Records of Rebirth

Chapter 72 - The Spectator

All jokes aside, I couldn't shake the feeling that things weren't as simple as he said. 

I resisted the urge to inflict bodily harm and calmly asked. "Are we in danger?"

«The world is a dangerous place to anyone who acts recklessly because they are naïve enough to think it will do them no harm.» Sensei replied without pause. «I felt becoming a guide was the least I could do to protect you all.» 

"That's why you want me to get stronger…" 

«I know you hesitate when using the system store because you think it harms me in some way but I assure you it doesn't. The system is subject to no agenda. It is only there for you to use its items as you wish.» 

"Until you reveal you never cared about me, and all you wanted was my XP all along." I sarcastically commented.

«I'm not your enemy.» Sensei replied. «To me you're simply a resourceful student I don't want to see perish. I want to help you as much as possible but even as a system I am not allowed to interfere in your decisions. I can't play favourites, I can only support you with items through the store.» 

"Sure. You don't have to exaggerate." I deadpanned, but I really felt self conscious. 

"Don't act like I was your favourite student, it's gross." 

Seeking to end the awkward conversation, I ignored his sheepish response and curled up next to the warmth of the lizard to rest and workout my next move.

The plan was simple and straight.

First, find the antidote to stop my premature death. Again. 

And then, finish the Emergency Quests [Explore Till Tunnel End] and [Find the Queen's Chambers].

So simple right. 

Completing those quests would give me an additional [250XP] points, bringing me ever so close to that oh so expensive sweet dimensional box that cost [350XP] points. 

It wasn't like I was worried about the quests though. I mean, how could I? 

What was adding another new problem to the already long list? It wasn't like it made a difference when things weren't going my way anyway. 

A queen? What was she other than a pebble on the path to domination! She would be but the first to be dethroned and conquered on my journey to victory.

What was the worst that could happen?

«You may want to restrain your maniacal thoughts.» Sensei complained.

«They are leaking over to me.»

I scowled at his remark, unable to remain calm. 

After the Queen. He would be next!

I rose up from my slumber. Plans were not enough. If I hoped to finish both quests or exit the hive at all, everything had to be foolproof. 

First, I had to find that bloodstained room from the wasp's memories, then deal with my poisoning to prepare for what came after. 

"You seem to be having fun at my expense." I frowned.

«I would never do something like that.» Sensei blankly responded, but his amused tone of voice did not match his words. I was so annoyed. How could a person be this shameless?

I approached the trembling body of my kidnapped wasp, circling around it to slip through its bindings. It struggled when I made contact with its body, but with it effectively declawed and its mandibles crushed, it couldn't resist for long. 

I easily wrapped myself around its thorax, claiming the most unassuming position, before tightly constricting with the combined efforts of [Steel Skin] and [Rugged Scales].

With a firm position secured, I activated [Stinger]. 

Rows of overlapping scales on both sides of me shifted as they began to change. What normally lay flat, now tilted at an angle like an open vent, sending the stinging spines at the keeled tips of my scales jutting outwards. 

However, due to the direction my scales were moving and the smooth surface of the wasps body, squeezing tightly in one forward motion was not enough to penetrate its shell. So, I changed direction and locked my constricting motion in reverse. Multiple stingers plunged into its shell at once, drawing blood. 

The wasps body hitched and began to writhe. 

Droplets of purple pooled and I felt the tug from the combined pressure generated from constricting with [Steel Skin] and the hardness of stingers reinforced by [Dragon Scales]. I considered what might happen if I moved with my stingers embedded, while I continued to apply pressure.

I imagined a taut rubber band squeezing over a watermelon - if the rubber band had teeth. Not only would its shell burst like a melon, if I was to twist while constricting, it would be shredded along as I moved like frayed cloth.

Granted, the shell of an egg wasp was not as tough as that of a builder wasp and I could not exert that much pressure yet, but what would happen when I got stronger or [Steel Skin] reached LV10? 

I felt like my body itself had become a weapon! 

Aside from the wasps fervently tapping limbs, it put up no resistance whatsoever, which made me wonder. Just what were the limits of attributes inherited from [Devour]? 

Considering the larvae with [Mind Chain] assimilated their victims, could I do the same? With the attribute [Mind Chain] I was effectively like one, and I wondered if it were possible to burrow under its skin to fully control it. 

What would actually happen if I tried?

I was eager to know if I was able to do just about everything a Hesperia could. But how that would work filled me with more confusion so I put forward the question to Sensei - who seemed to know everything, hoping he would answer. 

«Theoretically, you could constitute a body.» Sensei replied blandly. «If that's what you're asking.» 

I gasped with shock and nearly released the wasp I was constricting. What?

«But you're not truly a Hesperia. It is best not to attempt it when there's so many things that could go wrong. Your lack of experience using the skill without the system would be your biggest hindrance for one.» 

I was shocked but I pressed on. "What's the difference between possessing it like a larvae and what I'm doing now?" 

Sensei continued. «It's one thing to control a host with [Mind Chain] with the matrix of the system to assist and another to immerse yourself and navigate a body's thoughts and sensations on your own.»

«Absorbing a memory and manipulating a body is one thing, right now you can because you understand the basic workings through the context of the host's mind. Full control is another. Processing all the contrasting sensations would be a sudden influx of foreign matter to the brain - like suddenly having two minds. It would be stressful.» 

«The Hesperia as a species has adapted to do this and holds a unique advantage compared to other creatures. Without having all their innate traits, you won't be able to process the full onslaught of every sensation without a filter. It would be like learning how to breathe as a plant when you've always done it another way - and trying to figure it all out without an instruction manual.»

"Why can't I just continue to use the system?" 

«The system is only a guide to help you earn skills and use them. What you are thinking of attempting is something else entirely. You will be reconstructing the entirety of your body. To do so you'd have to understand the process and adjust things to specifications that will suit your body.» 

"What sort of things?"

«The duration for example, you would have to adjust that, what would take a larvae days could take you months. And in that time you could be locked into a host body that is likely unsuitable for you. And let's say you do manage to assimilate it, do you know how? And are you confident at the end of it you would even resemble something remotely human?» 

"So my chance of success is zero?" I was a little depressed.

Sensei humorously sighed like he was scolding a child.

«At the moment, yes. It's too much of a headache for the slim chance you could succeed. In the time that would take, you could have evolved many times as a snake.» 

I was disappointed. I had hoped he would be just as curious as I was to try, but the firmness in his voice told me he truly believed it was a bad idea. Part of me wanted to attempt it anyway to see how far I could get and I was about to crack open the wasps shell when something made me stop.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed the lizard now had its narrow eyes open, watching me warily. 

How long has it been awake!

I immediately activated [Heat Sense] to monitor its proximity in case it planned to sneak attack.

The lizard didn't move now that my eyes were on it. It simply watched me throttle the struggling wasp like it was an entertaining spectacle.