136 SURVIVORS IN THE COCOONS
"You should help Petunia absorb the magic water first," Yun-Yun suggested. "We can take any excess water back to your dungeon for integration. The magic there should be enough to aid us."
Leo nodded and moved to hold Petunia, guiding her as she summoned her Dragon Avatar. With a few quick modifications from Leo, the dragon descended into the magic water, its form soon baptized by the glowing liquid.
The magic began to bond with the Dragon Avatar, the process unfolding smoothly under Leo's careful adjustments.
As the transformation neared completion, Petunia glanced at Leo, her expression a mix of curiosity and admiration. "How did you manage to get my Body Transformation to perform such an intricate spell? Techniques like this are usually only accessible to Man-tier mages."
Leo gave a small, knowing smile. "It wasn't easy. The body transformation spell connects to specific receptors in your body's magical structure. I modified those receptors to mimic Yun-Yun's advanced magic, giving it the ability to augment."
Yun-Yun explained, "He bypassed the natural limitations of your tier by activating those receptors."
"Exactly," Leo confirmed. "Once I understood how the spell was designed to interact with those nodes, it was just a matter of syncing the activation with the casting process. Yun-Yun's augmentation spell worked perfectly once the receptors were aligned."
Leo doesn't yet understand the programming language of this world's magic but could replicate and move the codes around with some guesswork. It doesn't seem to be much but if he's lucky he could do marvels.
"I don't understand a word you just said," Petunia admitted with a laugh. "But I appreciate that my Dragon Avatar has become much stronger. Although most of my mana is drained now."
Casting the augmentation required an enormous amount of magic, something only Petunia's Envy sin could provide.
The Dragon Avatar emerged from the pond, glowing brighter than before, its form now infused with the magic of the water. It lingered for a moment before returning to Petunia, merging seamlessly with her body.
"Did it work?" Leo asked Yun-Yun, his voice tinged with anticipation.
"Yes," Yun-Yun confirmed. "The Dragon Avatar has absorbed the magic from the pond. Petunia's body has been permanently augmented with the properties of the water, making her nearly invulnerable to physical harm."
Leo grinned. "That's incredible."
"There's a drawback, though," Yun-Yun cautioned. "By absorbing this magic, your Dragon Rakshasa Body Transformation Sutra has become permanent. You won't be able to switch to another sutra in the future."
Petunia paused a second.
"That's fine," Petunia said confidently. "I never imagined I could master body transformation magic in my life. Am I becoming invulnerable to physical harm now?"
"To physical harm, yes," Leo clarified. "But we're usually faced with dangerous magic. You're still not invincible yet."
The trip to the Spider Queen's lair had proven more fruitful than any of them could have imagined. Not only had they captured the Spider Queen in Leo's Ward Ring, but they had also gained access to the magic pond, which permanently augmented their Dragon Rakshasa Body Transformations, granting them near-invulnerability to physical harm.
That night, they rested in the lair, taking time to replenish the Lust Counters that Leo had depleted during the day's events. By morning, they were ready to leave, stronger than ever.
-----
When they ascended to the chamber above, they found a group of mages still battling the massive spider. The creature loomed over them, its armored body reflecting their desperate attacks.
"Have they been fucking at this for two whole days?" Petunia whispered, her voice muffled under her invisibility cloak.
"This might be a new group," Yun-Yun replied, gesturing toward the mages trapped in silk cocoons along the walls. "See? Others weren't so lucky."
"This is a Tier 5 beast!" one of the mages yelled. "Kill it, and we'll claim a Tier 5 creature core!"
Creature cores were condensed essences of powerful beings, highly sought after for their magical properties.
"It's too damn tough!" another mage shouted in frustration as their blades barely scratched the spider's hide.
"They're wasting energy," Petunia whispered. "Relying only on physical weapons instead of spells."
"They're conserving their magic," Yun-Yun observed. "It's a smart move in a place like this. Their strength and speed are impressive—better than ours, even."
"Better than us?" Petunia asked.
"Probably," Leo corrected with a smirk.
Below, the mages continued their argument.
"Just cast a damn spell to end the bitch!" one of them yelled.
"It's dangerous to waste mana here," another retorted. "We have no idea what else is lurking in this ruin."
"Magic potions exist for a fucking reason!"
As they bickered, the spider acted. A jet of sticky webbing shot from its spinnerets, entangling a mage mid-sentence.
"Damn it!" he cursed. "This webbing is ridiculously tough!"
Another mage leapt to attack but was caught in mid-air, bound tightly by another strand of web.
"This is hopeless!" the trapped mage groaned. "Kazan, do something quick!"
Kazan gritted his teeth. "Fine. Die spider bitch."
He raised his staff, gathering energy before unleashing a sharp beam of light. The spell struck the spider, piercing its armored body.
"It's vulnerable to magic!" shouted Li-Jung, the trapped mage. "Why didn't we use spells sooner?"
"Because someone wanted to hoard potions and mana!" snapped Toshi.
Kazan prepared another spell, but the spider moved faster, ensnaring him in its web before he could cast.
"Damn it!" Kazan growled, struggling against the sticky strands. "I'm trapped too!"
The spider skittered closer, its fangs glinting ominously. As it lunged for Kazan, a glowing spear of magic pierced its head. The beast let out a guttural screech before collapsing in a lifeless heap.
Kazan stared in disbelief. "The gods… they saved me!"
"Don't thank the gods, yet," Petunia called out, lowering her hand. "And I'm definitely not your god."
The mages looked at her, their expressions a mix of relief and suspicion.
"Free us, please," Li-Jung pleaded.
Leo and his team ignored them for a moment, scanning the chamber.
"These cocoons…" Leo murmured, inspecting the remains. "All dead. Perfect." With a flick of his wrist, he transported the bodies into his Ward Ring. "The Spider Queen hybrid will feast on this for months."
"Three of them are still alive," Petunia pointed out, nodding toward Kazan, Toshi, and Li-Jung.