Vel and I spent our morning in the warehouse. I continued to read the books on enchanting that I had found in Nis while Vel devoured more compendium on exotic plants borrowed from the library. It felt nice to have nothing to do for once.
After lunch, Saida came back with us. She gave me a small cloth bag with the cut and enchanted elemental gems. I pulled them out one by one.
[Air Gem of Agility (+25 AGI, +25 END)]
[Earth Gem of Resilience (Protection, +25 VIT)]
[Water Gem of Magic (+1000 MP, +100% MP/h)]
Each gem, which had been lumpy and irregular, had been turned into works of art. They were cut into a spherical shape with one half polished smooth while the other were multifaceted. Each had a different pattern that let the light through in beautiful ways.
"They're beautiful," I said.
"Thanks," Saida smiled.
"It almost feels like a waste to socket them …" Vel added.
"I wouldn't want Saida's work to go to waste."
I carefully each of the three gems into the sockets on the bracer. The magic took hold and they were stuck firmly in place.
Socketed [Air Gem of Agility] into [Ravri Ritual Bracer]
Socketed [Earth Gem of Resilience] into [Ravri Ritual Bracer]
Socketed [Water Gem of Magic] into [Ravri Ritual Bracer]
"Now, as promised," I said, "I'll let you examine the items from this set. Where do you want to start?"
"The gauntlet and bracer," Saida said, "Their enchantments feel much more complex than the rest."
"And they are," I pulled off the bracer and handed it to her.
She pulled a small loupe from her pockets and clipped it to a pair of glasses. I could see complex enchantments on the small magnifying glass. She turned the bracer around in her hands multiple times, squinting harder each time.
"This is a work of art," she almost whispered. "The structure feels familiar, eerily so, but the complexity … by Gaia. I have to admit, whoever made those was a lot better than me at enchanting."
"Vel and I found three pairs of bracers and gauntlets in the ruins of a fort near Niu," I said. "Breknir had the third pair when the village was attacked. We found the rest of the set inside the nearby temple, hidden in various secret rooms. In total, it has seven pieces, a gauntlet and bracer, two bracelets, a neck band, a circlet, and a focus."
"Four arm pieces …" Saida trailed off. "Does it mean that those who made the set made them for …"
"Arachne? Since I found the last two pieces in the high priestess' office in a secret area behind the ritual chamber to turn elves into Arachne? Almost certainly. What I decoded of the ritual bears some similarities with the enchantments."
"You can read the enchantments?" The elf said, surprised.
"I have an advanced Magic Perception perk," I admitted.
"It's how she found the first secret room," Vel added. "She noticed the perception blocking enchantment."
"How ironic," Saida chuckled. "But so very useful. Have you thought about picking up enchanting?"
"I planned to pick it up eventually, I am currently reading some book I found in Nis on the subject. I also picked up an engraving kit and a portable grinding wheel."
"You have Nuhise's books?" I nodded. "Then you're in good hands. He was the best enchanter I knew. I can give you a few practice pieces, my latest apprentice just graduated and I have some spares."
"I won't say no."
"Now, back to this mystery …"
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It took more than an hour for Saida to examine every single item from the Ravri set in detail. By the end, I had a feeling that her head was bursting with ideas. She had taken plenty of notes at least. Vel and I accompanied her back to her workshop, discussing some theories along the way. Once there, she handed me a small crate full of iron medallions, daggers, and other small objects.
On the way back, we passed by the clinic to see Ailuin. I wanted to attempt at least one more molt before we left the village. I didn't know how long it would be before the next safe opportunity. Vel was a little hesitant about it at first but she agreed with my reasoning in the end, especially since we would involve another healer to help in case anything went awry.
Ailuin agreed to make a home visit during the next morning.
With everything taken care of, Vel and I simply decided to continue our quiet day. There were plenty of books to read and cuddles to be had after all.
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"I like what you've done to the place," Ailuin said with a chuckle.
He had arrived shortly after breakfast with his assistant, a girl named Esta. The doctor himself looked around with a curious smile. On the other hand, Esta seemed a lot more hesitant to step into the web covered warehouse.
"You don't need to worry," I said, "none of the webs here are sticky. This is a home not a trap."
She nodded and followed behind her mentor.
"How does the molting process work?" Ailuin asked.
"I have a skill called Arachne Body. Once it reaches the maximum level for its current rank, I can choose an evolution path. This, in turn, triggers the molting process. From what happened last time, my new exoskeleton magically grows under the current one and I have to get out of it before the new one hardens. It's very uncomfortable."
