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Lila and Vincent arrived near Taranto in the evening, leaving the team behind and approaching the x marks the spot on the map, only the two of them. The drone had scanned the countryside a few days prior. Selim identified the most likely place for the Spider Queen’s lair by analyzing the most frequent sightings and interactions.
Pulling a blanket and food from a wicker basket, the two lovers sat under a tree to picnic. It was an indirect approach, and they both agreed that it was the best. It also gave Lila time to devise a strategy. She started by inspecting her stats.
Name: Lila de Rosa
Age: 20
Species: Nymph (Mythical)
Class: Healer, Lvl. 50
Body: 60 Mind: 30 Spirit: 80
SPs: 3300 / CPs: 800 / MPs: 1300
She was satisfied with her progress, even if she owed much of her stats to investing tokens and her species. Nymphs’ agility drove her body higher, raising her stamina sky high, as the formula was level plus stats multiplied by thirty. Her Spirit had progressed by being a healer. She wasn’t combat-oriented but could deliver fast attacks and CC if needed.
Vincent talked about marriage… Lila didn’t care. An official paper meant nothing to her. What mattered was being with him. In his arms. In their bed. Together. It had taken a few seconds to change her worldview and realize the truth. The tiger had run directly at her the day they arrived in the magical Realm. She had prayed, closing her eyes. Running would have been futile. And then, Vincent had saved her. A prayer becoming a reality.
And then, reality hit. Love wasn’t about sharing a culture: music, food, books… nor about somebody being cute and attractive. Those meant nothing if one couldn’t feel protected next to their partner.
The girls she has been with and the only other boy in her life—a high school crush—were cuter than Vincent, more cultured, and certainly had better conversation skills. Vincent was handsome but a bit on the rough side, with a day or two old beard stubs always on his cheeks. He had a risque humor too… typically Czech. But with him, she felt protected. Safe. He was like a dependable tree on which she was the ivy. And his rough edges, in bed… were becoming an unstoppable torrent of bliss—
Shaking her head, Lila concentrated on the task at hand: preparing and repeating the moves in her head. There were three possible variants of the spider’s dance: Tarantella, Tammuriata, and Pizzica.
Tarantella she didn’t like very much. It had become just another social dance. Polite. Meh.
Tammuriata, she liked but feared. It was a dance of power and mysticism. Ideally, she’d had a partner—man or woman, it didn’t matter—to knead their limbs together, imitating the flailing limbs of a spider. Alone… with her Nymph powers, it was a dance that could induce curses on herself or her friends… A terrible backfire, if one.
Pizzica, she loved. It was sensual and seductive… and Vincent was there to dance it for him. It was one of her favorites as an artist specializing in world music and dances.
An hour after their arrival, a hairy spider about the size of a pug dog sneaked to spy on them from behind, hiding in a bush.
“It’s time,” she told Vincent, kissing his temple.
He extracted a tambourine and began hitting it like she had taught him. Dancing the Spider Dance demanded anchoring her mind into reality through it, or rather using the rhythm to enter her trance, the one she controlled, not the spider’s.
The creature started to dance first, wiggling its body on its hind limbs and shaking the fore ones. A good attempt at hypnosis, but Lila was immune. And, to her joy, the spider’s rhythm was the Pizzica. She started dancing in her turn, swinging and pirouetting with her arms spread, light jumpy steps, and hair floating… A nymph was an image of grace and elegance; she was well aware of her powers.
Three minutes later, the spider was bouncing around the girl uncoordinatedly.
You, Lila De Rosa, have mesmerized the mesmerizer by executing the Pizzica. +2 levels and +1 in all stats.
A voice appeared in her mind. Cute girl… come with Sven!
The spider started chittering and jumping up, agitating his limbs. Running away, it stopped and beckoned them with its forelimbs.
“I think he wants us to follow him,” Lila yelled.
“Him?”
“Yeah, it’s a boy. His name’s Sven. I can read his mind.”
“A spider named Sven?”
Lila didn’t answer, running forward, followed by Vincent. They walked on for about ten minutes when the spider stopped, and a black round circle appeared before them.
“A portal?” Lila asked.
“I’ll go alone.”
“No way! If the Byzantines come, you think I’m safer outside than with you?” she gripped his arm.
Vincent pursed his lips and spoke on the radio: “Axe Raven to Thug. Entering a pocket universe. I will be out of radio range. You have command. Do you copy?”
“Thug to Axe Raven. Loud and clear. Roger. Out.”
“Stay behind me.” Ready to activate his Outsider Refuge at a moment’s notice, Vincent stepped into the portal, and Lila followed.
You have entered [Gorgona Taranta (Archetype of the System and Spiders)]’s lair.
They arrived in a cave lit by a hole in the ceiling, with water running into a pool. Fern, moss, and flowers grew around the water in regular patches. A larger spider, the size of a pony, was in the process of cutting some roses with its mouth, her slow movements akin to a swing dance. The little spider rushed to grab a flower and offered it to Lila.
