This is a daily reminder: You have 8 unallocated stat points

  I open my eyes. I don't dare say a word. My sister is with me. She sees the memories.

  “Etahehehe O we are royally fucked now or will be, Sara. Cahahahaha."

  My eyes widened as Mags steps back trying to ward herself. She negates it. I hug my sister. She is crying through her laughter.

  “It's not your fault sister.”

  “How is it not? I suggested a dryad, did I not? Now we are the dryad. Shall I fuck the adventures til you arrive Sara. Then you can eat them. Etahehehe.”

  I spoke to Mags before the memories, I wasn't cursed then. Only after remembering it did it affect us. But we both know now and our soul is so fragile. No. I can talk without her voice.

  “We don‘t have to use her voice.”

  “You are not being very convincing, Sara.”

  “I will not let this stop us.”

  You gained the skill [Voice Control] Basic 1

  Voice Control - your voice entices desires cept when you don't want it to

  Basic - so long as you concentrate you won't do it..try not to laugh

  Gain 1 exp

  “It's nice to see the system.” My sister notes.

  “Ya, it's nice.”

  “You two done burning my mental core?”

  My sister smiles and tackles me. Tickling me. I don't have many places that aren't scaled anymore but she knows which to go for.

  “Bwhahaha stop haha please hah.”

  She relents and looks at me sadly. I realize her point. I audibly gulp.

  “Are you still okay, Mags?”

  “Yes, so you can't control it while laughing?”

  It's a concentration thing Mags, maybe a geas?

  “No Sara, your soul is so fragile that I fear you would injure yourself further attempting it. Also are you sure talking directly to my soul is best here. If you use your voice there I may not be able to defend myself.”

  -Got to be careful there, Sara

  “Point taken, my sister just thought at me with the voice. Your right to assume I can think in the voice. Sorry for not thinking before thinking… Okay thats a weird way to phrase it, hah…fuck. Sorry I'll stop, please stop.”

  “Sara, take a breath.” Mags is wincing.

  I do so, “Sorry. Panic is not good either.”

  I swap to my attendant form. I feel my life core start to dip. I changed back. I take a moment to calm myself as Mags is curious while sister is worried.

  “Something else changed, my form is too different that my life core dipped.”

  “Just stay calm Sara, we have time to figure this out.”

  Mags walks over and scans my body.

  “Your skin is different, square plant cells not animal. I suspect you can absorb whatever light wave lengths you want now. Not very practical, plants live off this because they generally don't move. Try to think on doing that”

  “The dryad did. Move that is.”

  Mags just motions me to get on with it. My skin shifts in color as I feel it generate simple sugars. Is this a loophole on my thirst? I start to feel dehydrated, I drink some blood. Hmmm, making sugar uses my water which makes me thirsty and only blood can be absorbed. It could be a possible way to utilize more from the blood I drink but not a replacement.

  “Alright I think I got it.” I shift my visualization to include the new skin and change again. My life core is strained but gaining.

  I spent the last hour conversing with my sister. We got four more points in [Voice Control]. I shifted my presence boosted skill to it. Feeling more exposed as soul sense became a smaller radius.

  -----

  I walk up the stairs of the dungeon.

  “Is it getting bigger, Mags?”

  “I think it's growing to accommodate you. Adventurers love that your ever increasing ass is making room for bigger carts.”

  She laughs at her own joke. As if they knew it was because of my ass. I shift a moment and ya it's totally me sized.

  “It's weird you just become naked randomly.”

  “You could always wait on having my soul if you want a soul core first.”

  “And delay on eight legs?”

  “Ha, shit, I'm going to slip, aren't I.”

  “Just don't shout demands at people and you will be fine. May start getting suitors though.”

  I gag at that. My body pauses me, instincts ask me if I am ready to conceive. I feel it would lock my form until I finish the pregnancy. No not yet, body. I feel a trickle of blood start to drip from me as my torso cramps. Bleh. I shift my form but the pain is still present. I shift back.

  “Mags, would you cut a strand of my hair, please?”

  Damn it, even when I desire something it comes out. Mags looks at me and severs one of my blonde tresses with void. Of course she aims for those. I shift my body to attendant form and redress. The cramps continue.

  “Thanks, it seems I can get pregnant whenever I release an egg, my rejection started my monthly. I find it gross that I am absorbing the blood now.”

  -Then this will be pleasurable for you, Sara

  Her dryad laugh echoes in my head as I grimace further.

