ALL NOVEL Chapter 80. The Queen
That's what it was? Leo swallowed, the adrenaline and bloodlust finally leaving his body. Yet, even as the battle came to an end, the complete understanding of his body and its potential remained. He flicked one of his tails, and it listened right away, raising to meet his hand mid-air. There was no delay, no rogue motions...
It feels almost as good as when Focused Bloodlust was activated... Leo shook his head lightly. No. That's wrong. It's so much better. No longer do I need an ability to feel like my body belongs wholly to me. Now, it's really mine, and nothing can change that...
The notification still floated before him, and Leo raised his head, giving the thing his full attention. He had expected a level-up. It was high time for it to come. But the next message?
Leo frowned. No, he didn't foresee such a thing appearing out of nowhere. Seems, I'm finally getting the explanation I wanted... Though, really? Mortal Tier? I don't know about you, System, but I stopped feeling like one when you gave me this body...
The System didn't react to Leo's thoughts, and only the flashing notifications showed that it was still there. He sighed, giving the powerful entity the answer it wanted. Better to get it over with fast before more Ameists came. Not that he worried, but still...
Choice Acknowledged. Displaying standard information package.
Ever since the birth of the System, it was decided to divide attribute growth into Tiers. Contrary to what many thought in the beginning, these Tiers aren't just fancy names to describe the current power of a User. Instead, they are used to signify the breaking points, the current limits of a User, and their ability to ascend to higher realms.
While attributes grow with each new point added, ascension forces an evolution of the corresponding aspect of the User, breaking its hard limit. Each time, this breakthrough brings forth a very noticeable boost in power. Of course, it is important to note that ascension might not be possible if the User's current form cannot handle the spike in strength. Those cases are rare and are often caused by particular circumstances.
Additionally, it is wise to remember that Limit Break cannot trigger an ascension. It will still grant increased power when the User is close to the breakthrough, but the boost will never reach the strength of a newly ascended attribute.
With that, the System message ended, the entire thing just continuing to float in front of Leo. He tried waiting for more, hoping for more information to appear, yet it was all for naught. When the System decided to stop, there was nothing anyone could do about it.
I guess it's still more than I should have expected. Leo sighed, a hand on his head. All in all, it's pretty simple to understand, even if I would have liked to know when the next breakthroughs happen... Suppose I will find out in the future...
A quick swipe of his claws disturbed the message, forcing it away. However, the level-up didn't fade; still waiting for Leo to acknowledge it.
Where to assign you now? He hummed, eyes closing just for a second. He could, of course, just throw them into Mind like before and be done with it. But now that he had regained all the lost control and more, there was no reason to spend so much on one attribute. Besides I'm getting two points in Mind with each level anyway, thanks to class and race...
Leo quickly brought up his status and nodded after a moment. Yeah, I think this should do. Two into Soul and one to Might. More strength will probably come in handy soon, and I really need more Essence. Devour won't always be there to save me.
Just as the System accepted his selection, another message appeared. This one almost as surprising as the attribute ascension.
Thanks to your Grace ascending to Supernatural Tier, your Assassin's Grace trait has advanced. Congratulations! Cloud Walker trait gained.
Cloud Walker (Uncommon)
You have ascended past the basic training of an Assassin and entered the realm of true experts. May you remain unnoticed by your enemies.
Effects:
Your movement becomes lighter and almost silent. Every stealth ability is now more effective. Grace Effectiveness: +10%
Oh...
Leo blinked, eyes just a bit wider than usual. To be completely honest, he had almost forgotten about this trait despite the thing giving him a slight boost towards Grace's effectiveness. It wasn't that noticeable, especially in the beginning, though now the five — no, ten — percent really proved its value.
Nice, I guess? Anything that further helps with stealth is welcome. Besides, now I know why I'm so light on my feet. It seems not everything came from the ascension.
With a shrug, all the notifications disappeared, leaving Leo in the almost pure darkness. At once, Essence shot into his claws, the crimson glow again filling the chamber. A single command had his two Warriors stopping close, and he frowned as his gaze fell on their bloodied forms.
The nearest taken-over ant didn't look that bad. It possessed some cuts here and there, but it wasn't anything that would slow the Voidling down. At worst, those were just slight inconveniences for the beast.
Now, the second Warrior was in a much worse condition.
From what Leo noticed, the ant had to limp toward him. A quick check of its legs confirmed that one of them couldn't even rise from the ground. Then there were the dozens of cuts littering the beast's body, which didn't give the Warrior a high chance of survival. Hell, even now, the ant shook every few seconds.
Yeah... I think that's the end of the road for you. Leo thought, approaching the beast. "Thank you for your service." With those words, he plunged a blade into the monster's head, Devour following right after, consuming the now-dead Warrior.
Sighing, Leo turned to his last minion. Well, it's just you and me now. Hopefully, I can fill the ranks again before we reach the Queen. The remaining Warrior chirped, its ruby eyes darting to the exit.
