The Restless Baruk

Their landing point was the Aragog nest, in the center of a depression, with layers of spider webs.

The entire depression was shrouded in a thick fog that lingered year-round, completely obscuring the treetops overhead.

The air was humid and thick, filled with the smell of spider silk secretions—a sour, rotten, and fishy odor mixed with the stench of damp, decaying leaves and the remnants of old prey on the spider silk, pungent and unpleasant.

I was stepping on layers upon layers of spiderwebs. The bottom layer was old silk from several years ago, dried and brittle, crumbling into powder underfoot. In the middle were the channels woven over time, still elastic, so that my feet would sink in when I stepped on them.

At the very top was a freshly sprayed hunting net, sticky and translucent, hanging among the pebbles in the depression. Morning dew condensed on the mesh, making the entire depression shimmer with light.

The hemispherical giant nest lay in the very center of the depression, like an inverted egg, its surface woven from spider silk as thick as an arm.

The nest's surface was covered with holes of all sizes, from which black-haired spiders went in and out. Some slid down on silk, while others lay motionless at the entrance, their compound eyes gleaming in the darkness.

The trees surrounding the depression were also covered with layers of nets, on which hung the remains of countless prey.

Hermes wobbled when he landed, and once he regained his footing, he couldn't take it all in with his eyes.

His wand had slid out of his sleeve and was held in his right hand, its Magic Power now in an active, activated state.

His eyes quickly scanned the surroundings, past the giant nest, the layers of spiderwebs, the black-haired spiders going in and out of the holes, and in the distance, several pairs of glowing compound eyes approaching from the darkness.

Then he turned around and saw Regulus.

He remembered now; it was Regulus who brought him, so nothing bad could happen.

His shoulders slumped back down, the wand still in his hand, but the tip drooped.

He looked down at the spider web at his feet, rolled it with the sole of his shoe to test its elasticity, and found it solid before shifting his weight onto it.

He looked up at the giant nest again, his eyes fixed on it.

This was his first time here, and it was indeed eerie, but he had seen far more eerie things before—just a spider's nest.

Then he watched as the giant spider, bigger than Baruk, slowly crawled out of its lair, and raised his wand once more.

Aragog.

Its body was a whole size larger than Baruk's, and its eight legs stretched to nearly three meters. Black bristles covered its dark brown carapace, and with each step it took, the spider web beneath its feet sank down.

Above its head and thorax, four pairs of eyes are arranged in an arc. The largest pair of primary eyes is bright white, while the other three pairs are milky white.

Its large chelipeds were spread open, revealing the dark red inner walls and two rows of barbs.

The surrounding spiderwebs vibrated as a dozen adult Acromantula emerged from the holes in their nests, hanging down from the treetops and peeking out from under the webs. They stretched out their chelicerae, their eight legs supporting their bodies as they moved forward, forming a large circle in the mist that tightened more and more.

Aragog took a few steps out of the nest entrance, and all the spiders around him that were closing up their coils stopped.

They lay still, their eight legs tucked together at their sides, their compound eyes all facing the same direction.

Baruk stood next to Regulus, his body bent down, his front legs tucked in, his hind legs supporting him on the ground, his entire carapace pressed against the ground.

The Acromantula's subservient attitude towards its leader is etched into its body from the moment it hatches.

But when it was halfway down, it suddenly stopped, as if it had remembered something.

It is now the spider of Regulus's leader, and Aragog's father is afraid of Regulus, so why should it submit to him as before? Logically, no.

But Baruk was a clever spider after all, and his mind worked quickly.

It didn't straighten up; it remained crouched.

Aragog was tall, and from above, one couldn't see the main eye beneath its lowered head, which was eagerly glancing in Regulus's direction. Only Regulus could see it.

Its two main eyes looked at him pitifully, while its compound eyes below were also busy, darting around and scrutinizing Aragog from bottom to top, showing no sign of restlessness.

Regulus chuckled, a smile spreading across his face, and patted its large head.

Baruk understood; Chief Regulus was backing the spider.

It lowered its body and first bowed to Aragog in a proper manner, closing its chelipeds and tucking its eight legs together, making a perfect gesture.

"Aragog's father."

The sound was rough, sharp, and had a frictional texture unique to spiders.

Then it immediately got up, went around behind Regulus, and tried to hide its two-meter-long body behind Regulus.

It couldn't hide completely; half its head peeked out from Regulus's shoulder, glancing towards Aragog. Its pincers clicked softly, and it remained motionless.

Aragog ignored Baruk's tricks.

Several pairs of compound eyes scanned back and forth between Regulus and Baruk. The largest pair of main eyes was fixed on Regulus, while the other pairs of compound eyes each had their own tasks. Some were fixed on Baruk, while two others turned to Hermes, scanning the unfamiliar wizard from head to toe before returning to Regulus.

Its main eye twitched, and a rough, deep voice squeezed out from the base of its chelicerae. "Wizard."

Regulus nodded. "Aragog."

"What do you want this time?" Aragog's chelicerae slightly opened, revealing their dark red inner walls.

Regulus raised his hand and gestured backward.

