Chapter 185: Nephila Arachne
"What, what’s with that expression?"
Tang So-yeong hurriedly covered her bare chest with her hands.
“Geeeeng…”
Still, I should find some solace in the fact that Nephila is better off than So-yeong.
“…Hmph.”
Nephila let out a sound like that and moved her hand once.
Shwoooosh!
The black fabric scattered around gathered and wrapped around her body.
She took on the familiar appearance of Nephila I knew, with the outfit clinging tightly to her body.
I should have cheered her on rather than being disappointed.
The Divine Beast of Gecko Religion shouldn’t have acted like this.
“Geck-geck.”
I let out an apologetic, croaking sound.
Nephila looked at me with a sulky expression.
“Kieeeeng!”
“Kioooong!”
Taking advantage of the moment, Tus and Pus ran toward me at full speed.
They’d grown even larger since last time.
Tus and Pus carefully examined my body for a while, tilting their heads curiously at the sight of my white fur.
“Hioooong!”
Tus let out a cute sound, casually wagging its tail as it approached.
“Kieeeng…”
Pus slightly exposed its rear, looking at me with expectant eyes.
Despite their growth, they were the same as always.
You two could stand to lose a bit of your innocence.
While dealing with the spiders half-heartedly, I turned my gaze back to Nephila.
Even though I had joked earlier about being disappointed, seeing Nephila recovered like this made me incredibly happy.
Nephila was my lifesaving benefactor, the first being I bonded with when I came to this world.
Sure, there were a few disappointing aspects, but it would be too greedy to expect everything to be perfect.
I might even abandon all my training and dive into Nephila’s spiderweb with a swoosh.
It’s precisely because of those shortcomings that I can interact with her the way I do now.
I focused my eyes to get a more accurate assessment of her condition.
【Nephila Arachne lv50】
A shrine maiden of a religion devoted to a great black lizard.
She entered the path of a mystical beast with the desire to protect her beloved.
Can alternate between an arachne form, closer to a spider, and a human form that her beloved prefers.
That’s an unusual description.
"Nephila Arachne," huh?
She’s probably a unique species like me.
Judging by the description in the status window, there couldn’t possibly be another being like Nephila.
There were many things to consider.
For one, despite her transformation, her level hadn’t dropped back to 1.
I suspect that instead of evolving, Nephila underwent a temporary regression, which is why her level remained the same.
After all, she merely restored her physical state.
“Hm…”
Nephila made a nasal sound and simply stared at me.
Judging by her silence, it seemed we still couldn’t communicate through words.
She could make screeching noises if she wanted to, but it seemed like she didn’t.
Now that she had entered the path of a mystical beast, it made sense that she couldn’t speak human language.
I wonder if Baeklang or Red Dragon could teach her.
As if reading my thoughts, Nephila gave me a bright smile.
Rustle.
She slowly approached me.
She grabbed my armpits with both arms.
“Geck…”
I’m about the size of a medium-sized dog now.
In other words, Nephila was strong enough to lift me up.
Holding me up, she met my gaze and gave another bright smile.
“Hehe.”
Then, in that moment, Nephila’s form began to change.
Swoosh…
The status window clearly mentioned that she could take on another form.
Beings like the Snake Queen, Baeklang, and Red Dragon could switch between their true forms and human-like forms.
So, could Nephila revert to her spider form as well?
No, that wasn’t it.
At first glance, her form resembled the arachne figure anyone would imagine.
A gigantic spider body with a human torso on top.
But the form she was shifting into was different.
The base of her body was entirely human.
At first glance, she looked like an ordinary human.
The only distinguishing feature was the two pairs of legs protruding near her waist.
It seemed like the true arachne form was the one from before, while her current form was her humanoid appearance.
“Geck!”
This was an incredibly positive development.
She had both the arachne form and a human-like form.
…Not because of personal preferences, but because this change brought her multiple advantages.
If she concealed those legs well, she could pass as human.
Moreover, those legs—despite being called "legs"—could easily function as additional arms, given the traits of a spider.
Unlike other mystical beasts whose combat abilities diminished in humanoid forms, Nephila retained unique strengths of her own.
What if Nephila seriously trained in martial arts?
She has six limbs.
It would be like three masters fighting in perfect harmony.
Not to mention her ability to use spider silk.
It felt like she had evolved in a way befitting the shrine maiden of the Gecko Religion.
Of course, her internal energy and storage capacity might fall short compared to Baeklang or Red Dragon, but considering the time we spent together in the acacia tree, her progress was remarkable.
Nephila’s growth might be unparalleled across the entire Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.
A common spider had reached this level in less than a year.
Even if she had innate intelligence beforehand, the Tang family might have played a role in this transformation.
“Hioooong…!”
“Kioooong!”
Tus and Pus grew excited at the sight of Nephila.
This was just my guess, but Tus and Pus seemed to regard Nephila as their eldest sister.
