Готовый перевод История Королевы Эльфов / The story of the Elf Queen: Глава девятая. Мастер. Новый успех и новые проблемы Архиврага Героя Королевы Эльфов

Chapter Nine. Master. New Success and New Problems for the Arch-Nemesis of the Hero of the Elf Queen

* * *

The Underworld. Diyarten.

An unusual level of activity—by the standards of this long-dead city—was underway, though no one outside its walls had any inkling of it. Nearly a hundred large spiders, ranging in size from a big cat to a medium-sized dog, bustled ceaselessly near one of the side walls of the vast underground hall where Diyarten lay. This was the very spot where the Terror of Diyarten had recently rampaged, damaging the buildings in its path and punching a hole through that side wall. The opening had been sealed shut almost immediately, though the resulting collapse caused further damage to the nearby structures. Yet, it was not only the houses and the section of the side wall that had suffered from the tread of the ancient dweller of the depths.

The thing that for a very long time had invisibly and tightly enshrouded the long-dead city sustained severe damage; the very thing that had, in large part, caused the demise of its inhabitants. Right then, a hundred large spiders were busily crawling over the collapsed, fused ruins of houses and the debris of a side wall. With a remarkable coordination and organization—traits more typical of and expected from ants—they were dismantling the wreckage and clearing the damaged area. Without any fuss, they simply dragged the bulk of the debris and stone fragments—including quite large pieces—to the section of the city-splitting chasm furthest from the site of the damage and cast them into the bowels of the earth.

This process was overseen by about a dozen far larger arachnid creatures, each of which had once been a bipedal inhabitant of the Underworld. Now, however, each possessed eight legs, and the number of eyes on their faces had increased significantly. One could recognize them as former humans, dwarves, or dark elves only with a great deal of imagination. Towering over the worker spiders—which were small by comparison—they directed the clearing of the rubble, lending a hand with particularly massive debris when necessary. They did not do this directly, of course, but rather by attaching amulets to the debris that temporarily reduced its weight.

At the same time, a pair of these creatures—formerly gifted in the magical arts and still retaining their talent—were engaged in a different task. With great caution, they spun—much like true spiders—threads of gossamer fineness, nearly invisible to the eye, using them to carefully patch the gravest damage inflicted by the recent Terror of Diyarten. Gently and unhurriedly, they unwove and rewove the sections scorched by the fires of the deep, restoring the integrity of the cocoon that sheltered the city.

Yet this was not the only place in the ruined city where work was in full swing. Nearly a hundred more spiders, overseen by several arachnid monstrosities, were divided into groups and busy weaving a single, massive web over the chasm that had split the city apart. Some of the strands formed taut, cable-like bridges spanning the gap, while others descended along its walls—down into the very bowels of the earth, the place from which the eight-legged invaders had emerged. Several other groups of spiders—dozens strong and likewise directed by the once-bipedal denizens of the Underworld—were occupied with scavenging for supplies within the ruined city. In the centuries since Diyarten’s fall, the place had grown wild in many areas, and subterranean flora and fauna had proliferated abundantly in certain spots.

And even though a new generation of larger game had not yet emerged in the shattered city, there was plenty of smaller prey to be found. Right now, that prey was being actively hunted down by coordinated squads of spiders. Some of it was consumed on the spot, while the rest was stored for later use. Paralyzed by venom, subterranean creatures—such as molerats, or the snakes, fish, and amphibians inhabiting the city’s ponds and canals—were wrapped in individual cocoons and carried to the main work site; there, inside one of the abandoned, partially collapsed buildings, a stockpile of such "provisions" was already accumulating.

And this work never ceased for a moment. No sooner would one group of eight-legged laborers and their overseers head off to rest than another would immediately take their place. Steadily and surely, the appearance of the ruined city began to change. Rope bridges made of webbing—not just one or two, but many—stretched across the chasm that had split the city, securely linking its two halves. Similar bridges appeared between individual buildings and even spanned entire streets, making it easier for the spiders to navigate the city and reach areas richest in prey. Much of the devastation wrought by the Terror of Diyarten had been cleared away, and the damage his flames had inflicted on the cocoon enveloping the city had largely been repaired.

At a certain point, the arachnid overseers supervising the work along the side wall grew satisfied with their subordinates' efforts and turned their full attention to the web that cascaded like a waterfall of natural silk deep into the chasm. With their assistance—in addition to the bridges already spanning the gap—another structure took shape. Several dozen incredibly thick strands (by these spiders' standards) were strung taut; though comparable in thickness to ordinary twine, they were hundreds, if not thousands, of times stronger. They all converged at a single point directly above the center of the chasm, joined together in a unique configuration. From that junction, several more of these same "thick" strands were lowered straight down into the bowels of the earth.

Once everything was ready, about fifty small spiders and several of their handlers descended the webs strung along the walls, returning to the depths of the chasm. The rest split into two groups: some continued gathering supplies, while others worked to further reinforce the new structure suspended over the center of the fissure. After some time—difficult to track in the sunless Underworld—the entire swarm of spiders and handlers stirred into simultaneous action. The signal was a sudden increase in tension in the strands that ran straight down into the depths of the chasm. Positioning themselves on opposite sides of the rift, the small spiders latched onto the taut, thick strands and began pulling, hoisting something up from the depths using this "web-crane."

This went on for quite some time; their handlers repeatedly swapped out the teams of worker spiders, whose legs moved with impossible synchronicity. But at a certain point, a pair of enormous spider legs emerged from the depths of the chasm, hooking onto its rim. And then, *it* appeared in the underground city.

