Chapter 66: 1.65 Crouching Elf…Hidden Caffeine

After a nice, long cuddle with the elf, I laid myself down next to her. I lost all track of time when alone with her.

I was completely relaxed at this point and head over heels in love. How Velariah managed to get me this far, I had no idea. 

I simply closed my eyes and let the wonderful feeling flow through every inch of my being. I finally managed to say the words. I couldn’t help but feel accomplished. 

“By the way, Vel?” I said after a while, my eyes still closed. 

“Hm?”

“I believe you mentioned centaurs earlier?”

“Oh yes.” Her voice came. “They are half-human, half-horse people. Like you, pretty much, but with a horse body instead of a spider. They live on a continent to the west, they are the dominant race on the continent, which is quite a bit smaller than this one. They even named the place after themselves: Tauria.”

“Hmm, I wonder if that means I am a spider-taur. Ugh, that sounds horrible.”

“Nah, you’re just El. You’re special.”

“Why, thank you.” I smiled with my eyes still closed. “What’s this continent called then? I don’t believe you mentioned that yet.”

“Because you didn’t ask for it, dummy,” Velariah replied. “And that’s also a point of contention. Humans and Elves make up most of the population, but once again insist on calling it differently.”

“This peace thing is going really well, isn’t it?” I joked. 

I could feel Velariah’s chest rise and fall as she sighed deeply.

“At least there is peace. My father told me quite horrible stories about when there was still war. I mean, not that he experienced those times, but he has access to the archives.”

“Yeah, I can imagine.”

“As for what we call it? Larana. The humans instead call it Central Kingdoms. The dwarves seem to use both names, they make up the third kingdom, although it’s smaller than the other two.”

“That name is because of geographical location?” 

“Yes,” The elf replied. “We are the middle of three continents that are fairly close to one another. The western one is called Tauria as I mentioned before. Then there is this continent, Larana, or, according to the humans, Central Kingdoms, and then there is the continent to the east which hasn’t received an official name yet. It hasn’t been fully explored and mapped. The humans and Elves have both sent more expeditions recently, but not much is heard from the continent. I’m not sure if that’s all there is to it, or whether my father refuses to tell me more.”

“Sounds… mysterious...” I said softly.

“There’s a fair amount of adventurers departing for the unknown continent every year in search of riches and power,” Velariah continued. “Mysterious, indeed, but potentially enriching too.”

I sighed. “I guess we can only dream about the unknown… for now.”

“What are you talking about?” Velariah asked. “You said it yourself, there are strange things happening in the forest. Doesn’t that also count as the unknown?”

I shrugged. “I guess in some way it does, but it’s not the same.”

Velariah rolled into me so our faces were inches away from each other. 

“Damnit, Vel. I’m trying to have a conversation here.” I said with a smile.

“What? Am I interrupting that conversation by doing this?” She smiled back mischievously.

“I just got another thought,” I said.

“Oh? Let’s hear it.” She eagerly awaited my question with a hand on my chitinous part below the waist.

“The way that inherities work. I just came up with a thought about it. You mentioned that your power is a combination of both your skill with the weapon and the amount of Corium you absorbed. How would that work for me?”

“No idea. Some inherities differ from that general rule. I have no idea how your resistance operates either.”

“Neither do I. I mean, my spider parts go completely wild from caffeine and alcohol, I believe both are considered a poison, yet they still affect me. My resistance seems to ignore the effects when it comes to those drinks.”

“Hm, that is odd.” Velariah simply stated. “I’m still breaking my head over how you can improve it. Skill as a spider in general? That sounds odd.”

“My thoughts exactly,” I replied. “I don’t see how I can get more efficient at stuff like delivering venom. It’s impossible to see a correlation between skill with a weapon and… this.”

Velariah didn’t reply to that. I had no idea what she could even answer.

“I guess there’s no point in breaking anyone’s head over it. I guess we will make some more money tomorrow after visiting Arch. We should have enough money in one or two more days of doing that and then we’ll inform your father.” 

“Hm, sounds good,” Velariah said while still hugging me tightly. “I’m afraid we’re going to have to end our cuddle time to do business. I planned on sending Elly out with the spools, but I think it’s time for her to start dinner soon.”

