The young man looked up at him, his lip trembling as he tried to understand Justin’s question.

  “J-join him?”

  The man’s eyes fell to the corpse of his superior at the floor by Justin’s feet, who was standing over him now. Of course looking by Justin’s feet, his eyes could help but be drawn to the waxy grey tentacle that slithered through the air from his foot.

  The memory of watching it puncture through his superior’s helmet seemed to replay behind his eyes.

  “Captain…Captain! Look at me Captain, not at your Major.”

  The young man started to tremble. Justin was originally unsure with what he was about to do, but now that apprehension was replaced by disgust. Hadn’t this man seen combat? He was supposed to be one of this planet’s warriors, wasn’t he?

  “Captain! Look. At. Me!”

  Justin gripped the sides of the man’s head, gently removing his star-inscribed helmet and tossing it on the cot behind him. He didn’t want to make any more noise for those outside than he already had.

  Justin then cupped the man’s ears, trying to keep him in place, and finding it relatively easy despite the physical protests from the commissioned officer.

  The man squirmed, as the tentacle coming from Justin seemed to move with his intentions, and writhe forward to the face of the young soldier.

  ‘Harriet, forgive me for this.’

  “Ah! AAAHHHHH-OPF!”

  The Captain started to scream out as the needle-like teeth of the tentacle began to burrow away, incising an access point through his pupil. Justin was forced to quickly change his grip to hold to the back of the man’s head and cup his mouth to mute any more screaming.

  That ended up being a mistake, as the man in his resistance chomped down on Justin’s hand, drawing more of the gelatinous interior into his mouth. Yet still, Justin didn’t feel the pain he should have.

  Watching the tentacle from there form a passway into the Captain’s brain, it only took a few more moments before the small resistance from the man quickly faded. His screams soon turned to mute acceptance as the color from his eyes faded to a corpse-like yellow.

  Justin backed away, feeling a refreshing wave come over his mind as the constant pressure on it suddenly decreased by a ton. Without warning, a system notification then popped up in his field of view.

  [Congratulations! From assimilating your first Host, you have leveled up!]

  [Unlocked: Stage Quests]

  [Unlocked: Biomass]

  [Unlocked: Skills]

  [Skill Learned: Assimilate (E-)]

  …

  [Level: 2]

  [Grade: E-]

  [Status Effects: N/A]

  [Race: Scourge Progenitor (Larva)]

  [Attributes: 0 STR, 0 DEX, 1 END, 0 PER, 1 INT, 0 CHA, 0 MYS]

  [Free Attribute Points: 3]

  [Health: 10 / 10]

  [Stamina: 50 / 50]

  [CEL: 1 / 1]

  [Biomass: 0]

  [Skills: Assimilate (E-)]

  The information came like a gentle wave as it washed over Justin, who was more elated with the clearing of his headache than the sudden progression. But a few things caught his eye.

  ‘Biomass. This would have no place in a volta’s interface. I was right earlier, the system is treating me as if I’m a daemon.’

  Daemons were, in the nomenclature of the galaxy, a catchall term for monstrous beings, grotesque creatures, and some creatures who lived in tribes or worshiped in primitive cults and made the far edges and isolated parts of the galaxy their home.

  The term was used widely, but generally it referred to the creatures in particular who had access to the system’s interface. Like with voltas from humanoid and civilized societies, they were rare among their kind but had the potential to accumulate far more power than was natural.

  The Herald that Justin had encountered belonged to the system-wielding variety of daemon, of course. Its name in part represented its power, as the phenomenon of daemon heralds throughout the galaxy were said to take on the aspect of whatever cult they had emerged from, even sharing aspects from their god’s symbolic powers to achieve whatever purpose they had been entrusted with.

  Because of everything that had happened, Justin had realized that the purpose of the herald they had fought had been to wipe out everything and everyone in the galaxy, and merge all of existence, or at least as much as it could manage, back into itself. Real chilling shit.

  And if Justin was remembering right, that kind of thing directly equated to the goal of one of the least forgiving cults in the galaxy, the Cult of Desolation.

  Though as a general rule Daemons had some access to the system’s abilities, their interfaces were more malevolent and twisted than the ones humans and the other civilized races used.

  It appeared from his interface, that Justin was looking at one of these twisted Systems.