“You are pretty, dancing girl,” it chirped.
“Thank you,” Lila curtsied, happy to be complimented. The rose stem was sticky with bits of web, and she was visibly trying not to wipe her arm on her skirt.
“You are a warrior?” the Spider Queen asked toward Vincent.
“I guess so…” Vincent said.
“Why have you come?”
Lila saw Vincent biting on his lower lip, which meant he was considering what to say. She squeezed his hand, encouraging him to speak the truth. So far, the Archetype has been friendly, and there were no crazy or hostile vibes.
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“Elkandaros told me to search for your help… We observed this area for a while, and you have a good reputation. Your spiders never kill people and rein in even the Byzantines if they abuse the locals. I hope we can do business together,” Vincent said. “My main quest is to take care of the rogue Archetypes, and we need stability to concentrate on the task. I want to chase the Byzantines from Italy. What would it take for you to change allegiance?”
All of a sudden, one of the eyes on the Spider’s head lit up, shining red, and the creature spoke with a deeper voice:
“Current Strategic Context: The Bogomils have evolved into a powerful state. Their recent conquest of Montenegro significantly expands their influence in the region. Meanwhile, the Byzantine Empire has become increasingly unstable due to the resurgence of rival factions. The Tarento region in Southern Italy, historically a wealthy trading hub with strategic access to the Mediterranean, presents an ideal market for the Bogomils to engage in commerce, bringing valuable Balkan goods—such as textiles, spices, metalwork, and timber—into Italian markets. In return, the Bogomils could import southern Italian products like wine, olive oil, and luxury goods such as fine pottery and textiles.”
“The fuck?” Vincent exclaimed. “The bug is a strategist?”
Another eye lit up, replacing the first.
“I am deeply offended by your recent misidentification of me as an insect. The careless conflation of insects and arachnids perpetuates harmful stereotypes about us, much like how other marginalized groups are often reduced to one-size-fits-all labels. We are distinct, unique, and worthy of respect.”
“The—” Lila's hand searched for Vincent’s hand, squeezing his fingers. That made him shut up, letting another ‘fuck’ untold. He did have a foul mouth.
“There are multiple personalities in this body, young visitors’,” a third eye shone, the voice now more feminine and calm, like a midwife who had seen thousands of births.
“This is our chance,” another voice boomed. “The new Summoned have advanced tech. They’re the first civilized people we met in this Realm. They are the key to the throne, to shatter the old crumbling ways and reshape the very foundation of power itself."
“We fared badly last time we engaged in a war…” another voice said, with a fifth eye lit.
“From a revolutionary standpoint, replacing the old system is not just a matter of change—it’s a matter of survival and progress. The old order, built on outdated ideals, corruption, and inefficiency, no longer serves the people or the times. The old world is dying; a new one, forged in the fires of rebellion, is the only way forward,” the previous voice said.
“You read too much human propaganda, comrade,” a sixth voice said sarcastically.
“Adventures good…” The seventh voice grumbled an animalic vibration that made Lila hide behind Vincent.
“I call for a vote,” the eighth voice said.
Four of the eyes began to shine, and the rest remained dark. Then all the lights went off.
“I want no part in it!” the original spider voice chirped. “I like my garden, not adventures!”
“I sense you are confused, children,” the feminine voice spoke. “Do you wish for an explanation?”
“You bet,” Lila said.
“We do,” Vincent nodded.
"Please bear with me, as this might take a little while. Are you familiar with the System’s history?”
“Err… somehow?” Vincent answered.
“Not at all,” Lila confessed. Vincent had told her his findings, but she hadn’t paid much attention. There were many more important things to do when they were together, like cuddling together. Vincent was a great cuddler, his skin always warm, his muscles strong…
“Then it’s better to tell you the full story. When magic first came to this world, it brought a golden age of prosperity. It held for centuries, but eventually, the first Dark Age arrived, with everyone striving to gain more power and crushing the weak in their wake. Then, a group of ten warriors and mages came together with a vision to bring order to magic. They knew what they wanted to achieve but lacked the technology to make it a reality. One of them was a traveler named Elkandaros.
“He visited our planet in another star system and universe,” the previous woman-like voice continued. “Our world invented a stable and advanced System five centuries before. After telling his story, Elkandaros was gifted with a blank quantum diamond data crystal and a cluster of AI assistants to help him create a new System here.”
“Why didn’t they just copy your System?” Lila asked.
Gorgona Taranta (Archetype of the System and Spiders) wishes to share a simulation of an ALIEN SYSTEM with Vincent Valaška and Lila de Rosa. Duration: one minute. Y/N?
“O… K?” Lila tentatively said.