I looked over her shoulder to see Gray yawning.

“We should probably walk my new pet as well,” I said.

“Your new pet?” Velariah looked at me with a frown. “You telling me I’m your old pet?”

I shook my head and laughed. “You temptress, you know what I mean.”

“Tee-hee,” Velariah said playfully.

I stood up and Velariah let go, causing her to land in the pillows with a soft pomf sound.

She stood up and took her pack with the spools in them with her while I unlocked the doors and opened them. Velariah then made her way over to the kitchen and entered it before exiting it seconds later. 

“Yeah, she’s cooking. Let’s drop those spools off quickly, collect our payment, and get some new ones.”

I nodded in agreement.

Before we headed out, however, it seemed that Gray wasn’t the only one that needed to relieve himself. Velariah took a quick bathroom break while I was left wondering how I would have to deal with it myself now. I was not looking forward to creating a mess with certain bodily functions now hidden inside my carapace…

Evolutions couldn’t make things worse, could they?

Since Elly was cooking, I had to help out with Velariah’s armor. I had tried to stop her, but she insisted on not leaving the house without it. I had ultimately resigned and helped her.

I couldn’t be bothered to put mine on, but I did take my spear with me.

On our way to the tailor, we ran into Seralyn, who carried a large, black, recurve bow. Looking at it, I could tell it was well-crafted. I didn’t even have to look at it, Seralyn’s smile spoke for itself. That, and judging from her combat experience, she would know what was good.

Gray was far more eager to meet her than me, although, I do guess Velariah had been right. Maybe Seralyn wasn’t so bad after you got to know her.

“’Sup guys.” She called out happily. “How are the both of you doing?” She knelt down to rub Gray’s belly, who eagerly let her.

She seemed happy, frighteningly so. 

“Not too bad. We were just on our way to cash in hard on Elania’s silk.”

“Sounds good. I just got myself this beauty. Already tested it too, you guys are in for a show tomorrow.”

Ah, there it was. Her usual cocky attitude. Though, I guess I would have to agree with her this time. When I got the two shielded gloves I was eager to try them too. 

“Can’t wait to see it,” Velariah said. “Do leave some monsters for us.”

“Heh,” Seralyn chuckled. “You better keep up, then. Anyways, I’m off. See ya, lovebirds!”

I could feel myself become embarrassed again and was happy she walked off to the guild hall. I hoped she wasn’t about to get drunk again. 

She was looking forward to using that fancy new bow. I doubted she’d be stupid enough to get herself a hangover before trying it out on real, living targets.

“She really loves doing that, doesn’t she?” I asked Velariah, after Seralyn was gone.

“Well, she’s not wrong...” Velariah said softly.

“Vel!”

“And your reactions are just too cute.” She added. “Come.” She grabbed one of my hands. “Let’s get some cash.”

I basically let Velariah drag me to the tailor as I was still recovering from Seralyn’s and Velariah’s remarks. 

Soon, we arrived at the tailor where I, as usual, waited outside until the elf finished her business inside.

I stared into the distance to see the sun low, and the sky blood red. I was surprised to see it was already this late. I guessed the tailor would soon close for the day. 

It really felt like the hours had flown by…

My attention was brought to the silken leash. Gray tugged it and I looked to see Seralyn approach once more. I wondered what she wanted.

“’Sup, Elania.”

“Hi,” I responded.

“I was just at the guild and the Lore keeper asked me if I could ask you if you wanted to participate in the trials tomorrow. I told her we planned on going to the dungeon, but if you’d be interested to help out in the afternoon she would very much appreciate it.”

“Trials? Me?” I asked. “What do they even want me to do?”

“Dunno. Talk to the Lore keeper.”

Velariah exited the shop with a large smile.

“Oh, hey Seralyn. Thought you were off?” She said.

“Yeah, I just came back to inform Elania she has been invited to the guild trials tomorrow afternoon.”

Velariah looked skeptical. “What did they get into their minds? How is Elania going to trial properly? Do they want to use her as an example of a monster?”

I hadn’t quite thought that far. That would definitely change things. The Lore keeper didn’t strike me as a person to set up something like that, though.

Seralyn shook her head. “I was told she’d trial people who passed the low-tier gold threshold.”

