the structure of the brain, least of all the structure of random animals¡¯ brains, but he messed with everything that he came into contact with. He drained energy flowing between areas and redirected it to other parts of the brain. The bear instantly lost control of its Mana and stopped opening and closing its jaws on Adon. It began staggering around, swiping at what Adon guessed would be the empty air with its claws. He was not done yet, though. There was a part of the brain that seemed abnormally swollen for the size of the bear¡¯s skull, and Adon guessed that this area was either particularly inflamed from rabies, or it was essential to the bear¡¯s higher functions, which would naturally be more developed than those of an ordinary bear; he had not forgotten that this was a mystic beast. Adon focused on that one, fairly large area, and he shut off all traffic to and from that place. The bear, which had stood up on its hind legs and was moving drunkenly, suddenly stopped. Every part of it tightened and then loosened. Adon was fairly certain its bowels had released. Then its massive bulk toppled to the ground and lay still. Did I kill the bear? he wondered for a tiny fraction of a second. But Adon¡¯s magical senses told him before he thought about it for long that he had not. The bear was still breathing, its Mana remained thick and strong in the core of its body, and its brain was still alive. It was as if he had frozen the bear in time. Then Adon heard the spiders outside the bear¡¯s jaw, executing their part in the plan. He knew that Goldie and Samson would be injecting as much as they could of their most lethal venoms into the exposed flesh of the bear¡¯s neck, which Goldie¡¯s initial attack had laid bare. Sure enough, thirty seconds passed, and the bear¡¯s body began to twist and writhe. All the while, Adon maintained his hold over the vital area of the beast¡¯s brain, even as the butterfly began to develop a bad headache from doing so for too long. Just a little bit more, he thought. Just a little bit more, and this will all be over¡­ 3-04. Barely a Regret The bear¡¯s body shuddered violently, and its jaws clamped shut hard on Adon, testing the butterfly¡¯s magical reinforcement of his clam shell form once again. He felt the walls of his body bend slightly, as if the armor was about to cave in, and Adon frantically pushed more Mana into the hard shell until it stabilized. He heard crunching and grinding noises coming from all around him, but it seemed to be the bear¡¯s teeth crushing themselves against his body. Still, the pressure remained intense. The fact that the beast would sporadically partially open and shut its jaws made it even worse. Several times, Adon¡¯s clam shell form almost flew open at the sudden loosening of the pressure. The desperate strength of the dying beast made it impossible for Adon to do anything other than simply hold himself together under the tremendous pressure. He was still using mental magic, but he lost awareness of anything but the bear¡¯s brain and its clamping jaws for what felt like a very long time. The jaws¡¯ crushing vice grip would slacken for a moment, then increase again, then clamp down, over and over in a quickly repeating cycle. As it did this, Adon was vaguely aware that the rest of the bear¡¯s body was still moving, but he couldn¡¯t even tell if there was direction to the motion or if it was still just writhing involuntarily. All Adon could do was hold on and hope for his friends¡¯ success. Finally, though, the beast¡¯s continued efforts to snap its jaw shut on Adon seemed to weaken. The pressure diminished to the point that Adon sensed it might just be the weight of the top of the bear¡¯s head holding the jaw shut now. Or perhaps the body was starting to stiffen slightly in death. He reached out with his mind to the brain he was still gripping with mental magic, and he felt there was still some life in there, but it was hard to tell if the activity he sensed was the bear still being alive and well, or the brain going through some last spasms of life before it shut down for good. Is it over? Adon sent, barely able to spare a shred of his mental capacity to communicate telepathically while holding onto the bear¡¯s brain with his power. He expected his friends to answer and let him know if he could finally climb out of this horrible trap jaw. Finally over, sent a small, deep, exhausted voice very close to Adon¡¯s body. It did not belong to either Goldie or Samson. After the sound of it faded, the bear¡¯s body shuddered a single, final time and finally went still. So, that was the bear¡¯s voice, then, Adon thought quietly. For the first time since he had found himself in the bear¡¯s mouth, he partially relaxed. He deactivated his mental magic¡ªhis head was really starting to hurt, so this was almost a matter of necessity¡ªand he extended a tendril from within his clam shell form to try and extricate himself. The extended limb quickly lashed itself around a cracked tooth and then slowly pulled. After a moment¡¯s effort, Adon heard a crunching sound from behind him¡ªprobably another tooth breaking as the clamshell pressed hard against it. Then he was yanked loose, and he started to fall forward. He had not noticed before that the bear¡¯s muzzle was pointed downward, but now that he had jarred himself free, gravity did its work. Adon slid across the bear¡¯s tongue and smacked into its partially closed front teeth. Adon! Goldie¡¯s telepathic voice finally answered him, after what felt like forever but was probably only a handful of seconds. Are you all right, bro? Samson¡¯s voice was not far behind. I¡¯m fine, Adon sent immediately. He wasn¡¯t certain he was entirely fine. He felt very shaken, both in body and mind. Thoughts were running through his mind that became harder to suppress as the danger receded. The headache that had begun while he was in the bear¡¯s jaws was getting noticeably worse, and that might also have had something to do with his altered state of mind. Pain can change the way the brain processes events. As Adon pried open the bear¡¯s jaws with his clam shell parts, he felt a wave of sadness. I could have tried to heal him, but it probably wouldn¡¯t have worked, he told himself. And the way the fight went, it was too close for me to waste energy on that. I probably would have been crushed inside his jaws¡­ For something that was being controlled by rabies, he was awfully calculated with some of those moves! Catching me in his jaws like that¡­ Adon realized that he had suddenly become angry at the dead bear. That didn¡¯t make sense, did it? He fell toward the ground and allowed his Transformation to undo itself as he dropped. His head was pounding now, but at least he had a soft landing as his butterfly body struck the soil. The world went almost black as the pain suddenly sharpened. Adon¡¯s visual experience was of falling downward into darkness, the daylight receding to a tiny pinprick of blue and white far above him. He heard Goldie¡¯s voice, urgently crying, Adon! Adon!!! It was joined by Samson. Adon! Answer us, please! But it was hard for the butterfly to worry about it. Everything felt very distant and very unimportant. He sank into a stupor, and gradually the noises of his friends¡¯ voices fizzled away to nothing. Adon became aware of himself again. He found himself in a dark, sunken place. Is this like a tunnel? he wondered groggily. Then I should go toward the light, right? Did I die? Well, if I did, it¡¯s not like I can choose to say no and just go back to a destroyed body¡­ What had happened suddenly hit him all at once. The hunting trip. The fight with the bear. Getting sucked into the bear¡¯s vicious jaws and almost crushed to death. Saving himself with a quick Transformation. Helping his friends to kill the bear by paralyzing its body with mental magic. I was sad, he thought. That¡¯s right. I was sad about something. Wasn¡¯t I? Slowly, unsteadily, as if swimming through a great distance underwater, Adon approached the light again. As he rose through the shadowy depths, he felt his headache again. Right. I still have a headache. Great. Of course I do. Why would being in the dark make it get better so quickly? He was still a bit out of it when he struck the opening the light shone through and emerged into the day. As he surfaced, voices struck his mind, and the slight throbbing of his head intensified with the suddenly increased perception of the light. Adon, how do you feel? Goldie¡¯s telepathic voice cut through the pain.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. You good, bro? Samson asked. The butterfly shook himself slightly and realized that the two spiders were next to him now. When had that happened? Did I black out for a minute or something? Adon wondered. His headache was still there, but it had receded a bit, as if he had waited a while before using Telepathy again. A fog of sadness still surrounded him, but that too was at a slight remove. You did black out, bro, and for more than just a minute, Samson sent. Wait, was I transmitting that? Adon asked. What do you mean more than just a minute? You were sending it, yes, Goldie sent. That was actually how we knew you were awake. You started sending thoughts out again. Oh? Adon sent a little sheepishly. It was always a little awkward when he had telepathic incontinence. Usually it required intoxicants in his system, as he had become more disciplined and gained greater control over Telepathy as time went by. Nothing embarrassing or anything, Samson transmitted hurriedly, as if he knew the nebulous concerns that Adon had yet to voice even in his own mind. Perhaps he did. The two arthropods had been brothers in their previous incarnations, after all. You said you were sad, Goldie added. In the past tense, though, Samson clarified. Like, you said you were sad before? Yeah, that¡¯s right, Adon sent. I wasn¡¯t feeling so great about what happened. Um, what happened with the bear? Just want to make sure I have my facts straight. It isn¡¯t still alive, is it? Look for yourself, man, Samson replied instantly. He pointed with one limb, up and to the left. Adon turned his body in that direction, but the sun was to that side now, and he found he was almost blinded by its light. But he was himself again. His strength was mostly restored to what it had been before his bout of unconsciousness. He fluttered his wings, then reckoned with that strange feeling of being refreshed as if he had been unconscious for some time. Hey, guys, how long was I out again? he sent, pausing for a moment. About an hour, I think, Goldie sent¡ªa little uneasily to Adon¡¯s mind. Perhaps it was just that she was not confident in her ability to tell time out here. The sun had time to move a little in the sky, Samson clarified. I see, Adon replied. Thank you both for keeping my body safe. Of course, Samson transmitted instantly. You save all three of us back there, Adon, Goldie sent. If you had not stopped the bear with your magic, we could not have done anything significant to harm it. That¡¯s kind of you to say, Adon sent. Then he flapped his wings and rose into the air. He wanted to see what had become of the bear now¡ªwith his own eyes. As he floated over the beast¡¯s body, Adon was finally able to get a view not distorted by the sun¡¯s blinding light. It was really easy to see the bear¡¯s corpse once he had a clear line of sight. That guy was huge, Adon thought a little admiringly. The bear was laid out flat, body spread across the ground like a bearskin rug. As Adon got a good look at the beast, he took in those details that were ugliest and spoke most clearly to the battle that had just been fought. The fur that had dissolved and the skin that had reddened on contact with Goldie¡¯s most destructive venom was now stiff and red and bled slightly, as if the bear¡¯s Mana had been keeping it from suffering further from the effects of the substance in life, and had only now given way. But the worst of the damage was to a section of the bear¡¯s neck. A huge black chasm had opened up there, where it looked like the flesh had mostly rotted away in a large circle¡ªa shape almost the size of Goldie herself. The fur all around where the flesh was gone was matted with blood, and the ground nearby was splashed with the same. That clearly hadn¡¯t been there when Adon last saw the bear. The wound looked extremely painful, obviously fatal¡ªand rather pitiable. What a terrible way to die, Adon thought, not even thinking to restrain his inner voice. He remembered now why he had felt a bit sad at the prospect of the bear dying. It probably was a terrible way to die, Goldie sent in response, but remember that it was the bear or us, Adon. Yeah, Samson agreed. Plus, we came out here to hunt, right? That¡¯s all that happened. The bear attacked us while we were hunting, so we hunted him instead of whatever else we would¡¯ve killed. Adon did not reply for a long moment. He felt strange. I know he attacked us, but he had rabies, Adon sent at last. He really didn¡¯t have the ability to control himself. I just feel a little sorry for him. I kind of wish I could have tried healing him. I am glad you did not, Goldie replied, sounding a bit confused and perhaps slightly annoyed. If he had been healed, I doubt we could have killed him, even with you paralyzing him. It was the fact that his fur had burned away that helped give us our opening. Mama¡¯s right, Adon, Samson sent, slightly more hesitantly than his mother. What exactly bothers you so much about this? He was¡­ He was one of us, basically, Adon sent. There was a sense of loss in his tone, even he could hear it, but he could not find the words to fully explain why he felt upset at the bear¡¯s death. The mixture of his residual headache and general fatigue made it harder, but he also felt a bit hypocritical. Samson, Goldie, and in particular Adon had been involved in the deaths of many fellow creatures, and he could understand why the spiders would not share his point of view on the death of the bear. Perhaps it was simply that the feeling of regret over killing the bear had compounded his earlier failures. The fact that the bear¡¯s eye had melted out of its skull reminded Adon that he had failed to regenerate Rosslyn¡¯s eye. The impression that he had of the bear, with its unused-sounding inner voice, as a solitary loner, reminded Adon of his own failed previous incarnations¡ªof his own persistent social isolation and inability to make deep and lasting connections in his other lives. Even the simple truth that Adon himself had not killed the bear¡ªhad instead been forced to rely on his friends to do it¡ªwas probably a little part of the explanation. I¡¯m a hypocrite for even feeling this way, he thought quietly. I simultaneously feel bad about the bear being dead, and I wish I¡¯m the one who killed it. He thought of all the other semi-intelligent creatures he had killed in the past. Then he pushed the grim thought away. At least the bear didn¡¯t get to kill us, Adon finally sent. Thank you both for saving me from inside the jaws of the beast. He tried to insert a little lightness into his tone as he spoke, though he didn¡¯t feel much of it. I¡¯m impressed that your venom was so strong, actually! That was a bright side. The spiders had definitely improved a great deal. Their venom would certainly kill humans if it had killed the Mystic Iron Bear. It was really mainly just Mama¡¯s venom, Samson sent modestly. You can see where she injected the bear; it¡¯s that giant gaping hole in the neck. My injection site is on the other side. It¡¯s a couple of little red marks, like a bee sting. That is nonsense, Sammy, Goldie transmitted reassuringly, turning her whole body to look at her son. Every bit counted. It was terrifying while we were fighting the bear. If you had not been there dividing his attention, he might have ripped me in two! She shifted to face Adon again. And the strength of my venom was thanks to you, Adon. Me? Adon asked. How? During the fight, you spilled some of the bear¡¯s blood, she sent. It landed near me, and I drank it. And I started to recover my strength immediately. That made sense, Adon realized. We barely survived that, huh? he sent. I think so, Goldie replied mildly. I am grateful we will face another day. Um, is it all right if we go home soon? It is, Adon transmitted. Let¡¯s eat some bear meat and get out of here. In his own mind, he added, I think I¡¯ve lost a bit of my taste for hunting. 3-05. Rosslyn鈥檚 Choice Dear Goddess, please take your devoted son Alistair into your loving arms, Rosslyn silently prayed. Heal him. Make him strong again, so that he can lead the Kingdom and protect those who love him. Do not take him from us. He still has so much left to¡ª A knock came at the chapel door, and Rosslyn¡¯s head snapped to the side. She rose from her knees and dusted off her dress before she answered the man at the door. ¡°Come in,¡± she called gently. Oran stood there, still breathing heavily, face slightly flushed and sweaty. He had clearly rushed to the chapel. ¡°Your Highness, at your orders, your father¡ª¡± ¡°He is awake?¡± Rosslyn asked. ¡°In a few moments now, undoubtedly, he will be,¡± Oran replied. Rosslyn quickly rushed from the chapel toward her father¡¯s sickbed. She had wrestled with her next steps in solitude, using the precious little buffer time she had, and she had decided to get her father¡¯s opinion before she made her irreversible choice. She had almost made her decision before, in conversation with Sir Jaren, but it was hard to follow through and leave the city less defended at a time when attack could be imminent without at least attempting to speak with her father about it first. She opened the door to the room where her father lay abed without pausing to reflect any further. The time for contemplation was over. The moment of truth was almost upon her. Rosslyn¡¯s jaw dropped as her eyes fell on her father. He looked, if possible, worse than he had before. His skin was a strange, unhealthy gray color. His lips had turned almost white. And the King appeared slightly emaciated. The smell of fresh food hit Rosslyn almost as soon as the sight of her father did. She saw that somewhat had opened up a tray of delectable, yet easily digestible, food. Of course. Since I ordered that he be woken up, this is also their chance to feed him real food. The healers had simple methods of feeding a comatose patient, but there was no way yet developed to get truly hearty food into a man¡¯s stomach when he could neither chew nor swallow properly. ¡°Your Highness¡ª¡± One of the healers began to speak, but Rosslyn raised a hand to cut him off. Her father¡¯s eyelids were fluttering, and Rosslyn could tell at a single glance that he was about to wake up. Sure enough, a moment later, he opened his eyes and met her gaze. ¡°I¡ªI do not feel healed,¡± the King said hesitantly. ¡°Was the process unsuccessful? Or has the worst happened?¡± Rosslyn instantly felt a bit guilty. It is selfish of me to have him awakened, she thought. But I need him to help me make this decision. As she looked at his sunken eyes and ashen skin, though, it was hard for her to tell herself that she really needed her father to help her right now. What if this decision, to wake him and consult him, actually shortens his life? The healers had reassured her on that score, but they acknowledged that theirs was far from an exact science. ¡°R-Rosslyn?¡± ¡°Yes, father, um, the healing process has been interrupted. I asked¡ªordered that it be interrupted. I needed your advice on a matter of state.¡± ¡°Tell me, daughter,¡± he said, attempting a smile. She nodded slowly, took a couple of deep breaths, then looked around them. ¡°Could everyone else leave the room, please?¡± she asked in a quiet but firm voice. The healers immediately stepped away from the King¡¯s bedside and moved toward the door. As Rosslyn turned her head to watch, she saw Oran hold the door for them. Then the butler bowed his head slightly, stepped out, and closed the door behind himself too. ¡°A matter of high secrecy, then,¡± her father observed with dry amusement. ¡°Well, secret enough,¡± Rosslyn replied. ¡°We now know the Demon Empire¡¯s attack is closer than ever. Less than two weeks away now.¡± The King¡¯s eyes widened, and he sucked in a long, slow breath, but he said nothing, so she continued. ¡°The dungeon also grew worse since you last received an update. Monsters are beginning to roam the area around the city. This will make evacuating the surroundings to the city very dangerous, of course.¡± Her father was nodding. ¡°I want to lead a mission to quell the dungeon.¡± He immediately stopped nodding and began shaking his head. ¡°You cannot go, Rosslyn,¡± he said. ¡°The people need their Princess here in time of crisis, especially when their King is¡ª¡± He gestured at himself and then grimaced as if the sudden movement had made him feel weaker¡ª¡°like this.¡± ¡°Father, you should eat something,¡± Rosslyn began.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°No, you woke me for a reason,¡± the King said, ¡°and it was not to stuff my face. I will resolve this matter with you before I slip back into the coma¡ªthat is what will happen, yes?¡± Rosslyn nodded. That was what the healers had told her should happen after the draught they had administered to wake the King wore off. Hopefully his healing would continue unabated. ¡°If there is time afterward, we can eat,¡± he said. The Princess did not bother to say that her appetite was quite ruined. Her stomach was tied up in tangled knots. ¡°Why would you even consider leaving the city?¡± he asked. ¡°Because the people in the countryside will be sacrificed if we do not move quickly.¡± Her voice was small, weak, defensive. ¡°I will have as many of them moved into the city as I can over the next few days, preparing for the likelihood of a siege. They will gather or burn their crops. But if the dungeon remains active, the city will be vulnerable to attacks from its creatures too. Many dungeon monsters can fly or climb over walls¡ª¡± ¡°Then the Empire¡¯s soldiers will have to deal with that risk too,¡± he said. ¡°The Empire seems to coordinate its moves with the monsters,¡± Rosslyn pointed out. ¡°The beasts do not actually appear to be intelligent, Rosslyn,¡± her father said. ¡°So, even if the Emperor has a way to trigger their attack at the same time that he invades, they will still go after the Empire¡¯s people as easily as ours. They have no way of telling the difference.¡± ¡°Yes, but those are trained soldiers¡ªand demons, far stronger than humans.¡± Rosslyn found herself reaching within herself, insisting with her father in a way that she never would have before. She supposed her mind had been made up before she ever asked the healers to wake him. ¡°Even if we somehow lost the same number of people to the monsters as the Empire, which seems unlikely to me¡ªwe need ours more than they do.¡± The King nodded slowly, reluctantly. ¡°Fine,¡± he said. ¡°It is true, the lives of our subjects are precious. While they are evacuated into the city walls, then, dispatch a small group of knights, and have them engage¡ªengage the dungeon.¡± He coughed in the middle of the last few words, and he also averted his eyes as he finished. It struck Rosslyn immediately why. He knows that any ¡°small group of knights¡± we send into the dungeon would be a sacrifice. We would be throwing all their lives away to secure the civilians¡­ Rosslyn began to wonder if the adventurers had truly been cowards for giving up on challenging the dungeon, or if the interior might actually be more dangerous than she and her father realized¡ªand perhaps he had already guessed as much. If that is so, it makes it far more imperative that I go myself¡­ But delving into that notion would only stiffen her father¡¯s resistance to the idea. Her father started trying to speak, but coughed again. Rosslyn waited a moment for him to clear his throat and try again, but that only unleashed a series of coughs. ¡°Father¡­¡± Rosslyn stepped forward and picked up a chalice full of red wine someone had poured for the King, and she began helping him drink it. After her father had swallowed some of the liquid down, a little of the color miraculously returned to his face, and he seemed able to speak and breathe again. ¡°Thank you, daughter,¡± he said. ¡°You are not eager to come into your inheritance too soon, then.¡± He chuckled quietly and suppressed another cough. Rosslyn forced her lips into a thin smile. ¡°Not until the Goddess calls you home in her own time,¡± she said. ¡°Death by old age, surrounded by your grandchildren.¡± Rosslyn tried to hold back a little sob at the thought of her father dying. She failed. ¡°Grandchildren.¡± Her father smiled, and a little tear trickled down the corner of his eye. ¡°Surrounded, eh? That¡ª¡± He coughed again¡ª¡°that does sound nice. As long as you will be there too.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°Where else would I be?¡± ¡°Dead, perhaps,¡± he said seriously. ¡°Rosslyn, a group of knights¡ªfine¡ªfine.¡± He shook his head gently, and she could see his eyes blinking sleepily as he spoke. ¡°It is fine to dispatch a group of knights. But you should not go yourself. Cannot risk your own life. The city needs you. I¡ªI need you, I¡ª¡± But if I send a small group of knights without me, they will probably be senselessly slaughtered. If I send a large group, and they are drawn deep into the dungeon, they may defeat it, but I will not have enough men left to defend the city. The knights were some of the most magically potent people in the Kingdom, and they would be essential to the defense. It would be tragically ironic if the conquering heroes emerged, having vanquished the dungeon, only to discover that Wayn had fallen to the Empire. The only way this works is if I go myself¡­ As she stared at her father beseechingly, she saw that he was fading irrecoverably. He would be back in his coma shortly, unable to argue with her. He had set out a mandate¡ªas good as given her an order. But with the King locked in this unnatural sleep, Rosslyn would have the discretion to do what she felt was best. Her father¡¯s eyes closed tightly shut one more time, and his breathing changed. ¡°I¡ªI¡ª¡± He muttered a few more words, incoherent and under his breath. Rosslyn leaned in and planted a tender kiss on her father¡¯s forehead. It felt unnaturally cool to her, so she carefully draped a blanket over him before she straightened her body and turned away. She knew what she had to do, to a certainty now. Father was right, though, she thought. I have no idea what I might be facing. If I enter the dungeon, I have to do everything I possibly can to mitigate the risks, especially the risks to myself personally. Rosslyn did not hold her own life as some precious thing, especially not knowing the Goddess¡¯s ways. But her family and her country were another matter. If I do not come back, and I take a squad of our best knights with me, while father is in a coma¡­ The Kingdom¡¯s fate would seem to be sealed at that point. She had to do everything possible to ensure that she would return quickly, and alive, from the expedition. I have to ask them for help, Rosslyn thought. Her heart sank. I will probably get what I need if I ask properly, but at what cost? The Princess had no answer to that yet. But she knew her duty. That was all she would have to lean on in the days ahead. She stepped out into the hallway and walked until she found the healers. She told them the bare facts of what had happened, and they rushed back to see to her father again. Then Rosslyn began to make her way to another wing of the palace. She did not yet know exactly what she would say to the Dessians, but she knew that she needed to speak to them right away. 3-06. An Appeal to Honor Rosslyn and William stood awkwardly outside the palace library, avoiding eye contact with each other in the moments after the servants left them. After a moment, only Oran remained. Propriety demanded that there be a chaperone of some sort. But he stood ten feet away, back turned to the two of them. In the dim candlelight of the hallway, the butler could almost melt into the darkness. It would be easy to forget that he was there. ¡°You wanted to speak with me, Princess?¡± William asked. His tone was somewhere between hopeful and guarded, and Rosslyn felt a pit forming in her stomach. If he had been resigned or angry, this conversation would have been easier in some ways. ¡°I did,¡± Rosslyn acknowledged. She turned, led the way into the library, smoothed the sides of her dress down, and took a seat in the plush loveseat that she had always favored. Beside her feet, an unsteady flame crackled in the fireplace. Clearly, the servants had not expected anyone to use the library today, though they had done Rosslyn the service of warming the room as much as they could on such short notice. William sat down parallel to her in her father¡¯s armchair. The wooden arms were visibly worn down from generations of use by restless kings and queens. It had been the favorite seat of Warrior Queen Maud, apparently. William looked Rosslyn in the eyes, then looked away. She frowned. She had thought about this conversation, but it was still uncomfortable for her. She felt a mixture of disgust with herself and obligation toward her country. You have already gone over this decision over and over, Rosslyn thought angrily. You will sacrifice whatever you must, to attain the objective. She shook her head gently. Where do I begin? ¡°How is your father?¡± William asked hesitantly. ¡°Feeling better? Taking the waters in Tema?¡± ¡°Um, not better, unfortunately,¡± Rosslyn admitted. At death¡¯s door, she thought. ¡°I hope you have not been too bored,¡± she added a little stiffly. Inside, she kicked herself. Still not getting to the point¡­ ¡°It has felt rather like we were guests in a haunted mansion, lately, rather than an inhabited palace,¡± William continued. ¡°Frankly, my brother and I had considered leaving. We hate to be a burden, especially where it seems the hosts have grown weary of us¡ªnot that I say you are wrong to feel that way. But I certainly would have considered saying our farewells if Frederick were not interested in seeing more of your fine city.¡± Rosslyn raised an eyebrow and then tried to quickly smooth her expression back to neutrality again. She was uncertain what she found harder to believe: that William was ready to give up just like that on something he had clearly decided was a goal, or that Frederick wanted to see more of the city. ¡°We toured your fortifications,¡± William said, answering her unspoken question. ¡°Good, strong walls. The sort a city needs in such times.¡± Is he toying with me? Someone already informed him of our changed situation somehow, and he is amusing himself by taunting me? Rosslyn kept a careful rein on her breathing and again tried to keep her facial muscles stiff and unreadable. Then she realized that he was staring at her curiously, a smile tugging at the edges of his lips. And that she had this strange, mechanical, artificially neutral expression on her face. I cannot take this banter. I have to say something. Instead, almost involuntarily, she responded directly to the surface level of what he had said. ¡°I am glad that our walls met with your approval.¡± The words came out noticeably colder than she had intended them. Guided by some instinct she did not fully understand, she added, ¡°I hope they will defend us well when you and your brother have gone home.¡± William sucked in a short breath through his nostrils and looked slightly taken aback. Then he shook his head and rose from his seat. Rosslyn wondered for a moment if he was going to walk out. She felt her hands tremble. She had not even arrived at the subject they were there to discuss. Somehow, I got it into my head that I could catch more flies with vinegar than with honey. She followed William with her eyes as he stepped away from the armchair and turned his back on her. She was ready to cry out, ready to say something to keep him from leaving, though she did not know what she would say to make him stay. But William did not seem in any hurry to walk out. He moved toward a bookshelf and studied the covers in silence for a minute. Rosslyn could hear his breathing. She thought he was trying to calm down. She had upset him. I have to be more careful. This conversation matters. William turned around and looked her right in the eyes. ¡°Rosslyn, how long have we known each other?¡± he asked. His more familiar form of address did not escape her notice. ¡°Thirteen or fourteen years,¡± Rosslyn said, thinking, You know that for most of that time, we have been apart¡­ I know the years have changed both of us. ¡°Well, you are not that different from the girl I met thirteen or fourteen years ago,¡± William replied, smiling. ¡°You are terrible at hiding your feelings. You should not undertake any difficult negotiations until you develop a better face. I can read you like a book.¡± Rosslyn doubted that his insight into her character was as profound as William thought it was¡ªhe had already demonstrated that he could not accurately read her body language and tone before¡ªbut she did not contradict him.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°What is your point, William?¡± she asked instead. ¡°When you are married, your husband will take care of these sorts of matters for you,¡± he replied. ¡°Someone who can keep a cooler head, hopefully.¡± His tone was gently reproachful and, Rosslyn perceived, slightly mocking. ¡°I know that some people believe that to be the natural order of things,¡± Rosslyn said. She could not help wrinkling her nose slightly as she spoke. William took a couple of steps forward, closing the distance between himself and Rosslyn until he stood over her. Then he leaned down until his face was only a few inches away from hers. He looked as if he wanted to kiss her, but they both simply held in place, eyes locked on each other¡¯s pupils, in a sort of staring contest. Rosslyn forced herself to remain still. She even suppressed the urge to swallow a lump in her throat. Any little movement might give something away. William clearly understood that she needed something from him. Otherwise he would not be speaking and acting the way he was. If what he wanted in return was the kiss that she had denied him the other day, she would let him have it¡ªeven as she felt contempt for herself for doing so. Then William smiled and pulled away from her. As he drew back, Rosslyn thought she noticed a tinge of sadness to his expression. But the look passed quickly¡ªassuming that her eyes had not deceived her. The brief impression might have only been a trick of the light, a product of the flickering in the fireplace. ¡°What is it you truly wished to discuss, Rosslyn?¡± he asked. ¡°I know this is not merely a friendly conversation.¡± Rosslyn began to explain the full situation to William. She would do him that courtesy. She was aware that she was already attempting to manipulate him in a way that she would normally find absolutely loathsome, but she could at least ensure that he did not walk into her problems blindly. Rosslyn began by recounting her trip to the Demon Empire¡¯s capital¡ªboth the purpose of her visit and the attempt to assassinate her on her return journey. She told him about the impending invasion, the Demon Empire¡¯s recent military advances that the Kingdom¡¯s spy had informed them of, and lastly the dungeon and its recent activities. The only details she left out were the fact that Claustria had a spy in the Empire and her father¡¯s condition, which she simply described as ¡°unavailable.¡± The former was too important of a secret to share even with a mostly trusted ally, while the latter was not something Rosslyn was willing to tell anyone outside the family. Well, she had told Adon. But he was different. And that had been her father¡¯s decision anyway. ¡°So, you plan on taking a squad of elite knights and cleansing the dungeon before the demons arrive,¡± William summarized. Rosslyn nodded. This next part of the conversation was delicate, so she intended to be careful about what she said and to speak as little as necessary to accomplish the end goal. ¡°Where do my brother and I fit into this?¡± he asked. ¡°I would think that was obvious,¡± Rosslyn said, trying to sound like she had not planned exactly what she would say at this juncture. ¡°The most natural decision for you and your brother to make is to go home.¡± ¡°What?¡± William said flatly, pursing his lips. ¡°Just as I said. You and Frederick are our guests, not our prisoners. It would be best if you returned to Dessia and told your father everything that is transpiring here. We already have our own messengers rushing to our various allies and those who might wish to fight the Empire alongside us. But we face a difficult battle. There is every chance the Empire will take the capital here. If they do, any nobility who stayed within the walls might be slaughtered or castrated and enslaved. Those rumors we used to hear about human assassins with magic turned out to be true, after all.¡± ¡°Noble-blooded assassins, yes,¡± William said, scowling. ¡°I grasp the risks of war. They are risks I have been raised to face. What I fail to understand is why you are pretending not to see my value and that of my brother in your war. I know that you want to ask for our aid. What, are you too proud for that?¡± ¡°Perhaps I am,¡± Rosslyn admitted. ¡°And it would be wrong of me to ask you. What happens to me and my country is not of the same concern to the Duke of Dessia as what happens to his sons and heirs.¡± She peered deep into Williams¡¯s eyes. ¡°I know that it is your duty to return rather than to fight our war for us or delve into a dungeon with me.¡± William¡¯s eyes narrowed, and then he shook his head and smiled. ¡°Rosslyn, as I said, you are no good in these situations. You never learned how to bend before you break. If I were another man¡ªbut very well, I will not make you ask.¡± He leaned down and took her hand in both of his. To her surprise, she felt her heart beat a little faster at the unexpected touch. ¡°I cannot see how any man could allow a lady he cares for to raid a dungeon almost by herself, let alone stand by and watch while you fight a war against terrible odds. I will write to my father and request that we be allowed to join in your war. But for now, my brother and I will accompany you into the dungeon, along with our bodyguards. Some additional fighters ought to relieve something of your manpower shortage, eh?¡± Rosslyn allowed the relief to show on her face. Then she lowered her eyes. Receiving help in this way was genuinely embarrassing. She could not have asked for it directly, or the Dessians might reasonably have thought they could ask something of the Claustrians in return¡ªor her specifically. Rosslyn would do what she needed to do to secure her country¡¯s safety, but she did not want to voluntarily throw away her freedom. ¡°Thank you,¡± she said quietly. She felt her cheeks color a bit. ¡°I am not acting entirely unselfishly, Rosslyn,¡± William said in a low voice. ¡°I have a request of my own. If you do not wish to honor it, then very well. But I will have made the request.¡± Rosslyn wanted to say, Anything, but she was afraid of what that might be. ¡°What is it?¡± she said after a moment. ¡°I would not decline anything honorable.¡± ¡°When Frederick and I journeyed here, I heard a strange rumor¡ªthat you were requiring would-be suitors to fight duels with you to establish their eligibility to seek your hand. At first, I discounted the idea. It seemed strange¡ªbut then again, you have a certain eccentricity in your character.¡± He smiled good-naturedly. ¡°When I arrived, I wondered if you would challenge me to a duel. Then, after our last outing together¡ª¡± He frowned. ¡°I thought perhaps I ruined my chances. So, I wanted to request a duel. If only a man who can defeat you is worthy to win your hand, I wish to establish that I am at least in the pool of contenders.¡± Rosslyn nodded. A duel, I can give you. ¡°There is nothing dishonorable in that,¡± she said. She managed to give him a thin smile. He finally released her hand, and she realized that it was moist from his sweaty palms. William was nervous about that, she thought, slightly stunned. She had known that he was seriously courting her, of course, but somehow, she had assumed that nothing in the process phased him. She was far from the only young lady to have received William¡¯s attention in the last few years, she knew. But the involuntary secretions of his skin suggested another story. Perhaps he wanted this match far more than she had realized. Rosslyn herself was still deeply ambivalent. ¡°This evening, then?¡± William asked. ¡°And we can leave for the dungeon tomorrow, regardless of who wins or loses.¡± Rosslyn nodded once more, and she managed a slightly less anemic smile. ¡°I will look forward to it.¡± William smiled. ¡°Then I will take my leave of you for now, Princess,¡± he said. ¡°See you in an hour or so.¡± Rosslyn dipped her head silently. The conversation had gotten better than she had expected. She could only ruin it by speaking further. William moved toward the library door, and he stepped into the frame, but at the same moment, a servant rushed in from the other side. The two men collided, and the servant tumbled backward onto the hall floor. William bent to help the man up, but the fallen figure jumped to his feet before the young lord could put out his hand, as if the servant had springs in his thighs or something. The servant bowed to William, then rushed through the doorway behind him. Breathlessly, he exclaimed, ¡°Your Highness, the arthropods have returned!¡± Despite the strange back and forth, mainly negative, direction of her mood through the last half hour, Rosslyn felt her heart soar at this news. 3-07. Some Days You Eat the Bear Adon and his friends consumed the flesh of the mystic bear. The butterfly had lost much of his taste for hunting animals, but as he sank into his feeding trance, he recognized dimly that he could never lose his taste for this exquisite meat. Then there was just the rich, intoxicating savor of bear meat, gamey and strong and delicious in its flavor. Adon lost himself in the taste for a time. When Adon emerged from his food coma, he found himself in darkness. The sun had set while he and the spiders were chowing down. That was delicious. It was Goldie¡¯s voice. I feel so different. So much more¡­ Adon understood what she was referring to, because he felt the same way, overflowing with power and vitality. This mystic beast was easily the most powerful creature any of them had ever tasted. There was movement in the corner of Adon¡¯s vision, and he saw, as the advancing figure progressed toward the zone where he could see more clearly, that it was Goldie. She was only barely recognizable. Over the days since her Evolution, she had continued growing with her consumption of Biomass, and her appetite had been ravenous. Goldie had gradually grown from a large-dinner-plate-sized spider to a creature whose legs would dangle off the edges of the plate on all sides, until now, as she approached Adon, she appeared to be roughly the size of a manhole cover. With his mind slightly fuzzy from having just woken up, the butterfly was able to see her as a human might see her for a moment¡ªthis monster spider who looked like she had just crawled out of one¡¯s nightmares. She looks like she would eat your face, Adon thought. Is eating a really advanced enemy like going through a half-stage of Evolution or something? How do you feel? Goldie asked. I feel great, actually, Adon sent. I watched you change, Goldie replied. I mean, I watched how you digested, and your body¡ªhave you noticed it? Adon fluttered his wings gently, and he felt a difference. I¡¯m big, Adon sent. I mean, I¡¯m bigger? Goldie nodded. You should give your body a try. I would not want you to fly us home without¡ªwithout having tested your wings. Adon felt suddenly nervous. Is there something wrong with my wings? he wondered. Do they look bloated or defective or something? But then, Goldie had not said any of that precisely. He flapped his wings tentatively and suddenly shot a foot off the ground. What in the world¡­? Adon tried to get control of his unexpected flight pattern, but he overcompensated and flipped over in midair before he regained his equilibrium and began to stabilize. What was that? The butterfly heard the sound of gentle laughter through Telepathy from below him, and he did not need to look down to know that it was Goldie who he had amused. What did you do to my wings, huh? Adon sent. Stick them together or something? Me? Goldie replied. It was all the bear. We ate him, and it changed us. A chill went through Adon then. Changed us how? Adon transmitted. Samson is still asleep, Goldie sent. You could come down and look at him, but he¡¯s surrounded in shed bits of skin. You already looked at me. I think you know what I mean. You left several layers of exoskeleton on the ground in the process of eating your share of the bear, too. We have grown. Changed. So that¡¯s what you meant, Adon replied. We got bigger¡­ Goldie nodded, and Adon spun in the air, flapping over toward the lake where they had encountered the bear. Night had fallen, and it was dark outside, but there was a waxing gibbous moon that night. It provided enough light that Adon would be able to see his own reflection. As the butterfly glided over the water, he saw himself mirrored back. If he¡¯d had normal human lungs, the image might have taken his breath away. When he had reverted to his butterfly form, his wings had also returned to their naturally clear coloration. Looming over the lake, the gibbous moon floating beside him, his wings refracted the light and enhanced it, making him look luminous and yellow, almost like a second moon beside the first. Dimly, the butterfly recognized that this visual did not help him answer the question he had been contemplating: how large he had suddenly grown. With only the moon and stars beside him in the sky, he had no tangible objects to give his size context. Deflated, he wheeled away from the lake and moved back toward the site of the bear¡¯s death. He saw Goldie there, still looking inflated beyond the possible like some horrible mutant spider from out of a cheesy low-budget monster movie. And he saw Samson, or rather he saw a pile of shed skins, beneath which he felt certain Samson rested. Still have to wait for him to wake up, right, Adon thought. He settled down beside the bear¡ªor, more accurately, beside the drastically reduced remnants of the bear that had not yet been devoured. Only the head, neck, and a little bit of the upper chest had been meaningfully consumed by the three arthropods. Adon estimated that the three arthropods had consumed a twentieth of the bear¡¯s weight. And it had already been in somewhat rough shape when they encountered it, he recognized now, worn down by illness, not at its peak fitness or fighting weight.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Nevertheless, Adon thought that it was far more than they would normally have been able to consume of any other material. The bear must have been a particularly high quality meal that their bodies had worked hard to devour as thoroughly as they could. At least, that was how it seemed to him. Adon settled down next to one of the great bear paws and tried to compare his size to that, but it was no good as a measuring device. He could tell that his wingspan was much larger than the paw¡¯s length, perhaps three or four times the length. You are trying to decide how much you have grown, Goldie sent, her tone slightly amused. Yes, Adon replied. I don¡¯t know how to guess it! Goldie chuckled giddily. I had the same issue, she sent. But I finally concluded, regardless of what the number is, exactly, I am now probably the largest spider in the world! Adon had to laugh at that. Yes, you probably are, he agreed. And you are the largest butterfly, Adon, she added. You should be proud. Soak that in for a moment. You are likely the greatest specimen of your species that exists. We know how uncommon butterflies are in general. Mystic butterflies are rarer still. Butterflies that are not mystic probably do not get to consume such large feasts. So, just appreciate it for a moment. You are the largest butterfly in the world. You wanted to achieve great things. Enjoy one of the great things you have achieved. Adon shook his head slightly. I did not want to make any great achievements in weight, he replied. I had¡­ enough of those in my previous life. But I will stop and allow myself to feel a sense of gratitude. For? Goldie asked. I¡¯m still light enough to fly! Adon sent. The two chuckled together over that. It might have been their combined laughter that caused Samson to stir. The pile of exoskeletons with him at the bottom began to move almost immediately as Adon and Goldie amused themselves in the aftermath of their victory. What¡¯s so funny? the young spider sent sleepily. Just happy we¡¯re still alive, bro, Adon transmitted. You should see the other guy, Samson sent instantly. Then all three arthropods were laughing, although in the back of Adon¡¯s mind, he felt a bit of lingering guilt. He still wished he could have saved the bear. The feeling was completely moot now that parts of the bear, from its head down to the beginnings of its chest, had been reduced to mere fur and bone. But that didn¡¯t stop him feeling like a bit of a failure. Imagine if the bear could have fought alongside us when the Empire shows up, he thought to himself. Samson crawled out from under the shed skins, and Adon was slightly taken aback. The spiderling, just weeks old, was now somewhat larger than Goldie had been when Adon met her. Adon could not help but wonder how Samson would ever be able to mate with another spider of his species if he chose to do that in this life. He assumed the size differences had some sort of reproductive relevance, and female spiders were always a bit larger than males in his limited experience. Adon, you got really big, Samson sent. Me? Adon replied. You should get a look at yourself in a mirror once we head back¡­ They bantered back and forth for a few minutes after that, and Samson and Adon each helped the other gauge his size a bit more accurately than he had been able to before. It seemed that Adon¡¯s wingspan was now closing in on three feet long, a breathtaking jump in size. Adon would have ranked with the largest butterflies in the world before now, but now he was only comparable to prehistoric insects he vaguely remembered reading about in biology classes in a couple of his lives. Insects this big are supposed to be impossible in a world with a smaller concentration of oxygen in the atmosphere than the prehistoric Earth, Adon remembered with an effort. Then again, who¡¯s to say this world doesn¡¯t have that insane level of oxygen¡­ He decided that he would not try too hard to think about it unless he suddenly found himself having difficulty taking in enough air through his spiracles. Well, should we head back to the palace? Samson asked. We had a more successful hunt than anything you could have imagined, right? That¡¯s true, Adon allowed. Anyone still hungry? Goldie asked. There is still so much meat¡­ I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever be hungry again after that, Samson sent. I feel so full¡ªand so incredibly vital after eating that bear. Like a different person. Like I could win a fight with anyone. Adon felt a dim concern about the way Samson¡¯s mind was spinning recent events¡ªhe did not want his brother to keep on taking challenges that were too big for him. But he shared the same basic impression about his post-bear condition. There was a sensation of overflowing power and energy¡ªof near invincibility. I suppose I am not hungry either, Goldie replied regretfully. And we cannot take the meat with us. So sad. The spiders both turned and looked to Adon¡ªtheir transport home. Wait, the butterfly sent. I don¡¯t think we can leave the bear like this. We should do something about the body. Good thinking, Adon, Samson agreed instantly. Considering what eating some of the bear did for us, I would hate to see the kind of creatures that might emerge if some random scavengers eat the rest of the body. We could get mega-vultures flying around the Claustrian woods. Rosslyn wouldn¡¯t exactly be happy about that. That was not, in fact, quite what Adon had been thinking. The idea that scavengers might eat what was left of the bear had dimly occurred to him, but not as a hazard. Mainly, the butterfly felt that it was a little disrespectful to just leave the corpse of a sentient creature¡ªone that had seemingly only attacked them because it was driven mad by sickness¡ªjust lying on the ground. Discarded like a piece of trash. The bear had been one of them. Adon did not feel like discussing that at length, though. He recognized that he might be going a bit soft, compared to the ruthless predator he had been since hatching. He was ambivalent on whether that was a good thing. Instead of explaining anything, he simply recalled what Rosslyn had taught him and ignited his aura into fire magic. He barely noticed it, but the mana flowed more easily than it ever had before, virtually at the speed of thought, and there seemed to be a significantly larger reservoir than there had been. A few seconds later, he touched his burning mana to the bear skin, the last remnants of the bear caught fire, and the sad, skin-and-bone corpse began to burn away. The arthropods all stood around the burning mammal in a silent semicircle for the next several minutes, until finally, the body was reduced to black and white bits of ash and bone. Now we can go, Adon sent. The evidence is all disposed of, Goldie replied in an ironic tone. Adon guessed from her voice that Goldie probably understood his real feelings about the bear, but she would not bring them up if he didn¡¯t. Instead of responding verbally, the butterfly stretched and grew his back slightly, and he positioned himself so that the spiders could easily step onto his body. He was pleased to find that despite how large the spiders had grown, his body was still able to accommodate them, because Adon¡¯s thorax and abdomen seemed to have increased in size in proportion to his wings. The spiders moved up onto his back, and Adon took to the sky once again, intending to fly through the night. 