I arrived at the stream and peered into the water. There was a place by a bend with some rocks where it was still enough that I could see my reflection look back at me.

My head was enormous, and my two main eyes had shifted to the sides. As far as I could see, my eyes had mostly formed a single row along my head, providing me with the clear, huge field of vision that I’d now gotten used to. They were also completely red, which, in my opinion at least, made them look… better?

The red of the eyes, combined with my hair, which was now as white as snow made it seem as if I was some kind of albino. It kind of made me miss the rainbow colors that I’d only had for a day or so. Then again, I guessed I still had that rainbow swirling around my abdomen. It truly was a mesmerizing sight.

I turned my attention to the fish that swam past me. It’s been a while since I fished. If I was going to do it more often, I could make a net at some point. I would be able to get them out of the water without ruining them.

Wait a second.

Maybe I could do that with one of my other spells.

As I eyed the list of my currently learned abilities, an idea for one of my spells popped up in my head. These fish swam from my right to my left swiftly. I would be able to literally make them swim onto land.

I summoned an ice elemental wall before me and lowered it into the water so that the fish, swimming at high speed, would swim onto it. I then angled it so that any fish that swam up the wall would be launched out of the water.

My plan worked wonderfully. Multiple fish swam up against the ice, and were unable to stop moving due to the slippery material. They landed in the grass, and when I had about fifteen fish in one flopping pile, I used a weaker version of spider lightning to finish them off without making a mess.

I then wondered how I should eat them. Normally, I’d take a bit of time to enjoy them, but I didn’t feel like wasting time, so I simply stuffed them in my mouth and quite literally sucked them into my stomach. I’d started getting used to that weird aspect of this body. I ate all but three fish in this manner. Those, I bound with a thread of silk, and carried back to Cellestra’s house.

When I arrived back, the elf was sitting in front of a campfire that she’d set up, smiling widely as she saw me approach with food.

“I think I’m starting to get to know you quite well, you know?” She spoke in the elven language.

It seemed she knew that I’d gotten them something to eat. I waved at her with one of my legs as I skittered up to her with the three fish bound to a string that I held between my two pedipalps. I handed the string to Cellestra who thanked me.

I then pointed towards where my shelter was. While she and the human ate, I would work on it in the meantime. I still had to get that nest achievement, after all.

“Sure. Thank you,” Cellestra thanked me with one of her warm smiles that just made my heart melt.

Distracted as I could be by her smile, I went to work on my shelter once more. I closed the last wall off partially so that there would only be just enough space for me to fit through. Closing off the last wall like that made the inside of the shelter feel more… cozy. I then created something of a floor of silk about a foot or two above the grass. The elasticity would allow me to sleep more comfortably at night.

Just the fact that I didn’t have to sleep on the grass that could get damp and possibly quite cold would already make nights more comfortable.

Was this how spiders slept? In a hammock of webs of some sort?

If they did, I could see why.

I laid myself down on the net that I’d created and allowed myself to relax for a few minutes, trying to get used to my ‘new home’.

Yep. This was far better than lying on the ground.

Achievement earned: A nest for a queen.

Build a nest.

You have been awarded 150 EP.

You have been awarded 300 EXP.

Requirement for future evolution complete.

For some reason, the achievement popped up a while after I’d finished building. Was it a requirement for me to be comfortable or something? What an odd achievement. I was happy I got it, though. I was more than a bit worried when I hadn’t gotten it after finishing the second wall.

I had to admit, having this so-called nest felt… good for some reason. It was watertight, covered from wind, and cozy. It was like a bed and a house in one. I almost felt bad for moving outside after relaxing for a few minutes.

At least I would have a comfortable night tonight. It was more than welcome considering we would have to get up while it was still dark.

When I approached Cellestra and the human again, I noticed they’d already finished their dinner. The human had both hands untied, but his stomach was still bound to the wall. He seemed to be far more comfortable than before.

“How did it go?” Cellestra asked me in our own language once more.

An odd question to ask without having the letters prepared. I reacted with a nod of my limbs, hoping she’d take that as ‘it went well.’

“I hope that means it went well. You ready for some magic?”

I nodded again.

Over the next hour or so, Cellestra and I trained intensely on the multi-barrier spell. She tried again and again. She didn’t seem to get the second part of the spell done at the beginning, but after some time, she started to make huge leaps in progress. The fact that several of my skills had merged into Mana Control, which turned out to be an improvement over mana manipulation, seemed to have an even bigger impact on her progress.

After another hour of constant practice, she seemed to have the spell under control. Cellestra’s smile as she cast the spell successfully time after time had my heart racing. I knew this went beyond helping a friend. I had already accepted the fact that I was in love and that there was nothing I could do about it.

Unfortunately…

During our training, she’d told me that the former slave’s name was Tavion. He’d been a slave for a little over a year now. Apparently, their life expectancy was quite low, due to the way Ingo used them in battle.

I’d confirmed that, firsthand.

The way that bandit had shot Tavion and then forced him to stay where he was through the slave collar was still seared in my brain. I would make sure that this Ingo guy was going to get his share of the justice that I intended to dispense.

May Elysa have mercy on their souls.

Evening came quicker than expected, indicating we’d have to get to sleep soon. Cellestra used the little time we had remaining to inform me of her idea for when we found out where the supposed ambush was to take place.

“So,” She started. “As much as it pains me to say it, you are quite frightening to anyone that does not know what or who you are. I was thinking we could use that to our advantage.”

Currently, I was standing in front of the letters, waiting to reply when she was finished.

“From what we have both seen so far, these bandits are scared to death of you. They will likely send the slaves to attack you while staying at a safe distance.”

That did seem like the most likely possibility.

“Well, then,” She continued. “I was thinking that was what we should do. If we attack their camp before they attack the caravan, and they find out we intend to save the slaves, they might use them as hostages instead, threatening to kill them if we don’t back off. Our best chance to save them would be to have them attack the caravan, have them get split up from the bandits, and then tell the elves to back off as they converge on you. I doubt mere slaves will be able to harm you… correct?”

“Likely true,” I spelled.

“So, we split them up from the bandits, then you immobilize them, and then you turn on the bandits. How does that sound?”

“Do not know how many there are. Might not be possible.”

“That’s…” Cellestra looked at the ground. “True, I guess. Yet, this is the best thing I could think of… I’ll ask Tavion about that...”

Cellestra paused for a bit before she spoke again. “We need to make sure that the elves know you are their ally, and we need to find a way to show that early on. I’ll try to get to them and make sure to let them know, but you’ll have to do most of the heavy lifting. Be prepared to take a hit or two before they realize.”

I had already accounted for that. Taking hits just so happened to be my specialty.

Yet, I couldn’t help but worry.

This wasn’t the best plan I’d ever heard. Things might get messy. I just hoped we could keep that to a minimum…