7-16

Chapter 7 - The Wholesome Approach

I have to consider this answer carefully. It's probably best if I try for the amnesia route.

"I… don't have any memories from before today. I remember waking up in an alleyway in this city, but that's it. I know my name, but not really much else about this world."

Lin looks at me curiously, "That actually would explain a lot, since you don't even seem to know basic things. Jiejie, do you think?…"

Ai nods in agreement, the both of them coming to a conclusion. "You might have been the victim of a cultivator's issue."

Success. But what does that mean? Tilting my head in apparent confusion, she continues.

Ai's subsequent explanation comes down to the fact that 'righteous' cultivators regularly wipe non-cultivator memories. It's actually the general baseline practice of the "good" sects, when a non-cultivator sees something they shouldn't have.

While it sometimes goes too far, like in 'my' case, it is typically the better deal for mortals.

You know. Since we don't die.

The reason that good sects do this is to maintain a positive image from their pool of candidates and is apparently easy enough to do. Just wiping memories is the "courtesy" to their potential pool of candidates within cities and prevents demonic sects from getting too many "revenge" candidates.

Outside of major cities or with people who have no support, they usually are just killed. There is widespread practice of using people as cultivation furnaces, with both righteous and demonic sects taking part in different ways.

After explaining all of this, she seems to have convinced herself that this is a definite possibility. Though I can still feel her wariness of me through her narrowed eyes.

However, she glances briefly at Lin and gives a gigantic sigh. "Alright. So, what happens now?"

Her eyes look past me, to the alleyway.

"With Rong… dead, we will need to leave this area for a period. Him being here, allowed us to not have to worry about some other residents of the Ways."

Catching my twisted expression, but probably misinterpreting it, she continues "By the way, we call these alleyways, the Ways, for obvious reasons. Moving on. He was a major deterrent and claimed this area as his territory.

Though he was an evil bastard, he still lived here for long enough and had enough sway that no one questioned him on this. We'll have to hide his body, though it is likely already too late and has been seen."

Focusing back on the two of us, "We must find somewhere else, a bit of a distance away. Luckily, there's no shortage of areas."

I attempt to interject "You know, I could always have you guys join me in an inn until we find a new spot."

Lin shakes her head at me, "Remember, what I mentioned before. It really is just a waste of money to go into an inn, when you know the safe spots like we do. Unfortunately, there's been a few shifts in territory recently, so it might be tough, though."

Oh right, I forgot about that. It might be best if I stick with them… in case they need help.

"Would you mind if I stuck with you guys then? I may not be much help, but I can at least keep you healthy."

Lin's face immediately lights up, "Of course!"

Ai immediately crosses her arms, "I don't know about… wait. Why did you agree so quickly, Lin?"

"Oh, um… Well. Right! I'm his bodyguard. Have to stay near him and all, you know."

Clearly incredulous, Ai retorts "Oh really? Maybe it's a bit believable now that you actually weigh something, but before you were basically a stick."

"Well, I thought the same thing, but mainly he just wants me to teach him common sense. And why wouldn't I? Look what he pays me every day!"

She thrusts out her hand, showing a Big Copper Coin. "And he's already paid 20 days' worth in advance." Ai looks at me in a mixture of shock and pity.

"Who were you before this, to give out money like this? Never mind, don't worry about that. I can understand why Lin would help you, if you are this naïve. There's no way she could leave you alone now."

With a sigh, she continues. "At least we won't have to worry about food for a long while. That will allow us to stay low for much longer than I thought we could."

Turning slightly away, "I guess you can come along, though you have to follow what we say. We can't have you endanger us all because of your ignorance."

Of course, I nod to that. "Even with that, though, I'm not sure we can find a place that would be safe enough to keep someone so clearly out of their element around." She appears to be thinking deeply about this, as Lin and I remain silent.

Maybe I should let them know about my taming ability… It seems like the main issue here is safety. I might as well confide in them a bit, maybe they'll be able to come up with some ideas to help.

"Well. There is something else I can do."

Ai's eyes seem to flash before focusing on me again, silent.

"I feel like all of this may have awakened another ability in me." Lin has an enormous smile on her face and seems engrossed in my words.

"I believe I may have the ability to tame creatures." Lin and Ai's eyes light up. From what Lin's told me, this is the type of thing cultivators can do.

"I wouldn't get too excited though, I get the feeling it's only for simple creatures." Totally a lie, I don't want to give everything away.

Seeing a cockroach in the corner, I point to it.

It feels almost intuitive, as I can immediately feel a connection to it. While simple, it feels as if micro-cosmically it's improving its intelligence. Unlike the text of the ability, it doesn't feel like it has made a contract. In fact, it seems like the ability is creating intelligence for it, in lieu of one.

A quick scan of the insect reveals the below.

Wood-Shredding Cockroach

Cockroach - Adult

Partially Contracted Insect: Maintenance Cost is 1 Mana/per 3 hundred thousand individuals (1 human biomass worth)

Maintenance allows for control over individuals/groups and removes need for sustenance or respiration. After initial contract, individuals are still allied to contractee.

Pre-Contract Intelligence Correction:

To prepare for conscious contracting, this insect is being brought up to sapience. When completed, automatically contracted and the terms will be in favor of the contractee.

Complete Obedience:

Huh, this is pretty great! It gives creatures without intelligence it, to allow eventual contraction. Not only that, but it is only 1 mana for 10 people worth of biomass!

Ugh… that's a lot of bugs, though. I'm not really an insect person, in any sense of the word. However, in a world like this, I'll take any advantage I can get. The bug scurries over and I mentally command it to do some silly tricks, clearly out of the norm.

Ai looks at it and then back at me "Okay, we can use this, but how does this help us with finding a new place?"

I can't help but grin at her response, "This may only be one cockroach, but imagine if there were a million of them? Or if this was all flying insects or ants? Wouldn't that make you feel safer, if they were to defend you or attack someone chasing you?"

Ai's eyes light up in understanding.

She speaks aloud, "We could definitely ambush enemies or have a quick getaway with something like this."

Coolly, she points to a hanging, dried, dead rat I didn't notice earlier, "Could you have that cockroach climb into a creature's mouth and get it stuck there?"

Ah. She's a bit scary. She's already come to a horrifying tactic after only hearing this once. Wait, Lin mentioned she's well read, so she probably already has heard of something like this.

"Yeah, it can definitely do that. Though I may need quite a few of them to get through any frantic brushes."

She thinks about it more.

"How about down there?"

She points to her butt.

My own butt clenches in response.

Okay, I am never going to piss this woman off.

"Ahem. I mean, they could try… butt things are pretty tight down there for most people."

With a sigh, she moves on, "Well, okay then. I'll see if I can come up with some more ways to use them."

Please don't.

Chapter 8 - A Web of... Hope?

I'm honestly not sure if it was a good idea to tell her.

Even if Lin is giving me a really excited look. One that screams, I want to swarm someone with bugs.

Wait.

Wasn't she the one that told me to not share things like this with Ai, for this exact reason?

Ai continues oblivious of my thoughts, "Okay. With this, we definitely have a stronger chance of holding our ground. However, we will still need to leave here. There will be too many eyes here and would be extremely risky."

With a glance at Lin, they both begin pulling up stones from the center and corners of the hut. They lift out of the respective holes, what appears to be backpacks. It's clearly an emergency pack they prepared earlier.

Lin with a low voice, "Ai came up with this idea to keep everything in a bag to hurry, in an emergency. I was hoping we wouldn't have to use this so soon, though."

In the corner of my eye, I can barely read the lips of Ai.

I think she said something like "Finally." I'm glad she can put this behind her.

As they continue gathering items, I walk out the house.

Welcoming me from the opposite wall is the spider woman, who I assume to be Gong.

Being able to finally to get a good look at her, I'm able to see what she really looks like.

She has an angled chin, yellow greenish eyes, a small nose, and pale skin that appears almost greyish. Two lines of black chitin along her face, match her wiry, but shiny black hair.

Honestly, she seems like a combination of dangerously sexy and very, very poor.

Covered in what is essentially ragged clothing, the shape her clothes take reveals she is overly endowed.

Where her human and spider body connects, appears to be connected at the thighs. Her legs are the pedipalps. In fact, her body reminds me of an anime I watched, with an Arachne type character.

Regarding her spider side, her body initially appears to be black, shiny, and smooth, but upon closer inspection appears to have smoothed down fine hairs all along her body.

The size of it is close to the size of a first-generation Hummer.

