I let out a sigh of relief when the agony of class mastery finally subsided and I could take a closer look at our trophy.
Up close the worm didn't seem that impressive. It could almost pass for an older Eartheater if not for the spinning teeth. The head had four slabs of stone to the sides that could slide over to close up the jaw for protection. Like an inverse of the four petal suckers that Cam had.
Was 4 an important number for worms like 3 and 5 were for humans here? The Catrian calendar certainly had a month of the Wormlord in it. Another thing to eventually ask or read about. Preferably read, in case it was something that everyone knew about. But like so many things in an ever expanding list, that was for the future. I turned my attention back to the worm.
The rocky armor that had seemed so formidable from the distance had crunched rather easily when Medea bit down. All of the effort, the risk of accidentally upsetting the mammoths, all the money —I would be poorer several crystals and possibly even lose all of my savings once I was back in the city and paid the guild the second half of my payment— was probably not worth the improvement. It didn't even attempt to resist after ingesting venom that the people at the Emporium treat like simple wasp stings at best. It was not even that large, hard to believe that it had devoured so many other worms and so much earth.
I had to be missing something, right?
“Does this thing have earth magic or something?” I asked while poking at the headless but still very twitchy worm with my foot.
“Nope. If that was the case then it would have run after that herd and its mana.”
“Then what was even the point of all that? And what did it even do with all that mana?” Biran looked at me like I was stupid and missing something obvious. In all fairness, I almost certainly was missing something.
“It's a Rockbreaker. A whole tier above what I was hired to get. What more do you want? Wait, you aren't trying to fleece me, are you?” His eyes narrowed and one of his hands slipped to his side, presumably to some hidden weapon.
“No, no, I will pay you what we agreed on. No need to worry about that. I was just curious about what this Rockbreaker even is.” I placated Biran but he didn't seem to be at ease. Still, the situation was diffused, for now.
“Well, most creatures don't constantly evolve like your pet here. Especially not simple Eartheater worms. It needed to burn all that earth flavored mana to just force itself up a tier. Anything you would want an Eartheater worm for, it far is superior at it.” Alright, that made sense. I didn't have to like it but it made sense. And Eartheater worms pretty weak in the first place, so this should have been expected. Maybe it was the appearance of the mammoths but I had been expecting something world changing. And not just like, a potential way to slightly improve Medea's defences until I got my hands on the metal beetles.
Temper thy expectations, Anya. Temper thy expectations.
Hopefully my class options were less disappointing. I had told Medea to wait before eating the worm, just in case, I had a class that interacted with it and so it waited patiently as I focused on the ACTIVE CLASS: [NONE]
The first class to catch my eye was a level 30 class that seemed to flicker, as if appearing on an old television with poor antenna reception.
\\LARVAL HIVEMOTHER (0/28)
WARNING: THIS IS AN IRREGULAR CLASS AND IT MAY EXHIBIT ERRATIC BEHAVIOUR. TAKE IT AT YOUR OWN RISK.
WARNING: THIS CLASS IS MEANT FOR A DIFFERENT SPECIES WITH AN INCOMPATIBLE CLASS FACTOR. DUE TO NEGATIVE FEEDBACK, THE CLASS’S QUALITY HAS BEEN ADJUSTED AND A PENALTY WILL BE APPLIED.
\\LARVAL HIVEMOTHER (0/30)
When the Third Calamity laid waste upon the lands of men, her greatest generals were the great Hivequeens that commanded a thousand and more Hivemothers each. And each Hivemother was the nexus of a fledgling swarm of her own. When the Third Calamity ascended to dragonhood, it was her Hivequeens and Hivemothers that laid down their lives to protect the inanimate body of their matriarch until her ascension was complete.
Hivemothers aren't born. The title is granted to the protectors and the nurturers of the Hive by the Hive itself. The bond between you and your insect companion has grown deeper than mere loyalty; it has become symbiotic, inseparable, and transformative. A LARVAL HIVEMOTHER begins her journey not as a ruler of many, but as the lifeline for a few.
Together, you survived what should have been the end. At this early stage, the connection between you and your Hive are absolute. Through their eyes, you see. Through their strength, you strike. Protect them as they protect you, for your power comes from your unwavering bond. Should it fall, you will likely follow soon.
