Rupegia Ch. 06: Expedition

It's a two meters tall spider with a red bulge growing out of its head that twitches and pulses creepily. It's so enthralled in eating the corpse of another spider that it doesn't even notice us approaching.

I give a signal and start to charge a [Fireball] while Roxanne charges her own spell, then the spider turns to us, attracted to the mana.

As it turns, an arrow pierces one of its eyes.

"SHIA!" It shouts in anger and pain.

It scrambles to retreat a few meters in surprise, but it still manages to dodge all the following arrows as they hit its tough exoskeleton and don't penetrate. This one is seemingly smarter and tougher.

Then it suddenly charges.

I release my [Fireball] before it reaches me, and it hits the right side of the spider's face, burning one eye. Roxanne doesn't release hers yet, so it's a stronger spell than normal, which is good since this enemy will need more firepower to bring down.

Then the huge spider hits me, and I'm pushed back a little. I try to counter, but my sword simply slides ineffectively along its legs, simply cutting hair as I struggle to find a fleshy opening to strike.

I get an idea, then I brace myself and wait for the second charge. The moment it starts dashing forward again, I charge my mana and point towards the spider as if I'm going to cast [Fireball]. The spider falls for the bluff and dodges to the side, so the charge slows and its attack doesn't have the same strength, but I still cast something.

I jump backward as it hits and cast [Constricting Vines] on the spot I was just at. The spider stops on it, then vines burst out of the ground and grab its multiple legs.

It remains stuck there for a short while, which is enough of an opening for Alissa to put an arrow in its mouth, but it's also the perfect moment for Roxanne to end it all.

"[Water Blade]!"

A long and wide blade of transparent water erupts out of her staff and flies towards the monsters in the blink of an eye.

The spider tries to dodge it, but it's still stuck in place, so the blade sinks into its flesh and exoskeleton in a diagonal, severing the red bulge and all its right legs.

The spider falls to the side, then writhes in pain and desperation, but it's over. I lunge and pierce its head, killing it instantly.

Then we all frown in disgust as the red bulge splashes on the floor, releasing a gush of a transparent liquid, then revealing the skinless top body of a woman

I'm starting to feel sick.

Alissa grabs the flaming spear and assertively hands it to me, her face completely serious. I sheathe my sword and grab it, then she silently pushes me forward, and we quickly pass the dead monster.

After a few minutes, the disgust passes away, and I finally realize the obvious. "That was an Arachne being born," I blurt out.

"Yes," Alissa answers tersely.

And that's all we say about it. Even Roxanne has no jokes to tell.

* * * * *

We walk for a whole hour without any other encounters. It seems that the previous almost-Arachne cleared the area for us. Then we reach a fork.

"Master, there's a disgusting stench coming from that way," Alissa reports.

I frown as I detect a faint smell of shit. "That's probably the sludge, let's not go there."

This enemy I'll avoid with all my power. After reading the battle reports of this monster, I think it'd be a miracle if we don't puke when we get near.

After that, we only meet one lone spider, so we must be deep in Arachne territory now.

We start seeing suspicious mists, and Alissa catches unknown smells, then the occurrence of the invisible webs drops drastically, allowing us to greatly increase our pace.

We find two bear traps and two other suspicious-looking floor designs that we avoid at all cost. We just avoid anything out of the ordinary, really. It's not confirmed that it's an Arachne trap, but why risk it? There's also no need to rush, we can just take another route if our path is blocked.

* * * * *

"This is the third time you've sighed in just a short time," Alissa suddenly whispers, her voice showing some concern.

I look back at her and raise an eyebrow questioningly. "Uh? Why are you counting?"

"To understand your mood," she answers matter-of-factly.

I facepalm and sigh again. "Is that... really necessary?"

"Yes, Master," -she suddenly grabs my hand- "I'll protect your mind and body," she confidently whispers as her tail wags gently.

Girl, you're too good to me, I don't deserve this. You're actually making me feel guilty, and I also want to sigh again.

No, wait, even for me, this is too much.

I stop walking and look at the other girls. "I'm starting to feel like this is not normal. The sighing, I mean."

Alissa lets out a small smile and nods. "That's what I thought," she agrees.

"Let's just take a break. I'm feeling really tired," Roxanne pleads, her shoulders drooped in drowsiness.

This is suspicious; even Roxanne is downcast.