From the little I can see underneath her body, there seem to be larger hairs. All across her body, both human and spider, there are dense, artistic patches of webbing. It reminds me of tattoos a bit.

Honestly, while I'm normally scared of small spiders, her being large makes it not as bad…

Ooo, that's pretty cool. I think her spider feet have tiny paws.

Tiny Paws!

Oh. I'm right next to her.

Without realizing it, I seem to have gotten extremely close to her and have been just staring at her feet. I hear a small sniff above me.

It is also at this time, that I see she is leaning right above me, her generous cleavage right next to my face. As I look up at her, she arches her back, allowing me to see everything due to her loose clothing. Subconsciously, I can't help but gulp at the sight.

"Oops, my bad… did I distract you a little?" she says with a massive shit-eating grin.

Leaning in close, next to my ear, she takes a long sniff and then nibbles on my ear. I stumble backward, a little in fear, but mostly in surprise at the stimulation. Annnd I should probably learn to avoid the giant, sexy spider lady. She's dangerous. In more ways than one.

She slowly climbs down to the ground, now holding a smug, happy smirk. Her carefree and lighthearted voice floats down, as she helps me to my feet "Well, well, well. Look who's actually a big shot." With a small voice, she leans in, "Both healing and taming. Aren't those some big abilities for someone like yourself? People have been taken for faaarr less."

Ah. Shit. Is this blackmailing? I think this is where she blackmails me.

With a finger on my chest, she twirls it in circles before landing it on my chin, raising it for me to look directly in her eyes. "I wonder if your taming ability might work on me, as well?"

She smirks, but is clearly waiting for an answer. "Uh, no… not to my knowledge."

I can see her nose tilt slightly and then a hint of relief.

With a slight pout, she continues, "Pity. I would have liked to be a little more connected with you."

It is at this point that Ai and Lin have come out. Seeing me and Gong together out here, Ai's eyes quickly squint, but then relax. She's clearly come to another internal conclusion. Both she and Lin cautiously approach.

Turning to Ai and Lin. "If you don't have anywhere to go, you can come to my humble abode. I have plenty of room, assuming that you can pay, of course. It should come to…"

She pauses, staring at me, "2 coppers per person. Only requirement though, he has to come with you," pointing at me.

Lin speaks up "Why would you want to bring Big Brother James? He's just a friend that is helping us out a bit." Both my and Ai's heads snap to Lin, but with a look to each other, it is clear she is saying that to protect me.

Though she's not completely wrong. Frankly, if Gong wanted to take us out, she would have no problem doing so. Gong busts out laughing "Hahahaha, that's amazing… I never thought I see something like this."

Lowering her voice, she whispers to us "No need to worry too much, I overheard what happened in your area and thought that you could help to heal some old wounds of mine, if you were able to heal hers," gesturing to Ai.

"As you can probably already tell, this is a pretty enormous deal, but I'm not really sure who else to turn to… especially being what I am." Ai and Lin faces turn to looks of pity at her. It appears this is also a world where people discriminate against demi-humans. Why did that have the be the aspect held in common with fantasy worlds?

"Not only that, but if you actually can tame creatures, that will make my own home safer to live in. So, it's really beneficial for us both, if you are willing."

Ai is clearly anxious, quickly responding, "That seems like it's fair… if that's okay with you," she directs the last portion to me. I can't help but smile at her attempt to keep a handle on the situation, but also to keep my opinions in the decision. With a nod, I consent.

Seeing my affirmation, Gong looks to be getting strangely excited about this. "Awesome! Let's goooo… cough… I mean, let's head out."

That's actually adorable.

Before we head out, Lin sighs and runs up to me, smothering me in a huge, tight hug.

Okay, a little too tight. She's pretty strong now. "Thank you, James. You really don't know how much all of this meant to us."

As she separates slightly from me, her arms still wrap around my back, watering eyes looking deeply into mine, with our faces close, conveying her immense gratefulness.

Almost immediately, I feel soft hands gently pry Lin away.

Ai gives a slight bow and while still holding onto Lin "I agree completely. You've helped far more than you know. Let's bury… him and move quickly though; Gong is looking antsy and we are losing a lot of light" gesturing at Gong, whose image has shifted from a mysterious demi-human stranger to a happy, but impatient little kid.

In what appears to be a quiet and solemn moment, we open up one hole in the house and place the scum's body within. Lin and Ai place a rock on top of the hole, covering it up. I neither push them on this or probe further.

Both Ai and Lin seem to have additional bags, with large amounts of books, from who knows where, on their backs. When I ask them if they want me to carry it, they decline, seemingly happy about their improved strength. They never expected to bring these with them, due to their weight, if they ever had to leave. I can feel Ai and Lin's eyes on me as we head out. It's a prickly feeling that I can't quite place.

Soon after, we leave with Gong.

Leading us down alleys, she leads us deeper and deeper into a darker sector of the alleyways.

As we travel through these areas, I see Lin's and Ai's faces grow more confused. It appears even they aren't familiar with this area. Moving next to Ai, who seems to be the information holder of the duo, I ask her some questions. "So, where do you think her home is?"

Looking briefly at me, she whispers, "She has to be living in The Depths… oh right, you wouldn't know what that is."

Sighing, "The area we've just come from is called the Alley's, with our specific section called the Ways. It is somewhat close to the main commercial and residential areas. The Depths are the areas where most of the demi humans live and work. There are a lot of abandoned housing and workshops out here, since there aren't many reasons to come out this far away from the major city centers."

She takes a breath.

"For a demi-human like her, she probably has to live deep in the Depths to stay safe. This is a tolerant city, allowing demi-humans to live freely within the city and even expand its borders. Because of that, we have an enormous population of them. However, even now they get crushed as fodder for local gangs or clans. Even we don't go near the Depths when certain groups 'go hunting'."

A little dismal from this piece of information, I can't help but feel for Gong and her people. If this is how they are treated by normal humans in a "positive" environment, I can't imagine what it is like when cultivators actively go after them. When I become stronger… I'll make a place for them. A place they can be safe and not be hunted down.

Live life normally.

I just have to get to that point first.

Chapter 9 - Stickin' With It

As we continue on, I get a similar feeling for our group, when I was being led around by Lin in the street. Gong seems to warding off anyone who is coming to investigate.

What gets me in these situations is the tiny non-verbal signals being sent. It's a totally different culture and I'm not sure I'm picking up even half of things not being said. The little I pick up is just based on stereotypes from wuxia novels. And the plot is ever thickening.

Looking back at me, Gong stops the group briefly.

After a quick glance around, she whispers, "Maybe you should hold off on your taming ability until we get to my place. Since it sounds like, you may not fully understand it yet. There are some things around that may not take such actions kindly."

With that said, she continues on.

A quick look at Ai and Lin makes me believe they weren't able to hear what she said.

Lost in my thoughts, our little group keeps moving for even longer.

In fact, even though we've been walking at a decent pace for well over half the night, we apparently aren't there yet… Specifically, we were moving at a fast pace in the Alleys, but as we got further, Gong slowed us down more.

With lanterns of sorts, each of them lit up the surrounding area clearly. The deeper we get in, the more abandoned everything appears… until it just looked as if these were ruins. Within the shadows of the buildings we passed, I could see the peering forms of some demi-humans, as the light illuminated their eyes.

Catching me doing so, Gong whispers, "Don't look around too much. You won't like what you see and they won't want you to either." Following her advice, I continue, no longer looking around.

Lin leans in, "I've never been this deep. All I've ever been told is that there are supposedly dangerous creatures out here. Maybe even spirit beasts."

Ai shakes her head, having heard her "That's silly thinking, Lin. If there were any spirit beasts, they'd be hidden underground. Otherwise, they would be hunted down and killed by experts looking for ingredients." She looks around briefly, "Though with how everything looks, I wouldn't doubt there are dangerous creatures out here."

What I end glimpsing, are that there are actually some forms of plant and wildlife out here. Vines climb some buildings, as trees grow within the crumbled remains of stores and homes. This area hasn't been overtaken by forests or wildlife.

In the corner of my eye, I can even see some demi-human children playing with what appears to be rocks.

As we go past yet another alleyway, Gong stops us all. She immediately stretches herself out, large and threatening. "HIIISSSSSSS"!

Raising her body up, three of her back legs become a blur, as they fling some long hairs I noticed earlier on her abdomen out towards a nearly crumbled pillar in front of us. Like a gust of needles, it lands on the pillar, coating it like a blanket. As soon as the hairs land on the pillar, it shoots up in the air.