3-08. Return of the Arthropods Adon and his passengers flew the whole night long and kept going through the sunrise. The three arthropods returned to the palace by mid-morning. The butterfly was not particularly conscious of the need for speed as he flew. Rather, flight was a joy that largely washed away any lingering regrets he might have still felt about the bear. His speed arose from the sheer joy of motion through the sky. And the overwhelming sense of power that he had felt after eating the bear seemed not to have been an illusion after all. His enthusiasm for the air never flagged. His energy appeared boundless. Thus, the arthropods arrived at the palace in mid-morning without having stopped for a rest anywhere. Then Adon fluttered around the roof and walls for a few minutes, looking for an open door or window unsuccessfully. It seemed the palace had not expected the butterfly and his friends to return quite yet. They had given the royal household no reason to anticipate that, but it felt a little absurd to be temporarily stymied in their reentrance into the palace by closed doors. At last, a gardener opened the side door from the garden, and Adon darted down toward the opening before it could be closed behind the man. The gardener¡¯s eyes widened as the giant butterfly and the two large spiders on his back shot into view, and his hand tightened on the lock stile of the door as if he intended to prevent the monstrous bugs from gaining access to the interior. Adon slowed down, planning to simply explain who he and the spiders were. Then he stopped completely, flapping his wings in midair to hold himself in place as he processed what he was seeing. The gardener had shifted his position completely. He had stepped away from the opening and was pulling the door open wider. Far from trying to keep the arthropods out, the man was unambiguously welcoming them in. Right, Adon thought. I guess the gardeners and some of the other staff know about us now. But we¡¯re sort of a national security secret, right? How does that work out, exactly? Rosslyn was worried about leaks before, right? Do you need a security clearance to be a gardener? He chuckled internally. The next thing you know, you¡¯ll have beekeepers who are secret government assassins¡­ ¡°Welcome, noble butterfly and mystic companions,¡± the gardener said as Adon fluttered to within grasping range. ¡°I will alert the Princess to your return.¡± He bowed his head after he finished the sentence. This is so weird, Adon sent to Goldie and Samson only. Reply to him, Adon, Samson snapped back instantly, slightly indignant. Right, Adon sent, chuckling sheepishly in his return transmission. Thank you, kind gardener, Adon sent to the man standing in the doorway. I¡ªer, we¡ªappreciate you informing the Princess of our return. Please let her know that we will be waiting for her in the room that the palace previously prepared for us. ¡°It shall be done as you say,¡± the gardener replied solemnly. Adon flapped his wings and floated past the gardener, still thinking how strange it was to be addressed as if he was the master of the palace or some distinguished noble, when he was in fact a creature from the garden. Bro, you have to act like you¡¯re somebody important when the palace thinks you¡¯re somebody important, Samson sent once they were a ways past the gardener. You¡¯re planning to save the Kingdom, or at least help with its salvation, and from what I¡¯ve seen, you actually have the power to be useful. You might not be as strong as the Princess, but maybe you¡¯re like a strong knight or something. And you¡¯re still getting stronger. Honestly, your talent makes me jealous. Um, thanks, man, Adon replied. But you can¡¯t act like you don¡¯t think you belong here! Samson added, clearly annoyed. If you do, you just give people a reason to doubt you. Which is inappropriate, since you¡¯re the real deal. Got it, Adon sent, mildly chastened. Be nice, Sammy, Goldie sent. She sounded slightly distracted. The way she spoke reminded Adon a little of his own mother and the way she used to address Adon and Samson. ¡°Why don¡¯t you stand up for yourself, Adon?¡± she used to say when she and her firstborn son were alone after a similarly annoying interaction. It was a question he never had an answer for. The only answer is to actually do it, Adon thought. He had made all the progress he could have wished for in terms of physical courage and physical power in this life, but he was still leagues behind where he should be in the social sense. I¡¯m not used to being someone important, Samson, Adon sent, choosing his words carefully. You¡¯re probably right that I should act the part, but I also don¡¯t think the impression the gardener has of me is going to change anything. I was mostly just surprised he knew we were mystic beasts at all. I probably shouldn¡¯t have been, but there you go. Not exactly defending himself, but it seemed to have the desired result. Fair enough, and I don¡¯t mean to be too critical, Samson sent. It¡¯s just that, now that we¡¯re back, I¡¯m reminded that there¡¯s a war coming up pretty soon. They¡¯re really going to need you. I hope they appreciate you. Adon found the emphasis on the word ¡°you¡± in the penultimate sentence a little strange, but he didn¡¯t question it too hard. He let his brother¡¯s words sit and allowed peaceful silence to reign for a few minutes as they neared their room. It was only in that silence that Adon picked up the quiet thought, If I were Adon, I would be taking advantage of just how much they need him. The butterfly cast a subtle glance at his brother up on his back, but Samson was not looking at him as if they were still talking. The spider was actually facing backward, looking down the hall as he mused about his brother¡¯s situation.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. So, that thought definitely wasn¡¯t meant for my ears, then, Adon thought. His ability to overhear other people¡¯s innermost thoughts even when they did not want him to had only continued to grow, it seemed. Adon suspected the bear had contributed a little to the further development of this strange and somewhat unwelcome power. Fortunately, they arrived in their room before Adon could overhear any further ideas that might be revealing of Samson¡¯s hidden feelings and beliefs. Adon and the spiders settled in their customary places, although everything seemed a lot smaller to Adon. He had to shrink his wings slightly to perch on the bedpost without smacking them against the ceiling and wall nearby. The spiders said a hearty hello to their smaller, less evolved kin¡ªSamson¡¯s younger siblings¡ªwhile Adon just relaxed and allowed himself to reflect further on what had happened. He had only been settled there for a couple of minutes when the humans arrived. ¡°Adon, you are back!¡± Rosslyn exclaimed, approaching him with a broad smile on her face. She stopped a foot away from where he stood, and Adon took in the details of her appearance. She was dressed in armor, as if she was about to go into battle. Her smile seemed a little nervous. And her face was a bit pale, as if she had been through some harrowing emotional experience recently. Then the two Dessian brothers came following after her. Both were dressed in armor as well. Adon felt a distinct sense of energy radiating off of them. The butterfly observed that he could sense a hint of their emotions now, without any effort, as much as he could hear explicit thoughts. The feelings were like a cloud hanging in the air. Both brothers were excited, though with different reasons behind their feelings. ¡°Welcome back, Adon,¡± William said, sporting a cocky grin that Adon instantly decided he disliked. ¡°It is, of course, a pleasure to see you again, Adon,¡± said Frederick. But his eyes fell on Goldie as he spoke, and he quickly added, ¡°And your noble friends.¡± Adon sensed some moderately unwholesome intentions from Frederick, but they were not unfriendly. He was interested in Goldie now. Apparently he¡¯d had some time to reconsider his feelings about human-mystic beast connections while they had been away. I should be happy for her, Adon thought. Frederick seemed a bit disagreeable, but on some level, he was a little more straightforward than William at least. That made him more trustworthy in Adon¡¯s eyes. Maybe I should let him know that she just came out of a relationship that ended tragically. If he decides to court Goldie, it¡¯s important that he takes it slow. I am surprised that everyone came out to meet me, Adon sent, thinking carefully as he communicated to separate his private musings from his message. And you¡¯re all so dressed up¡­ Already, in response to his prompting, he heard echoes of the reason why the brothers had accompanied Rosslyn to meet him, though the two were not thinking about that subject exactly. The reason for their action was more of a dim recollection that lay beneath their surface thoughts. Still, Frederick¡¯s next words only confirmed what Adon already knew. ¡°Rosslyn and William are going to fight a duel,¡± Frederick explained. ¡°Then we intend to go and crush a dungeon that emerged near Wayn.¡± He sounded almost contemptuous of the challenge; it would be easy. Telepathy told Adon that the sentiment was sincere. The butterfly was not even trying to overhear Frederick¡¯s thought, but his mental stream-of-consciousness mirrored the verbal one. These interactions confirm it, Adon thought. His Telepathy had grown more powerful again. Probably, Goldie and Samson were beginning to experience improvements in their Telepathy as well, and that was why Adon had not experienced as much leakage of their thoughts and feelings into his awareness on the return journey as he was of the humans¡¯ thoughts now. ¡°The Dessians have graciously agreed to join us, along with the members of the Branden Guard who accompanied them here,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°Exterminating the dungeon is likely to be dangerous, and we are rather shorthanded here at the moment.¡± Why have a duel? Goldie sent, sounding slightly alarmed. It sounds like a good way to wear yourselves out before you go into the dungeon. Adon could tell that she was trying to calm herself as she spoke during the second transmission. Are you fighting for the honor of who leads the expedition? Samson asked. ¡°No important reason,¡± Rosslyn lied. She looked slightly uncomfortable. ¡°Rosslyn had already dueled a few people over the last couple of months,¡± William said lightly. ¡°I wanted to try my hand and see how I compare.¡± But Adon sensed a slightly darker reason in the emotional clouds wafting off of the Dessian. The butterfly probed lightly into William¡¯s thoughts and confirmed his suspicion. Even if she is still unsure of her feelings, she will at least respect my strength after this, William thought. Adon recalled that Rosslyn had made it a requirement that anyone courting her be capable of defeating her in single combat, and he felt the beginnings of anger boiling up within him. Did William make it a requirement to duel him, before he would join Rosslyn in the dungeon? Adon wondered. He thought for a few seconds and decided, No. No, Rosslyn is very confident in her own strength. She wouldn¡¯t agree to that. He felt a little rush of relief before he reminded himself that he had no particular reason to be relieved. ¡°We were on our way to the training room for the duel when we stopped here,¡± Frederick said. ¡°We heard you three were back from a hunting trip. And I see the journey was not wasted time.¡± His appraising eye looked over the arthropods carefully, and Adon had the surreal experience of both being watched and completely understanding what Frederick thought as he observed them. Now this is more along the lines of what I would have expected from mystic beasts, Frederick thought. They are visibly larger and practically overflowing with vitality compared with any other animal species. The pipsqueak is still small and probably weak, but that has to be viewed in context. He multiplied his size. The rate of improvement these three show is astounding. No, the journey was definitely not wasted time, Adon sent, carefully replying only to the spoken words. We killed a mystic beast, actually. Goldie contributed the most to the fight. He knew Frederick would value that. It was a bear. Adon had expected the humans to be impressed when he told them that, but the effect was more than he had imagined. Everyone¡¯s eyes widened at the announcement. A mystic bear?! was the thought on all their minds. Adon received, not specific and fully formed thoughts, but impressions, layered on top of that. From Rosslyn: Had they not gone extinct? William thought, Impossible. Frederick smiled and seemed to be impressed. Before Adon could ask if the mystic bear had any particular meaning to them, he was interrupted by his brother, who had not read the room as well as Adon¡ªwho was probably, in fairness, not capable of simply reading everyone¡¯s minds as Adon was. Will you three be wanting additional company in the dungeon? Samson sent. The eagerness in his voice made it obvious that he hoped the answer would be yes. Rosslyn opened her mouth to speak, but her expression and general emotional aura spelled hesitation to Adon. He got a bad feeling, perhaps a premonition of doom. She would say that it would be best if they stay behind, and then she would go alone into the dungeon¡ªwell, not alone, but with the Dessian brothers, which was in some way worse in his mind¡ªand something terrible might happen. The bad feeling was nothing more than that¡ªa feeling, insubstantial and perhaps unjustified¡ªbut it was powerful. Adon¡¯s mind worked quickly to solve a problem that he was perhaps only inventing in his head. Before you answer that, I would love to have a few minutes alone with Rosslyn, Adon sent impulsively. I just want to ask her about¡ªabout something we discussed before my departure. You remember, Rosslyn? 3-09. Stage Fright The Princess¡¯s lips parted in an expression of slight surprise. Then she closed her mouth, looked directly at Adon, and slowly, thoughtfully nodded. He could see the beginnings of a smile playing at the edges of her lips. ¡°Yes, I remember we had discussed something prior to your hunting trip,¡± Rosslyn said. She turned to William and Frederick. ¡°I am confident that our conversation will not take long. Perhaps you could take the spiders with you and wait for me in the training room.¡± William pursed his lips and looked as if he wanted to say something¡ªAdon felt a haze of annoyance around him, but the thoughts that inspired it were either held in check somewhere substantially below the surface, or they were unarticulated. The butterfly did not choose to pry deeper to understand William¡¯s feelings right then. He only had eyes for the Princess in this moment. She does want to see me, Adon thought nervously. His physical mass having increased, and his vigor now noticeably overflowing, Adon had already been interested in checking whether he was capable of completing a Transformation into a humanoid form. He had planned to attempt it on his own, but in the social situation he had found himself in¡ªSamson suddenly asking Rosslyn, William, and Frederick if they would want company in the dungeon¡ªAdon felt put on the spot. This was what he came up with. The situation came with a natural edge of performance anxiety. Will it work? Will I look all right? Frederick placed a hand on his brother¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Ah, we will go ahead and let your man-at-arms know to expect you for the duel,¡± William said. Good, Frederick thought. Keep your cool, brother. The girl will be yours eventually. Adon wanted to rebuke the brothers, but he quietly reminded himself that he had no reason to. There were some strange ideas formulating in the back of his mind, but he was a butterfly, not a human. He had to keep that fact at the forefront. The affairs of humans touched on his interests, but he would never be one of them again. Not in this lifetime. But I will be able to assume a humanoid form, he reminded himself excitedly. Probably. He waited for a couple of minutes as Goldie gathered her hatchlings around her, all the spiders mounted a pair of pillows, and the young lords acted the part of servants, carrying the mystic beasts and their kin out of the room to give Adon and Rosslyn some privacy. There was something slightly funny about that¡ªeven Frederick seemed to notice it, as there appeared to be a cloud of a slightly amused emotion surrounding him now¡ªbut Adon could hardly pay attention to whatever humor there was in the situation. Now is my moment to shine, he thought as the noble brothers stepped through the door. Good luck, Adon, Goldie sent quietly just as she passed out of view. Alone among the people leaving the room, Adon thought that she probably truly understood what was going on. Thanks, he sent. Then the door swung shut behind the spiders and their human bearers. Rosslyn and Adon found themselves alone. It was far from the first time that they had been alone, but this time felt different. There was a weight in the air. A sense of expectation. Adon could see Rosslyn¡¯s hands shake slightly as she stood there looking at him. That was more nervousness than he had ever seen the Princess display aside from during the hunt for her father¡¯s poisoners. The butterfly just stared back at her silently for a moment. Each of them seemed to be waiting for the other to speak. ¡°So,¡± she began, her voice soft. So, Adon sent back, feeling a little lame but also incredibly giddy. He was excited to show what he could do with his new Transformation. More importantly, he was excited to show her what he could do. Rosslyn was honestly the inspiration for most of his efforts so far. She was the main reason that Adon cared about protecting the Kingdom, too. It was strange how much influence the young woman had exerted over him with what seemed like relatively little effort. Now, Adon was fairly certain that with the additional Biomass and sheer power that had accrued to him after fighting and consuming the Mystic Iron Bear, he should be able to transform, not just into the small elf-like form he had managed before, but into a full-sized humanoid. ¡°You had something you wanted to show me¡­¡± Rosslyn¡¯s tone was almost seductive. She allowed her voice to trail off at the end, but Adon was perversely reminded of playing doctor with one of the neighborhood girls when he was a child in his last life. I¡¯ll show you mine if you show me yours, he thought¡ªthen immediately upbraided himself for the coarse idea. Of course it¡¯s not actually like that. Rosslyn¡¯s just interested in your personal growth, you creep! I did have something I wanted to try in front of you, Adon sent back quickly, not allowing himself to dwell in a negative mental space right now. Could you, um, turn around for a minute? I¡¯m kind of shy. ¡°Oh, right!¡± Rosslyn¡¯s face colored slightly. ¡°Plus, you would be¡­¡± She quickly turned her back. ¡°Let me know when I can turn around!¡± You got it! Adon sent. Some of the giddiness had returned, and his whole body fairly throbbed with energy at the prospect of the Transformation he was about to attempt¡ªand the thought of learning what Rosslyn¡¯s reaction would be. There was only a tiny seed of doubt inside him. A little bit of stage fright, perhaps, or just a lingering memory of past failure. Adon shoved that down as hard as he could¡ªhe refused to get stage fright after having built this up so much!¡ªand he began the slow process of Transformation. He guided his body into a new shape, more ambitious and complex than he had ever attempted before. He used the schematic of the elf-like form he had taken on before, which was saved using his Impeccable Memory, as the model for a human-sized version. As he shifted his body, he noticed that it was initially much easier and less painful than it had ever been before. In fact, it was almost painless. Yes, this is how it was always supposed to be, he thought excitedly. His wings twisted and extended, split and deviated into new shapes. They gradually formed into two new pairs of limbs: an arm and a leg on each side. His head and eyes bulged and grew, ballooning out until the exoskeleton became a skull, and the skull grew skin and hair. His exoskeletal body developed the rib cage and human-like torso that he needed to bridge the gap between his other parts.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. And everything slowly, steadily grew in all directions. There was a sort of friction between the amount of mass that Adon¡¯s body contained and the mass that his new form required, but mana and Biomass made up the difference. There was a larger pool of both of those things than there had been before, and even though the Transformation burned through a lot of resources as he went through it, Adon estimated that he would make it to the finish line. Rosslyn would get to see what he could become with full effort and commitment. After a minute of this, Adon felt that he was very close to becoming the larger version of his elf-like form that he had envisioned. He had fine-tuned his face a little as he went on¡ªhe thought the features had ended up being slightly too feminine once enlarged to human size, and he basically stole his previous life¡¯s face completely now, subtracting only some of the softness that gradual weight gain had added onto his features. ¡°Can I turn yet?¡± Rosslyn asked quietly. She had her hands clasped behind her back, and her fingers twitched with nervous energy as she stood, obediently looking away from Adon as he transformed. Adon was now almost fully formed. He opened his lips¡ªhe was getting used to communicating with his mouth when he had a humanoid mouth¡ªand spoke. ¡°Not yet, I am naked,¡± he said, his voice swinging wildly from slightly deeper than he remembered into the falsetto register. ¡°Got it,¡± Rosslyn said. Adon could hear a smile in her voice as she spoke. A moment later, something clicked into place inside his semi-formed body, and his full sensory apparatus came online all at once. He tasted the air, which was stale and slightly earthy¡ªunsurprising in this room that was normally full of spiders. And he inhaled another scent. It was more subtle, but it smelled good. There was an earthy quality to this other scent, too, but it was a more positive flavor. Actually, as he breathed in again, he realized it smelled really good. A moment later, he recognized that the scent was Rosslyn. He had been up close to her before, as a butterfly, and this was just a slightly weaker version of the scent that he had smelled when he was in her hair. It¡¯s kind of intoxicating, he thought. I kind of thought so that one time I basically just stood in her hair for a while, but this is something else. His eyes played over Rosslyn¡¯s form and appreciated her in a way that they had not before, too. She¡¯s really fit, he thought. I mean, she must be very disciplined to keep her body like that, unless mana does the work for her. Conflicting feelings and thoughts surged through Adon¡¯s body and mind. His brain remembered that Rosslyn was his friend, the human who was consistently nice to him. His body responded to the sight and the smell of her, and in particular the way she seemed to bounce slightly on the balls of her feet as if she was excited to see him. Adon became excited too. He felt a swelling in his lower body, and his mouth opened in a little ¡°O¡± shape. That¡¯s not supposed to be happening right now¡­ Rosslyn cracked her neck, and it felt for a moment as if she was trying to sneak a peak at Adon in a mirror to her right. ¡°H-hey, no peeking,¡± he said nervously. His voice cracked as he spoke. Rosslyn became still, but the back of her neck turned bright pink. ¡°Please put something on, if you are still naked,¡± she said in a quiet but defiant tone. ¡°I am not trying to look at you, but it is not appropriate that a Claustrian Princess stand alone with a naked man who is not her husband. Then we can talk. If you have taken on a humanoid form, then you must act a bit more like a human instead of a mysterious magical creature¡­¡± A part of Adon wanted to laugh at Rosslyn¡¯s reframing of what was happening, but he was also concerned about the rising tumescence in his bottom half. That was embarrassing and probably genuinely inappropriate. Putting himself in Rosslyn¡¯s shoes, suddenly finding herself in a room with a naked man in that condition would be creepy, perhaps even frightening. He quickly grabbed a nearby sheet and wrapped it around himself like a toga. Adon¡¯s body shivered slightly as the cool cloth wrapped around him, and he realized that he had been cold. The room itself was probably cold. Then another little shudder went through his whole frame. That felt like it was unrelated to the cold entirely. It smacked of something else. Instability? Shit¡­ With an effort of willpower, he suppressed the next shudder before it could begin. Then his mind jumped back to something else that had just happened. His voice had cracked. Well, that¡¯s annoying, he thought. The one good thing about my last incarnation was my voice. Even Rosslyn said she liked it. That¡¯s the thing I had to screw up, of course. He decided that he would need to work on that with his next iteration of this humanoid Transformation¡ªand then, somewhat impulsively, he changed his mind. No, I¡¯m not going to spend the next ten minutes talking to Rosslyn with a cracking voice like I¡¯m in the middle of puberty, he thought almost furiously. We¡¯re fixing this now. Adon reached within himself, focusing on modifying his vocal chords slightly with Transformation. Just a little bigger. That¡¯s what makes the voice deep. Larger vocal chords. Adon did not know where he had learned that piece of trivia, or how accurate it was, but it entered his mind unbidden as he tried to change his voice. ¡°Are you, um, decent?¡± Rosslyn asked a little nervously, her head tilting to the side in a gesture of apparent doubt. Adon could also sort of smell the doubt with his telepathic sense. It hung like a cloud around her, and it was easily perceptible to his improved powers as a mixture of anxiety, hope, and excitement, with the slightest undertone of fear. ¡°Can I turn around now?¡± ¡°Ye¡ª¡± Adon¡¯s voice stopped working in the middle of the word, ¡°Yes.¡± At the same time, there was a sudden snapping sound inside his head, and he felt his Transformation begin to slip. In front of him, he saw that the Princess was beginning to turn around, but Adon¡¯s attention shifted to entirely focus on himself for the moment. No no no¡­ Adon tried desperately to hold himself together, to maintain his new form, but he could not immediately tell how successful he was. As Rosslyn¡¯s head swung to face him, he recognized that she was now looking down at him. That was a bad sign. His height had apparently declined sharply after his Transformation came partially undone. He could not feel his limbs anymore either. The combination of those two pieces of sensory evidence suggested he was almost certainly no longer in a humanoid form. Rosslyn sucked in a sharp gulp of air and took what appeared to be an involuntary step back. Her expression was somewhere between puzzlement and disappointment. ¡°Are you all right?¡± she asked slowly, carefully, stooping slightly to get closer to eye contact with Adon. How did this happen? he heard her think. Will he be stuck like that? Can I help him? No, I¡¯m all right, Adon thought desperately. Don¡¯t look at me right now! But he couldn¡¯t say those words or send them as a telepathic message. He would sound pathetic. No, he already was pathetic. Ugh¡­ why now? I thought it had finally gotten it down perfectly. ¡°I¡¯m.¡± Just. ¡°Fine!¡± The butterfly¡¯s words came out in a mixture of broken speech and Telepathy, with the last word almost shouted. Adon felt his body quiver as he spoke. The lungs his partially transformed body had relied on for speech had been slightly crushed as his Transformation snapped partially undone. The pain that had miraculously disappeared from the Transformation process was suddenly back with a vengeance. Adon counted it a minor victory that he had not experienced incontinence as his self-modification came apart. That would have been the capstone on this humiliation. The only improvement to his condition was that he no longer felt the surge of hormones that he had experienced in his human form. There was a calm that came from that. I¡¯ll just fix this and go back to my human form in a second, Rosslyn, he sent, resorting to pure Telepathy again. Rosslyn swallowed, still looking down at him. Her face had settled on concern as she got more control over her emotions. ¡°You should see yourself in a mirror,¡± she said carefully. 3-10. Raw Emotions A-all right, Adon sent. Rosslyn¡¯s tone and the haze of emotion around her made him so nervous that he did not want to see what he looked like in the mirror. Still, Adon couldn¡¯t very well say that. He would come across as literally afraid of his own reflection, and he didn¡¯t want to look like that. Not right now. This was a moment when he needed to project strength as much as he could. The moment when the butterfly imagined his botched Transformation might permanently ruin the Princess¡¯s mental image of him. Rosslyn stepped over to the mirror that Adon had thought she was using to try to peep on him earlier. It was a large, standing piece in a thick, dark-wooden frame. The glass and wood looked heavy. But the Princess reminded Adon that despite her normal-sized, feminine form¡ªit was impossible not to see her a little differently after having been a human-like organism in her presence, albeit briefly¡ªshe was strong. She lifted the mirror with one hand, almost absent-mindedly, and plunked it down directly in front of the butterfly. Adon stared at his own reflection, and his heart sank. Oh. Goddess, I look like something from out of a horror show¡­ He was still half-transformed, but not in any kind of organized way. His body rested on two humanoid feet and ankles that extended up to a lower shinbone and a kneecap respectively. Above that, mercifully, the humanoid parts that had embarrassed and flustered him had vanished. Adon would need time to get ahold of himself next time he transformed into a human, lest some other random biological reaction similarly distract him. Instead of human thighs and an abdomen, Adon had a weird exoskeletal shell that covered those areas. It looked a little like his normal body shape had melted. That plasticky substance continued for almost a foot of distance up his torso, a length of featureless gray, punctuated only by occasional random lumps where the material was uneven. Sticking out of the sides of the exoskeletal middle were two limbs that looked haphazardly tacked on: a hand, which connected to a wrist and even an elbow before it melded with the exoskeleton torso, and a wing that looked as if it belonged to some giant mutated housefly rather than an elegant butterfly. At the top, Adon¡¯s head was mostly a butterfly head, but he had a humanoid chin and lower lip just below his proboscis, and the head itself was abnormally large. That strange arrangement of his mouth appeared to be why he could still talk without using Telepathy, but only haltingly and with poor vocal control. What did I do to myself? Adon thought despairingly. I¡¯m hideous. Deformed¡­ This is my fault, he heard Rosslyn think. The emotional cloud around her was still predominantly concern, but now it featured a strong whiff of guilt too. Maybe this is not his path. I have thrust all my hopes onto him, and the pressure proved too much. I would hate for him to be stuck in this form because he wanted to please me. I have to accept reality. ¡°Adon, please do not push yourself so hard,¡± Rosslyn said aloud. ¡°I hope you can, um, return to your base form.¡± Of course I can, the butterfly wanted to say. But the words seemed to be stuck in his own head. He felt strangely tongue-tied, despite no longer needing a tongue to speak ever since his reincarnation. He sucked in a slow breath, pulling air in through his strange, unnatural, half-formed mouth and into his shriveled yet humanoid lungs. The breath calmed him, though he sensed that the cocktail of Rosslyn¡¯s negative emotions that brewed beside him had intensified slightly thanks to his delayed response. Still, he found it difficult to form and send the words. Was there something more he needed to say? Something he was missing? A phrase that would make it more convincing? Should be be more ambiguous? Try speaking with a little bluster? Come on, man! Adon berated himself. Rosslyn is one of about three or four people you¡¯re good at talking to in this life. Get it together! If you can¡¯t tell her how you¡¯re doing, that¡¯s a quarter of your social life basically gone. But as he tried to formulate the words for a telepathic reply, the sensations he had experienced when he was in human form flashed through his mind. He had looked at Rosslyn with a new lens that he had only abstractly considered before. Her form had been somehow much more pleasing to his eye as a humanoid than it had been when he was an insect with a mostly-human soul. And he had inhaled her scent. That heady aroma had awakened something strange and powerful within him and set his blood racing through his recently created veins and arteries. The feelings he had experienced were something that he was both excited about and afraid of. More pressingly, these sensations brought him back to an archetypal experience he had suffered all too many times across countless incarnations. Adon was once again an awkward guy who had just fumbled an interaction with a pretty girl¡ªa girl who he wanted to like him. All the social anxiety that Adon had thought he had defeated, at least when it came to Rosslyn, Goldie, and Samson, came flooding back. He felt suddenly paralyzed, as he had been paralyzed a thousand times before, in a thousand different lives. No, why¡­? After an awkward ten seconds or so of silence, Rosslyn rubbed her temple with a couple of fingers. Adon could feel that she was beginning to have a slight headache from their shared emotional tension. ¡°Would you, um, like some privacy?¡± Rosslyn asked. She sounded slightly nervous. Adon read sadness in her voice. ¡°I have no way of helping you change your form again, unless there is something you know of that can assist in the shift¡­¡± She trailed off. Adon found his voice again. No, I will manage to transform again, he sent. Maybe some privacy would be good, thank you. A part of him wanted to make a joke about her spying on him again while he was changing, but he felt a little sick at the thought of sticking his foot in his mouth at a moment like this, so he held that back. Rosslyn simply nodded, as if she did not trust herself to speak either. Then she stepped around the mirror, opened the door, moved into the hallway, and closed the door behind her. Adon was left alone with his thoughts. He tried not to think too much. At this moment, it could only sadden him.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Let¡¯s just fix this Transformation, he thought tiredly. That much, he knew he could do. Ten minutes later, Adon used one of his long legs, transformed into a tendril, to grip and turn the doorknob. Transformation was back to being easy for him, as long as there wasn¡¯t a girl watching him. Embarrassing, he thought as the door opened. In some sense, I am a thousands of years old entity, with rich experiences to draw upon. I can¡¯t believe I was paralyzed by¡ª Adon¡¯s thoughts froze inside his head for a moment as Rosslyn¡¯s face came into view. She was smiling gently. Warmly. It struck Adon that despite Rosslyn now being dressed in armor, ready for her duel, and wearing an eyepatch that she had not needed when they first met, she had never looked prettier or more feminine to him. When he had first met her, she had seemed muscular to him. Tough and fit more than soft and girlish. And now he saw her differently. Adon¡¯s insect form felt slightly warmer as feelings that were not natural to an insect welled up inside him. Get out of your head, you dumb butterfly, he told himself irritably. You¡¯re still thinking with those damned hormones from when you turned into a human. They should be out of your system by now¡­ But it seemed that the momentary shift, from a simple to a more complex organism, had brought about changes that would be more lasting than the Transformation had been. Adon could not make himself un-see the vision of Rosslyn that he had experienced when he was in human form. Even now, he felt drawn to her, pulled by instincts that on one level he did not understand and at another, he understood all too well¡ªand feared. ¡°Back to normal,¡± the Princess said gently. She began moving a hand toward him as if she wanted to make physical contact¡ªperhaps to caress the edges of his wings or to offer to let him perch on her wrist¡ªbut stopped herself before she had extended her arm very far. She pulled her hand back, closed her fingers, exhaled, and shook her head slightly. She was wrestling with something inside her, too. Adon could see it. He was not certain of what. Rosslyn was clearly trying to contain her thoughts, and now that he was under better control of himself, the butterfly was actively making an effort not to pry into her private feelings. This was a strange, delicate moment. It would be all too easy for either of them to ruin the connection that existed between them. I am, Adon sent quickly. Back to normal. Everything¡¯s the way it was before. Oh, how he wished that were true. But bells could not be unrung. Sights could not be unseen. And the events of the last twenty minutes would not be forgotten, by either Adon or the Princess. As he tried to convince both her and himself that things could go ¡°back to normal,¡± she launched into a short speech that she had clearly been preparing while she waited in the hall for him. ¡°As I said, um, please do not push yourself so much,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°I do not know if I led you to believe that it was important that you unlock a human form soon¡ªor ever, for that matter¡ªbut please, please do not harm yourself in the process of trying to obtain this, um, new power.¡± She licked her lips in what Adon read as nervous body language. ¡°I¡ªthe Kingdom cares about you. Even if something terrible should happen to the Kingdom, there is no reason that you should not outlive the Royal Family. Just like the mystic beast that you and your friends¡ª¡± She winced slightly but made herself finish the sentence¡ª¡°killed in the forest. Mystic bears were the national symbol of Ursabia once.¡± Her voice turned wistful, and her eyes looked into the distance. ¡°That last member of the species might have been lonely, without a country to call home. And then its life ended violently. It turned into food for other mystic beasts. But at least it had a life. It reached maturity and lived for a time.¡± She turned back to Adon and half-smiled. ¡°Do not shorten your life by doing anything radical with your body, all right?¡± Despite the cute half-smile the Princess wore as she finished her little speech, Adon found it slightly frustrating that Rosslyn still seemed to consider him as a delicate creature who needed her protection. But he did not argue the point. He had the self-awareness to recognize that he had sometimes treated Goldie in the same way. That was how you behaved toward someone weaker than yourself, when you cared about them. Doesn¡¯t it solve some problems for you¡ªor rather, for the Kingdom¡ªif I master Transformation sooner rather than later? Adon sent. ¡°I will figure those matters out,¡± Rosslyn said firmly. She neither spoke nor thought the words, Without you, but Adon keenly felt them as if they had been part of her intent. The air between himself and Rosslyn seemed to run a little cooler for a few seconds. ¡°We should probably go,¡± Rosslyn said finally, in a subdued tone. ¡°The brothers will be waiting for us. And the spiders, too.¡± She turned to walk down the hall. Rosslyn, wait, Adon sent impulsively, not allowing himself to hesitate. This duel, it has something to do with William courting you, doesn¡¯t it? Rosslyn pivoted to face Adon and gave him a searching look. But he was a butterfly just then. She had no way of reading his body language, as far as Adon was aware. Not unless that was in one of the old books that she and her father had read as they studied up on mystic beasts. Then she gave him the smallest of nods, keeping her face carefully expressionless and her mind nearly fully blank. If he wins, he¡¯ll think he¡¯s entitled to marry you? Adon asked. ¡°No,¡± Rosslyn said quickly, though her expression looked troubled to the butterfly. ¡°Besting me in a duel is only a requirement to be eligible. It does not mean I have to marry the person who does it.¡± She chuckled nervously and shook her head. ¡°It was silly of me to make such a requirement anyway. It is hard to believe I was already an adult when I came up with it. I feel as if¡ªas if I have grown up a great deal since then.¡± Did he ask for this duel? Adon sent. Or was it your idea? ¡°His,¡± she replied flatly. Adon thought of telling Rosslyn about the way William truly thought of her¡ªas a broodmare, an obedient little woman to birth him heirs and follow his commands. By all means, the young lord was genuinely attracted to her in some sense, but the butterfly thought that he understood Rosslyn well enough by now to know that she would want to be valued for more than her ability to push out children and give a man a path to a throne. But Adon understood that his own emotions were wrapped up in this now. He was far from a neutral observer, if he had ever been that. She sees through him anyway, Adon told himself. Otherwise, she would seem excited about the prospect of being engaged to him. You don¡¯t need to poison the well¡­ You wouldn¡¯t actually marry him, Adon sent. The words were almost, but not quite a question. He had found himself unable to resist. Rosslyn turned slightly pink and looked away from the butterfly. ¡°I¡ªI do not think you have the right to ask me that, Adon,¡± she said. ¡°It is unfair.¡± You¡¯ve spent a lot of time telling me to do what I want, be happy, be free, and such advice, Adon sent. I don¡¯t see how this is different. The Princess turned away from him as she gave her response, and Adon sensed an emotional coldness from her, wafting off of her body like a cloud of steam. ¡°It is different, because I am responsible for the lives of others. I did not choose that, but neither did the people of this country choose me. It was a matter of birth, on both ends. Part of that responsibility is a duty to select a husband who can help me to protect the Kingdom. This has only become more urgent as the Kingdom comes under what could be the final assault by the Demon Empire. You know all of this already. You have known it almost since you met me¡­¡± There was a mix of defiance and pleading in her tone, and Adon felt a twinge of empathy for the Princess. He could tell that she wanted a reply, some validation from him that she was correct, but he could not say anything. He wanted to show some empathy, but any reply that affirmed the possibility of her choosing William felt disgusting to him. And it wasn¡¯t as if Adon could offer himself as a replacement, considering what had just happened. After standing in place for a minute, Rosslyn began to walk forward. Adon fluttered after her, and the two moved down the hall in an uncomfortable silence, neither speaking or looking at the other. It was in that frosty environment that Adon heard a stray thought from Rosslyn, one that he instantly knew she would have kept well below the surface of her mind if she had not been in a somewhat emotional state. I may have no other choice¡­ 3-11. The Duel Before Departure Adon and Rosslyn emerged into the practice room with a dark cloud still hanging over them. The butterfly thought for a moment that it would be obvious to everyone else once they laid eyes on himself and the Princess, but he was wrong. In fact, when they stepped through the door, no one seemed to notice them for several seconds. The group was already engrossed in their own conversations at the opposite end of the space. Frederick was talking animatedly to Goldie, while William was having a quiet chat with Samson. Meanwhile, in the center of the room, Sir Jaren was pantomiming fighting while the spiderlings watched with rapt attention. Apparently they were interested in learning some moves. Gosh, I guess this is the first time I¡¯ve ever seen them all interacting without me or Rosslyn being involved, Adon thought. Besides Rosslyn, Goldie, and Samson, it was easy for Adon to sort of imagine that everyone else disappeared when they weren¡¯t within his view. Clearly, that was not the case. Right. I¡¯m not actually that important. The sentiment was surprisingly comforting. Adon guessed that was because it was so familiar. In most of his past lives, he had been so lame that it had been impossible for him to believe that he was the ¡®main character¡¯ of his setting. It had been depressing in some ways, but it was also very low pressure. Really, this incarnation, in which he felt the fate of a nation might rest on his nonexistent shoulders, was an extreme anomaly. Adon took further stock while he and Rosslyn remained unnoticed, observing the body language a little more. He was pleasantly surprised to see that Frederick and Goldie seemed to be getting along well, despite the young lord¡¯s seeming prejudice against mystic beasts from when they first met him. Adon had less idea what to make of the interaction between William and Samson. They were too far away for the butterfly to hear what they were saying, but William¡¯s mannerisms gave him slightly conspiratorial vibes. Then again, that might just be because Adon was in a mood to be suspicious and hostile toward almost anything William might do. Adon flapped his wings differently to alter his flight path, trying to more or less hold in place in midair, and turned to Rosslyn to see how she was reacting to the group interactions. She gave him nothing, though. She did not slow down to keep pace with him or look in his general direction to see why he was decelerating. She didn¡¯t even seem to be perceptibly thinking, and the cloud of emotions around her had thinned out to almost nothing. Is this the telepathic equivalent of the silent treatment? Adon wondered. As he had that thought, the room finally seemed to take notice of the Princess and the butterfly. All eyes turned toward Rosslyn, whose presence as she strode into the center of the room seemed to fill the space. She looked like a woman on a mission. Sir Jaren was the closest, and he stepped up to meet her first. ¡°Your Highness, I was told that you wish to spar with Lord William, and you will need me to serve as the referee?¡± he said. Rosslyn nodded. ¡°Yes, thank you very much, Sir Jaren.¡± ¡°Would you like me to track points, or¡­?¡± ¡°We will continue until one of us gives up or is disarmed,¡± Rosslyn said firmly. ¡°Very well,¡± the man-at-arms said. He stepped back away from Rosslyn and raised his voice so that the entire room could hear him. ¡°This will be a one on one bout between Princess Rosslyn and Lord William, with the use of mana to enhance the body, weapons, and other equipment permitted. However, use of magic for any other purpose would likely wreck this room, so I request that both combatants refrain. The bout will continue until one fighter surrenders or is disarmed. Everyone else, please clear the fighting space.¡± He gestured toward a few chairs positioned to the side of the training floor. Frederick stooped low so that Goldie could step onto one of his arms. Then he came over with her and placed his hand on the ground near the spiderlings, and the tiny creatures crawled up his fingers onto the back of his hand. He carried them off to the side and set all the spiders with him down on the chair furthest to the left. William similarly served as a taxi for Samson, placing him on the same chair with his siblings and mother, but Adon¡¯s mind remained focused on what he had just seen Frederick do. It¡¯s just a few days ago that he was thinking of mystic beasts as ¡°strange monsters,¡± and ¡°embarrassing reminders of our primitive past,¡± Adon thought. The power and the curse of his Impeccable Memory was that he could remember exactly what he had seen and heard in the past if he tried to. What changed? Frederick took a seat beside the spiders and turned to look down at Goldie. He seemed happy to be sitting beside the arachnids who he had so disdained before. On an impulse, Adon activated Telepathy and pried into Frederick¡¯s thinking at that moment. I hope she is comfortable, Frederick thought. You had better put on a good show for us, brother. This did not answer any of Adon¡¯s questions except one. The regard that Frederick suddenly seemed to be demonstrating for the spiders might actually be real. Perhaps the young lord had used the last few days to research the history of mystic beasts and discovered an appreciation for them, with all the notable deeds they had apparently accomplished in the continent¡¯s history. There was some more movement from the others in the training area, and Adon automatically made himself flutter in the direction of the chairs. He needed to clear the fighting space too. Then Adon¡¯s attention shifted back to the center of the room, where William was walking up to Rosslyn. The butterfly did not need Telepathy to know what William was thinking. He wore a small but cocky smile that said, I¡¯m about to kick some ass. Or that was how Adon read the young lord¡¯s body language, anyway. And Adon still remembered what William had been thinking back when he last saw the young man, too. ¡°Even if she is still unsure of her feelings, she will at least respect my strength after this.¡± Even though Adon thought he knew the lay of the land, he kept Telepathy active. He still wanted to know where William¡¯s mind was. ¡°Princess Rosslyn, thank you for honoring me with this duel,¡± the young lord said, smiling and making eye contact with the Princess. On the surface, he seemed every inch the gallant gentleman. Inside, his train of thought was, This is the first big step toward wedding bells. Finally. An aura of smugness began to ooze out of him. If Adon was not already in a bad mood, the cloud of self-satisfied cockiness from William would have turned his mood in a negative direction. As things stood, it was all Adon could do to hold still and refrain from shooting spines at the young lord.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Doubtless, William would have just deflected them with his sword, and Adon would only have wound up making him look cool anyway. ¡°The honor is all mine, William,¡± Rosslyn replied formally. The pair stepped apart, drew swords from their sides¡ªAdon thought the blades were probably dulled, but he could not tell visually¡ªand simultaneously gave each other a little salute. They¡¯ve done this before, Adon realized. At some point. He felt an alienating sense of a shared history between the two. Of course there would be a shared history there. They were two members of the aristocracy, and Rosslyn had been open that she and William had known each other for years. Since childhood. Stop being insecure, Adon, he told himself. You already know she wasn¡¯t excited about this duel. She feels weird about it. Adon had completely set aside the question of whether he should feel as possessive of Rosslyn as his line of thinking seemed to suggest he was. Then he heard Rosslyn¡¯s thoughts. Give me your best shot, she thought. Her eyes bored into William¡¯s with an intensity Adon had only rarely seen from her. ¡°I will count down,¡± said Sir Jaren. Both Rosslyn and William nodded, but they did not take their eyes off each other. It was as if they were the only two people in the world. ¡°Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. You may begin!