Chapter 69: Vivian la Classidus
Chapter 69: Vivian la Classidus
Vivian had metamorphosed from a human into a spider. Such a process required either body modification or infection, both of which necessitated a catalyst called a “core.” The core could be any substance that contained mana, with mana stones being the most common example. One might think it was just a measly mana stone, but Vivian’s case was different from the norm.
A mana stone embedded within the body becomes a core over time, an integral part of the being. In human terms, it could be seen as the heart or the nexus of one’s magic. It was a place that held and processed mana, a hub through which countless streams of magical energy flowed every day. After a long time, the mana stone-turned-core would transform in nature, becoming a kind of inner core that held a deep reserve of mana.
Of course, it was nothing compared to the divine core of a Divine Beast or the spiritual core of a Spiritual Creature. But one could never be sure, and it was at least better than nothing. I deliberately feigned a look of serious contemplation.
“Hmm. This isn’t quite enough.”
“Huh? C’mon~. Give me a break. This is really all I have, I swear.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, yeah. For real, for real.”
“For really real?”
As I kept questioning her, Vivian’s face twisted in frustration, and she shrieked.
“Damn it! This is so frustrating! I’m telling the truth! If you don’t believe me, search me yourself!”
“I want that.”
I slowly raised a finger and pointed at her body. Vivian followed it, looked down at herself, and then stared back at me as though thinking, What a weirdo. She opened her mouth.
“Hey, human male. I’m curious about something. Do you have some kind of weird fetish?”
“A fetish?”
“Yeah. For example, mating with a spider…”
“Shut up.”
“Hic! Sorry!”
I cut her off immediately. What the hell was she talking about? Seeing my harsh expression, Vivian instantly lowered her gaze and began to tremble. I watched her for a moment, then deliberately took out my sword and twirled it. As I did, her trembling intensified. For some reason, seeing that gesture made me want to torment her. Still, given the situation, I kept my voice calm.
“I don’t mean I want to have sex with you. I want what’s inside you.”
“Inside me…? There’s nothing useful inside me. Should I spin you some thread?”
“No, no. That’s fine. That’s not what I mean. You were originally human, weren’t you? Right?”
“Yup.”
Vivian nodded obediently. For some reason, that made me feel even worse about bringing it up. But I steeled myself and continued.
“If you turned into a spider, there must be a mana-infused substance that acted as a catalyst.”
“Well, yeah. I was thinking you’re really knowledgeable… oh. Wait a minute. Are you talking about my core?”
“That’s right.”
“You’re asking me… for my core? Are you crazy?”
It seemed she either remembered that part or knew it well because she had researched and performed the procedure on herself. Vivian’s eyes went wide as she questioned me. I nodded with a resolute expression. After confirming my affirmation, her face went blank for a moment before she seemed to snap back to her senses, forcing a laugh.
“A jo-joke?”
“It’s not a joke.”
“C-C’mon. I-I can totally tell it’s a joke, right? Yo… hoho.”
“I said it’s not. Hand over the core. If you give me that and all this other stuff, I’ll let you live. Here. I promise.”
I held out my pinky finger, and Vivian’s face contorted. She stumbled backward, screaming in a high-pitched voice.
“Are you insane?! Why would I give you that!”
“Don’t worry. You won’t die from having it removed.”
“I know that much, you know! If someone asked you to rip out your heart or your magic circuits, would you do it? Say something that makes sense!”
“Of course I wouldn’t. Anyway, give it to me.”
“What do you mean, ‘anyway’! No!”
“Give it.”
“Kill me! Just kill me! I’d rather die than give you this! If I give this to you, I’ll just… hic!”
“Is that so? Well, that’s a shame.”
I raised my sword and took a step forward. A look of horror washed over Vivian’s face, and she scrambled backward with a shudder. But this was a workshop. No matter how far back she went, she was still in the palm of my hand. Spotting the passageway behind me, Vivian began to speak rapidly in a desperate tone.
“Wait. Waaait! First, just… put the sword away. Let’s talk. Talk! Hey! I said don’t come any closer!”
Being the kind person I am, I readily accepted her request. I stopped walking and repeated my demand in a clear voice.
“I’ll say it again. Give me all this stuff and the core inside your body. We’ll call it even for your life.”
“That doesn’t make any…”
“Negotiations are over.”
Faced with my utter refusal to communicate, Vivian finally exploded with pent-up rage.
“Yaaaaah!!!! You heartless bastard!!!!”
“Oh? Showing your true colors now, are we? As I thought… Ugh, this is a pain. It’d be better to just kill you and take it myself. I can dissect your body while I’m at it…”
As I started humming and walking toward her again, Vivian stared at me in disbelief. Frustration. Anger. Fear. As I watched the storm of negative emotions on her face, I thought, I hope she cries soon… Ah. What the hell is wrong with me? Am I really going crazy?
I shook off the distracting thoughts and summoned my mana to focus. A brilliant sword aura bloomed on my blade, and my expression turned cold along with it. Reading the change in my face, Vivian frantically looked around for an escape route, but it was futile. My killing intent had already filled the entire workshop.
Still, unable to abandon hope, the spider tried to scuttle up a wall to flee. With a movement as swift as lightning, I closed the distance and swung my sword. With a sensation like cutting through soft tofu, one of Vivian’s legs tumbled to the floor. She shrieked in pain as she fell, rolling around on the ground. Paying her no mind, I raised my sword over her head.
“Farewell. You were a pretty amusing one, at least.”
“Uuuuugh! Wait! Waaaaait!”
