"Argh! Get it off, I can't see!" the dragon howled, pulling at the webbing over her eyes. "Dammit, stop spitting this stuff at me you stupid bugs- argh!"

  Ah, I should've known that her lack of helmet would come back to bite Mordred one day in the back. Not that the spider fangs could even pierce her armor so, but their other tool for catching prey was proving to definitely hamper the dragon somewhat. All because she decided to ignore my advice to approach carefully and just rushed in without thinking, thus running her head into a low hanging web. And it cascaded from there.

  I just stood there, watching Mordred learn the hard way that the weak also had tricks. I could step in at any point if she was actually in danger, but the giant spiders really couldn't leave a mark against her. It was just a matter of the budding adventurer regaining her cool and being able to recover from her blind panic-

  A giant spider then landed, from up top, and Kuch may have slightly panicked when their visor was blinded completely by the monster's large body.

  [Shadow Rend] completely cut the beast apart, messily in a way where nothing could probably be harvested. My doll swiftly recomposed themselves and frowned, feeling some of the leather helmet straps come loose. While the dragon bone obviously protected against any actual real intrusion, the leather straps had been prodded and poked at with the spider's sharp claws in panic. It was still holding together thankfully, just a little more strained. I would have to remind myself to reinforce it later just to be sure.

  For now, Kuch was clearly fed up with this farce and just barked a single bit of advice. "Mordred, cool your head and remember you have a skill that can push the spiders back. Even if you can't see, you can still fight."

  "Easy for you to say- bleh, I think I just got some web in my mouth! Fine!" Snarling, the woman gripped her lance and focused, closing her obscured eyes to rely entirely on hearing. "...There. [Vein Ripper]!"

  The multiple slashes finally drove the swarming monsters back, allowing Mordred a moment of reprieve. She seized it to finally rip the web from her face, spitting and growling when she could see again. "Right, enough messing around." Her weapon tip came up and pointed straight at the largest spider in their midst. "That one's the leader right? The one directing them?"

  "Not quite. For an average spider colony, it'd be their broodmother though very rare do they expose themselves-"

  "THAT'S THEIR LEADER RIGHT!"

  "Yes," Kuch exasperatedly told. "The alpha of this pack, so to speak. Defeat it and the others should panic."

  "All I needed to know." She prepared to jump and then paused, remembering her prior mistake ahead of time. Her lance flashed and swiped up, clearing out the webs above. Now with the way cleared, Mordred leapt up and twisted in the air, prepared to finally exact her revenge. "[Dragon Dive]!"

  She plunged down and the solarium head pierced through the spider carapace with ease, killing it instantly. True to my observation, the others panicked and began to scurry away, likely trying to retreat to other colonies of their species. Before too many got away, I directed Kuch to use [Walk in Darkness] and intercept a few fleeing specimens. I wasn't going to let my silk get away that easily!

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  Mordred huffed and tossed the last body onto the pile of spider corpses. "There, that should be the last one still intact. I'm not going to even bother with the thoroughly diced or smashed ones."

  "Neither should you. The parts would likely be incredibly damaged, so it's not really worth it," I commented and knelt to study the haul. "Let's see, how many is that? About half a dozen?"

  "Half a dozen by my count," Kuch confirmed with a nod. "Surely enough to at least impress the city guard."

  "My thinking exactly. Hm." I frowned, realizing I had admittedly overlooked a critical detail. "How are we going to take this all back to the city? Maybe I should make a small cart, all adventurers should have a cart for carry weight-"

  "About that," Mordred interrupted, surprising me. "Why not just break it into parts and then take choice bits back to Gabion? When the Eber Marauders hunted bears, they just broke them down there and then and brought the parts back as proof."

  All three heads of myself stared at her, then at each other. "She's actually...right," I admitted.

  "I wouldn't have to explain the missing spinners even," Kuch mentioned.

  "And I could keep a lot more choice parts for myself too," Frie noted.

  I was in agreement with myself then. And I had somebody to thank for it. "Good point Mordred," I praised, causing the dragon to flush briefly. "Mind sticking around for a bit while I get to work then? There's some bread and beer for you to pass the time with, I'd love to hear you feedback for both."

  She grinned widely at nice post-hunt meal. "I'll be sure to taste them thoroughly then. And you better make some for me to bring back to Gabion too!"

  "It should keep well, so feel free."

  As she entered the manor quite happily, I hummed an equally jolly tune while taking out my knife. Honestly, why wouldn't I be so merry when I had such a useful monster in my figurative backyard? Giant spiders were a great source of parts, especially for what I needed. So each and every part I could harvest was going to be important.

  Firstly, quickly find and harvest the venom sacs before they dissolve. A natural paralytic, it could be refined into a very lovely cure-all for a variety of illnesses along, or intensified into an actual poison. I probably should make sure I label which one was which. Next, pluck out the eyes and make sure to preserve them with some vinegar. They could be turned into a powerful augmentative tint to apply to glass to make lens. After preserving a few other organs that could make for decent miscellaneous regents, I came to the thing which I wanted so dearly the most.

  The spinners, still filled to the brim with more thread to turn into more sticky webs. But since the monster was dead, these wouldn't ever be given the magic to be turned into that.- rather, when I used [Infuse] on them, I was blessed with a smooth and satiny material instead. My hands felt up the string and I laughed in delight, finally able to take my tailoring to an entirely new level with this new acquisition.