¡± Then the Princess and the Duke¡¯s son clashed, blades moving blindingly quickly. The first strike was a thrust by William that Rosslyn parried. When the weapons struck, the collision made such a reverberation that it made Adon¡¯s whole body tingle as the sound struck him. There was a great power there that Adon had never seen either of them use before. The next several minutes continued at that pace. Rosslyn went on the offensive this time, swinging and stabbing with her weapon at such speeds that it seemed to Adon to be in multiple places at once. He swore to himself that he could see the weapon chopping at William¡¯s legs and stabbing at the young lord¡¯s torso at the same moment. But that was Rosslyn¡¯s speed. William was clearly quick enough to keep up, however, and he gave as good as he got. After allowing Rosslyn to push him back several steps closer to the edge of the ring, he sidestepped an attack and threw such a heavy chop at her head that Adon could have sworn William was actually trying to cause injury rather than to secure the surrender. Rosslyn blocked the blow at the last moment with the hilt of her sword, but it was a very near thing. Then she was on the back foot, retreating away from the edge she had pushed William into. If Adon had imagined that the duelists¡¯ familiarity with each other would make either of them hesitate to fight at full power and speed, he would have been incorrect. For the most part, the butterfly could not even track their movements. He turned his head slightly so that Sir Jaren, standing just outside the ring of combat, was within his field of vision, and Adon immediately read from the man-at-arms¡¯ thoughts that he could not track their movements either. The Princess certainly has grown up splendidly, Sir Jaren thought. I already knew I had nothing left to teach her, but I have only seen her fight like this against that woman. I wonder if young William can measure up to her test¡­ The phrase ¡°that woman¡± came with a mental image, so Adon recognized that the other person who had driven Rosslyn to show her full power was not Sir Jaren or even one of Rosslyn¡¯s other knights, but apparently the slave who hated Rosslyn and her father so profoundly. I¡¯ll have to remember to ask more about her at some point¡­ Adon gave up on trying to track the specific movements in the fight for a while, and he instead focused on grasping the flow of battle and the moods of the two contestants. The duel mostly appeared to move in Rosslyn¡¯s direction. William spent far more time on the defensive than she did, even as the fight dragged on for close to an hour and sweat poured down both people¡¯s faces. However, the moods of the two fighters presented a different story. Rosslyn seemed to be fighting as if her life was at stake instead of her pride and a nebulous promise to consider William as a suitor. It was possible that she felt as if she was actually in combat. Adon could not sense any thoughts from her other than consideration of the next move she would make and, when she had a moment¡¯s breathing room, what William might do next. For William¡¯s part, he fought with equal vigor, but Adon read his mental state as slightly less committed. The young lord mostly kept his focus on the next step in the battle at hand, so it took some time for Adon to confirm his theory. But there was a pause, in a moment when Rosslyn stepped back, and Adon caught William thinking in that gap. Good, I am wearing her down. Rosslyn always did like to over-commit. She is not defending her blind spot as well now. In a few minutes, she should be worn down enough for me to strike there and take her out of the fight. With those thoughts came an image from William¡¯s mind. He was imagining getting onto the side of Rosslyn¡¯s body where she could not see due to her ruined eye, slashing at her arm¡ªand it appeared that in William¡¯s vision of the fight¡¯s ending, the attack might actually break her arm at the elbow. He wouldn¡¯t actually try to seriously hurt Rosslyn in this stupid duel, would he? Adon questioned silently. There¡¯s no way William is that desperate to win. He wants her to marry him¡­ As if in answer to Adon¡¯s question, William confirmed in his own mind: Yes, a beneficial injury. If she has a broken bone, she cannot enter the dungeon. She will remain safe here while I go and destroy the core¡­ Adon got the drift from digging a little deeper into William¡¯s unspoken motivations that the young lord thought Rosslyn would feel compelled to marry him if he ended up having to fight and win her battles for her. To do otherwise would be dishonorable and might discredit her in the eyes of her own people as well as the international community. Bastard, Adon thought silently. He managed to keep his body very still, so that no one around him noticed the journey he was experiencing mentally, but the butterfly¡¯s serene exterior hid a terrible tension within his psyche. I should have told Rosslyn what William thought of her weeks ago. Ugh! But it was too late now. Rosslyn and William continued fighting, and Adon watched helplessly as William implemented his strategy. As Rosslyn attacked, William dodged and shifted to the side, moving closer to being in her blind spot. She pivoted and placed him in the center of her field of vision again, before renewing the attack. William moved to the side again, and they repeated the dance. Adon noted that they were slowing down considerably now. After an hour of hard fighting, they still retained the strength to hurt each other and to block each other¡¯s blows, but the speed and grace was rapidly disappearing. As William sidestepped again and slipped into Rosslyn¡¯s blind side, Adon¡¯s entire body stiffened with tension. Rosslyn managed to dodge the next slash, a heavy blow aimed at her arm, but it seemed like a near miss to Adon. She staggered slightly after throwing her body to the side, a consequence of not knowing how far away to move because she could not see William at the moment he attacked. He¡¯s really just shamelessly taking advantage of her weakness¡­ Barely thinking about it, Adon began using Transformation. However, this time was far different from his Transformation in the bedroom earlier. This time, he was being much more subtle. The butterfly first turned his bottom pair of limbs invisible, then began extending them, stretching them out into long strings and reaching closer and closer to the fight. He didn¡¯t know quite what he intended to do, but he had semi-consciously decided that he did not want the fight to end with William winning. At least not by attacking from Rosslyn¡¯s blind spot over and over. It was basically cheating. With that on top of William¡¯s view of Rosslyn¡¯s role as a woman, Adon was ready to do a bit of cheating of his own. William slipped onto Rosslyn¡¯s blind side again and chose his moment to launch another blow, this one aimed for her side. He lunged¡ªand Adon¡¯s long spaghetti limbs struck. He imbued a tiny amount of mana into the ends of his legs, and one of them broke the surface of the floor just in front of William¡¯s left foot. The other limb slightly raised the piece of broken surface. William¡¯s foot struck the piece of broken floor, his balance shattered, and Rosslyn filled that gap in an instant. It was as if she¡¯d had some sense other than sight telling her exactly where William was. Her sword slipped into the gap between his arm and his body as William flailed for balance, and she slapped the flat of her blade against the knuckles of William¡¯s sword hand. The young lord yelped quietly¡ªclearly in surprise, more than in pain¡ªand the weapon flew from his hand. ¡°The spar is over!¡± Sir Jaren shouted instantly. 3-12. Sowing Doubts Adon¡¯s limbs snapped back to their normal positions in a second and then resumed their normal visibility. Meanwhile, Rosslyn and William froze in position for a moment as Sir Jaren called a halt to the bout. William¡¯s face was stuck in a shocked expression, and his posture remained noticeably off-balance, while Rosslyn still held her teeth in a sort of battle snarl. Then, with an almost simultaneous pair of exhales, they both seemed to relax. Rosslyn stepped back, and her bared teeth shifted to a small, slightly nervous smile. William stepped back, still apparently somewhat shell-shocked by the outcome of the battle. His hand shook slightly as he put it forward for Rosslyn to shake¡ªa handshake being the only way he could acknowledge her apparently superior performance in the fight, since he had been disarmed and could not salute. Rosslyn looked down at William¡¯s hand, apparently slightly surprised that he was reaching out to her, and her eyes widened. Adon sensed that she had looked past William¡¯s hand and seen the damage to the floor. The place where Adon had broken and slightly raised a chunk of flooring to trip William up. Adon, did you do this? Rosslyn¡¯s thought came out as a shocked whisper. Adon saw her swallow down a lump in her throat. A strange, uncomfortable look flashed across her face for a split second. Then she had shifted her weapon to her left hand, and she was shaking hands with William. Adon sensed that the motions were mechanical¡ªshe was almost as stunned as William, now that she had apparently noticed what Adon had done¡ªbut William seemed to be too caught up in his own emotions to notice anything in her reaction to the duel¡¯s sudden end. Rosslyn also had a fairly good poker face; Adon only knew what she was feeling because of his increasingly powerful Telepathy. Adon turned to face Frederick, still seated beside him, and began making conversation. So, Frederick, who all is coming into the dungeon with us? he sent. It was small talk, from Adon¡¯s perspective. William was apparently too out of it to notice the way Adon had sabotaged him, and Rosslyn had already seen but wouldn¡¯t say anything, at least not right now. Not without giving Adon a chance to explain why he had done what he¡¯d done. So, Frederick was the next natural person for the butterfly to worry about. Luckily, the younger brother was happy to talk. He began bragging about the quality of the ¡°Branden Guard,¡± an elite force of knights who had accompanied the Duke¡¯s sons across the country as they made their journey to Wayn. Adon dimly recalled that he had already heard this story over dinner when he first met the brothers, but having asked for it, he listened well enough to Frederick to be able to respond appropriately when the young lord paused for breath. In the edge of Adon¡¯s field of vision, he saw Sir Jaren had emerged from the edge of the fighting ring and moved into the center of the room. Adon was relieved to see that as Sir Jaren stepped up, he seemed to place his foot so as to block the damaged area of flooring from view. ¡°Congratulations to both combatants on an excellent bout,¡± Sir Jaren said, projecting his voice so that the whole room could hear him. ¡°A most excellent bout by Princess Rosslyn,¡± said William with a grudging, very forced looking smile. ¡°Um, thank you,¡± said Rosslyn, smiling back weakly. ¡°Yes, well, um, now that your, er, friendly duel is over, all parties intent on journeying with the knights into the dungeon this afternoon should probably perform any last minute preparations,¡± said Sir Jaren. ¡°Such as bathing. If anyone was interested in that. We will all be trapped underground together for an unknown length of time, and there will probably not be fresh water inside the dungeon besides drinking water.¡± He cleared his throat and looked back and forth between Rosslyn and William, both of whom glistened with thick sheens of sweat. ¡°Thank you, sir,¡± said William. ¡°I suppose I will take advantage of that opportunity.¡± ¡°I would ask that my young lord and any others be quick, if possible,¡± Sir Jaren added. ¡°The knights have all been prepared for departure for the last hour or so, and we are losing daylight.¡± ¡°Sir Jaren,¡± called Frederick, breaking off his chat with Adon suddenly, ¡°surely you know that there is no day or night inside a dungeon. You taught us so much when we were children, I thought you knew everything. Dungeons have no natural source of light besides the stones that make up the structure. So when we enter¡ª¡± ¡°Still matters,¡± interrupted Sir Jaren insistently. ¡°Time still flows. I think you and everyone else present is aware that regardless of what time of day it is right now, we are all laboring under the pressure of a slowly moving hourglass. Once the last grain of sand is gone from the top, we will have no more time.¡± Adon immediately gathered that this was the old-timey version of a ticking clock analogy. The party needed to get into the dungeon and back out as quickly as possible. The reason was obvious. The Demon Empire is coming. Right. Adon had already known about it, but the sense of urgency in Sir Jaren¡¯s tone sent a slight chill through him. ¡°We will moving quickly, Sir Jaren,¡± William said. He looked Rosslyn in the eyes. ¡°See you soon, Princess.¡± He walked toward Frederick, and Adon heard the first bit of loud, clearly perceptible thought from William that the butterfly had noticed since the duel ended. I tripped over my own feet, William thought. How did I do that? Frederick rose to meet his brother, and the two of them walked, arm in arm, out of the training room and back into the main part of the palace. They were chatting quietly about the fight as they walked, and Adon was probably the only one who could actually hear them besides each other, thanks to his powerful Telepathy. But he only listened to verify that they were not discussing the strange floor malfunction that the butterfly had caused, which seemed to go unmentioned. I might be in the clear now, Adon thought. Then Rosslyn took a step toward him. Or not. ¡°Adon, perhaps I could have¡ª¡± Rosslyn began. ¡°Uh, Princess,¡± Sir Jaren interrupted. She turned around and faced the man-at-arms again. Though her back was to Adon, her posture blared a signal of impatience. ¡°Yes, sir?¡± Rosslyn asked, her breathing and the energy around her conveying the same haste. Sir Jaren lowered his voice. ¡°You will go and quickly, um, bathe yourself, will you not, Your Highness?¡± He wrinkled his nose as if he could smell her¡ªand did not quite like the odor. Given how sweaty she was, Adon realized that Sir Jaren probably could smell her. And she probably did have kind of a funky aroma to the knight. It was only weird creatures like butterflies that found the smell of human sweat oddly pleasant. Or, at least, Adon had observed before that Rosslyn¡¯s sweat smelled good to him. ¡°Sir Jaren?¡± Rosslyn sounded surprised by his question. ¡°You were planning to go and bathe in this short window of time that we have, correct, Princess?¡± Sir Jaren repeated. ¡°We will be underground for an unknown length of time, as I said before. We will be trapped in close quarters with the young lords and their knights. I assume that Your Highness would not want to embarrass herself by being the only one to, um, smell of vigorous exercise from the moment we arrive there.¡±Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Rosslyn made a slight move of the arm, raising her elbow, then forced herself to be still. The body language would have been insignificant if Adon could not also read minds. The Princess had been about to raise her elbow and sniff her armpit, but then she had remembered that there were people around. Specifically, she had remembered the mystic beasts behind her back. ¡°That is¡ª¡± Rosslyn snorted quietly and then chuckled. ¡°That would be quite impertinent if anyone else said it, Sir Jaren. Anyone who did not have your many years of familiarity with me.¡± ¡°I am grateful not to be anyone else, then, Your Highness,¡± he replied, bowing his head slightly. ¡°Please do not repeat anything similar in front of the Duke¡¯s sons,¡± Rosslyn added. ¡°There was a reason I waited to bring it up until after they had gone,¡± Sir Jaren replied. The pair shared a laugh, and Adon felt some of the tension in the room deflate. Thank the Goddess for Sir Jaren, he thought. Then Rosslyn started to turn back around to face the arthropods. ¡°I will just take the mystic beasts back to their room¡ª¡± she began. ¡°Please, Your Highness, I can take care of them,¡± Sir Jaren said quickly. ¡°You have only limited time, and I have nothing to do. Are they coming along on the journey with us?¡± Rosslyn looked at the spiders and Adon directly for the first time since she began questioning whether Adon had caused William¡¯s slip in the duel. ¡°Well?¡± she asked. ¡°Would our distinguished guests like to make their way into the dungeon with us? It would be an opportunity to consume unique prey, but it is dangerous. I would discuss the matter at greater length, but I have been repeatedly reminded that I am in a rush¡ª¡± She shot a look at Sir Jaren¡ª¡°so I can only tell you what I have told you. Perhaps Sir Jaren will tell you more.¡± She looked at Adon specifically and added a quiet, silent addition. We will discuss what happened in the ring later, Rosslyn thought. Her expression was sober. Then the Princess strode out of the room. She managed to look regal, strong, and dignified even while tired and sweaty. Wearing armor really suits her, Adon thought. ¡°Adon, is it?¡± Sir Jaren asked as the door closed behind Rosslyn. Oh, um, yes, sir, Adon began formulating his thought, but he kept it from sending. He did not want to seem weak and ineffectual in front of Sir Jaren, who Rosslyn seemed to hold in high regard, and who would apparently be with them in the dungeon. That¡¯s me, Adon replied after a moment of gathering himself. ¡°Would you take a quick walk with me while I make certain that I have packed all of the equipment we need?¡± Sir Jaren pointed at another door in the room that Adon remembered Rosslyn had used to change before. Is there equipment in there? he questioned. Happy to accompany you, Adon sent, still trying to put on a front of confidence. He practically puffed his body out as he spoke. Goldie looked at him curiously from the seat beside him, but Adon did not turn to look at her, lest he start laughing at the slight absurdity of what he was doing and ruin the effect. Sir Jaren walked toward the room and opened the door, and Adon fluttered after him. What should we do with my little brothers and sisters? he heard Samson ask before Adon moved through the door and into the changing area. Then Sir Jaren had closed the door behind him. Adon took in the whole, small room at a glance. It was just a medieval version of a locker room. There were sinks with faucets, from which presumably water flowed. Candles provided lighting. The walls were lined with storage lockers for equipment. But Sir Jaren did not move toward any of the equipment. Instead, he turned where he stood, placed his back to the door, and faced Adon. Instantly, the butterfly¡¯s guard went up. He was trapped in a small room with the knight who had trained Rosslyn through her entire childhood and sparred with her into the present day. If Sir Jaren wanted to do violence to Adon, the man-at-arms would not be a pushover. But then Adon took a moment to feel out the haze of emotion surrounding Sir Jaren. The result of his analysis relaxed him instantly. The cloud of feeling around Sir Jaren was less familiar to Adon than some of the other emotions he had already tasted, but it had a pleasant, sweet feeling. Gratitude? ¡°You are some sort of guardian spirit for the Kingdom, correct?¡± Sir Jaren said, staring Adon in the eyes. ¡°You periodically reincarnate to protect Claustria from foreign threats and protect the Royal Family.¡± The truth is something like that, yes, Adon managed. He was still wrestling with whether his Telepathy could truly be accurate in interpreting this cloud of emotions. Gratitude? Really? he questioned. What for? ¡°So, you must have had some reason¡­¡± Sir Jaren allowed his voice to trail off, giving Adon an opening to explain himself. Adon was afraid that any semi-honest explanation he could give would sound self-serving. I try to have reasons for the things I do, he sent after a moment. The vague phrasing sounded feeble even to his ears, so he braced himself for some harsh condemnation. But Sir Jaren only nodded. ¡°I assumed you would have the best interests of the Royal Family at heart, noble creature,¡± he said. How did you know? Adon asked. About the, um¡­ He chickened out of finishing the sentence. It felt too much like giving a confession to the police. ¡°About your interference?¡± Sir Jaren asked. He chuckled. Yes, Adon replied. ¡°This little facility is my responsibility,¡± the knight replied, pointing a thumb back at the other room. ¡°It has been for almost half of my life. I train the local knights and the Royal Family here. And I also supervise maintenance. As you can imagine, I watched that last duel closely. During the spar, at the very end, I saw something that I could not explain to myself. A chunk of the floor between Princess Rosslyn and Lord William broke and then shifted its position. It caught my eye, because other than the piece of flooring, only the two people I was watching were moving in the whole room.¡± That was enough to know that it was me? Adon sent. Sir Jaren shrugged. ¡°Who else could it be? I considered for a moment whether the Princess or Lord William might have broken the rules and used magic, but I had been watching them closely, and neither of them knows a school of magic to hide the use of mana. Breaking the rules would be out of character for Rosslyn¡ªand yes, probably for William too, though I had not seen him in years until recently. Even if I had not seen the floor break, dueling does not normally damage it so severely. The last time we had to make an actual repair¡ª¡± He began to quietly laugh. ¡°William was there for that, too, actually.¡± That¡¯s not good, Adon thought. That increases the odds that William figures out that I sabotaged him, if he knows how durable the floor apparently is¡­ The knight continued speaking, a nostalgic haze leaking out all around him. ¡°When Princess Rosslyn and Lord William were this high¡ª¡± He gestured with an open hand to indicate roughly four feet tall¡ª¡°I taught them both their first real bits of swordsmanship. The day they first started working mana into the routine, that little brat¡ªI mean the young lord, not the Princess¡ªtried to carve his initials into the floor. That involved mana too. The floor here is otherwise fairly tough.¡± I see, Adon sent. He almost sent the same words a second time, because he couldn¡¯t think of more to say. But then he figured he might as well ask the burning question on his mind. Will the Princess be angry about this, do you think? Adon transmitted. He knew as soon as he sent it that he was blowing any cover he might have maintained as an aloof, above-it-all mystical beast, a creature who worked in mysterious ways to accomplish the Goddess¡¯s ends and safeguard the Kingdom. ¡°Well, she is certainly not going to thank you for what you did in there,¡± Sir Jaren replied after a moment. ¡°Her life was not at risk, and you spoiled her bout. She may give you a hard time about it, and with good reason. A royal is taught that their word is their bond, and she will have probably lied less than a hundred times in her entire life. The fact that the duel ended in the way it did impugns her honor. You know that?¡± I had suspected as much, Adon replied glumly. ¡°Our Princess is a fierce, proud chil¡ªyoung woman,¡± Sir Jaren corrected himself mid sentence. ¡°You probably know well enough what she is like. She has always been quite a personality. High spirited but obedient to her father and stepmother. Reverent toward the Goddess but much less concerned with social norms than an average person of her social rank. She makes a lot of humble people feel important and forces important people to be humble. She is a very special young lady.¡± He shook his head and smiled wistfully. ¡°I wish I could have seen her lead during normal times.¡± Sir Jaren¡¯s eyes took on a faraway look, and he seemed to age slightly before Adon¡¯s eyes. It was just the wrinkling of a middle-aged man¡¯s brow, but the effect was transformative. ¡°It feels as if she came in so damned near the end of something¡­¡± Adon found himself replying without having even consciously willed himself to. Something within the butterfly responded to the knight¡¯s feelings. You will see that, Adon sent. She will lead the Kingdom during more normal times than this. Fight for that, and it will happen. 3-13. Cutting Away Loose Ends As Adon finished speaking, Sir Jaren stared down at him, and the two held each other¡¯s gaze for a pregnant moment. Who are you, truly? Adon heard the knight thinking. What is your purpose here? ¡°You are not like the mystic beasts I always imagined,¡± Sir Jaren said at long last. Adon felt the prickling of a slight nervousness again. Oh? How so? he transmitted, affecting disinterest as best he could. ¡°I suppose I expected a certain haughtiness,¡± Sir Jaren said. ¡°But you are really more¡­¡± He hesitated, and Adon heard what the knight was thinking: More like Rosslyn or the young lords. Unexpectedly young. Gentle. Perhaps too gentle and soft for your own good¡ªor that of the Kingdom. ¡°Humble,¡± Sir Jaren finished aloud. ¡°Humbler than I would have expected.¡± Oh, thank you, Adon replied, trying not to sound sarcastic. He knew that Sir Jaren was trying to be nice, but being a mind-reader was kind of an obstacle to that in moments like this. He¡¯s really pretty diplomatic, actually, Adon thought. I could learn from him. He¡¯s probably the reason I¡¯m not getting grilled by Rosslyn about what happened right now. ¡°Hmm.¡± Sir Jaren frowned and nodded. ¡°We should go now and actually prepare to depart. The Princess and the young lords will undoubtedly rush to the stables. The knights are all ahorse by now.¡± That sounds fine to me, Adon replied. He might try to pick Sir Jaren¡¯s brain for socialization tips later, but if he did, it would be after thinking of a clever way to do it that would not make the butterfly sound like he had been a complete social outcast in all his previous lives. Sir Jaren opened the door, and the two returned to the area where the others were waiting. ¡°You are all going to the dungeon with us?¡± he asked. Not the little ones, Adon sent back immediately. Then the man-at-arms called for servants to transport the younger arthropods back to the room. While they waited, Adon, Goldie, and Samson said their farewells to the younger spiderlings. Samson offered to stay behind with them, which surprised Adon. But the little ones said that they had figured things out for themselves. We know how to catch prey now, thought little Orion in response to a telepathic question. And how to work together, added Phoebe. We are well adapted, thought Diagon. Adon found it strange that they all seemed to speak in a uniform and almost monotone inner voice, but he was also pleased that they could communicate at all, considering that he had never managed to teach Red that trick. Goldie seemed to have the most difficulty parting, understandably. She gave the little spiders an emotional promise to return, but from Adon¡¯s point of view, they simply did not seem that worried. We will see you soon, mother, thought Orion, who Adon guessed was the de facto leader when Samson was absent. Have a safe journey, the others thought, in a creepy near unison. Then the servant came to carry the spiderlings to their room. After they were taken away, things moved quickly. Adon expanded into the transportation mode butterfly form he had used during his recent travel with the two spiders, they climbed onto his back, and the trio accompanied Sir Jaren as he walked out to the stables. Just beyond there, dozens of knights sat on horseback, chatting amiably among themselves. Most of them wore the spider insignia of Dessia, rather than the butterfly sigil of Claustria, demonstrating how the Dessians were contributing disproportionately to this venture. Adon felt a twinge of guilt at ruining Rosslyn and William¡¯s duel, as he saw them. Then he realized that William and Frederick were there too, though they held themselves somewhat aloof from the men, talking among themselves. I guess we took longer saying our farewells than I thought, Adon surmised. Where is Rosslyn? ¡ª Rosslyn bathed quickly and efficiently, barely noticing as the roughness of her hands wielding the towel left red streaks on her pale skin. Her mind was still in the training room. Adon actually did that, she decided. Why? He must have had a good reason¡­ No, what reason could justify interfering that way? It was unlikely that Adon understood the potential consequences of what he had done, but he had to have known he was taking some kind of risk. Rosslyn shook her head. It does not matter right now. What was important was to perform her final preparations before she left for the dungeon. The mystic beasts were coming with them, after all. She would have time to discuss this matter with Adon, when she chose to do so. Her mind began running through her other urgent tasks. She had already given instructions for what was to be done in the event that the city was to come under attack before she returned. She had paid a last visit to her comatose father and prayed for him in the chapel. Now she dressed herself in a fresh layer of light, breathable clothing and donned her armor again. She did this alone, as she did not want a servant to help dress her anymore. Perhaps she would feel that way for the rest of her life. I never needed help to do this anyway, Rosslyn thought irritably. It is a simple enough task. She shook herself again. Do not let her get to you¡­ That would be the last piece of business she dealt with. For the moment, she armed herself with a real sword, and she walked down the hallway to the quarters that belonged to her father, stepmother, and half-siblings.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. As Rosslyn reached the main room, the knight who stood at their chamber door saluted and silently opened it for the Princess. ¡°Thank you,¡± she said quietly. Then she entered, and she was immediately set upon by a small gang of short humans. Baltazar, Oliva, Cormac, and Ailsa all swarmed around Rosslyn, chattering. ¡°Why are you all dressed up in armor?¡± ¡°Are you going somewhere?¡± ¡°How is father doing?¡± ¡°Did you find the traitor?¡± Rosslyn fixed her eyes on Baltazar with sudden intensity, and she quickly grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him over to a corner of the room. She gave the other children a look that told them to stay put, and they obeyed, suddenly silent. ¡°Who told you about that?¡± she hissed once she and Baltazar were apart from the rest. No one was supposed to have heard about the fact that the palace had been infiltrated, except on a need-to-know basis. Every bit of information leakage made them less secure, and now that Rosslyn was responsible for the Kingdom¡¯s security, she was trying to keep a tight rein on what she let slip. A child should not have heard about this. Baltazar¡¯s face fell, and he looked down. ¡°I was not supposed to tell,¡± he muttered. ¡°Baltazar, please,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°You have to tell me who told you about the traitor.¡± ¡°It was Sir Franz,¡± Baltazar whispered. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°It was my fault, though, Ros,¡± Baltazar said, voice pleading. ¡°I made him tell me what was going on. Of course I would notice people marching up and down the halls late at night¡­¡± ¡°He will not be in any trouble. I just have to carefully impress upon him how secret this matter is. And you cannot repeat this to anyone either!¡± ¡°I will not,¡± he said, raising his left hand beside his head as if taking an oath. ¡°Still, he should know better. I am amazed that Sir Franz would allow you to talk him into sharing that information.¡± ¡°I may have pressured him a bit.¡± Baltazar swallowed down a visible lump in his throat and looked at his feet. Rosslyn read between the lines and decided that she did not need to know the details, at least for now. They would only annoy her and shame her brother, when she had come to say goodbye, intending to leave on a happy note. If I do not return alive, Baltazar takes the throne, she thought. This boy¡­ She shook her head. Do not be uncharitable toward your brother. He has good character, but he is yet unformed. Rosslyn pulled her brother in close and gave him a short, tight hug. ¡°I am not upset with you,¡± she said. ¡°Use your own conscience and judgment, and decide whether you are upset with yourself. If you feel badly, it is all right to apologize to Sir Franz.¡± But as she pulled away, Rosslyn could not help but think that, all in all, her brother was not ready if he was suddenly forced to assume the throne. He was not raised for this. He would be blown this way and that by whoever spoke to him last¡­ The Princess spent the next several minutes saying her farewells to her brothers and sisters, and she tried to make them fond ones. Then she hugged her stepmother. Rosslyn could feel Carolien¡¯s slight limp as they embraced. It reminded her of all that they had already been through together. ¡°Stay safe,¡± Carolien whispered in Rosslyn¡¯s ear. ¡°Take care,¡± Rosslyn whispered back. Of yourself, of the children, of the palace, of the city, of the country, of everything¡­ After what might have been her last encounter with her family, Rosslyn took a few minutes to give Sir Franz a piece of her mind, trying to be stern without being threatening. Then she walked down long and winding paths until she made her way into the cool, damp air of the holding area beneath the palace. She continued down dark stone hallways until she found herself in front of what might have been the darkest, most isolated cell in the building. A woman was half-crouched inside the cell, her chains to the wall of such a length that they prevented her from fully relaxing. Both fresh and dried blood stained her face and the rags that her clothing had been reduced to in recent days. Everywhere the clothing was torn, Rosslyn could see fresh or recently healed cuts and purple and black, badly bruised flesh. Despite the prisoner¡¯s dismal condition, she was still capable of lifting her head and looking at the Princess, as Rosslyn came to meet her. ¡°Hello Celeste,¡± Rosslyn said, her voice as neutral as she could make it. The Princess had hoped that she would feel some measure of satisfaction at knowing that her secret enemy had been suitably punished. Instead, she felt a revolting rush of sympathy. Rosslyn and her maid had shared so much, over so many years, that seeing Celeste in such a condition was almost as painful for Rosslyn as being tortured herself would have been. But she forced herself to keep her eyes steely. A dark part of the Princess was certain that if Celeste saw Rosslyn in pain, it would bring the assassin some satisfaction. Rosslyn did not want to understand this way of thinking, but she thought she did. ¡°Hello Princess,¡± Celeste said in a flat, slightly pained tone. ¡°Have you come to have your go at me?¡± She raised a manacled leg and shook it in Rosslyn¡¯s direction. ¡°See, here¡¯s a spot they have not cut me yet. Your sword would fit in nicely between the shinbone and the muscle beneath, would it not? I was never instructed in torture, but I have knocked my shinbone before, and I remember it was painful enough without a sharp implement.¡± Despite herself, the corner of Rosslyn¡¯s lip twitched, and Celeste saw it. ¡°You should not restrain yourself from laughing and smiling on my account, Princess,¡± Celeste said. ¡°I am your prisoner. Have your fun with me. Your interrogators have already done their worst.¡± ¡°No worse than you deserved,¡± Rosslyn replied sharply. Celeste fell silent for a moment. Then she said, ¡°What I did¡ªtried to do¡ªto your family was truly a mercy by comparison to what the Empire would do.¡± ¡°You have a strange idea of mercy,¡± Rosslyn replied. ¡°Slow poisoning, while you watched my father wither away.¡± The former maid at least had the decency to look away. ¡°I heard that you kept your silence under interrogation,¡± Rosslyn added. ¡°I told them things,¡± Celeste said. ¡°Perhaps not all they wanted to hear, but all I knew. And they will come back in the morning, no doubt, and extract more information that I do not have.¡± Her voice was bitter but resigned. Against her will, Rosslyn found herself admiring the pluck of this woman who had almost shattered her family. ¡°You wanted to offer my family mercy, you said,¡± Rosslyn said. Celeste looked at her with a raised eyebrow and then nodded. ¡°Then mercy is what is called for, in your case, too,¡± Rosslyn continued. ¡°Lean your head as far forward as you can.¡± The assassin¡¯s eyes widened as she realized what Rosslyn was saying. As the Princess began channeling mana into her sword, Celeste quickly used her shackled hands to grab at the ragged remains of her once proud mane of hair, and she pulled it away to better expose her neck. Divine Sword, Sixth Form, Edge of Light. Celeste opened her mouth to speak. ¡°Thank¡ª¡± The blade severed her head from her neck in a single, smooth motion. It took a moment before blood gushed forth from the stump, but when it did, it splattered Rosslyn¡¯s face and her sword. The Princess simply had not thought to move away. Her eyes were still staring down at Celeste¡¯s face, the dead eyes staring up at the Princess from the ground. This was the first person Rosslyn had ever killed who she had known beforehand. She looks grateful. In the end, it truly was a mercy. Did she deserve mercy from me? Should I have just left her here to rot? Rosslyn recalled Matilda¡¯s criticism of her for weakness. Maybe I am too soft, too weak to lead. But Rosslyn at least knew that she had done what she thought was right. Justice had been served¡ªand by her own hand. She walked away, bloody blade still bare in her hand, feet mechanically taking her to the stables. ¡ª As Adon and the others watched, Rosslyn emerged from the stables on horseback. She held a rag with which she was wiping something off of her sword. Adon noticed the reddish tinge on the cloth at almost the same instant that she sheathed her blade. Then Rosslyn handed the rag to a waiting stable attendant, and she rode toward the waiting knights and mystic beasts. Adon could not be certain, but as she approached, he thought there was a melancholy cast to the Princess¡¯s face. Perhaps it was just his imagination. 3-14. Dungeon, Here We Come The first quarter of an hour of the journey to the dungeon was quiet. The party of knights and the rulers¡¯ heirs who led them marched slowly through the city in a tight formation, with the outer shell made up mostly of Dessians and the inner circle largely composed of Claustrians. It took them five minutes just to get out of the palace compound. Adon rode, along with the other arthropods, positioned at the center of the procession, sitting in a special container like a large, square bowl that had been prepared for them. The vessel was strapped to a knight¡¯s horse directly between the knight and the horse¡¯s neck. As they left the palace property, Adon recognized that things had been a little too quiet. I was expecting to get an earful in my mind from Rosslyn at the outset of this thing, he thought. There was no obstacle to Rosslyn communicating with Adon by simply thinking aggressively at him. He would hear it, and no one else would. But the Princess sat in her saddle, seemingly oblivious to all the arthropods¡¯ presence, talking periodically to either the young lords or her own knights. After ten minutes of Rosslyn never once looking in the arthropods¡¯ direction, Adon developed a suspicion that she was carefully ignoring them, waiting to talk to him in particular until the moment was right to bring up his behavior earlier. That was all right with him. It took a little pressure off of him for now and allowed him to just experience the moment. He chatted with Goldie at first, mostly about what they hoped and expected out of the dungeon¡ªneither Adon, Samson, nor Goldie really had any idea what awaited them. Though Adon acknowledged that among his previous lives, he had lived in a dungeon at least once, he had no idea if that world¡¯s dungeons were similar to those of this world. Then Adon, observing the way the city felt much larger at ground level than it had been when he had flown high in the sky above it, traveling in and out, excused himself. He wanted to see more of the surroundings, and he could best do that from a slightly loftier height than the back of a horse, surrounded by knights on their horses. He offered to take Samson or Goldie with him, but they declined. So, the butterfly took off on his own, floating up into the air just above everyone else, until he could get a better look at things like the colorful rooftops and the quaint outfits. Many of the women were wearing dresses that would have reminded Adon of a dirndl if he was familiar with Alpine cultures from planet Earth. There were beautiful parks and green spaces, and Adon could smell the scent of a plant much like coffee being made into beverages as he flew past a long stream of smoke coming out of a chimney. It reminded Adon of what the Princess and her allies were actually fighting for. These real people were living their lives here, every day, under threat from an empire that loved to despoil cultures different from themselves. As the procession marched through the streets, Adon turned himself invisible and then flew down closer to the formation once again. Hovering just above the knights¡¯ heads, he got to witness the people¡¯s probable reactions to the Dessians¡¯ military presence¡ªand to the prospect of a possible Claustrian-Dessian union. The murmuring that he heard was a combination of verbal and telepathic, but it was easier for Adon to tune out the verbal entirely and focus on the mental content. Much of the spoken words were innocuous, anyway, as reasonably intelligent peasants and shopkeepers did not want to say anything that might be construed as offensive by the heavily armed and armored men marching through the streets. That is the Dessian coat of arms those knights are wearing. What are they doing here? Oh, I remember the Dessians arrived weeks ago. Are they leaving now? Wait, is the Princess going with them? What is going on? This is a bit scary. Why are there so many armed men in the streets? Is the Empire coming? Is this a wedding party we are witnessing? People¡¯s responses to the sight of the Dessians among the Claustrians were telling to Adon. They had a general apprehension, more than a feeling of security, at the Dessians¡¯ presence. Most people only felt reassured when they saw the Claustrian knights interspersed alongside them. This was despite the fact that the two countries seemed to be nominally allies¡ªor at least seemed to have rulers who were friendly to each other. The people¡¯s murmuring seemed to bother the Princess a bit. At an order from Rosslyn, a crier began moving back and forth, in front of the body of knights and then behind, loudly announcing what their sacred mission was. ¡°Hear ye, gathered subjects of Claustria! The assembled knights have gathered here to bravely embark on an expedition to quell a nearby dungeon, under the supervision of yon fair Princess¡­¡± This seemed to be the formal language of the time, which no royals actually used, but which the common people expected from their rulers. The general sentiment of the crowd calmed down. Are the Princess and the Duke¡¯s son getting married? Is that why the Dessian knights are joining her expedition? I suppose that will make us safer¡­ There is the Princess. I suppose it is not an occupation, then. Are the Dessians helping us? What is in it for them¡­? Probing some members of the crowd more deeply for background information, Adon gathered that at some point in the past, there might have been a war with Dessia, but that had been outside of living memory.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Actually, the Claustrians are quite a warlike people, he thought, based on the associated thoughts he had gathered with his telepathic net. They don¡¯t really have neighbors they haven¡¯t tried to invade, besides the Empire. Most of those neighbors have tried the same back, of course¡­ Medieval politics was certainly messy. Adon settled back into the vessel that had been brought to contain the mystic beasts, and he turned himself visible once more. See anything interesting? Goldie sent. No, just the city, Adon replied. The colors are pretty, though. Do either of you want a ride? You could see them for yourself. That is all right, but thank you, Goldie sent. Sammy? Do you want to take Adon up on his offer? Samson shook his head. I enjoy listening to the knights talking back and forth. I¡¯m getting a lot of interesting opinions about Dessia. I was enjoying that as well, Goldie transmitted. It feels as if this is the first I have heard of a place outside of this country, except for the evil Empire that wants us all dead. Adon thought for a moment about how to change the subject from that rather dark topic. He finally decided on raising something he had wondered about earlier. I was surprised when you offered to stay behind, Adon sent, primarily aiming the remark at Samson, though it transmitted to both spiders. Samson simply sat thoughtfully for a moment. Adon could hear his brother thinking in his own head, What did Adon expect me to do? Leave my siblings completely unprotected? I mean, we did all end up leaving, but it¡¯s only natural that I would offer. Was I that inconsiderate as a brother? But Samson¡¯s reply was more considered and less reactive than his knee jerk internal response. I thought about what the right thing to do for my family was, he sent, employing a less defensive tone than in his inner monologue. Then I offered to do it. The fact that it wasn¡¯t necessary is great for me, but I¡¯m also glad I offered. And Adon, bro, just try to let me know if you need something from me too. I¡¯m trying to be more considerate. All right? Yeah, Samson, I get it, Adon transmitted. You¡¯re not a bad brother or something. I just meant, I knew you were really looking forward to this trip. I know you want to get stronger more than almost anything. You¡¯re not wrong, Samson replied. I know I¡¯ll still be way behind you when we come out of the dungeon, but if I can catch up a little bit, maybe I can be of some use in this war. Then, who knows? Maybe they¡¯ll put up statues and carvings of spiders in the streets, not just butterflies. As Samson¡¯s reply reached Adon¡¯s brain, the spider pointed with his left forelimb, and Adon saw one of the external gates of the city fast drawing closer. It looked like that was where their party was headed. The surface of each massive side of the gate was embossed with a giant, golden butterfly sigil. Adon felt a strange mixture of pride and embarrassment. That¡¯s right, that¡¯s me, basically, he thought to himself. I wonder, if the crowd had seen me with everyone, if I hadn¡¯t been hiding invisibly, how would they have reacted to that? A massive butterfly like me probably hasn¡¯t been seen in centuries, considering the history as I sort of vaguely understand it. So, it would be pretty much a guarantee that I was a mystic butterfly, without me even having to say anything. At the very least, it would be obvious that there was some kind of divine favor for Rosslyn¡¯s mission¡­ Adon looked around and quickly realized that much of the crowd was still there, following the party of knights through the streets. I¡¯ll be right back, he sent to Samson. He turned invisible and then took off, allowing his body to remain at its normal size and shape. He floated around a corner, into a dark alley where no one could see him. Then he turned visible again, flew up above the entire party, and began changing his wing coloration, first from crystal clear to a brilliant aquamarine, then to hot pink, then purple, then red, then indigo, and on through the spectrum of colors. The display drew the crowd¡¯s attention. More eyes turned to the rainbow of light glimmering and whirling through the sky. People began oohing and ahhing, then hooting and hollering, and finally the low rumble of the crowd erupted into cheers. At the onset of those cheers, Adon fluttered down and landed on Rosslyn¡¯s shoulder, where he continued rapidly cycling through colors to the crowd¡¯s wild approval. The people cried out phrases like, ¡°savior,¡± ¡°in our darkest hour,¡± ¡°Goddess¡¯s chosen,¡± and ¡°we are saved¡­¡± It was rather moving for Adon, who could feel in the mood of the crowd that these sentiments were genuine¡ªthat he had somehow shifted the mood of the people who had seen him from cautiously optimistic at best to jubilant and renewed, full of life and ready to face what could come next. They no longer doubted what the Dessians and the Princess were doing. Faith had taken its place. Adon knew that the people¡¯s feelings could shift at any moment, but he had the sense, for now at least, that he had made a difference. The rest of the city would hear about this incident. Before the day was out, rumors of the Empire¡¯s coming attack, which seemed to have seeped into the crowd¡¯s awareness to some degree, would be at least partially displaced by rumors that a supernatural force was on their side. The Goddess¡ªand a mystic butterfly that she had sent. The procession marched on, and as they reached the city gates and waited for them to open, people all around began picking and throwing flowers at the knights¡¯ feet. The moment felt more like a parade, all of a sudden, than a life or death mission. That was¡­ Rosslyn thought quietly. That was very special, Adon. I did not expect it. But you showed good instincts here. People are worried. They hear rumblings of what is going on, and they see their Princess leaving the capital. Many of them do not know what to think, regardless of what I announce. But they see our national symbol, and many of them believe the old stories. And with you landing on my shoulder, they know in their hearts that I am not abandoning them. They begin to believe that I will return triumphant. They see you, and they feel a sense of hope. Thank you for easing my burden a bit. There is still a conversation that we need to have later, but I appreciate you. And so do my people. Adon did not know what to say back, so he kept silent and let Rosslyn interpret that in her own way. The gargantuan gates slowly opened before them, swinging inwards on massive hinges that were as tall as the length of Adon¡¯s wingspan. Then the party of knights, nobles, mystic beasts, and one princess marched forward, toward the entrance of the dungeon that threatened the city, into the thick of the closest danger. Still remaining in his place as they moved through the gate, Adon felt at peace, as if perhaps this was what he was meant to be doing all along. 3-15. Through the Crownlands The route to the dungeon took them out of the city and into a valley. Initially, once they had passed through the gate, Adon fluttered his wings, ready to take off and leave Rosslyn to herself for a little while. But he felt a gentle hand on his back, and Rosslyn shook her head slightly. You should stay, she thought, clearly intending for him to read her mind. I would enjoy your reaction to the scenery you are about to see. As the party moved further into the valley, a beautiful vista unfolded before Adon. The view consisted of lush, green countryside, thick forest, rolling mountains and hills lining the countryside, and a wide river that ran the length of the valley. Does that river run through the city? Adon thought. But the river wound around a hill before it would have made it to the city walls. It was possible that it joined the city in a different part of the fortifications than the party had exited from, and Adon was mildly tempted to go and look to see, but he did not want to leave. The view from Rosslyn¡¯s side was good enough. After only a couple of minutes, he felt ready to give his verdict on the setting. This place is beautiful, Adon sent. ¡°These are your crownlands, correct, Princess?¡± William asked, pulling up alongside Adon and the Princess on his horse. Oh, this is your land specifically? Adon sent to Rosslyn only. She turned to Adon and smiled. ¡°These lands have been in the crown¡¯s hands for over a thousand years,¡± she said. ¡°We are very proud of them.¡± She turned to the young lord and added, ¡°William probably remembers them from his previous visits.¡± ¡°Oh, was Adon surprised that I knew that?¡± William asked in a gentle but slightly superior tone. He looked toward the butterfly. ¡°The Princess and I first met as young children, after all. You should expect we would know each other very well¡ªincluding each other¡¯s territories.¡± If Adon had facial expressions to give away his feelings, he would not have been able to conceal a twinge of annoyance at that. But Rosslyn did not seem to have any reaction, so Adon guessed this was probably how William usually expressed himself. ¡°Look, old Sarsen¡¯s vineyard!¡± William pointed ahead of them, and Adon saw the beginnings of high iron fences emerging from out of a hillside. He could just make out the distant greens and purples of grapes growing on trellised vines beyond the fences. ¡°Well done remembering his name,¡± Rosslyn said, sounding pleasantly surprised. ¡°His son runs the place now.¡± She turned back to Adon and added, proudly, ¡°Most of this valley is given to viticulture. The land is very rich, and it produces some of the best wine on the continent.¡± ¡°Probably the same stuff you have been drinking every day since you emerged from your chrysalis, eh, my good insect?¡± William added, winking. Unfortunate that human food is unsuitable for mystic beasts, the young lord thought, with what Adon read as faux pity. But at least they can enjoy the finest vintages. Does he know I can hear his thoughts whenever I want? Adon wondered. ¡°We had some fun times there,¡± Rosslyn said. Adon saw that her mind was suddenly filled with recollections of games of hide and seek in and among various vineyards that dotted these hills. ¡°Since the land is so beautiful, and it has been in the Royal Family¡¯s hands for as far back as anyone can remember, I imagine this is where you entertained many of your guests in the past,¡± William said. ¡°But I am glad you remember our little adventures fondly.¡± Rosslyn simply nodded. ¡°Had you seen this area before, Adon?¡± William asked. The butterfly could not tell if the words were intended as a dig. As in, Rosslyn and I have many shared memories together, while you have never even seen her land outside the city. A part of him thought that they were, because this was not the first such ambiguous remark William had made. Was William attempting to put him in his place with these little jibes? If so, was it because the lordling had figured out that Adon had rigged the final moments of the duel with Rosslyn? Or for some other reason? Most importantly, were the young lord and the butterfly going to have problems, once they were away from the outside world in that dungeon? Do not worry, Adon heard Rosslyn think. If you are imagining that William might know what happened, he does not. Our friend lacks the deceitful instinct that would motivate him to hide that knowledge. He has always been very straightforward. Adon wondered to himself if Rosslyn really knew William as well as she believed she did. He thought he understood the Princess well enough that he could say she would have rejected the suit from the Duke¡¯s son if she knew that he thought of her as basically a broodmare¡ªand a key to William¡¯s own power¡ªrather than respecting her as a fellow leader. Rosslyn cared first and foremost about her country, but she was also extremely proud and confident in her own competence. Would she really be willing to be displaced as head of her own land? We had not visited the area before, Adon transmitted. The Princess has spent so much time trying to hone my magical skills and sharing her language and culture with me and my friends that we have scarcely left the palace. This was Adon¡¯s best, most calculated response to William¡¯s question. He was no master wordsmith, but he hoped it would send the message that he intended. That he had some significant shared memories with the Princess now, too. It should not bother William unless he had intended his question and his previous words as subtle digs at the butterfly. William smiled at Adon¡¯s response, but Adon could not help noticing that the young lord¡¯s expression did not reach his eyes, which looked coldly down at the arthropod on Rosslyn¡¯s shoulder. Little worm, William thought quietly. Just because he grew wings, he thinks he is more than that. A fit companion for royalty¡­ ¡°Do you think I have a moment to re-familiarize myself with the terrain, Princess?¡± William asked. ¡°When I was a boy, I never appreciated the quality of that beautiful black soil. Now that I am a full grown man, I have often wondered about the terroir here. What conditions give rise to such marvelous vintages of red wine?¡± Rosslyn looked up to gauge the position of the sun and frowned. ¡°It may increase the hazard slightly, but you know how little time of day matters in entering a dungeon. Please try to keep it to a reasonable delay, though.¡± William nodded and quickly shouted a halt for the whole force. Adon could not help but notice, slightly nervously, that the entire party listened to the young lord instantly and implicitly. The butterfly waited to speak up again until William had dismounted from his horse and walked a short distance away. The young lord crouched in the soil, felt the dirt with his fingers, and stuck his nose in it like a hound trying to get a scent. One day, I will manage these lands, Adon heard William thinking. In the name of our descendants. When I do, how do I best increase the yields of these vineyards? I cannot change the old ways too much, but¡­This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. There was a lot of business-like thought in William¡¯s mind, which Adon was ill-equipped to understand. Even if the butterfly had slowly come to dislike the lordling, he had to admit that William¡¯s education and study in matters of ruling was impressive, at least. Maybe that was what Rosslyn saw in him. With the young lord occupied, Adon checked in with the Princess. Are you certain he does not know? Adon sent to Rosslyn only. The whole group seems pretty content to follow his lead; they heard him give the command to stop, not you. If he¡¯s basically as much in charge of this expedition as you are, and he¡¯s quietly holding a grudge against me, the rest of this journey could be rough. William could inflict a little reign of terroir. Rosslyn snorted, then giggled¡ªactually giggled, for almost a full minute, until she had to contain herself, because a few heads had turned. ¡°Adon, that is by far the very worst pun I have ever heard,¡± Rosslyn said, still visibly amused. She lowered her voice. ¡°You do not need to worry about this. If William had a problem with you, you would know it by now. He would not make the mistake of taking a personal grudge into a potentially deadly dungeon with him.