We all immediately sit down on the dirty floor without much care to dust it first.

I put twenty points in a skill called [Diagnosis]. It takes a token amount of mana to activate it, and I use it on myself.

Roxanne notices me staring at my hand intensely and gives me a curious look.

A floating black screen appears before my eyes, and it tells me that I'm suffering from [Lethargy (small)].

So, we got poisoned or something like that?

I turn my points back to normal and turn to Roxanne. "Miss Roxanne, do you know of a pacifying poison or something similar that saps energy or stamina?" I politely ask her, trying not to sound too suspicious.

"Uhh..." She mumbles absentmindedly with a sleepy look. It takes a few seconds for her to process my words, then her eyes suddenly go wide. "Yes! There is a pacifying poison! It gradually lowers one's energy, reducing their will to fight. I believe we might be poisoned with it."

I've read something about poisons, so I need to make a distinction, "Is it a 'want' or a simple 'can't' fight because the person is exhausted?"

"'Want', it's a mental poison," she states confidently.

A-ha!

Then I remember something important that slipped my mind, so I question Roxanne, "Now that I think about it, did you bring something for [Mental Resistance], Miss Roxanne?"

This was an oversight. I should've asked what her countermeasures for the Arachne were, but I couldn't tell her my countermeasure was "I will just learn a rare skill whenever I want," so I think it was best that I forgot about it.

She nods happily and pulls a necklace hidden below her robes. "Yes. This is a small amulet blessed by the God of Endurance."

So the Gods can also enchant objects; that's quite interesting. I wonder if he'd be mad if Roxanne ever sold it.

I turn to Alissa and smirk. "I have an idea, so I want to test something, and I'll need your help, Alissa." Then I stand up and offer her my hand.

"Anything, Master," she obediently responds and takes it.

I pull her closer and hug her waist, then I turn to Roxanne and smile apologetically. "Also, I'm sorry if this looks inappropriate to you, Roxanne, but this is in the name of science... or rather, in the name of the Goddess of Knowledge."

Roxanne looks at me confusedly, then I turn to Alissa and look her in the eye lovingly as I cup her cheek. She relaxes in my arms and smiles faintly as she realizes what's to come.

I pull her face, then give her a deep kiss, and she immediately hugs me back. I start slow, but then our tongues entwine, and we start kissing passionately.

Energy starts to fill my heart and I get anxious. I want more, more! I want to be warmer, I want to hug Alissa harder, I want to undress her right here and take her. I reminisce about her beautiful body being adorned by the Clothes of the Berserker, her body being caressed by its silky texture.

My heart beats madly with love and excitement, then my muscles warm up and itch for action as I feel the poison being cleansed from my mind.

I slow down the kissing, then we, unfortunately, break away.

Alissa is blushing, her breath is quicked, her tail is wagging rapidly, and her eyes stare into mine with expectancy. What have I done, she's in the mood, but we can't do it right now. This is torture, I say.

I clear my throat and smile as I report, "I feel like this confirms it, we can break a mind poison by stimulating each other."

"Eh...?" Alissa suddenly makes a funny noise then immediately clears her throat and assumes a forced composed tone, "Oh, ah, yes. I feel much better now, which means the kiss really did counteract the poison." Then she looks away embarrassedly.

"Hmm..." Roxanne lets out a mindless sound as she stares at us blankly.

I smile guiltily at her and suggest, "Miss Roxanne, you're still under the mind poison, so perhaps you should try to stimulate yourself, like slapping your face."

"Not fair..." She mutters dejectedly, then follows my suggestions and slaps herself, hard. This is the standard way of breaking spells that affect the mind, which really isn't pleasant, so I feel some pity for her.

* * * * *

Here's a quick complaint. No hero story ever tells you how stressful and embarrassing it is to answer the call of nature in a dangerous place while in a group. You can't go too far too so you don't endanger yourself, but you can't do it too close, otherwise, it's embarrassing if your comrades can smell or hear you. Even if we have incredible conveniences like [Clean] and a portable bidet with [Conjure Water], it's still a horrible experience.

* * * * *

We avoid another Sludge and a few more traps, then we finally reach the territory of the Giant Moles. We just passed the most dangerous part of the trip, successfully avoiding all adult Arachnes. It's quite a feat, and it's all thanks to Alissa's nose.

