135 THE MAGIC WATER

135 THE MAGIC WATER

Petunia summoned a magic spear and hurled it at the Spider Queen's head. It struck with a sickening crunch, but the damage wasn't enough to kill her.

"You can't kill me," the Spider Queen hissed, her voice venomous. "Your magic is too weak."

"There's one thing left to try," Leo said, raising his Ring Ward.

He focused, attempting to draw the Spider Queen into the magical space. But nothing happened.

"Why isn't it working?" Petunia asked with panic in her voice.

Yun-Yun furrowed her brow. "The ring's configured to capture bees. Of course it won't work on a spider."

"Damn it! Was this all for nothing?" Petunia cried. "You should have told earlier."

"I didn't know about it before."

Leo paused, deep in thought, then opened his control panel again.

"Name: Spider Queen. Race: Arachnid."

He quickly edited the description.

"Name: Spider-Bee Hybrid. Race: Apis."

The Spider Queen's body began to change. Black and yellow stripes spread across her abdomen, her legs taking on a faint, fuzzy texture.

"Are you serious? You turned her into a bee?" Petunia asked, incredulously.

"It's just superficial and most likely temporary. She's still a spider at her core," Leo replied, activating the Ring Ward again.

Leo could change the magic codes of almost everything in this strange world by programming. He doesn't yet know the programming language here, but he could change certain features or characteristics in the codes easily such as names for objects or creatures.

"Is it working?" Petunia asked surprised.

This time, the Spider Queen vanished, her massive form sucked into the ring's realm. The Ring was designed to capture and hold bees and it considers the Spider Queen a bee now. For now.

"Is it over?" Yun-Yun asked cautiously.

Leo let out a shaky breath. "Yes. I finally captured her."

Petunia stared at him, wide-eyed. "What kind of magic was that? Turning stone to water and a spider into a bee?"

"There's a lot to explain," Yun-Yun interjected. "But maybe another time."

Leo groaned, leaning against the cavern wall. "We can explain later... after you replenish my Lust Counters. I used all of them in this fucking fight."

"What here?" Petunia protested.

"Yes, I need Lust now. There is another big spider out there", Leo replied.

"Alright", Petunia replied as Leo grabbed hold of her waist and kissed her.

Lust Counter increasing.

------

While Leo and Petunia indulged in their moments of passion, Yun-Yun took the opportunity to explore the Spider Queen's lair.

The chamber was vast and eerie, its walls lined with shimmering strands of web that seemed to hum faintly with residual magic.

"Powerful creatures usually guard treasures in their lairs," Yun-Yun mused, scanning the room for anything of value.

Her eyes caught a faint glow emanating from a recessed area of the floor. Intrigued, she moved closer to inspect.

By the time Leo and Petunia rejoined her, Yun-Yun was kneeling beside a shimmering pond of water, its surface rippling unnaturally, as though alive.

"What did you find?" Leo asked, still catching his breath.

"This pond," Yun-Yun said, gesturing to the glowing water. "It's infused with powerful magic."

Petunia leaned closer. "This must be the Spider Queen's water source."

Leo summoned his control panel and analyzed the magic emanating from the pond.

"Interesting," he said, his brow furrowed. "The water is brimming with magical energy. Its structure is similar to the code in the Spider Queen's body and her webs."

"That makes sense," Yun-Yun said, her tone thoughtful. "The spiders drank from this source, which enhanced their bodies, making them almost indestructible. Even their webs are nearly impossible to cut by natural means."

Petunia's eyes widened. "Should we drink it, then? If it's so powerful..."

"No," Yun-Yun warned. "The water is highly toxic to humans. It would kill us before granting any benefits."

"It feels like a waste not to use this magic somehow," Petunia murmured, clearly reluctant to leave the discovery untapped.

Leo stared at the pond, frustration flickering across his face. Even with his ability to rewrite magic codes, he couldn't remove the toxins in the water. It was beyond his current skill level. "Damnit, I can't remove the fucking toxins in the water. I don't know the codes."

Yun-Yun's eyes lit up as an idea struck her. "At higher tiers of Body Transformation magic, it's possible to absorb raw magic essence from an external source and use it to augment your transformation."

Leo turned to her sharply, his eyes narrowing with interest. "Are you saying the water could enhance our body transformations?"

"In theory, yes," Yun-Yun replied, her voice calm but tinged with hesitation. "But my magic tier isn't strong enough to force such an augmentation right now."

"Then teach me the method," Leo urged, his tone insistent.

Yun-Yun nodded and began preparing the spell, her hands moving in intricate patterns as she explained the process. Leo watched closely, mimicking her movements while using his control panel to modify the spell.

When the spell was complete, Leo summoned his Dragon Avatar—a towering, spectral beast that radiated an otherworldly power. The dragon let out a low, resonant rumble before diving into the glowing pond, its massive form cutting through the magical water.

The water pulsed in response, but the bond they hoped for didn't form.

"Why isn't it working?" Petunia asked, her brow furrowed in frustration.

Yun-Yun paused, considering the problem. Then it clicked. "An augmentation requires an enormous amount of magic. At our current tier, we don't have enough mana to make it happen."

"Damn, what a waste," Leo muttered, his disappointment evident.

Suddenly, Petunia spoke up. "Maybe I can help."

"Really? How?" Leo asked, turning to her with renewed interest.

"It's inherent to my sin," Petunia explained. "Envy users don't get many special skills, but we can store unusually large amounts of magic with our Envy counters. That's why I don't need many Envy counters to replenish my magic reserves."

"But how do we use Petunia's magic?" Leo asked, looking to Yun-Yun for guidance.

Yun-Yun stepped forward her fingers rested on her chin to consider it. Then she got an idea.