¡± She added, inside her mind, We do not have to discuss this now, unless you want to get it out of the way. I can¡¯t see how waiting benefits me, Adon replied. At least now I¡¯ve made you laugh and put you in a good mood, albeit inadvertently. If we are having this conversation now, I will not say I know what you were thinking, exactly, Rosslyn thought in response. I have ideas about it. Some of those theories are to your credit. Some of them are sympathetic, if not entirely worthy of the person I have come to know over the last couple of months. But the overarching fact that keeps presenting itself to me is that the decision seems extremely impulsive and reckless. Sorry about¡ª Please let me finish, Adon, Rosslyn thought, trying to cut him off. You wanted me to get this out of the way. My thoughts are not entirely organized, but I will at least give them to you as best I can, and then we can move forward. Sure, Adon managed back, feeling slightly queasy. I think you wanted to affect the outcome of the duel, which I can understand. I did not appreciate it. You have become important to me, but I need to be trusted to fight for myself sometimes. The fact that you apparently interfered to help me¡ªdo you deny that you did that? No, Adon sent tonelessly. I appreciate the honesty. The unexpected assistance felt as if you did not trust my skills. I do not believe I have given you reason to doubt me before. Even if you did think that I would lose, it would not have been the end of the world¡ªno matter what, I am the one who will decide when and whom I marry. When the duel ends by cheating, it does not affect that fact, but it impugns my honor. I feel certain that William does not know what happened, because he would have reacted by now, but I do not know if you realized the risks of what you did. He would have been within his rights to challenge you to a duel, to the death, in response to your interference. Are you ready to face someone like William, who you have seen for yourself is roughly as strong as me? I¡¯m not, Adon admitted. The other matter, which is arguably more important, is that he might have considered this a reflection on Claustria and our two nations¡¯ friendship. If William had simply left and taken his knights with him, this expedition might have been impossible. At the very least, it would mean leaving the capital virtually undefended while we delved into the dungeon, instead of leaving most of my own knights behind defending the city. So, please think of that in future. Not just you and me, but the larger effect of actions like these that you can take. The world is larger than us. You are wiser than this. I know it. You may have been stirred by passion, but temper it. Time is on your side. Have patience. Adon felt simultaneously chastised and strangely encouraged¡ªin part because the tone of those last several inner monologue sentences had been deliberately encouraging. Thank you for telling me how you feel, Rosslyn, he began. I don¡¯t think I understood the full weight of what I was doing at the time. It was impulsive. Honestly, I just found the idea of William beating you¡ªand injuring you, I remember he was trying to injure you, not just win the duel¡ªunacceptable. I¡¯m not used to formal fights with rules. Usually I¡¯m in life or death situations with creatures that don¡¯t understand the idea of rules¡ª Wait, Adon, Rosslyn¡¯s thoughts interrupted. You are saying William was trying to injure me, not just win the duel? He wanted to break your arm, Adon replied. It was a consciously articulated intent in his mind. Something he intended to do? Rosslyn asked. Not just a thought he had? I don¡¯t think it was just a thought he had, Adon sent. At the time that he was trying to get ready to win the duel, he thought, ¡°If she has a broken bone, she cannot enter the dungeon. She will remain safe here while I go and destroy the core¡­¡± Rosslyn¡¯s expression turned very sad. She chewed her bottom lip as she thought over what Adon had said. That just seems so unlike the William I remember, she thought. Whatever his flaws. Adon felt a haze of doubt emanate out from Rosslyn¡¯s body. Then there was a noise from a few feet away, and both the butterfly and the Princess jumped slightly. ¡°I am ready to resume,¡± William said, smiling cheerily. ¡°The two of you seemed most deep in contemplation.¡± ¡°Oh, I was not thinking about anything important,¡± Rosslyn said. Adon was impressed by the neutral tone she managed to effect. The young lord called the knights back into formation¡ªthey had only moved a little out of position in the first place¡ªand the journey continued. Adon could not read Rosslyn¡¯s thoughts as the party moved on¡ªat least not without deliberately probing beyond the surface level of her mind, which felt like an invasive thing to do if he did not have prior permission. After a few minutes of silent walking, Rosslyn began telling the story of how the vineyard owners had come by their land. They were direct vassals of the crown, because their ancestors had fought with distinction in the Formation War that laid the foundations for the Kingdom. ¡°Beyond this valley¡ª¡± She pointed at an opening at the end of the valley that had now come into view in the distance¡ª¡°there are shepherds and goatherds who work the land just further out. It is a wilder terrain. This is where the dungeon is meant to be. The shepherds and goatherds are the ones who have been complaining of losing animals to the monsters that sometimes stray from a dungeon.¡± Is that your land too? Adon sent, glad to talk about anything besides the awkward subject matter from earlier. Is that why they came to you for help? ¡°No,¡± Rosslyn replied. ¡°Even though it is close to our holdings, that land is actually owned by one of our oldest vassals.¡± She smiled bittersweetly. ¡°Old historically, and the man in question is also just old. He may be unable to defend his land and quell a dungeon as he would have in his younger days.¡± ¡°And he has no heirs, from what I recall,¡± William said. Rosslyn simply nodded. ¡°Which means that when he dies, his land will escheat to the crown,¡± William finished. Rosslyn frowned. ¡°We will find a suitable noble or knight to manage the fief,¡± she said. ¡°The crown does not need more lands right now. We need more warriors and able administrators. Ideally we would choose a relative of the family that has traditionally held it, even if we have to look along more distant lines than normal.¡± We will see about that, Adon heard William thinking. The incomes from those lands are not quite as great as those from the existing crownlands, but there is no reason for the Kingdom to pass up additional revenue. We should not be empowering new nobles but centralizing as much wealth and authority as possible. Adon gathered from the general tissue of William¡¯s thoughts around this that he was planning on trying to implement his father¡¯s general governance philosophy in Claustria. And maybe that is what Rosslyn and her father would want in Rosslyn¡¯s husband, Adon thought. He tried to listen non-judgmentally to all that the other said and thought as the party continued marching forward, though the conversation reached a lull shortly thereafter. What took the place of dialogue, as the group reached the end of the valley, was an emotional atmosphere of excited anticipation. The knights were ready and eager for action. Rosslyn and William were caught up in their own respective complex cocktails of emotions, with Rosslyn simultaneously joining the knights in their eagerness and also dealing with underlying layers of anxiety¡ªa feeling that Adon suspected he had induced himself, by putting his foot firmly in his mouth earlier. William, on the other hand, was in a triumphant mood, and he also seemed to be taking considerable joy in the thought of killing monsters. There may have been some violent tension beneath his surface that he was looking forward to working out, but Adon did not probe too deeply. Adon had never delved very far below the surface of someone¡¯s mind without their knowledge, and he was wary of the possibility that William would become aware of what he was doing. Rosslyn was right. Adon needed to be careful¡ªat least until he was strong enough to win a duel with anyone he chose to face. The party walked for another fifty feet, before Rosslyn pointed and shouted. ¡°There!¡± Adon looked where her finger was aimed, and he saw what appeared to be a dark hole in the ground. An eerie feeling surrounded it¡ªbut also, a strange sense of deja vu. 3-16. Barrier Down As Rosslyn pointed at the dungeon¡¯s entrance, knights all around them began preparing to explore. Perhaps unsurprisingly, considering that the opening to the dungeon looked like a cave entrance, the members of the expedition had brought along climbing equipment which most of them now unpacked from their saddlebags: rope, rigging, grapples, and unlit torches, among other odds and ends that were less familiar to Adon. A few of the Claustrian knights detached themselves from the rest of the group and approached the entrance together, then bent down and seemed to be examining it. Adon hardly noticed all of this. His mind had grown sharp enough to pick up on details that he was barely concerned with over his Evolution and various post-meal improvements. The brain just noted what was happening, selected any important tidbits to throw in the front of his mind if necessary, and filed the rest of the information away along with the rest of his memories. The butterfly was, at the moment, narrowly focused on why exactly this dungeon entrance gave him a strange sense of deja vu. I was a monster once. Is that it? Perhaps my past life memories will be relevant here¡­ But as Adon stared at the dungeon entrance and the surrounding area, he felt almost certain that he had lived in a different dungeon than this one. For one thing, the opening led out to an extremely different ecosystem from the one he had experienced in his past life. The areas were both mountainous, but when Adon was a monster escaping the dungeon, he had emerged out into a dry, almost desert-like space, whereas Rosslyn¡¯s land and the land nearby it were extremely verdant and fertile, with a large river running through them. Also, Adon seemed to recall from conversations with Rosslyn that dungeons had a life cycle, and he knew that this one had appeared relatively recently. Whereas Adon¡¯s past life¡ªwell, it was hard to nail down a temporal space when it might have occurred. Reincarnation was still a murky subject for Adon, and for all he knew, he was actually in the past relative to that life right now. That did not seem beyond the Goddess to him. That was all assuming that this world was the same one in which his incarnation had lived¡ªor would live, as the case might be. Even that assumption might be wrong. Adon was fairly certain that most of the fantastical worlds he had inhabited in the past had featured dungeons, though they did not always seem to follow the same vague model he recalled from his past life. There was a loud exclamation from the handful of knights who had gathered around the dungeon¡¯s entrance, and it pulled Adon¡¯s attention back to the present. ¡°Shit!¡± a couple of them said. ¡°Someone needs to go tell them,¡± muttered another. ¡°Not me,¡± replied the last man. But the exclamations running through their minds were more interesting than those they spoke aloud. Fuck me, it already advanced this far? Well, we have to go in now¡­ Goddess damn it! Thank the Goddess we showed up when we did! Very mixed feelings, Adon thought. All the knights were pretty disturbed by whatever they had discovered. Adon found that a single word kept recurring in their minds. The word was ¡°barrier.¡± The barrier is gone. How did the barrier disappear so soon? Why did no one say anything about the barrier in the reports? Damned adventurers¡­ The knights approached Rosslyn where she was, in the midst of the young lords and the arthropods, preparing her own spelunking equipment. She took one look at them as they walked up, and she frowned. ¡°What is it?¡± she asked. ¡°The barrier is gone,¡± said the knight in the lead. Rosslyn¡¯s eyes widened slightly. She cursed under her breath. Then she dropped the rope she had been holding and strode over to the entrance, intent on seeing for herself. Adon flapped his wings and flew overhead, looking to get an aerial view of whatever it was that was happening. The Princess¡¯s thoughts gave him some cause for concern. It is far too soon for that. Right? The feeling Adon got was less from the words themselves than from Rosslyn¡¯s tone. She had gone from cool to slightly nervous, despite the fact that she always seemed like a rather steely young woman. When Rosslyn reached the cave entrance, she inspected the ground briskly. Then the Princess braced her feet carefully against a few rocks embedded in the soil outside, and she dangled her entire upper body down into the hole as her slightly stunned knights rushed to follow after her. After a few seconds, she pulled herself up, nodding. ¡°Yes, it is gone,¡± she confirmed to the approaching knights. ¡°Well, that is just fine. We already knew we were on a strict timetable. Now we have a little additional incentive to hurry, if we needed it.¡± The Princess seemed to be fully in command of herself. Adon could not hear a shred of hesitancy or emotion in her words. He fluttered down and flew just over Rosslyn¡¯s head, his aerial view having revealed nothing to him. It was just a cave, as far as he could see, and it descended steeply, but not enough that looking straight down from the air would really tell him much. The structure was just rocks as far as he could tell. Not exactly useful details. What is it about this barrier? Adon transmitted to Rosslyn only. A small thing, but an important one, she thought back. The dungeon produces it as a sort of protective measure. Think of the barrier a woman¡¯s body creates during pregnancy, to keep her unborn baby separated from the outside world¡¯s contaminants. When the woman is ready to give birth, her membrane ruptures, which people call ¡°water breaking.¡± The dungeon makes a barrier to keep the outside world from entering. It gives wild animals that try to go in a severe headache. It can harm humans, too, which is why only those who can use mana end up exploring dungeons. The barrier also keeps most monsters from leaving the dungeon. But now it seems to have disappeared. Does that mean the monsters are running loose? Adon sent.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Well, we already know a few monsters have been seen, attacking livestock, Rosslyn thought. The problem is actually that the dungeon bringing its barrier down means that it is ready to unleash larger groups of monsters¡ªpotentially whole waves of monsters¡ªonto the surface. There is no longer any opportunity for a small crew of adventurers to safely infiltrate the dungeon, make their way to the core, and destroy it before they could be stopped. Now, there would be every chance they would be caught up in a wave of monsters invading the surface, which would of course be immediately fatal for any force smaller than ours. Adon could tell, but did not bother to mention, that Rosslyn harbored quiet doubts about whether their own party was large enough to withstand one of those waves. The Princess was already onto another facet of this development. I wonder if the dungeon rushed toward this as a safety mechanism, because we sent adventurers in before¡­ The dungeon cannot lower the barrier at any time it wants, then? Adon asked. Or in response to some, um, outside signal? Rosslyn looked up at Adon as he floated in the air, furrowing her brow. There is a theory, which I have personally tended to believe in, that the Demon Empire has some degree of authority over the dungeons, she thought after a moment. Their attacks often seem to align with dungeons spawning and breaking out all over the continent. Adon thought that theory fit his past life memories to some degree¡ªmainly his recollection that when he was a monster, a mysterious, disembodied intelligence had commanded him and the other inhabitants of the dungeon he lived in to attack a specific village. But there were also inconsistencies. Specifically, he remembered that the targets of that attack had not been humans. They had been a humanoid-looking race with horns on their heads. Maybe demons? he wondered. Has there ever been any evidence about this? Adon asked. Rosslyn gave a short, sharp shake of her head. If there was evidence, I would have sounded more confident. We should talk about this later. We need to get moving. That¡¯s right, Adon thought. She just finished saying that now we¡¯re on a more severe time limit than before, I guess. ¡°All knights, gather around me!¡± Rosslyn called loudly. Her whole demeanor seemed to shift from its normal state. The Princess had turned instantly military in her bearing. Her posture had suddenly stiffened, and her voice had iron in it. There was no longer any question in Adon¡¯s mind as to who was in charge of this expedition. Every single knight, whether he wore a Claustrian butterfly or the Dessian spider, hustled to surround Rosslyn and the dungeon entrance that she stood in front of. ¡°The barrier is gone!¡± Rosslyn said, still maintaining her volume as if she wanted to make certain that her words made an impression. ¡°We all know what that means. But nothing changes. The mission has only become more urgent¡ªas if we needed a reason to take the fight to the heart of this dungeon! Right now, there are other soldiers working to warn every civilian who lives within a day¡¯s ride of this valley to evacuate their homes and travel to Wayn. Until then, those innocent families are at risk. Remember our purpose. We are the blade that stands between these beasts¡ª¡± She drew her sword and pointed into the dungeon¡ª¡°and innocent children. By the Goddess, we will do our duty!¡± Again, Adon was present for a minor spectacle that shifted the mood of everyone around him. Only this time, the group was smaller, a mere few dozen knights. But the spectacle was more impressive, because it was just Rosslyn, giving an off the cuff speech. The feeling in the knights had perceptibly changed. Adon¡¯s Telepathy showed him that where they had felt a variety of different sentiments before¡ªranging from boredom to resignation to nervousness to mild excitement¡ªthey were now united in a martial zeal that bordered on the bloodthirsty. The sentiments expressed in verbal thought patterns were all fairly similar in tone. We will send those scaly beasts to the next life. None of them sets foot in this valley on my watch. I would follow her to the end of the world. That is our Princess. A warrior like Maud, armed and ready to fight alongside us¡­ The adventure has only grown more exciting! Adon assumed this was the effect Rosslyn had aimed for. The Princess put away her sword, and the knights formed up into smaller squads that appeared to be split so that each group could share a common rigging system. This had apparently all been planned while Adon was not present. He noted that the groups did not mix Claustrians with Dessians; each country¡¯s knights stuck with those they knew and trusted, though neither seemed hostile or surly toward the other group. A thought occurred to Adon, and he fluttered over to Adon, who was walking back to where the spiders were. What about the people in this valley? Adon sent. They live so close to the dungeon, but I think I saw people still in their homes when William stopped the group to look around earlier. It is up to them whether they want to evacuate or not, Rosslyn thought in response. Remember that these are the descendants of some of the Kingdom¡¯s greatest heroes, who fought to establish our country. Most of them have trained to fight, even though they are not usually drafted to serve. They know the situation as well as any in Wayn. Both about the dungeon and about the impending invasion. The situation has become too pressing to keep secret any longer. But their position is difficult to assail, due to the surrounding mountains and the fact that Wayn and its walls directly obstruct the path of the Demon Army. If the demons wanted to send a small force to sneak through the mountains to attack the people of this valley, they could do so, but I do not know what the point would be. They would suffer unnecessary casualties and gain little that would assist them in conquering the rest of the country. The monsters do not behave so rationally, of course. Still, the people in the valley are more than capable of fending off individual monster attacks. And a wave of monsters? Adon could not help but ask. Should we warn them that the barrier is down? If we fail, everyone who lives in this valley will die, Rosslyn thought in response, a grim cast to her face. And there is a possibility that we will fail. That was always true. Against a large enough horde of particularly formidable monsters, we could be overwhelmed. That is an especial danger when fighting underground, in the environment the dungeon has shaped. That makes it all the more urgent that all of us get underground. It is my hope that the reason the barrier seems to have come down prematurely is that the dungeon rushed into this. It sensed a threat from the adventurers we sent before, and it reacted before it was ready. It could end up being a soft target, less stable than we would normally expect from a dungeon that has removed its barrier. Without any context, Adon felt nervous about these vague hopes and premonitions. But Rosslyn projected confidence in the tone of her thoughts¡ªand somehow even in the miasma of emotions that surrounded her. It was as if she genuinely believed that she would triumph, almost to a certainty¡ªor perhaps she believed that she must triumph, and that there was no difference between ¡°must¡± and ¡°would.¡± The Princess reached the spiders, and she quickly explained the situation to Goldie and Samson. ¡°Who would you like to descend into the dungeon with?¡± she asked breathlessly as she finished. ¡°Assuming that you do not want to call off entering, which is an option. We do not have harnesses small enough to fit spiders, but I feel certain that either I or any knight¡ª¡± Frederick already volunteered to take my son and I with him, Goldie sent. Thank you for considering us, Princess. As if summoned by her words, Frederick began walking over toward them from where he had been huddled with a few of the Dessian knights. Adon felt surprised and not surprised at the same time. The younger Dessian lord seemed to be making an effort to ingratiate himself with the spiders more and more now, much as William was with Rosslyn. It was something of a rapid reversal, from Adon¡¯s perspective. But first impressions were reversed all the time. It was the butterfly¡¯s bad fortune that he had formed a bad impression of the younger brother when they first met, so now he had static clogging his perception rather than having a clear view. ¡°Are you ready to descend, Adon?¡± Rosslyn asked. In her mind, she added, I know that we just had a difficult conversation, but I had never considered that you would be anywhere other than with me in this dungeon. If you feel differently, you can say so. No, I think the same way, Adon replied, a bit relieved. He set himself down on Rosslyn¡¯s shoulder and became still, conserving energy for the journey ahead. It would make him look like a burden if he ended up asking for food while they were still in the early part of the climb. With Adon sitting and silently spectating, the Princess, Frederick, and William, plus two knights from Claustria, formed a squad together, they rigged themselves up in climbing harnesses, and they hooked their rigging onto an anchor that someone had hammered into the ground outside the dungeon for them. Then the entire party of knights, nobles, and arthropods descended into the underworld. 3-17. Down in the Underground Darkness gathered around the party as it descended, settling on them more thickly as they delved deeper. Adon checked his memories of everything he had ever heard about dungeons and confirmed that they had levels, each descending further into the ground than the one before it. This was partially a distraction from the gloom that seemed to settle around the warriors as they drew further and further from the light of day. The butterfly himself could still see everything well enough, despite the relative darkness of their surroundings, thanks to repeated vision upgrades he had purchased prior to his Evolution. For him, the descent was just a bit like moving through a dimly lit room. The shapes of things were still clear and distinct. For the others, though, he could not quite fathom how it was bearable. He had already caught several knights about to either trip over a stone or knock into each other, and each time, he had helped avert it with a quick, discreet telepathic warning. There had been a couple of falls among people behind him, which was not an area he was watching, but without injuries. The knights in question had just picked themselves up, dusted themselves off, and continued as if nothing ever happened, despite the clanging of their armor making that pretense untenable. We¡¯re not even at level one yet, Adon thought. How do the humans expect to fight in this lighting? As he had that thought, he heard the strike of flint against tinder, and then he saw a spark ignite the first of the humans¡¯ torches. A moment later, that torch had been used to ignite a second, and then both had ignited two more. Before Adon knew it, he was surrounded by flames. Dozens of torches, in the hands of almost half of the knights he could see. Suddenly, it was quite warm in the confines of the tunnel. Rosslyn groaned quietly. I was hoping we could keep the lighting to a minimum to begin with, she thought loudly. Adon could not resist that apparent invitation to break the silence that had settled between them since the expedition descended beneath the surface. Why? he sent. Because once we reach the first level¡ªprobably not far from here, unless this is a damned mine shaft instead of a dungeon¡ªthe lights will draw denizens of the darkness to us. There are some fishermen, Adon, who specialize in deep sea fishing. They swear by using the brightest and shiniest lures and bait that they can find. Glow worms and such. Because creatures that live in darkness are always drawn to light. But don¡¯t you want to kill them anyway? Adon replied. Only as many as needed to defeat the dungeon and reach the core, Rosslyn thought. Once that is destroyed, the problem is mostly solved. If we destroy the core, the dungeon does not necessarily cease to exist, but it loses the ability to grow, adapt and generate new monsters. We could just collapse the entrance and roll heavy rocks on top of it, and that would probably solve the problem without needing a full-scale extermination at that point. Adon could tell this was actually Rosslyn¡¯s plan, but he couldn¡¯t help but raise further questions. Why couldn¡¯t we block up the entrance before? Without going in to fight the monsters, I mean? he sent. Because a dungeon core is semi-aware of its surroundings, Rosslyn replied. And even though the monsters will eventually starve to death if they are left to their own devices without the dungeon core, as long as it is alive, it can continue building the dungeon. It would eventually excavate the entrance or even create a new exit. Adon thought about that for a moment. He had not truly considered the dungeon core as a sort of living thing before¡ªbut he should not have been surprised by the idea. It apparently generated living things, reacted to threats, and posed challenges to those who might try to destroy it. Those were just the functions they knew about, through hard-won experience fighting and destroying past dungeon cores. Adon again returned to the memory of his life as one of these monsters. What was that intelligence that reached out and made us attack the village with those horned humanoids? he wondered. Was that the dungeon core commanding us? If it was, does it have eyes into the outside world somehow? Otherwise, how would it know where we were going? His focus was pulled back to the present as the ground began to level out a bit. It seemed that the party was nearing the first floor of the dungeon. Out of all the people here, you have the least reason to be nervous, he told himself. Nevertheless, Adon thought that he and the spiders did have a great deal to prove. They needed to show that they could be effective in a fight¡ªor at least Adon felt the thirst to demonstrate that. He glanced over at Goldie and Samson, poised on Frederick and William¡¯s shoulders respectively. Each arachnid appeared poised for battle, ready to jump into action¡ªor possibly it was just a benefit of being a spider that you always looked down for a fight. As Adon was anticipating the first level, the party suddenly stepped into a different atmosphere¡ªand he realized that they had arrived. He looked around and observed that they were actually in a larger cave than the tunnel down had been, with a high ceiling and craggy rock walls. Everything looked solidly constructed.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Then his attention was pulled back to the party by several sounds. In front of Adon, metal repeatedly clanked¡ªapparently, the knights¡¯ footsteps grew louder as a result of changing from an earthen surface to stone¡ªwhile in the distance, something scaly skittered across the ground. Adon did not see what moved, though he peered into the deep darkness with eyes that were more effective in this setting than any human¡¯s. Whatever it was had gotten away before he could get a good look. But some of the knights heard it and stopped walking, and those behind and to the side of them bumped into the ones who had paused. There was a slightly comical couple of seconds while the knights regained their balance, picked themselves up from the ground in a couple of cases, and composed themselves. ¡°Form lines for battle, everyone,¡± Rosslyn ordered in a cool, clear voice that carried into the darkness. ¡°I did not see what moved, but we are no longer alone in this place.¡± There was a murmur of agreement, and the lines shifted into rows, with weapons at the ready. Then the group moved forward into the dungeon, feet moving like clockwork in a measured tempo. Adon felt the aura around the group had changed now. The knights were not exactly nervous, but they were on edge¡ªready more than afraid, but the mood seemed to teeter on a knife¡¯s edge. These were men and women used to fighting, but fighting in daylight and preferably out in the open. They might have had some training to fight in closer spaces and in the dark, but it was far from their comfort zone. That was the sense the butterfly garnered with his Telepathy. This could easily go badly, Adon thought as the group tramped forward, beyond the space to which the sun¡¯s natural light penetrated. It was only torchlight that protected them from the darkness now¡ªthat, and Rosslyn¡¯s sword. She ignited it with some quiet, muttered incantation that Adon just barely missed. He guessed that this was the family magical affinity that Rosslyn had been keeping hidden, since the sword glowed with a pure white light after that, without giving off any additional heat. The group walked for what felt like a long time before there was any further indicia of the dungeon¡¯s actual inhabitants. It was something quiet. As they rounded a corner, Adon saw what looked like a reptilian tail pull into a crevice in the wall. Oh Goddess, he thought. He quickly told Rosslyn, Goldie, and Samson what he had seen. If the tail is in the wall, he added, the whole creature is. And if they¡¯re responding to our presence by hiding, there might be monsters all over the place that we just can¡¯t see. Waiting. Maybe waiting until their numbers are enough for an ambush. You might be right, Rosslyn thought. But I doubt it. The types of monsters that appear in dungeons vary wildly in intelligence, but the ones with lizard-like features usually have lizard level intelligence. We might be in luck that this is the first floor. If they are all scared off by the light, we can advance a full floor down without suffering any injuries or even needing to engage the enemy. That would be a significant morale victory. I cannot imagine creatures willingly allowing you to explore more deeply into their home, if they know, even on an instinctive level, that you are here to destroy it, Goldie transmitted in response. You mentioned that they have ¡°lizard level intelligence.¡± But how intelligent did you think spiders were before you met me and Samson? That chilled the conversation for a minute. Adon had the sense that Rosslyn was genuinely surprised by the question. In any case, nothing changes, Samson added after the quiet had grown awkward. It¡¯s not as though you were going to tell your people to lower their guards because the monsters are letting us pass. No, Rosslyn replied instantly in her mind. No, I was not. The group continued forward and rounded several more corners. Then they came upon a much larger cavern, and Adon found himself shouting a telepathic warning. Watch out, everyone! There¡¯s a ton of these creatures, all over the far wall! The monsters were a sufficient distance away that the torchlight and sword light did not yet carry the full distance. It was likely the butterfly was the only one who could actually make out the shapes in the darkness. Conversely, they did not yet seem to have noticed the party of heavily armed intruders who had entered their space either, despite the fact that the intruders were a significant light source in the dark cavern. ¡°Everyone, halt in place and prepare to fight!¡± Rosslyn barked. The group stopped immediately where they were standing, and although they had already had weapons handy, the knights now raised their weapons and began assuming fighting poses of various styles. A few also seemed to be gathering Mana, although Adon gathered through Telepathy that those around them considered this overkill. Just some first floor rabble, seemed to be the consensus thought pattern. What are we facing, Adon? Rosslyn thought a little nervously, pulling him back to the situation ahead. Adon did not have time to be flattered by the fact that beneath that thought, he sensed that she was relieved that he was there with her. He surveyed the enemy position and tried to assess what it was that he saw. They were strange, reptilian monsters with what looked to Adon like the size and general body shape of alligators mixed with lizards on steroids¡ªthe body shapes were a bit too long and slender for alligators. Their exteriors appeared to be armored with a medley of scales and armor plating. Despite their large size, the monsters crawled all over the distant wall, spider-style, clambering over each other and finding purchase on the wall¡¯s surface practically in defiance of gravity. They look like a sort of lizard people, Adon replied almost instantly. Although I don¡¯t know if ¡°people¡± is really the word. Mutant lizards. Kobolds, Rosslyn thought. How many are there? A thought beneath the surface went something like, Filthy creatures, but Adon was already trying to figure out the answer to Rosslyn¡¯s question, not thinking about that. Umm¡­ The kobolds were massed against the wall where Adon had spotted them, and as he watched, they crawled over the wall, back and forth, slipping and climbing over one another, in a strange tangle that seemed to reflect no regard for personal space whatsoever. It made counting very difficult. But there were clearly a lot of the creatures. Far more than the number of humans and mystic beasts who had entered this dungeon. Adon did not know how much numbers would mean to the knights, but being outnumbered four to one would surely not be good for their prospects. At least around a hundred, Adon finally sent, trying to keep the concern out of his tone. Shit. Rosslyn silently cursed. 3-18. Blinded by the Light Rosslyn waited a moment before she asked another question. What are the creatures doing? Staring at us? she thought. No, Adon sent back immediately. For a minute, I thought they hadn¡¯t noticed us yet, but actually, they¡¯re trying hard not to look. Almost burying their heads underneath each other¡¯s bodies to the extent that they can. It is the light, Rosslyn thought. They fear the light, or their eyes cannot tolerate it. Is that a trait of, um, kobolds? Adon asked. Every dungeon¡¯s monsters have different qualities specific to the dungeon that formed them. Her inner voice was slightly distracted, as if her mind was juggling other ideas. Sure enough, Adon was able to easily read the secondary train of thought with only a slight effort. If they are sensitive to the light, the next step is obvious. What do we do next? Adon sent, fairly certain he already knew. Are they wearing clothes? Rosslyn thought in response. What? Adon was slightly taken aback. Rags, loincloths, is there anything? Rosslyn¡¯s thought process was clear, and Adon followed it quickly to understand why she was asking. If the kobolds are wearing clothes, it is a definite sign of intelligence. Some of them are able to think, and some are not, depending on the dungeon. The intelligent species within any given dungeon are able to do complex things like set ambushes. Adon focused his sight as best he could, though that was not really the strength of his particular mode of vision. He saw nothing. No clothing, no rags or loincloths of any kind to protect the kobolds either from the cold or from the eyes of others of their kind. They¡¯ve got nothing, Adon replied confidently. ¡°Great,¡± Rosslyn said aloud. Adon sensed her smile in the corner of his vision. ¡°Thanks, Adon.¡± She raised her voice to speak to the whole group. ¡°Everyone! On my signal, we charge the monsters at the far wall. You will know it when you see it!¡± Adon had a moment to note that William was silently annoyed that Rosslyn was giving orders to his knights without consulting him. Then Rosslyn used her special magic again. This time, Adon heard what she said, though he realized she had not actually muttered it quietly, either before or this time. Rather, it had been something she merely thought to herself, which he had not properly heard. Divine Sword, Second Form, Contained Star. Light surged with and all around Rosslyn¡¯s body, then compressed itself into a small ball of energy that shot forward from the middle of her chest, toward the kobolds. And the group charged. Swords, axes, and other chosen weapons of the knights flashed in the air, either held in the opposite hand from torches or, in some cases, while the torches dropped to the ground beside where they had stood before. Adon, Rosslyn, the young lords, and the spiders joined in as well, all converging toward the far wall where the kobolds still stood, apparently just trying not to look at the light that the unwelcome intruders had brought with them. As they drew nearer the kobolds, the orb of light Rosslyn had launched reached within a few feet of the creatures¡ªand it exploded outward, turning into a miniature supernova before everyone¡¯s eyes. Adon¡¯s eyes hurt a bit immediately, and he had to quickly turn his entire body to face away from the brightness, since he had no eyelids to protect him from the blinding rays of white. Even then, the light burned his eyes until he shifted his wings from transparent to opaque and positioned them so as to shield himself from view. A moment later, Rosslyn was within reach of the kobold¡¯s, and Adon, on her shoulder, was treated to much hacking and slashing as she joined the rest of the knights in destroying the monsters. Adon reversed his position again¡ªRosslyn had closed the distance with the kobolds so fast that the miniature star was now positioned behind them¡ªand he threw himself up at one of the kobolds that was trying to crawl onto the ceiling. The creature did not seem to perceive Adon at all as the butterfly approached. Its eyes continuously blinked as if it was trying to recover from being blinded, but it kept being blinded anew each time its eyes reopened. The butterfly took advantage of the monster¡¯s blindness. He charged his body with mana, instantly surging it to the edges of his wings, and he zipped into close range in a flash. With barely a second to hesitate, he swiped the mana-infused edge of his left wing across the beast¡¯s throat. The kobold let out a choking noise, and then its neck burst like a balloon. Adon barely managed to dodge the gush of blood that surged out, and he immediately changed direction and attacked the next nearest creature close to the ceiling. The overhead surface of this space was too high up for most of the knights to conveniently reach, so Adon had several minutes of joyously feeling useful as he used his wings to hack and slash at the unprepared bodies of the kobolds, ripping through their tenderest and most vulnerable places. The butterfly knew he had killed at least a half dozen by the end, probably closer to ten or eleven, though it was hard to account for creatures he had only wounded and forced to fall from the ceiling versus those he actually slew personally. The knights, lords, spiders, and Rosslyn killed the rest of the creatures. Even the arachnids had managed to contribute, despite being small and unable to fly, as Samson launched a few well-placed mana balls to at least wound some of the monsters, while Goldie¡¯s venom spray proved incredibly lethal when aimed at these reptiles. Adon felt certain, though he had been unable to track her progress closely, that she had wounded at least as many as him. Not a single one of the creatures that had been massed against the wall managed to escape. As the light from Rosslyn¡¯s little supernova faded, the area filled with the stench of death, mingled with the resonance of tired but enthusiastic cheers.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°I knew we had it in us!¡± declared one knight. ¡°The first level was easy enough,¡± agreed another¡ªthough Adon sensed an uneasiness in that knight¡¯s heart that belied his spoken words. ¡°Let us go and do the whole dungeon tonight!¡± shouted a third. ¡°Well done, brave companions,¡± Rosslyn said loudly, cutting off some of the increasingly energetic murmuring from the knights. ¡°This was the easiest part, but it speaks well of our skills that we accomplished it so quickly.¡± As Rosslyn and the others spoke, Adon had set down on the nearest fallen kobold and dipped his proboscis into the life¡¯s blood that pulsed from its neck as it took its dying breaths, Hey, this is pretty good quality stuff, he thought. It was the first floor of the dungeon, and already, the blood from the creatures there tasted almost on the same level as the mystic beast he had eaten beforehand¡ªno, perhaps not quite that enriching. But similar, at least, to the eagle. ¡°This was the easy part,¡± a knight murmured. Adon heard his thought process taking a dark turn, and even though he did not know the man¡¯s name, he thought this was an ideal moment to step in. If only I knew what to say¡­ or knew this guy at all! It felt like a pivotal moment, as one or two other knights looked at the one who had spoken with apparent interest. Adon could feel them considering what the man had said to himself. It was only a few people who were wandering into this head space, but Adon knew that a funk could be as contagious as any disease, especially in a group that needed to work closely like this one. He racked his brain for an idea, even as he drained the kobold to refill his faltering Biomass reserves. The butterfly even considered using mental magic to make his brain process the situation more quickly. Surely that would guarantee he did not put his foot into his mouth! Fortunately, Rosslyn stepped in before anything unnecessary could happen. ¡°This was the easiest part,¡± she repeated, stepping into close range to speak with the knight. ¡°But I say that only because of the actual, physical mechanics of our task here.¡± The knight looked slightly confused, and Adon read the same thing in his mind. What exactly does she mean? ¡°Sir, you have fought in battles before, yes?¡± Rosslyn asked. ¡°I have,¡± the knight said, nodding. Two, and one of them was barely more than a skirmish, really¡ªbut what qualifies as a battle is all in who is doing the telling, I say, the man thought. ¡°But there were none like this,¡± Rosslyn said. The knight nodded slowly. She understands. ¡°This time was not so much a battle as a slaughter,¡± Rosslyn summarized. He nodded again. ¡°I guess I should be grateful,¡± he said quietly, a little sheepish. ¡°Your warrior spirit does you credit, sir knight,¡± Rosslyn replied seriously. ¡°When I said that this was easy, I just meant the physical work was. It will always be messy work and ugly work, but as long as my comrades are safe, I am happy at the end of the day.¡± She smiled and wiped a few droplets of blood from one cheek. ¡°It was a gory mess, but if you look around¡ªwell, as much as I appreciate honorable and challenging fights, I think a slaughter is a better way for this expedition to start.¡± The knight snickered at that. ¡°Yes, Your Highness,¡± he said after a moment. ¡°I hope you will forgive my talking out of turn. It is your expedition and your country, and I am only a visitor¡­¡± I guess that¡¯s why she never used his name, Adon thought. She doesn¡¯t know this guy. But how did she establish such good rapport with him so quickly? I guess royalty has to have excellent social skills, but I don¡¯t think I understand the method¡­ Rosslyn was shaking her head at the knight¡¯s comment. ¡°If we had more visitors like you,¡± she said, looking firmly into the knight¡¯s eyes with an earnest expression, ¡°the heir to the throne would not be trying to figure out how to defend the capital city from monsters and the Empire all at once. I certainly would not be underground. But such are the stakes we fight for.¡± The man nodded, serious again. ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am¡ªer, Your Highness.¡± How do you do that, Rosslyn? Adon sent, as the Princess placed a hand on the knight¡¯s shoulder, gave a reassuring squeeze, and stepped in the butterfly¡¯s general direction. How do I do which part? Rosslyn thought in response. The orb of light, I am afraid, is meant to be one of those family secrets that I have mentioned previously¡ªalthough my suspicion is that you could use light magic extremely well, and I would be interested in trying some experiments out with you at a later time if you are interested and time permits. Not that, Adon transmitted, wishing he could roll his eyes in this form. The social interactions. How did you just instantly reassure that guy? I was impressed. He had been tempted to ask her where she got her confidence from, but that sounded lame to his own internal filters, so he knew it would probably sound even worse if Rosslyn heard it. She looked down at him for a moment. Sometimes I forget that you have never been a leader of any kind, Rosslyn replied finally. She added, almost apologetically, Almost everyone in my social circle is, de facto, in charge of other people. It¡¯s a skill I would be interested in learning, Adon sent immediately. Well, with soldiers, you just have to understand where they are coming from, Rosslyn thought. Knights are frequently no different from other soldiers, except that they take pride in a higher degree of martial skill¡ªalthough there is sometimes a significant difference between those who come from a noble family and those who have risen through the ranks of society by sheer merit and talent alone. That¡¯s nice, but very non-specific, Adon replied bluntly. Rosslyn smiled with amusement. You have to understand people? Is that a hard thing? Even if you are not a literal mind reader¡ªas you, in fact, are¡ªif you spend time around certain types of people, you inevitably come to see things from their point of view to some extent. It was why, even though I disliked Lord Baranack when he was in my father¡¯s employ, I found it difficult to consider that he could be a traitor. I could see good reasons for him to hold the views he held about¡ªwell, about many things, including topics that were pertinent to me personally¡ªbut also his apparent affinity for some aspects of the Demon Empire¡¯s administration. I suppose that example shows that, at the end of the day, opening yourself to other people can create vulnerabilities too. But if you do not, you will spend a great deal of time feeling alone¡ªand making others feel that way. Is that what I do? Adon wondered to himself, not yet replying. Do I leave people feeling alone? Of course, you already have this basic skill, Rosslyn thought, almost as if she had heard Adon¡¯s silent questions. You have demonstrated it with Goldie. She trusts you with her life. And you have demonstrated it with me. More than I trust most people, I trust you. Adon thought that he did not actually understand the Princess nearly as well as he wanted to most of the time¡ªwhich was part of how they got into misunderstandings like his interference in her duel¡ªbut he decided not to ruin the moment. The Princess was smiling warmly in his direction, the advice she had given, while vague, might help him, and the day was going well. ¡°So, how is the food?¡± she asked quietly. And Adon realized that while this conversation had gone on, he had still been quietly draining away the last of this kobold¡¯s juices. The body began to make a sound like a juice box when the straw has sucked away all of the liquid inside¡ªand the person with the straw has continued to suck. In his mind, Adon groaned. Now I look like a weird monster¡­ 3-19. Warrior Politics ¡°There was one thing I wanted to tell you before I forget,¡± Rosslyn said, watching as Adon pulled his proboscis from the neck of the dead¡ªand now very drained¡ªkobold. Go on, Adon sent. ¡°I saw you used magic to reinforce your wings when we were fighting the monsters, and then you slashed at them with the edges of your body.¡± She lowered her voice meaningfully. ¡°I would be careful about using your body as a weapon in this place.¡± Why? Adon sounded surprised. I appreciate the advice, but my body is the main thing I have right now. ¡°True. It is not as though we made special armor for butterflies. Even if we had, you have repeatedly grown to a larger size as your body matures and strengthens.¡± Adon¡¯s wingspan was now slightly wider than Rosslyn¡¯s shoulders, which left his surface area in his base form similar to the surface area of Rosslyn¡¯s breastplate. The visual reminder that he was only growing more powerful and still likely at a relatively early stage of his development was striking. ¡°The problem is that, while humans mostly do not have access to mana, and these kobolds seem to have been insufficiently intelligent to use it, many monsters in a dungeon will be able to use mana.¡± So I should expect them to throw fireballs my way? Adon sent in a lightly humorous tone. ¡°No¡ªwell, maybe¡ªbut I mean that you should expect that they may be able to infuse their bodies, or parts of them, with mana. If your butterfly wings imbued with mana collide with something else that is similarly imbued with mana, I would expect your wings to get shredded unless you have made some other modifications to them with your Transformation ability. I know those thin membranes that butterflies have are among the most delicate organs that exist in nonhuman species.¡± It would be a shame if something were to happen to them, she added silently in her own mind, hoping Adon would read it there. She was trying to put a slightly funny spin on it, but Rosslyn suspected that permanent injury might be possible if he were to damage his wings badly enough. Mystic butterflies and a wide variety of other insects, including some non-magical ones, had a natural ability to shed their exoskeletons and frequently could heal, including regrowing entire lost limbs. But she had no confidence that Adon could regenerate from something as major as, say, a decapitation or, less dramatically, a severed wing. As Rosslyn came from the land that revered the mystic butterfly, and she had been interested in bugs as a young girl, she had studied butterfly anatomy closely at that time. She still remembered much of what she had learned. I would not want you to end up losing something that you cannot get back, she thought. Then the Princess lowered her hand. Without thinking about it, she had reached up to adjust her eyepatch¡ªsomething like a nervous tic. You¡¯ve got it, Rosslyn, Adon replied in a serious tone. And she knew that he had fully absorbed her subtext. Adon often seemed to be nervous about communicating with other people¡ªas if he worried that he would not understand or be understood. But Rosslyn had found that once the two of them got to know each other, he was the equal of anyone she had met outside her family for reading her signals. She gave the butterfly a parting nod and then excused herself. It was time to coordinate next steps. Turning back, she saw the knights. Some of them stood in readiness, disciplined, prepared for the descent to the next level of the dungeon. Most of those were Claustrians. A significant chunk of the Dessian knights, while probably in some sense technically ready for descent to the next level, were busy bloodying themselves by carving up the kobolds¡ªeither trying to harvest some of the meat, which was understandable considering that they would be descending further into this underground world¡ªor peeling off bits of armor and skin. These latter items could be sold for decent profit in the surface world¡ªassuming that one made it back to the surface with them. That caveat was important, because many adventurers had been reported missing presumed dead in dungeons, and on the occasion that a body was found, the picked-clean skeleton was usually still wearing a pack full of loot. We are better than this, Rosslyn thought. Well, the Claustrian knights actually were better than that. They were not acting like common adventurers, wasting energy on pillaging corpses when they were on a time-sensitive mission. Rosslyn was a little disappointed in the unprofessionalism from the Dessian knights, who generally had a good reputation for their conduct in war. Especially when she considered that these were elite knights. Perhaps I need to offer an incentive to get their minds focused in the right direction. The Claustrian crown had many problems at the moment, but a shortage of gold was not a significant issue in recent decades. But if she wanted to present a bounty for the destruction of the dungeon core or something, she would need to discuss that with William and Frederick. These were their Brandon Guard, bodyguards directly in their employ, so to do anything else would be insulting and a major faux pas. As Rosslyn approached the young lords, however, she sensed a tension in the air. The way they looked at her as they turned¡ªit was not quite hostile, but she could not put her finger on the feeling that it gave her. The Princess had to resist the urge to turn back and face Adon, who was undoubtedly draining another poor dead kobold of its bodily fluids. She would have liked to have a mind-reader sitting on her shoulder right now. Maybe¡­ Rosslyn raised her inner voice to a shout. Adon! Could you help me out? I need to know what the brothers from Dessia are thinking about.