Arachne Chapter 11

The Disciple and the Goblins

"Yo! Sis, I ain't moving away from here 'til you take me as your disciple!"

Ephy, a boy around 15 years old, was sitting in front of my store and spewing some nonsense.

Contrary to his baby face, his body looked quite well-trained, and the various scars hinted towards him being some sort of fighter.

Or rather, he's exactly the archetypal 'Adventurer' that one usually sees in fantasy worlds.

"Hey, listen, okay? You're being a bother, sitting over there. This is my shop, you know?"

"Yo! I ain't going anywhere! I've fallen in love with your skills! I want you to take me as your disciple!"

"And I'm telling you… You listening?!"

Aww man, this sucks.

Just why did this happen…

Ahhh… Umm.

Welcome back.

It is me, Arakura s.h.i.+ori (25), an ex-earthling who has reincarnated as a half-human half-spider Arachne monster.

However, over here on this world, I'm called s.h.i.+ori Arachne, the owner of the Arachne Tailor.

I'd been having a perfectly normal life as a tailor while hiding my true ident.i.ty until now. Just why did this happen…

Everything started when I visited the adventurer's guild the other day on business.

The main material I use for my store is, of course, the 'Arachne Silk' I created myself, and I acquire the expensive monster materials by myself too, but for the other relatively cheap materials used to make dyes, such as Th.o.r.n.y Madder Gra.s.s, Pseudo-Bellflowers, or Bitterdemon Chestnuts, I usually put up gathering requests like I'm doing now.

It's not like I can use Crimson Dragon scales to dye the clothes that I make for the general public, obviously.

"Come on, why can't I take that?! It's just a simple gathering request!"

A young man… or to be more precise, a boy was shouting at the receptionist girl at the guild counter.

He's got a solid build, with a leather chestplate and a short sword.

"…Usually, you'll need to go deep inside forests with dense mana in order to find any Rainbow Morning Glories, you know? You're still E rank. It's too dangerous."

"They're just goblins, I won't even break a sweat!"

"It's true that sightings of goblins are still the most reported, but orcs have also been found there. That's why the recommended request difficulty is D for a party and C for a solo adventurer. You mostly work alone anyway, right? If you really need the request, then please find some high rank adventurers to take you along."

"Sure I know some D rank parties, like the 'Iron Hammers' and the 'Treasure Hunters'… but the problem is they haven't been showing up these days."

My. Those are some familiar names.

Both the Iron Hammers and the Treasure Hunters were parties who had accepted my gathering requests, if I remember correctly.

"Those guys were going to spend the whole week over there gathering! They said they got their hand on a pretty tasty request, so they f.u.c.king went over to Cherry's place for a party first before leaving! b.a.s.t.a.r.ds!"

The rest area inside the guild serves snacks and drinks with low alcoholic content.

And there, with his thundering voice, a bearded middle-aged man was telling the boy what he knew while sipping a mug of ale.

…The guy looked intimidating, but he's surprisingly kind.

"For real?… Hey, miss Emmy, can you introduce someone? I'm cutting it seriously close with my rent this month."

"That's quite difficult… The only person not busy is Baren, and just as you can see, he's about to fall down dead drunk."

Emmy the receptionist glanced over at the aforementioned bearded man.

"…Is there really n.o.body high rank who's free and willing to help me? Seriously?…"

"It'd be nice if there were… Somebody kind enough to bring along a useless kid on a gathering request…"

Miss Emmy, why did you just look at me when you said that?

I'll have you know, I'm here as a customer today.

It's true that I registered as an adventurer so that I can go gather in the dangerous zones that were closed off to the public… but my real job is being a tailor.

I only came here to ask about the progress on my gathering requests today, you know?

Heeeey, you listening, Emmyyyyy?

※

"Man, thanks a bunch. Of course I'll protect you, girlie, no problem! You must be barely D rank anyway… and a rear-line adventurer too, right? Just tag along. Don't worry, I heard that there's only g-goblins near the Forest of Glamour where we're going anyway."

