Battle the Thunder Spider Again-Can They Win? (Listening to Rain)

The branch bridge swayed gently beneath their feet. In the distance, layers upon layers of treetops stretched out, while fragmented sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting mottled shadows across the wooden bridge.

The air carried the damp scent of vegetation. Occasionally, the cry of an unknown bird drifted down from above, only to be swiftly swallowed by the wind.

Elena turned and led the way.

Silver Wolf dropped to the rear of the group.

She watched Elena's back and quietly tugged the goggles on her forehead a little lower.

Her vision was overlaid with silver-blue data lines.

Elena's mana readings were very stable.

They were unlike the crude stat stacking of magical beasts, and unlike the overly orderly interface traces on Vernacular Poet and the others. Fine connections linked her to the surrounding trees, like threads extending from leaf veins.

A few seconds later, data appeared.

[Elena]

[Level: 68]

[Age: Approximately 342 years]

[Status: Good]

Silver Wolf blinked.

Three hundred and forty-two years.

The gap in lifespans in this world was pretty huge.

Her gaze shifted back to Vernacular Poet.

The terminal in Vernacular Poet's hand was still lit.

Faint pale-green patterns traced the edges of the crystal terminal, occasionally resonating with the leaf-shaped mark on the back of his hand. That layer of light was shallow, like a translucent pane of glass pressed against him.

It was visible, and it could be touched.

Silver Wolf's fingertips moved slightly.

A tiny silver-blue pixel scattered from her fingertip and latched onto the light patterns leaking from Vernacular Poet's terminal.

Several lines of information surfaced.

[ID: Vernacular Poet]

[Class: Holy Radiance Priest]

[Level: 60]

Further down was a skill panel.

Some parts were clear, while others were blocked by a thin pale-green membrane.

[Silence Barrier]

[Holy Radiance Shield]

[Purifying Light]

[Prayer Casting: Partially Locked]

Silver Wolf continued looking to the side.

There was a smaller section there.

Why does that look like a chat channel?

Silver Wolf did not force it open. Instead, she probed a little farther along the edge.

The next instant, an extremely faint light flickered deep within the interface.

[Self-Check Initiating]

Silver Wolf stopped moving, and the silver-blue pixels silently dispersed.

If she continued dismantling deeper into it, or directly altered Vernacular Poet's display layer, that unknown self-check would most likely truly activate.

Silver Wolf chewed her bubble gum.

Pop.

Looks like... the people in this party aren't simple.

The group continued onward.

Elena led them through a grove of moon-white vines.

The vines naturally parted to either side, revealing a narrow path. At the end of the path was not an ordinary village, but a residential area built between tree roots and branch bridges.

Most of the houses did not rest on the ground.

They hung between enormous trees, like little homes supported by leaves. Silver-green curtains draped down from above, and tiny runes emerged when the wind blew through them. Elves crossed the branch bridges with light footsteps, but nearly all their gazes fell upon these outsiders.

Windchaser's eyes were already shining too brightly to hide. "So beautiful..."

Without looking back, Elena said, "Don't touch anything."

"I was just complimenting it!"

"Please, I really don't want the chief scolding me."

Windchaser choked on her words.

Vernacular Poet chuckled softly.

Sunken Crow swept his gaze around the area, never approaching any of the buildings.

Silver Wolf raised her head toward the center of the settlement, where there stood a tree that was not particularly large.

At least, compared to the massive trees outside that nearly blocked out the sky, it could even be called small.

It was only a few dozen meters tall. Its trunk was pale silver, its surface lacking ordinary bark patterns and instead covered in dense moon-white lines. Its leaves were translucent, their edges gleaming faint gold. Its roots were not fully embedded in the earth, but suspended above a ring of clear water.

The water was utterly still.

Yet what it reflected was not the canopy, but a starry sky so deep its bottom could not be seen.

Silver Wolf paused.

Her goggles automatically produced a prompt.

[Unknown

[Record Exists: World Tree]

[Age: Unable to Determine]

[Status: Corrupted]

Silver Wolf looked at the small tree. "World Tree?"

Windchaser immediately leaned over and explained in a low voice:

"That's what the elves here call it. I heard it isn't a complete World Tree—more like some kind of branch or sapling."