Clearly, it is not a pillar.

What it appears to be, is a camouflaged lizard of some sort, that instantly began running away after the first coating of hairs.

Gong continues her hissing until the potential threat has left. Ai and Lin were ready to flee when they saw how she had gotten into attack mode, even when she was faced away from them.

Granted, that was a bit of a scary display. I wouldn't want to face her when she is in that mode.

However, once they saw what she was doing it for, they quickly relaxed. Gong turns around, clearly apologetic about the way she responded. Ai and Lin quickly exclaim their appreciation, especially considering if it would have been able to successfully ambush them.

I can't help but say, "Wow, that was pretty imposing. It's comforting to have you on our side. Thanks Gong, for protecting us." With our two companions giving similar comments of gratefulness, Gong blushes slightly from our appreciation.

She seems to be really weak to genuine compliments.

This happens a few times more, to where I wonder if it is actually safer to live elsewhere instead.

I suspect Gong is searching out encounters in order to get more compliments. Which I will gladly supply, because why not? Though this shows me one thing. Do not. Mess. With Gong.

As if proving my point, two of the offending creatures she searched out, wolf-like creatures, suddenly attack her. A web shoots out of one of her pedipalps and she shoots forward, puncturing it with what appeared to be hidden giant fangs. It throws the other into a wall by one of her legs, snapping out and hitting it at high speeds.

Both seem to instantly die or go unconscious.

Damn, that's some power.

She quickly wraps them up in a web, attaching them to her back and moves on.

After a few more turns and twists, we arrive at her home/lair. It is appropriate, a hole into an abandoned workshop that dives below ground. Covered in giant cobwebs, it is clearly frightening. I can just barely see, now that I'm looking, nearly transparent lines of web going from this hole out back into the alleyways. I personally am intimidated by this.

Lin and Ai look frightened out of their minds. A quick look at Gong shows a slightly dissatisfied look, as she saw Ai and Lin's expressions.

Quickly, she says, "So, who wants to enter my evil lair?"

Oh no, she didn't. Now I have to at least give it a shot.

Immediately, I step forward and say "I will." looking straight at her with an unsteady smile.

It would scare even me going into this. And I expected this! Heck, back on Earth I refused to go into even children's haunted houses. Nonetheless, I think it's important to send the right message.

A little surprised, she smiles and goes in first, welcoming me in. As I go towards the entryway, the webs aren't that sticky. Though, if I look closely, it appears there is a second layer beneath the one I'm walking on, that appears to be a different texture…

Could it be that the walking path is elevated and the sticky part is underneath? Dropped, if enemies' approach… Sheesh, I can see why she's survived so long.

Ai and Lin remain outside of the hole, but quickly follow inside after I go through the entryway. The entryway is actually wider after you enter the initial hole. There seems to be wider straight section, before opening to cavern-like room. Inside, it is spacious and there are fewer webs than the entryway.

She seems to have hollowed out several rooms/tunnels in the ground, supporting it with pillars of dirt/rock. It even looks like she's dug even deeper into the ground, with pathways to other areas. Paths from this room seem to have webs around the entryway, in distinct patterns.

The entire area is lit with small magical stones that are quite thematic. Essentially, she has her own dungeon down here.

Very fantasy like.

I can feel my heart rate increasing from excitement.

This. This is what I was hoping for, if I went into a dungeon. Well, obviously with a party and safely. Though honestly, I may not have ever entered one, even then. If this was an actual spider lair, there are so many ways I could imagine dying unexpectedly in a place like this. However, while I am still anxious in this situation, for some reason I feel I don't have to worry about Gong as much.

In contrast, Ai and Lin look pale. It is clear they never knew this side of Gong. As I think of it, this probably makes her seem like more of a monster.

From what I can tell, their only interactions with Gong must have been in those alleyways, as an informant and potentially guard.

For me, due to reading and seeing monster girls in books, this just seems to be par for the course.

I mean, if you consider it from her perspective, she's just trying to make things more comfortable for herself. It can't be easy living with her large size and such.

Not only that, as an intimidating type of demi-human, she probably can't sleep as safely as other demi-humans (who already have it tough). It's pretty clear these defenses are meant to protect her home. When I look closely at the floor, I can see that there are holes dug, potentially as a pitfall for encroaching enemies.

This really is a dungeon…

Chapter 10 - A Bit of a Stretch

As I continue to look around, I can see a few interesting artistic designs with the webs on the wall.

A few even seem to be a story, maybe like a journal? There was clearly was a lot of work done on them and the aesthetic of the room. Glancing back at Lin and Ai, it is easy to see that the further they get in, the worse their anxiety gets.

They don't seem to see the traps, but the aesthetic definitely is creeping them out. Gong herself seemed to expect their reaction, but also looked a tad disappointed.

Sigh.

It's always the little things that disappoint us. What am I going to do about this… why can't I leave this alone?

Ah, well. This is just how I am.

Speaking up a bit, I say, "Huh, I kind of like this place. I really like this art piece here, actually."

Her face clearly picks up as she looks at me, happy that I'm complimenting her place.

She freezes as she recognizes the piece I'm pointing to. A bit surprised, I look at the one I thought was one of the more detailed designs.

Appearing to be one of the more prominent pieces, the image is framed like a web of stories within a web frame, with a quad of characters as the centerpiece.

Two characters are facing away from the others to the left, with the other two facing each other on the right.

The first character is walking away from the group, oblivious, while the second character appears to be sneaking… pickpocketing the first.

The third character is on the ground, their hands folded and covering their body in defense.

The last character appears to be raising their fist… to strike…

Oh.

I guess this is showing the relationship between Rong, Ai, and Lin, isn't it?

Ah.

As I look back at Gong, it's clear she's still frozen.

My eyes meet hers and it's clear she really doesn't want to talk about this right now.

Yep.

This is definitely what I thought it was.

Her eyes are practically begging me to move onto something else. I nod slightly, showing my understanding. With a silent agreement between the two of us, I move to another piece, but realize… all the pictures must be her journals.

Oh no. This is awkward. I'm honestly not sure how to approach this… Probably should just be honest about how these pictures make me feel. Hopefully that will get us past this situation.

AI and Lin look from the side at the two of us, clearly not understanding the artistic representation of these webs.

Choosing my words carefully, I say, "Gong, thank you for bringing us to your home. I meant it when I said I really like these art pieces. You have beautifully designed them and have a gift.

I'm sorry if I intruded in something personal, by viewing them."

Her eyes blink slowly as if in a daze, "Art pieces?" Her human (and spider) back straightens quickly in realization, as she finally understands how I'm approaching this, to make it so Lin and Ai don't understand it.

"Right! My art. You're welcome… I mean, thank you!" After a pause, she seems to get her feelings in order. "Thank you for apprec-i-tin- --em." Her voice trails off at the end, as she tucks a stringy piece of hair behind her ear. Her eyes seem to shake, not knowing where to look. That was so incredibly cute.

Though, it is becoming clearer on how Demi-humans are typically viewed in this society. So, she's probably not used to compliments. Probably should get back to the main point though, to distract the two over there and not make this even more awkward.

"Sooo. I heard as part of our 'rent', you needed me to heal you?"

Her eyes focus again, glancing downward quickly, before looking back at me.

The original relaxed, but slightly teasing way of speaking reappears, "Yeah, I need you to help fix some wounds on me, that are a bit… inconvenient. Once you get settled in, we can look at it."

Looking over at Lin and Ai, she gestures to one of the nearby rooms.

"You can use any of the spots here to stay in. Most people don't come out here and the other demi-humans know not to come around here." For a moment, she looks sad, "You'll probably be more comfortable near the door."

Continuing, her voice shakes, "I-if you guys want, you can stay as long as you like."

Ai and Lin seem to relax more at this, their apprehensions lowering. They end up taking two of the rooms a bit of a distance from the door, sending a message of trust to Gong.

Seeing this, I can barely catch the emotion in Gongs eyes, as she turns to lead me to her room.

She must have wanted to help them earlier, based on her journal. I can't imagine she can move freely as a demi-human.

If she were to harm a human, that could probably lead to a 'hunt' or something. Not only that, but Ai was already extremely weak and sick. There wouldn't be much she could do. Thinking about it, it also makes sense in how she knew so quickly that something changed with her.

She was already paying attention to them.

As I continue in my thoughts, as Gong ends up taking me to her personal room, which is unsurprisingly deeper into the cave system that she's created. As we arrive, there is another cavern like area.