In a moment. First, I have to do something with this. Leo grimaced, his gaze falling on the Cloak of Flowing Darkness covered in spit and blood. There was no way to return this thing to its original state, but leaving it like this also wasn't an option.
Leo took a seat on the ground, taking off the cloak. Reaching into the still mostly fine backpack, he took out a small cloth and got to work. The dark material didn't fall victim to the power of the acid, but he still wiped it off to the best of his ability. Once he got out of this place, there should be a small stream nearby that could help further. Until then, this simple clean-up had to be enough.
That's if the water there is even safe. Which I highly doubt. Not that it hurts to check... Leo snorted as he folded the cloak and pushed it into the backpack. No reason to destroy it even further with this fucking acid.
Time to go. Leo stood up, the Warrior perking up at the action. A quick command had the creature moving once more as the duo left for the exit, ready to continue their journey towards the Queen.
An hour. That was how long Leo and his new minions had been traveling through the labyrinth of tunnels. Sometimes, during the journey, he even wondered if Minor Takeover's control wasn't as absolute as he had thought and the ants were just leading him in circles. At least that was until he and three fresh new Warriors arrived before a vast opening in the tunnel.
The entrance could easily fit Leo if he grew twice as large, and when he took a quick peek inside, all the walking and killing countless of Ameists finally became worth it. One of the Queens was waiting inside, and now the time to begin the final part of this dive into the unknown had come...
Still hugging the side of the tunnel, Leo glanced into the enormous chamber again. Unlike any other place inside the Nest, this room was wholly made out of Vetilim, the veins of the dark matter illuminating the pile of black eggs in the far-off corner.
This wasn't the first time Leo had seen those objects, but each time, the eggs were in the care of Minions, dozens of them. Here, only two Warriors and the Queen stood watch over the next generation of their kin.
Good. I have had enough of slaughtering creatures that probably don't give me any experience. Waste of fucking time... Leo huffed, his eyes passing over the defenders and the Queen.
The Warriors weren't anything special. Just two standard, level thirteen creatures. Leo's own minions might be slightly weaker, but they had the number advantage and could hold the stronger duo for a bit.
The actual danger here was the Queen.
The massive creature, easily thrice as large as the biggest Warrior, didn't belong to this world. It possessed the form of an ant; that was true. Yet there was so much more to this beast.
White as snow chitin covered the monster's entire body, the armor looking at least twice as tough as any other Leo had seen before. Then there were the Queen's legs, the limbs boring more resemblance to that of an Inferior Crawler than an Ameist.
However, the six legs weren't the beast's only limbs. No, far from it. Two insectoid wings grew out of the creature's back, while at the front, the Queen gained four additional arms, all ending with a wicked scythe-like blade.
This was by far the best-equipped monster Leo had the displeasure of meeting. Hell, even in overall strength, the Queen was close to the top.
Ameist Queen (Voidling) | Rank: E- | LVL: 16 | Type: Underworld, Poison, Armor, Special
Well shit. Leo grimaced, hiding again. I got what I wanted, but this thing? It's fucking dangerous... If it wasn't for that ascension, I would already be on my way back... Leo shook his head, summoning a part of his own status.
Name: Leonardo Brown
Title: Nikra's Legacy
Evolution Stage: II - Prime Night Hunter
Class: Assassin | LVL. 14
Job: Hunter
Rank: E-
Might Tier I (22) | LB: 24
Grace: Tier II (7) | LB: 20
Vision: Tier I (26) | LB: 24
Mind: Tier I (44) | LB: 0
Soul: Tier I (27) | LB: 14
E minus. Finally got there, so we should be about evenly matched. Taking in a deep breath, Leo closed his eyes and reached out to the beast slumbering in his mind. What do you think, Hunter? We will definitely need to work together to kill this thing.
The beast growled, bloodlust spiking and slowly seeping into Leo's veins. There was no mistaking what Hunter wanted to do next. However, the final decision still had to be made.
Alright, let's say I go inside. I need some sort of a plan first... And more information. Bestiary.
Race: Voidling | Subspecies: Ameist Queen
Expected Potential: E- to E
Weapon of choice: Poison, Scythe Arms.
Known weaknesses: Wings, Gaster Armor
The peak of Ameist early-stage evolution. There can only be one Queen Ameist in each Nest, and the appearance of another can either lead to a civil war or the creation of a Nest Colony. The Queens, despite their task of producing eggs, are the best combatants of a Nest, the final line of defense. They possess all the advantages of their subordinates but almost none of their weaknesses. It is also important to note that all Queens are connected to the Nest on a much deeper level, and without them, it will destabilize.
Not much I couldn't figure out by myself, but I will take it... Although, what the fuck is a Gaster? Leo thought, eyes widening as a tiny bit of knowledge rushed into his head. The back part of the ant's torso? Huh. Guess you learn something new every day...
As the Bestiary entry faded away, the blades upon Leo's arms extended, Essence stirring inside his soul. The light coming from his claws died in an instant, replaced by a black flash. Bloodlust also spilled out of the depths of his mind, Hunter following, the merging of the two beasts already underway.
Let's do it.
