As I wait for it to stop moving, I grab a single strand of webbing with both hands and try to break it. Even trying with all my might I can't, so I start thinking of ways I can use it. I grab a cut leg and cut off a segment, then take a single strand of spider web and start unraveling it and winding it around the leg segment.
It takes me almost an hour to completely finish a single strand, but the thread is almost twelve meters long. By then, the spider has stopped moving, so I think it's time to start dismantling the spiders.
I go out into the hallway and clear an area of web to work with, then pull out the first small spider and start cutting off all of its legs. I then begin to carefully remove the entire carapace in sections and stack them to the side, finally I remove the core of the beast.
"ITEM."
√ Beast Core
- Quality: Inferior
Would you like to absorb it? Y/N
"Yes!"
- You've absorbed an inferior beast core! HP +25 MP +25 strength +2 Agility +2 Stamina +2 Endurance +2
I then drag the stripped corpse into the main tunnel and push it aside. I then return to the spider's lair and pull the second small spider out into the hallway. I remove its legs, carapace and beast core.
- You have absorbed an inferior beast core! HP +25 MP +25 Strength +2 Agility +2 Endurance +2 Resistance+2
I again drag the naked corpse towards the main tunnel with the intention of dropping it along with the other one, but when I reach the main tunnel the first corpse is gone. I immediately drop the corpse and unsheathe my sword, then look around carefully.
I see nothing, so I retreat into the shadows of the corridor and crouch down to wait. About thirty minutes later, two rat men appear and grab the spider corpse. I kill them both before they know I'm there.
- Killing the rat men 9/30
I cut them open to remove their beast cores, but leave the bodies there.
- You have absorbed the core of the Lesser Beast. HP +5 MP +5
- You have absorbed the core of the Lesser Beast. HP +5 MP +5
I then return to the spider's lair to start working on the big one. Its corpse is too big to fit through the door, so I have to remove its legs and remove its carapace from the room. Then, I remove the core of the beast, which is quite a bit larger.
"ITEM."
√ Beast Core
- Quality: Major
Would you like to absorb it? Y/N.
"Major? Y/N!!!"
- You have absorbed the core of the Greater Beast. HP +100 MP+100 Strength +10 Agility +10 Resistance +10
⟨⟨-DING-⟩⟩.
- Congratulations, you have acquired the active skill Crashing!
√ Star
√ Level 1
- MP cost 10
- Your speed is doubled. Duration: 10 seconds
"Wow, the beast core gave me an ability? And an awesome ability! It was worth fighting it!"
I pile up the entire carapace and drag it behind me as I return to the base. I keep an eye out for rat men, but I'm not too worried about them. When I reach the river, I throw the pile of shells across before jumping in.
I pick up the shell and place it against the wall with all the other stuff I've gathered. Looking at the piles, I worry that I'm becoming something of a hoarder. Then I eat some more stew and read a bit, then decide to go into inner world meditation and burn my mana that is sapping my core.
- MP: 0/365
- Core upgrade progress: 2%.
I then go into normal meditation for eight hours.
HP: 430/759
MP: 240/365
When I wake up from my meditation, I'm surprised to find that my HP and MP are now high enough that I can't recover them in just eight hours. I'll have to avoid using mana during the day so I can be full tomorrow to summon Ruby.
"It's a week tomorrow, isn't it? It's really hard to keep track here."
Well, I guess I'll have to call her tomorrow and see. I get up and do my normal exercise routine and then finish the cold stew for breakfast. I'm really sick of fish and mushrooms, I would literally kill for some bacon and eggs!
After I finish eating, I go back to the spider lair and spend four hours collecting more spools of webs; luckily, each one makes the next one easier because there are fewer to untangle. By then, I have a total of six reels and the web is about a quarter dismantled, enough to start seeing the floor, which is also covered in webs. I expect to find bodies and possibly equipment down there.
I pick up the reels I have so far and go back to the base, once there I start unwinding them and use Black Razor to cut them into three meter sections. I then take one of the shells and cut a small hole in it, then take each segment and wash it in the river, then run it through the hole and pull it to scrape and clean it.
⟨⟨-DING-⟩⟩.
- Congratulations, you've acquired the Tailoring craft skill!
√ Tailoring
√ Level 1
- Agility +1 Intelligence +1
- You can make rudimentary clothing.
Once all the spider silk thread is clean, I start braiding pieces together to make a rope and then weave the rope together.
"CREATED ITEM"
√ Spider silk hammock.
⟨⟨-DING-⟩⟩.
- Congratulations, the Tailoring skill has advanced to level 2!
√ Tailoring
√ Level 2
- Agility +2 Intelligence +2
- You can make rudimentary clothing.
I take my new hammock and place it between two rock spurs, then climb into it to try it out. I find it very comfortable and think I can use it for reading or when I really want to sleep. Then I go back to braiding ropes and weaving them into something else.
"CREATED ITEM"
√ Spider silk fishing net.
This will make fishing a lot easier! So I decide to try it right away and manage to catch two fish on my second cast.
⟨⟨-DING-⟩⟩.
- Congratulations, the Fishing skill has advanced to level 5!
√ Fishing
√ Level 5
- Agility +5
- You are an expert at fishing.
After a few more casts, I have six fish, so I decide to grill two now for lunch and save the rest for dinner. After lunch, I return to the spiders' lair to gather more spools of webbing. It takes me six hours to finish removing the large web that had encompassed the entire room. I return to camp and sit down to cook my fish.
⟨⟨-DING-⟩⟩.
- Congratulations, the Cooking skill has advanced to level 5!
√ Cooking
√ Level 5
- Intelligence. +5
- You can cook decent food.
After dinner, I lay in my new hammock to read for a while. I can finish History of the Empire III in about two hours. Then I settle in to meditate for eight hours. It takes me a while to clear my mind because I'm looking forward to summoning Ruby tomorrow.
HP: 670/759
MP: 365/365
When I get up the next morning I decide to skip the exercises and just go get breakfast. While the fish is cooking and I eat, I start reading the Diary of an Archmage.
As soon as I finish eating and cleaning up after breakfast, I get ready to summon Ruby. With my current mana, I can summon Ruby and keep her around for more than two days, or more if I can meditate and still regain mana while she is summoned.
"Activate summoning!"
MP: 265/365
When the spell activates, a pillar of flame forms out of nowhere and after it fades away, Ruby is standing there with a smile on her face.
Ruby says "Hello Master!"