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Reproduction!
After confirming its true ability, I realized that Xi Wangmu's Ten Thousand-Year-Old Spider would be more useful to Joshua than either Jonathan or me. After all, Joshua specialized in forming his own corps by using the skill Osiris’s Domain.
Moreover, he succeeded the old vampire corps. In other words, he had great potential to expand the corps as the former vampire monarch.
Nonetheless, it was impossible for the spider to acknowledge him as its ‘absolute master’ since even the Eighth Evil, who had previously fostered it to its fullest potential in the past, failed to do so.
The spider squirmed its anus and looked down at me while exposing its poisonous fangs. I said, “Let’s see how far you can go. Give birth to as many as you want.”
[You have ordered the Ten Thousand-Year-Old Spider to reproduce.]
The last scene I saw was the spider pulling out a thick thread.
I left the spider in the cave and returned to the campsite. It was a real mess there. The tension had reached its peak since no Grafs had attacked yet, which was quite out of the norm. Of course, the expedition team had mistaken the movement of the spider for the Grafs.
The supreme priest Manolia and wizard Cereville were grouped together and were looking in all directions while being surrounded by warriors who were acting as walls of bodyguards. In addition, operators were on board the anti-Graf shooting weapon.
Einhell rushed toward me and screamed out of the blue, “I have been looking for you! You have always stayed in that carriage, but why now…”
His eyes were even filled with tears, and his face was overwhelmed with concern. If he had assumed that the Grafs had swallowed his golden goose, then his heart would definitely have sunk.
Cereville’s magical sphere emitted light as it floated in the air and the people were all holding lit torches, so the surroundings were quite bright.
“I told you it is dangerous to move alone, Mr. Adventurer,” said Basman as he approached us. His eyes had turned red.
Although he ran in front of me, he was busy staring beyond me.
“The Grafs are clever. We shouldn’t belittle them simply because they look hideous. It’s fortunate that we are large in size compared to them. If not, you would have been in Graf’s stomach by now.”
“...”
The man continued, “Do not overestimate our abilities. If you are strong enough, you wouldn’t have needed to hire us.”
Basman pointed to one side with his sword, and Einhell added, “This way, please.”
I shook off Einhell’s hand as it reached towards me. Then, I headed to the place where they had prepared for me. Yes, it was inside the wall of warriors, where wizards and supreme priests were protected.
“Where did you go?”
The supreme priest’s voice was high-pitched and exuded hostility toward me at the same time. From her neck, I could smell the bark of a tree. It was the bark that Basman always chewed, and I could smell the same scent not only on the back of her neck but also everywhere on her robe.
She couldn’t avoid my Sense. Basman had definitely licked every part of her body. The image of Basman burying his face into her breast and Manolia opening her lips with her head tilted back came up in my mind.
Although she had a stern face, she collapsed easily at the touch of a middle-aged man. Alternatively, Basman could also be skilled in captivating women and inducing them to experience orgasm.
Anyway, the more entangled their relationship became, the less likely she was to leave the team even though she couldn’t stop herself from showing blatant hostility to me. Basman was binding her down with his masculinity.
I stared at her without replying. The supreme priest clearly thought that I was ignoring her. As I was scanning the Mana in her, she seemed to be trying to identify the cause of the ominous intuition she had from me.
She asked first, “Do you have nothing to tell me?”
“I do.”
However, it wasn’t about my origins, as she had hoped. If Einhell and Basman stuck to their plan of not cutting open the goose’s belly, then I only intended to disclose my identity to the priest with Yeon-Hee while she was with me, despite the fact that the priest would be upset if she found out. Nonetheless, if the two decided to alter their plan, such as dissecting the goose, then my plan may be jeopardized.
Anyway, there had been some actions that the priest had displayed the past few days that caught my eye. Her eyes had often flashed in excitement. It was inaccurate to say that the reason was solely due to Basman’s charms because she sometimes rummaged through old books alone.
“I thought I would hear at least one name by now,” I said.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
I continued, “I have provided all the support you said you needed. I hired people who knew a lot about Saint Cassian’s archives to read them, but you haven’t found a single name. I understand it takes a lot of time to excavate remains. Then, shouldn’t we have obtained at least some understanding of the type of ruins we are exploring? Manolia. Have you heard of how much gold I donated to the altar in the name of Einhell?”
The Supreme Priest frowned as if she had never been treated like this before. The moment I was about to say the specific number, Einhell scrambled in.
He blustered, “What an irreverent attitude…”
At the same time, the Supreme Priest angrily exclaimed, “Doom Entegasto!”
All eyes were on her.
“Is that enough?” she screamed.
The atmosphere became so still that time felt frozen. The only movement came from the blinking eyelids of the people around me. Everything else was completely still, and a single second seemed to stretch on for what felt like ten minutes.
The name was a surprise to me too. I had thought that it would be Doom Insectum as this was Grafs’ habitat, but Doom Entegasto?
Regret was spreading on the priest’s face, and the other priests who had been working on the same study with her widened their eyes.
“I was going to let you know soon.”
She spoke bitterly to us, but her words were directed specifically at Basman, not me.
Basman said while coming out of the crowd, “I think I heard it wrong, Ms. Manolia. I heard the name of the wicked evil.”
He was protesting. The Supreme Priest nodded with a remorseful expression. She knew she couldn’t reverse the time, so she seemed to be struggling.
