Cellestra laid down the mice in a circle, so that their heads were in the center. I hoped that would make this as quick and painless as possible.

I enhanced the next level of the fireball spell for five Evolution Points just to be sure I would be able to finish this with one spell.

I had 106 points remaining. It shouldn’t take too long before I have those 150 I need for that “insight” skill.

I was both looking forward to, and deadly afraid of enhancing it. The ominous warning about pain kept popping up in my head.

I felt a small spike of pain in my head as I leveled up the fireball skill. New knowledge was added to my existing knowledge about the fireball spell. The knowledge told me how to make the spell bigger and more deadly, without the cost of additional mana.

That was completely new to me. This was definitely not how magic worked… or should work…

Cellestra finished preparing the sacrificial mice.

This was starting to feel quite macabre…

“All yours,” She said as she stepped back.

I positioned myself so that I would be able to get a clean hit on all their heads, that was to say, fairly close while using my legs to lift my main body. I prepared the spell, aimed, and fired, before jumping away to avoid the backlash.

Within a second of the larger fireball impacting its targets, a series of messages popped up before me.

You have killed a Small Forest mouse: No experience was awarded.

You have killed a Small Forest mouse: No experience was awarded.

You have killed a Small Forest mouse: No experience was awarded.

You have killed a Small Forest mouse: No experience was awarded.

You have killed a Small Forest mouse: No experience was awarded.

You have killed a Small Forest mouse: No experience was awarded.

You have killed a Small Forest mouse: No experience was awarded.

You have killed a Small Forest mouse: No experience was awarded.

You have killed a Small Forest mouse: No experience was awarded.

You have killed a Small Forest mouse: No experience was awarded.

You have killed a Small Forest mouse: No experience was awarded.

Achievement Earned: Herbivore Horror

Kill 5 herbivorous creatures with a single attack or spell.

You have been awarded 10 EP.

Achievement Earned: Massacre

Kill 10 of any non-insect adversary with a single attack or spell

You have been awarded 20 EP.

Hidden requirements for future evolution complete.

It worked!

It actually worked!

Moreover, I did not get one, but two achievements at the same time!

I was proud of myself for predicting these achievements. Hopefully, I’d have the points I needed to at least learn some spells after hitting the level cap.

I started dancing out of pure joy and pride.

“I’m going to assume that means that it worked?” Cellestra asked with a smile.

I nodded with my limbs.

It was unfortunate I didn’t get any experience from that, but it couldn’t be helped. I got what I was after.

I would now need some time to recover my lost mana. I could have improved my magic reserves and regeneration, but I had set a goal for myself. Before enhancing anything else now, I wanted to obtain that insight skill. For all I knew, it could lead me to make better choices. Insight sounded like it could do something like that.

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I hope?

The elf and I both looked at the smoldering heap of corpses before us. The smell was just horrible. Cellestra entered her home and walked out with a spade a few seconds later.

“Let’s get this mess cleaned up,” She said as she started digging.

As she worked, I started thinking about other possible achievements. With these eleven mice, I was starting to build a good number of killed rodents. So far, I believe I had killed nineteen or so?

I should try to kill any that I come across. I had managed to get two achievements so far for killing many of the same type of creature.

Besides, these mice weren’t hard for me to kill anymore. The fact that I could still complete achievements through killing easy-to-kill creatures, even if they gave no experience, was a huge boon.

Cellestra shoved the dead mice into the hole she’d made before covering it again with dirt and the patch of grass.

“You certainly make things interesting, Kealyna. I observed your methods to kill fish earlier. It was quite… interesting.”

She smiled before asking if I was going to continue my fishing trip.

I shook my limbs in a “no” gesture. I was going to need to regenerate first.

“Wanna head inside, then?”

I nodded to that.

She extended her hands and I stepped on them before she brought me inside and placed me on the table, next to the paper.

She seemed to have a kettle of water on the stove which was blowing off a lot of steam. Cellestra used it to prepare herself a cup of what I assumed was tea.

She sat down with the cup in her hands.

“So, Kealyna,” She started. “How are you holding up? I mean, mentally.”

“It is hard,” I wrote. “Been getting better now that I am stronger. Knowing anything could kill me was...” I paused pointing at the letters for a while.

“Hard?” She suggested.

I nodded with my pedipalps.

“I really wish you could talk...” She said softly.

“Appears there is evolution that allows speech. I need to get achievements in order to unlock it.”

“So that’s part of the reason you wanted my help with that.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

I couldn’t emphasize how much I appreciated this elf’s help. She’d been nothing but nice to me.

“What about the whole reincarnation thing? What exactly happened? Do you mind sharing?”

“It is fine.”

I had to take a moment to allow the rage that started building within me to die down before I started spelling out what happened.

“I died protecting family. Elysa wanted reincarnate me in different world where I could live happy. She would wipe my memories of anything that happened after parents deaths and place me with them. Then when I walked to portal went black. Shadow energies gripped me. pulled me through. Woke up as spider. Elysa quickly bestowed blessing on me in last seconds before pulled through.”

Cellestra looked saddened by my story.

“You were basically offered paradise...”

I nodded again. “My life after the incident was hell. No love no care. Became knight to get strong and survive and to make sure nobody would go through same thing.”

“I can’t help but feel for you. And now you’re looking for them as… that. I’m sorry to put it that way...”

“What about you?” I wrote. “What happened to your parents?”

“My mother tried to hide me as long as possible. I believe she truly loved me. My father… I don’t remember. Ultimately, they were forced to part with me. I lived with beastkin for a while until I was older. Eventually, they too seemed to be happy to no longer have my presence in their village.”

Cellestra sighed and leaned back in her chair. “Long story short, I’d heard rumors of some alchemist in this forest. I set out to find her. I did and she accepted me as an apprentice. She was intrigued by my eyes and… curse… She taught me magic and basic alchemy.”

Her face saddened further. “Her name was Rose. She was a human that was already in her eighties. She passed away a few years back. I inherited this place from her.”

A human?

I wanted to believe good humans existed. I truly did. I just… I didn’t get to experience any of that…

I wanted to ask what exactly her curse was, but I remembered how hesitant she was about telling it earlier. Besides the purple eyes, there wasn’t anything off about her. I decided to not pry. If she wanted to tell me someday, she would.

“That’s behind me now, though. I’m still hoping to find a cure someday.”

I hoped she would succeed. Would that allow her to return to her people?

Would she even want to, after they basically threw her out?

Personally, I wouldn’t go back. I’d shape my own fate.

I guessed that was pretty much what I was doing right now, too.

Cellestra finished her tea that had long gone cold. We’d talked for a while, and my talking wasn’t fast.

“Would hug if I could,” I spelled, deciding to cheer her up.

Her sadness seemed to disappear and make way for a slight smile. “Thank you, Kealyna. I truly appreciate that.”

She paused for a second. “You can still hug me if you want,” She said with a bigger smile.

She held up her hand as if she was giving a high-five. I skittered up to it and wrapped my legs around her fingers.

“Thank you,” She said again.

I figured this was the least I could do.

As odd as it felt, I was happy I could still somewhat act like a knight in this situation.