  Mags contemplates that, “You do have various souls attached to your own, they say hydras can lay eggs in isolation. Perhaps a quirk of that?”

  “Barbain required Beatrice and vice versa.”

  “Desire is not the same as required.”

  Don't laugh, don't laugh, don't laugh.

  -She saying sex is fun, Sara.

  “Hah, damn it.”

  She just had to say it. More dryad tittering. I step out of the dungeon. Til tonight sister. She gives me a mental hug. I don't notice it, my mind fills with information of the flora inside my soul sense. I grasp my head, it's so much. A thousand types of silk now have a thousand variations of grass in my head. I breathe as Mags rushes to me.

  -O I can remake all these grasses, go walk by a tree, Sara.

  “Sorry, apparently my soul sense is understanding the individual blades of grass now.”

  “You didn't have this issue in the dungeon.”

  “It's all the same grass plant in there, repeated.”

  My soul core dips, my arcane fills it faster now.

  -Not anymore.

  I give an internal chuckle at that. Seems not repeating grass is less of a soul burden? Variety is the spice of dungeons.

  -More room for monsters then, though remaking the dryad would take an entire floor's worth, Sara.

  She was a rather hefty soul. I start walking again, my soul sense imparting more plants to my memory.

  “Am I going to run out of space?”

  Mags looks at me questioningly.

  “Like I know every blade of grass as if it was my own body, like can my brain hold all this in.”

  Mags snorts, “You hardly know your body at all, but everything on you has grown including your brain mass, intelligence will keep those memories recovery speedy.”

  Wait, is she saying I'm going to mentally slow down as I grow unless my int stat keeps rising? Big as a dinosaur and possibly as dumb as one. Maybe I should start taking stats again when I eat…but then it ends too soon. Gaaaah. It's fine. It's fine that I know I will still be growing. Still consuming souls. Mags rubs my shoulder. I give her a shaky smile. It only makes her scritch behind my ears. My soul sense traverses a flower, an itch starts on the inner side of my right ear.

  “You grew a flower on your head.”

  “Shit, really.”

  Mag plucks it out, owwwwww. My head itches again. Why do my plants have to have a nervous system? I look at the removed hair ornament, it's a lovely shade of blood red, which is not the same as the flower I sensed, nor does it look the same. I smile as my soul warms, it mends just a bit more.

  “You grew another, seems you're attached.”

  I shrug, Mags places the one she took from me in her own hair. I sour at that, knowing someone else will likely want one.

  -----

  “Why do you have a flower in your hair, it's far too garish for an attendant, Sara.”

  “It is as you say, mistress.”

  “Remove it then.” She means the flower, not her head.

  I, owww, pluck the flower, feeling another grow in its place. Delores is fascinated that another grew.

  “But why grow another?”

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  “I ate a dryad and now I keep growing a flower on my head. Lesson of the story, don't eat dryads.”

  She snorts and starts laughing. I start to smile until she notices it in the mirror.

  “Why do you hide your smile from me, Sara.”

  I continued to brush her hair, “A proper attendant shouldn't display such emotions.”

  And being stoic is better than fantasizing. So far I've only managed to be stoic and fantasize.

  She sighs, “A personal attendant should meet their mistresses emotional needs.”

  “You have yet to tell me what you desire out of an attendant.”

  Shit…she seems contemplative. Actually considering it. I didn't mean to bewitch her. She finally speaks.

  “What we have now is fine, catching your smiles is fun. Place your flower in my tresses, would you. I can't be seen with such a garish attendant without being bold myself.”

  I sneak another smile in as the flower is weaved into her braids.

  -----

  This is a daily reminder: You have 8 unallocated stat points

  “Your tea, my mistress.”

  Delores nods at me, “You seem unwell, Jesmine.”

  She is looking paler.

  “I managed to secure a key to the dungeon this morning, it's a lot worse than our first time. I…I…asked Hischurl to kill me after I heard the dungeon laughter. He rushed me out instead. I… still am dealing with it.”

  I wince at the story. My sister won't control her desire to see them die. Everytime she laughs causes the adventurers to start to mass suicide, which just further drives her mirth. It has only increased the dungeon attraction, they are gaining both [Resist Desire] and [Resist Mental Attacks]. Sister wants to put a version of us in there to add [Resist Curse], I told her it's best not to make people think of Tibyders as monsters. She now walks around as the dryad as her top half, to differentiate from our daughters.

  “I think I'd rather we just met for tea from now on.”

  “Hahaha.”

