Regulus of Hogwarts: Lord of the Stars

Chapter 408 Regulus Takes Control of Mating Rights

Baruch's matter is almost settled.

Regulus looked up and saw Aragog in the distance. It was waiting there, not daring to get close, with all eight of its eyes fixed on Baruch.

He beckoned to it.

Aragog first tapped Mosag a few times. The female spider wasn't very intelligent and didn't understand much; she only recognized her mate's intentions.

Mossag turned around in a daze, its bloated belly dragging across the spider web, and crawled back into the nest.

Aragog then crawled over, getting closer, and his compound eyes scanned back and forth around Baruch's eight eyes.

Then it moved closer, its chelicerae slightly open, and swept over Baruch, poking its head in to smell him.

Changed again.

Unlike the last change, it couldn't understand it, but it knew that this offspring was different again.

Aragog's primary eye met Regulus's, while his compound eyes continued to scan Baruch relentlessly, again and again, but ultimately without finding anything.

It had an idea.

This wizard messed with Baruch twice. The first time, he was immune to fire, and the second time, something else happened: he could talk to trees.

It wants it too.

"You said," Aragok's voice was rough and deep, tinged with hesitation, "that I could make a request."

Its compound eyes were all fixed on Regulus: "Let me become like Baruch, too."

Regulus looked at it, his gaze calm.

Then he turned his head and glanced at Hermes.

Hermes happened to look up and their eyes met.

Hermes lowered his head guiltily.

He just said the same thing, even in a similar tone.

He had been pondering for a long time what the difference was between wanting to learn and wanting to be transformed, but he hadn't quite figured it out yet. Now, hearing the giant spider ask for the same thing, he couldn't quite describe the feeling in his heart.

What this spider wanted was exactly the same as what he wanted.

He's with a spider, and with the same person, wanting the same thing.

Regulus withdrew his gaze and turned back to Aragog, his tone casual: "Are you sure you want to use it here?"

Aragog paused for a moment, then it began to ponder.

In its several pairs of complex eyes, one pair hesitated, one pair was greedy, and one pair was thinking.

At first, it just felt that this wizard cub was not to be trifled with, that it would set fires, and that it couldn't afford to offend it, so it had to be patient and accommodating.

Later, it saw that Baruch had been changed and realized that this wizard was not only good at setting fires, but also had the means to destroy the very foundation of an entire tribe.

The giant spider's fear of fire is ingrained in its body from the moment it hatches, but he changed that.

Now it can talk to trees, and like it's not afraid of fire, it's something other eight-eyed giant spiders don't have.

In other words, the wizard could give far more than it initially thought.

But Baruch is no longer just its offspring; Baruch is now the wizard's spider.

It has nothing to offer in exchange; the only thing it can offer is that pending request.

That request was its only bargaining chip, provided the wizard agreed to it.

Fortunately, the wizard did acknowledge it and had no intention of denying it.

But it is precisely because of this recognition that I dare not use it casually.

Would it be willing to do it itself too?

It witnessed both things firsthand and wanted both.

But the wizard added different things to Baruch each time.

The first time it was unafraid of fire, the second time it talked to trees, what will the third time be?

Why not use your one and only request to exchange for something you've already seen? What if the next one is even better and more powerful?

Then it will lose money.

It is a wise spider; it never suffers a loss.

"...No!" Aragog's pincers closed completely, and the light in its compound eyes faded. "I'll keep this for now."

But it didn't give up; it had other tricks up its sleeve.

"Let it leave offspring," Aragog's compound eyes glanced at Baruch, while his main eye faced Regulus, "it and the queen spider of the colony."

Then, after thinking for a moment, she asked, "Will its offspring resemble it?"

Regulus's heart skipped a beat.

That's a good idea. He also wanted to know if Baruch's descendants would inherit his magical characteristics.

The reproduction of magical creatures is no different from that of ordinary creatures; spiders beget spiders, but they cannot give birth to birds. Naturally, magic will also be passed down through bloodlines.

But Baruch is no longer considered a natural product, even though the Eight-Eyed Giant Spider race was not originally a natural product.

If a modified artificial species reproduces, will the offspring carry the magical characteristics of the modified species? Nobody can say for sure.

Even if we were to bring it, now is not the right time.

Baruch should only consider having offspring after he has reached full maturity.

If we give birth now, we can only produce semi-finished products.

"It is my spider," Regulus said slowly.

Baruch squatted down beside him, his eight legs supporting him on the ground, his spider head slightly raised, and his chelicerae clicking twice.

"Mating is possible, but there's a price for each mating," Regulus said, looking at Aragog. "What will you offer in exchange?"

Aragog was completely stunned; the light in its compound eyes became chaotic.

Why are you even interfering with this?

Mating and reproducing is a natural process; spiders beget spiders, and spiders beget spiders, generation after generation.

Baruch is a healthy adult male spider. It is only natural that he mates with the female spiders in the colony and leaves offspring; he is entitled to have his own offspring.

It arranges for the mother spider to care for its offspring; why would it ask for a price for something like that?

Are all wizards this unreasonable?

Can you prevent spiders from mating if you have the ability?

Don't you mate yourself?

It wanted to argue, but it knew it was pointless.

Why would a wizard who can exchange mating for money care about the arguments of a spider?

The light in Aragog's complex eyes shifted from chaos to collapse, from collapse to grievance, from grievance to resentment, and finally all of it faded away, leaving only a little unspeakable frustration.

It managed to squeeze out, "...What can I give you?"