Just as the arachnid overseers towered over the worker spiders scurrying about, so too did the creature that had emerged from the depths surpass them. In size, the monster rivaled a dragon—young, perhaps, but one that had already taken confidently to the wing. Its massive body was reminiscent of a spider’s, yet far from rounded; instead, it was heavily elongated and immensely ponderous. Eight powerful, long legs struggled visibly to hold its weight aloft—and even then, they required the aid of a dozen weight-reducing amulets suspended along its flanks.

Another pair of long, relatively slender limbs—bearing no resemblance to spider legs and ending in hands with long, thin, clawed fingers—was positioned at the very tip of the creature's bulky abdomen. They held a firm grip on a dozen strands of silk of varying thicknesses that trailed from that same tip. Additionally, the creature possessed a pair of huge, powerful pincers at the front, similar to those of a scorpion.

Just like smaller arachnid creatures, the massive monster that emerged from the fissure featured a humanoid torso rising from where a normal spider would have its cephalothorax, towering over the bulky spider-body. Yet, even though this torso was significantly larger than that of an average orc or male taur, it appeared incongruously small against the rest of the body. Moreover, it retained far fewer humanoid traits than the other creatures; there was virtually no neck, and the head was fused directly into the shoulders. There were more than a dozen eyes arranged in two rows; the top two pairs were exceptionally large, while the others were smaller, yet together they occupied almost the entire upper part of the head.

There was no mouth as such; instead, there was a pair of massive mandibles armed with menacing fangs. Furthermore, two pairs of limbs sprouted from the once-humanoid torso. The lower pair, emerging from the mid-torso, consisted of yet more pincers—though these were noticeably smaller and resembled those of a praying mantis rather than a scorpion. The upper limbs, meanwhile, still retained a humanoid appearance, albeit significantly elongated and tipped with the same slender, clawed fingers found on the rear pair near the abdomen.

The only feature that could reasonably be described as humanoid was the hair. A massive cascade of silky, ash-white hair covered the entire back of the humanoid torso and part of the spider-like body. Without a single tangled strand or wayward lock, the creature’s hair looked as though it had been flawlessly combed just moments before. Moreover, it seemed to stir; if one looked closely, it appeared as though waves were rippling through it now and then.

Having hauled itself out of the bowels of the earth with visible strain, the creature paused for a moment at the very edge of the fissure, scanning its surroundings with its many eyes. That required it to turn its entire humanoid torso. Seemingly satisfied with what it saw, it leisurely made its way toward a spot by the side wall that had been cleared of debris. Smaller, spider-like creatures followed respectfully in its wake, while the worker spiders froze—every single one of them—in place. Pausing before the cleared area and surrounded by its obvious subordinates, the creature scrutinized the site critically for some time, while some of its many eyes flared intermittently with magical fire.

Having finished its inspection, it clicked its mandibles in displeasure and waved a humanoid limb. Instantly, the worker spiders—which had previously been motionless—scurried into action at triple speed. Most of them, accompanied by their overseers, scattered in various directions across the dead city. A smaller group remained behind, dragging over several cocoons containing captured subterranean beasts; the massive monster began to carefully hook these—first with its scorpion-like claws, then with its mantis-like ones—before sinking its mandibles into the helpless prey.

One by one, the monster drained its victims—now essentially reduced to a nutrient-rich broth—while simultaneously setting to work. Its hind legs rapidly gathered the finest strands of silk; a pair of middle legs hooked the threads and passed them to the front humanoid limbs, which then carefully patched the cocoon damaged by the Terror of Diyarten. It was clearly dissatisfied with the work done by the pair of gifted arachnid creatures nearby.

While the gigantic creature that had emerged from the depths was busy perfecting a damaged cocoon—pausing every now and then to "drain" yet another victim—its numerous worker spiderlings, supervised by senior minions, were actively scouring the dead city. Some of them were still hunting and capturing prey, but others were searching for something else entirely.

One rather large group, led by several arachnid commanders—some of whom possessed magical gifts—targeted a large, partially ruined city building. It had once been the home of a wealthy local Dark Elf House and still harbored a potent, albeit wild, magical source. The spider-handlers had to contend with the building's remaining defenses, but they eventually managed to break inside. They immediately set about establishing a lair there—or rather, a nesting site.

Following the main creature, worker spiders that had previously descended into the chasm splitting the city began to emerge. Each hauled a cocoon containing the eggs of fellow worker spiders, which were immediately carried along pre-laid web-paths to the site of a new clutch—the location of the magical source that the elder arachnids were working to restore. There, the eggs would develop faster and thrive.

Meanwhile, other squads of worker spiders, led by their handlers, began scouring the buildings that had remained more or less intact, searching for anything even remotely connected to magic. Naturally, they were drawn first to the largest surviving structures. Yet, gaining entry to most of them—even after the centuries that had passed since the city’s fall—proved far from easy. And in the buildings that could be entered without difficulty, there was often nothing left to take. But the eight-legged visitors from the depths possessed boundless patience and diligence; it was as if they were not spiders at all, but bees or ants. Having breached one of the palaces belonging to the former inhabitants of Diyarten, they began hauling out every amulet, wand, staff, loose mana crystal, and piece of enchanted weaponry or armor they could find—in short, anything that held, or might hold, a magical charge—and dragging it all to the chasm that split the city in two.

All of this was sorted by a pair of gifted assistants serving the leader of the creatures; some finds were set aside, while the rest were taken to one of the magical sources—located within the ruins of a wizard's tower—that the spiders had seized control of near the rift. There, the selected items were infused with energy following a standardized pattern. Anything capable of being turned into an explosive amulet was converted into one. Regardless of their original quality or potential utility—even existing wands and amulets—the items were repurposed exclusively into simple, reliable, single-use weapons.