At higher levels, your singular bond becomes the foundation of something far greater. Your swarm evolves into a titan of its kind, you become the progenitor of a growing calamity. As your Hive grows, your influence spreads, and old allies will answer your call. Though your form remains weak, you may transcend the weakness of a body itself, becoming an eternal mind ruling from within your growing hive, for your Hive will act as your body, your shield, and your unstoppable army. Beware, however, for your life and the life of your Hive remain intertwined in this state —what happens to one will echo through the other. Your true body will forever remain the anchor that binds you to your Hive and if it were to perish, you will follow unless you eschew flesh and ascend beyond such limitations altogether.
MASTERY BONUSES:
+7 to ACUITY, +2 to ATTUNEMENT, +2 to PERCEPTION, +7 to WILLPOWER. -4 to VITALITY at the time of taking this class until mastery.
WARNING: 0 VITALITY WILL RESULT IN YOUR DEATH
This was the first time I had seen a class with a maximum level that wasn’t a multiple of 5 and the first time I had a class with a stat penalty. At least now I knew what Class Factor meant in my status screen. The stat penalty cancelled out some of the Vitality I had gained from my last class mastery but it was not a big deal. But I wonder, what would happen if my blood mana exceeded my capacity if I took it? Probably the thing that made me have to empty my mana before sleeping every damn day.
The total stats from it were 18, not counting the temporary debuff, less than [LESSER HEMOTHEURGIST]
What else did I have?
\\LIFESHAPER’S ACOLYTE (0/30)
You have sculpted life anew, forging a species that had never before graced existence. At the same time, with a single, inexorable decree, you consigned an entire lineage to oblivion, witnessing its final moments with steely resolve.
To those who dwell under your influence, you are both the nurturing architect and the wrathful executor. They see not only the gentle hands that molded them out of clay and imbued them with the breath of life, but also the unyielding force that has the power to erase them from history.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
Your command over life itself is unparalleled. With every whispered incantation of mana and the inexorable, yet hastened march of time, you can coax similar beings into harmonious union, crafting new lives that inherit the most formidable traits of their progenitors. Furthermore, you can fuse the disparate threads of life, merging synapse and sinew to forge entities that transcend their base materials.
As you progress, your creative might blossoms into something utterly terrible. With each stage of your ascension, you become a greater wellspring for miracles and monstrosities alike—shaping abominations of such overwhelming power and terror that even the dragons of legend may one day tremble at their birth. Your destiny is not merely to create life, but to redefine it, inscribing your will upon the very fabric of existence.
In this eternal dance of creation and destruction, your journey as LIFESHAPER’S ACOLYTE is both a hymn and a lament—a resounding proclamation that life, in all its fragile beauty and terrifying ferocity, is truly and only yours to command.
MASTERY BONUSES:
+4 to all attributes
I had seven stats or attributes. That meant it was a… uhhh… point stat increase. Wow, that was genuinely massive. And the class description sounded fancier than almost anything else I'd seen before. That was probably not a real indicator of quality considering how self righteous [MUGGER]
There was no other level 30 class. Only these two. Just on the face value of the descriptions, my choice was rather obvious here, wasn't it?
[LARVAL HIVEMOTHER] [LIFESHAPER’S ACOLYTE]
But it was not that straightforward. There was the fact that my dominion was divinely blessed to have better and faster growth for a year, or rather at least nine more months. And Medea tiering up would undoubtedly be a massive boost to the class. But did I really need another improvement to Hivemother's Dominion
This should go faster than the [LIFESHAPER ACOLYTE] [LARVAL HIVEMOTHER]
Finally I decided on using the most scientific and fair method of decision making in history. I marked one side of a small crystal and tossed it in the air.
[LARVAL HIVEMOTHER]
Alright. Best of 3 then.
[LARVAL HIVEMOTHER]
Evidently fate was telling me that this was the correct decision. Or the Unaugured God had dominion over luck and was trying to cripple my development. But thinking like that paved the way for madness. If I constantly second guessed everything then I was a goner anyways.
Grabbing a bone knife, I emptied all of my Blood Mana
\\Class [LARVAL HIVEMOTHER] selected
\\Hivemother’s Crippled Dominion is now level 46!