“Hmm,” Velariah thought aloud. “In that case, it could be that they want to see how you hold up against adventurers who would be considered mid-tier gold. That could actually be a decent boost to your rating.”

Climbing in rank would seem preferable to the everyday adventurer. I, however, wasn’t too keen on ranking up in rapid succession. I’d most likely draw unwanted attention. Besides that, it wouldn’t actually make me stronger. This world seemed to be about getting stronger first and then your rank would grow organically to reflect that.

“I mean, I don’t mind helping out, but I’ve never done this before. I’m afraid I might hurt someone.”

“You’ll be fine,” Seralyn assured me. “I know you can restrain yourself from hurting someone too badly. Also, there’s plenty of healers nearby in case something goes wrong. It’s a trial, after all, accidents do happen, as they do when out on adventures. You can’t always prepare for everything. It’s a wise lesson for many adventurers to learn.”

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“Well, if you put it that way...” I said softly.

“You’d be of great help to the guild.” The brunette concluded. 

“I like how you are more afraid of hurting others than yourself.” Velariah chuckled.

“Have you seen the weapons I possess?” I said with a neutral expression. “It’s almost unfair.”

“I guess that’s why they place you one rank higher than what you are.” The white-haired elf finished.

I sighed. “Fine, fine. I’ll do it. I’m not liable for any injuries, am I?”

“Unless you do it on purpose,” Velariah said. “Which I doubt you’d do.”

“Definitely not. Also, how much did you get for that special silk?” I asked curiously.

“One and a half gold pieces, however, he told me if you can supply larger quantities he would up the price because he would need more of it to create a proper item.”

“So that’s nine and a half gold total. Not bad.”

“What the actual fuck?” Seralyn asked. “How much of that silk are you selling?”

“Nine spools,” Velariah answered. “Eight normal ones and Elania managed to create one spool that turned out to be completely waterproof.” She smiled.

Seralyn stared in disbelief as Gray jumped up to her leg.

“No fucking way...” She let out. “I had to work months for this bow.” She pointed to the bow that was now strapped to her back. “And here you are telling me Elania can do that in two days. I can’t believe this.” 

She looked as if she would just throw her hands into the air and walk off in anger, but it seemed Gray had a composing effect on her as she reached out a hand to pet the pup. Gray in return raised a leg but Seralyn was quick to react and jumped back before he could pee on her. 

“Unreal.” The archer let out, still in disbelief.

“Urinal.” Velariah corrected her with a grin.

I couldn’t help but let out suppressed laughter at that comment. 

“Have you come up with a name for your little monster?” Seralyn asked while she observed Gray pee. 

I was about to say his name when Velariah spoke again.

“Elania named him. Guess what she came up with.”

“How bad is it?”

“Gray.” The elf replied.

“Hum, that’s not so bad,” Seralyn said. “Simple but fitting.”

“Well, that’s what I thought too...” I said softly.

“Anyways.” Seralyn continued. “I’ll see you two tomorrow. Think about it and let the Lore keeper know tomorrow morning.”

“Sure,” Velariah said as Seralyn walked off.

She still had a hint of the anger from before in her eyes. I imagined I should consider myself quite blessed with an easy way to make money.

Thinking about money brought my thoughts back to the waterproof silk. Sure, it seemed to fetch quite a bit more money, but it wasn’t worth it for me to create any more, not unless it would get easier for me to do so. 

I absent-mindedly walked Gray near the closest village exit and allowed him to do his business in the grass. 

“I think you should do it,” Velariah broke the silence. “I also think the crowd would love to see you in action.”

“They better make sure they increase the size of one of those circles then.” I referred to the ‘combat areas’.”

“I’m sure they thought of that. They know who you are in the meantime.”

I sighed. “I guess there really is no avoiding publicity, is there?”

“Nope,” The elf said. “You’re actually starting to get popular with people who see you in action and well… your looks are there as well.”

“Well, yeah, if you look past my lower half I guess I do look quite pretty, I guess,” I answered while looking at the wolf pup.

“Pretty? Elania, you’re more beautiful than any elf I’ve seen.”

“Temptress,” I stated with a grin.