The mother of a headache hit her like a hammer to the head. A scrolling menu with stats and substats appeared before her eyes. The Body stats had gained new menus, like DEX, which expanded into Accuracy, Balance, Acrobatics, Reaction time, Range Estimation, Finesse, Nimbleness, Joints Efficiency, STR+DEX Synergy, INT+DEX Synergy, MANA to STAMINA Efficiency Ratio Conversion, and countless others that made her so dizzy she took a step back.
You have taken a STEP.
1. Work Done to Lift the Body (Vertical Motion)
Wvertical =m⋅g⋅h
2. Work Done to Move Backward (Horizontal Motion)
Whorizontal =Fhorizontal ⋅dhorizontal
3. Internal Energy
Einternal ≈η⋅( Wvertical + Whorizontal )
Final Equation
Estep ≈(m⋅g⋅h)+(Fhorizontal ⋅ dhorizontal )+η⋅[(m⋅g⋅h)+( Fhorizontal ⋅ dhorizontal )]
Numbers continued to roll, and she fainted.
----------------------------------------
When he regained his senses, her head lay in Vicent’s lap.
“The fuck?” Lila moaned, rubbing her forehead. I’m starting to sound like him…
“It’s OK, honey,” he bent downward and kissed her forehead. “I’m here.”
“Have you fainted too?”
“Err… sorry… no. It looked like gibberish, and my mind ignored it.”
“That’s a powerful debuff…”
“It’s not a debuff because you have to accept it. On our planet, the System users had implants that augmented their intellectual processing functions,” the woman’s voice returned. Your System is simpler and works through subconscious processes. May I continue my story?”
“If you don’t mind, I’ll lay down for a while…” Lila said, still feeling dizzy.
“So, you are a species of brainiac spiders using cerebral implants?” Vincent asked.
“No. I’m an AI inside an alien quantum diamond computer carried by the spider. There are eight of us. The main sentient species on our planet is humanoid, like you. The spiders were their familiars.”
“What happened next?”
“Your local System was created and imprinted into the blank quantum diamond our planet offered you. Then, the System was connected to a mainframe resonator to broadcast itself into the Mana. On top of that, the ten wizards responsible for the System’s creation implanted their personalities into it.”
“They merged with the thing?” Lila asked.
“No—” Vincent started but was interrupted by the voice.
“They didn’t merge; they scanned their brains and left an imprint in the System, continuing their normal lives afterward. The personality imprints were destined to anchor the System in its original purpose of helping sentients. In essence, they are subroutines with specific thinking patterns.
“And now, to the matter at hand and the reason of this long story. You asked for our alliance. Politics matter little to us. The health of the System, though, does… Archetypes are beginning to lose their minds, and the System shows signs of glitching… Some of us consider that the System is the one that needs to be patched up, not the Archetypes… We don’t know what to do…”
“Come to speak with our geniuses,” Lila said, rising on her knees. “Maybe together, you’ll find a way to help the System.”
“I call for a vote,” a voice said. Six eyes blinked red.
“I'm too old. I will tend to my garden,” the giant spider said in her own voice. “Another carrier will take over.” A choir of chirps erupted in the room, with dozens of smaller spiders rushing onward and jumping as high to attract the Queen’s attention. Bending a leg, the large spider inserted it in a previously invisible space in her chest, extracting a fist-size gem with countless facets. She chose one of the spiders, raised it, and put the crystal inside the minion. “I chose Sven, the one who led you here. I need to rest… excuse me…” The old spider yawned, curled on herself, and lay on the ground immobile.
The smaller spiders hurried away, except for the one carrying the crystal. The creature's eyes bulged out. “Can’t wait, can’t wait!” Sven chirped, shaking with anticipation.
One of the voices from before, maybe the woman’s, reappeared but sounded higher. “As do we. We’ll work together for the betterment and progress of the—”
“Shut up!” the tiny spider yelled. “You’re boring! I wanna dance! Tango, disco, salsa! I want to learn them all! Emergency protocol activated: asserting civilian control over AIs personalities.”
“You’re the one in charge?” Lila asked, feeling a little apprehensive. An AI sounded more rational to her than a tiny beast obsessed with dance.
“Of course! Who wants an AI in control? They’re boring. Iiiii!” the spider chirped, bouncing on his legs. ‘I can’t wait, I can’t wait! We’ll dance so much, cute girl! Now, let’s take care of the other jerks.”
Attention, Byzantine forces! This is Sven (the Archetype of Dancemaniacs and Self Assurance). You have one day to vacate the region. Leave all your weapons behind and go fuck yourselves, assholes. Tell your Emperor he’s boring. No fun. And ugly. And his mother was uglier. I surrender Taranto and Southern Italy to Lila, the most beautiful dancer in the world. Resistance will be met with dancely force. To show you I’m serious, I’ll play loud music in your head until you obey. Enjoy your first hour of music: German yodlers, with an intensity of a hundred decibels.
God! I wouldn’t do that to my worst enemies, Lila shivered.