In the end, due to Emmy's request, I took the boy – his name is Ephy – on the gathering request.

His destination, the Forest of Glamour, was the place where I once got lost in after going too deep.

Different from back then, this time, I have the skill [Minimap], [Hide Presence], and [Hide Magic] among others, so I no longer worry about getting lost, and animals and monsters don't get scared of me anymore.

Mwahaha, I shall not make that mistake again!

I wonder how Zell is doing these days.

Whoops, can't get distracted, I need to focus on Ephy right now.

He's too much of a risk to not keep my eyes on him.

Apparently, Emmy told him that "If we're just talking combat power, she's at least a hundred times more powerful than you" when introducing me to him, and he couldn't believe it to be anything other than a joke, so he kept trying to defend me and raising his sword at every single thing we encounter in the woods. However…

"Ephy, that's a squirrel."

"Y-Yeah, I know. Just in case. Wait, over here!"

"That's a forest lizard. There's nothing special about it. Tasty when roasted."

"W-What the h.e.l.l, just a lizard?… d.a.m.n thing surprised me."

Ephy let out a held breath, wiped the sweat on his forehead, and relaxed his sword hand.

Hmm? You're not catching it? What a pity, it's really delicious… Then don't mind if I do.

After checking my surroundings, I found a tree branch lying on the ground that's big enough for my purpose.

Alright, this should be good enough as a handicap.

I lightly tapped the lizard, which was around 30 cm long, on its head.

*Bam!*

Ah, too much strength. The branch exploded, and the lizard's upper half turned into minced meat.

The lizard wouldn't even make a meal with just its lower half left. At best, only a snack.

I carefully used a small tree branch to sc.r.a.pe out the lizard's innards, undid my Arachne Silk scarf, used it to wrap the lizard, then put the whole thing inside my pack.

It's waterproof too, so I don't have to worry about blood leaking out in the pack.

Normally, though, I wouldn't bother with all this and just use my threads to package the prey directly.

"Uhh… Wha? What was that just now…?"

"Don't worry about it, you're just seeing things"

"Seeing things? But the lizard just disappeared…"

"I'm telling you, you're seeing things. More importantly, our destination is deeper, right?"

"Ah, yeah. Probably another 30 minutes if we follow the animal trail…"

"Right then, let's get the request over with quickly."

After changing the topic, even if the attempt was a bit too abrupt, I pulled Ephy's hand and headed deeper into the forest.

※

"We're hereeeee! Look, look, jackpot! The whole field is full of Rainbow Morning Glories!"

Just as Ephy estimated, we arrived at a small, sunny flower bed after around 30 minutes.

The ground was filled with colorful flowers, looking similar to the morning glories I knew, all blooming in full.

But it's already a little bit after noon now, yet they're still blooming. Why are they called Morning Glories, then?

"Awesome! Rainbow Morning Glories are high rank materials, yet here we have a whole field full of it! Come on, miss, go grab some too!"

Ephy dropped his sword and started picking every stalk of flower that he can see.

Hey, is it fine leaving your sword there? You're an adventurer, you know?

"No, I'll stand watch. We're still inside the forest anyway."

"I~diot. Rainbow Morning Glories are used in making monster repellants, you know? Goblins and the likes wouldn't even dare come close."

Hmmm, is that so?

Yet I'm detecting presences of monsters somewhere quite close by. Hmmm.

Wait, perhaps…

I positioned myself in Ephy's blind spot, quietly created a strand of thread from my finger, and used it to touch the flowers covering the whole ground.

And then, thanks to the effect of the skill Tactile ThreadSensor Web, details about the flower appeared in my mind.

——

Six-Shades Morning Glories

  ・A species related to the Rainbow Morning Glory.

   Unlike Rainbow Morning Glories, Six-Shades Morning Glories can't repel monsters. Instead, their seeds are very tough, and cannot be dissolved by even a goblin's stomach acid.

   The species mostly serves as food for herbivores or the omnivorous goblins. It makes use of the animals' feces in order to spread its seeds to faraway lands.