Within this one, though, there are large pillars of web stretching from the floor to the ceiling in a circular pattern. Each of the pillars are ornately designed, with layers of web as support and adding to the aesthetic. In the center of the pillars is something that looks like a giant, fluffy, and webby haystack. Honestly, it looks amazingly comfortable and fits the room.

All along the walls and ceilings are more art pieces, though these look to be more artistic and interpretive. Going from corner to corner, it reminds me of the Catholic Cathedrals, as she's even added glowing magic stones to some of them, adding back-light, that shines shadows onto different areas or reveals intricate designs. She's even added dyes (of what, I can't tell), giving color splashes to shake up the greys, blacks, and whites of the webs.

"It's gorgeous…" I can't help but to mutter, as I look around the room.

I hear a deep breath intake from Gong.

Realizing I said that out loud, I quickly glance at Gong. She's facing away from me.

"T-this is my h-tch-hummel a-b-bode" she stumbles over her words as she bites her tongue.

Since she has pale skin, it's easy to see how red she is from embarrassment… and maybe the slightest bit of happiness.

She really has a gift for this. I hope that one day, I'll be able to make it so demi-humans like her, can do this freely.

It's a crime to have this artistry unseen. Though, I am definitely biased.

Thinking this to myself, I see her raise up both of her hands and clasp her face.

Suddenly, she slaps both hands on her cheeks with a crisp sound.

"Woah, are you alright?" I ask as I run over to see if she's alright. That must have hurt. She nods quickly, her cheeks now redder than her face. However, the redness hasn't gone away, as it appears, she is about to try something.

"Y-you can sit on the bed, if you want."

Don't mind if I do. There's no way I'm going to give up trying out a bed this comfy. It's clear it isn't sticky, plus this doesn't seem like a situation where I need to worry about my life. As I climb up onto the large elevated bed-like web, she moves closer to the bed as well. Lowering her spider body to the floor, it appears I'm now at chest level to her. She lowers her body to reach eye level with me.

Then she gulps and seems to harden her resolve.

She stretches, like she did back in the alley, only this time she is on the same plane as me. A wonderful image appears before me, as it displays what she has. Now closer, it is clear they are even larger than I thought they were. Her eyes remain on mine as her blush continues. Her continued stare easily brings my eyes back to hers.

The first time she did this, she was more teasing and less self-conscious about it. Now she appears nervous and flustered. If I was a dense guy, I'd probably just assume that she is nervous and planning an important discussion. Since I'm not, it's easy to tell that she has feelings for me. My best guess is that all the compliments have got her feeling something for me. I think she still has something to tell me, but from the look in her eyes…

She coughs lightly after her stretch.

Gazing at me with a puppy faced look, "Do y-y-you like me?"

Chapter 11 - Under the Web

Deep breaths.

Okay. I can do this. Me complimenting her work has probably gotten her interest. She's clearly part of a group that is discriminated against, so she may be curious why.

Okay, remember.

She's curious, I'm curious.

People mistake curiosity as attraction all the time.

Focus on that.

Even if I am attracted to her, she doesn't need to know that. Better to let a relationship progress naturally.

I got this.

Clearing my throat, "I'm very… grateful for the hospitality and to be honest, am curious about you. You are the first demi-human I've ever met, s…"

She cuts me off, as she leans forward, "T-that's not what I mean. Are you attracted to my body?" As she says that, the squeezing together of her arms causes a large crevasse to form, just visible through the top opening of her clothes. I gulp, as my eyes unconsciously drift to… Ah dang, that doesn't help my stance, does it?

She has a wide smile on her face. In a barely discernable whisper, she says, "I knew I smelled it."

Oooooookkaaaayyyy.

Looking more confident, she wiggles around to show off her spider abdomen and spinneret is revealed. While still a little wary about her spider side, it doesn't frighten me now, especially since she just seems like a regular woman.

Well, one that could instantly kill me with a thought.

She looks back at me, staring for a little. Then she twists around so I can see her human butt, positioned just above the connection between the two portions of her body.

Then she slaps it crisply.

It ripples magnificently. I gulp. She sniffs again.

Oh. Wait a second. When she was sniffing earlier, was she was testing the air for pheromones?

With a sure smile, she turns back around and comes close to me.

"Okay, you are definitely attracted to me. You're weird."

Okay, fair… but ouch.

Her face twists, as it seems she realizes how that could come off wrong. She raises her arms and flails a bit in defense, "I mean different! From the others, people, I mean…"

She exhales, recollecting herself.

"So you know, I can tell people's emotions based on their smell." She pauses.

"When you look at me, I can smell that you are attracted to me, with a tad bit of cautiousness.

"Most humans just feel automatic disgust when they see me. Not only that, but they tend to be dismissive. At best, wariness. Only if I display myself as a genuine threat to them, do they feel any fear. It's not their fault, though. There's a curse on all of us demi-humans, where any human can automatically 'know' that we are a demi-human and gives them a deep feeling of disgust."

She looks down.

That pretty much fits what I was thinking. She's probably wondering why I don't feel that way about her.

"Going back to you. If it was only the attraction, that would be one thing. While it's extraordinarily rare, there are perverts who get off that feeling of disgust."

Who are you calling a pervert?!

She suddenly reaches out and grabs my hands, holding them in hers.

"But that's not what concerns me. Not only do you have no disgust, but why are you so kind to everyone? You even have regularly risked yourself, by revealing power after power. It's obviously not in your best interest to do these things, but you keep doing it to help people who have near to no benefit to you."

"Well, that's not exactly true. There's a lot I don't know, and it's not like there was any choice in revea…"

She cuts me off again, "With the amount of money you have and the powers you have, you could easily get into a good position anywhere. You could bide your time in an inn and learn about the world yourself. Even if you had decided to learn from Lin, you didn't have to intervene in their affairs. You didn't have to heal them, either. And most importantly, you didn't have to bring up your SECOND skill when we were talking."

Her voice was raising a bit towards the end, but she softens her voice again.

"But you did. And it was clear it was for our benefit… not yours."

She grips my hand a little tighter, "Not only that, but you came into my home and have been constantly trying to engage with me, even when I already know my home is frightening for even demi-humans, not to mention humans… So, I'll ask you again. Why are you so kind, when it could hurt you so badly? I know you've been told of the dangers and I don't want to believe you are incompetent."

I look down, my eyes resting on our clasped hands subconsciously.

Well, I'd be lying if I didn't say that incompetency wasn't a factor… but I don't think this is the right mood for that. *Sniff* She raises a good point, though. I need to Really consider how and where I show off my powers. I think my main issue, is naiveness. *Sniff* Once I get a chance to relax, I'll sit down and really hash out what I can do to fix this… For her, I'll make an exception on this new rule. *Sniff* Anything that I see in hers, I'll try to fix. She'll be the last one I do like this.

As I think through this, I notice her hands have traveled up my arms.

Her eyes are looking unquenchable as her arms wrap around my body. A pillowy sensation envelops my front. Her head nestles into my neck as I sit in shock. Nuzzling a little deeper, I can hear a long and conspicuous sniff. *Snnniiiiiiffff* "Mmm… this smells sooo much better than disgust."

Suddenly, she freezes… realizing what she's done. Shakily, she grabs my hands and places them around her back.

"Y-you can smell me too, if you want?"

I'm not sure whether to be weirded out or aroused.

A quick look into her shaky, but stimulating gaze answers my question.

Well, I suppose it took going to another world to get a look like this, so I might as well go for it.

As I lean in to continue this strange exchange of sniffs, I can see just into the back of her shirt.

What I see completely stops the arousal train for me.

Wounds after wounds crawl all down her back. Just from a brief look, it is clear that some of them still haven't fully healed.

Covered in webbing, it appears she's been constantly replacing them. With a now critical eye, I look down at her spider abdomen at the webbing covering spots. It might be that she's been covering up all of her wounds with webbing. If so… that's a lot of wounds.

Sensing the shift in my demeanor and apparently smell, Gong pulls away a small distance.

She then notices the spots I'm looking at and attempts to hide some of the bigger webbed areas.

"Hey, don't hide them. I want to help you…"

She pauses for a moment.

Hopping off the bed, I go over to her and grab her hands.

Looking up at her, "Will you let me help you? You already know that I can, just let me try." Her mouth tightens a little, and she relaxes slightly.

She moves her hands and clothes away, to allow me a closer view. Seeing that she isn't resisting anymore, I switch to taking a deeper look at her wounds.