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. It took Adon a minute to respond. Despite consciously walking slowly, Rosslyn was almost within touch range of the brothers when the butterfly gave his answer. William resents that you gave the troops orders without consulting him, Adon finally transmitted. Since the bulk of the forces are his, he believes that he should be in charge. There was an unmistakable distaste in Adon¡¯s tone, and a little part of Rosslyn wanted to smile; Adon was the mind-reader, but he was also an open book. She suppressed the impulse to smile, though. The brothers were right in front of her. Now, at least, she knew exactly what she wanted to say. The Princess put on a deliberately grateful expression. ¡°Thank you both,¡± she said, making eye contact with William and Frederick in turn. ¡°The expedition has started off very well in my opinion. Your knights have done great work already. Living up to their reputation.¡± Rosslyn saw the right corner of William¡¯s lip turn up slightly. He had gone from prepared for an argument to fighting the urge to smile. Good. I can manage you after all¡­ ¡°I took the lead on this floor, but I wonder if either of you might like to take charge through the end of the next level,¡± she continued. ¡°If we rotate the command structure, the men will be prepared in case any one of us is injured and rendered unable to give orders. It also helps in case any of us grow fatigued.¡± This was meant to be a sort of olive branch, and it worked. Frederick and William glanced at each other, William gave a quick nod, and then the two of them agreed to her plan. William would take command on the next floor. If either or both brothers were ticked off about Rosslyn ordering the charge at the kobolds, neither of them was willing to bring it up after she had defused the situation in this way. Thank you, Adon, she thought. We should be doing this sort of thing all the time¡­ Now all she had to do was segue the conversation into getting the knights to move a little more quickly now that they were within sight of the exit from this level. As Rosslyn guided the conversation with the two brothers in that direction, she also thought not just of this dungeon and managing the small-scale politics of this international joint expedition, but of palace politics generally, which had taken a back seat lately to invasion concerns. She thought of foreign diplomacy and courtly life. She thought about the future peace process with the Demon Empire, assuming that Claustria survived this invasion as it had survived previous attacks. There was so much that she did not understand, and she considered that almost everything she did, virtually all of the larger missions in her life, would benefit if she had Adon beside her. This moment was just one of many that demonstrated that. She also liked him a lot. Then she considered her doubts. They were mostly a product of two things: first, Adon had made the almost inexplicable decision to interfere in her duel with William. That had been unnecessary as well as dangerous, to both Adon himself and, on a macro level, the entire Kingdom of Claustria. That might seem exaggerated, but it was a very deliberated view of the facts. Rosslyn was willing to see William leave, if that was William¡¯s choice, but she was far from eager to push him away just now. The contingent of knights he brought with him was large and would be a significant asset if he happened to be inside of the city of Wayn when the Empire undoubtedly attacked. Was Adon truly that insecure? Well, I know he has some reason to be. But he should trust me¡­ The other source of doubt was more practical. Adon had thus far been unable to make a humanoid Transformation work, which suggested he might have a different life path ahead of him than staying by her side. One in which he behaved more like a butterfly and less like the person that she knew he was on the inside. There were some precedents of that kind in their history. Not every mystic butterfly remained in Claustria for its whole life and formed deep connections to the Royal Family. If Adon decided to go with the nonhuman side of himself, he would probably migrate once the war was over, perhaps with the changing of seasons. In that case, Rosslyn would almost certainly never see him again. She felt a little queasy at that thought. Imagining him floating up into the wind, literally never to return, felt like she would be letting something important go. Rosslyn had the emotional intelligence to recognize that part of this feeling was that Adon had arrived at a time of high emotion for her already. First, she was dealing with Lord Baranack trying to match her with whoever and undermine her ability to secure a good marriage for the future of the Kingdom. Then she had been betrayed, almost killed, and deprived of one eye. After that, things took a downward turn when she learned her father had been poisoned and had to begin worrying about becoming an orphan. On top of that, the poisoner was the maid who was her closest human confidant outside her family. It would have been enough to drive a lesser woman to despair. So, it is possible that I am forming an attachment to him just because he has a nice, comforting presence, she acknowledged in her own mind. When I am in the middle of losing everything that matters, having someone who seems to be on my side without having any obvious ulterior motives is a powerful feeling. But still¡­ ¡°We should get moving,¡± William said, nodding. Rosslyn dimly recognized that he was agreeing with what she had just proposed, about proceeding to the next level. She smiled mechanically. ¡°Thank you,¡± she mouthed. William smiled brightly in response. She could tell he relished being in the position of command. And what about William? Rosslyn asked herself. Where is his place in my future? In the future of my country? Does he have one? Am I going to get his help here and then discard him like an old menstrual rag? Rosslyn felt sick about that too. ¡°All Dessian knights, finish what you are doing in the next ten seconds and return to formation!¡± William ordered in a commanding tone. He was clearly used to receiving complete and immediate obedience from men under his command, and this was no exception. None of the knights tested the ten second limit he had imposed. The ones who were skinning the creatures they had slain dropped what they were doing instantly, cleaned off their daggers, and fell into formation. Rosslyn¡¯s thoughts turned from the future back to the dungeon. There was still too much blood stench hanging in the air to think about what would happen after they cleared this place. Adon fluttered back over to the group and settled silently on her shoulder again. At another command from William, the group marched forward. They secured their climbing anchors to the walls of the tunnel that led to the next level. After all, you never knew if the dungeon was going to include a sudden drop into its design, meant to test the unwary who had come to challenge it. Behind them, Rosslyn heard a gentle, distant skittering. She did not bother to turn her head. Some kobolds were left alive. Perhaps most of them. It was unsurprising. They had only killed the creatures foolish enough to mass themselves out in the open. But that was a problem for another time¡ªor, with luck, one they would not have to deal with at all. Eyes forward, the party descended, deeper into the darkness¡ªtoward the truly challenging arenas of the dungeon. 3-20. Transition Between Levels Adon thought that the descent into darkness was worse this time than on the previous occasion. The one positive about this tunnel was that, like the tunnel and caverns they had previously passed through, it was quite spacious¡ªthough Adon supposed it had to be, if there were larger and more ferocious monsters at the lower level that the dungeon was meant to unleash on the outside world. But in other respects, this passage was perhaps the most dangerous element of the journey so far. In addition to the deepening shadows that made it difficult even for Adon to see, there was now a constant, slow and steady drip of water. It was not from somewhere behind them, either. There were random drips of water within the tunnel that they were descending through. Despite the fact that this was a very steep tunnel that had no cut out stairs but was instead mostly smooth floor. The combination of ever-more-intense darkness with a slightly steeper shaft and the newfound presence of damp made this tunnel feel much more perilous than just facing some overgrown lizards. Adon was fairly certain the design of this environment was intended to cause unprepared adventurers to slip to their deaths. Without the climbing gear they had brought, Adon thought the party would have experienced its own brushes with death, at the very least, already. He himself would always be fine, of course, because he could fly, and even if he fell to the very bottom of this mineshaft-like place, he would be unlikely to suffer more than a bent antenna. In fact, aside from drops of water occasionally randomly falling from the ceiling and landing on him, Adon was not even inconvenienced by this situation. But it was disconcerting. The butterfly felt compelled to consider what the sudden presence of moisture in this space might mean about the next phase of the dungeon. Do you think the next level is a water level? Adon transmitted. ¡°I have no idea,¡± Rosslyn whispered back immediately, clearly more focused on maintaining her footing than on speculation about the upcoming challenges. If it is, I look forward to catching some fish, Goldie sent from her position behind them, on Frederick¡¯s shoulder. I think I may have liked fish¡ªum, in my previous life. The spider sounded as vaguely nervous as she usually did whenever she mentioned some half-remembered aspect of her last incarnation. ¡°If it is a fish level, we can all stop and gather some more food,¡± Frederick replied. ¡°The knights cannot continue at this pace long into the evening, no matter how well trained they are or how much mana they have fueling them.¡± This sounded rather pointed to Adon, and he quickly picked up with Telepathy that the remark was aimed at William and Rosslyn, a reminder that they should make camp at some point. Frederick was not entirely confident in either his or Claustria¡¯s knights being able to carry on into the evening. Though the cave setting¡ªand the resulting distance from sunlight¡ªdisguised the situation, the young lord was very cognizant that time was passing, during which the warriors¡¯ efforts were essentially nonstop. There was a little more chatter back and forth, speculating about the probable state of the next floor, but it became clear, especially with the context provided by Telepathy, that it was nothing but pure speculation. Adon was more interested in what Rosslyn was thinking about than anything that passed in the conversation happening around them¡ªan exchange in which she barely participated. If we took one hour to make it down into the dungeon and through the first level, is it reasonable to assume two hours for the second floor? she questioned. Then, if we finish the second floor in that time, maybe twice as long again for the third? By the fifth floor, that would mean a total of over thirty hours spent in this place, not counting the time we will need to navigate out¡ªwhich probably tacks on at least another twelve hours, even assuming incredible speed. Round that up to forty-eight hours total. Two days in which the city is under-defended and does not have leadership¡ªunless the worst happens, and they are forced to awaken my father. Given the dungeon¡¯s age, it could not have more than five floors, right? Unless it was developing in secret for longer than we realized¡ªor it has rushed some of the lower floors out of sheer desperation. But then the later floors should be easily cleared¡ªright? The stories of dungeons that rushed their development are so rare and diverge from each other so much, it is hard to draw anything useful from them. If only we had not sent those damned adventurers in before¡­ So, Rosslyn was dealing with some stress-inducing questions. Adon wished he knew more, but he had only his own vaguely connected memories to try to help out, and they were far from helpful in this area. He remembered another lifetime in which he had been a monster in a dungeon, but he hadn¡¯t had much sense of time in that incarnation, since he was no more than a wild beast to be pointed at a target and then unleashed¡ªwhen he wasn¡¯t attacking or being attacked by fellow monsters. He reflected for a moment that the life of a monster was a cold, lonely one. Aside from breeding, there was almost literally no companionship in the creatures¡¯ lives. They lived to fight and kill. At least they seemed to enjoy it when I lived that life, though, he reminded himself. To the extent that you can assign that a label like joy. As Adon was trying to glean anything useful that he could, the group reached a certain threshold in the tunnel, and the lighting subtly changed. A colorful glow began creeping into the nearly pitch darkness, and as Adon observed, the knights began placing their steps more reliably on the more even parts of the floor.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. The cool blue-green glow quickly grew less subtle as the party advanced, and Adon saw the source. The walls and ceilings were growing fungi. Adon used Identify on the strange glowing substances and found that it was predominantly two species. Demonic Green Moss (Basic); and Monstrous Blue-Green Lichen (Basic). What does it mean for a fungus to be ¡°basic?¡± Adon wondered. Is there an advanced moss? An expert lichen? Maybe I could get reincarnated again, but my punishment for failing at this life would be that I would have to figure out how to get good at being moss. Then he shared what he had noticed with the group. Adon thought he was probably the first to have observed the distinct shapes of the fungi that grew sporadically, but in ever-increasing quantities, on the walls and ceiling. But he was mistaken. ¡°We had noticed the glowing fungi already, little friend,¡± Frederick said, speaking before anyone else¡ªand trying, Adon noticed, to be nice about saying something that the young lord clearly thought was obvious. It¡¯s so strange, though, Samson sent. Why would the dungeon put glowing fungi down here? After making the tunnel so difficult to navigate otherwise¡ªsteep, dark, and slippery¡ªwhy would it add lights part of the way down? It drastically reduces the odds of people slipping and falling. This was repetitive of what Adon had observed¡ªand commented to the group¡ªbut it was nice that someone besides him was questioning what was going on with the dungeon¡¯s allocation of resources. If one thought of the dungeon as a sort of quasi-living thing that was trying to build its body and the creatures that inhabited that body to increase odds of survival, then what was the point of including a life form that would consume resources and only help the people wandering around the dungeon? ¡°It is curious,¡± Rosslyn agreed. ¡°Every dungeon environment is different¡ªsometimes strikingly different even from one level to the next¡ªthough they often follow certain patterns. I think I have heard of the Monstrous Blue-Green Lichen existing in other dungeons before, at least.¡± What did you hear about it? Adon asked. He could simply probe her mind, but he preferred this. ¡°I heard that it is food for certain species of monster,¡± William said, speaking before Rosslyn could open her mouth. The Princess nodded in agreement. ¡°It indicates that the dungeon biome ahead is likely to be more complex than the one on the first level. There may be a whole sustainable ecosystem on the second floor, with some creatures consuming the mushrooms so that they do not have to consume each other. This requires much less investment from the dungeon than continuously spawning new creatures, some of which are eaten by the more mature ones, as some dungeons do.¡± Wait, what were the kobolds doing to survive? Adon transmitted, slightly horrified. Were they eating each other? The same thing that spiders do when they are in a confined space with only other spiders, Goldie replied gently. Common among nonhumans, since most are not as gentle as those of us here. Adon perceived a thread of thought underneath the one transmitted; Goldie was recalling a small population of spiders within the palace that she had completely wiped out, post-Evolution. Adon observed that she had done this despite already being a mystic beast who had little or no reason to fear other creatures her own size. And she seemed to feel a little bad about it in retrospect. We¡¯re far from the garden now, Adon sent¡ªdirecting the message to his friend only. And we¡¯re getting better all the time, Goldie. I hope so, she replied. We are on a mission defending a human kingdom. It feels as if we are becoming more human-linked all the time. I still do not know if that is truly better, but I trust your judgment, Adon. And Samson agrees with me. Adon felt a renewed sense of confidence in his own judgment, just from hearing his friend¡¯s words of affirmation. As he caught himself feeling that, he recognized something that might have been a struggle for him in this life¡ªand in all the others before it. I probably care what other people think of me too much, he thought. That¡¯s why I feel sort of mortified if I think someone disapproves of something I did or said, and I keep trying to win other people¡¯s approval. That¡¯s why Goldie has realized she needs to periodically inflate my ego like this. Rosslyn has said something sort of like this outright, too, hasn¡¯t she? That I think too much about other people and need to worry more about myself? They were both probably putting a positive spin on something that¡¯s really just a form of insecurity. I just really want to be liked, I guess. Maybe desperately. Has indulging that feeling of inadequacy ever helped me win someone over in the past, though? No, I think it has the exact opposite effect¡­ Understanding people¡ªthe topic he had asked Rosslyn about back on the first level¡ªwas clearly not his primary weakness. At least not now that he could literally read minds. Even with that power, he still felt as if his social skills were his biggest struggle in life. Maybe this was the real problem. Maybe he just cared too much about his image in the eyes of others, and that led him to overthinking and to crippling anxiety in social situations. And to rash decisions that were motivated by fear, more than anything. Maybe¡­ The group rounded a slight bend, and the sheer quantity of light in the passage increased by an order of magnitude, pulling Adon¡¯s attention back to his surroundings. The mass of fungi present had increased dramatically, growing all over the walls and ceiling like some surreal form of inverted indoor carpeting, covering the parts of the space where people would never set foot. Everyone else¡¯s eyes were drawn to the lush, blue-green, glowing surroundings, but Adon focused elsewhere. There, maybe fifty feet away¡­ In the distance, Adon could see a small rectangle of space that was a different color and consistency visually than the rest of what he could see around him. They were coming to the end of the passage. Adon considered what he wanted to do next. He was in a dungeon now, so of course, his actions were not completely unconstrained. But he wanted to test out his theory of how he should be behaving. How would I behave right now if I didn¡¯t care what the people around me thought? 3-21. The Entrance to Level Two How would I behave right now if I didn¡¯t care what the people around me thought? Adon repeated silently to himself. Assuming that I still care about clearing the dungeon and protecting the Kingdom and all that. Adon would still care about those things, he was fairly certain, even if he suddenly stopped caring what the Princess and her family thought of him. Claustria was where he had grown from a little egg into a healthy caterpillar¡ªand from there into a splendid mystic butterfly. Be it ever so humble, it was home. And when home was threatened, one did not just run or fly away. The proper thing to do was to defend it. Adon knew that without needing to reason through it very much; you could not have anything worth possessing if you were unwilling to defend it. This was a broad universal truth. With that principle quietly reestablished, Adon began considering his next move. If I don¡¯t care about what anyone else thinks of me, the first thing I need to do is establish my independence from the group, Adon thought. Not that I don¡¯t care what happens to them¡ªfar from it, with Goldie, Samson, and Rosslyn here¡ªbut I¡¯m not here to follow orders. I¡¯m here on a mission, the same as William or Rosslyn. I want to keep the place where I live safe. And I also want to understand the monsters better¡ªat least understand where they come from and why. I still feel like there¡¯s some kind of mystery here for me to unravel. Otherwise, why did I have those flashbacks to a previous life as a monster when I was in the middle of evolving? I refuse to believe it was all pointless¡­ The butterfly quickly hit on a good, simple method to accomplish a little of what he had in mind. As he thought about this, his wings gently opened and closed, his body already primed to spring into motion. Still, he stayed on Rosslyn¡¯s shoulder for the moment. He allowed himself to be carried along at the same pace as the rest of the group. After a couple more minutes, they came to the end of the tunnel. It terminated in a large opening¡ªroughly the same size as the dungeon¡¯s entrance and the passage that had led them here. Both of those spaces had allowed for the members of the party to descend in multiple lines, several people standing abreast, with others walking behind them. The only difference between this opening and the dungeon opening was that this one almost completely blocked visibility, despite the fact that there was plenty of light. A wall of clear, swiftly running liquid stood immediately in front of the party. The entrance to the second level was apparently a waterfall. A discussion immediately began among Rosslyn and the young lords about where to go and what to do next. ¡°We will probably have to rappel down the sides of this waterfall,¡± Rosslyn suggested quietly. ¡°Two groups are probably the maximum number that we can afford to lower, one on each side. Since the water will make the descent slippery, we do not want group members stepping on each other¡¯s toes. The strongest would naturally descend first. We could signal for the next group to descend with two sharp tugs on the line leading up here.¡± ¡°I agree that the strongest should descend first,¡± said William, ¡°but I would suggest we do not bother with the rappels to start with. The three of us can just pour mana into our fingers and descend with our bare hands. Fewer people maximizes our stealth, and if we can scout the territory without being seen, that improves the odds of defeating this level without any loss of life. We should climb directly down through the waterfall instead of moving to the sides. The water itself will give us concealment.¡± Frederick raised an eyebrow at his brother¡¯s plan but said nothing for a moment. Still, Adon heard his thoughts: That sounds like it could very easily kill us, if we lose our grip for a moment and the fall is far enough. After a moment, the younger brother spoke up aloud. ¡°I think that if we do that, you and I should descend first, brother. And we should consider using our family¡¯s traditional magic to make the descent more safely.¡± William suddenly looked daggers at his younger brother, and his train of thought gave away why in an instant. Frederick, have you lost your head? After we learned of the mystic beasts¡¯ presence, we agreed we would not show any abilities distinct to our family while we were in this country. We have no idea if the butterfly or the spiders have some power that would allow them to copy magic. If we showed it to them, we might well be handing our secrets directly to the Royal Family of Claustria. All in exchange for getting through a dungeon level a little more quickly. That¡¯s interesting, Adon thought. He really believes I could just copy his family¡¯s magic? Could I? I have gotten better and better as a mage. But just learning by watching seems pretty hard. If Rosslyn had not told me what she was doing pretty explicitly when she explained fire magic, would I have been able to just imitate her? I don¡¯t think so¡­ Frederick seemed to wither under his brother¡¯s intense gaze, and the younger brother turned to look at the waterfall, shifting his posture into a position of attention locked into a sort of thousand yard stare. Like a subordinate soldier waiting to be reprimanded by a superior officer. It was at this point that the butterfly injected himself into the conversation. I want to volunteer to scout ahead, Adon sent. As much as anyone else here, I am determined to defeat this dungeon and unlock its mysteries as quickly as possible, with minimal loss of life. For once, I¡¯m the one best suited to perform an important task. As a small butterfly, I can scope out what dangers might exist beyond this entryway much more safely than anyone else. I¡¯ll fly in, zip around until I know what¡¯s up, and then head back and give you all the full details. The butterfly felt a strange, warm sensation of pride in his center of mass as he realized that he was not certain he had ever spoken so confidently to a group larger than two people before.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Then he felt the emotions of everyone else around him in response to his pronouncement. A distinct haze of doubt leaked from every human present. Well, not every human. Rosslyn¡¯s emotional wavelength was more like concern, which matched Goldie¡¯s energy. Adon was somewhat satisfied to note that the concern from Rosslyn felt sort of muted. She thought he could handle this; she was mostly just surprised that he was offering. Adon, are you sure about this? Rosslyn thought. ¡°There is no need for you to put yourself at risk, noble butterfly,¡± William began, speaking in a soft, courteous tone. ¡°We have trained scouts¡ª¡± Do you have a good reason for me to do otherwise? Adon replied instantly¡ªand rather bluntly. He was slightly annoyed at how William pretended to respect him with his spoken words¡ª¡°noble butterfly¡±¡ªbut had called him a worm in his mind earlier. He knew that aristocracy and royalty were probably obliged to be indirect to some degree¡ªbut he himself was not. He had no constituency, no title, no lands. He was not duty-bound to any tradition. We need to move quickly, and no matter how elite you or your knights are, they cannot scout more effectively than a flying insect who can blend in with the environment. Trust me to gather the information we need about our next challenge. Even if there are many things that I cannot do well, flying around without being captured or seen is easy for me. There was a sort of rush for Adon. It felt a little like he was speaking his mind for the first time, although that would have been a ridiculous sentiment if he had actually believed that, specifically, was what was happening. Still, there was some sense of liberation. He was ignoring his own desire to be liked and fear of what others would think of him and just saying what he thought made sense. Then he felt the emotions from those around him and was relieved that he seemed to be on the right track with the effect he had intended to have. William was cycling through emotions quickly. He had started out surprised, gone to annoyed, and finally arrived at what felt like a grudging respect for Adon¡¯s blunt spoken approach. Well, no one can deny your reasoning is sound, Rosslyn thought, giving Adon a little smile from one corner of her lips. ¡°We might as well let him go,¡± she said aloud, trying to sound neutral. ¡°He is correct that his abilities lend well to a stealth mission.¡± William pursed his lips, looking displeased again. But he finally nodded. ¡°It does make sense, I suppose. After a fashion¡­¡± He bit his lip and then made himself smile at Adon. Who would spot a worm wriggling its way down the side of the cliff? William thought. A perfect strategy. Adon found himself glad, for far from the first time, that he had no face with which to make expressions. He would have given William so many impertinent looks by this point in their acquaintanceship that the young lord would no doubt have challenged him to a duel already. Would you like company in your descent, Adon? Goldie sent, the message aimed at the butterfly alone. Adon took a moment to think before he replied to her. He would enjoy having some company, but it was likely that she would actually make his mission harder. He did not know if Goldie had practiced Transformation at all. He had never seen her use it in any notable way, and he intended to make himself completely invisible for this entire scouting trip. It really would be a very safe expedition within the expedition, the way he intended to execute it. I think I should do this one alone, Goldie, Adon sent. I can become invisible, and¡ªum, well, you can¡¯t do that, can you? We should hang out after I get back, though. The spider shook her head slightly. I cannot. Perhaps with practice¡ªbut not in time to be useful right now. ¡°Well, whenever you are ready, noble butterfly,¡± William said, tilting his head at the small gap that existed between the stream of liquid from the waterfall and the cliffside. Good luck, Adon, Rosslyn thought loudly. She was smiling at him without reservation now. You can do it, bro, Samson transmitted. Stay safe, Adon, Goldie sent. Stick to the mission as you described it¡­ Adon had the distinct sense that Goldie was worried about him, and he had no idea why. Do I seem like the kind of guy who takes unnecessary risks? Adon replied a little flippantly. Kind of, yes, Rosslyn thought. Definitely, Goldie sent. Absolutely, no one more than you! Samson sent with great enthusiasm. And with those parting words, Adon transformed his body into a smaller, thinner version of itself¡ªhe needed to do that to pass through the tiny gap between the waterfall and the cliffside without getting his wings wet. He fluttered to just in front of the waterfall, getting as close as he could without getting droplets on his body. Then he hurled himself like a frisbee, spinning sideways through the gap. ¡°Are we certain this was prudent?¡± was the last thing he heard from the others, spoken by Frederick, before the roar of the waterfall cut off the sound of the young lord¡¯s voice. Then Adon was in the bright air of the second level¡¯s ecosystem. And it was very well illuminated. The fungi that grew in the space between levels was everywhere here, casting the vast space in gorgeous blue-green light that refracted through the waterfall in gorgeous patterns. At first, all he could see was that persistent glow, as his body spun and spun until he struck the cliffside. He bounced forward, then flapped twice and finally righted himself. He found that he was staring up at the high vaulted ceiling of this massive underground space, so he reoriented slightly, to have a better view of the ground. Far below, he saw where the waterfall came to its terminus, a bubbling pool that was at least a thousand feet down from where he floated, at a middle elevation. Beside the pool, a tiny green figure scampered around at ground level. Adon focused his vision on it. The green figure was very short, to Adon¡¯s eyes. Perhaps three feet tall. Is that a goblin or something? he wondered. Whatever it was, the creature turned its head furtively from side to side, as if it knew that Rosslyn and her party was near and was wary of being suddenly killed. Then it grabbed for one of the glowing mushrooms. Only a single, piercing shriek alerted Adon before the attack came. Then a grayish white, feathered blur ripped the goblin in half. Adon immediately checked to make certain that he had rendered himself invisible. He found that he had done it reflexively, perhaps even before he stopped spinning after passing out from behind the waterfall. Not a moment too soon. The menace of the second level had arrived, and this beast could fly. 3-22. The Ecosystem of Level Two Adon felt an instinctive sense of pressure at the presence of the flying beast a thousand feet below him. Even floating far above, even invisible, he sensed that this was a superior species that could kill him and consume him¡ªwould naturally kill him and consume him, assuming that he had no tricks up his sleeve that could upset the natural pecking order. This was the same feeling Adon had experienced during his encounters with the eagle and the bear previously. This sense of his own status as prey persisted despite the fact that the winged creature did not look up at him¡ªdid not seem to be aware of his presence in any way. Adon did not even have any apparent reason to believe the creature was intelligent, but he still felt an instinctive hesitancy at the thought of fighting this monster. As he watched, the avian creature tore into its bisected prey. The victim continued wriggling its green limbs, despite being torn in half, even as the bird-like monster sank its head into the exposed innards protruding from the upper half. Adon felt slightly queasy at the sight of the monster eating the intestines and drinking the blood of its slowly dying quarry. For once, I¡¯m glad my base size is small, he thought. I can¡¯t imagine being killed that slowly. It must have been a few minutes at most, but as Adon watched the green figure die, it felt like an eternity passed before his eyes. Still, he learned multiple important pieces of information about the second level in those few minutes. First, Adon looked away from the monsters demonstrating the circle of life and got a broad view of the terrain. The second level appeared to be entirely a massive underground canyon, with gray cliffsides that rose on either side of a roughly hundred foot gap. The cliffsides were marked with small grottoes of various sizes, where Adon guessed the monsters made their dens. This setting began not far from the waterfall entrance¡ªthere was a dead end cliffside close by¡ªand continued on for roughly a mile in the other direction, before it hit a wall that either marked the end of the level or at least the end of Adon¡¯s ability to see in that direction, if there was a curve that he was unable to spot from his present distance. Second, he used Identify on the two monsters. The green creature was a Diminutive Green Goblin; Adon had guessed the creature¡¯s general race correctly. The gray and white feathered monster was a female Bloodthirsty Strix, a name Adon had never heard before. Third, Adon began to piece together how the ecosystem of the second level functioned. The adjectives in the monsters¡¯ species names told a story that Adon was able to corroborate and flesh out with his continued observations. As he was watching the green goblin be slowly killed by the strix, two additional goblins cautiously crept out of some tiny hollows at the base of the cliffside, and they went for a couple of the same glowing mushrooms that the first goblin had been brutally savaged pursuing. There was a tense moment when the strix looked up from its prey and eyed the creatures, and the goblins froze. No, they did not just freeze. They stopped, adjusted their postures, and stood in place like baseball players caught in the middle of trying to steal bases, poised to flee to their previous positions. Then the strix seemed to decide that a goblin in its grip was worth more than two that it would have to chase. It lowered its head and continued tearing into its already-captured prey¡ªwith added gusto, to Adon¡¯s eyes¡ªand the goblins resumed their forward motion. They plucked a handful of mushrooms each and then high-tailed it back into their tiny grottoes¡ªholes small enough, Adon guessed, that the strix could not easily pursue them into their dens. These two goblins were some of the lucky ones, in Adon¡¯s view. As he got a better look at the lower elevations within the level, the butterfly saw that there appeared to be many goblins within the hundreds of holes in the walls that were goblin-sized. Most of them were reluctant to poke their heads out. Adon knew why. The strix was still out there, finishing off one of their brethren. Then another goblin stepped out of its hole. This one was not as lucky as the previous two had been. Swooping in seemingly out of nowhere with a horrendous screech, another strix descended. It moved so quickly that Adon felt it would be difficult for him to catch it at its top speed, and as the goblin attempted to scramble back into its grotto, the strix caught it within its massive talons. Then it lowered its long, blade-like beak and began tearing into the poor green monster¡¯s vital organs. Since this strix had been less merciful than the first one, the entire area around was soon filled with the sounds of a monster screaming and crying as it was eaten alive. Fatal injuries were inflicted within the first minute, but Adon knew by looking at the nature of the wounds that it might take almost half an hour for the monster to die. He was tempted to put the creature out of its misery, but stealth was the top priority right now, and nothing would get these monsters¡¯ attention like killing their prey while they were in the midst of consuming it. Despite his disgust for the strixes¡¯ ways, Adon reluctantly flew closer so that he could get a better look at them and a better understanding of the environment nearer to the ground. The humans he was scouting for would not spend much time at the lofty elevation where he had made his initial observations, after all.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. A closer view of the strixes revealed that they were like some sort of freakish combination of owl and eagle¡ªnot like the eagle-owl Adon had hunted and killed before, which was just a particularly large and powerfully built owl. These creatures had heads shaped like that of an owl¡ªboxy, with feathery tufts like horns crowning the tops¡ªand long necks like eagles. Their most important features from Adon¡¯s point of view were their remarkable descent speed, their long, blade-like beaks, and their large and sharp talons. As he watched the way they interacted with the ecosystem, it became clear to Adon that the strixes were not actually built to fight the goblins. The goblins were probably just a prey creature that the dungeon had spawned to feed the strixes¡ªit was probably cheaper in dungeon resources to spawn hundreds of goblins than hundreds of strixes that would eventually starve to death if not fed on fresh meat. But the long, sharp, metallic-looking beaks and claws were clearly intended to kill larger prey than the goblins. Adon assumed that this creature had been specifically designed to fight armor-wearing humans. He did not want to bet that the strixes¡¯ talons would be rebuffed by the knights¡¯ equipment. Especially not if the knights were assailed by the strixes while they were descending the high, steep cliffside That¡¯s a really good deathtrap, Adon thought. These creatures are fast and aggressive, and a human descending the cliffside would be as much of a sitting duck as these goblins. Maybe more. After his first ten minutes of watching the strixes, Adon thought he had a good idea of how the ecosystem down here worked. Then another goblin emerged from its hidey-hole, and Adon witnessed something very different happen. The goblin made it to where the mushrooms grew¡ªtortuously distant from the entrance to its little cave. Adon saw a strix streak across the open air toward the goblin. The goblin began to run back toward safety¡ªhopelessly, Adon thought, given its speed. Then a big, feathered brown shape struck the strix. The smaller bird of prey was essentially batted out of the way of the larger creature and went spinning off toward one of the cliffsides. And the big brown shape¡ªboth feathered and furry, Adon noticed¡ªdescended at even greater speed than the strixes and stopped the goblin¡¯s flight with a single claw pressed into its back. The claw struck with the full force of the creature¡¯s weight, penetrating the goblin from back to chest and coming out the other side. As the strange creature¡ªit appeared to have the front half and wings of an eagle and the back half of a lion¡ªraised the goblin on its claw toward its mouth, Adon could tell the goblin had died instantly. That¡¯s interesting. The one monster basically plays with its food, but this bigger guy¡ªAdon quickly Identified it as a Noble Griffin¡ªkills them in a single hit. It¡¯s almost like a difference in philosophy on display. The butterfly could easily have believed that the griffins were simply predators, while the strixes were sadists, from their respective behavior¡ªthe latter essentially the monster version of vicious serial killers. As he observed from his invisible position perched on a cliffside, the griffin swallowed the goblin whole. Then the strix that had been batted away flew over and attacked the griffin. The strixes¡¯ long, vicious talons traced a path of blood down the griffin¡¯s back, but the wound looked shallow to Adon, and the attack brought the strix within the griffin¡¯s attack range as well. The griffin¡¯s movement was almost fast enough to evade Adon¡¯s sight. It tore at the strix with a diagonal swipe of its claw, and the strix suddenly gushed a miniature river of blood from its center of mass. Far from being killed by this horrendous blow, the strix retained the strength to flap its wings and get distance. The griffin rose from its resting position and looked as if it wanted to pursue the strix, but three more strixes suddenly flapped toward the injured one. As the griffin held still a moment, assessing the situation, the four strixes stood seemingly united and glared at the beast. The griffin seemed to decide that the strix was not worth pursuing, surrounded by allies, but it also did not appear to fear the number of strixes on display. It did not flee, but simply seated itself and began licking away at the blood on its claws, cleaning itself where it had penetrated the goblin. Adon was close enough to the action that he could read all of the creatures¡¯ primitive thoughts at this point, and his Telepathy painted a fascinating emotional and ecological picture of the dynamics at play. The griffin seemed to be a relatively simple creature, but one with certain human-like emotions. A sense of pride, or an emotion much like that, kept it from abandoning the field to the strixes unless it was forced out by superior power on their side. It clearly viewed the birds of prey as hateful and inferior creatures. For their part, the strixes were all thinking different things. The wounded one, positioned third from the left, flanked by its comrades, doubted that its fellow strixes would join it if it tried to strike back at the griffin. All it hoped for from the other birds of prey was that they would not abandon it while it waited for its chest slash injury to slow its bleeding. The creature was even aware of a certain risk of being cannibalized by its fellows, depending on how long its wound took to heal, though there seemed to be some unity in the face of common enemies. The largest strix, furthest left from Adon¡¯s perspective, was thinking about using what appeared¡ªin the video memory Adon could see within its mind¡ªto be primitive magic. The strix had memories of gathering what looked like Adon¡¯s mana ball on its beak or claw and using it, in conjunction with superior numbers of strixes, to fend off griffins in the past. But it seemed reluctant to take the initiative without any way of assuring its allies would join it in the attack. The second from the left was bored. It recalled being in situations similar to the present one before, and it was aware that they tended to end in a sort of uneasy truce, with the griffins and strixes unable to fully dislodge each other from their shared zone of predation. From this strix¡¯s memories, Adon gathered that the strixes had both basic magic and superior numbers¡ªaround fifty or sixty in total¡ªon their side, while the griffins were larger, stronger, and more powerful, and their hides seemed to be somewhat resilient to both magical and physical attacks. The result of this dynamic was that the strix would never win in a one on one fight, but the griffins could not safely hazard a struggle against the strixes¡¯ superior numbers. The strix on the furthest right was afraid. It kept having visions of the griffin tearing its head off run through its brain. It had a clear determination in mind to flee if the griffin actually attacked. But the silent truce held, until external circumstances changed things. The waterfall that had stood behind Adon and to his right suddenly roared downward in a much greater quantity than had flowed before. The pool where the water gathered below started to overflow its banks, and all of the creatures at ground level stirred at the same moment. As Adon observed, the second level began to flood. 3-23. The Flood As water gushed forth from the waterfall, Adon looked, fascinated, back and forth between the source of the flow, at ceiling height, and the ground level, where the overflow was flooding the canyon. There were so many questions running through his mind at this sudden turn of events. Is this something that happens periodically in level two, or is it something that the dungeon triggered just now? Something that our side triggered? If it happens periodically, how is it survivable? Is it something that stops on its own? How high is that water going to go? How often does this place flood? How does the water affect these winged creatures¡¯ ability to hunt? These were the essential questions, in Adon¡¯s mind, that would affect how he and his allies handled the flooding on this level. As he watched, the creatures at ground level began altering their behavior in response to the slowly rising water level. The griffin stirred, rose to its feet, and then flapped its wings and took to the air, turning its back on the strixes without apparent hesitation and flying back toward the area of the cliffside from which it had emerged. Adon observed it duck into one of the larger caves that dotted the cliffside. So that¡¯s where it came from. The moment the griffin landed was when the strixes took off from the ground, all moving at the same time as if in response to a common signal¡ªthough the butterfly definitely would have noticed if they were using Telepathy. Adon detected relief from them that the griffin had left its position first. There was some apprehension of danger if they had to flee from the space while the griffin was still positioned to strike quickly. They flew back up out of harm¡¯s way before the water was deep enough to do more than moisten their legs. The wounded bird flew in an ungainly fashion, dripping precious red pearls of liquid from its abdomen, but it still flew. And its bleeding was noticeably less pronounced than it had been several minutes earlier. Adon continued watching the ground, waiting to see if any other creatures made their moves. But it took another couple of minutes before the true consequences of the flood revealed themselves. The water began to rise high enough to place the smaller sized dens near the ground mostly underwater, and finally, desperate and fearful goblins emerged from the little holes they hid in¡ªbarely indentations in the two cliffsides in some cases¡ªto crawl up the craggy rock faces and try to seek shelter elsewhere. Naturally, in those moments of exposure, the strixes and griffins struck. While the goblins were out in the open, Adon saw the stronger two species of monster come out in what appeared¡ªfrom the memories he had spied on¡ªto be full force. Over a dozen griffins and fifty to sixty strixes emerged from mid-sized and larger caves that were more common above ground level, and they dove at the goblins, tore them from the walls, and either ate them on the spot or carried them back to their own caves¡ªthe former being more common methodology from the griffins, the latter more common among the strixes which seemed to prefer slow death for their prey. Adon was wondering how there were any goblins left alive at all, if this flood had ever happened before, after the first handful of goblins were captured and killed. Then the strixes and griffins began fighting over the remaining specimens. A strix would set down next to a goblin only to be batted aside¡ªperhaps even into the rising water!¡ªby a griffin. Or a griffin would swoop down to grab a goblin only to be mobbed by a half dozen strixes, firing mana balls that forced the griffin to take evasive action. As skirmishes unfolded, it became obvious that the two rival species were more concerned with stopping their rivals from preying on the vulnerable goblins than they were with capturing food for themselves. It felt like an unnatural equilibrium to Adon, but he guessed that it was part of the deliberate design of the dungeon, because this dynamic was what allowed the vast majority of the goblins to reach safety above the flood waters. The flood waters rose to a certain level¡ªnot very high, to Adon¡¯s surprise¡ªaround the height of an average man¡¯s waist. Then they slowly began to recede. Interestingly, the waterfall did not appear to slow its flow by much until a minute after the water level had stabilized and started to fall. As best as Adon could tell, the many caves at waist height and below were a sort of drainage system, and the water had somewhere else to go rather than simply sitting in the little underground chambers. That almost had to be the case, because as soon as the waters drew near their normal level, the goblins quickly abandoned their new caves and began climbing back down the cliffside toward their points of origin. Adon knew why without needing to put much thought into it; the holes the goblins had hidden in above ground level were mostly too large for them. That might make them more comfortable, but it would also make it easier for their predators to enter and kill them. The height also took them further away from the mushrooms that appeared to be their only source of sustenance, which only grew at ground level within the chamber. The ceiling and cliff face had glowing moss growing on them, but there was no indicator to Adon that the goblins could or did eat that. As the green, miniature-human-like creatures descended, the griffins and strixes continued picking them off, but half-heartedly now and in smaller numbers. Almost all of them were exhausted on each side from the fierce but inconclusive fighting earlier. This is the strangest place I¡¯ve ever been, Adon thought. This artificial balance is all just to make sure there are enough monsters to kill any humans that try to invade, I guess. But it¡¯s just so complicated. How does the dungeon figure something like this out? Trial and error? Are there templates it follows?Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. More important than those questions into the capacities of the dungeon, Adon had observed that the flood lasted around fifteen minutes. Long enough that he suspected it could be deadly for humans caught in the water, but that depended on how willing to approach prey at the water level these winged monsters were. That had not truly been tested this time. The goblins wanted to be as far away from water level as possible during the flooding, so their predators could simply pick them off from the goblins¡¯ positions on the cliffsides. Also, the two or three strixes that had been knocked into the water during the skirmishes had been noticeably slowed down afterward, suggesting that soaked feathers were not good for them. They lacked the Adaptations and Skills to act as aquatic birds. So maybe the flood would be the best time to descend¡­ Adon wanted to gather a bit more information, so he fluttered, still invisible, after a strix as it glided into a cave where Adon guessed it made its home. Hopefully observing the creatures a bit more when they were in their dens would reveal some additional weaknesses or behavior patterns that would help his group make it through this floor. Adon¡¯s current belief was that the trek could not be made without losses. The geography was the main reason why. The steep cliffsides, coupled with the flooding, meant there were too many moments where the knights would be guaranteed to be placed in vulnerable positions by the dungeon¡¯s very design. Adon was also just guessing at how strong the griffins and strixes were relative to human magic wielders, but considering that the strixes used mana, and the griffins were nevertheless definitely stronger than them on an individual level, Adon was not optimistic about how well the knights would fare. And this is only level two, Adon thought. Shouldn¡¯t it slowly get progressively harder? Did we skip a level or something? The last one was feeble lizardfolk, and this one is these avian monsters. As he reached the end of the cave, Adon saw the strix return to its nest, a bed of gently glowing moss. There was a single juvenile strix there, to Adon¡¯s surprise¡ªthe small proportion of the strixes that he had identified had been female, so he had assumed that the dungeon simply spawned them as adults rather than the strixes laying eggs. The adult strix leaned over its young, which let out an ugly miniature version of the adult shriek. Then the fully grown version spat up some of the guts that it had apparently eaten earlier. The little bird opened wide to receive the bounty from its mother. And Adon just wished he was somewhere else. I kind of forgot that was a thing birds do¡­ Still, he stood and watched, hoping and waiting for some weakness to show itself. The adult strix finished feeding the young one and then settled into its nest beside the juvenile. Adon continued waiting. The adult strix fell asleep, and Adon considered just killing it, then decided it was pointless. There were scores more of these things, he was on a stealth mission that would probably be compromised if he started trying to kill strixes, and he could not even be certain it would benefit his party. After all, the strixes and griffins were clearly hostile¡ªperhaps more hostile to each other than they would ever be to any prey or outside groups. Who was to say that disrupting the balance between them by starting to kill off members of one group would be a good thing? It might just make it easier for the surviving group to go after the knights. With those thoughts in mind, and seeing that he would get no new information from the strixes in front of him, Adon returned to the entrance of the cave. Let¡¯s try spying on the griffins instead, he thought. Adon fluttered out of the darkness and back into the light, but only stayed there for long enough to spot a large opening¡ªthe sort of larger opening that would lead to a space where he imagined only the griffins would live, since they were the largest and most in charge of the creatures in this level. He floated into that cavern, and he immediately saw a griffin stalking down the path just a few feet in front of him, moving deeper into this cave that was easily more than large enough even for human habitation. It held a dead goblin in its jaws, though it seemed in no hurry to swallow the creature. Identify confirmed that the griffin was a male. And Adon flapped after him without hesitation. The griffin continued walking, without much apparent sense of urgency, until it came to a place where the cave opened up completely. Suddenly, Adon and the monster were no longer in an isolated tunnel-like space. No, there was a large openness behind the cave, and as Adon looked around, he realized that other large caves emptied into this large space too. Adon saw a group of seven griffins all gathered together, which the griffin he followed moved to approach. Some of the griffins lived in the other cliffside, Adon recalled. The total number of them is higher than I had realized. So, some of these guys didn¡¯t bother coming out to fight before, despite being pretty outnumbered¡­ It took him only a moment of observing to understand why. As Adon watched, the griffin that he had been following approached another griffin that was lying on the ground near the back of the cavern. The other griffin twisted her body around to turn toward the griffin Adon was following. The male griffin dropped its goblin beside the other¡¯s body, and then the two monsters nuzzled each other affectionately. They were clearly a mated pair, and even if Adon had not Identified the male earlier, he would not have needed it to figure out which one was the male and which was the female. The one that had been lying down, by twisting her body position, had revealed to Adon¡¯s gaze that she was heavily pregnant. As Adon watched the two parents necking, the unborn creature in the mothers¡¯ womb seemed to twist and writhe inside of the female¡¯s body. The butterfly looked around and located another female who was also pregnant. That explained why not all of the griffins¡¯ forces had made it to the battle. Some of them were busy with more long term work. Both sides are fighting for their young, Adon thought. Their young or their pregnant mates. This situation keeps being less and less what I would expect from a bunch of mindless monsters just created to prey on humans¡­ 3-24. Alliance Adon recalled his own experiences as a monster in a previous incarnation. He had been concerned with survival things, too, though he¡¯d had no young, since that was another forever alone incarnation. But he had not had any particular enmity for humans or other sentient races. He had eaten other monsters to survive¡ªjust like these griffins and even the rather crueler strixes. Whereas he had only gone and attacked that village of horned humanoids because he had received some sort of disembodied but irresistible command to do so. Is that how the dungeon makes things happen? he wondered. These creatures are living a perfectly ordinary, blissfully domestic life¡ªI mean, relatively happy and peaceful for the animal kingdom, anyway¡ªand then they¡¯re ordered to turn into foot soldiers? They have to hurl themselves at humans until one or the other side is destroyed¡­ But then, I guess that¡¯s how the dungeon itself survives. It seemed like a set of circumstances too difficult for a simple butterfly with only a couple of months of life under his belt to fully grasp. But Adon did feel that he at least had enough information about what was happening in the second level to begin making some judgment calls. He fluttered closer to the griffins and took a quick read of the emotional temperature of the room. These creatures felt relatively safe, happy among themselves. Adon had the sense that they were all kin of one kind or another, which made sense since they had all spawned in this dungeon. They were all offspring of the same intelligent entity. Here goes¡­ Adon opened up a telepathic channel to communicate with the griffin he had followed in. He was going to take a chance. Greetings Noble Griffin, Adon sent. I am¡ª The griffin let loose a loud yowl¡ªsomewhere between a bark and an eagle¡¯s screech. It stepped forward, getting in between its pregnant mate and the source of the sounds. Adon felt waves of surprise and confusion from both the griffin he had communicated with and the others around it¡ªall of which had no idea what the first griffin was reacting to. Adon allowed them a minute to communicate among themselves. The griffin he had used Telepathy on made a series of short bark-screeches and pointed one razor sharp claw in the direction the sound had come from. To its credit, the beast¡¯s claw was almost on target to Adon¡¯s actual location, despite Adon having given it less than ten syllables worth of sound with which to locate his voice. Maybe if I actually practiced to try this, I could make the direction of my Telepathy impossible to trace, Adon thought. There was a potential disadvantage to the way it currently worked, as this situation demonstrated. As the first griffin continued to growl and bark-screech and point insistently in Adon¡¯s direction, one of the other griffins¡ªthis one was brown with some white dappling across its wings, so Adon named it Speckles in his mind¡ªrose from its position on the stone floor. It moved across the hollow space, walking toward where its fellow griffin pointed. Adon simply held tight against the wall as the other griffin sniffed around and sought him out. The butterfly was confident in his invisibility. Speckles quickly gave up, turned back to the first one¡ªwhich Adon decided to label as Prime in his mind, because it lacked many distinguishing physical features, but it was at least the first that he had decided to observe more closely¡ªand made a sort of groaning noise. Adon would have understood the meaning of the sound even without Telepathy. There¡¯s nothing here. Are you certain you heard something? Before Prime could respond, Adon sent him a mixed sound and visual message. Only you can hear me, the butterfly transmitted, coupled with an image of waves moving through the air from his area of the cave to Prime and being blocked elsewhere. The griffin, flustered, sputtered out an answer to Speckles that sounded ambiguous and uncertain, and then thought something directed at Adon. There were no words in its mind, but the idea behind the thought transmitted itself clearly to the butterfly. How? How is it only me? Adon sent an image of the mana attack the strixes used, and focused very closely on the mana itself. Like that, magic, Adon sent, along with an image of a human hand caressing the griffin¡¯s head and an image of a human talking directly into a visible brain. The griffin seemed to visibly relax a bit. It might not fully understand mana or magic, but it knew that those things existed, and they didn¡¯t scare it. Then Prime thought something else, clearly intended for the butterfly¡¯s consumption. It was an image of the human that had been caressing the griffin¡¯s head taking a walk out of the cave and going back out through the waterfall. Adon sent a quick, wordless negative emotional pulse to the griffin, meant to indicate refusal. Prime responded with an image of a human walking near its mate, and the griffin leaping upon the human and ripping his head clean off. Yeah, message received, Adon thought. I get that you want to keep your family safe. We can¡¯t just go back the way we came, though. We have to defeat the dungeon¡­ He pondered how best to communicate that for a solid minute. Adon had decided that the best way that he could try to minimize loss of life for the human party was by trying to make an alliance with one of the two predator factions. Between the griffins and the strixes, the griffins, who were not obvious sadists, seemed like the obvious choice. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The strixes were probably smarter, considering they could manipulate mana. But the griffins seemed to be one big happy family, and there were far fewer of them, so maybe it would be easier to make an alliance with these creatures. At last, he hit on a line of communication that he thought would be acceptable and easy to understand. He spent another minute preparing a telepathic communication to win the griffins over. They don¡¯t need to know why we¡¯re here. Just the fighting stuff¡­ Adon sent Prime a long, video-style telepathic message this time. The video showed a group of armored humans descending from behind the waterfall, then being set upon by the strixes. The next part was perhaps a bit of a stretch, but Adon showed the griffins jumping in next, attacking the strixes from behind. Then the humans turned and, still clinging to the cliffside one-handed, drew swords and spears and clumsily fought the strixes as well. When the group of strixes backed down, the humans finished descending. They began crossing the valley, toward where Adon imagined the exit was located. The waterfall started to overflow behind them, causing a major outflow of goblins. At that point, the strixes descended again, and they attacked both the goblins and the humans. The humans basically fought defensively until the strixes were almost entirely down among them, and at that point, the griffins descended, and the knights began fighting much more aggressively, aiming to kill the strixes. Together, the humans and griffins chopped down the majority of the strixes before the rest ran away. Even that was not the end, though. The griffins in the video pursued the strixes and killed almost all of them, the numbers no longer lopsided. Adon depicted the griffins consuming strix flesh, since he assumed the creatures were edible. To conclude the video, Adon showed one of the humans shaking hands with one of the griffin¡¯s claws and then leaving through the exit to the next level¡ªwhich Adon pictured as a simple hole in the cliffside, somewhere above the water line. Well, what do you think of that? he thought. The griffin flapped its wings and suddenly sprang into the air. From its body language and general emotional aura, Adon understood that it was excited. So I did hit the right note with the message. An alliance might be possible, then¡­ Prime turned back to its fellow griffins and began gesticulating and making excited barking noises, attempting to communicate roughly what had happened. The ideas were too complex for a non-language to be used to convey them, of course. Fortunately, the butterfly was there. Now that he had seen how his proposal went over with Prime, he sent the same video message to Speckles and the others¡ªpreceded by a short clip of a human talking into Prime¡¯s brain. Adon was not human himself, but there was no reason to complicate things more than necessary. If the griffins knew he was a nonhuman himself, that might lead them to doubt whether he could actually speak for the humans or not. Adon was confident that the party would be happy to accept free help in navigating the dungeon. All they would have to do was fight the strixes alongside the griffins¡ªwhich was less than what they would have to do with no agreement at all. The benefits were obvious. And the group of griffins seemed to react positively to the message. The general pattern of their thoughts seemed to be eagerness to participate in the purge of the strixes. Adon got the sense that this had been a long-held goal of theirs¡ªpossibly even one of the reasons the griffins were currently breeding. To have additional members of their group to better compete with the other monsters. This competitive dynamic was part of how this level of the dungeon functioned¡ªthe two predators driving each other to greater heights of effectiveness and pushing each other to expand their respective populations or be outcompeted. But it would also be the weakness of this floor. Adon sent a message to indicate that he was returning to his allies¡ªanother video, since that was what went over fairly clearly with the griffins¡ªand then he left. He did not return directly to his party, however. Instead, he first went to find the other half of the griffin population, which he knew had its residence in the other cliffside. That could have been a difficult task, but Adon had his Impeccable Memory Skill, so he quickly sifted through his recollections, found a hole one griffin had ducked into when the violence paused, and then flew in directly. Having already seen the living arrangement of the other set of griffins, he correctly assumed these ones would be basically the same. Adon repeated his basic behavior¡ªtransmitted the exact same video message to these griffins¡ªand got the same reaction. Excitement. Finally, he withdrew back to the entrance of the dungeon. He had not broken his invisibility or altered his Transformation for a single moment in the hour or two that he had spent in level two. Although he felt that he could hold onto his current state for longer, Adon wanted to conserve as much energy as he could. He anticipated that they would be fighting the strixes soon. The butterfly flew back across the valley, which seemed mostly peaceful for the moment, the only motion that his eyes detected the steady rush of the waterfall. He aimed for the gap between the waterfall and the cliff face, and he carefully angled to place himself near the largest gap possible. Even with his small and thin, transformed body, it was not easy to enter the tunnel again without getting water on his wings. He took a minute getting the jump lined up just right, then realized he could just use Transformation to extend his legs so that he could grasp the cliff face. Adon¡¯s limbs were as good at clinging to sheer surfaces as they had ever been, so once he felt that he had the right angle and a good hold on the wall, he was able to fairly easily throw himself sideways into the gap between the waterfall and the tunnel opening. When he was behind the waterfall again, he quickly opened his wings and fluttered back into the hole. He let go of his invisibility and his Transformation only inches away from the waterfall. The young lords, the Princess, and the spiders were all sitting on the floor, apparently bored. ¡°You made it back!¡± William exclaimed, the first to notice him. ¡°We were beginning to worry,¡± Rosslyn added, wrinkling her nose and shaking her head. Her expression was more amused than annoyed. ¡°Certainly took your time,¡± said Frederick, smirking. I was starting to teach Frederick and William a game from our old world, Samson sent. Adon noticed that there was a game board for a strategy game from their old world essentially etched into the stone floor of the tunnel. It was a surprisingly detailed recollection from Samson, who was not like Adon and had clear gaps in his past life memories. I hope you enjoyed the exploration, Goldie transmitted, allowing the message to be heard by everyone. Privately to Adon, she added: The Princess and I never doubted that you would return. The butterfly wondered a little about that. Had the young lords wanted to assume him dead? And why wasn¡¯t Samson included in Goldie¡¯s statement? Had Samson of all people thought his big brother could have randomly died in some dungeon on level two? But before he cleared any of that up, the priority was to share the plan. This dungeon was a time sensitive matter, after all. So, I¡¯ve basically figured out how we clear this level, Adon sent, unable to keep a note of triumph out of his voice. He felt a sense of conviction enter his voice as he began describing the plan. That feeling that this was what he was here for. Not just in this dungeon, but in this world for. The butterfly had an incredible set of abilities, and he was well equipped to solve myriad problems for the world where he had been incarnated. Today was a day when he would get to experience how his reincarnation was not a waste, not a mistake, not a random selection¡ªbut a gift, to him and to this world. At least that was how Adon felt while he was talking in the tunnel. 3-25. First Blood ¡°Well done, Adon,¡± Rosslyn said. In her mind, she added, I should have known you were busy conducting interspecies diplomacy again. He had been gone so long in the second level that William had broached the idea the butterfly might have been killed or captured¡ªan idea that Rosslyn had rejected, naturally. ¡°If it works,¡± William added, frowning and raising an eyebrow. ¡°It could reduce our bloody work for this floor by quite a lot,¡± Frederick said, smiling. ¡°We will conclude this matter in a day or less, if the alliance that Adon constructed holds,¡± Rosslyn said. She smiled warmly at the butterfly. I have not forgotten the value of time to us, she thought at Adon. ¡°I should be able to manage it just fine,¡± William replied in a firm but gentle tone, giving Rosslyn a sidelong glance. The Princess had a short, annoyed, internal monologue, which she tried to keep below the level of Adon¡¯s usual telepathic dragnet¡ªor below what she thought its level was, at least. I have also not forgotten that you are commanding the operation on this level, William. Though it is a bit churlish to speak so insistently when I have already given way without resistance on this. Fortunately, William could not read minds, so he could not hear the less than charitable assessment that Rosslyn made of his words. She simply nodded to him. ¡°Now the question is how best to descend the cliff face, assuming that we can trust the alliance Adon made,¡± William said. ¡°I think one group on each side, and we keep a handful of men armed with bows back to snipe at the approaching birds. Assuming that the strixes are as reliably opportunistic as you observed¡ª¡± He looked at Adon as he spoke¡ª¡°we should be able to take them by surprise with the archery while the climbers are still relatively close to the opening.¡± It is strange to imagine living creatures behaving so predictably, mused Goldie. ¡°It might be intentional, to make them easier to deal with,¡± said Frederick, smiling down at the spider who stood on his shoulder. Rosslyn still thought that Frederick¡¯s recent attitude toward the spiders was a little strange. She¡¯d had the initial impression that Frederick was not particularly fond of or impressed by any of the mystic beasts. ¡°This would be consistent with dungeon theory,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°The idea is that the dungeon behaves according to rules of some sort¡ªnot rules that we precisely understand, but limiters nonetheless. Each level has to be more difficult than the one previous¡ªthat is essentially a universal rule¡ªbut that means that the second level cannot be more formidable than any of the levels further down. Following that line of thought, the dungeon had to construct this level in such a way that there was a way to complete it that would make it easier than whatever is on level three. Some dungeons require more strategy from their participants than others. It is possible that the ecosystem¡¯s balance is intended to be the mechanism for us to survive here. The rivalry between the creatures, and their predictability, is exactly the way we are supposed to complete the level.¡± Why would the dungeon do that? Samson sent. Create a deliberate weakness in its own design? ¡°Think of it as a constraint,¡± Rosslyn said. ¡°Rather than deliberately making itself weaker, it is more along the lines of a trade-off. In order for something of value to be obtained, other things of theoretically equal value must necessarily be lost.¡± I do not suppose you ever spent a lifetime as a dungeon core, Rosslyn thought, aiming for Adon to hear it. She arched an eyebrow as she waited for his response. I was not, Adon sent in a quiet, subdued voice that Rosslyn could tell was for her hearing only. But I was a monster in a dungeon once, and I think it might have been in this world. The more I see of this place, the more convinced I become. It wasn¡¯t this dungeon, of course¡ªbut a dungeon. When I was a monster, I remember an unseen thing commanding me and the other creatures in the dungeon. It¡¯s possible it was the core, I don¡¯t know. But it made me and the other monsters attack a village full of horned humanoids. I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s what the demons look like¡ªor maybe some other race from this world? Or maybe it wasn¡¯t on this planet after all. I do remember you mentioning at some point that the demons had horns, though. Probably none of this is relevant¡­ Just my mental static. I have a lot of useless memories like that, from too many lives. Rosslyn¡¯s mouth went dry, and she stared at Adon for a moment, lips slightly parted, until she shook her head slightly and got control over her own thought process again. She knew that Adon remembered a number of his previous lives¡ªmore than anyone she had ever heard of, though that was perhaps to be expected of a being who had been hand-selected by the Goddess to incarnate into their kingdom during its hour of need¡ªa person of great spiritual significance, in other words. But she did not recall him mentioning, that he had been a monster at some point¡ªlet alone the other, more shocking elements of his recollection. Maybe he did mention it, but it just seemed innocuous based on where he focused his description¡­ Of course, Adon had no way of recognizing what she would find significant about this previous incarnation¡ªor perhaps he did. Rosslyn thought he might have at least recognized that it seemed to contradict her theory about how the Demon Empire and dungeons were related. That could be why he brought it up now. Then again, his memory sounded like it could be interpreted in more than one way. It was possible that this was useless information. There was only one way to be sure. Adon, could you describe what you experienced in a bit more detail when we go through the passageway to the third level? she thought. That is the next time we will be able to relax. This could be important. Happy to, he replied. The conversation was continuing without them, so Rosslyn quickly turned her attention back to the young lords. ¡°I recommend we warn the knights about the likelihood of betrayal by the griffins in the end,¡± Frederick was saying. Why would the griffins betray us? Adon asked immediately. ¡°I think we should ensure that the men know what to expect,¡± Rosslyn agreed. She looked at Adon again, brow slightly furrowed, and lowered her voice. ¡°They are still monsters. They serve the dungeon. Despite whatever friendship you may have struck up with the creatures, their use for us ends as soon as we have ceased helping them fight the strixes¡ªso, sometime before we enter the tunnel to the third level, which your reconnaissance suggested was some distance away. Across open, exposed ground in a narrow canyon that floods, with enemies who can fly¡­¡± This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. She allowed her voice to trail off, hoping the implications were clear enough. If the griffins were territorial or cared about preserving the dungeon core at all, it was natural that some of them might instinctively perceive the humans as enemies once they no longer had a common enemy among them. Yeah, Adon sent. I guess it might be a little naive of me to think that the griffins would keep up the alliance with us once the strixes are dead. Rosslyn thought that she could detect a bit of wishful thinking in Adon¡¯s tone¡ªhe really wanted to imagine that the griffins would keep the deal that he had negotiated with them¡ªand she sympathized with his idealism. If they were capable of behaving honorably, they would not be monsters, she thought. Control over their actions is not their own. If you were a monster once, perhaps you know something about that? I guess I do, Adon replied reluctantly. Your faith in others to keep their word is to your credit, Adon, she thought, trying to keep that thought below the surface of what Adon would automatically pick up. She did not want to come across as patronizing. She genuinely thought it was sweet¡ªjust perhaps out of place in a dungeon, or in politics. While the butterfly and the Princess were talking, William stepped away and began to explain the situation to the men. Rosslyn heard him repeat the broad strokes of what Adon had accomplished¡ªcuriously, without actually mentioning Adon specifically, only a vague reference to telepathic communications with the griffins¡ªand then give clear, straightforward instructions in keeping with their discussion. The knights seemed to immediately increase in energy at the prospect of finally getting into some action again. They were far from fearful of some overgrown birds and half-bird creatures. The fighters split into three groups: one that would descend with Rosslyn, one that would climb down behind William and Frederick¡ªfor the leaders of this expedition were truly leading the way, as the toughest combatants among the group¡ªand one that would remain behind for now, armed with their bows. The last group was smallest, because only a few knights had brought ranged weaponry at all. That seems like a significant oversight. But that was what peasants were usually for: the willingness to use a weapon that was perceived as less honorable and sporting. The few knights who did bring bows were a subset of those who had worked their way into knighthood from common origins. The group spent a few minutes securing their climbing anchors carefully to the rock face directly adjacent to the waterfall. Finally, the crew began their descent. Rosslyn and the young lords emerged from the respective sides of the waterfall, mystic beasts mounted on their shoulders. At first, all was quiet. Rosslyn was able to quickly take in the lay of the land and confirm that the description and mental pictures Adon had sent were accurate. Then she began her descent, using the line as she had when the group descended from the first level, with the difference that the slope she walked along was a sheer drop straight down¡ªand that rather than merely a slight moisture, the stone she set her feet on was doused with a constant spray of liquid from the waterfall. Within the first minute, she had the repeated sensation that she would fall at any moment¡ªand given the height, she would suffer some injuries even with mana circulating through her body. It was in the first moment when she was thinking about falling that she heard Adon¡¯s warning. They¡¯re coming! The telepathic shout was clearly directed at everyone nearby, but Rosslyn quickly turned her head to see the knights who had begun to descend behind her, and she added her own warning. ¡°Incoming targets!¡± she yelled. Everyone on the line moved almost in unison, shifting posture slightly from facing straight down to keeping eyes peeled forward, with the area above them kept somewhat within peripheral vision. Keeping one hand on the line, each warrior used their other to reach for a weapon. Rosslyn raised her head until she spotted them. A half dozen winged monsters that looked like mutated owls mixed with buzzards. Abominations. She drew her own sword and pushed mana into her armor¡ªas every other knight ought to be doing, but given her positioning, she could not afford to babysit them right now. Her full attention locked onto the birds closest to her. One bird peeled off from the group, eyes focused on her in turn. Rosslyn felt that the two were each preparing to try to land a single, decisive attack on the other. With her armor reinforced, she felt free to invest enough power in her attack to slice one of the wings off. At this height, a fall ought to be fatal for the ungainly bird. It approached, swinging lower than the other birds, which were aiming for Rosslyn¡¯s companions. The strix¡¯s talons glowed with mana, reinforcing the blade-like extremities for the decisive, lethal blow. The Princess saw from the fight path that it was aiming to strike her in the back¡ªperhaps in the back of the head or neck. She tilted her head back to make those weak spots harder to get at from above. The strix seemed to accelerate through the last several feet that separated them. Rosslyn prepared to swing her sword. She would cleave the strix¡¯s left wing from its body before it could get within a foot of her. She twisted her hip slightly, swung¡ªand as she shifted her posture to put strength into the blow, her foot slipped on the wet surface of the cliff. The sword slashed through the air¡ªand skimmed the bird¡¯s tail feathers, chopping through a few of those but missing anything of real importance. Rosslyn thought she saw the bird¡¯s eyes widen slightly at the near miss, but then the strix was past her sword, within her defensive circle, above her¡ªin her blind spot. It did not waste the opportunity it had acquired by risking its neck. The Princess¡¯s own neck was too difficult to reach from its position¡ªthe bird would have to turn around in midair somehow¡ªbut a sharp set of talons raked Rosslyn¡¯s back with what she imagined was all the force it could muster, including the mana she had observed it using. The blow hit hard, raking the metal of her plate like a set of steel blades. The claws could not penetrate the mana-reinforced armor, though she felt their sting as if someone had jabbed her in the back with a sharpened comb. She knew the attack would have left long scratches along the metal despite her best efforts at reinforcement. It was simply easier and more reliable to infuse mana into a small area¡ªlike the tip of a blade or the edge of a claw¡ªthan into a large, flat surface like a shield or a section of armor. Offense was easier than defense¡ªand defense would always struggle to keep up with offense by these mechanics, unless the defender was orders of magnitude more powerful than the attacker. Rosslyn probably was an order of magnitude more powerful than some random bird monster from a dungeon, but she was also off-balance and in a vulnerable position, which weakened her focus as well as forcing her to defend more of her armor¡¯s surface area than she could get away with protecting if this was a face to face fight at ground level. Then the bird¡¯s momentum carried it toward the cliff face, and Rosslyn quickly pivoted on her steadier foot and used the other to aim a mana-enhanced kick at the bird. The blow was weaker than it should have been, but she thought she felt a bone crack as she struck it in the ribs. Then the strix was flapping away, getting height, avoiding a fatal injury. Rosslyn grimaced. On the one hand, she enjoyed a challenge. On the other, this situation posed a challenge to everyone around her¡ªand more of one than she would have preferred for her first time leading a party into a dungeon. Every life she had with her was precious. She could hear the first cries of pain from above her. A few men had been hit, and she saw dribblings of blood rain down beside her position from both the line of men above her and, more distantly, those knights who had followed the young lords down their climbing wire. Then she heard a satisfying pair of thuds. Two birds dropped, arrows protruding from one¡¯s neck and another¡¯s wing. The latter bird was not fatally injured, but it would not be flying back up to antagonize them anytime soon. As a group, the strixes that survived flapped away from the knights. For a moment, it felt like a victory. The archers had at least taken a couple of them out, and the others were running scared. They might be able to descend the rest of the way to the ground now. Then she heard the loud screeching of the retreating strixes¡ªa horrendous noise that she recognized as a form of warning cry. She saw a movement from dozens of different openings in the cliff face across from her¡ªand in her peripheral vision, she was aware that the same thing was happening in the cliff face that she and the knights occupied. The strixes had called for backup. 3-26. Success? Those things are quick, Adon thought as the strix skated by Rosslyn, slashing at her with its claws. When she spun and kicked the bird before Adon could ready his mana ball to fire, he decided that he needed to get off of her and take advantage of being airborne. This fight was happening on his turf, in a sense. He had wings, just like the monsters. And he needed to use them to take his proper place in this fight. Adon flapped once and took off from Rosslyn¡¯s shoulder, so he could get a more stable view of the fighting and prepare to help out. The strixes were already in retreat by the time he got into a position to better observe. That gave Adon the chance to take in what had happened above. It was mostly minor injuries¡ªscratches to armor and occasionally the odd bit of bare flesh. Three knights had wounds that bled, none to vital places, none very profusely. He heard the screeching of the strixes at the same moment that Rosslyn did, but it took a moment for him to piece together what it meant. Everyone was shouting the same general sentiment in their mind at the same time, which actually slowed the butterfly¡¯s reaction down. They are coming! The knights around Adon all shifted into battle ready positions again, no longer attempting to stanch bleeding or better stabilize their places on the cliff. Adon activated mental magic and accelerated his own thinking to better come up with a plan to attack the strixes himself. Clearly, the mana ball attack he had been charging before would not be viable¡ªthe monstrous birds were just too fast for that¡ªso he had to come up with something else. And his brain quickly delivered. Adon pushed mana into his wings and flapped as hard and fast as he could, bursting away from the humans and the cliff face like a rocket taking off. Rosslyn must have seen him moving. Adon, where are you going? she thought in a loud, slightly flustered tone. Getting further away, attacking the birds, be ready to strike! he sent back breathlessly. To the group as a whole, he sent, Everyone, prepare to attack the birds, I will create an opening! He did not check if those behind him were moving. His eyes and mind were fixed on the strixes now. They surged forward in the dozens, no longer restrained or cautious with the confidence of their superior numbers. One of the upsides of Adon¡¯s small size was that the birds seemed to be ignoring him completely. A little butterfly was just a non-factor when they had these other, much bigger fish to fry. The strixes would come to regret that line of thinking¡ªif any of them survived. As the first wave of the bird monsters¡ªa dozen of them¡ªcame within attacking range of the knights, Adon glided past, turned around, and unleashed a telepathic shout. Be still! He tried to infuse the words with the same kind of paralytic force he had managed to use on the mystic bear. The strixes all around him froze up, as if they had been jolted with electricity. The further away they were, the weaker the effects were, but he could still tell that all of the monsters near the knights had been affected. Even one or two of the knights seemed a little stunned; Adon had not been able to target only the strixes, because the attack required him to act too quickly, and the strixes were moving swiftly through the air at the time. Despite a couple of knights being sluggish, the next ten seconds were a bloodbath. Swords and axes slashed from multiple directions with great speed and precision, and over a dozen birds fell to the ground in pieces. Not just the entire first wave, but most of the second wave of attackers were killed in a matter of seconds, as the momentum of the birds closer to Adon carried them forward into the waiting grinder of weapons. Those birds in the first two waves that were positioned so as to be out of reach of the axe or the sword struck the cliff face instead, bounced off, and plummeted straight down. Adon felt a sense of great satisfaction at his contribution. As the next wave of birds passed him, heedless of what had happened to the strixes before them in the confidence of their numbers, he built up a bit of mana for a second psychic scream. Before he could use it, a gusher of ominous dark-colored liquid exploded in the strixes¡¯ direction. Goldie had launched one of her projectile venom-and-silk attacks, and it struck about half the strixes, getting into open mouths and eyes¡ªand perhaps more importantly, dousing their feathers in the sticky semi-liquid substance. The blend of fluids Goldie had employed this time appeared to be quick-drying, from what Adon saw. All the birds struck suddenly had to apply a lot more effort to fly, and the closest knights easily cut three of them down. The remaining strixes, seemingly recognizing the weakness of their position, pivoted to the other side of the waterfall and attacked Rosslyn. Her body glowed with an almost blinding amount of mana, and Adon watched with difficulty as she cut down one of the monsters and simply let the others¡¯ attacks glance off of her body. They struck but seemed to fail to leave so much as a scratch on her armor¡ªand she blocked the blows aimed at her head and neck with her arms, using the armor there to make her forearms into miniature shields. Adon tried to think of what he could do to help, but before he could move, the knights above her had descended and were providing support. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. That¡¯s good. He turned his attention back to the front. Still more strixes were coming, of course¡ªnow taking advantage of the fact that the humans were embroiled in fighting the previous wave. But Adon saw good news soaring in from behind them: the griffins. The large, predatory half-eagle half-lion creatures were maintaining a certain distance. To Adon¡¯s eye, it seemed as if the griffins wanted to make certain that the knights and strixes were really fighting before they joined in. It made sense, but he hoped that the griffins would actually jump in¡ªideally sometime before the strixes managed to find a way of adapting to the enemy they were fighting. The strixes adapted quickly. As more of them closed in¡ªit seemed to Adon that all of the level¡¯s population had showed up for this fight¡ªthe closest ones rushed in for glancing blows at any exposed bit of skin they could hit, not wasting their energy attacking armor. The strixes further back did not all rush in as well and mob the knights. Instead, they supported by charging and firing mana balls. These projectile attacks could be deflected by the knights by empowering their armor or their body with mana, and the knights did this¡ªbut if they were struck in several places while engaging a strix in close combat, Adon saw that they often failed to fully reinforce themselves. Slowly, burn marks and scratches began accumulating on the outnumbered human warriors. For his part, Adon turned completely invisible and periodically hit the strixes with his telepathic scream. But it seemed to be having little effect on the fighting now. A few of the birds struck with it were killed in close quarters with the knights, but the main flock was hanging back now, using mana attacks. The birds within that group, if struck by the telepathic attack, would lose control of the mana they were charging and begin to drop in midair, but there was a long way to fall, and they regained control over their bodies sometime between Adon¡¯s height and the ground. These were intelligent monsters, as Adon had described in his report, and it seemed that mental attacks would be of only momentary effectiveness against them. The knights were holding their own, but the strixes had slowly turned the fight into a battle of attrition, in which their human opponents were dangling from a wall, slowly losing their strength, while most of the birds were gliding around outside of attacking range¡ªfor the knights outside or those behind the waterfall¡ªand occasionally throwing mana attacks to distract whichever specimens happened to be attacking at any given moment. The first knight dropped from the cliffside after ten minutes of this. He fell from above Rosslyn, and the Princess quickly managed to throw her sword, hilt first, at the knight. He snatched the grip, and she managed to catch the blade between her boot heels, holding his entire body weight dangling above the ground with her feet, as both of her hands held onto the cliff for dear life. The other knights defended her for a few key seconds, until he had a hold of the cliff face again, and she had pulled her sword back into her hand. Then it was back to visibly exhausting exchanges with the strixes that made the sweat pour from Rosslyn and the knights¡¯ faces, with occasional fatal blows typically achieved after Adon had used his power to throw a monster off-balance. The humans were growing noticeably less effective as combat wore on. The situation had begun to seem perilous. It was at that point that the griffins swept in. The only warning for the strixes was a mass of shadows overhead. The birds turned to look up at the predators, and several of them had their necks caught in eagle jaws. Others were pounced on by griffins eagerly throwing their full body weight onto the smaller birds. Adon heard the strixes screech in panic, attention ripped away from the knights. Took you long enough, the butterfly thought. A second later, as if on cue, the knights let loose a flurry of projectile attacks into the airborne melee of feathers and fur. Adon saw both arrows from the knights who had remained behind the waterfall¡ªnow poking their upper bodies out from the sides to take better aim at the more distant targets¡ªand heavy chunks of rock ripped from the cliff face and enhanced with mana to do more damage. The tide turned, and in less than thirty seconds, the strixes that had been content to wage a war of attrition were either dead, dismembered, or fleeing, rushing away to their dens¡ªpursued by the majority of the griffins. ¡°Thank the Goddess!¡± a knight exclaimed. ¡°The Goddess,¡± murmured the others. Both the tone of voice and the general vibe around the knights was gloomy, Adon observed. Even though they had won the fight without losing a single man, they looked much the worse for wear. Most knights had blood streaming from multiple wounds, a few of the wounds gushing in a manner that screamed ¡°hospital¡± to Adon. One older knight had lost his helmet at some point and appeared to have been partially scalped, blood streaming fast from under a flap of loose flesh above his eye¡ªand the eye was either swollen shut from some related trauma, or he simply could not see with it due to the river of blood. Mostly, everyone seemed tired. Even Rosslyn and the young lords looked bushed. Fighting while dangling from the side of a cliff was just as tiring as it looked, even for professional fighters whose bodies were fueled by magic. Adon made himself visible again and flew back toward the group, interested in seeing if anyone needed a heal that he might provide. Despite having spammed his telepathic shout, he had hardly begun to tap into his mana reserves for this fight. There just had not seemed to be much that his magical attacks could do, unless the birds were willing to stand still while the butterfly threw fire at them. He had determined that the best way he could help this time was in a supporting role. Well, this will make quite a story for you fellows, won¡¯t it? Samson was asking as Adon fluttered over. Fighting monstrous birds in a dungeon, dangling from a cliffside, holding your ground until the cavalry¡ªa cavalry of monsters, mind you!¡ªarrived to save the day! There were some chuckles at that, and mutters of agreement, some begrudging and some amused. A few knights thanked Goldie for her contribution. One older fellow thanked Samson for inspiring him with an idea for his next tavern story. Adon had to marvel at his brother¡¯s ability to spin the unpleasant events of the dungeon into gold. Samson was with the young lords¡¯ group, too, so none of these people were Rosslyn¡¯s. Getting them to see things in a positive light was probably crucial to the success of the whole expedition. Knowing Samson, that was part of why he had made this special effort to be charming. Well, I can only do what I can do, Adon thought. The social butterfly stuff was still beyond him. He was just the sacred magical butterfly with telepathic powers. That would need to be enough. The butterfly landed on the head of the knight who looked to have been partially scalped. I¡¯m going to heal you, all right? he sent. Without waiting for an answer, Adon set to work. 3-27. The Level Two Exit After the knights had healed their most pressing wounds¡ªincluding one older knight very appreciative of having been graced by the mystic butterfly¡ªthey climbed down the cliffside. The pace was not leisurely¡ªeveryone was far too aware of the absent monsters and the danger of flooding for that¡ªbut it was more relaxed than it would have been if they were being harassed by monsters the whole way down. The rest of the descent down the cliff face was much less eventful than the start had been. Nothing came and bothered the party, to Adon¡¯s relief. He wondered if the strixes were all dead. But even the victorious monster population did not make an appearance. Perhaps the griffins are giving us a bit of grace before they attack, in appreciation of our help in eliminating their rivals, he heard Rosslyn think. The tension had gone out of most of the rest of the group, but the Princess was still sharp. So was William. Samson also kept his eyes peeled. Adon was observing the dungeon expedition party more than he paid attention to anything else, but these were the only ones he felt significant tension from. The general mood that had settled over the group, post-healing, was one of relief. Every one of the knights here was a combat veteran of some kind or another who recognized that things could have gone much worse. Adon should not have been surprised, but several of them also occasionally looked in his direction with expressions of gratitude. He had assumed they would not know who was responsible for the griffin alliance based on William¡¯s decision not to mention him¡ªbut it seemed that the young lord referring to an alliance made via Telepathy was more than enough for these resourceful, experienced warriors to put two and two together. The group as a whole was mostly aware of his contribution. As they neared the floor of the level, Adon noticed the goblin creatures were active on the ground, grabbing as many mushrooms as they could carry to hoard in their holes. Adon had wondered just how much the party had unbalanced the ecosystem of the level¡ªwould the griffins, without the strixes¡¯ interference, breed more until they wiped out their own food supply? Or would the population self-regulate? But the goblins'' own survival instincts seemed likely to preclude their extinction. They seemed to be intelligent enough to plan ahead a bit. As Adon watched, the goblins not only took as many mushrooms as they could carry¡ªfar more than they had been able to carry when the strixes and griffins were hunting them¡ªbut they also carried off the strix corpses that the battle had left strewn all over the ground. Some of these had been partially eaten by griffins, but there were too many strixes for that to be the majority. Most of the bodies were almost intact. The goblins retreated to holes that were further above the ground this time, though still small enough that the griffins could fit into them. Were some of these the dens that had belonged to strixes? Adon thought so. The goblins seemed very aware of the power shift that had just taken place, and they were shifting their own strategy in keeping with it. The creatures¡¯ choice to move to higher elevations reminded him that there would be a flood soon. The knights already knew about this, so there was nothing for Adon to do about it but keep his eyes open. Sure enough, as the group was finally close to reaching the ground, the flow of the waterfall drastically increased. Adon considered sending a warning to the party, but he telepathically sensed as everyone took into account what was happening¡ªand kept on going at the same rate. By the time the knights reached the ground, the water was ankle-deep. The knights stepped into it without hesitation and started walking in the direction of the exit. Adon had a slightly surreal moment where he recognized just how much the entire group was trusting and banking on the reliability of his scouting expedition into the dungeon, and he felt a touch of nervousness. Would the flooding go differently this time? Did the dungeon have some real-time way of responding to how the floor¡¯s level of danger had been reduced thanks to the monsters fighting each other? He flew alongside the group, keeping his baseless doubts to himself. Probably literally everyone here except for Goldie and Samson knew more about dungeons than him. It was a subject of study in this world. If there was something about unbalancing a level that would make it more dangerous, he would expect someone to have brought it up. The group walked through the water confidently, a few people taking time as they walked to heal their wounds more thoroughly than they had during the climb down. There were many scratches remaining on the knights¡¯ bodies, and healing magic seemed to be the one universally common affinity that almost all people had access to in this world. And the water slowly rose. The knights simply kept moving forward, ignoring it or frowning and shaking their heads at it at most. There was nothing else to do. It was either grin and bear it, or try to climb up out of the way, and the latter was a waste of energy when there was little of it to spare. Adon did not know how many levels remained in this place, but he doubted the knights could make it through another one today. The first level had been easy enough¡ªa bit like shooting lizards in a barrel¡ªbut the second one had required descending a cliffside after fighting a group of monsters while dangling from the cliffside, followed by this long walk through slowly rising water. Is this supposed to slow explorers down? Adon wondered. Was that the purpose all along? Not to kill, but simply to slow down? Why? Could it be so that the dungeon could have time to adapt? Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Despite Adon¡¯s worries, at least the water seemed to be as predictable as ever. It rose to waist height on most of the knights¡ªa little above that for Rosslyn and the few female knights¡ªand then slowly began to recede, apparently cleared out by the same caves that Adon had perceived probably operated as a sort of drainage system before. Everything was going according to plan. The group had made it most of the way to the exit. Adon could see the opening in the cliffside now. It was not quite as high up as the entrance to the level had been¡ªperhaps the dungeon had decided to make things easier for them?¡ªbut it was still far above the water level or even the height of a human¡¯s head. Perhaps twenty feet in the air, he estimated. But at least none of the knights would die of a fall from that height. Still, nothing odd seemed to happen. The level was quiet. The water level had fallen. Adon estimated that it would not rise again before the group made it to where the exit was. The knights were not naturally slow-moving people, and since their leaders had not slacked off, they had not decelerated either. They were just fifty feet from the other cliff face¡ªthe one where Adon saw the exit¡ªwhen the butterfly heard it. The beat of griffins¡¯ wings echoed through the level. It was not just one or two, either. Adon knew what he would see before he turned his body, but he looked anyway. It appeared that every single griffin except for those heavily pregnant ones he had seen in their caves before the negotiation had come out and was flying in their direction. Their movements were relaxed, if not lazy. They glided through the air, not bothering to flap their wings more than absolutely necessary. The griffins would have made a majestic, beautiful, peaceful picture if not for the fact that many of them still bore claws and beaks visibly red and matted with blood and gore from their slaughter of the strixes. This was no painting come to life. It was a flock of the most predatory bird-like creatures that the dungeon could come up with. Adon felt tension flood his mind, and he realized that he was passively absorbing the emotions from the group as a whole. He used discipline to keep how much of their mental miasma he received under control. There was no reason for fear. Even if the griffins attacked, the knights were a superior force. Despite the fact that the knights were clearly tired, while the griffins had just fed and appeared to have been resting. The butterfly decided to focus on observing the griffins¡¯ actual movements rather than letting other considerations drag him down. Despite the general haze of worry and suspicion that was building up around Adon, the griffins had not made any aggressive movements or even accelerated their flight speed upon being noticed by the humans. The knights, by contrast, marched double time. That was only enough to make their speed somewhat comparable to that of the airborne creatures, but they had a big head start. They made it to the cliff before the griffins could reach them. Rosslyn, William, and Frederick looked up at the exit, and Adon heard them loudly wondering if they should order the group to begin climbing or try to make a stand here and scare off any potential attack. ¡°Scale the wall!