On the way back, as a sign of trust, Nysera told them about herself and her subordinates.
More than two decades ago, Nysera was merely a veteran spider monster. At that time, there was only one rank 1 spider monster in the fog zone. One day, an explorer team arrived. The team consisted of one rank 1 member and several veterans. They seemed to be resting temporarily, but that place became their permanent resting place—they were all killed by the spider monsters. The rank 1 member died fighting against the rank 1 spider monster, who was also left on the brink of death.
Seeing their team being annihilated, two members of the explorer team secretly took a package and ran away. They were not very strong and unexpectedly encountered Nysera, who killed them quickly. In their package, she found five strange fruits that immediately attracted her. She ate one, and it changed her life forever. After three days, she evolved into an Arachne. From a simple spider, she transformed into a much higher and highly intelligent lifeform.
Nysera enslaved as many spider monsters as possible. Due to racial suppression, they had no choice but to obey her. She then used these monsters against the injured rank 1 spider monster, ordering them to attack it at the cost of their lives. The mortal spider monsters feared the Arachne more than their rank 1 leader. The spider monsters that died fighting their leader piled up like mountains. Finally, after thousands of its brethren had perished, the rank 1 monster died.
From that moment, Nysera declared herself queen of the fog zone. She soon reached rank 1 and selected the four most loyal spider monsters, giving them the remaining four fruits. That's how the other four Arachnes came to be.
The package from the explorer group contained more than just those strange fruits. If those fruits improved individual power, the second item improved the collective power of the fog zone. It contained a few extraordinary seeds. After evolving into an Arachne, Nysera understood their significance and planted them. Soon, they grew and produced fruits that enhanced shadow mastery, significantly increasing the overall strength of the fog zone.
As for what would happen to the fog zone and its denizens now that she had taken all the plants away? That was of no concern to her. They were merely tools that had served their purpose.
Finally, they reached the edge of the fog zone where Ying Yue and the others had parked their vehicles. They entered their respective vehicles while the Arachnes climbed onto the roofs. Then they all departed.
When they returned to the territory, the fox women watched the Arachnes on top of the vehicles with curious and wary gazes. However, they had been informed beforehand, so they did nothing but observe.
They stopped at a designated spot where Samantha and Maria were waiting. The assassins got out to meet them.
"You can plant the vines in the underground caverns. Ask Zoe to help you with that," Maria instructed the assassins, ignoring the Arachnes.
Ying Yue nodded and left with her teammates. Then Maria turned her attention to the guests, and Samantha never took her eyes off them.
Nysera watched Maria and Samantha closely. She sensed that Maria was stronger than her, but Samantha made her hair stand on end. She knew this beast woman could effortlessly kill them within seconds without breaking a sweat.
"We don't mind letting you join us, but if you want to join, you have to pass a test," Maria said after observing her guests for a while.
"That's fair. We also want to prove our worthiness to join you," Nysera replied with a smile.
"Good, as long as you understand," Maria said, her smile turning slightly sadistic.
Nysera felt a sense of foreboding at that smile but remained silent. She knew they were too strong to need such games if they intended to kill her. Likewise, they were so powerful that backing off was no longer an option.
"Let's meet in five days," Maria continued, her smile widening.
Suddenly, Nysera and her subordinates felt the scenery around them change.
With Maria and Samantha, Samantha asked, "Can they continuously handle twenty days in the training room?" She didn't care about their well-being.
"They are already extraordinary, so I think they can handle it," Maria replied indifferently.
Samantha merely shrugged and returned to her tasks.
This was a minor episode in the Myst Haven Territory. All the residents continued their routine of slaying monsters and training in the training room.
A few days later, Drake added a special building blueprint for the Blood Pool to the system library and ordered Maria to construct it immediately.
Maria called all the residents and assigned them the high-priority task of collecting materials for its construction. They already had most of the necessary materials from the recent world event, and Maria purchased the remaining items directly from the system shop using her eldritch points.
Everyone worked hard to build the structure, which took two days to complete. The next step was to find enough blood to fill the pool. All but a few residents left the territory to kill and bring back as many monster carcasses as possible.
The Blood Pool had a unique feature: instead of directly pouring in blood, carcasses could be placed in it, and they would dissolve into blood. After many trips, they repeatedly brought back enough monsters to fill the pool.
Once the pool was filled with blood, it could produce one orb of evolution. Despite being formed from blood, monsters without blood could also consume the orb. They created ten orbs. After refilling the pool, it was given to Ruby, the only resident with blood mastery.
Nysera and her subordinates returned the next day, making tremendous gains from their time in the training room.
"You have proven yourselves. Now you are a part of the Myst Haven Territory," Maria said with a genuine smile, welcoming them as family. Even Samantha smiled at them.
Nysera smiled and bowed slightly. "Thank you for giving me the opportunity. When can I meet the lord? I want to thank him personally," she said gratefully.
"Don't worry, you will soon get a chance to do that," Maria replied. "My lord is satisfied with your dedication and has decided to reward you."
"Everything for the lord," Nysera and the other Arachnes said in unison, bowing reverently. Declining a reward from their merciful lord would be blasphemy.
Each of them was given an orb of evolution, a rank 1 racial monster potion, an Erasure Potion to erase their previous progression, and enough strength, defense, and agility fruits to attain rank 1 ultimate strength, defense, and agility.
Nysera and her subordinates' breathing quickened when they understood the significance of each item. They thanked Drake and Maria and took the Erasure Potion first. Within a minute, they were demoted back to mortals. As advised by Drake, they swallowed the orb of evolution and quickly drank the racial potion.
Potion
Path: Spider (Monster Racial Potion)
Sequence: 9, Elite Spider
Rank: 1
They felt like millions of tiny spiders were crawling outside and inside their bodies. Slowly, silky web threads appeared around them, soon enveloping them in web cocoons. Their respective fruits were also enclosed within the cocoons.
The territory residents resumed their everyday activities, but the cocoons remained in place for two days before showing signs of activity.
Everyone gathered around, excited to see the effect of the orb of evolution. The cocoons cracked open like butterflies emerging from chrysalises. Instead of butterflies, nude women emerged, looking completely human without any spider parts. The fruits were no longer visible.
Their hair had changed to pure white, lengthening to below their hips. Their eyes had green irises with black pupils. Their skin was pale, with cherry pink lips. They were extremely voluptuous, with no unnecessary fat, and possessed an otherworldly beauty rivaling any for women. A seductive aura surrounded them.
Nysera stood out among her subordinates. Her beauty was more pronounced, her hair more lustrous and longer. Her eyes had a slight mesmerizing glow, and a regal presence accompanied her seductive aura.
Suddenly, spider leg-like appendages emerged from their backs—four in total, two on either side. They looked extremely sharp and sturdy, and they could control them as easily as their hands.
Nysera's appendages were different from the others. They were larger, stronger, and covered in strange runes.
Just as quickly as they projected the appendages, they retracted them back into their bodies, once again looking no different from normal human women.
They gracefully walked towards Maria, seductively swaying their hips. Their appendages reappeared, and they spun dresses from spider silk, covering only their essential parts. After completing their task, the appendages retracted once more.
They bowed to Maria, and she could see the fanaticism in their eyes. Using the appraisal function, she checked their race and found they had evolved into yet another higher lifeform: Shadow Stalkers.