As soon as a sufficient number of these magical bombs had been gathered, they were immediately woven together and lowered deep into the bowels of the chasm. And they weren't merely woven together; they were linked by a shared network that allowed them all to be activated simultaneously with a single command. The tally of these bombs was already in the tens and steadily approaching a hundred, yet the spiders continued to scour the city—albeit not as quickly as they would have liked.

In one of the dark elf palaces, the defensive system—despite the passing centuries—proved to be still fully functional. And despite all precautions, whether a worker-spider accidentally triggered it or one of the gifted handlers was simply too careless, the outcome was disastrous. Defensive weaves suddenly sprang to life, while amulets and rods embedded in the walls unleashed a simultaneous assault on the unsuspecting spiders. The senior spiders commanding the squad were killed by the initial strikes, after which the worker-spiders—deprived of their leadership—were swiftly finished off. Only a handful managed to escape the palace, which had shifted into siege mode and was subsequently left undisturbed for the time being.

As for the other dark elf palace—which had seemed so promising—the spiders that managed to infiltrate it found almost nothing of value. Evidently, some of the city's elite had survived the fall and returned later to carry off nearly everything; the spiders scouring the premises discovered only the most basic amulets and wands—though they took even those for repurposing.

At yet another palace—arguably the most opulent in the entire city—the defensive wards proved to be not only remarkably well-preserved but also highly complex. Moreover, the senior spiders, having learned from the bitter experience of their peers, proceeded with great caution, causing the process to move much more slowly than they would have liked. The chief entity that had emerged from the depths could certainly have assisted them—possessing, as it did, an abundance of both magical power and skill—but it was entirely preoccupied with other matters.

First and foremost, of course, came the repair of the damaged section of the cocoon. A significant portion of the largely immaterial strands—clearly visible to their creator—was completely unraveled; subsequently, a dedicated group of worker spiders, operating under the creature’s absolute and direct control, spun them anew and wove them into the cocoon’s overall fabric. Yet the creature that had emerged from the depths did not limit itself to merely repairing the damage. Those same worker spiders, directed by its will, scurried ceaselessly across the expanse of Diyarten, weaving ever more strands into the surrounding cocoon—making it denser, more secure, and more substantial.

And not just weaving threads. The monster that had emerged from the depths—having settled in complete comfort right next to the damaged section of the cocoon, where worker spiders had woven it a cozy nest and regularly hauled in fresh prey—was crafting something else besides silk. Using magical artifacts or materials found in the city ruins—items that had not been used to create magical bombs—it worked alongside several arachnid assistants to fashion various amulets. The worker spiders would then distribute and place these throughout the city, affixing them to the side walls and the ceiling of the hall—precisely where the key nodes and woven structures of the cocoon shielding the city were located.

A gifted individual well-versed in ritual magic or witchcraft would have quickly recognized the ongoing operations as preparation for a massive undertaking—one anchored by the very cocoon enveloping the city. Moreover, someone truly knowledgeable in these magical disciplines would have grasped the objective behind the work: the entity that had emerged from the fissure splitting the city clearly intended to sever it from the rest of the world. It was not merely a matter of sealing the chasm—a task for which wave after wave of magical bombs was being deployed. No, the cocoon shrouding the city was meant to enclose the vast underground chamber entirely, transforming it into a colossal spatial void—a pocket dimension accessible or escapable only at the whim of the one controlling the cocoon.

The undertaking was grand and more than ambitious, demanding both immense effort and rigorous preparation. Yet, the latter had largely already been accomplished. The cocoon was already woven and enshrouded the entire city; it merely required densification and some minor additions. There was no shortage of energy, either—Diyarten possessed an abundance of sources, which was precisely why the city had been founded there in the first place. True, many of these sources had gone wild over the centuries, though they had lost none of their former potency, while others remained in perfectly serviceable condition.

All that was required was to bring them into some semblance of order and channel their magical energy to amplify the cocoon's effect—a task also being undertaken by some of the main monster’s arachnid minions. Starting with the minor sources that were easiest to access, they moved on to the more powerful ones concealed within the city’s abandoned palaces and largest buildings. One by one, they channeled the energy along specially woven strands into the cocoon, saturating it and preparing it for the decisive impact.

Work was in full swing and steadily nearing completion. The chief monster—working tirelessly with its limbs—spun threads for the cocoon and crafted an endless stream of amulets; it often used those same threads to weave several components together, imbuing the resulting objects with magic. On top of that, it was constantly gorging itself. Worker spiders dragged over the carcasses of captured beasts—already partially digested—one by one; the monster drained them dry in rapid succession, with ever-shorter intervals between meals. Of course, one could attribute this voracious appetite to the fact that it was spinning its endless threads almost without pause—a task that demanded a great deal of energy.

But at some point, the creature practically stopped pausing between meals altogether; a cocoon containing prey, being slowly drained of its fluids, was constantly held within its mandibles. It was as if it could never sate or quell its ravenous hunger. Then, at a certain moment, the monstrous creature began laying eggs. From the tip of its abdomen—which seemed somewhat distended from constant feeding—a long, sharp ovipositor-stinger emerged near the spinnerets. Plunging it into the carcass of an exceptionally large mole-rat—paralyzed yet still alive, and carefully dragged into position by worker spiders—the creature deposited several dozen eggs, each one several times the size of a chicken egg.

The living incubator was immediately dragged off to a new nest, while another piece of prey—captured in the city ruins and completely paralyzed—was hauled over to the giant monster, which had settled in total comfort within a woven lair; this victim met the same fate as the molerat. But a third batch followed the second. And then a fourth. And a fifth. By the sixth, no suitable living incubator could be found; after all, there hadn't been that many large animals in the city to begin with, and the worker-spider squads had already rounded up most of what was there.