¡± William yelled after a long moment of hesitation. The first hand touched the cliff face that held the exit, and everything suddenly changed. Adon could swear that the griffins¡¯ eyes glowed¡ªthough he was too far away to be sure, that was what it looked like to him¡ªand they instantly accelerated. Their wings folded against their sides, their bodies turned into airborne missiles that launched themselves at the humans. They crossed an incredible distance in a matter of seconds, and the first griffins to draw near were only repelled by arrow fire from the ranged fighters on the ground. The griffins hit with the arrows struck the ground, rolled, and then pulled the arrows by the fletchings out with their beaks. They launched themselves at the humans once again, at almost the same moment as the next group of griffins had thrown themselves, missile-like, at the knights climbing the cliff. It was as if the monsters had gone mad, and the sight was captivating to Adon. Despite being taken aback by the images playing out before he eyes, he maintained the presence of mind to attempt his telepathic shout attack. It did absolutely nothing that he could discern, as if the creatures¡¯ minds were no longer their own. The dungeon did this, he thought gloomily, still watching the approaching group of griffins. Now we have to kill each other. Absurdly, he could not help thinking that this conflict would devastate the population of the creatures in the second floor, and they would likely never recover to a sustainable level. Even so, he charged mana, gathering power around his body so he could at least attempt to use Rosslyn¡¯s fire magic to roast the birds. Whatever sympathies he felt for the griffins, he knew whose side he was on. And Rosslyn had warned him about this. As he drew out his magical power and watched the remaining group of griffins approach¡ªand as the second wave of attacks was repelled¡ªthere was a sudden explosion of bright light from the midst of the knights. Adon had not been watching them or focused on them, but he turned slightly now. The butterfly saw Rosslyn, glowing with intense white light, her entire body surrounded by an intense halo of power. For a moment, it reminded him of the Goddess. Then the light shifted from around the Princess¡¯s body and poured into her sword. The light grew slightly less intense, and Adon saw two knights¡¯ bodies on the ground beside her, unmoving, a dozen dead griffins covered in blood piled up beside them. ¡°Everyone, get back behind me!¡± Rosslyn yelled. Adon had the sense that this was directed primarily at him. He was the only one who had not stuck close to the group. The power that had pulsated so intensely from around Rosslyn¡¯s body now radiated from her sword, making it glow too blindingly for him to look directly at it. He had the sense that she was preparing some sort of final attack, and he quickly pushed his charged mana into his wings and rushed, supernaturally fast, to be behind her. The knights were scrambling up the cliff at the same time, while the eagles, that had been suicidally charging headlong into close proximity with their new enemies, held back. Everything was held in a precarious balance, the tension in the air rising, as time seemed to wait for Rosslyn to unleash her attack. Then Adon zipped by Rosslyn¡¯s head. He was the last one of the survivors to retreat behind the Princess. He saw her smile through gritted teeth. A tear ran down her cheek at the same moment. The strain of holding in what she had brought out of herself was actually painful, he could tell. Then an intense beam of light exploded upward from Rosslyn¡¯s sword, and Adon went blind. 3-28. The First Collapse Through the blinding light, Adon could see nothing. There was a cataclysmic sound accompanying the ray, however, and that told him more. The sound was one of stone crumbling and falling. Adon reached out with Telepathy and inhabited the visual frame of the closest person to him¡ªRosslyn. After so much experience using Telepathy, the effort to gather more information from another¡¯s mind was almost a reflex to him. The effect was as though he had suddenly possessed her body. He could see what she saw, though her vision seemed to be wavering slightly. The ceiling several feet in front of Rosslyn was collapsing. Adon observed huge slabs of stone breaking apart, tumbling down, and forcing the griffins to keep back. One of the creatures was struck on the head by a smaller fragment of stone, and two of its fellows were forced to drag the unconscious monster backward. The rest continued to maintain a safe distance. Rosslyn seemed to have done a great deal of damage to the ceiling from what Adon could see; stone was falling in larger or smaller chunks everywhere, and the damage only appeared to be getting worse in the area she had attacked¡ªthough he could not see the actual scale of the devastation wrought, since Rosslyn¡¯s eyes were focused on the enemy rather than on what Adon was suddenly curious about. Then Rosslyn turned around, and Adon both felt and¡ªsurreally¡ªsaw her grab him and place him on her shoulder. Then she started climbing the cliff face. The other knights were still climbing, except for the ones who were already inside the tunnel to the next level, but everyone was far ahead of Rosslyn. Despite¡ªor perhaps because of¡ªher status, everyone had just trusted that she could handle the griffins. Maybe they had known exactly what she intended to do. Adon observed Rosslyn¡¯s vision blur and then focus again. Something was going wrong. Are you all right? he sent. Just need to get to exit. The reply was weak. He could feel that as with her vision, the state of Rosslyn¡¯s mind was wavering too. Someone give the Princess a hand! Adon telepathically shouted up the cliff face. Not necessary, Adon, Rosslyn thought. I will be fine. Darkness crept in at the edges of her vision, and after only a few seconds of this, she revised her previous thought. Actually, I may need a little help. As she reached for the next handhold in the wall, she blinked away the advancing shadows¡ªbut they were relentless. Her hands kept moving¡ªAdon could sense the motion in his body, even as her vision went black¡ªbut she was functionally almost blind. Adon left her mind and returned to his own body. His vision was a bit blurry¡ªa continuing effect of the blinding light he had experienced a minute or so earlier¡ªbut it was better than actual blindness. He used Transformation, extended his legs, and turned them invisible. Rosslyn was still climbing upward, as a couple of knights waited slightly above to grab her. Adon placed the tips of his lengthened limbs on top of Rosslyn¡¯s hands to guide her reaching from one handhold to the next. He thought she would want to look strong in front of her men¡ªnot let people know that she seemed to have gone temporarily blind. Her lips curled into a small, tired smile as she felt his touch. Then the Princess managed to climb those last few feet, at which point two of her knights took her under the elbows and carried her gently up to the exit. Adon fluttered after them, deliberately moving slowly and keeping one eye toward the griffins, but none of the monsters made an aggressive move. Adon¡¯s Telepathy might have been on the fritz, but he could have sworn he felt a slight glow of contentment from the lead griffin as it looked at him. No, it must have been his imagination or something. The butterfly was so focused on watching for any aggressive action that he barely noticed that the same lead griffin whose feelings he was observing was brown with some white dappling across its wings. He did not consciously notice this detail at all. But his Impeccable Memory recorded everything faithfully. When Adon replayed the scene in his mind later, as he would, he would recognize that the monster that had seemed happy that Adon and his friends had escaped was none other than the griffin he had named Speckles in his mind¡ªthe one with whom Adon had made the alliance. For now, Adon set down on the landing of the tunnel moving downward to the next level. He had made certain that he was the last living creature out of the second floor of the dungeon. As he landed, the butterfly observed that Rosslyn lay slumped against the tunnel wall. From her posture, she was clearly unconscious. Two knights stood at her side. One looked anxiously back out at the second level, as if worried that the griffins would pursue. The other knight, a woman, checked Rosslyn¡¯s vital signs, feeling her pulse, opening her eyes and checking that they could follow movement, and testing her reflexes. At Rosslyn¡¯s other side, William knelt. He frowned stoically, but Adon felt genuine worry from him. Whether that worry was genuinely for Rosslyn or for his own future plans if she should die in the dungeon, Adon could not know without probing deeper. He chose to respect William¡¯s privacy. Adon had not intentionally violated it on the occasion when he overheard William¡¯s opinions about Rosslyn right after the young lord first arrived at the palace. Maybe if Adon just tried to put that interaction out of his mind, despite everything, he and William could get along. Then the young lord spotted him. ¡°You!¡± he growled. ¡°Fine alliance you crafted, mystic beast! What happened back there?! How did Rosslyn wind up like this?¡± This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Adon sensed a mixture of genuine anger and opportunism in William¡¯s mind. It brought out his own conflicted, wrathful feelings. Forget trying to get along with this jackass! The butterfly began formulating his angry response in his head. ¡°I saw everything,¡± interjected the other young lord. Frederick stepped forward from a little further into the tunnel. ¡°Rosslyn decided to cave the ceiling in on those freakish creatures. No one made her this way. She did it to herself. Damned fine light show she put on.¡± He smiled. ¡°You should be proud of her. And as for the butterfly, I think he did very well. His alliance lasted just long enough. Considering that we lost two knights against a fraction of the total threat from this floor, fighting at ground level¡ª¡± He raised an eyebrow at his brother¡ª¡°I think Adon saved our skins. I would not want to think how matters would have resolved if you and I had tried to lead a scouting party into the level ourselves. We would have been attacked from all sides with no hope of help.¡± William stared at his brother, his mouth slightly agape, speechless. Internally, he was fuming, thoughts so loud that Adon could not have avoided them if he tried, unless he completely deactivated Telepathy. Whose side are you on? When did you become so cozy with the beasts? was all the young lord could formulate in his mind. There was a slight feeling of betrayal¡ªand something slightly more insidious. Adon read William¡¯s intent clearly now, or at least some fragment of it. Do you not remember that they are the enemy here? William thought. Adon hardened his heart a bit. If he and the spiders were William and Frederick¡¯s enemies¡ªor at the least William¡¯s¡ªthen he would have to be prepared to act as such. The three of them were still in their positions, each one thinking and seemingly preparing to speak to the others, tension high in the absence of the Princess who could most easily have made peace between them. Then the sky fell. Adon heard it before he saw it. Then he observed it through stunned eyes. A massive, solid hunk of whatever stone the second level¡¯s ceiling was made of¡ªan order of magnitude larger than any rock that had fallen before¡ªtumbled downward. It seemed to move almost in slow motion, majestically, like a ship destined for a rendezvous with an iceberg. Finally, as it dropped past the line of sight from Adon¡¯s position, it felt as if reality¡¯s speed returned to normal. The rock plummeted to the ground until it struck the ground with an earth-shattering thud. A cloud of dust and fungal particles rolled up from out of the impact zone, creating a blinding¡ªand slightly sparkly¡ªcloud of filth that completely blocked the view of the second level. The entire world seemed to tremble for several seconds with the impact. Fortunately, nothing in the structure of the tunnel was loose enough to be shaken free and turn into dangerous debris in the midst of the miniature earthquake. Before the dust could settle, and Adon and the others could see what exactly had happened out there, the Princess stirred. ¡°I am not ready to wake yet,¡± she murmured. ¡°Another quarter of an hour, Celeste¡­¡± Wasn¡¯t that the name of the maid who betrayed her? Adon thought. No, he was certain it was. Well, one could not control the content of one¡¯s dreams. He hoped that she would not feel weird that she had been visited by a traitor in her semi-waking dream. But her eyes were fluttering now. The female knight by Rosslyn¡¯s side knelt down, pressed her hand against the Princess¡¯s shoulder gently, and began speaking in a barely audible voice directly into Rosslyn¡¯s ear. ¡°Princess, are you all right? Please wake up now, people are worried about you¡­¡± Celeste is not here, Rosslyn, Adon sent in a gentle tone, glad that he could communicate directly into her brain. You¡¯re in the dungeon now. Probably best if you wake up. Rosslyn¡¯s eyes opened unsteadily. ¡°Adon¡ª¡± She blinked and looked around. ¡°William, Frederick, everyone¡ª¡± I hope you are feeling a bit better, Princess, sent Goldie. ¡°I hope you all have not been fighting on my account,¡± Rosslyn said, finishing her thought. ¡°Please remember we must all get along in here. I could have sworn I heard raised voices in my sleep.¡± William practically lunged closer to her, seizing her right arm in one of his hands as if he was worried she would suddenly throw herself through the tunnel opening back into level two. ¡°Princess, why did you do that?¡± he asked. ¡°I¡ªsurely you know that this expedition could hardly go on without you.¡± William pressed his lips together, and Adon had the distinct sense that the young lord felt that he had said too much. ¡°Do not be upset, William,¡± she replied in an obviously groggy voice. ¡°I saw the path with the least bloodshed, and I took it. I will live. I just need a bit of recovery time.¡± ¡°If time is as critical as I think it is, then¡ª¡± William lowered his voice. ¡°¡ªperhaps sacrificing a few lives was the price that needed to be paid to get us to the core more quickly without expending that attack. I do not know what price your body had to pay to use it, but I know enough about magic to know that you do not simply do that¡ª¡± He gestured at the dust cloud still glittering in level two¡ª¡°without paying a toll.¡± ¡°We have strong constitutions in my family, William. I am glad that few knights and few griffins needed to die to make our escape possible.¡± ¡°Rosslyn, why would you care¡ª¡± He cut himself off as he noticed that the Princess was looking at the butterfly perched a few feet away. William tightened his lips but said nothing. His face said it all, though. Adon almost could have read his mind without Telepathy. But fortunately, he did not have to try. You cared about the butterfly¡¯s opinion more than your own safety? William thought. ¡°Can you¡ªcan you walk?¡± he asked after a moment. His mouth sounded very dry. ¡°If not, we will have you carried. We must make camp further into the tunnel. We will not advance to the third level until we have all had some rest.¡± ¡°Good idea,¡± Rosslyn said. She covered a yawn with one hand. ¡°Did Adon ask you to make this effort, to spare the griffins?¡± William asked, his expression slightly twisted as if he smelled something unpleasant. ¡°Was this decision made under his influence?¡± ¡°No,¡± Rosslyn said, yawning again. ¡°I was inspired by their bravery in fighting alongside us. They are noble creatures, and I hope that when they are not being controlled by the dungeon core¡ªwell, perhaps they may even accompany us out of the dungeon. Would that not be a glorious return journey? Riding on griffin¡¯s back? You could tell that story to your dying day, William.¡± She yawned again. ¡°I think you will probably need to have me carried, William. Please ask a couple of the female knights to do it. You know I am shy¡­¡± Adon found her quieter, lighter, slightly uninhibited demeanor cute. It was out of character, yet extremely natural at the same time. Maybe it was just rare to see the Princess truly relaxed. William rose from beside her, cast another disdainful look in Adon¡¯s direction, then walked over to find another female knight to join the one already standing beside Rosslyn. The Princess opened her eyes narrowly and stared at the butterfly for a long few seconds. Enough time that he would have blushed if he had cheeks. He heard her last few sleepy thoughts. Perhaps I lied a bit¡­ Perhaps you influenced me. Just a little, Adon¡­ Rosslyn¡¯s lips curled into a gentle smile as she returned to sleep. 3-29. In Transition Adon watched as the female knights carried Rosslyn further down into the tunnel. Then he, the other arthropods, the young lords, and the rest of the knights followed after. He took one last, long look into level two, but the dust cloud that had been kicked up had still not quite settled. Nothing had moved through the air and disturbed the cloud, either. The griffins had apparently fallen back, though Adon had no direct line of sight. He wasn¡¯t sure what he was expecting to see anyway. Yes, a massive chunk of the ceiling had fallen in, but that didn¡¯t necessarily mean the level would look very different from what had been there before. Chances were good that the slight alteration of additional rubble would not even change the path that they would have to take to get back to the entrance once the dungeon delve was completed. At most, it might give them an object¡ªthe massive stone¡ªto climb on top of when the level flooded, assuming that this floor¡¯s strange flooding mechanic did not require the core actively interfering in the dungeon to be effective. He hoped that when they returned, the griffins would be allies rather than enemies¡ªor at least not violently aggressive. Their shift in behavior had been so sudden, he thought Rosslyn was probably correct that it was compelled by the dungeon core. Adon finally turned his back and flew to catch up with the others, then slowed to keep pace with William, Samson, Frederick, and Goldie. As they advanced, he passively noticed the characteristics of the space he was traveling through. This tunnel was very noticeably less steep than the last had been, and there was no drip of water this time either. The environment here was clearly not intended to pose a challenge for the explorers who had made it past the second level. Perhaps because the second level could only be reached and cleared by a party of people good at spelunking. That might indicate that the next floor would test a different skillset than the last. He absorbed all of this information almost effortlessly. His mind drifted back and forth between what had just happened and expectations for the future. He kept envisioning the next level and future aspects of the delve and comparing what had already happened with what was likely to occur moving forward¡ªas well as wondering how Rosslyn¡¯s very dramatic expenditure of power would affect the rest of the expedition moving forward. He already knew it would increase tensions between himself and William. The young lord was still resentful and suspicious of Adon¡¯s apparent role in Rosslyn¡¯s decision to partially collapse the second level. But would Rosslyn have some sort of a power hangover from that light show back there? How would the dynamic among the party leaders change if Rosslyn was diminished? Adon was particularly suspicious of William, naturally. But the butterfly was pulled back to the present by a quiet, telepathic message from the first friend he had made in this world. Adon, do you have time to talk? Goldie¡¯s voice carried up to him. Her words were clearly intended only for him. Of course, Goldie, he sent back immediately. You said we should hang out after you returned from the level, before, and I thought now would be a good moment to catch up, Goldie transmitted. When there are no distractions and nothing else pressing that we have to think about. Um, yeah, Adon replied. He had the strange and unpleasant presentiment that he was about to get a lecture or something. Part of that was the Telepathy doing its job. It was a weird feeling to get from Goldie of all people. Frederick, I am going with Adon for a little while, Goldie sent so that both the butterfly and the young lord could hear. We may hang back a bit behind the group while we catch up a bit. He raised an eyebrow, but the corner of his lip turned up, showing he was amused rather than suspicious¡ªeven if Telepathy had not informed Adon of exactly the same thing. ¡°Go with the Goddess,¡± Frederick said quietly. ¡°I know that there are probably no monsters in this transitional location, since there has been no dungeon break, but be careful anyway. This dungeon break has been a fairly tricky one, outside the usual parameters of what I would expect. It seems at once more formidable and less stable.¡± We will be careful, Goldie replied in what sounded like an affectionate tone. Adon hardly noticed in the context of the information Frederick had just provided. This dungeon was unusually tricky? What were the implications of that? After a few seconds of just fluttering in the air above Frederick¡¯s shoulder trying to puzzle through he should expect going forward¡ªand frustrated, because he still barely knew anything about how dungeons worked besides what his old monster incarnation had known¡ªAdon remembered that Goldie was going off with him. He dipped down and inflated his size with Transformation, so that Goldie could climb aboard. Then they flitted up above the group, and Adon flew in circles until the group was a distance away where the butterfly did not feel any concern at the possibility of being overheard if he was careless with his thoughts. It¡¯s good to be chatting again, Goldie, he transmitted, but did you have something specific you wanted to talk about? ¡°Do you have time to talk¡± just sounds a bit ominous. He sent an awkward laugh along with what he said. Goldie responded with a laughter telepathic message, too, but it felt more polite than sincere. I will be direct, she sent. I do not know how much time we have to talk in this place. It is not that I have anything ominous to ask you. But the reason I wanted to speak, besides the pleasure of your conversation, is that I feel that you have been acting a bit off. Off? he asked back, his mind racing. His feeling had been right, after all, and he tried not to tense up in a way that she might notice from up on his back as he waited for some further, probably critical, words from his friend. Yes, you have not been quite yourself, Goldie replied. I do not know another way to put it. Well, I can describe what I mean, if you like. Ever since¡ªwell, I do not know, exactly, but you were not yourself when we entered the dungeon, so I know it is not a recent outburst of fear causing this change. Since recently, back at the palace, you have been different. At times quieter and at times more assertive than I have ever seen you. That would be fine, just¡ªit does not seem like you? You aren¡¯t wrong, Adon sent. He decided instantly to be completely honest with Goldie. The events of the last day or two were still weighing heavily on him, if anything even more so now that Rosslyn had knocked herself out seemingly due to his influence on her¡ªat least per her last thoughts before she lost consciousness. He knew he could at least rely on Goldie to be a friendly ear and tell him if he was behaving like a crazy person. First, I have feelings for Rosslyn, Adon continued. Romantically. I¡¯m interested in her. Goldie sent a simple, Yes, as if she already knew. Did I tell her that before? Adon tried to recall for a moment, but he¡¯d had so many conversations with Goldie, including some about the Princess, that there were quite a few he would have to sift through. Then again, maybe I was just that obvious, he thought to himself very quietly. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Well, I have been trying to figure out how to do a humanoid Transformation for her, Adon continued. That was stressful, because it just wasn¡¯t working out for me to be human sized. And more recently¡ªwell, you remember when Rosslyn and William fought back at the palace, right? How could I forget? Goldie sounded vexed. It felt completely pointless for two people to fight who had no intention of killing or even seriously harming each other, especially right before we were all meant to go into danger together! Right. So, I rigged the ending of that fight. I tripped William so that Rosslyn would win. Goldie was silent for several seconds, and Adon could feel her trying to contain herself. That information had made her even more frustrated than she had been in initially recalling the spar. There was a definite inclination to judge him in her mind right now, which was not something he had ever observed to any significant degree in her before. Just the presence of that sentiment felt a bit like he imagined getting scolded by an older sibling would feel. But when she actually responded, she was restrained. I suppose now it makes sense that you and William have been a bit tense with each other. He actually doesn¡¯t know yet, Adon sent. Hopefully he won¡¯t find out. Goldie sent back a little groan, then continued, How did Rosslyn feel about it? She did not take it as well as I would have hoped, Adon replied meekly. But she tried to be understanding. Probably more than most others would have been in the same circumstances. He described a bit of the conversation he¡¯d had with Rosslyn. Even if he had not had Impeccable Memory, the exchanges would probably still have been clear in his mind. Goldie nodded, causing Adon¡¯s body to shake slightly for a moment under the motion of the large spider. Even in his present, expanded form, it was a little awkward balancing with her body on top of him. I am not surprised that she reacted poorly, honestly, Goldie transmitted. I do not know how to say this¡­ Well, what was going through your mind at the time, Adon? What was your intention? I didn¡¯t want her to marry William, Adon sent. That was definitely a factor. But I don¡¯t think I would have actually done anything, except that in the seconds leading up to the end, I remember him deciding he would try to break her arm! He wanted to injure Rosslyn badly enough that she would be out of commission for a while. She would have to rely on him to protect the Kingdom. The butterfly felt a surge of anger and disgust at the memories. That was his way of sort of forcing her to marry him, I think. I got a bit carried away emotionally. Maybe I was wrong and should have let it happen¡ªor trusted Rosslyn to beat him. That whole situation was so gross, Adon thought to himself, reflecting once more on what had happened. I can¡¯t imagine ever doing something like that¡­ He had never told Rosslyn, because it would just be his word against William¡¯s¡ªsimilar to how he had not told Rosslyn the thoughts he had overheard from William after the young lord first arrived, about William¡¯s views on Rosslyn¡¯s future role. But even if he had felt nothing for the Princess but a sense of common¡ªnot humanity, he supposed, since he was technically not human anymore, but perhaps common decency as a fellow sapient¡ªeven then, he would not want to let William marry her. It was her choice to make, but it was something he would have wanted to discourage even if he was completely disinterested himself. Goldie was silent for a lot longer this time, to the point that Adon wondered if she did not know what to say or simply found the subject too unpleasant to discuss all of a sudden. Why is William still alive, then? she finally asked. She sounded angry, but Adon could tell she had worked hard to keep that feeling under control and had mostly bottled it up. Oh, Adon thought. Goldie continued, Is that not the act of a secret enemy? Trying to cripple your ¡°friend¡± in a ¡°friendly¡± sparring match, so they will be unable to fight their real opponents? Adon¡¯s response was delayed in turn. He had expected judgment directed at him, not William. He was unprepared for her basically agreeing with him¡ªand drastically amplifying his feelings. He needed a minute to adjust his thinking. Perhaps the world of the garden is further from this one than I realized, Goldie added before he could reply. She was already cooling down a bit. You have your reasons for trying to straddle a line between treating William as an enemy and as a friend. Just as Rosslyn has her reasons for the maneuvers she makes. You are becoming a political creature, as she is. Things were much simpler for us when enemies were simply creatures you ate. I have enjoyed that much about the dungeon so far. The palace is a more complicated place¡­ I¡¯ve been realizing that, slowly but surely, more and more every day, Adon agreed. More than anything, my goal in this life has been to succeed at relationships. Other people. The one thing I consistently failed at in my¡ªum, in the past. He had recalled suddenly that Goldie was sometimes uncomfortable with discussing past lives too directly. But it still isn¡¯t easy, even with literally thousands of years worth of life experience and the power to read minds. Damn, he thought to himself. That sounds really pathetic when I articulate it like that. I guess wherever you go, there you are. Stuck with yourself. If I¡¯m the problem, when will the problem be solved? Why would it be easy? Goldie sent, unknowingly interrupting his thoughts. You are doing something for the first time. It is only natural that it would be hard. We already know that you have no shortage of courage. Just take it slow, Adon. You have been rushing into things, I think. Time is on your side. From what I can see, and from what Samson and Frederick have been telling me, you have every advantage in the social sphere. Frederick? Adon thought. Since when has Frederick been sharing his social and political ideas with Goldie? Are they that close? Well, they did sound close before, when she was talking to him. He felt happy for his friend, as long as Frederick did not want to make her do anything that she would not want to do. You are the Kingdom¡¯s sacred creature, Goldie continued, and the Princess holds you in high regard. William, on the other hand, and the other Dessians, are just a means to an end for her. If you are patient, you will win the competition that you are in by default. They will go home, and you will still be here. Samson and Frederick told you all that? Adon replied. Frederick is aware that Rosslyn sees him and the knights as just ¡°a means to an end,¡± and they¡¯re still here? It was mainly Samson, but when I broach these subjects and matters like them with Frederick, I get similar responses, Goldie sent. I¡¯m surprised Frederick would tell you anything that goes against his and his brother¡¯s interests, Adon sent. It works well, since he knows that I am not like you¡ªnot quite, at least. Not devoted to this country as if it must be my home forever. Not deeply attached to the Royal Family to the same degree, although I feel affection for Rosslyn. What you have told me about William is disturbing, but Frederick is not so bad, I think. I have been talking with him more and more since he came to the palace, and especially since we left the palace. He is very direct about what he wants and how he sees the world. It is refreshing. More like what I am used to. The butterfly was slightly confused, albeit certainly still pleased for Goldie. He wondered how well she and Frederick actually understood each other. Did the young lord know that Goldie was a widow? How much did Goldie know about Frederick¡¯s preferences? And that last sentence¡­ He¡¯s more like a spider? Adon asked. Spiders go after what they want and make no pretenses, Goldie replied. That is my read of him. But he also understands the political stuff better than I would want to. We are moving far from what I wanted to talk about now, but at least I think I understand¡ª There was a sound of footsteps moving toward the arthropods, and Adon, who had been flying in circles, turned around so that he and Goldie could see who¡ªor what¡ªwas coming. 3-30. Transformational Learning The shadows partially shielded the approaching figure¡¯s face from view, but Adon was familiar enough with his gait to recognize exactly who was walking toward them without even needing to look directly at his head. Frederick, Adon sent. Good to see you. It was for lack of anything else to say. He had no idea why the young lord was approaching them. Frederick¡¯s mind was blank as to his intentions, but he did carry a satchel at his side that Adon did not recall having seen there before. It had a lumpy shape inside it. What brings you over, Frederick? Goldie sent¡ªmore direct than her friend, as always. ¡°We are setting up camp down a bit further in the cave,¡± Frederick replied. ¡°The men are getting tired and hungry. Fortunately, a few of the more resourceful knights managed to snag some food. We will not need to dig into our rations for now. That is also what brings me over now.¡± He patted the satchel at his side and stepped closer once more, and Adon suddenly smelled it. That bag¡ªit¡¯s full of meat, he thought. Frederick set the satchel down. ¡°High level beasts are good for you guys to eat, right?¡± Frederick asked. He opened the satchel, and Adon saw what appeared to be the back half of a lion. Then he noticed the feathers around the place where the body had been bisected. Right, of course, it¡¯s one of the griffins¡­ Adon did not say anything to Frederick. He felt a little bad about this, but he was absolutely interested in¡ªeven excited about¡ªeating griffin meat. These were some of the strongest creatures he had ever encountered. Even though they could not use magic as far as he had seen, they had been the first beasts he had ever met besides the Mystic Iron Bear that could resist magical attacks to any significant degree. They were made of tough stuff. Thank you very much, Frederick, Goldie sent, filling the silence. That is correct. We grow stronger with every significant hunt and subsequent meal, and the latter works even if we were not responsible for the hunting ourselves. Frederick was not the only one giving out information, Adon thought to himself. Not that this had any potential to be harmful to him or Goldie. Telling Frederick that they benefited from strong prey to eat had apparently led him to giving them the most powerful prey he could find. And it was not as if Adon and Goldie had specific weaknesses to reveal. Yes, thank you, Adon agreed. ¡°My pleasure,¡± Frederick replied. He gave them a small smile. ¡°Since we are setting up camp for the night, we will probably be starting fires to cook and keep warm. If and when that happens, you will both probably want to be on the other side¡ª¡± He pointed his thumb behind him, in the direction of the knights¡ª¡°where the smoke should be less thick. We expect it to drift this way, as the tunnel slopes gradually downward.¡± Of course, Adon sent. Is that how smoke works? Goldie sent to Adon only. He could not quite tell if she was joking or not. She was a spider, after all, with few memories of anything human. ¡°Anyway, enjoy the food, and if I do not see the two of you down there, I will return and give a warning when we are about to light the fires.¡± Thank you, Adon and Goldie sent in unison. As Frederick walked away, Adon reflected that the brothers were far more different than he had realized. And the first impressions he had come away with, in their first meeting¡ªwhat felt like a long time ago now, though it was only a matter of weeks¡ªthat Frederick disliked mystic beasts and that William was a decent guy, had almost reversed themselves. Will you take us down, Adon? Goldie sent. He realized he had just continued fluttering in midair, holding the spider far above the food on the ground. Adon set down directly on top of the hunk of griffin, and despite it being larger than either the butterfly or the spider, together, they set to work and devastated it with their respective mouthparts. It was some of the best food Adon had supped on in his life¡ªperhaps the best ever, besides the Mystic Iron Bear. Slurp slurp. Guzzle guzzle. Gulp. Before he knew it, Adon had slipped into a feeding trance. He only came out of it when the half-corpse of the griffin was reduced to nothing but skin and bones¡ªand found himself sucking marrow out of a broken chunk of rib bone with his proboscis. That was nice¡­ Adon had the sudden, ridiculous thought¡ªWait, what if Frederick poisoned the food?¡ªthen dismissed it just as quickly. The thought of it would have been impossible for the young lord to suppress as he passed the food to Adon and Goldie. Then again, it could have been a gift from William that he simply asked Frederick to pass on¡­ I am ready to go back to the others, Goldie sent. You? I would like a little more time, Adon replied. Not that you have to stay. I just want some time to practice Transformation. Ah, I understand, Goldie transmitted, sounding as if she understood all too well. You want to practice for the Princess¡­ Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. There was a little note of teasing in her voice, and Adon felt obliged to deny it, even though he felt ridiculous. It¡¯s not about that, he insisted. Transformation is useful! Have you practiced it at all? You do have Transformation, I remember you¡¯ve mentioned¡­ Actually, I have not tried using it, Goldie admitted. Maybe I should. Could you demonstrate? Sure, Adon replied. It would be better not to practice entirely alone anyway. He focused as he always did when he used Transformation, and his body quickly¡ªand far more easily than it had any of the first several times he had tried¡ªmorphed and shifted, expanded and made up for the empty spaces where he did not have enough mass with mana. The process felt significantly smoother and less draining than it had previous times when he had done it, and Adon wondered if he had gotten another big boost in power when he consumed the flesh of the griffin. As he contemplated the changes that had taken place in his Transformation process, Adon was conscious that he was succeeding. His body was taking the form he had repeatedly envisioned, in the size he had striven for over weeks, with far less struggle and pain than he had experienced before. The wings disappeared into the humanoid body this time, unlike in his fairy-adjacent form. It made him less complex. Easier to maintain. It was his body¡¯s way of making the Transformation more efficient. He flexed a muscle in his bicep¡ªa muscle that had not existed ten seconds before. Yes, I just needed to be stronger, he thought. Yes! Not that I¡¯m as nervous now as I was last time I tried this, but with how smoothly this is going, I can¡¯t imagine that just losing a bit of focus would make me snap back to normal again. It took him a minute to shape himself and the clothing that he wanted to surround his full-sized humanoid form. But it felt worth it. The results spoke for themselves. Goldie looked up at Adon and let out a low, telepathic whistle. Is this an enlargement of your other Transformation? she asked. It looks very stable. Impressive! Adon could feel the desire in his cells to return to his normal form, but he forced his body to function properly, made himself nod. He also responded with the vocal cords that he once again possessed. ¡°I think it gets more stable every time I use it,¡± he said. He smiled at the sound of his own voice. That was the only thing about his last life he had wanted to keep, and it was there, even more perfect and resonant than it had been in his smaller form, his usual deep intonation. Everything was satisfactorily responsive to the butterfly¡¯s will so far. Let me try something, then, Goldie sent. She sounded excited. Adon saw her body quiver all over, and he felt a twinge of worry for his friend. It¡¯s painful the first few times you try it, Adon sent, resorting to Telepathy reflexively. Don¡¯t try to do too much this time. No humanoid form. Just small changes, all right? He thought the spider nodded, but it might have just been a spasm of her body. She shook noticeably as he watched her. Her body, already near the size of a manhole cover, expanded, both the center of mass and the limbs lengthening. This continued for roughly ninety seconds until Goldie shuddered a final time and stood still, flexing her elongated limbs and twisting her head back and forth as if she had some terrible crick in the space that connected head and thorax. The butterfly turned human surveyed his friend¡¯s shift. Way better than my first Transformations, he assessed without a trace of envy. He could feel that despite how effective it looked, the actual pain it had inflicted¡ªand continued to inflict¡ªon the spider was at least as serious as he had experienced in his most dramatic early Transformation attempts. The sharp ache radiated telepathically. It was not quite as bad as Adon had felt when he first tried to inflate his body to human size, but significant enough that he was impressed that Goldie remained in the slightly new shape she had shifted to, rather than reverting back. His friend was now a much larger spider, a bit more than twice her previous size. It was not a massive change, at least not on the level of Adon¡¯s, but he thought that no human would want to make an enemy of her in this shape, even without knowing that she was magical. With her limb length, he guessed that she was about as tall as an average ten year old child now, if she could somehow stand up on her rear legs and stretch her front legs upward while the child did the same thing. How do I look? Goldie sent, her inner voice tired. ¡°You are terrifying,¡± Adon pronounced, smiling with the lips he was still not quite used to. ¡°No one would want to mess with a spider who looked like you do right now¡ªor even run into one in a dark alley!¡± He raised a hand to the side of his head and ran a finger through his short, straight hair, then touched the pointed tip of one ear, as he spoke. It was fun just to semi-consciously play with these physical features that he did not usually have. ¡°I¡¯m impressed that you were able to change your size so dramatically on the first try.¡± I am just glad that I listened to your advice and did not try to shift into human form, Goldie replied dryly. This is very taxing. ¡°Don¡¯t put pressure on yourself to maintain it,¡± he said. ¡°Remember that it gets easier as you get stronger, so every time you eat something strong like the griffin. Transformation is harder than it looks, but it¡¯s, um¡ª¡± He shifted to Telepathy. I think it¡¯s very impressive to the humans that we can do it at all, he sent. Possibly also important to them, depending on exactly what Frederick is talking to you about¡­ Goldie nodded again, although it was difficult once more to be certain that it was not simply a shudder. Her whole body felt unstable to the butterfly-humanoid as he watched her, like the cells were desperate to go back to their normal size and shape. Then he felt it. A reverberation through the air from the release of Goldie¡¯s willpower. It was tangible in his mind, like someone had just snapped a rubber band next to his ear. The sensation was so sharp and sudden that he almost released his own Transformation at the same moment. Instead, it was just Goldie, instantly collapsing back into her usual size and shape. Then Adon sensed Frederick returning¡ªthe young lord¡¯s mental processes, like anyone¡¯s, had a distinctive feeling to them that was recognizable even without listening to specific thoughts. As the young man¡¯s silhouette came into sharper focus, Adon watched him. It took a couple of seconds for Frederick to blink and adjust his vision to the relative shift in lighting, moving from one section of tunnel to another, but when he did, his eyes widened. ¡°Who are you?¡± the young lord asked. Frederick¡¯s body shifted into an on-guard stance, one hand raised to strike while the other gripped the hilt of his sword. 3-31. The Firestarter ¡°Same butterfly you¡¯ve been talking to,¡± Adon replied, grinning, completely unperturbed by Frederick¡¯s aggressive stance. I can¡¯t believe that came out so confidently! In his own mind, he pumped his fist¡ªthough his body remained still aside from some slight trembling under the strain of holding everything together and perfectly controlling every cell. ¡°Right, I remember my brother had asked before if you, um, noble creature could shapeshift,¡± Frederick said, swallowing hard. He still looked tense, but his hand had moved off of his sword hilt. ¡°I suppose we know the answer now.¡± Adon nodded. I suppose we do, he thought. ¡°I was just coming over to tell the two of you¡ª¡± Frederick looked down at where Goldie stood, exhausted, and he smiled at her. Adon felt genuine affection from him, which was nice to observe. He would prefer not to have to tell her that whatever connection she and Frederick had formed was anything less than real. ¡°We are starting the fires now. Everyone is preparing to eat and sleep. You will want to be downwind from the smoke.¡± He looked back up at Adon, who was slightly taller than Frederick in his humanoid form. ¡°Unless you have some form that does not need to breathe or does not mind a faceful of smoke.¡± The butterfly resisted the urge to laugh. He could feel that might actually destabilize him a bit. This body was funny in that way. It required constant focus to maintain, but to a lesser degree than what he had needed before, and he could tell now when there was some danger of it cutting out on him. Thank you for that, Frederick, Adon sent, reverting back to Telepathy. He looked down at Goldie where she remained unmoving, in the same position as before, on the ground. Adon sent a message for her ears only: Are you ready to go back to the others, or do you want to stay here for a bit longer? I am ready, but I will need you or Frederick to carry me, Goldie replied. My energy is running low, too, actually, Adon thought, though he still felt he had a minute or two before he would be forced back to butterfly mode¡ªwhich, in practice, meant quite a lot of energy remaining. ¡°I am returning to my usual form,¡± he said aloud, looking back at Frederick again. ¡°I hope you enjoyed meeting semi-humanoid Adon.¡± He released his control, and instantly everything snapped back to its usual place. Frederick just gaped for a moment, then shook his head a little and spoke. ¡°I did,¡± Frederick said in a respectful tone. ¡°Believe it or not, I think it is good, in our modern, cynical times to occasionally be reminded that wonders exist.¡± A part of Adon wanted to laugh at the description of the times in which they existed as ¡°modern,¡± but he felt the sincerity in the thought waves emanating from Frederick, and he did not want to mock Frederick in any way at that moment. Thank you, Adon sent simply. I will take your words as a high compliment. Frederick simply nodded his head in acknowledgement, then lowered himself to beside where Goldie was, placing his hand on the ground right next to her. ¡°Do you want to climb back onto my shoulder, Goldie?¡± he asked. I need help, Goldie admitted. Adon could hear the faint embarrassment in her tone. She tried to inject some slight self-deprecating humor as she continued, I have used up most of my strength experimenting with Transformation, and now I cannot get up! I think my social skills are getting a lot better, but Goldie makes interacting with the others look like child¡¯s play, he thought. And she had no human interactions in this life until after she met me. Guess I still have some work to do! Normally, he might have let the thought get him down, but not just now. Adon felt too pleased with his general success. He was doing well enough at socializing with Frederick, despite their lack of deep rapport, his Transformation had been perfect and held until Adon willingly released it, and he was also pleased that Goldie had succeeded at changing shape. Frederick gently cupped Goldie¡¯s body and raised her up to his shoulder. She was still able to move a bit, Adon saw, because she adjusted her legs¡¯ positions to keep her in place on Frederick¡¯s shoulder once she was placed there. Then the three returned to the group. As they approached, Adon saw the orange glow of three flames being kindled. The fires were surprisingly small, however, and when the trio drew closer, Adon saw why. How can they even light fires like that? The squad was using small clumps of kindling¡ªbits of dried grass and twigs they had clearly brought from outside, along with some gently glowing moss that some far-sighted knights had swiped in the earlier tunnel leading up to level two. But there was nothing more substantial for any of them to burn. The group had not been able to carry piles of wood with them into the dungeon, after all, and the dungeon itself had not provided any lumber thus far. They had to group together just to sustain the three small fires that they had lit, and from what Adon could tell, they appeared to be pouring affinity-less mana into the twigs, moss, and other kindling in an effort to strengthen it¡ªto make it burn more slowly. There is hardly any smoke, Adon sent to Frederick and Goldie. It doesn¡¯t seem like something we really needed to worry about, staying back there. A few wisps drifted up and overhead, but Adon thought they would have been easily avoidable. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Frederick raised an eyebrow. ¡°Yes, I had not realized how difficult of a time the knights would have just making a fire in here. At this rate, we will have to eat the rations instead of the meat that just dropped into our laps.¡± As the three observed, the knights had moved their fires closer together¡ªthey were mobile, since the kindling was just small odds and ends that could be easily moved without extinguishing the fire¡ªand began slowly rotating what appeared to be two strix drumsticks over them. That will take forever, Adon thought. If the meat even cooks at all. ¡°It is a shame,¡± Frederick added. ¡°If Rosslyn were not unconscious, we would ask her to use her fire magic. My brother and I have a different affinity, and naturally, it is useful, but the absence of fire magic means that there is no way of producing a stable, substantial flame that might be used to cook the meat.¡± He gave the butterfly a meaningful look. Adon read Frederick¡¯s mind and quickly confirmed that the overt hint was just that. So that was the real reason he wanted me to come back? So I could help cook the evening meal? Adon thought. He quickly shared it with Goldie. It seems like a good opportunity for you to develop the relationship and reputation that you have been building, she sent back instantly. The Kingdom loves you. The knights already respect you for your contributions to level two. You can make the knights even happier by helping them eat. That has always been the best way to my heart. But why would Frederick want to give me that opportunity? Adon replied. He had read the young lord¡¯s mind enough to know that Frederick was thinking about the fact that Adon could use fire magic and had intentionally brought him over here to help the knights. The reason why Frederick had done this was less apparent. You are trying to imagine a scheme he might be playing, Adon? Goldie sent. I told you, you may not agree, but I do not think he is like that. I do not think he is necessarily trying to help you, but it is only natural that Frederick would want to look after his own people. Most of the knights in the dungeon are Dessian. That¡¯s true, Adon acknowledged. Then he opened his communications to include Frederick as well. I think I can help the knights cook their food, Adon transmitted. Is it all right with you if I approach them and offer my services? ¡°Why would I have any objection, Adon?¡± Frederick asked. And then he actually winked. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on right now, and I don¡¯t like that, Adon thought. The one brother seems to loathe me, and the other one is acting like he wants to be friends or something¡ªor at least like he doesn¡¯t hate me. And he¡¯s giving me this opportunity¡­ Adon forced himself to stop thinking about it and flew over to the knights instead. He quickly explained what he could do to help them, and the relief he felt as they heard his telepathic message was palpable. The butterfly was very glad he had not pushed his Transformation to the point of failure. He had plenty of mana to go around. The pitiful miniature fires were quickly pushed together in a clump and almost abandoned, tended by only one knight who kept them going¡ªto keep the group warm, they said, although Adon read the shared subtext in their minds. The knights were worried that Adon would run out of mana. Such a tiny creature could not have much more power inside of him than he had already shown on the second level of the dungeon. The amount of mana that a monster possessed was often correlated with size, and indeed, Adon believed that the Mystic Iron Bear had controlled a larger pool of mana than he himself owned. However, Adon was no monster. He was a mystic beast. He was not spawned by a dungeon with a significant amount of power and a constrained environment. Rather, he had been born weak and exploded exponentially in power, repeatedly transcending what seemed to be his own limits. Adon gladly showed them the difference. He circulated mana around his body, vibrated it at the right speed to ignite it, and then cooked every bit of meat the knights presented him with until they could cut into it with a knife and get clear juices instead of blood. Strix meat, it seemed, was not much different from chicken. The cook took half an hour. Adon¡¯s fire was efficient, his will clearer and more powerful in controlling and directing the flames than it had ever been before. He was careful not to waste energy, and he was pleased to observe that his watchful resource husbandry was not lost on the knights. They could tell that he was choosing to deliberately limit his power output in order to sustain it for longer, and the telepathic consensus was that they were impressed. Apparently, a common issue among mages of many kinds was an inability to properly gauge how much magic was necessary to resolve a given situation. Adon, who could watch his mana numbers in real time when and if he chose to, and who had trained his magic consistently over his short life, always had an idea of how much power he was using and how much gas remained in the tank. Adon finished cooking for everyone, and then he sensed Frederick coming back over to where the butterfly and the knights were gathered. The young lords had come over in the middle of the process, not waiting their turn exactly but not rushing to the front of the line either. But now Frederick seemed to have something different in mind. William sent him over here this time, Adon thought. Goldie was not with Frederick either. Adon saw that she was back with Samson and William. Samson was eating some strix meat, and William was staring over at Adon expressionlessly. The emotional waves coming off of Frederick were serious. ¡°Adon, would you be willing to come with me for a little while?