  The tea hater has been scared shitless into only wanting tea, I couldn't control the laugh. Jasmine looks stricken, she eyes the bread knife. Hischurl stares at me confused, along with Delores. Jasmine grabs the knife, I stop the blade with my hand before she can pierce her own neck.

  “Sorry, that was cruel of me.”

  “Why is your laugh the same as the dungeons?”

  She asks in a shaky small voice.

  “I will not say.”

  She lets go of the knife, frightened of me. I take the knife back to the tray, healing my hand and wiping it clean. I return with a different knife. She doesn't try again. They don't stay for a refill. After they left Delores turned to me.

  “What was that?”

  “I do not take your meaning, mistress.”

  “I think you do, you hide your smiles but you went and terrorized Jasmine by mimicking the dungeon.”

  I look away and down.

  “Sara, look at me and answer.”

  An order from the mistress, I do.

  “I wasn't trying to mimic the dungeon. It was my laugh unbidden, I found her desire to avoid the dungeon for tea she hated before comical.”

  “She nearly killed herself in the dungeon, Sara. Then tried again after hearing your ‘not mimicking the dungeon but apparently sounding exactly the same’ laughter.”

  My sister said I was the cruel one. Time to fail and be fired.

  “I slew a dryad and it cursed me with its voice. I am working on a skill to negate it but it requires concentration to use. The dryad voice comes unbidden when I laugh.”

  “And this dryad voice is in the dungeon then.”

  “It is.”

  “Am I in danger being near you?”

  I sense her emotions asking me this. It's not fear. I answer truthfully.

  “Yes.”

  I wasn't fired that day.

  -----

  This is a daily reminder: You have 8 unallocated stat points

  “Why can I not hit you, Sara.”

  Block, parry, sidestep, parry, parry, block.

  “My stats greatly exceed yours, mistress.”

  Dodge, dodge, dodge, parry, dodge.

  “I demand you not dodge.”

  Parry, parry, block, parry, parry.

  “Damn it all. Stop blocking me.”

  Strike, a blow hits the mistress before she can swing at me. Strike, another blow interrupted before it reached me. Strike, the mistress dropped her wooden sword..

  “I do not think this is good training for you, mistress, unless you wish to raise [Resist Blunt Force].”

  I remove the sting to her wounds. I could do nothing for her pride. I smile. She looks at me annoyed then huffs. I am sure I could make her bleed next time.

  “It was wrong of me to demand you strip your defenses in a spar.”

  Stoic, be stoic while holding the desires within. Just like Marie.

  “It is alright mistress, I have felt the frustration of not being able to hit my sparring partner as well.”

  She gave me a smile at that, I returned it for a moment before being Marie again. She had more time on her hands, Jasmine didn't come for tea anymore.

  “Would you sing for me, Sara.”

  “As you wish, mistress.”

  A cover trinket came out. Activated, I started my wailing in my dryad voice, I could sing in no other. It was to further train the mistress. There were no words, just my grief of what I was and what I have been through, and my fears for my future. I am not sure how much that got across but Delores sat through it all every time. I felt my soul heal a little each time.

  -----

  This is a daily reminder: You have 8 unallocated stat points

  “How bout pink today.”

  I will the flower to be pink before I pluck it. I weave it into Delores' hair. A new blood red one grew in.

  “A pity you have to be so focused to maintain the color. I so wish to be matched by more than garish red.”

  “Apologies mistress, at least the flower maintains the color when plucked.”

  “That it does. Can you go procure a key to spend time in the dungeon tomorrow? I wish to train my [Resist Mental Attacks].”

  “As you wish, mistress.”

  -----

  This is a daily reminder: You have 8 unallocated stat points

  -You should let her go further, Sara

  Delores decides her pace Sara, I need not push her. It would not be proper.

  “I think this is as far as I will go today, Sara. Come stand close as I resist this pressure.”

  I move closer, “If you consider this aura as one of worthlessness my mistress, I believe you will see better results.”

  Sister laughter could be heard again. It washes over us. My daily wailing preparing Delores for the accompanied dryad voice. It turns to screams as my soul begins to etch. I hold my own scream in, knowing that Delores would be injured being so close to me.

  You have gained [Soul Etching] Intermediate 8

  Gain 80 exp

  [Dungeon 2] became [Dungeon 3] Basic 1

  Dungeon 3 - your still a dungeon, but you can have two entrances

  Basic - another key, another instance

  Gain 3 exp

  I am suddenly outside the dungeon again. I see the entrance and the new key. I try to touch it but it rejects me. Because I am a key?