Baruk reluctantly emerged from behind him, his eight legs moving slowly, his chelicerae half-open and half-closed, his spider head lowered. He glanced first at Aragog, then back at Regulus.

Regulus nodded at it.

Aragog's main eye fell on Baruk and saw the change.

The eyes looked strange, turning from bright white to amber. The bristles were also different colors, changing from dark brown to dark red. There were reddish-brown lines around the joints, and the surface of the carapace looked like it was covered with scales.

The scent emanating from Baruk was different now; it had a different scent.

But Aragog couldn't explain what was extra; it lacked the knowledge.

It simply felt that this offspring had changed, something was wrong, it was different from all the other offspring in the nest, it wasn't like an ordinary Acromantula anymore. In its two main eyes, surprise and doubt floated in the left eye, and uncertainty was revealed in the right eye.

Under Aragog's watchful gaze, Baruk lay down again, tucking his front legs together, supporting himself on his hind legs, and pressing his carapace against the ground.

But it was still restless, its body facing Aragog, its spider head tilted slightly to the side, its left eye glancing at Aragog's reaction, its right eye stealing glances at Regulus's expression.

Regulus patted its big head again.

Aragog racked his brains, pondering over and over again what these patterns, these eyes, this fur, this shell, meant. The more he thought about it, the more confused he became.

It didn't even bother to care about Baruk's strange submissive posture; its mind was completely occupied by this unfathomable change.

Hermes stood to Regulus's side and slightly behind, wand still in his hand, silently glancing back and forth between Baruk and Aragog.

Aragog is indeed bigger Baruk, with thicker and longer legs, a thicker carapace, and stiffer bristles. It looks quite imposing and would make a good impression to take out. It should also be formidable in a fight.

But no matter how you look at it, none of them are as pleasing to the eye Baruk.

It was a dark, grayish blob, like an old specimen—dull, stale, and lifeless.

He wanted someone like Baruk.

Aragog withdrew his gaze from Baruk and fixed his main eye back on Regulus's face.

"What do you plan to do this time?"

Regulus didn't answer immediately; with a thought, Baruk was instantly engulfed in flames.

Flames leaped from the roots of every bristle on Baruk's body, orange-red tongues of fire enveloping its carapace and eight legs, burning fiercely all over its body.

The flame core emitted a hint of blue-white, gradually turning orange-red, then dark red. The high temperature distorted the air, and the firelight illuminated the entire depression, making the spiderwebs on the walls appear orange-red.

The surrounding spider webs sizzled at the edge of the flames, but didn't catch fire; not a single thread broke. The flames were contained within Baruk, enveloping him completely, without burning outwards at all.

Aragog took two steps back, his compound eyes widening simultaneously, his body instinctively shrinking back, and a few of his bristles curling up under the Radiation heat of the flames.

It almost thought Regulus was going to kill Baruk.

Setting fire to the Acromantula is tantamount to execution.

It itself had been burned by this wizard, with a similar fire, orange-red and raging.

But Baruk didn't scream, struggle, or try to escape. It was quite comfortable in the fire, even raising one of its flaming forelegs and waving it around, its chelipeds clicking as if showing off.

Aragog stopped retreating, stubbornly holding on even as the heat intensified, and a few more of its bristles curled up.

Baruk was still showing off, stretching out his flaming forelegs to the side. Finding that the spider web under his feet hadn't caught fire, he stretched his legs even further, trying to direct the fire elsewhere.

Regulus looked at its restless leg, somewhat speechless, his fingers twitching slightly.

The next moment, the flames were extinguished.

Baruk remained in the extended leg position, his leg frozen in mid-air, before casually retracting it, all eight eyes glancing in Regulus's direction.

Aragog remained standing there, his eyes fixed on Baruk.

When the flames were completely extinguished, Baruk stood there unharmed, not even a single bristle singed, before it slowly took a step forward. It understood: Baruk was not afraid of fire.

It's not just that it's not afraid; the Acromantula's fearlessness simply means it stays away from the fire and can withstand being roasted, like it did just now.

But Baruk, who burned himself with fire for so long and was still unharmed, is Acromantula like no other in the world. In the collective memory, fire has been the number one enemy since the day they hatched.

Whether encountering a tree struck by lightning and ablaze in the Forbidden Forest, or smelling smoke deep within their nest, all the Acromantula have the same first reaction: run. But Baruk stood in the fire, still stretching out his legs.

Aragog's main eyes were wide open to their limit, while his compound eyes were churning with all sorts of emotions.

Shock, fear, vigilance, contemplation, greed, violence.

"What did you do to it?" Aragog's voice was impatient, and it waved its large claws but dared not move closer.

It wanted to ask more questions, but had no idea where to begin. "The smell on it isn't right."

Regulus looked at it.

The taste Aragog described was probably Magic Power; it could see changes in Baruk's Magic Power abilities.

Perhaps it's because it has more eyes; eight eyes can see more diverse things than two.

But he didn't want to explain; it was enough for the old spider to see the change. The rest was irrelevant to it.

"One modification," Regulus said casually, holding up one finger. "I'm here for the second one."

He glanced in the direction of the nest. "Make room."

Hermes stood to the side, silent the entire time, watching Regulus's back-and-forth with the enormous creature, lost in thought.