The priests tried to stop her, but it was too late. Her eyes were already fixed on Basman. When Basman sighed as if he was disappointed in her, she continued to talk, ignoring Bsaman’s gesture telling her to follow him.
“This may be…the place where Saint Jayden fought against Doom Entegasto. Then, it means you are standing in the Holy Land. I hope Lord Lacryma’s blessing is on us.”
***
Relics were grouped by class. They were considered S-class if they had a connection to Holy Knights such as Saint Cassian or Saint Jayden, while those linked to the second greatest Demon King Doom Entegasto would be classified as SS-class. Then, they would be as explosive as the Man Who Overcomes Adversity.
Of course, the expedition team was filled with excitement. However, the location where the most exhilaration took place was the remote region where Basman and the Supreme Priest were engaging in sexual activity.
The statement, “There is no religion and truth under the navel,” was an apt portrayal of the Supreme Priest. She was the one who secretly called Basman out even on the night when the team was in a chaotic state when they thought that the Grafs were making a fuss.
She had become sexually awakened.
“You should have told me.”
“I’m sorry, Basman. I wasn’t sure until now. It hasn’t been long since I…”
“Since when did you have those suspicions?”
“Umm…not too long ago.”
I then heard a subtle groan before they resumed their conversation.
“But everyone heard you. You went too far by mentioning Saint Jayden.”
“I couldn’t help it as I mentioned the name of the Demon King at first. If I stopped there, then everyone would have been afraid of…”
“How did you find that out?”
Following that, I heard the obscene noise of tongues intermingling together. Although Basman wasn’t my subordinate, what he did was outstanding. He had prevented the priest from leaving the expedition team, and he drew out the secrets that had been hidden inside her mind.
Moreover, Einhell was also impressive. He added everything possible to the bill to increase the cost and take advantage of my finances. Apart from Saint Cassian’s archives in the altar, he had bought thousands of local ancient books that had spread throughout the city.
Also, he raised the total bill by employing cart loads and purchasing additional groceries for the handymen, resulting in yet another increase in cost. Einhell did all of this to embezzle money, but some of the trashy old books he bought ended up inspiring the Supreme Priest.
“Okay, Ms. Manolia.”
While the Supreme Priest listed the books that inspired her, Basman interrupted her as if they were not important.
“Anyway, the Mayers in the City Coalition will hear about this as soon as we arrive.”
“I didn’t think that far… Ah… No… Don’t stop. Keep going!”
“I’m not saying this to blame or scold you. What I’m afraid of is that I might have to leave you. Do you think the Mayers will leave you alone?”
“They can’t afford to even care about me as they are busy watching Emperor Exile.”
“No, the most sacred and important action is to alter the circumstance. Otherwise, consider the possibility that this information may reach Emperor Exile. Although you only meant to tell the truth, you might have triggered a war.”
“What should I do?”
“If we finish the excavation in this exploration, everything will be fine. I will do my best for you, so you must do your best to help our team.”
“Ahhh…! Yes, yes. Of course.”
***
Thanks to Basman’s sincerity, the Supreme Priest became a workaholic, toiling day and night. She displayed a large map showing the expanding reach of the exploration teams, while stacks of ancient books were piled up nearby.
I didn’t just stand back and watch. I used my Sense on the surroundings to check if anything was taking place while exploring Mana. However, I didn’t feel anything special. Contrary to what the team feared and anticipated, no Grafs had attacked the campsite yet.
It was a noteworthy day for me, as I had made enough progress to remember the rotational power of the skill even after leaving the world of Mana. Furthermore, the food cart, which was once filled to the brim with ingredients, was nearly empty, resulting in a significant reduction in the number of dishes on my table.
Einhell and Basman were also reducing the size of their own meals. They were more passionate about the exploration than I was. They might hand me a greedy bill in the name of a second expedition, but their goal had long been changed from gold to sacred subjects. Both were convinced that this place would soon be overtaken by the powers of the city union as soon as they returned to the city.
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After all, this was a place where Saint Jayden fought against Demon King Doom Entegasto, where the Grafs had disappeared. Even in my uneducated opinion, people in power nearby would use all means to take over the territory.
Therefore, if this first exploration ended in failure, then I was planning to take appropriate actions to not let anyone access my territory.
However, one of the exploration teams returned with a shout of joy that day.
“Ms. Manolia was correct!”
Einhell and Basman were not the only ones who couldn’t control their excitement. The Supreme Priest didn’t even think about washing her hands, which were full of disgusting odors and stains. She raised her arms like a superstar who encouraged the audience’s cheers. It was a gesture to move the campsite there as soon as possible, and it was the first time that progress had been made in the team.
Right when everyone was excited to move the campsite, something happened.
Ddddd-
The fucking vibrations started again and disrupted me. A wave of anger washed over me as I had been so close to entering the world of Mana. The laborers were shaking and searching for pickaxes used by the exploration team.
Ddddd-
I was certain that the vibrations weren’t created by the spider as my faithful pet was breeding in its cave. As the underground moved, the dirt moved up and down, narrowing the distance into a large shape. I was confident that they were adult Grafs.
[Xi Wangmu's Ten Thousand-Year-Old Spider has entered the battle.]
Except for the direction in which the spider had built its house, a flock of Grafs, including adult Grafs, rushed in from the rest of the directions. The entire ground was turning upside down in the direction they were coming in.
Basman shouted when he could clearly see the wobbles of the ground, “Adult Graf! They are Adult Grafs-!”
Upon hearing the shriek, I concluded that the Grafs were insane.