Chapter 79: Crino Prairie 23
Inside the warehouse, white Spider Silk was strewn carelessly on the ground, covered in a thick layer of dust.
Moira’s heart ached at the sight. ’This is all medicine! To just be thrown on the ground like this... What a waste. Such an absolute waste.’
With a wave of her hand, she collected all the Spider Silk into her space.
After finishing all her work, Moira took a moment to rest before finding the woman.
After inspecting the quality of her work, it was clear the woman was very satisfied.
"This is the silk our clan produces. Consider it a gift. I heard your family isn’t well-off. Keep one vial for your own protection, and you can sell the rest. It should fetch a good price and help improve your living situation."
Moira looked at the ten test tubes before her, each about the size of her forearm, filled with a viscous, milky-white liquid.
[Long-legged Spider’s Silk, liquid form. In this state, the Spider Silk’s healing properties are well-preserved.]
The woman then took out a black card and swiped it across Moira’s chest.
At that, the smiley face badge, which was already beaming, broke into an even wider grin. A red tongue and two pearly white teeth were now clearly visible.
An enthusiastic mechanical voice rang in Moira’s ear, "Congratulations to player SoySauceDrunkard for being the first to complete this game’s task. You may now choose to return to Caelus immediately or remain here until the game ends."
’Is that even a question? Of course I’m staying here.’
Moira chose the latter without hesitation.
’Not to mention all the treasures here, Caelus’s weather is ridiculously hot. If I can put off going back for even a day, I will.’
After she made her choice, the badge on Moira’s chest instantly turned pure gold.
[Based on the player’s choice, the smiley face badge will automatically switch to ’leisure’ mode. After the game ends, you will be teleported back to Caelus with the other players. We wish you a pleasant time!]
With her task complete, Moira felt no pressure at all. Plus, she had three whole days, all to herself.
"Oh, right. How are my companions?" Moira asked suddenly.
Hearing this, the woman gave a gentle smile. "They’re fine. They’re working very hard. Would you like to see them now? I can take you to them."
"No, that’s alright. I’ll just wait for them outside."
With that, Moira turned and walked outside.
’The woman is beautiful, but the thought of her being a spider makes my skin crawl,’ Moira thought, feeling a little uneasy.
Although it was already dark out, her experience told her that the area around a Beastkin’s home was generally safe.
As soon as she stepped outside, she saw a faint green glow emanating from the tree trunks all around her.
She walked over for a closer look and saw it was moss.
[Paralysis Moss, a mutated species that has absorbed the toxins of the Long-legged Spider. Ingesting or inhaling it will cause total body paralysis and loss of motor function.]
’Isn’t this a natural anesthetic? This is good stuff!’
Since she was just waiting around with nothing to do anyway, Moira took out a shovel and began scraping the moss off the trees.
Unlike the earlier Purification Moss, the Paralysis Moss was just a thin layer that had to be removed bit by bit with a tool.
To avoid getting paralyzed herself, Moira put on a pair of rubber gloves.
By the time Shane Rhodes and Kai York came out, Moira was just scraping the last of the Paralysis Moss off a tree trunk.
As Moira walked over, she saw that both of them were carefully cradling a transparent test tube filled with liquid Spider Silk.
"Moira, the woman gave us this. Do you know what it does?" Shane Rhodes asked.
Moira nodded and explained the effects of the Spider Silk to them.
After hearing her explanation, the two of them instantly froze, clutching the vials as if they were priceless treasures, afraid to even move.
"Moira, can we put these in your Space Button for now?"
They still had tasks to do, and they were worried about breaking such large things if they carried them around.
"No problem."
Moira readily agreed and stored their Spider Silk in her Space Button.
They caught a couple of Sweet Glows to use as lights, then the three of them found a spot to rest.
Just then, Shane Rhodes noticed the badge on Moira’s chest. "I remember, this was your last task, wasn’t it, Moira?"
Moira nodded. "That’s right. I’ve finished all my tasks. The system popped up earlier and said I could either go back to Caelus or stay here."
"And you chose to stay?"
Moira shot Kai York a look. "Isn’t that obvious? If I hadn’t stayed, would you be seeing me right now? Besides, the temperature here is perfect. Why would I go back and suffer?"
Shane Rhodes and Kai York nodded in deep agreement. If it were them, they probably would have made the same choice. Every moment of comfort counted.
By the next morning, the three of them were feeling quite relaxed. Moira had finished all her tasks, while Shane Rhodes and Kai York only had one left, and there were still three days on the clock.
They rode on their Stag-Horses toward the next destination.
Whenever they came across a patch of Water Storage Mushrooms, the three would dismount to gather some. They put everything with Moira, agreeing to split it all evenly after the game ended and they returned.
Even close friends keep clear accounts, so the two of them wouldn’t just use Moira’s storage for free.
Around noon, Moira spotted a familiar forest in the distance and knew she had arrived back in the Chimefin Beastfolk’s territory.
’I’ve already cleaned out the Chimefin Beastfolk’s warehouse once,’ she thought. ’Going again probably won’t yield much. I’d be better off gathering more of the purifying moss around here.’
Seeing her expression, Shane Rhodes asked, "Have you been here before?"
Moira nodded. "I’ll give you a quick rundown of what to watch out for, but I’m not going in with you."
The two of them assumed the work here was difficult and Moira just didn’t want to do it, so they didn’t press the issue.
"Alright, just wait for us here then."
Watching their figures disappear ahead, Moira began eagerly sizing up the moss and Water Storage Mushrooms.
She hadn’t been here for a few days, and besides the Water Storage Mushrooms, different kinds of mushrooms had sprouted up—blue and red ones that looked exceptionally beautiful.
A little bit of common knowledge from Caelus: the more vibrant the mushroom, the more poisonous it is.
However, that common sense didn’t apply here, so...
’Patience, it’s your turn.’
[As the old saying goes, red and blue make the perfect pair. These are Positive and Negative Mushrooms. The red is the Positive Mushroom, and the blue is the Negative Mushroom. The two types usually appear together, growing right next to each other. If one person eats one type of mushroom, and another person eats the other, the two will be uncontrollably stuck together until the effect of the Positive and Negative Mushrooms wears off.
Note: A fun little trick for couples!]
Moira automatically ignored that last sentence. ’In the future, when I encounter an enemy, I can just feed them one of the Positive and Negative Mushrooms, then toss the other one somewhere random.’