We're sure we've passed the Arachne territory because the traps and mists suddenly stop, and soon after we meet our first Giant Mole.

"If I use [Quiet Steps] and [Quiet Action], then it's possible for me to assassinate it," Alissa proposes.

I thought before about the possibility of her becoming an assassin with her skills, but it makes me uneasy to put her in direct danger. She's my only companion, and I must admit that I'm rather possessive.

I cross my arms and think.

"Be happy that at least he cares about you," Roxanne comments with a kind smile after seeing my hesitation.

Alissa nods and states confidently, "I know Master is very reasonable, so I know he'll accept it, eventually."

I'm uncomfortable with how easy I'm being seen through, and it's also true I'm just stalling. I don't want to let Alissa go while I'm forced to wait here and twiddle my thumbs in the dark, but it will be so convenient if she kills it by herself.

The Mole is a burly enemy with a weak skull, so Alissa should be able to kill it with a single arrow, but I'm a bit scared of being mauled by its huge, heavy claws. If Alissa can kill it before it can even call for backup, then it'll save us so much time while also being much safer. I just have to trust she won't get herself killed.

I let out a sigh of tiredness and relent, "I surrender. Go kill it, Alissa."

They give each other a brief smile, then Alissa walks away without making a single sound.

I stare at the tunnel anxiously, my body too restless for me to sit down and rest.

After a minute in silence, Roxanne suddenly comments, "You two are very close."

I feel something off about her statement. "We don't know each other very long; I'm just clingy," I deny.

Roxanne shrugs. "Still, your relationship is enviable."

I turn and raise an eyebrow at her. "Even though she's a slave?"

"Does it matter if she's happy?" She retorts with a cheeky smile.

I knit my eyebrows in skepticism. "You can tell she's happy even though you've just met her today?"

Roxanne nods happily. "She's been smiling most of the time, except when you're under attack. You're always in the front, so I guess this is why you don't see it."

I suddenly start to feel insecure as I look back to the short time we've been together. I sit down beside Roxanne and facepalm with both hands. "What does she even see in me to be so happy?"

"You should ask her that yourself," Roxanne responds with a troubled tone.

I release my face and lean against the wall. "She's young and naive, so she might really be in love with me, but..."

"'But'?"

How do I say to her that in my world I would be called a pedophile in certain countries, a creep in others, arrested for slavery in most of the world, or be seen as two idiot teenagers in heat if we consider this-world-age as my real age?

Seeing my hesitation, Roxanne gives me a piece of advice, "I don't know what is on your mind but you should at least accept her feelings."

I cringe and try to put my feelings into words, "It's that... I'm from a faraway place. In my homeland, we'd be called idiot teenagers who don't know what love is. Slavery also isn't legal, so our relationship is even more absurd. What kind of thing is love between a master and a slave, anyway?"

She raises her eyebrows high and adjusts her glasses. "Slavery isn't legal? I'd like to visit that place, one day. But still, I say it again: at least accept her feelings. It's not like there's anything wrong with either of you, so you don't need to be so harsh on yourself, and just enjoy what you have."

I'm being harsh on myself? Heh, I said I was going to abandon what held me down, but it's harder to do it when I'm not thinking with my dick.

"Perhaps..." I mutter as I reflect on her words.

I like this cool, older-sister-like Roxanne, though. Why can't you be like this normally?

Anyway, I think I've understood what's making me worry. If I don't change who I am, then I'll suffer, but I'll keep my humanity like Alissa pleaded, though it might hurt her, too, seeing me suffer. If I do change, then I won't suffer, but Alissa might lose her hope in me, so it might hurt her anyway. Now that's a dilemma.

While I think, Alissa comes back silently like a ghost, scaring us both.

"Ah-...!" Roxanne squeaks, but she immediately covers her mouth, muffling the sound.

Alissa's ears go flat as she apologizes cutely, "I'm sorry, Master and Miss Roxanne, I forgot to stop using [Quiet Steps]. Anyway, the mole is dead."

I quickly recollect myself, then I calmly question so she doesn't think I'm criticizing her, "Took you some time."

Her ears shoot up and she becomes serious again. "It was wary, so I had to move very slowly or else it would've heard me."

Even though these are weak monsters, they're still blind moles that rely on hearing, so it takes quite some skill to sneak up on one.