\\The skillsPlanning Phase, Frigid Mind, Assassin’s Eye and Apex Predator have consolidated into the Passive Skill Hivemother's Superego
Wait, ? That was not mine. It was Medea's skill. I guess mind skill sharing had another benefit after all. The new skill was not anything too weird. Just all of the components combined, and with mildly better control over them and Planning Phase
\\Skill Swarm Aspect learned
\\Swarm Magic spell list expanded
\\Swarm Magic Spell list
Hasten Swarm: 25 mana
Molting: 50 mana
Silken Snare: 10 mana
Diagnose Insect: 10 mana
Enlarge Swarm: 50 mana
Summon Swarm: 75 mana
Silken SnareEnlarge SwarmEnlarge Tamed Beast Hasten Swarm Summon Swarm Summon EidolonDiagnose Swarm
\\Swarm Aspect: 1
To kill a monster, one should behead it. The brain is what lets a creature thrive, and not just survive in this terrible land. All monsters attain sapience once they ascend enough but who's to say that is the only way forward?
You are the brain of your swarm and if you fall, your swarm shall follow. And so, your swarm must protect you. But when it can't then it will lend you its power.
You can temporarily assume a mix of your form and that of a Swarm General in your Hive. This new form may not be as powerful as your Swarm General. Its skills and stats will be inferior to that of your Swarm General but it will be uniquely suited to you and will work in tandem with your existing skills. Become an avatar of your hive to annihilate those that oppose you, or flee to live another day, live and return to drown your foes under the teeming hordes of your swarm.
Uses 230 mana per use. Lasts ten minutes and has a 24 hour cooldown period per aspect. You can assume multiple aspects at once. Each simultaneous aspect costs 50% more mana.
Available aspects:
Medea: No cooldown
Empty: NA
Finally! I finally had some non mediocre combat skills. And this one was perfect because it didn't demand that I invest resources into myself that Medea could have used.
No wait, I was thinking too small. I could probably now. That was worth not having another good Swarm General for now by itself.
\\Hivemother’s Crippled Dominion is now level 49!
\\[LARVAL HIVEMOTHER] is now level 13!
Speaking of whom, Medea was now a horse sized Pseudo-Elemental Spider-Scorpion Soldierrelatively undersized for its limbs but it was a veritable bastion of heavy armor. I didn't see any of the lines that marked the spots where the hemelytra opened up to let out its wings but it hadn't lost flight, at least according to its status screen.
Four large rock petals surrounded the mouth for protection and a large head crest with gaps for eyes further shielded the face and the front half of its body.
Tier 5!
But Medea was not happy. In fact, Medea’s jaw was distended and gaping, and its circular maw was exposed. Rows upon rows of teeth were spinning violently. A sound that I imagined might have belonged to one of those 20th century old airplane engines came out of it and was rushing in that made my skin tingle. Mana, dense and rich earth mana, twisting and spiralling like a horizontal tornado was flying into Medea as if it was a black hole.
Great, Dea was again speaking in cryptic poetry to circumvent the gods. Still, it didn't like Medea was trying to destroy itself by attacking the mammoths.
An affirmative. But still, I was worried and I left one piece of my swarm multiprocessing mind behind to take over Medea or summon it if I was wrong. I trust Medea, not the gods.
‘Oh and one more thing.’ I brought out my two venom bottles and dumped their contents on the ground. It sizzled angrily. I ignored that and held them up to the massive stinger. I had to know how the venom had changed with the tier up. Medea had to lower the tail a bit before it filled them up. This was one of those rare times when I didn't like my shortness, born from both my genetics and my malnutritioned upbringing.
And with that surprisingly heartfelt farewell, its legs folded on themselves and its tail straightened out behind it. Its shell split into two with a crack. Four enormous iridescent wings unfurled like sails with numerous diaphanous flaps underneath each. It flapped them and with a sound like that of a military chopper, clouds of dust rose around it and it took off. It flew after the mammoths across the ravine. The mouth’s engine-like whirring faded into a dull drone but both it and the motor-like wings’ sound lingered for a long time.
skill is probably being a waste of a slot.’