Velariah remained quiet but hugged my side as she observed the wolf as well. After he finished, he started to run around my legs again.

“When that thing is all grown up, you may have some competition when running, it seems like,” Velariah noted.

“You think? I have no idea how quick wolves are, actually...”

“Well, this one looks like he’d be quick when all grown up. Anyway, let’s head back home. I’m sure Elly is about done cooking.”

I nodded. Velariah took hold of one of my lower hands again as we made our way over to her mansion. 

When we arrived back in the hallway after Elly had opened the door, I took a look at my weapons and wondered if I should use all of them for the coming day. I decided to do so. I was sure the guild had imagined me using them all, if so, I would be happy to oblige.

Elly, like the animal lover she appeared to be, came out of the kitchen with a bowl of fresh water and another with tiny pieces of meat for Gray first. She put them down and the pup danced around the bowl before digging in.

Puppies were the cutest…

Elly then served dinner for the three of us. It appeared to be some sort of stew, it smelled delicious. Moreover, she had large quantities of it!

Oh yes. Elly was a worthy contender for my heart! Not that I was interested in her, but her cooking was simply the best. I was certain she could seduce many a man with her skills.

The two elves finished while I was still going strong. Velariah was looking at me with her head resting on her hands. 

I shook mine as I continued. “I worked hard for this, you know?”

She smiled. “You sure? You seemed to relax while I did all the work.”

“How about you try to make silk then?” I retorted.

She remained quiet and her smile lessened.

“I rest my case,” I finished with an even broader smile.

After we had dinner, Elly made some tea for the three of us. She had different tea this time around, this one didn’t taste that bad. In fact, it was quite nice. 

“What’s this tea?” I asked Elly.

“It’s Goldleaf’s premium brand. Do you like it?” 

I nodded. “If I have to be honest, I like this one a lot more than the other.”

“I’ll make sure to get this one in the future then, Miss Elania. Is that okay with you Velariah?”

“Sure.”

After finishing our tea. Velariah and I secluded ourselves in the bathroom once more. Not having a lot of entertainment made me think about more questions and topics to talk about. I came up with a few more and walked up to the pile of pillows to relax after an extensive meal but stopped halfway. My spider half collapsed on the ground and panic shot through me. 

Velariah locked the door before observing what happened to me. 

“El?”

I had no idea what was wrong with me but soon found my legs start to wiggle around on their own.

“Elania?”

I sighed as I crossed my arms, all four of them. My panic had disappeared and was replaced by an odd sense of déjà vu. I knew what happened.

“It’s the tea...” I said. “I was hoping this wouldn’t be a factor, but tea contains caffeine as well. I guessed the old one didn’t have enough to trigger this.”

Gray had found himself a way into the room before Velariah closed the door and seemed to be intrigued by my legs tapping the stone floor. He was having the time of his life, keeping up and mimicking the movements. 

“At least Gray seems happy,” Velariah smiled as she walked over in front of me.

This was one of the few times where she would stand taller than me. 

“Well, I guess he is easily amused...” 

“Hmmm, I am amused as well,” Velariah said with a seductive voice as she lowered herself. 

My pedipalps, having a mind of their own, instantly grabbed her behind and legs as she knelt in front of me. 

“That is… interesting.” Velariah reacted. “You sure you ain’t using this as an excuse to grope me?”

I looked at my wobbling legs before looking back at her.

“As much as I’d like to, I’m not responsible for that, no.”

I then looked behind me and sighed out of relief. I wasn’t coating the floor in silk. It seemed this was as much as I could tolerate before things really started getting out of hand. 

“By the way,” I started a question. “If we’re in a relationship now, does that mean I get to live in this room? Like, permanently?”

“For sure,” The elf answered. “You can have this room and do whatever you want with it.”

“What about Valtheril?” I asked, unsure of what he would think of our relationship.

“I’m sure my father won’t mind. I am pretty sure he already knows we have feelings for each other.”

“And he is fine with that?” I asked again to confirm.

“He didn’t seem to object. I’m sure it’s fine,” She smiled before kissing me.

My front two legs seemed to react to the kiss by grabbing her back, joining my pedipalps.

“Hmm, and your lower body doesn’t seem to object either.”

“Vel!”

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