I grab her hand and give her a kind look as I plead, "I know skills like these make you stressed, so please tell me if you get tired. There's no rush, so we'll rest as much as we need."

She smiles sweetly and nods, making her ears sway. "Thank you for your consideration, Master."

* * * * *

Alissa kills five more Moles without a hitch. She's my own little assassin.

"You are now level twelve," says the soothing female voice.

Finally, it took some time. The spiders and moles are annoying, but they don't give much experience. The only real good source of experience was the almost-Arachne.

I put my new four points in [Sword Use] (now 16+2).

* * * * *

Alissa assassinates two more Moles, and we finally reach one of the entrances to the Spiral Springs dungeon.

The dungeon has a completely different atmosphere from the boring and unending dark tunnels of the Ant Hill. The walls and ceiling are made of cobble with patches of raw stone or exposed mineral veins; the walls are warped and full of curves; the ground is made of soft moss over raw stone, and it'd be nice to lay down on it if it wasn't so damp. We'll end up with wet clothes if we sit on the floor without a blanket to protect our asses.

A weak blue-green light coming from mana crystals illuminates the dungeons. They're cheap crystals that shine when they absorb mana, and since the dungeon is a solidification of a mana storm, mana crystals shine faintly forever. It's against the etiquette to take or sell these crystals since they're a huge convenience to all adventurers that come here.

We're currently at the top floor, and like the other dungeons, the floor is massive in length; possibly the size of a town. It's made of multiple large rooms randomly interconnected, and with the occasional shallow water pool occupying part of them. The top floor is safe, so we're going to sleep here.

The stairs are what gives it the name. They're merely slopes with faded steps where a channel runs and water trickles through, creating a nice and continuous sound of falling water. The slopes are in a spiral, and there's no railing, so the inner part of the spiral is open. That's where Spriggans like to put traps to make adventurers lose their footing and fall down. Each stair is around twenty meters in height, so a drop could be fatal, and we have fifteen sets of stairs to go down through.

I point to a corner, and Roxanne burns a large patch of moss, drying the floor. We sweep the ashes, and now we finally have a proper stone floor to sleep on. I pull out my tent while Roxanne pulls hers.

She conjures water on a bucket and heats it by herself so she can take a bath. Once she's done, we stop our watch and switch places with her. Alissa conjures the water, then I heat it, and we take a towel bath together.

I've found that the fastest way is to cast [Fireball] on my palm, then submerge it into the bucket. It wastes a lot of mana, though.

Then I get to wash Alissa, and she washes me back, but, unfortunately, we can't make too much noise, so make her bite into a gag, and we use our mouths. There's no way I'm going to spend a night without touching her, so we have to do it this way.

Then we pull out our dinner. It's fried chicken! I mean, fried Dragolite. After a few bites, I finally remember what Dragolite reminds me of: chicken with rosemary. Then we eat our hot vegetable soup with toasted bread. Thank you, "Items." The convenience you bring is unmatched.

One of the more interesting parts of the meal, though, is that I have my first taste of juice in this world. Gorgon fruit tastes and looks a bit like blueberries mixed with a hint of lychee.

"Ah juice, thank you. No alcohol though?" Roxanne asks with a cheeky smile.

I shake my head. "I don't drink, and besides, we shouldn't drink on an expedition."

"Alright, alright..." Roxanne immediately gives up and rolls her eyes dramatically, then she gives me a curious look. "Honestly I'm envious of how big your [Item Box] is, Mr. Ryder."

Well, here we go, insert dick joke here. I can't really spend points for an actual [Item Box], though, and training with Alissa to learn this spell has been really hard.

"It's a natural gift, so I learned it super fast," I casually lie.

She snorts and remarks, "It's like you were born to be an adventurer."

"That's true," Alissa agrees wholeheartedly.

I give them a painful wry smile and deflect, "Well I'm envious of your [Mana Control], Miss Roxanne. This [Explosion] spell is the mix of Water and [Fire Magic] at the same time, right?"

Roxanne opens her eyes wide and shouts, completely astonished, "My secret! How did you..."

I smile proudly as my guess was spot-on, then I give her a smug answer, "Knowledge from my homeland."

"Unfair!" Then she pouts cutely.

Alright, I've teased her enough, now it's time to retreat a bit. "But I can't use two magic schools at the same time, so you still have one secret, right?" I politely ask.