And so, the creature—which never stopped eating, spinning silk for its cocoon, and crafting amulets for it—eventually began laying eggs outside the incubator. Worker spiders would instantly weave a separate spherical cocoon around each new clutch and drag it straight to the nest; there, alongside a source that was already fully under their control, the offspring could develop properly without the need for living incubators. The crucial thing was ensuring there would be enough food for the new workers when they hatched. Yet, that was precisely where problems might soon arise…

For the main monster kept on gorging. True, it did not abandon its primary task, yet at some point, it began performing it almost mechanically—executing the work flawlessly without consciously registering the action. The creature’s undivided attention was focused solely on eating and producing new clutches of eggs—or, to be precise, on the pleasure derived from feeding and the equal satisfaction felt as each batch of eggs emerged from the ovipositor. To facilitate this process, several worker spiders used their legs to continuously and gently massage the rear section of its abdomen, which had grown significantly in size. Meanwhile, one of the senior herders—the smallest and lightest of them—had climbed atop the creature and was carefully massaging the base of the ovipositor itself.

At some point, to ease and accelerate the process, it began grasping the ovipositor’s stinger near the base—the moment a new egg entered it—and forcing it out. And, just as with the feeding, the master monster eventually shifted from laying eggs in clutches to doing so continuously—one after another, with only brief pauses. All the while, it continued finalizing preparations to create the lacuna, yet without even realizing it; its consciousness was utterly consumed by the pleasure derived from two of the most basic, primitive instincts...

* * *

A heavy yet relieved sigh broke the tense silence in the former study of a long-deceased, unknown Matriarch. Closing his eyes, Master leaned back blissfully into the ultra-comfortable chair at the head of the wide desk. Besides him, the room held Violetta and her two children, his pair of priceless "puppets," Nodri, and also Shira and Naidira. The former group sat to the left of Master’s chair—or rather, only Violetta was seated on a sturdy armchair, while her children stood behind her. Master’s puppets stood at his right hand. Well, except for the Petty One; the blonde halfling sat perched in the crook of Bazita’s massive arm—her bare feet dangling—looking for all the world like a small child.

Everyone present wore an expression of extreme tension and concentration; their gazes darted incessantly across the reflections in the five mirrors arranged in a semicircle on the workbench—mirrors that captured the image of spiders scurrying about Diyarten. Among them was the "Chief Neighbor-Spider"—a name Master had bestowed upon the creature for reasons known only to himself. Just as Master exhaled in relief and leaned back in his chair, everyone turned toward him in unison, awaiting an explanation. Yet he simply sat there, leaning back with his eyes closed, remaining silent. Lady Edelhart was the first to lose patience.

"Master?" Violetta asked cautiously.

Opening his weary eyes, he lazily raised his hand; an enchanted silver goblet—filled with water of the utmost purity, saturated with magical energy from the now-pristine spring in the palace dungeons—glided smoothly from the edge of the table into his grasp. After taking several eager swallows and setting the goblet back down, Master straightened up in his chair and pointed to the largest central mirror, which reflected their spider neighbor in the act of draining yet another prey-filled cocoon.

"Victory. The final defenses have fallen, and our dear spider-neighbor’s mind is now under my complete and secure control. Right now, she is focused exclusively on two primal urges known to the rabble as "feasting and fuckinging."

Casting a look of distaste at the mirror, which reflected his spider-neighbor in every detail, Master grimaced and corrected himself.

"Or rather, in that twisted ersatz form of copulation she employs to spawn her worker minions... One could hardly call it full-fledged intercourse, yet our dear neighbor does derive a certain carnal pleasure at the moment of laying an egg..."

Dacius, standing behind his mother and shifting his nervous, disgusted gaze from one mirror to the other, asked with no less revulsion in his voice.

"In that case, may I ask, esteemed Master—did you manage to figure out what kind of creature that is?"

"It's a good question..."

Extending his right arm to the side, Master drew Saya—who had been standing closest to him—into his embrace. With a single, fluid motion, the almond-eyed beauty instantly settled comfortably onto her master’s lap, pressing her entire body against him and purring contentedly. Running his palm over that very body and letting it come to rest just at the lower back, Master spoke thoughtfully.

"Judging by what I managed to glean from its memories, an eternity ago it had been gifted. Most likely human, though possibly with a trace of elven blood—I’d need to dig deeper into her memory to be certain. But she definitely knew a thing or two about chimerology, seeing as she managed to transform herself into… this."

Casting a look of undisguised astonishment at the little spider, Dacius managed to force out, in disbelief.

"She… turned herself… into… this… hideous monstrosity?!"

"From what I managed to gather during a cursory examination of his memory—yes," Master nodded affirmatively.

"But why?!"

"Isn't it obvious?"

Without ceasing to caress the contented Saya, Master cast a slightly mocking glance at the young man.

"For the sake of strength. And power. Yes, I admit, our spider-neighbor’s appearance is now extremely… unappealing. But her Silk Thread School technique is highly skillful and unique, relying heavily on the spider-like aspect of her physiology. In essence, she transformed herself into a natural practitioner of that school and subsequently honed her mastery to an impressive degree… It is a fascinating path in its own right—albeit an extremely risky one that demanded significant… personal sacrifices, let’s call them."

"Turning oneself into a hideous monster isn't hard; any half-trained chimerologist could manage that. But getting the desired result from altered flesh and properly stabilizing it—that is far more difficult," Violetta said, recalling lectures from her days at the Neirat Academium.

"Absolutely right," Master nodded in agreement, never ceasing to fondle Saya's lower back—a gesture that drew envious glances from Bazita.

The slant-eyed killer saw them perfectly well but completely ignored them.

"Just how old is this... her...?" Shira asked quietly, standing at attention.