"I can imagine," he said. "How long did it take last time?"
"Three hours," I said with a grimace. "But I think it can be shortened significantly if I get help. I was hesitant to cut the old exoskeleton last time but it is likely the better option."
"I see," Ailuin hummed. "We'll help however we can."
"Thank you." I nodded. "Ready Vel?"
"Let's get this over with."
I swooped her into a hug with all my limbs. "Everything will be fine," I gently whispered into her ear and kissed the top of her head. I felt her relax as she buried her face in my neck.
The first step was to raise the skill.
Raised Skill Arachne Body to rank 2, level 40 for 10 ES (+40 levels)
Molt required to upgrade Arachne Body to rank 3
Then I opened the list of choices.
Choose Evolution
Arachne Hatchling
First stage of the Arachne transformation.
Bonuses: 20% increased skill experience gain for all Arachne class skills
Quartz Arachne
The Quartz Arachne is a magic specialist, their body contains several organs that improve mana generation, storage, and conversion. Their exoskeleton is more resistant to magical attacks.
Bonuses:
Mana Core (5000 MP, 200% MP/h), Magic Gland (+5% Conversion Efficiency)
Emerald Arachne
The Emerald Arachne is a specialist of Nature Magic. In addition to improvements to their existing organs, they gain an Elemental Emerald on their exoskeleton which improves the potency of their nature spells. Their exoskeleton is more resistant to magical attacks, particularly those of elemental nature.
Bonuses:
Mana Core (7500 MP, 300% MP/h), Magic Gland (+10% Conversion Efficiency), Elemental Emerald (+10% Nature Spell Power)
Amethyst Arachne
The Amethyst Arachne is a specialist of Psychic Magic. In addition to improvements to their existing organs, they gain a Mind Amethyst on their exoskeleton which improves the potency of their psychic spells. Their exoskeleton is more resistant to magical attacks and gains an increased innate resistance to illusions and mind altering spells.
Bonuses:
Mana Core (7500 MP, 300% MP/h), Magic Gland (+10% Conversion Efficiency), Mind Amethyst (+10% Psychic Spell Power)
Sapphire Arachne
The Sapphire Arachne is a specialist of Arcane Magic. In addition to improvements to their existing organs, they gain a Mana Sapphire on their exoskeleton which improves the potency of their arcane spells. Their exoskeleton is more resistant to magical attacks and can absorb part of their mana.
Bonuses:
Mana Core (7500 MP, 300% MP/h), Magic Gland (+10% Conversion Efficiency), Mana Sapphire (+10% Arcane Spell Power)
Citrine Arachne
The Citrine Arachne is a specialist of Divine Magic. In addition to improvements to their existing organs, they gain a Divine Citrine on their exoskeleton which improves the potency of their divine spells. Their exoskeleton is more resistant to magical attacks and gains minor bonuses from their chosen domains.
Bonuses:
Mana Core (7500 MP, 300% MP/h), Magic Gland (+10% Conversion Efficiency), Divine Citrine (+10% Divine Spell Power)
Copper Arachne
The Copper Arachne is a specialist of martial combat, their exoskeleton is reinforced against attacks by a special layer underneath that softens blunt attacks and prevents piercing attacks from going through.
Bonuses:
Hardened Carapace (+10% HP), Reactive Mesh (-20% Physical Damage),
Healing Gland (+20% HP/h), Adrenal Gland (+10% SP, +10% SP/h)
I still had access to the first evolution in the physical tier. I wondered if there was a special line that joined both paths, the system was surprisingly stingy with information on that front. I could only see the evolutions I currently had access to, not those in the future or that I didn't meet the requirements for. I moved the task of decoding the bracer's system up my list. Since it belonged to an Arachne priestess, it was possible it had information about their evolutions.
For the moment, I set the thoughts aside. I was primarily specialized in magic and the four evolutions in that path were likely the best choice at the moment. Three of them synergized with my Mystic Witch class and the last one with Mystic Priestess. Most of my divine spells were support focused, where raw power was less critical. Which left me to choose between Emerald, Amethyst, and Sapphire.
Or more precisely, in which order did I want to take them. I had three molts left and three options to choose from unless more appeared. Even then, I wasn't certain I would pick them since there was a possibility that my Mystic class would unlock a hidden evolution if I had all three.
In the end, I settled on Emerald since nature magic was the branch I used the most. Then it would be Sapphire and finally Amethyst.
"I am starting the molting process," I said.