Fantasy Realm – Infinite Worlds Adventure

“Fuck, Rishi, be careful!” Alex says as Rishi fearlessly walks toward what is probably the old brood mother and Matriarch of this Thornback tribe. Alex carefully inspects her, she’s red, almost crimson, with specks of purple. Her appearance is similar to the Matriarch they fought earlier but slightly different, even aside from her much larger size. Dozens of Thornback spiders remain submissively on the ground, but they’re close enough to swarm and probably kill him in an instant.

Alex sheathes his [Sword of Pluto] and takes out his two retrieved Annihilation Grenades lvl 4, cloaking them with In. Since they’re his own Conjurations, it’s still possible to do so, regardless of when they were first conjured.

He says he saw her Aura. I believe Rishi… but the only fucking Aura I believe in is the kind that can smash in my enemies’ heads! One wrong move, and I’ll throw these damn grenades straight at that monster’s face! Big target, and looking at how ancient and fat she is, probably slow as hell too. Two grenades should be enough. If all the shrapnel hits her head, there’s a good chance she’s going down.

Alex watches closely as Rishi seems to be reading the spider’s thoughts.

“Alex, come closer,” Rishi says.

…Are you fucking kidding me? Well, let’s carefully approach, I need a better angle to aim my grenades anyway.

As the freaked-out Alex and the skeptical Tereza step forward, Rishi turns toward them.

“I can read her aura. She’s not hiding anything; she’s openly displaying her emotions. She’s extremely grateful… especially to you. She admires you but also fears you… or rather, the weapon you wield in the form of Mustrano. I feel something else as well, she seems to like your Aura and felt you fighting earlier, I’m sure she knows what happened,” Rishi explains.

“Heh, maybe, she just has a unique taste like Menchi and me,” Tereza jokes.

“Tereza, you are disgusting, I swear, I’m already panicking, and this is not helping! Why is it always me? Can’t fate just ignore me for once?” Alex groans. “Anyway, you know, if you had a real beast communication skill, I’d fully believe you. But what if she’s faking her aura, her emotions? Or even manipulating them? Don’t trust your innate skill too much, Rishi. I know you trust it with your life, but no skill is almighty, there are always exceptions!”

Rishi nods. “You’re not entirely wrong, Alex, but trust me on this—these spiders aren’t corrupted. I can tell the difference in their auras. The other spiders were frenzied, and corrupted, like they were being controlled by something foreign. These ones are normal, natural spiders.”

“A ‘natural’ spider is bad enough when all it wants to do is kill and eat whatever flies into its web! And look where the fuck we are!” Alex argues.

“We aren’t helpless flies, are we? We’re dangerous wasps that invaded a spider’s nest. She’ll gladly let us fly away. In fact, she’d pay us to do it,” Rishi counters.

Let me think of a good way to turn this argument around….Drawing a blank here.

“Anyway, I can feel it, this old Matriarch won’t attack us. In fact, it seems almost magical. She looks different from the one we fought earlier… like she’s gained some higher form of intelligence,” Rishi says, trying to calm Alex down.

The burning red Matriarch, her body strangely marked with a few purple spots, lets out a deep, rumbling sound—completely unlike the other spiders. A few Thornback Warriors suddenly burrow beneath her.

“What’s this now? Maybe she’s ordering her children to bring out her treasures and reward us,” Tereza says, grinning brightly.

“You know, if that happens, I’ll eat my [Visor of Pluto]

Suddenly, the spiders return, carrying a bunch of skeletons.

Alex tenses immediately. So does Tereza, as both of them jump backward. A few spiders twitch as well, clearly agitated.

“Calm down!” Rishi orders.

…I want to leave! Let’s get the fuck out of here.

“Let’s leave!” Alex says.

Tereza nods, adding, “I love treasure the most, but the risk-to-reward factor seems pretty low here. I’m getting a bit spooked as well.”

“I disagree. The rewards look quite spectacular, as far as I can tell,” Rishi says, kneeling next to the skeletons. He starts rummaging through a pile of small bags, opening one, and pulling out a fistful of shiny, golden Galleons.

“Bags with the Undetectable Extension Charm!” Alex notes.

“Treasure! See? I was right!” Tereza says with a grin, her excitement flaring up as she immediately kneels beside him to inspect the loot, as if a switch in her mind just flipped.

Fuck, how greedy can you get? Useless Galleons! She’s lowering her guard the second she spots treasure.

“There’s more here! Light Green to Deep Green wands, jewelry, and… those are SOUL CRYSTALS!” Tereza exclaims, her excitement growing.

Tereza and Rishi carefully dig through the spoils, pulling out everything they can from the bags.

“Fuck, stop sorting through it here! Just grab the damn bags and make a run for it!” Alex snaps, his eyes locked onto the Matriarch. For some reason, she’s staring directly at him, clearly amused.@@novelbin@@

Is she smirking at me? Am I fucking going crazy? It’s time to fucking leave!

“She’s not done yet,” Rishi says. “I can see it in her Aura. This color combination seems to be linked to rewards, gratefulness, and fairness. Her attention is directed somewhere else, but the color is the same as this gift. Let’s wait a little while longer.

"Here, Alex—maybe this will calm you down. Your share!”

You received Soul Crystal (Small) x3

You received Soul Crystal (Medium)

You received 5000 Galleons

Alex immediately stashes the Soul Crystals and the Galleons into his inventory, visibly shocked by the sheer amount of wealth. Rishi also hands him a small bag containing the looted jewelry.