¡± Frederick asked lightly once he was close. ¡°I assume you are done cooking?¡± I am, Adon replied, and I would be happy to go with you. He already knew what Frederick and William wanted with him, so he did not need to ask any further questions. The idea in Frederick¡¯s mind¡ªWilliam¡¯s idea, as expressed to Frederick¡ªwas that Adon should join the young lords and form a sort of council of war. They would plan out the attack on the next floor now, though provisionally, since Rosslyn was still out of commission. The surprising thing to Adon was that Frederick genuinely believed Adon was the right person to replace Rosslyn as a sort of de facto leader for the Claustrian troops¡ªassuming, of course, that the Princess remained unavailable for some time longer. Frederick extended his hand, and Adon fluttered over to perch on top of it. He was tired from all of the mana use that day, but there was no chance he would turn down the opportunity to participate in shaping their attack strategy. It might save lives if he could get the brothers to agree to let him scout again, and Adon had also very consciously chosen a path in this life where he would embrace social opportunities where he found them. Joining a council of war was almost a no-brainer. As Frederick reached his brother and the arthropods, Adon flitted from the back of his hand and landed beside the spiders. As if by signal, William launched into what Adon telepathically sensed was a pre-planned monologue. ¡°Thank you for joining us, Adon,¡± the young lord began. ¡°I know I blew up at you a little bit earlier, in a moment of high tension. I do¡­ apologize for that.¡± Adon carefully watched William¡¯s expressions as he continued. Immaculate Memory was a literally perfect recall of anything that Adon had experienced, but old habits died hard. Some part of him was determined, despite the lack of any need, to deliberately memorize the exquisite discomfort apparent on William¡¯s face, as the young lord spoke words that he clearly did not want to say and that he did not entirely mean. 3-32. So Many Cooks in the Kitchen ¡°I am a passionate person,¡± William continued. ¡°I have no doubt you can understand that, having spent some time around me¡ªwitnessed my high spirits in the brief period of our acquaintanceship thus far. So, yes. Yes, I am s-sor-ry.¡± The last word came out stuttered and broken up into more syllables than felt natural, as if William was dabbling in a foreign language that he was not fluent in and did not know quite how that one was pronounced. Adon wondered if William had ever needed to apologize even once before in his entire life. Somehow it was hard to imagine. ¡°Well, I hope you enjoyed the food that Frederick brought,¡± William added, filling the very brief but uncomfortable silence that his last sentence had left. Adon skimmed William¡¯s thoughts for a fraction of a second and gathered that William was trying to imply that Frederick had taken Adon the griffin meat at William¡¯s direction¡ªor at least with his blessing¡ªbut also that William had not noticed what Frederick was doing at the time. This was pure opportunism. In a way, Adon almost admired the way William shamelessly attempted to manipulate him. If the butterfly had not possessed incredibly strong Telepathy, it would have worked perfectly. We did enjoy the food, thank you, Adon replied. And I prefer for us not to hold grudges if possible. I know we both care about the Princess. Neither of us would want her to suffer any debilitating injury of any kind, for any reason. Certainly not when there is a dungeon to be quelled and an army of demons to be defeated. ¡°Right, and with that, let us get into planning how we might tackle the next level,¡± said Frederick, clearly deliberately precluding any response by William to Adon¡¯s provocative framing. Adon was quite deliberately using phrasing that poked at William¡¯s effort to break Rosslyn¡¯s arm in their sparring match earlier. But the young lord maintained a poker face. The only reaction Adon noticed, including emotionally, was that William narrowed his eyes slightly. What can we plan now? Adon asked. Has someone already scouted the next floor? Do we know anything? Someone went over to the entrance, Samson sent. He gestured with a limb. A knight. No one actually entered, because there¡¯s no one who can sneak around as effectively as you, Adon. But at least this level didn¡¯t have a waterfall blocking it from view. ¡°We discovered that the next level is extremely hot,¡± William said. ¡°It appears to contain some level of volcanic activity somehow, despite being located right below a level that featured flowing, occasionally flooding water. The heat might make it difficult even for you to casually fly around scouting.¡± The young lord waited a moment for Adon to contradict him, and the butterfly did not need mind-reading to recognize that William was distinctly pleased when Adon did not. There, at least, was something that the mystic butterfly truly could not safely do. Flying around when jets of lava were bursting everywhere. ¡°Assuming that my assumption was correct, do not worry,¡± William continued, shrugging. ¡°My brother and I can keep you and your fellow mystic beasts safe from the heat as long as you stick close to us. There are some other problems, though.¡± ¡°Right,¡± said Frederick. ¡°The discussion my brother and I actually want to have is whether or not to wait for Rosslyn¡¯s recovery to enter the next level¡ªor to press on and carry her along with us. Much as I hate to admit it, the loss of any one of us¡ª¡± He gestured to include himself, William, and the arthropods¡ª¡°is a serious blow to our fighting power. The knights are very strong, but rulers of nations and their descendants rise to the level they reach based on being at the pinnacle.¡± He smiled thinly at the arthropods. ¡°The same applies to mystic beasts, I expect. This dungeon has been more dangerous than normal already. I believe that we only skated through the last level as lightly as we did because of Adon¡¯s scouting and alliance-building. If we had simply entered the level through the waterfall and began descending the cliff, perhaps half of our party would have been severely wounded or killed. I am confident that the adventurers who were previously sent into this dungeon never cleared that level. They probably descended beyond the first level, took one look at the space beyond the waterfall, and fled. What the next level holds may be even more harrowing. Rosslyn being unconscious weakens us dramatically, and there are no second chances here. If we continue, and the risk of level three turns out to be too serious, we might have no choice but to either retreat here and wait for her to recover, or actually abandon the expedition altogether.¡± William simply nodded expressionlessly. Abandon the expedition? Adon sent, surprised. He sensed that he was the only one surprised, and he realized that the group had already been discussing this a bit before they invited him over¡ªwhile he was helping the knights to cook their food. If the alternative is death, that is only reasonable, Goldie sent to Adon only, in a gentle rebuke. You are very attached to this country, and Samson and I are very attached to you, but William and Frederick come from another place. They cannot be expected to lay down their lives clearing a dungeon in a land that will certainly be conquered by the Empire if the Princess dies here anyway. Adon admitted to himself that her words made sense, but that perspective felt far too cold to him. This from the guy who came to the Kingdom to try and marry Rosslyn? he sent. Perhaps he has less confidence in his prospects now, for whatever reason, Goldie replied with a slight edge to her tone. Oh, Adon thought very quietly. Right. Probably my fault. At least in part¡­ Still pretty cold, he sent meekly. ¡°We can safely remain here as long as we do not have to worry about an imminent dungeon break,¡± William went on. ¡°I imagine that the griffins suddenly pursuing us when they had apparently been allied means the dungeon is becoming more aggressive. It took control of them. Still, for all we know, monsters are controlled by the dungeon core much of the time. Very few people think of trying to befriend the creatures that reside in a dungeon. I think the core might not be very active yet, because it did not attempt to use the griffins against us until we were almost at the exit. Perhaps it was exhausted by its labors, erecting such a formidable dungeon so quickly.¡± I don¡¯t think that is necessarily true, Adon sent. The way these dungeons work, I¡¯m pretty certain that the dungeon core only rarely if ever exerts direct control over the monsters. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°How do you know that?¡± Frederick asked. So Adon felt forced to explain that in a previous incarnation, he had been a monster¡ªand in passing, he acknowledged that he had access to many more lifetimes of experience and memories, though none of them were truly integrated into his identity as an individual except for his previous life as a human. I don¡¯t think the dungeon core was necessarily doing anything in particular to influence the griffins, Adon sent. I sensed a sudden change to the way they thought, but it might have just been because they were designed to be territorial. The way monsters operate, they are hardly ever being directly controlled by the core. So this really doesn¡¯t tell us anything reassuring. ¡°So many lives,¡± Frederick said thoughtfully, clearly still preoccupied with Adon¡¯s revelation. So, you are an old worm? William thought coldly but loudly. ¡°An old soul,¡± the young lord pronounced aloud, smiling thinly. Not really, Adon transmitted, very forcefully ignoring the thought behind William¡¯s words. I have access to memories that I can reference from many lives, but I¡¯ve never experienced a truly long life that I am aware of. I tend to die early a lot. And my identity is anchored to my last life. That is the personality I still have, and that is the name I use. If I had the social skills and maturity of a man who had lived to be eighty, don¡¯t you think I would use them? He sent a short, shallow laugh. In that life, I died at twenty-six years old. Not so different in age from you. William frowned at the butterfly comparing itself to him. ¡°How did you die so young?¡± William asked. In the young lord¡¯s mind, possibilities flung themselves forward: Dysentery? Some other peasant disease? Probably lived in a primitive time before healing magic was widespread, or he was too poor to access it. Adon was slightly taken aback by the question as well as the loud and intrusive train of thought that followed. His death in his previous life was still quite embarrassing to him, though he rarely thought about it. Dying by tripping on a soda can, because he was too heavy and clumsy to control his own fall, was almost as embarrassing as dying while performing some genuinely shameful act, like committing a crime or doing something weird in bed. He tried to formulate a quick response, but as he fumbled for an answer, Goldie spoke up first. Adon died heroically, she sent, lying brazenly. He was fighting for his country, and he took an arrow through the eye. It was the last thing he saw. His brother remembers it too. A terrible incident that separated them until they both reincarnated as mystic beasts¡ªa reward from the Goddess for their heroism. Wow, Adon thought. He had never realized Goldie had those kinds of deception skills. Or perhaps she had never seen a need to apply them before. He could sense right now, whatever else might be going through the spider¡¯s mind, that Goldie was not happy with William. After a beat, Samson spoke up. That¡¯s right, he sent. It was horribly traumatic, but my brother was a hero. I kept his medal on my mantle until my dying day. Adon thought that was a bit overwrought, but he felt William actually buy into the idea¡ªand why not? Adon had been genuinely brave and heroic in this life, in every situation William was aware of or had experienced with the mystic beast. Why shouldn¡¯t he have been a hero in his last life too? Goldie opened up a telepathic channel that Adon could tell only ran between himself, her, and Samson. Adon, you are right about William, she sent. He is both rude and perhaps unworthy of the position he holds. Those things he thought about you were so loud that even I heard them, despite the fact that my Telepathy is weaker than yours. I am convinced that was intentional, meant for you. He is supposed to be here as a sort of diplomat. Talking about abandoning fighting in the dungeon is one thing. Insulting people is another¡­ Wait, he was trying to taunt me? Adon replied, flabbergasted. Why? Many possible reasons, Samson sent. Maybe he wants to verify whether you¡¯re reading his mind all the time, so he allowed a highly inflammatory thought to bubble up. If he provoked a reaction to what he thought rather than the words he said, that would be irrefutable evidence that you were eavesdropping. Then again, it might not even be a big deal in his head that you read people¡¯s minds¡­ I don¡¯t know exactly how rare Telepathy is. He might just be trying to keep you off balance. Using the ability you have against you. There are social games at play, too. And it¡¯s also possible that he just looks down on you. Maybe he¡¯s not bothering to suppress his harsher thoughts, because he just doesn¡¯t think it¡¯s worth it. Hard to believe this wasn¡¯t calculated somehow, though. ¡°I am s-sorry for asking what must have been such a painful question,¡± William said. He bowed his head slightly and looked embarrassed, though Adon could again sense William¡¯s real emotions. The butterfly knew it was an insincere apology. Forget about it, Adon sent. Anyway, I think that the best thing to do, despite the problems with this idea, is to let the knights get some rest tonight and then try exploring the next floor in the morning. If Rosslyn is awake, I¡¯m sure that¡¯s what she will want to do. If she isn¡¯t, maybe I could scout the next floor. I know it¡¯s very hot, but maybe it¡¯s still doable. Everyone looked at Adon with skepticism as he proposed his plan. ¡°That sounds very brave, but we do not want to send you on to your next reincarnation yet,¡± Frederick said lightly. William snorted but nodded his agreement. ¡°You would be toasted within minutes.¡± We¡¯ll see, Adon replied. Assuming that Rosslyn does not wake up by the morning, I¡¯ll try going then. Until then, I¡¯ll take a peek at what the next level looks like. After that, I¡¯ll get some rest. He knew, but did not say, that exploring the next level would probably take a lot out of him. He would have to recharge all his resources to have the best chance at surviving the scouting mission. Good luck, Adon, Goldie sent. Let me know if there is anything that I can do to help. Same, bro, Samson added. Including if you want company. Goldie sent a one word telepathic warning in Samson¡¯s direction in response: No. And the young lords echoed what Goldie had said before. ¡°Good luck,¡± they both said. ¡°Hopefully it does not come to you exploring on your own,¡± Frederick added. But Adon had already resolved himself. He was not worried about whether Rosslyn would wake up in time to lead them to the next level or not. She was stable. He could sense that even from several meters away. That was the only respect in which her condition worried him¡ªthat it might somehow get worse. The butterfly was already thinking about his plan for the next floor. As he fluttered over to the tunnel¡¯s exit¡ªthe next level¡¯s entrance¡ªand peered out into the next level, he saw a cave, dimly lit from above and below by an orange glow. It looked just as nightmarish as the brothers had described it. Still, Adon could not help but be excited. 3-33. In the Frying Pan As Adon stared out into the burnt orange gloom of the third level, he took in all the details he could and continued formulating his game plan. He could see a small oval of the space around the entrance, which appeared to come out at ground level on the new floor. At least Adon could not see any sudden drop in elevation, only a wall roughly ten feet away and the ceiling and floor in between. Assuming that the oval in his view was representative, this level appeared much smaller in comparison with the last. The roof was set just slightly higher than a typical human¡¯s height, around seven feet up. The cave walls were narrowly spaced such that only four or five people would be able to move abreast. And, of course, that was assuming that most of the ground was actually passable. In fact, a path of solid rock¡ªwide enough for two people to cross it abreast¡ªextended out from the floor¡¯s entrance to a narrow landing that grew wider at the edges of Adon¡¯s oval. He guessed the ground might be mostly stone outside of the oval that he could see without entering. But on either side of that small path, there were large pools of magma. Adon could feel the heat radiating from the orange liquid. The air was boiling hot, and if he was in human form, he would have been pouring sweat. In insect form, he couldn¡¯t even do that, so he used small amounts of mana spread throughout his body to minimize his vulnerability to the heat. Despite his skillful application of mana, his health was slowly falling as he stood looking around. It was too slow to be a significant issue¡ªhe expected he could have gotten through the entire floor without running out, assuming it was not more than a few miles long, which seemed logical given the previous floors. But if he had to actually fight in this place, that would be another drain on his mana. Adon¡¯s natural mana regeneration would be severely diminished by the requirement that he continually fortify himself against this heat¡ªwhich was terrible even at the entrance. I could see myself burning to a crisp in here if I¡¯m not careful, Adon thought. Even if there¡¯s nothing on this level that poses a threat physically¡­ Despite the heat, his mind was cool and clinical. Unlike the matters of royal politics, romance, and even military affairs, exploring unfamiliar environments and fighting unexpected enemies was his bread and butter. Almost his comfort zone. He understood the assignment perfectly. Though Adon naturally hoped that Rosslyn would awaken soon, he was also looking forward to scouting this place for the group and then subsequently fighting their way through it. The butterfly continued scanning the environment with his visual and auditory senses. The dim orange light that illuminated the level from above looked to originate from cracks in the ceiling through which something¡ªAdon guessed magma¡ªgently gleamed. Is that cracked stone stable? he wondered. If there was a flood on this floor, as there had been on the last one, but the flood was of molten magma instead of water, Adon did not imagine that any members of the expedition would survive that. Is the dungeon able to be that unbalanced? The stability of the environment was one of the things he would have to pay particular attention to when and if he scouted later. But as his eyes returned to the dark stone of the far wall, Adon could not think of much else that he could do just now. He knew what the opening to level three looked like, sounded like¡ªa gentle simmering noise¡ªsmelled like¡ªbrimstone¡ªand that it felt hot as anywhere else he had ever been. It was time to return to the group and rest for the evening. Or what he imagined was the evening. He would need his resources for this level far more than he had for the last. As he was thinking that, however, Adon realized that he felt something with his other sense. The butterfly focused his mind and carefully confirmed it. His vision was hazy for a moment as his mind lasered in on a single thing. Yes¡­ Actually, he had found two things. They were subtle, but once spotted, it was obvious they were there. Two minds¡­ but they haven¡¯t moved the whole time I¡¯ve been sitting here watching. The two minds were not thinking anything in particular. They might have been asleep¡ªor perhaps more accurately dormant, waiting for some enemy to enter their domain. As for the unknown creatures¡¯ locations, initially he only recognized that they were below him, but gradually Adon was able to narrow it down. He just had to move slightly and continue receiving the signal in order to triangulate their locations. He discerned that both inactive life forms were located within the magma pools that stood on either side of the path. A perfect ambush position if the group entered unwary. Well, that confirms something I could have guessed already; everything that lives on this floor will be heat resistant. That also meant that Adon¡¯s most potent offensive abilities¡ªthe fire magic that he had learned from Rosslyn and the mana ball that he had used to burn through many enemies in the past¡ªwould probably be useless here. The longer I look at this floor, the more nervous it makes me. Adon wasn¡¯t quite afraid. At some point, his threshold to be afraid of physical dangers had risen. And his plan to handle this level had not radically changed. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. The butterfly fluttered back to the group and found a place to rest alongside the spiders, who had taken up positions near Rosslyn¡¯s sleeping form. On the way, he passed four knights, two facing in each direction up and down the tunnel, standing guard. It seemed the group really was settling in to rest for the night. Did you discover anything interesting? Goldie asked when Adon landed. I did, Adon replied. I think this level will be even more trouble than the last one. The only big thing to mention right now, though, is that there are monsters hidden in the pools of magma right next to the entrance. So whenever the group enters the level, the first people in will probably get ambushed immediately¡­ What if we¡­? Samson began. There was a back and forth among the arthropods that lasted for a quarter of an hour before they all agreed that it would be better to try and solve this problem after Adon had scouted the dungeon a bit further. Then they gradually allowed themselves to turn inactive for the night. The very last thing Adon did, before he went into quiescence, was deactivate Telepathy. The butterfly remained still for an unknown number of hours. The next thing Adon knew, he was being gently prodded awake. ¡°I did not even know that insects could sleep,¡± a voice murmured. It took only a moment for Adon¡¯s head to clear enough to recognize that it was Frederick speaking. Adon activated Telepathy, focusing just on Frederick for now rather than allowing himself to get suddenly struck by a bunch of other people. He had not looked around the tunnel to see how many were awake versus dreaming, but being in a group like this, telepathic signals could hit him with a lot of force either way, if he was not ready for them. Learn something new every day, Adon sent. Although I¡¯m a little surprised that you didn¡¯t know. Rosslyn and her father know a shocking amount about butterflies. Your family¡¯s mystic beast crest is the spider, right? Frederick¡¯s cheeks colored slightly, and Adon had a moment to wonder if he had said something wrong before the young lord responded. ¡°I believe that Rosslyn and her father keep to the, er, old traditions in ways that many others do not,¡± Frederick replied in a near whisper. ¡°Not that there is anything wrong with that. Perhaps much to recommend it¡­¡± Adon did not know quite what to make of that. He had been trying to be casual and even a little playful, but it seemed his social skills had not done quite what he wanted of them. I guess those still need a lot of further training¡­ The butterfly thought he could probably read what Frederick really meant if he dug into his thoughts a bit, but there were other matters on Adon¡¯s mind already. Frederick had started poking Goldie gently on one of her legs to wake her up next, and Adon felt like raising a question. Why did you come and wake us up now, by the way? Adon sent. He had quickly looked around, and he could see that most of the knights were not very active yet. Some remained asleep. ¡°You had not noticed?¡± Frederick raised an eyebrow and then tilted his head, pointing at Rosslyn. Adon turned to look in the Princess¡¯s direction. He saw that she was in a slightly different position from the one he remembered seeing her in when he went into quiescence. Before, she had been on her back, and now, she was leaning slightly to her right side. ¡°She is stirring,¡± Frederick murmured softly, as Adon was formulating his reply. And the young lord was right. Rosslyn had begun to awaken. As Frederick awakened Samson and Goldie, she began stretching and yawning, all without any apparent consciousness of her surroundings. From across the room, William moved forward, clearly aiming to be near the Princess when her eyes finally opened. But when Rosslyn finally did seem to fully awaken, Adon was the first to hear from her. I should not have tried to be so selfless, Rosslyn thought a bit ruefully. My head¡­ Adon, how long have I been out? Hard to tell how much time is passing in here, Adon replied, but everyone took a rest in the tunnel after level two, and you woke up at the same time that everyone else has started to get up. So I have not wasted our precious time, she thought. Thank the Goddess. This is a small miracle. And it seemed that the miracle was essentially without cost. Rosslyn confirmed to herself and Adon that she felt herself at roughly full power despite her energy expenditures of the previous day. She pushed herself up from the ground to greet William. ¡°Thank you for holding the expedition together while I was under the weather,¡± Rosslyn said warmly. ¡°Think nothing of it,¡± William replied, matching her warmth. ¡°I am relieved to see you on your feet again.¡± He took her hand and then pulled her into an embrace. Adon felt Rosslyn¡¯s surprise through Telepathy, but she neither resisted nor returned William¡¯s hold. After a few seconds, William let go, and they stepped apart and continued talking. ¡°Has anything of note happened since I lost consciousness?¡± she asked. ¡°You could ask your friend the butterfly,¡± William replied, raising an eyebrow. ¡°He is the one who has spent the most time staring into the inferno. The next level appears to be full of fire and fury. Despite that, Adon courageously volunteered to scout for us.¡± Adon was surprised that William had volunteered that information, but he recognized a moment later that he should not have been. Rosslyn¡¯s immediate emotional reaction, which Adon felt through Telepathy, was worry, followed by the cognitive reaction of disagreeing with Adon¡¯s decision. That was surely also William¡¯s intention. Adon decided to forestall any argument as quickly as he could. I have a plan for how to explore the floor safely, he sent to all those nearby. You know that I can use Transformation rather flexibly. Well, here is the form that I believe will help keep me safe from the heat. The butterfly¡¯s body began to warm and shift. He had formulated his idea clearly, and for all the strangeness of it, he felt confident that it would work. Even if everyone else present would not be able to tell visually that his new shape was well adapted for the heat, Adon knew that it was. He would have the strength of that conviction on his side. What is that? Samson sent. ¡°What sort of creature have you become?¡± Frederick echoed. ¡°What in the world¡­?¡± Rosslyn said. William remained silent, but his brow furrowed in an expression of apparent¡ªand very understandable¡ªconfusion. I wouldn¡¯t expect anyone to recognize it, Adon sent, replying to everyone at once. No one else had ever seen the creature whose shape Adon had taken. Because it did not exist in any reality, in any world Adon had ever incarnated into. 3-34. Out of the Frying Pan Adon had created his semi-humanoid form without a particular human model in mind. He had allowed his imagination to run away with him a bit, made himself conventionally attractive, but kept some inhuman traits. He had given himself pointed ears, for instance, because he thought that was appropriate for a nonhuman in a fantastical world. And he had the option of having or not having wings in his humanoid form. So, when he began thinking about how best to counter an extremely hot environment that caused passive damage to his butterfly body just by passing through it¡ªeven if he shielded himself with mana!¡ªthe natural idea had been to sculpt a custom animal to survive the heat. He had considered and rejected various real animal types, from camels to lava lizards and various desert-dwelling birds. Then Adon thought: Why not mix and match? His mind was a powerful tool. Impeccable Memory had given him supernatural gifts of memory, which could support some incredible creativity, if he applied his focus carefully. So the form that stood before the group represented his best ideas, forcefully combined with all the grace and beauty of the duck-billed platypus. What do you guys think? Adon sent. I combined many animals that were good at enduring extreme heat to devise this form. He had the layers of fur and fat-filled humps of camels, beneath the fur he possessed heat-resistant scales, and finally, he retained wings, so that he would hopefully never need to set down on a hot surface while he was exploring the third level. All three of these major changes would hopefully make him less vulnerable to being incinerated. He looked like a bat with camel skin and camel humps, with the occasional glint of the underlying scales where the fur was thin. ¡°What sort of animal is it?¡± Rosslyn asked. ¡°There is no way this is a real creature,¡± William muttered. ¡°Unless he encountered it in a dungeon.¡± Rosslyn¡¯s eyes darted to the side slightly as William spoke. She was clearly surprised at what he had said. I told him and Frederick a little about my previous incarnations while you were out, Adon sent to quickly fill her in. Rosslyn gave him a subtle nod, while the reactions from the others continued at their previous pace. This isn¡¯t anything I¡¯ve ever seen in my life, Samson sent. Is it an animal you encountered while you were hunting alone? Goldie sent. ¡°Are you a sort of bird?¡± William asked. Adon shook his head. A bat would be closer, he sent. I thought it looked a little like a bat, Samson sent, blatantly lying. I cannot believe I did not think of a bat, Goldie thought. ¡°What about the scales?¡± Rosslyn asked. ¡°I can see them around the edges of the wings and peeking through from beneath the fur in a few places.¡± She pointed at the reddish scales. ¡°Bats do not have scales, right? Because they are mammals¡­?¡± I think it is like a desert horse, Frederick thought cautiously, unwilling to speak his strange phrasing aloud. Adon could see the image the young lord had in mind was of a picture from a book he had studied as a child, and it was actually an image of a camel from a distant land. Ironically, Frederick, though unwilling to speculate, had actually gotten closer to the correct answer than anyone else. Well, almost anyone. ¡°It is either something you encountered in one of your previous incarnations,¡± William said. He hesitated to finish the sentence. ¡°Or?¡± Rosslyn prompted. ¡°Or he made himself into some sort of hybrid creature.¡± The young lord looked uneasy at the thought. In which case he could probably turn into almost anything or anyone that he wanted, William thought. I can see how that would creep him out, Adon thought. The butterfly hated to confirm William¡¯s suspicion, but leaving the conversation hanging seemed more likely to add fuel to the fire than to reassure him. And absence would only make Adon seem more sinister. This form is a hybrid creature, yes, Adon sent. A cross between a desert-dwelling mammal, a lizard that lives near active volcanoes, and birds generally. He consciously tried to communicate in simple, practical language and a reassuring tone, and at least Adon did not feel that William¡¯s feathers had been ruffled any further. ¡°Can you turn into any shape you like?¡± the young lord asked after a moment. Adon shook his head. There are limits, he sent. Limits in size and probably other limits that I have not fully explored yet. Adon kept it vague, but William seemed a little reassured. At least the emotional waves coming off the young man calmed slightly. Anyway, there is no one more prepared than me to enter the next level, Adon sent. I¡¯m the only one who can scout it without having to fight. He explained about the monster poised within the magma just beside the entrance. ¡°You do not need to convince me, Adon,¡± William said, smiling sweetly. ¡°I already endorsed this plan, remember?¡± Adon did a quick sweep of William¡¯s mind and heard what William was thinking just below the surface. Hopefully he gathers some useful intelligence. And if he happens to fall into a pit full of lava instead, such a shame¡­ All right, that¡¯s typical, Adon thought. Who cares what he thinks? Frederick simply nodded along, agreeing with his brother¡¯s verbally expressed sentiment. ¡°Good luck, Adon,¡± Rosslyn said, her brow furrowed slightly. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Adon could feel some resistance from her to the idea of him going, but she did not want to express it. Without digging into her thoughts, Adon guessed it was about avoiding an argument with William. You can do it, bro, Samson sent. Do not do anything reckless, Goldie added. Adon nodded. I¡¯m going before I start to wear myself out, he sent. Lots of exploring to be done. William was loudly thinking to himself about what Adon had just let slip. So, the ability has a cost in resources consumed, William thought. That means a time limit. Adon tried to ignore the fact that William was assessing him for weaknesses. It wasn¡¯t important right now. The butterfly flapped his new, slightly ungainly wings, and he awkwardly took off. Adon would need to get used to this new form¡¯s weight and less aerodynamic body, but he would have to do it on the go. His time was already ticking down, and he did not know how long this form would actually last. He flew up and away from the group, not bothering with a final backward glance, and he darted through the opening to level three. The air hit him like a wall of fire as he passed over the threshold, and Adon had to narrow his eyes¡ªthe atmosphere made them tear up instantly¡ªbut he seemed to have gauged the capacity of this new body correctly. It could endure the environmental forces that would probably have caused his normal body to combust. And he retained the speed that he¡¯d had when he was a butterfly. The wings, ungainly though they were, carried him forward swiftly, past the magma pools and into the dungeon proper. He telepathically felt the creatures in the magma pools move, but they were sluggish. They did not rise from the molten liquid in time to intercept Adon before he glided dozens of feet past them and into the main body of the dungeon. The dungeon core had clearly not designed those creatures with speed in mind. By contrast, Adon rushed along, flying like a bat out of Hell¡ªthough he was crazy enough to be going in deeper instead of zipping the other way. There was something majestic about flight, and there always would be for Adon. The open skies were a setting for adventure, hope, and endless exploration. But even flying through this oven, in relatively tight quarters and with constant focus on maintaining his Transformation and reinforcing his body with mana, had its charms. The constraints of the space forced rapid decision-making and repeatedly tested his reflexes. When he had entered the main part of the dungeon, he had come to a fork almost immediately and simply chosen his path randomly¡ªthe left fork¡ªand he was subsequently forced to make such decisions repeatedly. This place, as it turned out, was not merely an oven. It was also a maze. Wishing for the simplest possible return path, Adon chose the left fork every single time, until it led him to a dead end. Then he retraced his flight path and tried again. Along the way, he encountered only one type of creature¡ªif ¡°encounter¡± was even the right word. They were large lizards¡ªalmost the size of alligators¡ªthat rested lazily on the ground and simply watched Adon as he flew by. The fact that they behaved as if Adon was not a threat would have been annoying if it were not also a relief. Identify gave him their species name. Giant Lava Monitor (Male). Is that like a giant version of a lava lizard? Adon wondered. The creature looked far more apex predator-like to him. Like it could easily eat him in one bite, without chewing. But, fortunately, the monitors just flicked their tongues at the air when he flew overhead and did not bother with him. Adon was pleased, because although he believed he could probably win, he needed all the resources he could spare just to continue exploring. Devoting time to figuring out his way through the defenses of the monitors, which appeared to have thick, leathery scale armor covering every inch of their bodies, would have been too much. As it was, Adon was able to try five different routes through the level before he had to return to the entrance. As he collapsed beside the opening, panting, his body reverted back to its normal form suddenly, like he had snapped a rubber band. That was harder than I even expected, he thought. And I still haven¡¯t discovered the actual exit to this place! Then the others were surrounding him, and Adon, who had barely kept Telepathy active, was inundated with their thoughts and concerns, both verbal and nonverbal. How was the level? Are you all right? I am glad you returned in one piece. Well, the worm was not cooked. But perhaps he learned something of value in the journey. So, what is level three like? Adon mustered the focus to avoid answering the question that had not actually been addressed to him directly¡ªfrom one of the two people who did not know how pervasive and powerful his Telepathy was¡ªand instead responded to the first two questions. No one needs to worry about me, he sent quickly. His head was starting to hurt. He would need to switch off Telepathy soon. The level is a bit of a maze, which could be a problem, but I am ruling out paths that do not work. I will need to go silent for a while to rest and recover. Then I intend to go back in again. I saw two types of monsters¡ªwell, I observed two. One of them is a sort of giant predatory lizard. Those didn¡¯t bother me. The others, I just sensed whenever I flew over a pool of magma. Those are scattered periodically on the sides of each path. Something is sleeping in just about every magma puddle in the level. I didn¡¯t see what it was, but unlike the big lizards, whatever was in the magma was waiting for something to get close. Lying in wait. Dormant. ¡°That diminishes the challenges we are likely to face in the dungeon,¡± Rosslyn said, chewing over her words slowly. ¡°Did you not see a third type of creature, Adon?¡± William asked in a respectful tone. No, Adon replied. ¡°You probably will,¡± Frederick explained. ¡°The typical pattern in dungeons is that the variety of monsters increases by one on each subsequent floor. The first just had those lizard creatures. The second had the griffins and the strixes¡ªthe little green creatures were just there as a food supply, which is why they never attacked us. The third should have the big lizards you mentioned, the magma dwellers, and something else. Since you seem to be able to do such a phenomenal job of scouting for us, I think we need to wait for you to identify that third creature before we enter.¡± If you feel comfortable with that, Adon, Goldie interjected, tilting her head to give Frederick a side-eyed look. If not, we will not endanger you to protect our own skins. ¡°I object to sending Adon in alone again at all,¡± Rosslyn said, her hand gripping the pommel of her sword. ¡°It does not look well of us to send a lone warrior into harm¡¯s way while we sit on our hands here¡ªwe who are in line to inherit leadership, along with our elite knights.¡± Adon was slightly surprised to sense that the feeling of dishonor with which Rosslyn had peppered her words was entirely feigned. Her eyes had darted back and forth between the brothers as she spoke, but as she finished, they fell on Adon, and her lips quirked in a rapidly corrected half-smile. You don¡¯t need to do that, Adon sent to her only. Are you certain? Rosslyn thought, not making eye contact. I truly despise allowing you to risk your life while we sit here safely. You should at least allow me to come with you. We could cover more ground together. You needed to shield yourself from the heat to survive, but if you simply perched on my body, I could handle that aspect. I¡¯m sure, Adon replied. I just need recovery time. As long as you¡¯re all right with waiting for me to get back up to power, there is no downside to me going in alone. By myself, I don¡¯t provoke the monsters to attack. They see a small animal, not a target. Rosslyn gave him a subtle nod. As the Princess and the butterfly had this exchange, William was arguing for letting Adon go. The arguments were not particularly powerful¡ª¡°It is his choice, and this is his way of protecting your country¡±¡ªbut after a decent back and forth, Rosslyn now gracefully allowed him to win. ¡°Let us just feed Adon, then,¡± Rosslyn said with a faux chill to her voice. ¡°So that he can recover his strength more quickly and get back to doing our work for us.¡± William did not even mind her tone, Adon observed. He counted it a victory that the butterfly would enter the inferno level again and risk being incinerated. It made Adon wonder if he really was making the right call. It was too late, of course. He would look like an absolute wimp if he backed out now. Well, perhaps not to everyone¡ªbut probably to the Princess. They brought the butterfly a strix haunch that someone still had left over from the previous floor, then politely looked away while he liquefied and drained a section of it. And that did speed his recovery. By the time he was done, he felt ready. Once more into the breach¡­ 3-35. Into the Magma Adon fluttered down yet another path in the tiresome, seemingly never-ending maze of the third level to the dungeon. This time, he had done a better job of economizing his resources to explore for much longer in the inferno atmosphere. His Transformation form was slightly smaller and leaner, and his mana use just slightly more efficient. The result was that he was now into his tenth path explored in the volcanic cave level of the dungeon. The journey was overall grueling and almost painful due to the environmental element. He was glad that he had not allowed Rosslyn to accompany him as she had suggested. Nothing within had attacked him, just like on his previous trips, but something probably would have if he had been accompanied by an adult human warrior woman. He would never have been able to stretch his resources so far or travel so quickly if he and Rosslyn had to fight every creature along the way. He was out of any ideas he¡¯d had earlier about figuring out the correct path by any form of deduction. Every route appeared almost the same, just with slightly different twists and turns. This was pure process of elimination now. Right, I need to take a right here¡­ This particular route was one that Adon had taken earlier, so he was simply taking different turns than he had last time he wandered down this particular corridor. The one advantage he had was that his Impeccable Memory would allow him to recognize if he was taking the exact same path on one of his trips versus a somewhat different route. If not for that, Adon could easily imagine someone wandering in this level of the dungeon for days before they gave up and had to leave to resupply. Though maybe that hypothetical person would be eating monster meat instead¡ªand living on magically conjured water, perhaps. Adon had never encountered someone who had the ability to create water out of nothing magically, though. Considering that the knights carried water along with the rest of their equipment, it was probably either a rare or nonexistent affinity. The butterfly focused up as he wound into a completely new section of the labyrinthine level. After getting a lot of distance from the entrance, this path seemed to be widening out a bit. That was something new. The magma pits remained just as frequent as ever¡ªNo, they¡¯re getting more common, right? Now that he focused on them, the glowing orange pools were definitely growing more numerous as he continued down this winding path. The number of monsters he sensed within the magma pits was not increasing, though. Whatever creatures somehow lived inside those bodies of liquid, Adon felt their frequency was roughly the same despite the increased number of magma puddles and pools dotting this area. And while the little bodies of magma had mostly been on the edges of the path¡ªwhere people would not naturally step on them¡ªnow they occasionally dotted the center of the walking area, potentially forcing any human expedition to stand further apart from each other. That would make them easier prey for the monitors and whatever lives in the magma, Adon thought, watching as another of the monitors indifferently flicked its tongue at his approach. Just like every other creature on this level thus far, it effectively ignored him. Adon was quickly able to return his attention to the space ahead of him. The glowing orange cracks in the ceiling were diminishing in number as the glowing pools increased in quantity. This is the one right path, isn¡¯t it? The butterfly felt excited and nervous at once. If he was right, he just needed to follow this path to its conclusion, and he would find the exit. Probably also another monster, if the conventional wisdom about dungeons was correct here. Adon began paying closer attention to his environment for the first time since just after he began his exploration. The walls were the same jagged rock¡ªpartially volcanic rock and glass¡ªthat he had observed throughout much of this floor. The floor was a plainer stone. The ceiling was growing less fractured, more solid over time. As he advanced a little further, Adon realized that the magma had suddenly transitioned from randomly bubbling pools into two solid streams, one on either side of the path, flowing slowly in the same direction he was flying. He swallowed a lump in his throat¡ªit felt weird that this mostly mammalian body got those, relative to his experiences as a butterfly¡ªand flew onward. The path continued to wind, but the turns were fewer and more gradual now, as if the dungeon was spiraling toward a conclusion. As Adon rounded another bend, he saw something in the distance. The shape of it was hard to make out at first in the relative darkness. It was only clear that there was a large creature standing in the shadows left by the now fully intact ceiling and the slightly smaller streams of magma at that end of the path. Perhaps most importantly, the light of the magma simply ceased beyond whatever this shape in the dark was. Adon forced himself to stop and flap in place for a few seconds as his eyes tried to better grasp what they were seeing. The first thing that made itself clear to him was a reptilian, serpent-like head. It had a triangular aspect to it, which his brain slowly processed as a long beak and a ridge or horn on its head. This thing is sort of like a dinosaur, Adon thought. Then, as if his vision was triggered by his comprehension rather than the other way around, the rest of the image fell into view. A pair of skin wings, like those of a pterodactyl, and a head that resembled that of one of those ancient monsters, were the only things this beast had in common with that dinosaur. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Its long tail gave away that it was something different, its form was far longer, bulkier, and more muscular than anything that would fit with the fossilized bones that Adon remembered from museums from another world. The sheer size of the thing dwarfed that of the Giant Lava Monitors Adon had encountered. And its eyes¡­ How did I not see those eyes first? They seemed to glow gently orange in the dark. For all the talk of the Demon Empire and its hordes, this was the first time in this world that it felt a bit like he was encountering something actually infernal rather than clearly natural in origin. Adon had to order his currently mammalian heart to calm down and quietly tell himself that the creepy glow was actually just the magma glinting off the monster¡¯s pure black eyes in the darkness. Still off-putting. Just not literally demonic. Also, you¡¯re probably freaking out in part because this thing is an apex predator relative to you and this place. Just remember that it¡¯s probably still not that strong. It¡¯s just a monster from level three of a dungeon. That¡¯s a doable challenge, right? He told himself that it was. At that point, he regained sufficient presence of mind to use Identify. Magma Wyvern (Female). Great! I put a name to the problem. At least it¡¯s not a dragon. Now how do I deal with her? Something about this monster was still very off-putting, but it was hard to put his finger on it exactly. Adon fluttered over to one of the rock walls as he thought this and settled on one of the less jagged portions of stone. And the wyvern¡¯s head turned slightly. Adon realized that its eyes were following him. That¡¯s what was bothering me. She¡¯s paying more attention to me than anything else in here has. The wyvern had been watching him carefully since the transformed butterfly came into view. Not in an idle, disinterested way like the monitors, either. And Adon had sensed it, without truly realizing what he was observing, through Telepathy. Shit¡­ As he stood on the wall watching, Adon observed the wyvern¡¯s head turn slightly to the side, then pivot back to looking at him. With his focus squarely on the creature¡¯s mind now, Adon recognized what it was doing. She¡¯s trying to decide whether to come after me or stay in place. Adon¡¯s eyes glanced at the spot the wyvern had looked back at, and he realized there was a massive opening in the floor. It was black, because it fell completely in shadow, so he had almost missed it completely. That¡¯s what she¡¯s guarding. This is where the exit is. Right. Adon had almost forgotten he was looking for that. The way out of the level. Seems like my job is done here. Adon was still twenty feet away from the wyvern, but he realized he did not want to draw any nearer. Considering how intelligent this creature seemed to be¡ªit was on actual guard duty, standing next to the thing it was guarding for the dungeon, rather than just acting like any random animal would act¡ªhe thought that getting any closer would probably trigger an attack. The butterfly might not seem like a threat to the monitors or whatever creatures dwelt in the magma pools, but this wyvern did not appear to be as benevolently careless as those monsters had been. Not triggering the boss fight right now, no thank you, sorry! Any information gathered would be of less expected value by the sheer diminution in Adon¡¯s probability of getting back to the group. So saying, Adon flapped his wings and took off from the wall, flying back to the center of the cave path¡ªonly to notice that the behavior of the magma streams on either side, including right next to where he had just been, had changed. The gentle, random bubbling from before had turned furiously intense. Adon turned his head and noticed the wyvern had suddenly shifted its entire posture. Mana was quickly gathering toward its upper body. It was clearly preparing some sort of magical attack. Shit! The butterfly flapped hard, pushing himself to get further away from the suddenly hostile monster. He heard rather than saw what it did behind him. There was a rush of air and a sizzling noise, and then Adon could sense something vast moving behind him. He turned his head and saw a curtain of magma almost as tall as the ceiling pushing toward him. At almost the same moment that he turned to look, the streams of magma to the sides of the path suddenly burst upward and formed walls of superheated liquid on either side of him, stretching up to the ceiling. Everything had the air of a final attack. A coup de grace intended to kill off a foe that had pushed the wyvern to its limits. I didn¡¯t even do anything, damn it! Adon flapped harder, pushing more mana into his wings, but with the corner of his peripheral vision and his head still slightly turned back, he was fairly certain the magma curtain was approaching him faster than he could fly. A final attack would not be slow, after all. All right, last backup plan, then! Adon flapped harder and faster, rushing up toward the roof. The magma only a few feet away, he touched down on the surface of the ceiling. Then he used Transformation again, his body shrinking faster than it ever had before. He only finished his change as the curtain of magma finally reached him. There were a few seconds of intense, almost unbearable heat from below. The blinding glow of magma up close half-blinded Adon. And then it moved past. The curtain of magma dragged on for another fifteen feet or so beyond Adon¡¯s position. It was hard to be sure, since his vision was still glowing white from close proximity to the brightly glowing liquid. After a few seconds, his temporary semi-blindness faded, however. Then Adon was able to begin his retreat. He did not try to fly away for the moment. He had given up his wings to reach his present form, and he did not want to risk catching the wyvern¡¯s attention again. He could tell the creature was no longer looking out for his activity. Its mind was completely relaxed now, as it had not been when it realized Adon was there. The butterfly crawled along the ceiling of the level, grateful that this area was not cracked and glowing orange. He still had to pour mana into his vulnerable body, of course, but this form was also far less optimized for the heat than his previous Transformation had been. For the first time since becoming a butterfly, Adon had been forced to turn himself back into a caterpillar. That had been the quickest way he could think of to squeeze himself into the tiny space between the ceiling and the upper limit of the curtain of magma. He was already so tired from the various energy expenditures of the level¡ªfrom constant use of Transformation and Telepathy to further protecting his body from the heat and enhancing his wings for faster flight. Still, Adon forced himself to retreat slowly from the monster. Even if the wyvern had forced him to retreat, as long as Adon survived the encounter, he was the real winner.