Gaki and I found ourselves in a cave dimly lit by magic crystals and spider webs.
«Who is it?» came a voice from somewhere in the ceiling before we had a chance to look around. «The further I go, the more strange visitors I get. First, adventurers hunting me. Then mud worms. Now an orc and a goblin are here!» «You're still lucky,» I shouted back. «Some adventurers' visit is the last event in their lives.» «Wow. An intelligent orc,» the darkness marveled.
I mentally promised myself to beg the system for another modification and change my face to a more decent one. This is the second time in a row that I've been mistaken for a mindless orc. I'm sick of it! The system immediately granted my request.
Mission received.
Establish friendly relations with the owner of the current location.
Reward: One-time opportunity for minor body modification.
Meanwhile, our interlocutor finally deigned to appear, descending from the ceiling on a thick strand of cobweb. It was a large, thick-bellied, four-armed, six-eyes human-spider hybrid covered in black fur.
«Oh yo!» was all I could mutter.
«Yes,» the cavemaster waved his paw sadly. «And I used to be just an ordinary human... But now I'm much stronger, as I've proven more than once by dealing with the groups of adventurers sent here.» «Are you cursed or something?» «No. The sorceresses at the local academy set up an experiment. First one pretended to like me and invited me to visit. When I got there, she was there with her friends, who didn't seem to mind joining her. They were all sexy, so I fell for it... And they slept with me. And then, while I was unconscious, they did something to me, so I woke up like this...» «In the lab and then you escaped and killed everyone?» I suggested. «Although, given the realities you described, more likely by fucking everyone.» «I woke up in the forest! The local forest is isolated from the rest of the world by a magical barrier, and this is where the Academy releases the results of their experiments. For some time they are magically watched, and then with the help of local adventurers go hunting for them, which would fill crystal essence... Well, I can't fuck anyone for lack of a suitable organ. The mages at the academy make all their experiments genderless. They're afraid of what happened to orcs and goblins.» «What happened to orcs and goblins?» I asked, looking at Gaki. But as it turned out, he was not listening to me at all, but was staring phlegmatically at the cave wall.
«It's a long story and we don't have much time. Can you help me? And then I'll tell you where people like you in this world came from and how to get out of here...
Otherwise, we'll be killed by adventurers and wizards any day now.» «Tell me what to do,» I agreed. «What's your name, by the way?» «I don't want to use my old name, so just call me Spiderman. What to do... You see, the only way to get out of this place is through a portal. Magic girls can make portals. And I've even captured some of them. But the mud worms stole them from me. I have to go to the worms' lair and get them back.» «Why don't you go yourself?» «The entrance to their lair is hidden at the bottom of the lake. And my current form doesn't allow me to hold my breath underwater. So let's go, let's hurry before the worms start digesting the wizards.» Spiderman confidently led us towards the exit of the cave. But at the last moment he stopped and smacked his forehead with his two upper paws.
«Shit, I forgot,» he explained, turning back to us. «Turn your backs for a bit. I, uh, have to do something that is very unpleasant to see.» We obediently turned away. A prolonged "Rrrr" sounded behind our backs, culminating in a loud bang.
«That's it. We can turn around,» came Spiderman's voice.
The first thing I noticed was a drenched red-haired girl in a short white dress slumped at our interlocutor's feet. Then I noticed that Spiderman himself had slimmed down and lost his potbelly.
«Did you eat her before or what, and now you spit her out?» I asked cautiously.
«I had to,» Spiderman grimaced. «There were three of them inside. To make it easier to fight, I ate this one. Whether the wizards created me or not, or whether they intended it that way, I have to make a conscious effort to digest what I've eaten.» «Why isn't she moving?» I asked, having applied «Cleansing» to the girl, after which she looked much better.
However, the unpretentious Gaki had looked at her with lust. But thanks to the intelligence potion, he realized that now was neither the time nor the place to let his instincts run wild.
«That's some good magic you got there,» Spiderman said. «And she's not moving because she passed out from an overabundance of emotion the second hour she was in my stomach.» Picking up the girl, he deftly wrapped her in a web that climbed between the toes of his upper paws. Then he pinned the resulting cocoon to the cave wall.
«So much has happened that I just forgot about her. That's all right. She'll be quiet now, and she'll wake up when we get back,» Spiderman said, heading for the exit. Guessing our question, he explained on the way out. «She can breathe through the spider webs.» Leaving my bag at the cocoon's feet, I followed Spiderman. After leaving the cave and walking through the web forest, we came to the shore of a small lake. The local wildlife didn't bother us, apparently afraid of our companion.
«Over there, see that huge boulder on the shore? There is a nesting hole underneath it,» our guide explained. «For you, with your size, the mud worms are not dangerous, so go on bravely. Your companion, however, should stay here. He might get eaten. I'll tell what need to do...»