Regulus chuckled inwardly, his tone relaxed, and he didn't press the issue: "Think it over yourself, and then we'll talk."

Think about it, if you can figure out what I want, I should thank you.

Aragog fell silent, his compound eyes fixed on Regulus's face for a long while before slowly looking away, lost in thought.

Regulus glanced at Hermes again.

Hermes, a wizard, wanted to be reformed but didn't want to learn.

Aragog, a spider, desires to be granted power but is unwilling to ask for it, yet also wants to mate for free.

An instinct derived from animals is understandable, but limited.

One of the reasons he was dissatisfied was human laziness.

Regulus didn't look at them again.

He crouched down, placed his hand on Baruch's back armor, and probed into it with his magical senses.

The new module is firmly in place, and the pale blue-white magic has flowed from the grafting point into the root of the visual branch system, connecting with Baruch's original magic circuit.

The fusion was not a problem. The magic of the Bowtruckle and the magic of nature are of the same origin, so the rejection reaction was very mild. After the magic of nature acted as a translator to bridge the gap, the two sides hardly fought.

But connecting it doesn't mean it can be used well. The window facing out was open, and Baruch could vaguely sense the grass and trees, but the trees didn't like spiders.

This is a natural selection, and it cannot be eliminated by a single magical graft.

Baruch wanted to connect with the trees and take root in the forbidden forest ecosystem. Magic alone wasn't enough; he needed the trees to truly recognize and accept him.

This process can't be rushed; it has to be left here to slowly develop.

That's fine, it just so happens that it also needs time to integrate the new module.

"You stay here," Regulus withdrew his hand and patted Baruch's carapace. "Go see those trees every day, let them know you, let them know you are a good spider."

Baruch was stunned; all eight amber eyes were staring at him.

It raised its front legs and hooked them around the hem of his robe. It pulled gently, and the white light around its eight eyes dimmed, as if its mood had waned.

Its rough voice was urgent: "...Regulus...don't want the spider?"

Regulus chuckled, took a step forward, and moved closer to its large head: "I come to see you every day."

From the castle to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, use the Disappearance Charm to conceal yourself and the Flight Charm to fly directly. It takes a few minutes to reach the edge of the Forbidden Forest, then Apparate in. Ten minutes is enough for a round trip.

It's effortless and doesn't take up much time.

Baruch shook his spider head, his front legs still tucked into his robe, and then began to bargain: "...twice...every day."

Regulus readily agreed: "Okay, twice."

Baruch loosened his forelegs, pulled them back slightly, and turned to Hermes: "Little spider."

Hermes raised an eyebrow, glanced at Regulus, and seeing that Regulus wasn't looking at him, stepped forward and reached out to pat Baruch's big head.

Baruch tilted its head back to avoid his hand, and at the same time, its pincers snapped open, attracting Hermes's attention.

The other foreleg extended stealthily and swiftly, close to the ground, and hooked towards Hermes's leg.

Hermes lay on his back amidst the decaying leaves, his robes covered in clumps of leaf debris.

Baruch retracted his legs, his eight amber eyes looking down at him, his chelicerae opening and closing twice in a series of clicks, looking quite smug: "...Little spider."

Hermes sat on the decaying leaves, looking up at the giant spider that was about two meters long, and his envy grew even stronger.

Who wouldn't want one of these fierce and capable creatures?

He stood up, patted the withered leaves off his robe, and smiled slightly, but quickly looked away.

He felt he should say something, but after hesitating for a long time, he could only manage to utter, "Amazing."

Baruch's chelicerae opened even wider, and the spider tilted its head back, making another series of clicking sounds, clearly enjoying it.

Regulus turned to Aragog and said, "I come every day."

He was just saying it; there was no threat or intimidation in it whatsoever.

Aragog's reaction was rather strange. His compound eyes darted around for a while before he finally managed to squeeze out, "I understand."

It did have some ulterior motives; it wanted to talk to Baruch alone after the wizard left.

Talk about what's going on with the white spots around its eyes, talk about how it became fireproof, there's always a way to find out.

But now that the wizard says he comes every day, it has to put its little scheme aside for the time being.

"Let's go." Regulus waved to Baruch and turned to walk out of the depression.

Hermes followed.

Baruch was reluctant to leave and followed for a while, his eight legs dawdling, hoping that Regulus would turn around.

Regulus turned around and waved again.

Baruch made a series of clicking sounds, the sound echoing through the woods.

It stood on its eight legs, watching Regulus's figure walk further and further away, then took a few more steps forward before stopping.

Regulus reached out and placed his hand on Hermes' shoulder, and with a snap, Apparition appeared.

At the edge of the forbidden forest, the morning light had turned into midday sunlight, falling straight down from overhead and making the withered yellow grass shine.

The mist over Black Lake had long since dissipated, and the lake water shimmered in the sunlight. Several young wizards were already chasing each other on the grass by the lake, their laughter and shouts carrying across half a lawn.

The two walked out of the forbidden forest, and a bright and open view suddenly appeared before them.

The castle's silhouette unfolds against the clear sky, its windows reflecting the sunlight.

Regulus and Hermes walked one after the other, stepping on the warm light shining through the ground, toward the castle.

As they approached the castle gates, Regulus casually remarked, "You've been here today, so don't tell anyone."

Hermes nodded.

He always complied with such requests, nodding as his brows furrowed slightly.

He was still thinking about that question.

He and a spider are asking the same person for the same thing.

What's the difference between him and a spider?

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