Before touching anything, I just look around at her body.

Now that I know what to look for… it is clear that many of these weren't accidental.

It was torture.

For example, there is a long thick line of web at the area separating her spider and human form. Previously, I thought that was just a design choice. Looking closer, it is clear someone hurt her deeply, acting as if they were severing the two halves of her body. My question is, why haven't these healed? Let me do a quick scan:

Gong

Female, 32

Cursed Spiritual Root - 0

Proficient Languages: Common Speech (English)

Literate Languages: Common Speech, Street Signs (Demi-Human)

Demi-Human – Spider Traits

Conditions:

Racial Curse – Demi-Human

Cannot cultivate or use qi

Automatic recognition response from humans

Deep Chronic Lacerations - Thighs

Mental Instructions on how to direct healing

Deep Chronic Lacerations - Back

Mental Instructions on how to direct healing

Abdominal (Spider) Rupture – Sealed (temporary)

Mental Instructions on how to direct healing

If not healed, will lead to depressurization

172 Additional Entries/subentries

Wow. That's a lot of entries. Though it makes sense, considering the number of wounds she has. Also, she's bigger. So, more surface area… I guess. Not only that, but some of my questions have been answered with this. It really looks like Demi-Humans, as a whole, have been cursed by humans.

Coming out of my scanning mode, I can see that Gong looks embarrassed by my intense looks at her body.

"Most humans automatically feel a strong revulsion toward me, while I felt nothing from you… Are you really human?"

Oh no. Another weak point. That curse affects everyone, not always with revulsion but some kind of feeling. Maybe it doesn't affect me because I'm not from this world… How can I word this so it doesn't sound suspicious?

A little uncomfortably, "I hope so… though I remember little. I feel like I maybe different from other people, at least in terms of how I view things. Though I think everyone should hang out with Demi-humans more, if you represent other spiderfolk." Her face reddens, and she goes quiet. Alright, I think I passed.

Changing the subject, I direct her attention to the wounds just below her hips. "Gong, sorry if this brings back bad memories, but when did you get these wounds?" Automatically, I can see stress lines forming across her face.

I hurry to add, "If you don't want to talk about it that's fine, I was hoping to get some context so I can heal them better."

She is clearly masking her stress and trying to relax, keeping her voice low and steady.

"When I was basically a hatchling, I was caught by some humans. They wanted to see if they could separate my upper half from my lower half, as a joke. Luckily, I was able to get away before they could finish the job, though they managed to cut other parts of me as well from it. I still remember the knives they used, ripping into my skin as they sawed back and forth… I tried to fill it with webbing, which helped a bit, but they just turned into giant sores."

Looking away, she continues, "I would've used medicine, if anyone would sell them to me. I can't even get medicine through black market channels now from humans, since I don't have enough money. Humans make most medicine and it is kept out of the hands of demi-humans," She had her head down the whole time she said this.

Raising it to look at me, "Now you can probably see why I wanted your help so badly. Demi-humans won't get healed by humans and can't get access to anything to heal themselves, so we typically just try to manage as best we can… Until we can't."

She falls silent, but has a hopeful look on her face.

Well.

If I was going to heal her before, now I really can't deny that I want to help.

Alright.

This doesn't change anything. Time to focus.

Chapter 12 - Healing Constraints

"I understand. I want to help ease your pain, Gong, and allow you to live a normal life.

Before I start though, I always ask this. I want you to feel comfortable, that I'm not taking advantage of your trust in any way. I'll have to touch various parts of your body to heal them, and it might be a bit uncomfortable. I promise I'm just doing it to get closer access to afflicted areas."

I pause, as Gong's face wrinkles in confusion and then relaxes as she laughs uncontrollably, pointing at me, "Hahahaha, ow ow ow, hahahaha." She continues laughing, but is seems to get control after quite a while. I hope she didn't rupture anything with that…

"You really know how to surprise me, James. You seem to always do things that no one else does. Please. Use my body as much as you want. Trust me when I say I won't be dissatisfied," she teases.

It appears that with that laugh, her teasing personality came back.

I don't mind this part of her, it's quite nice.

With her permission, though, I begin working.

Starting with the worst afflicted areas, I heal them as thoroughly as possible. As a catchall, I also have the general healing active as I work. While it takes some time because of the sheer number of conditions, it is definitely getting easier to do as I continue. I can overhear her heavy breathing, as different interior nerves are being shifted around.

Once again, I am glad that it is a pleasant feeling for them, rather than the very traumatic screams of pain it would be normally.

Honestly, it's kind of frightening to think of what it would be without it.

Nonetheless, I finally get through the entire list, exempting one condition: the demi-human racial curse.

I'm pretty sure that I could get away with not healing this and in no shape or form would Gong blame me or even know that I could fix this for her. But would I be able to live with myself, knowing that I can heal this?

I'm not sure I'm at that emotional point, where I can disregard this sort of thing. Maybe for someone I don't know or feel close to. However, I've let myself get close to Gong.

There's no way I could live with it, seeing the person she is.

Hoping that she won't notice and that I can tell her later, I place my hands on her stomach, just below the navel. Slowly inserting my healing energies, I can feel it travel into something and then around her body.

Once it has passed through two other areas, I can feel something released and the condition removed. Before I can even heave a sigh of relief, Gong immediately looks at me with a fiery intensity.

"What did you do?" her voice quiet, but with urgency.

Gulp.

"I… uh… healed you."

Her body raising up, she towers over me, "Don't play around with me. I know you changed something radically different, I can feel it flowing around my body. Don't tell me. It was something to do with my ability to cultivate, wasn't it?"

With her showing such an intimidating and honestly frightening figure, I can't help but meekly nod.

With my answer, her legs practically crumple to the ground. She just sits there for a period.

Suddenly, she looks up sharply, staring at my face. Feeling awkward, I almost say something, but the look in her eyes is clearly telling me to stay quiet. She grips her hands around her head. "Ughhh." Then she paces.

Back and forth. Up and down.

You haven't experienced anxiety until you've seen an irritated spider woman, the size of a 1998 Hummer H1 four passenger wagons, pacing around a room on the ceilings and walls.

After a few minutes of this, she finally stops in front of me.

"You."

I sit up, straight as a rod.

Her eyes narrow. Then, points to the bed, "Sit."

I sit in that bed, the fastest I've ever moved. I may have even broken a record.

Back to Gong, with a hand on the bridge of her nose, she looks like she is dealing with the conundrum of a lifetime. Which, considering the enormity of my actions, is quite warranted.

Finally climbing to her feet, she seems to have come to a decision.

Coming closer, she raises her hands… and gives me an enormous hug.

If the previous hug was one of attraction and curiosity, this one was one of intimacy and gratefulness. Cautiously, I reciprocate the hug and embracing her. As we sit there for a period of time, she heaves a sigh and begins speaking.

"Thank you, James. You have truly changed my life and other's lives in ways that you can hardly imagine. You've healed me of so much pain, that I've had­­ to bear with since my childhood. I feel so much stronger, healthier, and honestly saner than I have ever had. In some sense, I feel you might have even helped my heart, a bit."

She pauses and biting her lips in thought, but then opens them, "To be honest, other demi-humans and I have a deep mistrust of most humans. You helped immensely with that, not only because of your reaction to me but also your non-discriminating kindness.

Since I saw you, I couldn't help but want to know more about you. I've always dr…"

I can feel her head look over to a corner of the room and she quickly coughs "I mean, I've always thought about what would happen if there were a human like yourself that would be willing to associate with demi-humans. Equally."

She separates from our hug and looks passionately into my eyes.

"You were much more than just that… and this only reaffirms how much more you are, than I could have ever hoped to imagine." Gesturing to her now non-existent wounds "I don't think I will ever be able to repay you for this. No matter what I do."

Leaning back in quickly, her face blushes as she surprises me by shyly kissing my cheek. Releasing me, her own are aflush.

She quickly turns away as I sit there in shock.

I'm ashamed to say it… but that was the closest to a romantic kiss I've ever had in my 27 years of life. Wow… So, this is what I've been missing. I have so many regrets. Healing her is DEFINITELY not one.

However, she doesn't turn back around after that. Standing there, with her arms wrapped around herself and appearing to be a bit smaller.

Just when I am about to speak up, due to the growing awkwardness, she finally turns around, her body seeming to grow as she rotates. What she reveals, looks like a different side of Gong, that I haven't seen yet facing me.

Her face stern and hard.

Her stance… reminds me of her battle stance!

"You've messed up, though."

