A bit later, Riven dismissed Evan.
The servant bowed once more before quietly leaving the room, closing the door behind him.
Riven remained standing where he was, thinking.
He understood the situation a little better now.
According to what the manor lord had told Evan, the purpose of asking him to attend the banquet was simple. Alric had been absent for some time, so attending would help him reconnect with the young masters of the other estates in the city.
Resocialize.
That was the word Evan had used.
Riven exhaled quietly.
He knew perfectly well that he wasn't actually Alric. But the manor lord obviously expected him to maintain the role convincingly.
Most likely, the real goal was to get him used to the circles Alric usually moved in.
Apparently the young master of Silvercrest Mansion and the one from Azurelake Manor interacted in very similar social groups.
Which meant this probably wouldn't be the last event like this.
Riven leaned slightly against the wall, thinking about how he should handle the situation.
Just then a pulse ran through his hand.
His gaze flickered downward.
The sensation came from the Arachnotoxin bond.
The predator spider.
A second pulse followed, stronger this time, carrying a faint sense of movement and awareness from within the beast pouch.
Riven straightened.
"Finally."
He raised his hand and tapped the pouch lightly, sending a thin strand of soul force into it.
The connection responded instantly.
With a small ripple in the air above the floor—
He summoned the spider.
A small black shape appeared above the floor and dropped lightly onto the stone.
Its thin legs adjusted slightly as it settled.
The first thing he noticed was the size.
Before the evolution it had barely been larger than the tip of his thumb. Now it was a little bigger, twice its previous size.
Not exactly the dramatic transformation he had half expected.
But it was bigger nonetheless.
Riven crouched down slightly to get a closer look.
The spider remained completely still as he observed it, its pitch-black body still absorbing the light in the same strange way as before.
At first glance it almost looked unchanged.
Almost.
Then he noticed something else.
Riven leaned closer.
"…Wait."
Near the front of its head, just beneath the smaller black fangs it had before, several new ones had appeared.
They were different.
Longer.
Sharper.
At first glance they looked natural enough on the small black spider.
But something about them felt… familiar.
Riven frowned slightly and reached out, carefully tapping one of the new fangs with a finger.
The sensation made his eyes narrow.
Hard.
Different from the rest of its body.
He touched it again, more carefully this time.
That was why it felt familiar.
The shape.
The density.
The texture.
They reminded him of the ironfang spiders.
"…You grew black ironfangs?"
The predator spider remained still, though through the bond Riven could feel a faint ripple from it, something almost like quiet pride.
Riven leaned back slightly, thoughts moving quickly.
Back at the Beast Hall, they had told him how to evolve the predator spider.
Kill other spiders.
Feed on them.
Let it grow through that.
But that was all.
They hadn't said much more than that. Apparently predator spiders at higher levels often became unique enough that their future paths were hard to predict.
At the time, that had sounded vague.
Now—
It didn't anymore.
Riven looked down at the spider again, eyes fixed on the new fangs.
"…Does it absorb traits from the spiders it kills?"
He paused.
"And implement them during evolution?"
That was the most reliable explanation he could come up with.
The ironfang spiders had died to it.
Now part of them seemed to be here.
No wonder its evolution took so long...
Riven's thoughts sped up immediately after that.
If that was really how it worked—
Then there were a lot of possibilities.
Different spiders.
Different traits.
Different paths of growth.
And more importantly—
Different venom.
His gaze sharpened slightly.
He looked at the spider a little more seriously now.
"I will need to learn more about spiders."
If the predator spider's venom improved, then so would the poison he could harvest from it.
And that—
Would make him far more dangerous.
Riven studied the spider for a while longer.
Through the bond he could clearly feel the difference.
Its strength had increased noticeably.
The spider had reached the greater feral stage now. Not a particularly strong one, but still comparable to an early Inner Condensation cultivator.
For something so small, that was already impressive.
Combined with its ability to move silently and strike at weak points…
Riven's eyes narrowed slightly.
This could easily turn a fight.
Especially if the opponent didn't notice it until it was too late.
"…We should practice together sometime," he muttered quietly.
Coordinated attacks between the two of them could become very dangerous if done correctly.
For now, though, there wasn't much more to examine.
Riven tapped the beast pouch lightly and sent another strand of soul force into it. The spider disappeared in a faint ripple of space as it returned to the pocket dimension inside.
Then he returned to the previous issue he'd faced.
His training.
At least that's what he had wanted to do.
A knock sounded on the door.
Riven blinked.
…Again?
"Come in."
The door opened a moment later.
But it wasn't Evan this time.
A maid stepped inside and bowed politely. Riven recognized her immediately as one of the servants who worked directly under the madam.
"The madam wishes to see you, Young Master."
Riven raised an eyebrow slightly.
"…Now?"
"Yes."
He stared at her for a moment before sighing quietly.
"Alright."
>>>
The next two days turned out very different from what he had expected.
Instead of training, most of Riven's time was spent in one of the mansion's reception rooms.
The madam had taken it upon herself to prepare him for the banquet.
Apparently the gathering at Azurelake Manor would include several of the city's prominent young masters and noble families. Proper etiquette was expected.
Which meant Riven spent hours learning things he had never cared about before.
How to greet someone properly.
Where to stand when speaking.
Which titles to use.
How to hold a cup.
When to bow.
When not to.
At first it felt absurd.
But the madam was surprisingly patient—and very thorough.
Every time he made a mistake she corrected him immediately.
Riven endured it.
After all, the entire reason he was here was to convincingly act as Alric.
If he embarrassed the Silvercrest Mansion publicly, things would become complicated very quickly.
And that could cost him his chance at the auction.
But one unexpected part of the training was Leyla.
The girl seemed to find the entire process extremely entertaining.
She often appeared halfway through the lessons, sitting quietly to the side at first before eventually volunteering to "help."
Which usually meant she took the role of a noble lady while Riven practiced greetings and introductions.
More than once she exaggerated her movements dramatically, forcing him to repeat the same sequence again.
Despite himself, Riven eventually got used to it.
The days passed quickly.
Whenever he found time to return to his room, he attempted to practice Vaern's Basic Martial Arts again.
But the result never changed.
The technique still collapsed the moment he attempted to layer Falconburst Kick on top of it.
Every attempt failed in exactly the same place.
Eventually Riven decided if he still hadn't made any progress after the banquet, he would shelve improving the technique for now.
There were other skills he could focus on improving.
Sometimes stepping away from a problem helped more than forcing it.
>>>
Two days later.
Riven stepped out of a carriage and looked up.
A luxurious mansion stood before him, its tall white walls and decorated balconies illuminated by dozens of lanterns as evening settled over the city.
Azurelake Manor.
It was only a few blocks away from the Silvercrest Mansion, but the scale of the building made it immediately clear that its owners were just as powerful.
Riven adjusted his sleeve slightly.
Tonight he wore a dark blue formal robe lined with thin silver embroidery along the edges. The fabric was light but expensive, the subtle patterns woven into it catching the lantern light whenever he moved.
His hair, having grown quite long by now, had been tied back carefully.
Beside him stood Leyla.
The girl wore a light silver dress with layered fabric that flowed gently down to her ankles. Small decorative threads shimmered faintly across the surface, and the silver flower-shaped hairpin sat neatly in her dark hair.
She looked up at the mansion with wide eyes.
Riven followed her gaze.
The entrance was already crowded with arriving guests.
Young masters.
Noble ladies.
And servants.
Riven stepped toward the entrance.