Both dark elf women were clad in Catcher gear, and they, too, kept their tense gazes fixed on the mirrors resting on the desk before Master.

"A long time… a very long time, Shira… By the time Diyarten fell, she must have already been… like this. And she would have possessed considerable power and knowledge—not only in the School of the Silk Thread but in witchcraft as well. Otherwise, she could never have woven this cocoon undetected… Hmm… I don’t think I’d be wrong to say that she was already centuries old when the city fell… In any case, I’ll be able to determine that for certain once I’ve fully examined her mind and memories. Working with her was such an ordeal…"

Recalling the hardships endured over the past few weeks, Master involuntarily grimaced. Even with all his knowledge and experience, processing and subjugating the mind of that spider-neighbor had proven to be… a manageable task, certainly, but far from a trivial one. And not merely because the creature possessed considerable magical power—on par with a very formidable Master. He could have handled that without issue, especially now that he possessed the Tablet.

The biggest problem was the presence of that cursed cocoon, which had to be constantly reckoned with! Just as he had suspected, the cocoon would indeed react to any outsider who knew of its existence. This meant a grim reality: a single mistake, and the spider-neighbor would instantly become aware of the uninvited guests. Consequently, they had to proceed with extreme caution to eliminate even the slightest risk of detection—something that would otherwise have led to very serious trouble.

For example, there was the inability to leave the couple of rooms Master had managed to shield from the cocoon’s influence just in time. This complicated not only work but also everyday matters—like the simple task of finding food! After all, spending Tablet currency on it turned out to be an act of insane extravagance—just think about it! They were practically forced onto near-starvation rations, since there was no way to hunt for game in the city once the spiders began rounding up the local wildlife.

Yet, one has to admit that, in a way, this cocoon actually played into Master's hands. After all, the spider was a master of concealment—she wouldn't have managed to ensnare an entire city back in the day otherwise. Had she decided to lie low in her lair—hidden somewhere deep within the bowels of the place—tracking her down would have been an incredibly difficult task. At least, doing so without attracting her attention in the process. And without that, influencing her would have been virtually impossible—or at the very least, impossible without possessing some part of her body, preferably her blood. But as it turned out, the spider had never imagined that anyone could not only infiltrate her inner sanctum but also discover her web-cocoon—all while remaining completely undetected.

A fatal mistake. Yes, the spider had very good reason to believe she was safe, but—as the saying goes—Fate and Fortune smiled not on her, but on Master! Still, it was no easy task, especially when the spiders began scouring the city and swarmed into their palace, among other places. But he and his puppets managed to handle it!

As for the puppets, the heavy lifting fell primarily to Saya; time and again, the slant-eyed assassin had to venture into the city under cover—a task she handled flawlessly. Yet, every time she left their hideout, Master’s nerves were stretched taut as a bowstring until her return; losing the last of their two fully functional puppets would have spelled total disaster! And not just because there was nowhere to acquire a new one right away—it would have also guaranteed the exposure of their presence! But with his support, Saya executed every mission perfectly—most notably managing to retrieve a couple of strands from the body of their spider neighbor. And now, at last, they could finally breathe easy…

"Was her defense that good?" Violetta asked delicately.

"Not just that," Master shook his head. "She was formidable, certainly, but nothing I couldn't find the key to. It was just that cursed cocoon... plus, the language our spider-neighbor thinks in turned out to be unknown to any of us. Even Naidira and Shira couldn't really identify it. So, I had to rely purely on perceiving her thoughts directly. And trying to make sense of her thought-images... well, that’s no easy task. There was so little left in her of what you might call 'human' in the broad sense... But in any case, I managed it!"

Wearing a look of unabashed self-satisfaction, Master grinned broadly at the mirror, which reflected his neighbor—the spider, who was decidedly not clad in red and blue. All the while, he didn't hesitate to grope a delighted Saya shamelessly—below the waist and elsewhere.

"But it was certainly no easy task... Especially when her little spiders started overrunning Diyarten and tried to break into our palace, too... We had to work hard to outwit them and keep them from detecting our presence... And then there was that cursed cocoon—we had to constantly keep it in mind to ensure it wasn't disturbed in the slightest... But..."

The smile on Master’s face grew even wider, and open gloating was added to his smugness.

"Even though our neighbor excels in her Schools, she cannot compare to the one gifted with the Greatest Power of the Tablet! Not even in her own lair."

"Especially if the one gifted with the Tablet knows about this little spider in advance," Violetta added in a gentle voice and with a restrained smile.

Turning toward her, Master gave a deliberate smirk and—as much as Saya, who was pressing close against him, allowed—nodded in agreement.

"Well, of course, my dear Lady Edelhart—I did say that I had fully appreciated your assistance. And naturally, yours too, my sweet Saya! You provoked the awakening of that palace’s defensive systems so magnificently, effectively dampening the ardor of those looters! They hadn't a clue what was happening, even without any intervention on my part!"

The almond-eyed assassin from the Far East broke into a smile as wide as Master’s own, continuing to nuzzle up to him under the envious gaze of Bazita, who had not had the chance to prove herself.

"But by then, they had already spent a fair number of highly valuable items on creating magic bombs," Violetta said with a hint of displeasure.

"That’s nothing—there are orders of magnitude more of them left in the city! We didn’t let them loot anything truly valuable. Of course, I had to make a special effort to hoodwink the little spiders in the second palace—where they did manage to sneak in—but it was nothing beyond my capabilities! Especially after I dealt with the web our neighbor’s chimeroids use to control them…"

"Speaking of all that," Dacius said again, pointing to the groups of worker spiders still scouring the city, "it turns out our assumption that her relationship with the Terror of Diyarten was far from cordial was correct?"