Nephila was likely an older spider and had bonded with me earlier than them.
Moreover, with her newfound ability to take on a human form, they gazed at her with admiration.
“Kieeek…”
Pus clicked its teeth as if frustrated.
It probably wished it could become like Nephila too.
Nephila was worthy of being called a shrine maiden, but our Left Guardian and Right Guardian didn’t quite fit their titles.
For now, I could assign them guardian roles, but as the number of followers increased, it would be hard to maintain that.
If Baeklang or Red Dragon started to question it, I wouldn’t have a good explanation.
While seniority existed, it was only right to give high positions to those with ability.
Of course, I had no intention of demoting Tus and Pus to regular followers.
Instead, I would raise them to a level befitting their positions as founding contributors of our Gecko Faith.
To be honest, my personal growth was already on track.
While I could increase my level or refine my internal energy techniques to grow stronger, the efficiency wouldn’t be great.
Even defeating a major beast like a Magnosaurus might not guarantee a level up.
Besides, having gone through two evolutions at once, I wasn’t sure how long it would take for the next evolution.
It would be better not to expect evolution for the time being.
That didn’t mean I’d neglect personal training, but finding alternative ways to grow would be more efficient.
And that alternative was to invest in my followers.
The stronger my followers became, the more benefits I would gain.
Not only would the Gecko Faith grow stronger, but I would also receive direct rewards like experience points and divinity.
“Geck-geck.”
I looked at Tus and Pus.
Even if they couldn’t reach the level of Baeklang or Red Dragon, they should at least match Nephila’s current strength.
Though I’d love to keep them riding on my shoulders forever, that couldn’t last.
They were precious to me, so it would be a disaster if someone held Tus or Pus hostage against me.
“Kieeek…”
I met the eyes of my fluffy spider companions.
I couldn’t help but wonder what they would look like in human form.
I had caught a glimpse of a vision shown by Gaetsalgoadal, but there was no guarantee it was accurate.
Perhaps they would possess an even more magnificent internal energy pouch than what I had seen.
“Geck-geck-geck…”
Tus, Pus.
I’m counting on you.
“Kieeng?”
“Keeeng?”
Nephila quietly watched me and then gently hugged me.
“Hehe.”
It felt good.
Nephila’s face was close to my ideal type.
Her warm body temperature, uncharacteristic for a spider, was comforting.
Hearing the sound of her heart beating was also nice.
It felt good, but…
I couldn’t help but feel something was missing.
“Geeeng…”
Crunch!
“Geck!”
Nephila suddenly bit me.
“Geck-geck!”
Thanks to my dragon scales, it didn’t hurt, but I was startled.
“…Hmph.”
Then Nephila placed me gently on the ground.
…As a shrine maiden, she must have seen right through my thoughts.
Almost as if she had been waiting, Tang So-yeong cautiously approached.
Shrine maiden, Nephila.
Left Guardian, Tus.
Right Guardian, Pus.
And then there was just a simple healer, Tang So-yeong.
I needed to think about what to do with her too.
“M-me too…!”
Her oddly wriggling hands seemed highly suspicious.
“C-come here!”
It seemed like she wanted to touch me.
Considering her fondness for mystical beasts, especially reptiles, she was probably curious about my newly transformed appearance.
After all, I wouldn’t even be in any books or records.
Yet, seeing her tightly shut eyes, she was likely preparing to be hit by my tail.
“Huh? Why are you just standing still?”
Touching me wouldn’t make me wear out.
I could afford to let her do this much.
“Hehe. Living a good life finally pays off.”
Her hands moved busily.
She pressed her fingers firmly against my scales, but surely she wasn’t trying to tear them off.
“Geck.”
After petting me for a while, Tang So-yeong suddenly said something.
“…This is suspicious.”
If she was going to say that, shouldn’t she at least take her hands off my stomach?
“Go Dae-hyeop would never stay this calm…”
Tang So-yeong slowly turned her head.
I also slowly turned mine.
Maybe because she was from the Tang family, she was rather quick-witted.
“No way!”
She must have roughly guessed why I wasn’t reacting.
“I’ll just live here forever, getting fat!”
This was exactly why I had stayed silent.
The ones I’d bring to my territory wouldn’t just be the spiders.
But I needed to take at least one veterinarian with me.
“There’s always meat! Snacks too! I can sleep without worrying about anything!”
“Geck?”
Some of us have gone through all sorts of struggles, you know.
“That’s… not what I meant! Anyway, no! I’m going to stay here and bury my bones here!”
“Geck-geck.”
Sorry, but your opinion doesn’t matter.
“You evil lizard! Only coming to me when it suits you! I’m not going! I mean, I can’t go!”
Was she holding a grudge against me?
Whatever it was, it was best to resolve it now.
Chomp.
“Kyaaa! Y-you bit me!”
Nibble-nibble.
“Fine! I’ll go! I’ll go, okay?”
She should’ve said that from the beginning.