  He tried clicking on the description for the [Assimilate] skill, but got no responses.

  ‘It’s not reacting to my touch? Just like earlier, hmm…’

  As if sensing his intention again, the tentacle unburrowed itself from the man’s skull and came up to his finger, wrapping around it in a gentle manner.

  Justin tried again, finding he could use the window this time.

  [Assimilate (E-)]

  [Skill: Implant a potential Host’s brain with one or more seeds from an Origin to assimilate them into the hive. In order to be a potential Host, the subject must be living, carbon-based, and possess the capacity for sentience. Hosts with more than one Origin seed can implant their spare seeds into other potential hosts, perpetuating the hive. Full assimilation of a Host takes less time the closer it is to the Origin. Increasing skill grade will unlock more capabilities.]

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Like they had thought, this Herald would have had devastating capabilities if it had made contact with the native population. Though that had still sort of happened, Justin realized.

  The skill was terrifying, even among others he had heard about daemon’s exhibiting. With it, he could technically take control of the entire encampment within a short while, if that’s what it meant by ‘perpetuating the hive’.

  He looked at the other additions next.

  [Stage Quest: Assimilate at least (2) hosts from distinct suitable species.]

  [Time Left: 9:23:58:41]

  [Progress: 1 / 2]

  [Completion Reward: 5,000 Biomass]

  [Punishment for Failure: Level Lock]

  ‘So there’s the first of my stage quests, that's normal at least. I don’t know what biomass is, but I assume that’s a lot of it.’

  Stage Quests were a feature of both kinds of systems, and required to complete if one wanted to continue their climb to power. They were given by the system at the beginning of every stage, and their failure always incurred a level lock.

  Like its name, the lock meant a permanent stagnation to gaining more levels, essentially locking someone at the level they had failed the mission at. Their strength could fall, but never rise past the stage they had been locked at.

  Given the increasing difficulty of Stage Quests, this was the primary reason the numbers of voltas and daemons thinned out in the higher stages. Whether monster or man, everyone was required to complete these quests once per stage.

  Justin scratched his chin while he thought, accidentally touching the tentacle to his face. He wiped away the waxy residue in mild disgust.

  While he was thinking, a shape rose up behind him in the tent, and instantly he felt a connection bloom somewhere in his mind.

  ‘Woah. That’s me?’

  Justin turned. The Captain turned. Both looked at one another as they shared the same thoughts. Justin’s thoughts.

  ‘This is incredible. What an unsettling sensation though, seeing myself from the perspective of another.’

  Justin held out a hand in both bodies, touching them together with perfect synchronicity. He suddenly realized that he could only feel the sensation of touch in the Captain’s body, not in his own. Besides the parasite’s tentacle wrapped around his finger.

  ‘I suppose that means that my body isn’t entirely converted yet, though much of the internals seem to be. What does that mean?’

  Justin was unsure. Was it possible that some tenacity of his body was still persevering against the parasite’s influence? He had been close to breaking past the middle of the C grade before the fight, so it was possible. Though it could call back to the soul dualism theory.

  Justin had felt the pull of the parasite on his mind decrease by a lot the second he had assimilated the Captain, so he assumed it was related to his mind expanding.

  ‘Like I thought, the mind outstrips the body easily. As long as I keep expanding, the rate at which my control wanes will slow down. That’s it! I just need to keep expanding!’

  The proposition was both terrifying and greatly relieving. The very solution to his problem was the exact mission of the parasite if it were in his shoes, but Justin had control over it now.

  He would not expand carelessly, callously, as the parasite would have done. He was still himself, even if some parts had changed, and he would strive to keep it that way for as long as he could.

  Justin turned toward the Major’s body. If there was anywhere to start, then it was inside this tent.

  [Subject not suitable as Host]

  [Consume Biomass?]

  [Y/N]

  It was because he was dead, Justin realized. He selected yes, watching the tentacle practically jump off of his finger and dive into the Major’s body.

  [Skill Learned: Consume (E-)]

  [Consume (E-)]

  [Skill: Turn unusable and otherwise unsuitable subjects into biomass for the hive’s benefit. At some point, collecting biomass will be even more important for a hivemind then expanding its influence, as every important node and component of the hive must be built from the material. In order to consume, the target must satisfy the following criteria: the target is not itself, the target is a carbon-based organic. The living status of targets is inconsequential, but the more decomposed or necrotic a source is, the less biomass that can be harvested.]