Casually raising one of her hands, a stream of web shoots out, pinning me to the bed. The only part of my body that I can move is my head now.

Ahhhhhh shit. Is this the betrayal arc?

Chapter 13 - The Lesson

Nonchalantly, she creeps next to me and sits her main body down. My body completely immobile, I attempt to wiggle out of the webs. It feels almost like I'm wrapped in a strangely silky and comfortable steel blanket.

Moving her human body right next to my immobilized body, she lays her head onto my web covered chest. "Ahh… In its own way, this is nice." She seems to relax a little.

Oh no. I really hope this isn't raising any flags.

Continuing irrespective of my thoughts, she speaks in a normal tone that feels like a shout to my ears.

"Do you know how you messed up?"

Well, I can think of several reasons, but I should probably mention the obvious one. "Is it the fact that I healed something, that could never have been healed? Let alone without cultivation?"

A relieved and blooming smile crosses her face, before quickly disappearing.

"Well, it appears you aren't completely ignorant. Though, you only have part of the reason." She moves her human body further up mine, with her head just below my chin.

I'm not totally sure I could stop her if she goes into full capture mode on me. While I don't feel like I'm in danger with her, this still feels intense. Let's hope that my intuition on this is right.

"What you may know, is that every single demi-human has a racial limit put on them. What you are mistaken in, is that no living cultivator that I know of, is able to remove this curse.

"With the curse removed, not only are you able to let demi-humans now cultivate, they may no longer have to worry about their children inheriting the curse.

"Even if the children end up inheriting the curse, you have now shown that you can repeatably heal this condition with little to no effort or resources. Keeping in line with this, you are practically a normal human, physically at least.

"With no cultivation.

"It was trivial for me to contain you. As you can probably tell, I could do what I want to you right now."

As if giving an example, she easily rips away the webbed portion from my hips to my thighs.

And lays a hand there.

"If I were a… o-oh that was fast… If I were a selfish woman of my race, you know what I would do?" Blushing, but continuing with her current way of speaking, "I would mate with you, after restraining you. Over and over and over again."

Gulp.

"I would make you heal each generation of our children, making sure they were perfect in every way. I would make it so that eventually, you wouldn't want to do anything else, but be with me. I'd take care of your every need, making sure you were as happy as possible… in captivity, of course."

Using her other hand, she twirls a finger on my chest.

She pauses, contemplating her words.

"When you healed me, I could tell… you've removed any defects I've had, even from birth. I used to have a tiny pad on one of my back legs that had a bump. It made things a little uncomfortable, but not even slightly hindering. I can tell it's gone now…

"If you can get rid of something that miniscule, without even asking me about it, that means you could identify at least most of my defects and fix them. Eventually, I would get a cultivation method and escape underground, teaching our children cultivation so that generations later, they could rise and potentially escape from their human oppressors."

She gives me a serious look, "Don't take all of this the wrong way, I'm just speaking hypothetically, of course. I wouldn't ever go that far…"

…

…

"Probably."

Looking up at the web design covered ceiling, she continues, "I want you imagine that, but with someone who isn't selfish, but is focused on the needs of their entire race. You would be strategic potential, being able to provide a way for countless demi-humans to rise against their oppressors.

"From what I've seen of your healing, you'd be able to heal them when they fought to near death.

"Honestly, I'm not even sure if you know how far your healing could go."

With a sad laugh, she continues, "Don't think that you would be able to easily resist either. There are many ways to control people, not just with this guy," she pats my dick.

"There are plenty of mind control methods that work with talismans on regular people. I could be wrong, but I don't believe you have a way to resist them either. That's not even including torture or other methods…"

She gives fake smile, "Of course, there is always the chance that someone could try the pleasant way and give you everything you want in exchange for your services. At least, until someone powerful finds out and tries to snatch you away or… you refuse to heal someone."

She tightens the web with a finger on a single thread. "Now all of this… all of what I've mentioned, is only non-cultivators." A shiver runs down my back as she reminds me of the world I now live in.

Right. Everything she mentioned before would be expected in a dark fantasy type of world, something I'm familiar with.

However, cultivators are a different breed entirely. If I could make countermeasures against demi-humans, cultivators are those whose power levels that you will never see the end of.

Soul binding, body stealing, and any number of forbidden techniques are available to them.

I believe "courting death" would be the correct term for that sort of situation.

"You appear to have understood the gravity of this situation. If you consider this, in addition to your other abilities, there are several people who would and will take advantage of you. That's not even including those who would be wary of a demi-human uprising…"

Her hands grip around my little man tightens, seemingly unconsciously.

"I'm actually scared to imagine what they would do to you, if they found out about your abilities. I could immediately find out about what you did because I've never experienced Qi before as a resource. Only as a way to hold my body together. The change in its circulation through my body was immediately and easily noticeable, because of the way our bodies work."

"If I could find that out, imagine how quickly others will discover it?" She then cuts away the rest of the surrounding web.

"If you want to survive out here, be smarter. I will look out for you and be working out ways to protect you, but I need you to be smarter about your abilities." She quickly gets up, turning around and removing her hand.

After a moment of collecting herself again, she moves back to me.

"You should also consider, if you can heal curses that have prevented cultivation, what about those with crippled cultivations?"

Pause.

"Get out of your savior complex. As gratefully as Ai, Lin, and I are, you are weak. Learn to survive first. Use your power both tactically and strategically. Then you can help people."

Cutting away the rest of the webbing, freeing me, she then quickly turns around and walks out of the room, leaving me to consider her words.

Chapter 14 - A Common Sense

Sitting on this bed, still a little in shock from everything she's mentioned… it's easy to see that even my earlier commitments and thoughts on what I should do, were too shallow.

I need to take the time to come up with real strategies on how to hide my strength and survive different situations. To do that, I need to know where I stand right now.

I pull up my information:

James Delinion

5 Rose Man–Spiritual Root

Mana: 159/160

Taming Maintenance

1 mana/ 1 human biomass – no cultivation

Transferred Gifts:

Passive Scan: Max

Active Scan: Max (Increased Strain)

Healing Aura: Level 3 Exp: 159/160

Beneficial Taming: Level 1 – Exp: 0/10 rounded down

1 xp per 1 human sized biomass – no cultivation, tamed

1 xp per 1 human sized biomass – no cultivation, under direct control per day.

Current Direct Tames

No cultivation/no contract

Cockroach - 1

Healing Constitution

Proficient Languages: Common Speech (English)

Literate Languages: Common Speech

Okay, it's a little frustrating that I'm so close to a level up… it looks like I will need far more insects to make this work.

Wait.

It appears the bigger the creature, the more xp is given. Well, at least for non-cultivating creatures or spirit beasts. So, it might be pertinent to choose bigger creatures.

I mull over this a bit.

No, that might not be the best idea. If I'm going to stay under the radar, I need to choose creatures that are small and can be spread out better.

Or to put in "Ai terms," can easily get into small places.

This makes me curious though… How small CAN I go?

Picking my teeth, while thinking, I use my scanning ability to see what microorganisms I can find. I immediately find that I cannot tame these microorganisms.

However, as I dive deeper into the reason, I find out something quite shocking.

These micro-organisms have absorbed the qi of the world and cannot easily absorb mana because of their limited capabilities.

It is still possible, if they haven't fully absorbed the natural qi of this world!

Urgently, I scan for any signs on my body of microorganisms that haven't completely absorbed qi.

While doing so, I subconsciously flick away the piece of food stuck in my teeth.

Which, of course… was the only positive reading on my entire body!

Desperately, I drop to my knees to search for the piece of food. After a minute or two of this, I realize my stupidity.

Getting to my feet, I then do an area scan for the food and creatures, which instantly provides the location.

Sigh.

Picking up the tiny piece of burger meat, I can see the outline of a small hair in the meat.

Well, this is nasty.

I tame the creatures immediately. After I'm sure I've tamed the bunch, I look at the below information from my now detailed scan:

Deinococcus Radiodurans

Microorganisms – Bacterium (1463 bacteria)

Barely Contracted Bacterium: Maintenance Cost is 50 Mana (Pre-Complexity, Pre-Intelligence) / 1 human biomass (2.4 cubic meters) worth.

Maintenance allows for control over individuals/groups and removes need for sustenance or respiration of any form. After initial contract, individuals are still allied to contractee.

Pre-Contract Complexity Correction:

To prepare for contracting, this bacterium is being changed to handle both qi and mana. When completed, automatically contracted and the terms will be greatly in favor of the contractee.

