While I am waiting for it to stop twitching I grab a single strand of web with both hands and try to break it. Even trying with all my strength I am unable to, so I start thinking about ways I can use it. I grab a severed leg and cut off a segment, then I pick a single thread of web and start to untangle it and spool it on the leg segment.

It takes me almost an hour just to get the one thread completely done, but the thread is almost forty feet long. By then the spider has long since stopped twitching so I figure it is time to start dismantling the spiders.

I move out into the hallway and clear an area of webbing to work in, then I drag the first small spider out and start by cutting all its legs off. Then I start carefully removing all the carapace in sections and piling them to the side, finally I remove the beast core.

*ITEM*

Beast Core

Quality: Inferior

Would you like to absorb it? Y/N

"Yes!"

You have absorbed an inferior beast core! HP +25 MP +25 Str +2 Agi +2 End +2

I then drag the stripped corpse out into the main tunnel and shove it aside, then I return to the spider den and pull the second small spider out into the hallway. I remove the legs, carapace, and beast core.

You have absorbed an inferior beast core! HP +25 MP +25 Str +2 Agi +2 End +2

Again I drag the stripped corpse out into the main tunnel intending to toss it with the other one, but when I get to the main tunnel the first corpse is gone. I immediately drop the corpse and draw my sword, then carefully look around.

I don't see anything so I back into the shadows of the hallway and crouch down to wait. About thirty minutes later two ratmen show up and grab the spider corpse. I kill them both before they even know I am there.

Kill Ratmen 9/30

I cut them open for their beast cores but leave the bodies there.

You have absorbed the Lesser Beast Core. HP +5 MP +5

You have absorbed the Lesser Beast Core. HP +5 MP +5

Then I return to the spider den to start working on the big one. Its corpse is too big to fit through the doorway so I have to take off the legs and remove the carapace in the room, then I remove its beast core which is quite a bit bigger.

*ITEM*

Beast Core

Quality: Greater

Would you like to absorb it? Y/N

"Greater? Yes!!!"

You have absorbed the Greater Beast Core. HP +100 MP +100 Str +10 Agi +10 End +10

*DING*

Congratulations! You have acquired the active skill Dash!

Dash

Level 1

MP Cost 10

Your speed doubles. Duration: 10 seconds

'Wow, the beast core gave me a skill? And an awesome one at that! He was totally worth fighting!'

I pile up all the carapace and drag it behind me as I head back to base. I keep an eye out for ratmen but I am not too worried about them, when I get to the river I throw the pile of carapace across before jumping over.

I pick up the carapace and set it against the wall with all the other stuff I have collected, looking at the piles I worry I am becoming something of a hoarder. I then eat some more stew and read for a bit, then I decide to go into the inner world meditation and burn through my mana chipping away at my core.

MP: 0/365

Core Upgrade Progress: 2%

I then switch to normal meditation for eight hours.

HP: 430/759

MP: 240/365

When I wake from my meditation I am surprised to find my HP and MP are now high enough I can't recover them in just eight hours. I am going to need to avoid using mana for the day so I can be full tomorrow to summon Ruby.

'Tomorrow is a week isn't it? It is so hard to keep track down here.'

Well, I guess I will just have to summon her tomorrow and see. I get up and go through my normal exercise routine and then finish the cold stew for breakfast. I'm really sick of fish and mushrooms, I would literally kill for some bacon and eggs!

After I am done eating I go back to the spider den and spend four hours collecting more spider web spools, luckily each one makes the next easier as there is less to untangle. By then I have a total of six spools and the web is about a quarter dismantled, enough I can start to see the floor which is also covered in webbing. I am expecting to find bodies and possibly gear under there.

I pick up the spools I have so far and head back to base, once there I start unwinding them and use Black Razor to cut them into ten foot sections. Then I take one of the breastplates and drill a small hole in it, then I take each segment and wash it in the river, then feed it through the hole and pull it through to scrape it clean.

*DING*

Congratulations! You have acquired the craft skill Tailoring!

Tailoring

Level 1

Agi +1 Int +1

You can make crude clothing.

Once all the spider silk thread is clean I start braiding pieces together to make rope, then I weave the rope together.

*ITEM CREATED*

Spider Silk Hammock

*DING*

Congratulations! Skill Tailoring has progressed to level 2!

Tailoring

Level 2

Agi +2 Int +2

You can make crude clothing.

I take my new hammock and string it between two rock spurs, then get in it to try it out. I find it very comfortable and figure I can use it when reading or when I want actual sleep. I then go back to braiding rope and weaving it into something else.

*ITEM CREATED*

Spider Silk Fishing Net

This will make fishing much easier! So I decide to try it out right away and I am able to catch two fish on my second cast.

*DING*

Congratulations! Skill Fishing has progressed to level 5!

Fishing

Level 5

Agi +5

You are adept at catching fish.

After a few more casts I have six fish, so I decide to roast up two now for lunch and save the rest for dinner. After eating I return to the spider den to gather more spools of webbing. It takes me six hours to finish taking down the big web that had spanned the entire room. I return to camp and sit down to cook my fish.

*DING*

Congratulations! Skill Cooking has progressed to level 5!

Cooking

Level 5

Int +5

You can cook decent food.

After eating dinner I lay in my new hammock to read for a while. I am able to finish History of the Empire III in about two hours. Then I settle down to meditate for eight hours. I have a bit of trouble clearing my mind because I am looking forward to summoning Ruby tomorrow.

HP: 670/759

MP: 365/365

When I get up the next morning I decide to skip my exercises and just go catch breakfast. While the fish are cooking and while I am eating I start reading the Diary of an Archmage.

As soon as I am done eating and cleaning up after breakfast I get ready to summon Ruby. With my current mana I can summon Ruby and keep her around for over two days, longer if I can meditate and still recover mana while she is summoned.

"Activate Summoning!"

MP: 265/365

As the spell goes off a pillar of flame forms from nowhere and after it fades away Ruby is standing there with a smile on her face.

Ruby says "Hello Master!"