“Hm? What is it? I suppose I can listen to your last words.”
Vivian, who had squeezed her eyes shut and screamed at the sight of my sword, peeked them open at my words. She let out a brief sigh of relief when she saw I had stopped, but her eyes soon began to tremble as she remembered her predicament. Ooh. She’s finally going to cr—dammit.
Anyway, looking into my eyes, she seemed to finally realize I was serious. Her small lips parted.
“…I’ll give it to you.”
“What was that? Speak up.”
“I’ll give it to you! I’ll give it, so don’t kill me! You evil bastard! Waaaaaah! Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
At last unable to suppress her sorrow, Vivian burst into tears. I smiled faintly. Judging by her face, she was quite pretty. I wonder what she looked like as a human. Grinning, I lowered my raised sword.
“Good thinking. Haha.”
“Waaaaah! Oh, boo-hoo. Waaaaaaaaah! Waaah waaah waaah!”
I went to the trouble of helping the spider back up myself. She accepted my help meekly, but her crying didn’t stop. In fact, she started pounding the floor with her remaining legs, wailing her heart out. I scratched my head. Was I really that harsh? Seeing the spider shed streams of tears felt a little pitiful. And seeing her unable to even stand properly, tilting to one side with three legs cut off, made me feel even more sorry.
“Hic-sob-waaaaaah! Uwaaaaaah!”
“Hey. Quiet.”
The words that came out were the opposite of what I felt. Still, my threat seemed to have an effect, as Vivian snapped her mouth shut. But she couldn’t stop sobbing, her shoulders (or what I assumed were her shoulders) heaving as tears and snot streamed down her face. Even then, she seemed hesitant, constantly shooting me pleading looks as if to say, “Really? Are you really going to take it?” After waiting a moment, I spoke with an annoyed expression.
“Are you stalling for time? If you’re going to give it to me, do it now. Ah, maybe I should just cut you down and take it the easy way.”
“Fine, fuck. I’ll give it to you, okay?… Waaah.”
At my unwavering confirmation, Vivian seemed unable to contain her surging grief. She began to wail again as she made her abdomen bulge. It looked like she was trying to push out the inner core in the center. Once. Twice. Three times. After repeatedly flexing her abdomen, she looked at me with a face full of despair, as if this was the last time. I quietly raised my sword.
“I’m giving it to you! Hic! You dog-bast—hic! You evil bastard! Sob!”
I just shrugged in response to Vivian’s curses. Finally, with one last push, a round, black orb popped out of Vivian’s mouth along with a gush of fluid. She must have been cultivating it for quite some time, as it was nearly the size of an adult’s palm. I quickly checked its information.
『You have acquired Alchemist Vivian’s Core.』
Having finally coughed up her inner core, Vivian collapsed, slumping to the ground with a look of utter emptiness. It seemed her energy was completely spent. A tear rolled down her face and onto the floor. With a satisfied expression, I reached for the inner core. Just then, Vivian’s small voice reached my ears.
“Sob… It’s poisonous. Hic! If you grab it like that… sniffle… you’ll die.”
She was still worried about me even in that state. This girl was hilarious. I chuckled and picked up the inner core with my bare hand. Vivian’s expression turned strange again, and she watched me with a look that was half-worry, half-anticipation. Wanting to tease her a little more, I quickly grabbed my hand and cried out.
“Gasp! I think the poison is spreading! Ah! I’m dying.”
“Wh-what? Hey! That’s why I… ah… that’s not it. Oh yeah! Serves you right!”
I lightly summoned Eternal Flame into my hand and infused Eternal Flame with my will: remove the poisonous energy inside the core. The black orb rolled within my Magic Power, and its color gradually began to change. At first it was flawless jet-black, but over time it returned to its original blue.
This was the advantage of Myth-rank. A Flame-rank fire could do nothing but burn, but the Myth-rank Eternal Flame could be shaped according to the wielder’s will. Vivian watched the process in fascination. When the purification was complete and I tucked the core into my clothes, she stared at me blankly. I grinned and said, “Actually, I was just kidding.” Her lips jutted into a pout, and she burst into tears again. I chuckled at the sight.
After the commotion died down, Vivian remained slumped on the floor, looking completely drained. I walked over to her and spoke. Of course, this was after I had collected all the pouches she had offered.
“Congratulations. As promised, I’ll let you live. Haha. Don’t think too badly of me. By the way, here’s a piece of information… you should probably leave this dungeon as soon as possible. The dungeon’s information will be revealed soon, and the city’s inspection team will come to investigate.”
“Leave me alone!”
“I’m telling you, you’ll die if you stay here.”
“Now that my core is gone, I’ve lost most of my power anyway! The situation will be the same even if I go outside! I’ll die here, I’ll die out there… ugh!”
Vivian, who had been retorting with a sharp expression, suddenly grimaced in pain. It seemed she couldn’t control her own body after losing the core.
“Ugh… khk… It hurts… It hurts!”
Vivian looked at me and cried out in pain, but there was nothing I could do for her. The only thing I could offer was to kill her. When I pointed at my sword with a nonchalant expression, Vivian turned her head away, her face a mask of betrayal.
“You villain… Sob… I gave you my body and soul… Ugh… khk! Aaaaaargh!”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
I snorted and watched Vivian. And what happened next surprised me a little. Vivian’s body began to twist unnaturally, and then, one by one, her legs started to slowly fall off. Watching her body disassemble piece by piece and contort all over, like a robot, my eyes gleamed with interest. Could this phenomenon be…?