"That’s putting it mildly," Master chuckled. "From what I could gather from her mental images, Terror once gave our spider-neighbor a nasty scorching—practically snatching the prey, Diyarten, right out of her grasp at the last possible moment and forcing her into servitude. She was practically oozing venom whenever she thought about that *searing-suffocating-growling-terrifying* entity. I’ll be able to share the details once I’ve properly rummaged through her mind and memories; I’m sure there’s plenty more interesting stuff in there. In any case, something else is the priority right now!"

Rising from his armchair—much to Saya’s annoyance—Master turned toward his puppets and the Edelhart family. Looking incredibly pleased with himself, he declared.

"I didn’t just manage to defeat an incredibly dangerous and powerful enemy! Thanks to him, we’ve secured something I never even dared to dream of before! Not merely a good sanctuary, but a practically perfect one! Once the final preparations for the ritual are complete, it will be nearly impossible for anyone to enter Diyarten without our knowledge! To do so, one would need not only to know where to look for us but also to be someone akin to a Renegade! We will be beyond our enemies' reach, and able to devise a plan…"

Master did not have time to finish speaking, interrupted by the lines of the Tablet of the Soul that appeared before his eyes and directly within his consciousness.

Attention!

You have performed a deed worthy of the Greatest—those who have attained well-deserved recognition!

For countless years, She-Who-Spins-in-the-Dark wove her invisible threads—traps into which countless beings, both sentient and mindless, living and dead, stumbled and perished without ever realizing it. Yet, for every beast, there eventually comes a sure trap. You have proven this beyond doubt, demonstrating that even a spider can find itself caught in a web without even noticing. Claim, then, your well-deserved reward!

Current level completion.

Two free stat points.

Four free talent points.

Three elite tokens:

"Spatial Beacon 5/5" – allows the creator to place a beacon at any chosen location; this beacon remains constantly visible and perceptible solely to the creator. It vastly simplifies the process of opening a portal to that location from anywhere within the current world. The creator must be physically present at the chosen spot to establish the beacon.

"Life Preservation 5/5" – preserves the mind and soul of a chosen target for five standard days following the death of their body—even in the event of its total destruction—provided the effect was applied prior to the moment of death.

"Drop of the Source 5/5" – adds between 2 and 7 points to the chosen target's "Source" attribute, depending on the attribute's initial value. The effect is most potent on individuals who possess no innate magical aptitude whatsoever.

Choice: one elite artifact of your choice, or two random elite artifacts.

Soul Tablet Modifier: "Trials of the Greatest" (Elite).

++"Advanced Artifact and Amulet Handling" knowledge upgraded to "Master-Level Artifact and Amulet Handling."

Attention!

++The secondary knowledge "Master Techniques for Working with Artifacts and Amulets" has been merged with the auxiliary skill "Mastery of Artifact Lore" and transformed into the auxiliary skill "Mastery of Artifact Creation and Use," which encompasses:

Methods and techniques for creating and using artifacts and amulets, skills in working with specialized tools and materials, and ready-made templates and concepts.

Attention!

++The "Advanced General Alchemy" knowledge has been upgraded to "Mastery of General Alchemy," encompassing methods for processing and utilizing new materials, skills in operating complex alchemical equipment, and an expanded list of recipes and compositions.

New lines have been added to your Tablet of Soul.

"Master..."

Violetta’s wary voice snapped Master out of his stupor, and he realized he had been standing there for several minutes, staring blankly into space. Blinking and shaking his head, he gestured to reassure the alarmed puppets—as well as his dear partner and her kids:

"Everything is fine! In fact, it’s magnificent! The Greatest Ones have just acknowledged my victory over our dear spider neighbor and duly appreciated it, rewarding me generously!"

Master’s mind, accelerated and split into multiple streams of thought, rapidly analyzed the rewards he had received, and his already excellent mood improved even further! New talent and stat points are always wonderful! But the other rewards were also outstanding—and the possibilities they opened up were immense!

That very same "Spatial Beacon"! It offers a virtually guaranteed way—given his mastery of the School of Portals—to escape from absolutely anywhere! Placing one in the most secure, protected, and isolated location imaginable is a must; that goes without saying. It is, so to speak, the most obvious option! Yet, that is far from the only way to utilize this gift!

It could prove to be the perfect way to suddenly deploy his precious puppets practically anywhere! After all—and he had verified this three times—using the token didn't require his physical presence at the location. That meant he could activate it while traveling out-of-body as a mental projection—a task well within his capabilities given his current knowledge and attributes. And in that form, he could slip into all sorts of places completely undetected...

Oh, if only he had his precious puppets back—the original lineup, and with the power of the Tablet to boot... Ooooh, that would make his enemies' lives so entertaining! Or perhaps short-lived—it all depends on the specific enemy, and he’s got quite a list of them now! But it's okay; he’ll restore everything he lost—just give him time!

"Life Preservation"— that was something truly incredible! It was practically an insurance policy against death, especially since it could be activated in advance! Master reread the description several times and even asked the Tablet a dozen questions to make absolutely certain he hadn't made a mistake. Then, without delay, he used one of the charges on himself. For anyone else, this likely would have amounted to little more than five days of helpless waiting for a delayed death. But he was no ordinary person!

With his knowledge, strength, and newly acquired attributes—not to mention the power of the Tablet—he would now be able to put up a real fight for survival, even in a worst-case scenario! If he couldn't heal his own body, he could at least attempt to take over someone else's... Wait a second...

His mind, heightened by mental techniques, latched onto a fleeting thought, instantly seizing and expanding upon it. His hand nearly twitched to retrieve—from his spatial pocket—one of the past rewards bestowed by the Greatest; it was something he had set aside for later, sincerely hoping he would never have to use it... Hmm... I’ll need to reconsider that option... Things are shaping up quite interestingly with that token... But that’s a matter for later!

