Chapter 12 – Mutants (2)
“Ugh…”
The Goblin Chieftain groaned in discomfort. He hadn’t expected any sympathy from beasts, yet the pain wracking his body was unbearable.
It was due to the poison coursing through his body. Because of it, not only resisting but even taking his own life was completely impossible. He could only be dragged along.
‘This place is the Eastern Forest.’
The unidentified insects had dragged the chieftain to where his hunting party had ventured during the day.
The chieftain’s eyes widened as he was dragged closer to their nest. Despite it usually being void of peril, the environment around him started to change.
“Exactly what is this?”
Slowly, the surroundings began to look desolate. The once lush green forest was being deforested, its roots torn out, transforming into barren soil.
This was in stark contrast to the previously lush and verdant trees and grasses.
‘Is this their nest?!’
Upon arrival, the chieftain was brought face to face with a massive cave entrance. Thanks to the insects’ diligent maintenance and expansion, the cave had grown much larger than it was before.
When the chieftain ventured inside, he lost the ability to speak. Tentacles stretched across the cave from the ceiling and walls, connecting to massive, wriggling lumps of flesh.
When the chieftain saw these insect-like creatures feeding something into what looked like organic masses, he was horrified.
Beside those, another cluster was producing large eggs covered in sticky mucus.
Worker insects moved methodically, processing and relocating the eggs.
The chieftain was left spellbound by their coordination, simultaneously recalling how his own goblins struggled chaotically to achieve even the simplest tasks.
At the very least, when it came to group cohesion, the goblins under his command were nowhere near the level of these insects.
“This can’t be real.”
“Welcome. To our nest.”
The most shocking sight was yet to come, as the soldier insect who brought the chieftain turned his head to face it.
In the heart of the nest sat a female figure on a throne made of black flesh. Her appearance contrasted starkly with the damp and sinister atmosphere of the bug’s nest.
Though she wore no clothing, her body was wrapped in parts by a black exoskeleton like those of the mana beasts around her, and black tentacles emerged from the throne and walls, connecting to her body. However, the chieftain saw her and thought she almost resembled a human.
“What exactly are you?”
It was a question he couldn’t help but ask. Even the chieftain, the most knowledgeable among his kind, had never encountered such a being.
“What are you all? Why bring me here alive!?”
Though weakened by poison, the chieftain struggled feebly. The woman smiled faintly at this, crossing her legs before speaking slowly.
“If I told you we were a kind of Black Rot Insect and I am the queen of this swarm, would you believe me?”
“Black, Black Rot Insects? That’s absurd! They don’t look like that. Their queen doesn’t either!”
At her mention of Black Rot Insects, the chieftain violently protested. To him, they were ordinary mana beasts.
They lacked abilities like poison or hook-like limbs. Their queen was merely a large insect—nothing like this alien-looking figure.
“Besides, their queen could never communicate with me.”
“Is that the general perception of demons? Then we must be mutants. I don’t see us as part of the Black Rot Insects anymore either. Perhaps we need a new name.”
What troubled the chieftain most was that he was conversing as equals with what he had thought of as a mere insect, a beast.
Moreover, she seemed far more knowledgeable than him.
‘This can’t be happening.’
Realizing this fact, the Goblin Chieftain involuntarily shivered, his hanging body trembling.
“I originally had you brought here to have a casual conversation, but this turned out more fruitful than expected. At this point, continuing a war with goblins might be more advantageous than wandering around hunting.”
She rose slowly from her throne and approached him. The chieftain clenched his teeth, instinctively sensing mortal terror.
Her outward appearance was akin to that of a human woman, but the moment he sensed the vast consciousness within her, his goblin mind was instantly suppressed.
“Are there other goblin villages nearby? I’m hungry.”
“Would I ever tell you that?”
“It’s alright. There’s no need for you to.”
Despite trying to muster his courage, the chieftain was unnerved by her calm demeanor. It wasn’t long before she brightened with an eerie grin.
“That’s…”
A worker insect scurried up, carrying in its mandibles a map made from monster skins. It was a map personally created by the goblin chieftain himself.
“This should suffice, wouldn’t you say?”
Her eyes gleamed as she glanced back at the chieftain. This was proof that she could interpret the map.
*
[The Goblin Chieftain has been digested.]
“Since I’ve obtained everything I need…”
There wasn’t a real reason for keeping the chieftain alive, other than for brief amusement. Curiosity had driven me to observe the reaction of intelligent Demon Realm residents upon encountering us.
The answers I sought from the chieftain were now sufficient. Retaining him any longer would serve no purpose, so I quickly converted him into nutrients.
It had crossed my mind to keep him alive for longer and play around with him further, but considering the unnecessary nutrients it would take to sustain him, the idea quickly dissipated.
There would be plenty of individuals like him to encounter in the future. There was no point in clinging to just one.
“We truly appear alien to the average Demon Realm denizens.”
I couldn’t help but smirk recalling the chieftain’s reaction upon seeing us.
Even when I explicitly identified myself as the queen of the Black Rot Insects, he refused to believe me.
It was a valid response. We had already surpassed the limitations of the Black Rot Insects, both physically and mentally.
We were no longer in a category comparable to our own kind. This thought brought a faint smile to my face.
“What amused you?”
The initial struggle was nothing more than an attempt to survive this strange situation I’d found myself in.
The survival instinct to avoid being eaten by stronger mana beasts drove me to consume even the most revolting of corpse fragments.
But now is different. Watching the goblin chieftain’s astonishment brought a subtle sense of pleasure.
The belief that greater power and more warriors would allow us to achieve something beyond mere survival strengthened.
“Our next target is clearly other goblins.”
I unfurled the map again, taken from the goblin warrior’s remains. Though crude, it marked essential things like rivers, mountain ranges, and other tribes.
[But first, you must allocate your trait points.]
“That must be done as well.”
The spoils of this war were not only the physical trophies, but also a number of achievements gained through the inaugural war against the demons.
「Trait Points: 5」
No less than five points were immediately accumulated.
These points were the fundamental force driving us far beyond our peers.
Each point had to be carefully invested.
「Awareness Enhancement 3」
「Physical Enhancement 2-3」
「Reproduction Enhancement 3」
These were the results of thoughtful consideration. Now, awareness and reproduction are at level 3. Physical enhancement needed just 2 more points to reach level 3.
「Auxiliary Brain」
「Genetic Replication」
As a result, these two new traits were unlocked.
With the achievement of level 3 in three aspects, I gained traits that compensated for what I’d felt was lacking so far.
‘With the Auxiliary Brain, will things become easier?’
I was beginning to feel the limits of my mind.
Though my current brain functions at a human level, still ranking as the smartest within our collective, it was insufficient for commanding such a vast colony as one entity.
My first thought was creating artificial wombs or an artificial digestion system, but that wasn’t possible.
Until now.
“Che… All I have are goblin materials?”
[The data necessary to form an auxiliary brain is limited to materials from demons or above.]
The problem was that all I had were the goblin brains we had consumed that day.
Needless to say, not all brains are created equal. Efficiency varies greatly depending on structure and composition. By these metrics, goblin brains were far from top-tier.
‘There’s no way around it. Right now, we need the size.’
The solution was injecting more nutrients to drastically grow the auxiliary brain’s size.
I glanced behind my throne. It seemed that with the workers’ help, widening the space to accommodate a brain could be done in a single day.