   ・Is a main material in concocting energy-boosting medicines and aphrodisiacs. It has been theorized that the goblins' unnatural reproductive power stemmed from the fact that this species of monster have a tendency to consume Six-Shades Morning Glories for fun.

——

Oh my.

The description I received wasn't fit for showing children under eighteen.

I knew they were different from Rainbow Morning Glories.

It's still a related species, so I guess we almost got it right.

…Which means that monsters aren't being repelled.

In fact, goblins love eating these flowers, so…

"Whoa!!!"

Oh my. Just as I thought.

"G-G-G-G-G-Goblins?! Why? There're Rainbow Morning Glories here!"

Ephy pointed his finger at the silhouettes of several goblins while stuttering like there's no tomorrow.

I see, so the presences that have been shadowing us since a while ago were them.

They must have come out when they saw us messing with their favorite snacks. I totally understand.

"Ephy, I think these flowers aren't actually what we're looking for, but a related species. They probably can't repel monsters, so don't get your hopes up."

"For real?! S-s.h.i.+t! They're just f.u.c.king goblins, I can handle them!"

Panicking, Ephy picked up the sword he dropped and made his stand against the goblins.

"Giii! Giiiiiiii! Gyahgahgah!"

"D-Don't be afraid! I-I can at least p-protect you!"

Oooh, good boy, good boy. Big sister here really likes your style.

So I'll help a bit.

"[Light Blessing], aaaaand [Incandescent Enchant]"

Light Blessing was the skill I gained when I used [Predation] on the G.o.d Bird Lemire. It creates a defensive s.h.i.+eld of light around the target. The skill can protect against 5 or 6 hits from an ogre.

Next, Incandescent Enchant was gained after I defeated a fire-type demon. Simply put, it temporarily turns a normal sword into a magical flame sword. Well, the skill works with axes and claws too, not just swords.

"W-What the h.e.l.l?!"

Ephy was struck dumbfounded when he noticed his body starting to give off faint light, and his short sword overflowing with flame.

Hey, hey, you're in combat, you know? You're being way too careless in front of the enemy.

Ah well. Luckily, the goblins were also surprised and stopped moving when they saw the sword suddenly burning.

"It's an enchantment spell. Both your attack and defense should have gone up by quite a bit, so do your best!"

It's actually a skill, not a spell, but that's not important.

I explained it that way since normally, humans can't use monster skills.

"Y-Yeaaah! You're awesome! I didn't know you can do spells like these! Just leave the rest to me!"

Ephy charged into the goblin group while talking all the while.

A swing of his sword cut through both the goblins and their rusty swords like b.u.t.ter.

"…Hooooly s.h.i.+t… How the h.e.l.l is it cutting so well…"

Hey hey, I told you, stop standing still every time you get surprised.

"Ephy, there are still enemies left! Don't freeze up!"

"Y-Yeah! I'm invincible with this sword now!"

And he really did pretty much turn invincible.

Not surprising when the enemies couldn't damage Ephy, while his faux-fire sword just sliced through the goblins' defense like cutting air.

Like eggs beating rocks.

Just after 5 minutes, all the goblins turned into corpses.

…Ah, I stand corrected.

All the normal goblins turned into corpses.

As to why I made that correction…

That was because a strange-looking goblin, which must have been at least 2.5 meters tall, appeared from behind the dead goblins.

"I-It's… Ugh!"

Ephy froze up from the sight of the dominating goblin, and he got punted away a few meters by its mace.

"Gakhh… Gahh…"

"Ephy, are you okay?"

"R-Run… Agkh… Run away, girlie, this guy… This huge guy… I've only heard rumors, but he must be the Goblin Lord!"

Aaaah, I see, the Goblin Lord.

In the spider's forest that was my hometown, goblin-type monsters didn't exist. Furthermore, last time I was here, I was leaking my presence all over the place, so it didn't dare approach me.

How unexpected that I would have the chance to first see it here.

But you know, goblin-type monsters can't give me any good materials, and they're also just muscle-brained idiots without any good skills, so there's not really any good reason to hunt them.