Elena corrected her. "Not a sapling."

Windchaser immediately shut up.

Elena looked at Silver Wolf.

"It is the World Tree Branch Shadow left within the Emerald Giant Forest."

Silver Wolf nodded. "A projection?"

Elena frowned. "Not a projection."

"Oh."

Silver Wolf did not argue.

She merely took another look at the starry reflection in the water.

This thing did not resemble an ordinary tree.

Elena led them around the World Tree Branch Shadow and arrived before a small house encircled by roots.

The house had no door, only a hanging curtain of leaves.

The leaf curtain automatically parted to either side, and an aged voice came from within. "Come in."

An elderly Elf sat inside.

His hair was nearly entirely white, his ear tips long, and beside him lay a record disk woven from vines. Several strands of moon-white light hovered above it, like leaf veins slowly turning.

Elena spoke. "Elder, they wish to trade for Moonshade Vine Hearts."

The elderly Elf looked toward Sunken Crow. "A breakthrough material for a Shadow Walker."

Sunken Crow stepped forward half a pace.

"Yes."

Vernacular Poet took out a wooden box. "We have brought trade goods. Purifying resin, a rotten nest core, and kingdom gold coins."

The elderly Elf did not look at the wooden box immediately. He first looked to Elena.

Elena said, "They helped the outer-ring Ranger Patrol last time."

"I know." The elder raised a hand, and the moon-white patterns on the record disk slowly rotated. "The trade is no problem."

Windchaser's eyes lit up.

Vernacular Poet, however, did not relax.

Because the elder's next words followed immediately.

"But there have seemed to be rather a lot of magical beasts nearby lately."

The room fell quiet.

Vernacular Poet raised his eyes. "Then, Elder, are you hoping we can help settle things?"

The elder gave a soft grunt.

"The night before last, the Thunder Spider Matriarch entered the Moonshade Vine growing grounds—wouldn't that suit you as well?"

Windchaser murmured, "Thunder Spider Matriarch..."

Silver Wolf stopped chewing her bubble gum for a moment.

She looked at the elder. "Oh? You mean the kind that climbs trees?"

The elder glanced at her.

"That's right. It is around ten meters long. Travelers, you must be careful..."

Silver Wolf fell silent.

Vernacular Poet noticed her reaction. "Has Wolf Venerable seen it before?"

Silver Wolf looked toward the rainforest beyond the house.

She remembered the compound eyes hanging upside down beneath the canopy, the blue-violet lightning, and how she had been chased so badly at the start that she had stumbled and crawled away.

She slowly blew a bubble.

Pop.

"Something like that."

Windchaser instantly perked up. "You know where it is?"

Silver Wolf's tone remained flat. "We've crossed paths."

Sunken Crow looked at her.

Vernacular Poet's smile became subtle.

Meanwhile, Windchaser's eyes were already sparkling. "Did we trigger a hidden prerequisite quest?"

Silver Wolf looked at her. "What?"

Windchaser immediately scratched her head, then laughed awkwardly and looked up.

Vernacular Poet rubbed his forehead.

Elena coldly interrupted:

"Take the deal, listen to the elder, then clear out the spider nest afterward."

Vernacular Poet looked at the elder. "Are there any special circumstances?"

The elder shook his head.

"No. It is merely an ordinary Spider Mother, and its materials will belong to you as well."

Vernacular Poet considered it.

Silver Wolf spoke. "When do we leave?"

Sunken Crow nodded. "The sooner we leave, the sooner we finish."

Silver Wolf added, "I know which direction its nest is."

Vernacular Poet quickly reorganized his thoughts. "We agree."

Windchaser immediately clenched her fist. "Let's kill spiders!"

Elena nodded. "I will accompany you."

Windchaser had just been about to cheer when Elena coldly added, "Especially to keep an eye on you."

Windchaser: "...Why are you watching me?"

Silver Wolf looked outside.

Deep within the rainforest, a faint flash of lightning flickered between the treetops.

That spider had made a circle and become her mission target once more.

She lowered her head and looked at her gloves.

She raised her head. "Second playthrough."