Chapter 16: 1.15 Communication

I tapped the glass with my pedipalps and then pointed them at the beetle once more before pointing them at my head.

The elf looked at me with a puzzled expression.

I repeated the same gestures.

She seemed to get at it, but for all I knew, she was simply guessing what I wanted. She walked back to the table to retrieve her tweezers and reached them below my enclosure once more. I was happy to see one of the beetles appear.

She held the beetle up before me behind the glass and I raised my pedipalps and brought them down, creating vertical motions.

I then moved my front legs so that my head bopped up and down.

If this wasn’t making a nodding gesture then I wouldn’t know what was…

She said a few words which I, of course, couldn’t understand.

At least she seemed to get what I wanted as she opened the enclosure’s top to hold the beetle next to me once more with her tweezers.

Once more, I slowly walked up to it and cut off its head by forcing my legs down upon it.

You have killed a Forest Stag Beetle:  EXP+32

I turned back to the glass panel and noticed my partial reflection. It was the first time I got a good look at my body from further away. The only thing that I hadn’t known about so far were my eyes.

I had two large, forward-facing, black eyes with two smaller ones to the outside. Then, there were two tiny eyes further to the outside and slightly higher.

That didn’t explain my full circle vision though.

I turned my body slightly and observed another set of eyes they were on the outside to the back of my head.

That did.

I turned to face the elf again and saw her staring, still.

Seriously, how was I going to let this elf know that I wasn’t a normal spider, and, moreover, convince her to set me free…?

I was going to assume that she wasn’t stupid and that after I hit my evolution she would certainly notice.

There was no way that a spider suddenly changing size and color was a normal thing.

I prayed to the goddess that my next evolution would give me the language comprehension skill… or whatever it was called.

The elf then did something unexpected. She opened the top of the enclosure and put her hand inside. She laid the palm of her hand open next to me.

What?

Did she want me to step on her hand?

For what?

I used my pedipalp to scratch my head. Hopefully, that would convey my confusion to her.

She moved a few fingers slightly as if to draw my attention.

What did I have to lose, anyway? Who knew, she might just release me outside. I doubted that was the case, but one could hope, right?

I stepped into her hand and she lifted me out of my cage. I was right in the fact that I was about as large as a thumb. I measured it quickly as she lifted me up.

I was already quite thankful to be free from its walls.

Then, she took another series of unexpected actions. She placed her hand on the table and poked my rear with her other hand, gently nudging me so I would step on the table.

I did just that and turned to stare at her. She had a slight smile as she reached for something on her belt.

Her hand then appeared with a small, round, metal container which she placed on the table. She removed the lid and then put one of her fingers in.

She then approached me with said finger. I could see some kind of green cream on it.

Was that a healing ointment?

From her actions, I guess it was.

She carefully applied the semisolid substance to my completely severed leg.

The pain I had been experiencing in the stump that remained, almost immediately vanished. The flames were quenched by pleasantly cold water.

She did the same for my leg which was only missing the first segment, causing me to calm down as the elf took the pain away from me.

I didn’t know what to say.

I didn’t know what to think.

I was… grateful.

Even if the pain could have been removed by my regeneration skill (and of that, I wasn’t quite sure. I didn’t know if that skill could regrow lost limbs) the kindness this person showed a freaking spider…

I hoped this was some kind of magical salve that would allow my limbs to regrow…

It certainly felt as if there was some kind of magic in it. I could feel the cold ointment leak some mana into my body.

I looked at her as she was eying my wounds. She seemed to genuinely care about her pet spiders, or at the very least, me.

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I want to thank her. The best way to do that, that I could imagine, was to lower my head, raise my rear, and spread my pedipalps and front legs forward. I hoped she would recognize that as a bow.

She reacted with confusion once more and said several more unintelligible words and then didn’t move. It was as if she was waiting for an answer. I raised my pedipalps and spread out the last segment to the outsides.

I was trying to show a shrug…

She looked at me with intrigue once more and cocked her head.

As expected, she didn’t understand a thing.

This language barrier was starting to piss me off. If only I could understand what she was saying…

Once I knew what she was saying, we could establish at least some sort of communication where she could talk, and I could respond with simple yes and no pedipalp gestures. That was, if she was bright enough to ask the correct questions and have me confirm I could understand her.

What a struggle.

The elf yet took another strange action. She used one of her fingers to stroke over my head and then my rear.

It was as if she was trying to comfort me.

Did she know that I would fully understand what that meant?

The feeling wasn’t even unpleasant…

After that, she laid her palm open on the table again and nudged me to step on it.

Knowing where she was going to put me, I refused to step on.

She nudged me again.

Nope, not doing it.

I turned and stared into her confused, purple eyes, when an idea shot to mind.

If gestures weren’t going to do the trick, how about writing?

I was a spider, after all. I could use my silk to draw.

Words and math were possibilities, but I disregarded them as for all I knew, this elf might not recognize the symbols and letters. Instead, I decided to draw something as simple as a house.

I jumped over the elf’s hand and walked to the middle of the table where I lowered my abdomen to start a thread of silk.

I moved slowly and noticed the elf staring.

I created a straight line, made a corner after a few inches, and repeated it until I had a square. I then created a triangle on top of the square that was supposed to resemble a roof.

With every line of silk that I drew, I saw her purple eyes grow wider.

It seemed I was on the right track.

I created a few more lines to add a chimney and then created a door in the square. I finished my masterpiece by adding a window next to the door.

If this wouldn’t convince her that I was no mere spider, then I didn’t know what would.

She gasped and mumbled some words in her soft voice. Her attention kept shifting between me and my drawing.

Then, I think I saw something click in her head.

She used her finger to point at her head, then nodded.

I realized what she was getting at.

I moved my pedipalps up and down, in vertical motions.

She smiled slightly before pointing to her head again and then shaking no.

I reacted by moving my pedipalps from left to right, and back again.

The elf was smiling widely now. She stood up and I followed her with my eyes. She reached knelt and reached into a glass jar with her tweezers and pulled out another stag beetle. She then sat down again and held the insect up and pointed at it.

I obviously wanted to kill it for the experience.

I moved my pedipalps up and down eagerly, hoping she would understand that I wanted these creatures.

She then held it close to me, and I severed the beetle’s head.

You have killed a Forest Stag Beetle:  EXP+31

She let the creature’s lifeless body fall onto the table by releasing her tweezers.

No longer interested in the insect, I turned back to face the elf.

She looked confused again and pointed a finger at the insect and spoke some more words.

From her expression, I think she was wondering if I was going to eat it. I answered by making my ‘no’ gesture.

She looked puzzled once again.

At least we seemed to be getting somewhere.

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