Pre-Contract Intelligence Correction:

To prepare for conscious contracting, this bacterium is being brought up to hive-mind sapience. When completed, automatically contracted and the terms will be greatly in favor of the contractee.

Complete Obedience:

Extremophile Regeneration:

Noticing the large 50 mana cost, I check into it and see that maintenance will change to 20 mana once fully contracted.

With such a large upkeep, I'm sure it will turn into something great… right?

Well, I can at least feel something is happening with them. In fact, it's feels as if they are replicating constantly now. I'd definitely be okay with a giant sentient slime creature, if it turned into that. Though, it would be nice if it was humanoid shaped.

Nonetheless, this looks like it is a long-term project.

From here, I think on previous situations I've gone through since I've been here, like with the old man. In a cultivator world, everyone worth anything will have spiritual sense.

The real question is: To what extent does spiritual sense penetrate the mind and body. If it does a full scan, revealing everything, then I might be just be screwed.

However, if I am to use the old man as a case scenario, it appears he just had a general idea on my abilities, based on my intention at that point in time. It is possible that he could get a full read on my abilities. Considering Gong's reaction to my abilities, I would have gotten a much stronger response from him.

Most likely, spiritual sense users can easily read either my mind at that moment or my intentions. If something like that happens while I am looking at the scan sheet… they could know everything.

I never was one that read or watched mind game or telepathy-based novels, so I'm not really sure of the best countermeasure for this.

What I do know is that I only felt a prickling feeling when he did it… and that his eyes appeared to be seeing right through me. I also felt it a few times since that meeting, but luckily it had stopped before I had healed Lin and Ai.

Though it could have just been my imagination. There is always the possibility he was allowing me to know he was 'listening' in.

Since I don't know when or if I'm being observed, limiting information might be the best method to combat it.

If they don't know that I can go further, it will allow me to catch them by surprise, in terms of information warfare.

Thus, I worked the scanning ability to provide only enough information to understand the situation, but not enough to show that it is anything more than strong intuition. Only for urgent or special situations will I pull out the full ability.

Now, a screen won't show up, but I can still get an idea of what I'm viewing.

To practice, I look at one of the webs nearby. I feel it is an extremely strong web that could be made anywhere between extremely sticky or non-stick, potentially even water repelling. As I look at it closer, I can see a sheen on it, showing this kind is the water repelling version.

I can work with this. I also believe this might allow me to come to conclusions in a more conducive way. I've been getting lazy, relying on this all the time and not worrying about the consequences.

As I continue to test this in different ways, I'm able to find a fresh way to use it. Extrapolation.

Intuition.

This version of scanning has an almost negligible strain on me. I'm able to use the intuition to come to conclusions about other events, pushing the ability slightly to verify what I come up with.

While not exactly predicting the future, it allows me to get an idea on what might happen or be happening, without blowing up my brain.

It's easy to imagine how I could use this in combat, if I train in combat. I feel like if I just relied on the original scanning aspect, I would have come up with this far too late.

Already Gong's advice is paying off.

Next, I want to consider my healing abilities. This one is harder to obscure. I first try to consider whether I can use my healing abilities to cause damage in myself, while healing others.

The idea behind it would be that I'm using my "lifeforce" to heal others.

Unfortunately, I've discovered that neither my constitution nor healing aura allows for that.

They distinctly only heal beneficially, optimize, or purify. Which also cuts out any healing-based attacks.

So, just wantonly overpowered healing.

Great.

Chapter 15 - Listening Skills

With the healing attack option gone, I now have to come up with other ways to hide my healing, since I can't use it offensively. For non-cultivators, I will probably have to go with a combination of the low tier scanning and subtle healing.

If I consider the method that requires the least material and "reference knowledge," it might be the qi-less acupressure method.

With my scanning ability, I'm able to pretty easily tell where the points are on the body and how it reacts to different points. Unlike on earth, meridians and dantians seem to have a distinct and measurable effect on the body.

So, from what I can tell, acupressure actually seems to have a huge effect on the body and it can nourish how internal qi is used and absorbed.

My plan is to use those different points to generate effects and then inject healing energies into them to further amplify them.

My skill will, hopefully, explain away any additional healing. I'll have to consult with Lin and Ai on whether the methods I'm using are workable in this situation.

In addition, I will have to restrain myself in what I heal. If someone off the street has a serious condition, I will have to ignore it. Especially, if there is no way that I could know or solve it without using non-cultivation-based methods.

From this point on, I will have to truly hide my true strength. Otherwise… well, Gong said most of it. I may also use other methods, like acupuncture and concoctions that don't require qi infusion.

Explaining to Gong how I know all of this will probably be pretty tough.

For my taming abilities, I believe I can mostly stay the same.

However, I will need to come up with 'training and taming' methods based on scans of the creatures. I definitely have to take the entire process slower and use food as a taming tool.

This will hopefully disguise my taming as a real, but skilled process.

At each step I will have to perform the optimal actions, as if I were a simply a genius… and not an aberrant with the ability to just 'take over' any creature, willy-nilly.

However, I believe I desperately need to come up with worst-case scenario abilities.

Ones where I don't have the luxury of hiding my abilities, but need to handle the situation. I will call these the escalation measures.

I will focus the escalation measures on three different situations, in order of escalation:

Escape, for when I need to get out of a situation immediately, but not kill anyone.

Survive, for when I need to either defend or hold down a position long enough to accomplish an objective.

Fight, which will be when I have no choice but to completely throw away defense and fight with everything I have.

Focusing first on escape, since I already know that I can use the scanning tool to get information about an area, I attempt to use it for mapping. Instantly, a map is generated of the cave system.

It's actually quite cool, being 3d and able to zoom in and out. However, I barely have it up for a second before having to shut it down because of horrendous brain pain that brings me to my knees.

After holding my head in my hands for a bit, for what feels like an hour, the pain finally recedes. Bringing the ability to the lowest level I can imagine (for what I need), I can sense the 'right' direction to head in, to get away. This level of the ability takes almost no energy.

Taking it further, I can get a ghostly string that leads me to my goal. This makes me feel a bit of a strain, but not to a point where I can't keep it up constantly. I am reminded of the scanning ability's description, which allows it (like a muscle) to get stronger with strain.

Interestingly, as I use it with different areas as waypoints, it shows the string heading there.

What is pretty nice about it, is that it takes my intent into play.

If I don't want to worry about how I get there, it will go over objects.

If I do care, then it will go around.

This reminds me, maybe I should look into free-running/parkour… Changing the appearance of the string, to my body form, it appears as if a shadow of myself is going through the movement on loop.

I try to follow through on a vertical wall run and barely touch a third of the way from the floor to the ceiling. From what I can tell, it takes my current abilities into play. However, within a minute or two of this… only enough for one try, it becomes painful to use.

After doing this, I try to heal my soreness.

Ah.

This should have been quite obvious, but now the headaches haven't gone away. However, if I remember correctly, the damage from the scanning ability can only be healed over time. While I feel that all other types of brain damage could be easily healed by my ability, this form seems to be different.

It would have been nice to have the pain lessened by the overuse, though.

Continuing on the path of healing, I've realized some key points about how to improve myself. With a quick test, I do some intense exercise. Squats, pushups, heavy running, pull-ups, etc. Using all of my body's energy, until I literally collapse on the ground in pain. This takes several hours to do. However, even as I rest for a minute, my strength comes back. This should be impossible for me, especially since I was someone who literally couldn't do one proper pushup without getting out of breath. Is it possible? My body must be continuously optimizing itself. Not only that, but when I expend energy, I'm recovering at the same time.

Another frightening, but also reassuring realization comes across me. It's barely been one day since I've come to this world… If I improve at this rate, what will I become a month from now… or a year? This isn't even considering cultivation or the like.

Taking another look at the wall, I consider how I can leverage my new abilities. Maybe I should look into parkour. The assumption I have from most cultivation novels is that only martial arts experts can perform such actions without experience, without qi.

Using my scanning ability at the hint of a shadow level shows exactly what I need to do to complete certain movements.

Taking this concept to the next level, I attempt to "shadowbox" and have a shadow enemy make an attack at me. I'm able to keep the shadow up for the tiniest bit longer than before.

If I focus on the intuition side of an enemy attacking me and reduce the "shadow," I believe I can have my reactions be instinctual.

Well, only if I'm able to tie the ability directly into my subconscious reactions. I might have to train with Lin or Gong for this.