  Qorth, Mags a new key formed. I can't touch it, retrieve it before someone finds it.

  I feel a tug on my soul. I'm sure Mags would love to stop paying rental fees. I ran down the stairs to Delores.

  -Why not appear next to her, Sara. It would have been quicker.

  And no explanation, Sara.

  -Aren't you afraid I might hurt her, Sara.

  You're not the cruel one, Sara. She titters at that. I reached Delores.

  “Apologies mistress, the dungeon had ejected me. I got back as fast as I could.”

  “Why were you in pain at the same time as the dungeon?”

  Not a question of why I was ejected but this one. My brain synapses fire as fast as they can.

  “Were you not pained hearing such pain, mistress?”

  -Another question for a question.

  Delores looks sourly at me, “You have proven rather lacking in empathy for others Sara, am I to believe you care more for the dungeon?”

  Finally a question I can answer truthfully, “Yes.”

  She is shocked by this, “We should head back.”

  “Of course, mistress.”

  -----

  This is a daily reminder: You have 8 unallocated stat points

  I wake up in my cell. I look down and see my manifestation is the sexless black carapace body. I'm too big to leave the cell and when I mentally attempt to move myself it's only to others instances of the same cell. I can't shift my body either. Damn.

  -Free free, I can massacre everyone now, Sara and you can't stop me.

  I roll my eyes, care to have a nip of blood, Sara.

  -...

  Oh please sister don't deny yourself the desire.

  -Probrably best not to make bad habits, Sara.

  Says the one who was constantly doing it before.

  -I had given up hope of being Sara.

  That's fair, sorry, I'm glad you have a chance to walk the world again, Sara.

  -I'm not…Sara are you going to be okay in there. Like truly. I worry you won't eject adventurers.

  I don't seem to be able to move from the cell. In fact I can't not be the black spider. Why can't I sense the entire dungeon like before?

  -Our mind can't handle the entirety of all the instances anymore. You will still see and track every adventurer. I ask again. Will you be alright, Sara?

  We need to know, we need to heal…if I take a soul, you can switch with me.

  -Maybe I won't, Sara. We got enough crutches.

  She never did like that I put the collar on.

  -No, I don't, Sara.

  Sorry not used to our connection being so strong.

  -Its fine, Sara. Remember we are not alone.

  When we have each other. I stare at the cell I imprisoned myself in. It's smaller … no I'm just gigantic. I try to focus on the layout but it doesn't happen. I feel a bit of bliss touch me. I smile. I refill the blood skin.

  -You missed.

  Sorry, out of practice. I tried again. Better?

  -Yes, not on my feet this time.

  I can't even summon the mithril rabbit. I look at my manifestation, there are certain things I can tweak. But the overall scary black spider bottom remains. I also notice that I am flat as a board. What cruelty is this? I try to will them back but nothing. Real me is nearing a C cup and here I am eight again. Maybe if I restore the reproductive organs. Nope.

  This body was a personification of my feeling about being a monster. Perhaps a monster reproductive system. The manifestation twitches, I feel an opening form on the under side of my abdomen. Ovaries and eggs form inside. Alright, now I can have breasts. Nope. How bout tiger ones? I feel four nipples protrude on my chest. I sigh. Flat with four nips.

  -Doing okay in there, Sara.

  Sorry, my manifestation was locked to nightmare Sara, it seems I can only make it have monster parts. I was…trying to restore my breast but ended up with four tiger nipples.

  -O system, don't make me laugh. Did the dryad not work?

  Uhhh didn't think to try it.

  -Hench why you're depressed, have fun Sara.

  I will the dryad bounty on myself. I ended up with two massive sets of breasts. My annoyance at myself grows when I can't will them down to just one pair. My sister will find great amusement at my travails. Whatever, four it is. Finding the perfect size takes half an hour. Large enough to be impressive, small enough to not impede my arms.

  More boredom. Could this body lay eggs? I don't feel like it's possible. But hydra can. I tweak the ovaries inside me. It changes, I gestate myself. O jeez it feels so weird. I push it through, there is pain in moving a golfball through my spider birth canal. The moment it leaves it disappears. Well that's disappointing. I need to attach soul mana to it. Ahhhhhhhhh more soul burn.

  -What are you doing, Sara?

  Um I think I changed my manifestation.

  My body releases another egg. It lands on the cell floor and breaks. I wasn't even trying.