The "Drop of the Source" was perhaps the weakest of the three in terms of practical utility, but when it came to boosting personal power—oh, yes! If only he’d had a drop like that during his years as an apprentice... How much easier and simpler things would have been... Then again... No, no—had he gained such a gift in his youth, it wouldn't have ended well for him! He knew all too well what usually happened to overly gifted young men who lacked the right patronage! Still, gaining seven points of Source right there in his teens... Though even now, adding two points to that stat certainly wouldn't go amiss! And later, he could top it off with one of his two free points, bringing the total to twenty... Yes, that’s exactly what he’d do! As for the remaining charges, he could spend them on his little puppets... Although...

He could reward Violetta, too... as a token of gratitude... Maybe! Later! Once he’s sorted out his current business! Come to think of it, it would be wise to consult her on the choice—one specific artifact versus two random ones—just to avoid any complaints down the line... After all, the Tablets offer such a tempting array of elite goods, yet far from everything there is something he needs right this moment... Anyway, they’ll discuss that once they’ve dealt with the last of the rewards!

Having read the description of the ++“Test of the Greatest,” Master really wanted to start dancing! For this was another, essentially direct, open recognition of his merits and merits! He already proved this when he received the Tablet. This line speaks directly about this! And this gift was another, very pleasant confirmation! From now on, the Greatest will periodically offer him challenges, which will become an additional challenge for his skill and ability! For a worthy reward, of course! They definitely wouldn’t be easy, but Master had no doubt that he could definitely cope with any of them.

Having spent mere seconds processing the reward he had received, Master returned his mind to its normal operating mode and continued.

"And in addition to stat points and talents, as well as a few extremely useful tokens, I was also offered a choice between two random artifacts or one specific one…"

"uuuuurrrrrrrmmmmmm"

A low rumble made Master break off mid-sentence and spin sharply back toward the mirrors standing on his workbench. With eyes wide from sudden terror, he saw dim flashes of crimson light illuminate the crack that had split Diyarten. His mouth falling open, he began to whisper, his voice gradually rising to a scream.

"No, no, no, no, no!"

"What is this?! What's happened?! Master?!"

"It's Terror!!"

Master accompanied his cry by instantly shifting his mind into overdrive and simultaneously abandoning his physical body—which Saya and Bazita managed to catch and lower into a chair just in the nick of time. Yet he neither noticed nor even realized this, hurtling via a mental link straight toward the ancient spider-creature he had only just fully subjugated. Gripped by a rising, primal terror—the likes of which he hadn't felt since shaking off his pursuers—Master cast aside all the painstaking, intricate work he had performed with such care; instead, he seized the ancient spider’s mind using the crudest, yet most forceful and effective method possible. A split-second later, her key puppets were also brought under direct control through her.

Damn it, damn it—why again?! Why couldn't that creature wait just one more day? Why did it have to come back right now? That cursed, useless excuse for a herald—can't do a damn thing, that divine lackey! Damn it, faster, faster, faster—curse you, you goddamn eight-legged freaks!

Obeying Master’s will, hundreds of worker spiders and several dozen chimeroids scurried across the city with redoubled energy. The spider-queen herself, after twitching a few times in her lair, clung to its strands with all her arachnid legs, while using her humanoid limbs to hurriedly weave a new web structure.

*UUUUUURRRRRRRRRMMMMMM*

The ruined city shuddered violently, and the crimson light flared noticeably brighter. Gripped by a mounting, primal terror—yet clinging with a death-grip to the spider-queen’s mind—Master desperately tried to initiate the ritual centered on the cocoon. Damn it—why, why now?! Come on, just a little more... it’s practically ready; the cocoon is fully charged and empowered—it’s time to start. I just need to trigger it... Right, it’s ready—do it, with everything you’ve got! Come on, damn you! Stop fighting me, you wretched creature!

He had to crush the attempted rebellion of the spider-creature—which had realized something was clearly wrong with her—using literal mental blows that crippled her mind, causing the beast’s massive body to jerk several times violently. Yet, Master had achieved his main objective. Yes, it’s working, it’s working, it’s working—come on!

Forced to obey his will—her mind effectively violated—the female spider-creature wove the necessary pattern and, channeling the effort through the cocoon’s strands, poured almost all her energy into it at once; this unleashed a massive wave along the invisible threads—a surge so powerful it became visible even to the naked eye. From the edge of the fissure that had split the city—the site of her temporary lair and the ritual’s staging ground—the wave raced outward in all directions, sweeping across streets and building facades, as well as the chamber’s side walls and ceiling. Watching through the thrall-bound spider as the cocoon’s key nodes activated one by one, Master screamed silently in his mind. Faster, faster! Damn it, why is it so slow? Come on—faster!

*UUUUUURRRRRRRRRMMMMMM*

The underground city shuddered once more—this time quite violently—and a distinct roar joined the rumbling from the fissure. The crimson light grew even more intense, and through the worker spiders and chimeroids, Master felt a searing heat. Damn it, hurry up—come on, blast it! Just a little more... Damn it, the charges!

Realizing in a panic that he had completely forgotten the sabotage prepared by the female spider, Master—with another impulse—made her all but leap within her web. A moment later, via a mental command sent through the control strands, he triggered the magical bombs the spiders had planted in the fissure, detonating them all simultaneously. The deafening roar of nearly a hundred and fifty charges was drowned out by another furious bellow erupting from the fissure as it began to collapse. At the same time, the wave of energy the female spider had launched at the cocoon converged almost perfectly on a critical point of the weave upon the underground hall’s ceiling—directly above the city center.