“Tereza can keep the wands for now, you keep the jewelry, and I’ll take most of the empty bags, they should be worth something as well. We can trade later if this doesn’t feel equal,” Rishi suggests.

“I’m not arguing about this. Whatever, do whatever you want. Now, can we fucking leave?” Alex says impatiently.

“The only thing waiting for us if we stay is death, Rishi. These are monsters. Even if you see gratitude and reward, their logic and their entire existence are different from ours. I have a damn bad feeling about this, and usually, my instincts are right. I’ve survived a lot, and I’ve learned to trust my gut. You can’t predict what will happen!”

"There’s nothing left down here that’s worth the risk. Let’s quit while we’re ahead. This is valuable loot, but we need to be alive to use it,” Alex argues.

“I trust you and your feelings, Alex. I have nothing but the utmost respect for you and everything you’ve achieved so far. Maybe you’re right… but I trust my Aura as well. At least when it comes to sensing danger, I’m sure we won’t be attacked,” Rishi says, though a hint of uncertainty shows on his face.

“Something’s happening,” Tereza says as Rishi glances at Alex, unsure how to react.

A few Thornback Ambushers appear, dragging two large, webbed objects toward the Matriarch, two giant cocoons. They place them before her. The Matriarch has grown and evolved so much that Alex no longer sees her as just a simple broodmother. No… she’s more like a Queen, especially considering her intelligence.

The cocoons struggle, whatever’s inside still alive.

Fuck… could it be?

“These are our two traitors. Looks like they got caught on the way out. Maybe there are more hidden paths in the cave? Probably underground,” Tereza says with a satisfied smile.

“This reward is not good at all, Alex. Your hunch turned out to be correct,” she jokes, just as the cocoons shift violently, muffled sounds escaping from within at the sound of Tereza’s voice.

Suddenly, the Queen lifts one of her massive limbs and viciously thrusts it downward, impaling one of the Ambushers. The spider twitches for a few seconds before going completely still, dying.

“WHAT THE FUCK?!” Alex shouts, jumping back in shock.

“She killed her own brood? Why?! They did exactly what she asked them to… why would she betray them?” Tereza asks, her expression shifting to confusion.

“I see… so this is what betrayal looks like in her Aura,” Rishi murmurs.

The Matriarch then reaches for the two cocoons, softly poking at them, muffled sounds still coming from inside.

“The color of betrayal is still there in the Matriarch… it’s focused on our two ‘allies’ here,” Rishi says, a gleeful expression on his face, a rarity for Rishi.

“It looks like our dear friend Roja still managed to use her Realm knowledge, maybe some sort of item, skill, or similar method, to avoid or manipulate the contract and plan something else. You know, I’d love to extort her for everything she’s got, but we’re bound by the contract as well, and we don’t have a loophole. Still, we can’t be expected to attack the Matriarch and the remaining Thornback tribe. That would be suicide for us, hehe. That’s the same logic we had written into the contract, the same logic they used to abandon us and flee earlier,” Rishi muses.

“Can we trust a spider? Gamble their lives on it? This Matriarch—no, Queen, looks smart enough and apparently wants to help us… but to trust our comrade's lives to her? Really?” Alex questions.

Suddenly, the devil whispers in Alex’s mind, presenting a tempting offer:

If they die… nobody will know about my abilities. These two are the last ones who know, aside from Patricia and Eirini, who have proven to be far more honorable human beings, and even they only know about my grenades. Roja is the only person who knows about my innate skills…

Alex glances at Rishi. He wants to let them die. Tereza doesn’t seem to care much either.

Can we… can I justify this?

He remembers Roja and Perlah. Especially Perlah, who seems like an innocent person, just desperately clinging to Roja to survive.

Suddenly, Alex’s [Commander Shepard’s Dog Tag] activates. He feels multiple paths open before him, however his strengthened will and resolve keeping him in full control.

A blue flash in his mind points toward Roja and Perlah, urging him to grab and free them.

Another blue flash points to his friends, pushing him to negotiate to convince them to save the women, despite their earlier actions.

A red flash directs him to the grenades still in his hand, an option that would without a doubt lead to conflict.

And the strongest flash of all urges him to do… nothing. It drifts aimlessly through his thoughts, carrying no clear direction.

Alex steadies his breathing, his meditation technique keeping his Aura flowing smoothly.

I will make my own decision, and my decision is…

His mind floods with memories, his experiences in the Realm, the deaths, the dangers, his first meetings with Roja and Perlah, and every interaction they’ve had since arriving in this world.

Then, suddenly, something else surfaces, Rishi.

His constant, tiny facial expressions, almost invisible to anyone else… but not to Alex. He’s always had a knack for reading people, a habit of observing the smallest details. Again and again, he’s caught those subtle hints, just never fully processed them.

No way… his Aura readings predicting the future are vague, but… he can read people’s emotions so precisely that he can practically judge their thoughts, feelings, and actions. I never thought that before but nothing is more clear after seeing him read the Queen’s expression. That’s why he always looks at others with disgust, disdain, or curiosity. His ability is so effective, he can see through them instantly! At the very least, he can almost magically judge someone’s intentions. I never realized his ability was this powerful… and he never bragged about it.

So that’s why he’s disgusted by Roja and Perlah… I see. These are their true colors, huh?

The only people he ever looks comfortable around are Tereza and me. The reason he even let Tereza live in the first place, I guess.

With a determined expression, Alex finally says:

“We should….”

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