King Slayer looked down and continued "For a human, or any 'humanoid' for that matters, they need skill and technique to become stronger, they need to master their strength perfectly. I am not fit for this path, so I will become a Vampire. Becoming a Vampire means I won't have the Job Advancements anymore, no Silver Rank, but I will instead gain access to the Grade System and Monster Ranking."
Adam crossed his arms and said "Are you ready for your true body to also become a monster?" King Slayer laughed "Of course I am, Vampires aren't as bad as you may think. While they do have this tendency of drinking blood, the sun won't kill them, just weaken them. I will also have weakness against Holy energy, but the advantages will far outstrip the disadvantages."
Adam sighed "It is your decision to make in the end… So, will our goals contradict each other?" King Slayer shook his head and said "It won't. We…"
However, he was cut mid sentence as a terrifying Aura washed over them. They instantly went on guard, and Adam felt it. As King Slayer had said, his aura wasn't much stronger than even an SS Class of the same level, considering they opened the Third Gate.
But then his attention was directed to the sky, where he saw something terrifying. Instead of the vampires he expected, what he saw was a gigantic web floating in the sky, on top of which was a gigantic spider.
"Aqua Sovereign… come." As the voice of the spider traveled all the way down to them, Adam felt a force constrict around him and bring him toward the sky. However, he could feel that he could easily destroy this force and escape.
However, he did not do so. He felt like this was a gesture of a good will from the opposing party, moreover if they really wanted him harm, they could simply crush him with their overwhelming domain.
Also, Adam had a guess as to why such a gigantic spider came all the way here to meet him. Still, despite knowing all this, he still sent a look at the spider's status.
[Titanic Spider] (Legend, Level 220)
??/??
As expected, she was of the same species as Neith… and she was a Legend.
As Adam reached the web, he landed on it, and was able to easily stand on it, not because the Fourth Gate gave him a perfect equilibrium, but because each thread was bigger than a damn road. Above him the giant spider said "You have one of our people with you. You are quite daring, taking one of our own as your pet."
Adam frowned and said "Don't think you can badmouth me just because you are stronger. You are much worse than I, ethically speaking."
The pressure coming from the spider spiked, and it started becoming smaller and smaller. After a moment, the spider actually turned into a woman, with dark long hair and she was quite a beauty. However, she looked angry.
She said "Do you think your class makes you superior?!" Adam sneered and didn't budge under the pressure, and instead said "You almost killed Neith and abandoned her inside a dungeon, trapped in there until she would one day be killed. If I hadn't taken her in, she would already be dead, so shut the fuck up."
Adam knew it wasn't wise of him to speak like that to a Legend, especially one representing a tribe as strong as the dragons, but when it came to Neith, although they knew each other for only two weeks, Adam treated her as family.
This was mostly because their minds were connected and they could feel each other's emotions at practically all time, when Adam is in game, so of course she was very dear to him.
As expected, as he said those words, the woman became angrier, but after a moment Adam realized the anger wasn't directed at him anymore. She suddenly punched the air next to her, and something unbelievable happened.
As if she had hit something solid, her fist penetrated not the air, but space itself, creating a hole in space. Moreover, cracks expended from the hole everywhere in the air.
Some distance away, an unassuming bird passed through one of the cracks, and it's body was suddenly split in two as it fell toward the ground, dead. Cracking open space was an ability Hero Ranks had, but even using most of their power they could only make a small passage.
However, that woman's punch had just destroyed space for hundreds of meters, and she had even created a hole in space. There was a big difference between a crack and a hole.
As the surrounding space was breaking, the woman exclaimed, gritting her teeth "Those bastards…" Her eyes, which had turned red, fell back to Adam as she said "Release her, I just want to talk."
Adam would have refused, but Neith, who could feel everything he thought, already knew what was happening, and she asked him to get out to. So, without much of a choice, he released her out of his pet space.
As he did so, the surrounding air also started healing, quickly leaving enough place for Neith to stand. She could fly, but she instead went on several threads. The woman looked at Neith up and down and said "Lhirtis…"
However, Neith instantly interrupted her "My name is Neith." The woman frowned and said "Your mother named you Lhirtis."
Neith shook her head and said "For me, my only parent is Adam, and he gave me the name Neith." She didn't sound angry, but there was a tone of finality in her voice. The woman looked at Adam with a scary face, but Neith said "Why did you come here?"
The woman looked back at Neith and said "Your place is at the spider's clan, not this Northman's side." Neith squinted her eight eyes as she said "As he said, you abandoned me to my death, and he saved me. The choice isn't that hard."
The woman shook her head and said "You don't understand, there was a traitor in the tribe and…" However, Neith once again cut her off "I don't care about excuses or your backstory, I am happy by Adam's side."
The woman crossed her arms and said "You have a duty to fulfill." Both Adam and Neith were confused, and the latter asked "What do you mean?"
The woman said "You really don't remember? Your real identity is Lhirtis, Princess of the Spider Clan, and daughter of the almighty Spider Queen, Lhirtee. As a princess, you have a duty toward your people."
Neith was shocked and said nothing, however on the side Adam said "What a cheap trick, using her conscience to bring her back."
The spider woman looked at Adam but said nothing, and returned to Neith and said "If you refuse to come back, your title as the Princess of the Tribe will be revoked, and you will be exiled from ever coming back to the tribe."
Neith remained silent for a moment, before she suddenly began laughing loudly, stunning the woman. However, on the side Adam had a small smile too.
As she laughed, Neith said "Why would I care about being a princess? Princesses are boring and must always sacrifice for the sake of others, I'm not interested in such a life. I would rather stay with Adam for the rest of my life."
The woman looked stunned, but after a moment she was enraged and she said "FINE! Lhirtis, Princess of the Spider Tribe, exists no more. You, Neith, are banned from ever setting foot in our tribe!"
As she said that, she turned back into her spider form and disappeared, alongside with the numerous webs in the sky.
Adam started falling, but Neith, capable of flight, quickly caught him and put him on her back as she floated in the air.
On her back, Adam patted her shell and asked "Are you sure about your decision? You could have discovered your family."
Neith shook her head and said "I have never been so sure of myself… Although there is something…"
Adam raised an eyebrow and asked "What is it?"
Neith lowered her head a little as she asked in a low voice, inside their mind "Instead of calling you Master, can I, from now on, call you… dad?"