Chapter 15 & 16: Into The Hive (Part I & Ii) (2/2)

*SWISH* *SWISH*

The Wasp buzzed angrily as it lay on the floor unable to fly and unable to stand. It's dark eyes stared at the direction of Sol and anyone could tell it was enraged.

(Desperation? Anger? Aren't those emotions? Why does this guy have emotions?) -Sol

Sol clearly remembered the Bloodmana Wasps he met outside that didn't have a shred of intelligence or emotions and were simple Wasps, they didn't even have spear like arms and were softer in nature and shorter in length. Yet this one was clearly much, much different. He hadn't heard anyone mention about it, Sol came to two conclusions.

One was either this guy was a variant and the other was a more terrifying and nightmarish conclusion that Sol would never even want to imagine....that these beasts were evolving. If these guys had eyes, then what would stop them from devouring the world? It's reproduction rate coupled with that terrifying oppressive nature. Sol didn't want to imagine it but had no choice but to believe that it was possible.

He didn't find it strange at all, these guys were masters at manipulating mana and much more competent than humans in that aspects. Mana was the phenomenon that created Magic, it would be weird if these guys couldn't do simple things like making minor changes in their bodies. It also raised another question....were Guardian Wasps also created like this?

If so, then this was a terrifying discovery but Sol didn't want to believe it at least not yet; he wanted to find out if this thing really was a variant first. If it was then he would be able to relax. Sol then had a bad premonition as he remembered Nightmaster Duke say there was another hive lower down. It was a good decision to have this hive removed while they had the chance.

Sol looked at the Bloodmana Wasp that had no arms or wings but still flapped his stubs furiously while it gazed at Sol.

(If it has intelligence...does that mean it revoked it's collective conscious?) -Sol

Sol pondered about this and only had one way to know for sure. Sol took out a staff and went behind the Bloodmana wasp and started pus.h.i.+ng it towards the exit. Sol still had quite a bit of time before the Guardian Wasp patrol and decided to use it wisely. Luckily he hadn't gone too far in and was already near the entrance.

After placing the furiously angered Wasps's body at the entrance. He quickly moved off to the side and hid in nearby bushes where he hid before. He drew his bow from his runic ring as well as a few arrows and stuck them in the soil beside him, placing one in his mouth.

This was a habit he gained from the memory, he didn't know why but he just liked placing an arrow inside his mouth when he shot an arrow just like the girl from his memories. Obviously as he could never remember the memories Sol wouldn't know that. All he knew was that he felt comfortable with it in his mouth.

He inhaled as he nocked an arrow, the Kingswood bowstring tightened as he drew it into a crescent arc. The bow made low groaning sounds only audible to Sol like a sleeping beast and without much sound, the arrow effortlessly left the bow piercing through the air toward the crippled Wasp.

*SWISH*

*PUCHI*

The arrow connected, drilling it's way into the Wasp's skull killing it instantly.

Sol waited and observed, 10 minutes pa.s.sed and nothing happened at all. The Wasps outside didn't flock to it like before and No other variants left the tunnel! Sol's conclusion, These particular Wasps didn't have a collective conscious and instead had intelligence. It seemed as though they could either possess one or the other, but that was still just a guess. These guys obviously were in the process of evolving and it had not finished yet. Who was to say that they wouldn't develop both?

Even though Guardian Wasps had eyes, their nature was to remain inside the hive and so had never became a problem. However, these new types of Bloodmana Wasps were different. Sol knew these guys would definitely eventually venture out of the hives, they were a predator species and if Bloodmana Wasps were replaced with these guys then a new formidable enemy would have been born.

Still, Sol kept holding onto the tiny hope that it was a single variant and there weren't anymore, however he understood that probably wasn't the case. Sol didn't want to enter back in immediately and still waited and after a short amount of time as expected 4 Guardian Wasps came out, a pair of 2 at different intervals.

Sol glanced back at the hundreds of Bloodmana Wasps that were flying in the same 6 unit group pattern and made sure none were too close to him as to detect him.

Sol then took two arrows from the ground, nocked them into his bow and aimed towards the Guardian Wasps.

*SWISH*

*SWISH*

Both arrows flew through the air directly implanting one Guardian Wasp in it's face, the other had barely managed to escape and was grazed at the side of it's head along it's tough sh.e.l.l-like scales. The 3 remaining Guardian Wasps charged with great speed in the direction toward the bushes where the arrow came from. Sol wasn't shocked that an arrow missed, rather it seemed he was confirming a suspicion.

(So, it really is as hard as I thought) -Sol

Sol had accurately been attacking weak points alone, and only wanted to test the sh.e.l.l's hardness. That arrow was merely a probe.

Sol kept his calm and picked up another two arrows and nocked them, he drew and then-

*SWISH*

*SWISH*

Two Guardian Wasps fell before they could even reach him, but the other had already successfully entered melee range. Sol dropped his bow, a spear appeared in his hand and without much ease at all s.h.i.+fted his entire weight at the edge of the spear, his leg muscles bulged as he took this uniformed and deadly stance.

