Celia was poisoned. The food they served to us was all poisoned, thankfully I noticed before eating, but Celia had already taken a bite.
We were immediately guided by the guards, called by the restaurant, to the nearby physician. The physician was a middle-aged woman who stopped what she was doing and immediately took a look at Celia's condition.
I swore to be myself that I would get my revenge. But for now, I needed to focus on Celia's condition.
After some time, the physician told me that Celia was in a less critical condition. However, the poison was still inside, and if she were not cured, she would die.
"Unfortunately, there were five types of poison used. I have identified three of them for now, and I have given her the antidotes for those. I need time to identify the other two. I must warn you that this is going to be quite pricey."
Of course, money, which I have plenty.
"I don't care; just do what you need to get her back to normal," I replied.
She nods and heads back to do her work. The same guard, who I sold the sword, asked me questions and gave me any updates. In the end, the restaurant was shut down temporarily for the investigation.
Somehow during the preparation of the food, someone slipped in the poison. However, the restaurant was run by a family and no one else, which either meant someone from the family did it, or someone managed to sneak into the kitchen.
An hour later, the physician returns. She had identified one of the poisons from a particular plant, which she had the cure, which was extremely expensive, but that did not matter much to me. However, the final poison was from a Trapfang spider.
Trapfang spiders create traps, and when prey falls into them, it uses its venom to kill. However, the problem was that Trapfangs were extremely small and could only be found burrowed in the western regions. She recommended that I see if any merchants or apothecaries had any. But I had an idea.
I quickly dashed out of the physician, leaving Celia, who should be safe, with all those guards around,
I ran into an alleyway, where I placed a [Warp Point], and then after checking that no one could see me, I teleported to the forest. The reason was Kumo. Of course, I had those antidotes in my storage, but I needed Kumo for something else as well. And why waste those when I could easily get the cure from a direct source.
Kumo was the Queen of spider monsters, and she had a skill called [Spider Queen's Antidote]. This skill allowed her to produce an antidote that should cure any spider venom.
"Kumo, I going to need your help," I asked as I pulled out a small glass container. "Can you use your skill to produce an antidote into this?"
Kumo moves her body up then down and gently grabs the glass container. She puts it up close to one of her hidden fangs, and a clear liquid begins to secrete from them slowly. Instead of being scared at the sight of her great fangs, I was amazed.
Kumo filled the whole container with her liquid. Wait, no, that sounds so wrong.
"Kumo, one more thing. Can you use [Queen's call] and summon some spiders for me. Preferably small and deadly ones."
Kumo suddenly looks up in the air and screeches. Which I guess was [Queen's call].
Twenty spiders emerged from the trees. Ten of them had long legs and fangs that was the size of my pinky. Another five had eight large eyes around their head, which probably covered a whole 360 angle. The final five spiders were so tiny that I almost missed them.
<<< Taming complete, subordinates of individual Kumo, automatically belongs to you.>>>
Well, I guess that's extremely helpful.
"Guardian, give me a summary of what they can do."
<< Tracker Spider has eyes all around its head, able to sense any small movements. It can blend in with the surroundings and has decent manoeuvrability. The Tracker Spiderlings can conceal themselves and also release certain chemicals that only the Tracker Spider can smell. This allows them to work together and track down a preys hideout.>>> "Sounds good; I want you all to protect someone, try to sneak into the capital, and make sure that you do not get caught." << "Cool, I didn't know I could do that." I turned to the spiders, "Well, hop aboard." The spiders all gathered around me. I could feel the Tracker Spiderlings on my head and neck; their hairs brushing up against my skin felt strange. Kumo also wanted to join me, as she came over and gave me a bear hug; well, I guess it would be a spider hug. "I'm sorry, you can't come with me; the people would freak out if they saw you," I explained as nicely as possible to Kumo, who looked dejected. "Don't worry; I'll come back afterwards." I returned to the alleyway, where I let all the spiders out as they crawled around. And then, I rushed to the physician's office; just before I entered, I looked at my [Radar] and saw our new spider friends were already here. "Boy, why are you back so quick? Have you given up on her?" the physician says as I enter. "Wait, no, I have a cure," I replied. "Are you sure it's a real cure? There are many fakes on the market, you know." "Don't worry; I got it from a trusted source." She looked at me with a complex expression, but I remained confident. "Fine, she might not make it by the time I finish testing its effectiveness," she says as she leads me to the back, where Celia was lying down on a bed. Celia's breathing was still unsteady, and her skin was still deathly pale. The physician administered the antidote; it would take some time before it took effect, so I waited patiently beside her bed. Eventually, it got late, and the physician said that she would close soon and that I should come back tomorrow. Just before I left, I spotted a Tracker Spiderling attached to the physicians back. I wonder what would happen if she found out?