Rin: "Master, what are we doing here today?"
Rin whispered, expressing her curiosity about what they were about to do.
At this moment, Tris and Rin were moving quickly through the slums.
Both wore cloaks that concealed their faces and bodies.
Tris: "Doing shady business. Just follow quietly and observe. If you have questions, wait until we're outside the city."
Hearing this, Rin suppressed her curiosity and obediently followed in silence, asking nothing further.
Not long after, the two arrived before a shabby, tightly shut house.
Tris drew the dagger at his waist and used Space magic 'Dimension Cut' to sharpen its edge.
With the dagger now enhanced in his hand, he easily pierced through the fragile wooden door. Swinging the blade down neatly and decisively, the wooden bar behind that kept the door locked from within was instantly split in two.
With the crude lock undone, Tris calmly pushed the door open and gestured for Rin to follow.
Once inside, he quietly closed the door to prevent anyone outside from peeking in.
The house had no source of light. But since it was midday, faint sunlight filtered in, and with her enhanced vision, Rin could still make out the interior.
A simple, dilapidated home with only minimal furniture, nothing remarkable at all. The only notable thing was a filthy-looking man, presumably the owner, lying asleep and snoring softly.
Tris silently approached, holding a small uncapped vial near the man's nose. He then poured a bit of the liquid from the vial into the man's slightly open mouth, tilting his head so the fluid would be swallowed.
Next, Tris pulled back the blanket covering him and cut off a small piece with his dagger. Holding the foul-smelling cloth, he rolled it up and stuffed it into the man's mouth.
After finishing, Tris used Earth magic to form a solid stone block binding both of the man's ankles tightly together. Then he flipped the man over, twisted his arms behind his back, and locked them with the same magic.
Finally, Tris wrapped the blanket around the man, summoned 'Black Horse' from his spatial ring, and gently lifted the man onto the puppet's back.
Watching everything, Rin was stunned by the precision and skill of his actions.
Tris waved again, snapping Rin out of her daze and signaling her to leave with him.
Tris: 'Light Bending.'
Before exiting, he used his magic, cloaking the group in invisibility, including the puppet and the man slung across its back.
Rin was astonished to see herself turning completely transparent.
Before she could examine further, Tris opened the door, pulled her outside with 'Black Horse', and quietly shut the wooden door behind them.
Tris gently lifted Rin onto the puppet's back, then climbed up himself.
Once both were seated securely, the puppet began to move, lightly running into the sky.
Once they had risen high enough, 'Black Horse' surged forward, carrying all three swiftly away from the city.
. . .
It didn't take long before the group had traveled far enough away from Aldor.
Tris chose an empty clearing in the forest below, where no one else was around, for 'Black Horse' to land.
Once they touched down, Tris dispelled his magic, and the group emerged from their concealed state.
Rin: "Master, who is this man? Why did we kidnap him and bring him here? What was that vial of liquid used for? And also…"
Now that they were outside the city, Rin no longer held back her earlier questions and began firing them at Tris.
Tris: "Stop. You're asking too much."
After pausing briefly, he explained:
"In short, this is a criminal I uncovered not long ago, someone who raped and killed a woman. Conveniently, I needed someone for a small experiment, so he was the lucky one chosen."
Realizing the man dangling before her was a criminal, Rin looked down at him with disgust.
At the same time, she quickly shifted her attention to what her Master had just mentioned.
Rin: "What kind of experiment is that?"
Tris: "Testing the reactions of a group of spiders when faced with different specific subjects."
Rin: "Ah, so it's related to what you mentioned the other day? About befriending them or something like that."
Tris: "Yes."
. . .
Even though Tris searched based on the location of the white spiders he had encountered before, it still took him nearly the entire morning of probing before he finally discovered a group secretly hiding.
Around that area, countless fine threads of spider silk were spread everywhere, ready to detect and ensnare any unfortunate prey that wandered in.
Tris: "Found them. Over there. Now you try approaching. Just follow what I instructed."
Rin: "Yes, Master."
Rin nodded her small head, then nervously began moving toward the direction she had been shown.
It didn't take long before she reached a place filled with enormous webs.
Curiously observing her surroundings, Rin quickly noticed a group of white spiders.
Some hung high from tree branches, some peeked out from rocky crevices, and others nestled among the grass.
At that moment, they all seemed to be carefully watching Rin.
Rin, with her two eyes, and the creatures with their eight eyes stared at each other without either side making a move.
Only after a while did the spiders begin stepping closer, waving their front legs.
It was clear they showed no hostility or any intent to leap at her.
Seeing this, Rin recalled her Master's instructions and tried waving back with the hand holding her buckler.
From not far away, Tris observed everything that was happening and began to confirm his earlier suspicions.
The spiders were all friendly toward him and Rin. The next question was: what would happen if they encountered someone else?
To answer this, Tris had gone to the trouble of bringing along another test subject.
That subject had now awakened from the sedative, thrashing in fear atop the back of the puppet 'Black Horse' while staring at the unfamiliar surroundings.
After all, if one had been sleeping peacefully at home, only to open their eyes and find themselves bound and taken to the middle of a deserted forest, anyone would be deeply terrified.
Tris: 'Even though I poured only a little, for him to wake up this quickly… it seems this drug isn't of very good quality.'
He silently assessed in his mind while approaching the second test subject, pulling out a black cloth to blindfold him, and simply said:
"If you don't want to die, follow my instructions exactly. If you understand, nod."
Hearing these cold, threatening words, the man trembled and nodded repeatedly, showing he would obey.
Looking at the first test subject, who at that moment was feeding and stroking the spiders, Tris quietly sent a command into her ear using the magic 'Echo'.
Hearing his call, Rin reluctantly waved goodbye to the spiders before turning back.