Placing his palm at the end of the spear and the other holding it firmly, he dashed forward like a valiant hero without an ounce of fear with the gleaming spear's edge toward the Wasps's chest.

*DANG*

*CRACK*

*SHATTER*

The spear shattered under the immense hardness of the Wasps's sh.e.l.l, however the Wasp wasn't any better off as it solidly hit the ground and flapped it's wings wildly. The Wasp tried to fly but it's body was in tremendous shock, the sheer piercing force of the spear attack had made the Wasp unable to continue.

Sol had no ill will towards these creatures, but he would be merciless if it meant learning about them. After all Sol's life was the most important to him, he had always made choices pertaining to his well being and even staying in Earthernvale was such a choice. Not because of cowardice, but because Sol considered this life of his to be too important to die for foolish reasons and would never give it away for the sake of anyone else he didn't deem worthy.

This was the life his parents saved after all, and as far as he was concerned he was the only human alive that came from Earth. How could he let the culture of his people die along with him without leaving some record of it? It may have only been martial arts knowledge that he knew, but it was still the culture of his world and they gave him his current power, how could he betray that?

Sol understood he needed a more efficient method to infiltrate the base, because when it came time to save Liore's mother he knew he would have to kill some of them and had to be prepared for the aftermath. The first pocket was proof of that, the place where the prey is held is heavily guarded.

Sol took out his satchel from inside the runic ring and looked at the Wasp before him, he immediately started creating several different types of poison. He tested and tested on the Wasp, and used antidotes right afterward. The hours moved slowly and Sol had no need to rush.

(Half Venom root, whole Iron raegar, a single nightshade leaf, a flower of Black petal lotus,  quarter serpent blood flower...I need to grind this a bit more..) -Sol

Sol quickly but efficiently worked, this was the sign of a true medical pract.i.tioner of the Saint cla.s.s. Sol then added some Fishtail tree fruits to the concoction and made it into a powder, he also made a pill at the side. He ripped apart some of his clothes and tied the powder in powdered b.a.l.l.s neatly, he ripped apart another piece of clothing and covered his face or more precisely his nose and mouth.

The Wasp seemed to be going crazy at the scent of the powder and couldn't meet Sol's gaze and looked as though it couldn't see, seeing this Sol gave a slight smile. He had tested quite a few on it but this one seemed to be the most effective. Sol wasn't sure himself what he created but he knew it was hazardous and was built specifically for these Wasps in mind. He had only used a tiny bit of the powder and it was already acting like this, the poison was surely potent enough to kill with just a tiny dose.

If  one looked at the Wasp before him, they would see the chest of the Wasp had many holes as well as powders inside of those holes, there were also antidotes near it. It was obvious the Wasp had been tested on and poisoned quite a few times. Sol had studied the creature before him intensely, coupled with the knowledge inside of his head from Earth and it's understanding of the hymenoptera (Bee-like) species, it wasn't too hard to create an effective poison.

What Sol didn't know was that this poison was a more dangerous and purified form of Insecticide that originated from his home world that had become advanced with the medicinal herbs used from this world. After all, his knowledge about medicine and biological understanding did stem from there.

Sol after deciding to use this poison, quickly started creating much more, he used other herbs to dilute and increase it's volume. Sol's goal wasn't to kill them but temporarily paralyze them, so diluting it was necessary. There were lots more herbs within his runic ring given to him by the Former King and so made great use of those.

[Thank you friend, you've been a great help. I'll put you out of your misery now] -Sol

Sol had mixed feelings about torturing creatures, but as long as his life was in jeopardy he would put aside those feelings completely and was willing to be a murderous predator of the highest degree.

Sol lifted his foot, all of a sudden it looked as though his weight had increased dramatically but that wasn't the case. Sol's control of his balance wasn't just used for defense! In martial arts - control of balance was a direct source of power! The reason why one could output more strength than their body was biologically capable of, was precisely because of this weight control.

Sol lifted his foot and with all of his strength and weight it shot down like a raging comet and stomped onto the Wasp's already cracked carapace fiercely smas.h.i.+ng it in.

*SMUSH*

The Wasp Instantly died and no longer moved, which was probably what it wanted most.

**

Sol then got up from the bushes and glanced at the hive. Creating the poison took quite a bit of time and Sol had noticed that the patrols had already come out once more and seemed to be investigating. With two quick arrows he quickly put them down, the corpses at the entrance of the hive seemed to be piling up but luckily these creatures were incredibly stupid and the rest didn't have any intelligence at all.

Sol wholeheartedly believed no one but him could do this, and he was right. A normal human would have never even gotten within range of the field much less the hive. Sol readied himself once more and quickly entered the hive, he believed he was prepared now. He had already taken enough precautions and created enough counter-measures.