  -Why did I feel like my soul was in eighth place a moment ago.

  I may have made my manifestation birth parts of our soul as a way to stave off boredom.

  -...

  Sorry. They keep coming out but I can't stop.

  I began making a nest…when could I make a nest? Usually it would disappear the moment I stopped touching it. Another egg falls. Shit I make a simple sling and position myself over it.

  -Sara, I feel my soul being in more places. Sara?

  I'm breathing heavily, seeing through a myriad of eyes. I can feel every spiderling I made. I am every spiderling.

  -Sara!

  A myriad of thoughts answer my sister.

  -Just one, just think with your main body.

  Sorry, I can see through all my babies, they are all in each egg. Not much to see but blurry opaqueness.

  -How are they developed enough to have eyes?

  Dunno, I feel a need to sit with them, keep myself warm. Will you watch my babies when we switch.

  -...When we switch will I be the babies then?

  I don't know…

  -How many are there, Sara.

  Twenty… another egg drops, twenty one

  -Your still laying eggs aren't you, Sara.

  Twenty-two.

  -----

  Maybe it will keep her distracted and not eat souls.

  I go and wake Delores. She yawns and looks at me.

  “You finally managed to change your flower, Sara. Not sure white is better.”

  A difference, I suppose. I titter at that. Delores seems shocked. Right be the Marie. Lucky Delores can shrug off non specific dryad laughter. I sit her in front of her mirror and begin working her hair. The flower is actually ultra violet but her eyes aren't as good as mine. I titter again.

  “Sara that's twice, you never had a nervous laugh before.”

  “Trying something new, mistress. Seems if I shift my personality my flower color changes. Not sure I can keep it up past midday though.”

  “Shift your personality?”

  “O yes, eteahehe, I'm going to be the shy, mischievous Sara, then come midday boom back to cruel Sara, etahehe.”

  My soul warms at that. It causes another titter.

  “You think yourself cruel?”

  “A part of me, yes, what color flower would you like today, mistress.”

  -----

  Okay it stopped at a hundred…I feel adventurers moving inside the dungeon. I can't go to them though. I can't watch them. Probably for the best. I nuzzle my egg sack. I can't wait for my hundred little hugs. Eight legs? Eight hundred little hugs.

  -----

  “Are you taking it easy on me? I was able to get a few hits on you today.”

  I smile at Delores as I wipe her down, “Told you, mistress. Shy and mischievous, not cruel.”

  “Not till midday.”

  I titter at that.

  “Well then will you sing for me.”

  The cover trinket comes out, I begin in [English], “A long long time ago, In a galaxy far away, N—”

  -----

  An adventurer made it to my cell, shit am I not in my instance. He looks rather disheveled.

  “Ah fuck, she's bigger now.”

  I grabbed him through the bars and pulled him towards me. Clang. Another time. Clang. Just like with Hanki. I pause a moment. He is dazed, not lucid. I pick up an egg and push it into his mouth. He involuntarily swallows it, then chokes as it goes down his wind pipe. I smile as the egg attaches itself into his lungs. Clang. He disappears. I can hear him cursing outside, a part of my manifestation is outside. How curious.

  “You alright, Charles?”

  “Fuckin’ spider girl a giant now, she seems stuck in the cell. No rabbit again.”

  Lovely, I can hear them. I will the egg to not hatch. Wouldn't want the man to die. More ideas, I will the rest to not hatch either.

  -----

  I'm back outside, time slows. This is a crucial moment, why hadn't my sister warned me. I focus on the task. The tea reaches the perfect line. Not a drop more. I calm.

  “Your tea, mistress.”

  “Thank you, Sara, my you weren't joking about the flower changing. I will miss the titters, cruel Sara.”

  What.

  -The hell Sara, why am I in a hundred different spots? One of which is in the tavern.

  Technically you're in three spots … for the most part.

  Delores starts humming a rather familiar tune.

  Are you singing earth songs to her? Now it's stuck in my head…my, my this here—

  -I think you're ignoring the fact that you split our vision in eight hundred ways.

  Think of all the hugs.

  -There are spider types where the young eat their mothers, Sara.

  And kisses…I already set them to not hatch.

  -...Soooo I may of implied that morning ‘us’ is shy and mischievous and evening ‘us’ is cruel ‘cause I'm not good at direct questions anymore, Sara.

  She titters again. That implies we ever were. More titters into a cackle.

  I clear the plates…you are keeping my babies warm right? I feel an eye roll. She yawns and goes to sleep.