A variation on this has that I can use it as a spiritual sense of sorts in an area around me. By pulsing the ability, I can get a general sense, as if I had looked all around me, imported directly into my brain.

This can likely be helpful for situational awareness. Surprisingly, the pulse doesn't put too much of a load on me and seems to pass through objects.

Currently, I can do about a 10m radius without an issue. If pushed, I can do up to 50 meters. If I keep the 10m radius constantly on, I can run it for about 3 minutes. If I make it linear, I can send it much farther.

This brings up my overall concept as a cover, though. If I can establish myself as a natural genius, that just "intuits" unfamiliar concepts or actions, I might be able to hide my abilities better. The key will be to have all of my abilities lie at the base of my subconscious, instead of overtly.

With these ideas as a good starting point, I collapse back onto the bed. My thoughts filling my mind.

I don't know how… But I've seemed to have found some fantastic people. There's Ai and Lin, who were being abused by their father, but somehow fought for each other and still was open to including me in their group.

Though, the money and saving their lives probably had something to do with that.

Then there is Gong, who definitely has been hurt… over and over… by humans like me. Even if I smell differently… It still takes a lot to still care about people after going through something like that.

I can't forget that old man, as well. My journey might have ended before it began, if it wasn't for him.

I don't know.

I feel as though there are a lot of good people in this world. People who have been put into a really shitty position. That if you can somehow open their hearts and surprise them with kindness, they'll respond in kind. If only because they want to pay you back.

At least, that's what I want to believe.

Even though I know not everyone is like that… I still want to approach everyone the same way. With kindness and keeping that hand outstretched.

With that in mind, I must still be wary though. There are twisted, evil people in this world, just like my last world. I must be cautious and keep my eyes out for anyone trying to take advantage of me. I need to take Gong's words seriously. Though, admittedly… it's difficult. I want to believe that people can be good, if you only show them good first.

Even the best of us can be tempted by money, desperation, and power. People can also change. At the very least, I'll choose to believe in Gong, Ai, and Lin, though. If only because I don't want to imagine what it would mean if I couldn't.

For those of a higher status or cultivation, I'll have to be careful. Like the old man had mentioned. The best thing to do right now is to avoid them…

Sigh. So much to think about.

With all of this in mind and only a few hours left in the night, I decide to turn in and get some sleep. There are more overt techniques I can come up with and I don't feel the slightest bit tired (likely due to my Healing Constitution), but I'd like to at least feel like a normal human, and sleep at night. I force myself to fall asleep.

Chapter 16 - A Better Approach

Waking up, I can see that there is a fluffy web blanket on me.

This likely was made by Gong. That was really sweet of her.

I wonder where she slept for the night…

It appears that once again; I am alone in the room. Seeing that there have been no other changes to my surroundings, I direct my thoughts back on how to handle survival and fighting situations.

Using my scanning ability to figure out the best way to move, I find a pleasant variation on my ability, which can visualize a motion in action. It still looks like a shadow of my body performing the action; however, I am making the movement more subconscious, rather than mostly visualized.

After a few minutes of this, I get the slightest of headaches. I decide it would probably be best to use this in short bursts, but every day, so I can build the ability further.

With these kinds of abilities and the changes I can make to them, this only reaffirms my decision to appear a natural genius. If I can make it seem and feel as if I am just reacting or intuiting any actions, it will make it seem less like something I can consciously control.

Moving to my taming ability, I use my low-tier scan just beyond the walls of this room to see if there are any creatures nearby.

I find multiple clusters of insects within the walls of the room.

I attempt another plan of mine.

Let's see, if I can try to connect to all of these at the same time… There, it worked!

Successfully, I tame them all and have them draw out of the 'woodwork'. Like an emerging slime, a stream of tiny insects crawl from beneath the walls and floors. Behind them, larger insects accumulate and dig their way out.

It comes to around a half a person's worth of insects. However, it's really slow…

Ah… I was really hoping for a flood of insects to quickly come out of the ground and swarm onto anyone attacking me. However, it takes about a minute for them to move around 3 meters. So, it's unlikely that I'll be able suddenly have them shoot out from the walls. Wait a second though…

Coming up with an idea, I attempt to extend out my intuitive level scan for about a 1000 meters worth of distance throughout the cave.

A couple of meters deep into the cave walls along the path, I tame every insect and tell them to come out of the walls.

Then I sprint. Moving along the path, it's frightening to see them flooding out of the walls, as I run deeper into the cave. Anyone chasing me would run into the converging insects.

Having a bit of fun, I try to reenact a Christian biblical move, of the waters closing on an Egyptian troop, as they chased people through the parting of the Red Sea.

The waves of insects begin to close in on me, even as I run away from them.

Now this is what I was talking about! I can defin -OOOF-

Before I can reach the end of the 1000 meters, I am suddenly tackled by Gong. She goes into full attack mode, spraying all around in a 360 motion, a sticky webbing. This stops nearly all of them in their tracks.

Sensing my intent, the rest stop in their tracks. Holding me closely to her chest, it is clear she is defending me. My face muffled into her chest; I try to speak. It is actually quite difficult.

Before I can coherently finish, her grip loosens as she sees that there isn't any real threat.

A familiar scene awaits me as I move away from her.

Fingers on the bridge of her nose, "Don't say it. Let me guess… You were practicing your taming, and it got out of control?"

Ah. Should I lie and say yes, or should I just own up to it?

Sigh.

Yeah, I should just be honest.

"Not… exactly. I was doing a bit of testing, that got out of hand. However, I have full control over them." As an example, I have one of the more prominent bugs lift its body and wave.

With a stare, she says nothing. It gets more awkward by the second.

For what seems to be a constant reaction with me, she sighs.

"I honestly don't know if I should be happy or frustrated with you, most times. Like thunder from a clear sky."

Looking at the clear holes in the walls, above, below, all around, she directs her attention back to me with a smile. "Definitely frustrated."

Ah shit.

After a long morning lecture, I end up spending the rest of the day collecting all the bugs out of the sticky web. This was not only for cleanup, but to save the bugs for my tiny army.

None died to asphyxiation, since they didn't need to breathe, anyway. I'm pretty sure I may have accidently crushed a few, though. After a while, I could get the others to pry the rest out.

While I did that, to correct my clear pin-holing of her cavern's walls, Gong reinforced all the walls with more webbing, to prevent it from destabilizing.

She seemed to have done it relatively quickly, but was focusing on a small portion of the wall for almost the entire rest of the time. When I sneaked a peek, it looked like doodles.

While doing cleanup, I had explained my idea to her, which helped ease her annoyance. It still pisses her off a little, so she ordered me to include her in any future 'experiments'.

Especially ones that are done in the caves. After I finished, she revealed what she was doing. While stabilizing the walls, she left quite a few of the holes open. "The idea you had wasn't actually that bad. Especially in a space like this."

Just as I feel hope from her words, she brings me down. "Well. If you wanted to collapse that entire portion on yourself and them." With a pause, she continues

"However, it's not all bad. I can see what you meant earlier about how this can be a good way to attack or escape. Did you prepare these immediately or last night?"

"Mostly in the moment, I tamed them a little ahead of me and had them come out the walls."

With another look that said, 'you really don't know what you've done again,' she says "And all the bugs were not in sight when you tamed them?"

Realizing the point she's trying to make, I quickly defend myself.

"So you know, I was planning on getting some kind of material that can naturally draw insects to me, to make this more believable."

"Riiight, I'm sure that's exactly what you had in mind as you started with this. Well. This is a good example of what you were talking about. Even I felt a bit worried by that many bugs. If I couldn't cast my web at them… well, I would have been overtaken in seconds. That's not even considering when the victim isn't aware of them."

She thinks to herself, but gags at an apparent thought.

"Honestly, Ai's idea of having them swarm in… uncomfortable places isn't a bad idea. At the least, it could give an opening, where you could take them out."

With a quick look back up the pathway to the main room, "It looks like you are on the right track on your mindset, to becoming a crouching tiger, hidden dragon. While it seems you will act as an oblivious genius, they shouldn't know that you also have this many cards in your hands."

I would hope so. Even with my abilities, facing against cultivators wouldn't be something I could come away unscratched with.

"You might have wanted to experiment more, but we have some things to discuss together. I originally was heading this way to come grab you. Ai has been looking over her books and wants us all to come up with some kind of plan. Send those bugs back into the walls for safekeeping and let's go."

As we walk up the cavern path behind us, the insects recede into the walls like water into dirt.

Leaving only the small dark holes behind.