So I don't really mind releasing my presence. I'll let them go if they run away—

"Hmpf, a little girl? b.o.o.bless kids aren't suitable to bear my children… However, you're still young, you should last for a long time. I'll take you back as a gift for the tribe."

What. Did. You. Say?

"Ugrh?! What is this terrifying bloodl.u.s.t?!"

"You d.a.m.n muscle-brained idiot!!! You dare tell me I have no b.r.e.a.s.t.s?!"

"I-It was coming from this b.o.o.bless little girl?! This much magical pressure, could it be the Demon Ki—"

"Waaaaa you said it agaaaaaaain!!!"

I shot out some sticky and fast-drying threads at high speed from my fingertip, creating a long, thin shape in the air.

And in a blink of an eye, that shape became a pure white sword, which I grabbed with my right hand.

To put it simply, I used 3D printing methods with my threads to create a sword.

"W-Wait! I apologize! You can still have kids even if you don't have b.o.o.bs!!"

*snaps*

"Your sins are… One, telling me that I have no b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

Two, telling me that I have no b.r.e.a.s.t.s a second time.

Three, telling me that I have no b.r.e.a.s.t.s a third tiiiiiiimmeeeeeee!!!"

And then, the scourge of the land that was the Goblin Lord was sliced into dust, and ended up as fertilizer for the forest.

※

"Yo! Sis, I ain't moving away from here 'til you take me as your disciple!"

"Hey, listen, okay? You're being a bother, sitting over there. This is my shop, you know?"

"Yo! I ain't going anywhere! I've fallen in love with your skills! I want you to take me as your disciple!"

"And I'm telling you… You listening?!"

…And so, we're back to the beginning of this chapter.

While it's true that I had no other choice, it was still my fault to have displayed a part of my power in front of Ephy (luckily, he seemed to have been convinced that the sword made out of thread was created by summoning magic, or that it was stored in a magic bag)… But to be honest, he's just a pain in my business right now, prostrating in front of my shop like this.

Well then, however shall I deal with this?

"Mmm… Let's see, I guess I can take you in."

"For real?!"

"You can't live here though, you'll come here three times a week. And the pay's not that good too. Is that still fine?"

"? Obviously! Rather, I'm learning from you here, I can't accept payment from you!"

"So please stop prostrating in front of my shop for now. Next, you'll need to change to these clothes…"

"Got it, sis… no, Master!"

"Right, then you'll start from 9 in the morning next week. Wear that, and also clean up and groom yourself."

"Got it! This is my first step on the path to becoming a master!!"

Excited, Ephy happily skipped away.

…And that was how I managed to acquire a shop employee (who would work for just a pittance) that I'd wanted since a long time ago.

What? Disciple? Of course I accepted him as a disciple… He's going to learn how to run a tailor.

I'll be teaching him how to sell clothes, how to sell cus.h.i.+ons, the concept of customer service, and the like.

I never said I'll teach him the way of the sword or magic in the first place.

Author's note:

Well then, umm, I did not mean to offend any particular woman with this chapter.

In her last life, s.h.i.+ori had quite an acceptable pair, so she held a bit of a complex with the body she's been granted in this life.

Personally, I belong to the faction that wors.h.i.+ps all b.r.e.a.s.t.s as equally sacred, no matter whether they're big or small.

——

Web Sword

Attack Power +42

Magical Attack Power +5

Self-Repair (Slight)

Fire Resistance -10%

Sword Attack Speed +10%

A sword s.h.i.+ori slapped together to use against the Goblin Lord. It's weak to fire since it's made out of thread.

Its attack is equal to a normal longsword, but since it's made out of s.h.i.+ori's threads, any damage to the blade not more serious than chips or nicks can be automatically repaired.

Furthermore, the sword can attack faster because of its abnormally light weight, but its blows are also weaker due to the same reason. The sword must compensate with its sharpness.

The weapon should be wielded more like a giant razor, rather than like a normal sword.

Because it was made from finger threads, it's not very durable. The sword would most likely break down within a month.

That’s it, folks, no more chapter. Author stopped writing.