Master even felt a surge of elation mingled with relief when a massive blob of molten matter—spewed forth like an eruption from a volcano—shot out of the fissure amidst a fountain of debris and billowing clouds of choking black smoke. It then exploded with a deafening roar right above the very edge of the chasm—precisely where the female spider had established her temporary lair.

Searing sprays of magma—incinerating everything in their path—shot out in all directions, engulfing both the swarms of worker spiders and their progenitor. The lair’s webbing and the silken bridges spanning the chasm instantly burst into flames—as did the cocoon that sheltered the city there, for web and fire make a poor match...

Struck by a searing agony—akin to what his decoy puppet had endured during the ambush set to lure the pursuers—Master instantly abandoned the dying spider-creature’s body and writhed in his command chair, desperately trying to extinguish the flames consuming him. At that very moment, a wave of energy reached the cocoon’s central node, triggering the prepared ritual. The entire cocoon flared with light for an instant, and the underground chamber it enclosed—housing a long-dead city—shuddered…
* * *

Name: FORGOTTEN "Master"

Level: 64

Class: Wizard

Specialization: Mind Sculptor/Body Sculptor

Characteristics: 2

Talents: 4

Constitution: 2

Sensitivity: 7

Power: 16

Control: 23

Source: 17

Spirit: 4

Resistance: 3

Knowledge:

CORE/ROOT: "Advanced Mastery of Mind Magic:

Methods of consciousness/personality adjustment (subtle/imperceptible, ordinary, coarse); methods for creating a new personality/consciousness + a wide selection of ready-made templates; methods for combining/mixing individual fragments and/or entire parts of a personality/consciousness; dividing a single personality/consciousness into separate fragments, entire parts, or complete personalities/consciousnesses; methods of working with memories (subtle/imperceptible, ordinary, coarse); methods of degradation/destruction of personality/consciousness (subtle/imperceptible, ordinary, coarse); methods of strengthening consciousness/personality (subtle/imperceptible, ordinary, coarse); methods of direct and remote control of consciousness/personality; methods of partial or complete transfer of one's own or another's consciousness/personality to a new host body or material storage device; methods of transferring one's own mind beyond the limits of one's own body;

AUXILIARY:

"Mastery of control and management of internal energies

Methods of cleansing subtle bodies from extraneous energies; methods of healing damaged areas of subtle bodies; methods of direct application of internal energy (concentration/projection/dispersion/extinction);»

Silk Thread School Mastery:

Methods of creating weaving threads (very thin/small/medium); methods of creating nets/webs (very thin/small/medium); combat techniques of using attacking threads (entangling/cutting/piercing); methods of weaving threads into the target's subtle bodies (inconspicuous/aggressive/neutral);"

Puppet School Mastery:

Methods of creating Puppets (techniques/materials/forms); specializations of Dolls (positive/destructive/protective/controlling/masking/universal);»

Mastery of the Tattoo School:

Application methods (techniques/materials/methods); pattern specialization (protective/attacking/enhancing/healing/controlling/masking/universal/specific);»

Mastery of the School of Branding:

Application methods (techniques/materials/methods); brand specialization (control/punishment/surveillance/liquidation);»

"Master Artifact Skills:

Methods for creating broad-based artifacts (techniques/materials/forms); methods for creating narrow-based artifacts (techniques/materials/forms); skills in working with specialized tools for creating artifacts; an expanded set of ready-made templates and concepts for creating artifacts.»

Mastery of the School of Space:

Methods of working with portal arches of short, medium, and long distances (activation/setting/stabilization); methods of creating portals without a material base at short and medium distances (formation/setting/stabilization); methods of direct movement of objects at short distances.»

Advanced Weaves of the School of Flesh Alteration/Biomancy):

Methods of working with individual organs, major parts, or the whole body (enhancement/change/destruction); methods of transplantation and engraftment of organs, major parts, or the body; methods of restoration of organs, major parts, or the whole body.»

Advanced Alchemy of a wide range:

Methods of working with a wide range of alchemical reagents (common/rare/exotic); a set of alchemical recipes of a wide range (common/rare/exotic); methods of working with alchemical tools;»

SECONDARY:

"Master methods of magical hacking", "Advanced methods of working with artifacts and amulets", "Advanced methods of working with external sources of magic", "Advanced methods of conspiracy", "Advanced weaving of a wide profile"

Oral and Written: Free Cities, Academium Neirat, Northern Kingdoms, Classical Elvish (Dark/Light), Dwarven Undermountain.

Minor knowledge:

"Small Space Dissection" (Elite)

Properties:

"Separation of Thought Streams IV", "Weightlessness of Magic III", "Stability of Magic III", "Strengthening of Subtle Bodies IV", "Blessing of Health and Longevity IV", "Sense of Danger IV", "Mind Without Boundaries I" (Elite)

Soul Tablet Modifiers:

"Access to the Goods of the Greatest IV", "Creation of Group III", "Territorial-Spatial Orientation III", "Spatial Pocket II", "Trial of the Greatest" (Elite)

Tokens: "Mind Imprint 1/1", "Ignored Orgasm 100/100", ++"Spatial Beacon 5/5", "Life Preservation 4/5", "Drop of the Source 5/5"

SPECIAL:

Recognition of the Greatest.

A select few among countless intelligent beings are granted the Power of the Greatest, known as the Tablet of the Soul. You were not one of those chosen ones, but you worked hard to prove otherwise. With your mind, talent, and perseverance, you found a way to gain knowledge hidden in the lines of the Tablets through indirect means. As a reward for finding this path, which will now be closed, and for your perseverance, the Great Ones have recognized your merits and granted you a full Tablet of the Soul.

Awards: Tablet of the Soul, “HIDDEN.”

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http://notabenoid.org/book/86674/599312

Переводчики: Camrad_RIP