He didn't avoid the first pocket corridor, rather he stole a few glances at it as he had a much better grasp on these Wasps, he wanted to confirm if Liore's mother was there in the first pocket. After seeing coc.o.o.ns with slight pieces of beasts sticking out, he was sure she wasn't here. Rather these beasts looked too incredibly fresh and was possibly caught only within a few hours.

Sol understood that since these guys were systemic, then Liore's mother should probably be in the parts of the lowest levels as her comatose state would at most last 10 years because of these creatures and it had already been close to that. Sol didn't believe after these creatures finished using the Dantians of their prey they would throw away the corpses, what else would they eat?

Sol believed the corpses closed to dying would be sent to the Queen and her young for meals. This was the systemic way of these creatures for sure and Sol didn't doubt it. Why else would they put the freshest of prey towards the entrance?

(Liore's mother...is probably very near the Queen) -Sol

Sol grounded his teeth as he thought of this.

(It seems this place keeps getting more and more dangerous and I haven't even pa.s.sed the first layer) -Sol

Sol decided not to spare any of these creatures, the first pocket had roughly a hundred Wasps of either Guardian or Bloodmana Wasp origin. Sol took out two of the tiny bags of powder and placed it at the narrow entrance of the pocket room. He then took out medicinal wine from his satchel and doused the two powdered bags. This wine was very much flammable and would serve as the perfect catalyst for Sol's plan.

Sol then took out a round blue crystal orb, this was a Water orb and could hold an incredibly huge amount of water. It was a survival tool used to carry around water and was very expensive, so much so only n.o.bility could possess it. Sol poured a tiny amount of mana into it and it produced a stream of water Sol used to douse the cloth wrapped around his head. He then placed back the Water orb inside of his runic ring.

Next he withdrew a tiny rectangular red gem that gave off a feel similar to the Water Orb, this was obviously a Fire Gem and also a necessary tool for survival. In comparison to the Water Orb it was much much cheaper and was capable of producing a tiny flame which was great for people who could not use fire magic, all it required to be recharged was to be placed in the sun for a small amount of time. Naturally these were given to him by the Former King.

Sol took the Fire Gem and without hesitation lit up the two powdered bags before the medicinal wine dried out in the air. Almost instantly the two bags lit up in a terrible purple flame! All of a sudden a terrible and sinister scent came from the bags as a purple noxious gas drifted out an flooded the entire room. Sol quickly popped the antidote pill in his mouth just in case as he could not afford to take chances.

The Wasps seemed to be going in a frenzy and madly begun rus.h.i.+ng towards the pocket entrance as predicted, obviously to escape. Sol watching this felt his back grow cold with sweat as he looked at the approaching Wasps. If he was wrong, he would probably die right now.

Suddenly before the Wasps could reach, they begun falling down rapidly. Guardian Wasps couldn't see a thing and felt paralysis running through their bodies, Bloodmana Wasps all of a sudden stood in one spot as the pain in their heads were too much to bare and could not receive orders.

Sols face lit up as he saw this, two swords quickly appeared in his hands and Sol charged directly toward the wave of disoriented Wasps. Now for sure, None of them could see him!

*SWISH*

*SWISH*

Sol's swords danced in his hands as he slash and chopped with incredible accuracy and strength! Every chop would disarm a Wasp's wings or arms. He could not afford to kill them and so this poison had only one desired effect! Paralysis and Disorientation! The original poison he created was definitely capable of killing them but he couldn't do that at present otherwise he would alert the entire hive.

So Sol had one choice, disarm, cripple and disfigure! He could use the Explosive Fire Orbs given to him by Nightmaster Duke and kill them all in the end, for now disabling was the better choice. Sol gave no mercy as he swung his blade and crippled them all, the beasts fell to the floor one by one.

Sol made sure to kill the Guardians and crippled the Bloodmana Wasps. He didn't see any variants and was a bit surprised. Sol noticed that none of the other beasts seemed to react and were in a deep sleep like state.

*SWISH*

*SWISH*

Finally after a few minutes all the Wasps were either crippled or dead. Sol looked at every beast coc.o.o.n to make sure that none of them were Liore's mother as he still didn't want to overlook anything. The coc.o.o.ns glowed and one could see the silhouette of the creature within, it looked like a frightening horror movie but Sol's breathe was even and his face was solemn.

All of a sudden Sol saw something that made his jaw drop, right in the corner of the beasts was a skeleton. The A half rotten corpse sat in the corner with his back against the wall, a dagger lodged in it's rib cage exactly where the Dantian should be.

(It seems I was not the first one here..but the first alive one in here) -Sol

It was then Sol noticed something, the corpse wore a strange uniform similar to the one of the Scout's brigade and it's symbol was destroyed. Sol walked up to the corpse and then noticed it wore a runic ring and was stupefied by what he saw.

(Isn't this....Salira's family symbol?) -Sol

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