I couldn’t decline that. I politely accepted the elf’s offer by gesturing yes.

And so, she started dinner while I looked at what this new skill did. I found out I could observe all the evolutions that would become available once I hit level 10. I could also see their required achievements.

This changed things quite a bit.

 

My inner knight was screaming.

I wanted this defense so badly. The Ixcent evolution would basically turn me into an armored spider… for free!

The issue was that I already knew that the rainbow evolution would provide me with the speech ability later down the line.

That reason alone was enough for me to disregard its benefits completely.

What I could do, however, is check the achievements that were needed for the Ixcent evolution.

I found out I couldn’t see achievements outside of the ones required for the evolutions. This, however, would already help me in getting more Evolution Points.

As long as the achievements were doable, I could complete them for the additional EP they would grant. I didn’t necessarily have to follow up on it by picking the Ixcent evolution.

Alright, Elysa. Show me the achievements I need for the rainbow and Ixcent evolutions.

 

 

Beetles seemed like they would be perfectly doable.

The other achievement basically told me to go and kill birds.

I had two things working to my advantage here. First, I would be able to complete these achievements even if the creatures in question didn’t give any experience. Beetles were incredibly easy to kill. The second part was that if Cellestra was okay with it, she could help out with it.

I didn’t dare to ask it of her, though. She’d done so much already.

I started thinking about how to kill birds. It wasn’t like Cellestra could do much there, and I don’t think a chicken counted.

I suddenly got an idea.

I had leveled up my spider thread skill all the way to “Advanced”. I might as well use it.

I was going to do what spiders did, and create a web. I could then lure one of those fish-stealing birds and kill it while it was trapped.

The idea sounded genius in my mind.

I would get my revenge on the birds for stealing my prize earlier in the process!

Why was I even thinking that? I wasn’t supposed to think about revenge as a knight.

Was I even a knight anymore? Could I ever be one again? Had I not given everything, including my life already?

My thoughts were a mess. I liked to think I lived with honor despite all that had happened. It was something I could grasp that kept me going.

But now…

I didn’t know if there were still values to uphold. It doesn’t appear to have helped me in the end.

 

Except that I was still… happy? Satisfied? With the fact that I’d saved the lives of those young girls…

I cursed in my mind for allowing it to drift so far off. I didn’t want to think about these things. They would have to come later. I had other things I needed to do before I could find an answer to my old self.

I had always been good at tossing aside emotions. I would continue doing that until I had found my parents. I needed to see them safe first, no matter what I was.

Cellestra’s movements broke me out of my reverie. She held two plates that she put on the table. She’d cut off a small piece of stir-fried chicken for me. She had a large smile on her face as she sat down.

I was happy she couldn’t read emotions from my spidery face. I would hate for that smile of hers to disappear because of my thoughts.

I would miss it…

I couldn’t deny that.

I started eating as a way to escape my thoughts. Cellestra started with her own chicken and vegetable dinner.

“Hope you enjoy it,” She said.

I did. It was heavenly.

At the same time, rain started pouring down from the skies. Cellestra’s roof didn’t do much to mute the sound. I could only imagine this building wasn’t of the best craftsmanship. Fortunately, it didn’t appear there were any leaks.

“So,” Cellestra asked between two bites. “Did you find out anything interesting?”

“Yes,” I wrote with a leg as I continued eating. “Can see what is needed for evolution path that grants speech. Need to kill four birds.”

“Well, there’s plenty of chickens in the forest to the west.”

“Don’t think chickens count. Need to be flying birds.”

“Oh, I see. In that case, I don’t know any good way to get them.”

I spelled out once more. “Will try to bait with fish. Use webs to catch bird.”

Cellestra grinned. “Yeah, I can see that work.”

“Also want to kill thirty-seven more beetles. Will give evolution points. Give more skills. Afraid to ask for help though.”

“I don’t see why you should be afraid. I don’t mind helping you out, at all. Sure, my research is slowed down, but…” She went silent for a few seconds. “Is it okay for me to call you a friend?” She seemed hesitant to ask.

A friend?

I guess she was a friend.

I gestured yes.

“Thank you, Kealyna.”

 

I was dumbfounded once again. I continued eating in silence as I thought about her odd behavior. She’d hardly asked anything from me. I didn’t know how to feel about that. While I appreciated her help, I couldn’t help but think about what would drive her to be so… open to me.

We both finished our dinner and Cellestra cleaned the plates with some water she had in a bucket next to the sink.

“Don’t know about you,” Cellestra said as she stretched and yawned. She looked outside the window where all was dark and wet before continuing. “But I’m off to bed. This is perfect weather to fall asleep to.”

“Good night, Kealyna,” She said.

She was about to extinguish the candles and leave the room when I tapped on the paper. She turned around and watched me spell out more words for her.

“Can join? Table uncomfortable.”

 

I prepared for the worst. This request was pretty selfish. This table was truly uncomfortable to sleep on now that I’d grown this large…

“Uhhh,” She seemed to think for a moment. “Yeah, I can’t really allow my guest to be uncomfortable, I guess.”

She extinguished the last candle, opened the door, and held it open for me. I skittered down the table leg and followed Cellestra to the other room connected to the hallway. Cellestra used a small flame on her finger to navigate around the house in the dark.

When she opened the door, I saw a simple bedroom with a nightstand, a single-person bed with two pillows, and a clothes chest. There wasn’t anything special about it.

Cellestra sat down on an edge of the bed and took one of the pillows.

“Will this do?” She asked as she placed it on the ground.

 

That would be more than enough. Thank you, Cellestra.

I nodded yes with my pedipalps and stepped onto the pillow. I let my body fall into it and enjoyed the softness.

I hadn’t been this comfortable in… well, since I got here.

“I reckon that’s better than the table,” The elf said.

Cellestra undressed and dove into her own bed.

“I’ve been thinking,” Cellestra’s voice pierced the darkness. “You said you can develop skills with that blessing of yours in no time. Would you mind helping me out with a couple of your spells someday? You don’t have to answer now. Hell, I forgot to bring the paper, so you can’t really answer anyway. It’s just...”

The room went quiet. “I was in the middle of learning some spells from Rose when she passed away, and I never managed to fully learn those. If I had someone show me how to cast them, I could perhaps put the last puzzle pieces together… you know?”

Her voice sounded hopeful.

I would be more than happy to assist.