  Spider Silk (Item Quality: 212) (Infuse Level: 297)

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Oh huh. These things would have been at the same level of monsters from the early expansions in FLOW. That could explain why Mordred and Kuch actually both struggled when taking it lackadaisically. But since their weapons and armor were still so powerful in comparison, they never were in any serious threat besides some minor wear and tear. If it had been anybody else, like mercenaries from the empire, I don't think it would've ended very well.

  Hm. I suppose that would make the feat of slaying them all the more impressive for Kuch and Mordred. They did need trophies to bring back though, parts that I would happily part with. Suppose some organs, eyes, and maybe a couple venom sacs would be fine. The meat was no good, it would spoil...ah. The carapace out to do.

  It actually was an interesting material, being pretty much already as strong as treated leather without any need for tannin to process and a fraction of the weight too. But in exchange, it was pretty stiff and rigid. I guess it was an option for if one wanted to do something like a light plate, like how Kuch's second body had taken form. But as I wasn't being paid to make armor off it nor had the measurements for whoever could be wearing it, best just leave the carapace segments as they were for now.

  Though out of habit, I did accidentally already use [Infuse] on them. Oops.

  Spider Carapace (Item Quality: 200) (Infuse Level: 273)

  Well, I guess it'll be fine. Plus I got a bad roll that time. So lucky me that I burned that bac luck on something I didn't really mind. Should be fine, right?

  Right, time to bundle all these pieces into some bags and have the adventurers take it to Gabion as proof of their deeds. Oh, can't forget the 'ancient texts' that describes the usage of [Ferment] either. Here's hoping that'll catch on.

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  Gregori frowned at the report, not quite believing it. But he did notice that there were already so many guards returning back to duty, apparently recovering from their wounds so quickly, with the aid of these...health potions. That was the part he struggled with trusting.

  Somebody had just come around and gave free, working potions to the city guards of all people?

  And it took until now for the duke to learn about it?

  He supposed that Hans was admittedly still rather new to his job, and rather a still bit too lax about everything. Were it the old captain, those potions would have been presented to the duke first of all for confirmation. But they had tragically perished in the tide, along with their chosen successor they had been training to take over. He promoted Hans by way of recommendation from Teodor, who had mentioned the man was popular among with both the locals and other guards, so could step into the role with little necessary oversight. Something that allowed House Cordis to focus on things of higher importance, like attempting to source materials for repairs.

  A mistake then, that led to things like these potions slipping through his attention until the regular reports. Something he would remedy now with summoning the aforementioned Captain of the Guard to his office. Hans stepped in with a professional, though slightly relaxed salute. "You called for me, my lord?"

  "Indeed I have. Might I ask why it took until the regular reports to learn about these health potions?" the duke questioned, tapping the piece of paper at hand. "I would have liked to learn about them much sooner, considering how valuable potions are in the empire. Would it not be more appropriate to inform me first to make a proper decision on how to use them?"

  "Ah." Hans at least had the decency to look sheepish. "Apologies, my lord, but I had decided in the moment to utilize out gifted supply to accelerate the recovery of the guards. It had not dawned upon me until the last drop was spent that House Cordis might have other priorities regarding their utilization."

  The vampire noble pursed his lips, then shook his head. "No, we would have used the same way. Replenishing our numbers through new recruits can only go so fast, even with Teodor in charge of the matter," he settled on, but still pressed the question. "Though again, I ask why it had taken so long for me to have learned on the matter?"

  The Captain of the Guard shifted in place, looking a little uncomfortable. "If you wish to know, my lord, I had heard that most other nobles would have decided otherwise regarding the usage of potions. That they would usually confiscate valuables discovered by their guards and take them into their own personal treasuries. Potions especially would be highly valued, almost akin to fine wine, and I had feared that once you learned of my usage, you would be incensed and dismiss me from my position prematurely."

  Ah, so it was a matter of trust that ran both ways. Everything was clearing up now- Hans was a new guard captain that thought highly of his fellow guard friends and would want nothing but their best health. But at the same time, he hadn't known much of House Cordis personally, nothing like that old trust between his predecessor and the duke. So there was that slight wariness that was the root of this whole problem.

  Gregori supposed he too had some fault in not being more thorough about establishing clearly what his own expectations were for the guard. Only that he just resorted to old trust that no longer existed with the severance in the former chain of command. "You will not be punished so. However, please report any further valuable discoveries to any member of House Cordis immediately instead of settling it on your own account. While your decision this time did align with what we would have done, let us endeavor to be working on the same page in the future.

  "Aside from that, your report is immaculate. Good work, that will be all."

  Hans blinked, perhaps a little taken aback by the lack of a censure and demotion. He quickly saluted, a little more respectfully this time, then departed. The duke watched him go, sure that he would be a fine guard captain in time. He already might be to some, but there was room for further growth. Hopefully by the time it was time for his son to take over, Hans would be a trustworthy Captain of the Guard to depend upon.

  Said heir suddenly burst into the room shortly after the thought had passed. "Father!" he gasped, still clad in the plate he wore for training. "News from our neighbor, the Duchy of Fuzier!"

  A frown developed on Gregori's face. "I told you to stop worrying about them-"

  "Their heir has been assassinated!"

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