  ‘I can still learn skills by experimenting. That’s good.’

  A series of smacking and pumping noises continued as the tentacles ate through the Major’s body and converted it into biomass, pumping the broken down flesh and bones back to their source. Belatedly, Justin realized that the ultimate destination of the commander’s remains was his own body, and felt the urge to get sick in the corner of the tent.

  ‘Alright, with that done, there’s little time to waste. If I’m going to remain in control, I have to keep expanding. These mental pressures I’m experiencing will let me know when I’m slipping.’

  Justin wiped his chin while thinking. Witnessing himself hurling both as in the perspective of the hurler and of an outsider still made him feel weird, and looking at the assimilated Captain he had just realized that body too had gotten sick.

  He made both clean themselves up. Why, he didn’t know. But it felt wrong to leave the assimilated native standing there dirty. For better or worse, the Captain was a part of him now, a thread in his future tapestry. Even though he knew next to nothing about the man, that remained true.

  Which was another point. Unlike what the parasite had accomplished with Justin, there was no great schism of thought occurring in the mind of the native. His mind had been totally and completely subsumed, his brain now a vessel serving as another node for Justin’s own.

  To think about it in technological terms, Justin, or the parasite inside of him, was the central controller over a network of other computers. That network only included the Captain and Justin’s own body for now, but in the future as it growed, the parasite would still remain the center of the hivemind. What enabled Justin’s control over the hivemind was his soul’s weight against the parasite’s. So long as he continued to hold sway over the individual being, he could use it to puppeteer an unknowable number of bodies underneath him.

  The system would work on its own, like a single computer holding sway over a vast network, guiding its movements. But Justin, thanks to this rare and complex situation, had the opportunity to sit down at that computer and manually input his own commands. As long as he stayed in the seat, he could control the network that included himself.

  So Justin didn’t need to wrestle for control over the hivemind, just his own body. As long as he remained the Origin of the hive, the central node, control would be in his hands.

  By the time Justin had come to that conclusion, the Major had been reduced to no more than a heap of dirty fatigues, and of course his round helmet. The immediate need to plan for his future struck him, and Justin thought about what to do.

  ‘Assimilating the rest of the encampment would be best, but there’s risks. Ultimately, this battalion of soldiers is most likely just a forward attachment, sent to survey the condition of the specimen and establish an FOB. Before our operation we shut down the local satellites temporarily, but if I stick around for too long I could still risk encountering the reinforcements they send.’

  But at the same time, he needed to do the stage quest. He didn’t want to help the parasite more than he already had, but if he stopped leveling he would hand over control regardless.

  The quest for his stage required him to assimilate at least one member from two different species, something that Justin wasn’t completely sure was possible for him given his location.

  He was surrounded by a desert, true, but even then the system had strict requirements for what counted as a host. They had to be carbon-based, living, and have the potential to be sentient. The first two were obvious, and Justin would have no trouble finding a multitude of organisms fitting that description, the problem was the last requirement.

  Sentience was a scientific term, but the system’s consideration of it was still up for debate. While there was a diverse swath of creatures across Lemus IV as much as any other planet, to his knowledge its civilization was only composed of one species. If there were other creatures that counted as sentient, or had the potential to be such, they would either be isolated away or be less intelligent than the natives. Like how a colony of ants or termites might be counted as a single organism on purpose, their sentience might be a technicality granted by the system’s judgement.

  Regardless, he had a week to figure it out.

  For now he needed to capitalize on the resources around him, and continue to assimilate the camp. But it wasn’t something he could do so aggressively, or all at once. Justin’s body had been a volta, strengthened by the System. But he had lost a lot of accumulated benefits when he had died. Merely vestiges of his former strength remained, making him only a bit stronger than a normal man his size.

  ‘I need a lure, some way to get a person isolated quickly enough. I can’t wait for very long.’

  Justin’s brow twitched. Actually, didn’t he already have a lure? Justin looked at the man, who looked back at him.

  There was something intrinsic to his situation that Justin, having been a front-liner combatant most of his life, had easily missed. A new kind of strategy was available to him now, more suitable for a spy or assassin, but Justin only needed to start adapting his thinking to make use of it.