I Became a Hive Mind in the Game

It’s already been a week since I started developing and producing Hive Starlights for continuous energy consumption.

During that time, while focusing on producing Hive Starlights, I was simultaneously preparing to relocate my main body—and now, after a week, the preparations are complete.

At first, I tried methods like just cutting off the main body entirely, but there was a problem that this could cause the unfortunate incident of disconnecting from the tentacles spread in all directions.

Therefore, the method I chose was to gradually transport the internal substances that make up the main body through a prepared tube.

Although this means having two main bodies for a while and instant death if the tube is cut, relocating the main body was absolutely necessary, even for the future.

‘…Shall we try?’

It meant the risk was worth taking.

※ ※ ※

The first thing I started was creating the ground where I would settle.

Until now, I had been forcibly expanding a cave where one giant ape (Burning Self-Detonator) lived to use as a base, but there were clearly many inconveniences.

The passages are narrow, and the location happens to be a cave in a cliff, making it difficult to send out troops in the cliff direction, and expansion can’t be done towards the cliff either.

Therefore, the place I chose was deep underground in the Taebaek Mountains, located slightly north of northern Gangwon-do.

There’s also a fairly large forest nearby, so there’s plenty of space to create passages for monsters to come and go.

Considering that the average height of trees forming the forest exceeds 20 meters, even a Hive Fortress could move while hiding its body sufficiently.

Additionally, it’s not too far from the sea, so if done well, it could be a place to obtain genes or body structures of monsters adapted to the marine environment.

Anyway, now that the location has been decided, all that’s left is to actually move. Of course, I planned to leave the shell of the main body in this current cave and use it as a multi-purpose facility.

The method of moving, as mentioned earlier, is to transport the core internal organs through a specially made tube.

At the end where the tube is connected, a Hive Factory is visible just like at the starting point, but its reality is an empty shell with no core organs and no Hive Mind.

And at the same time, it will become the shell that will be my new body in the future.

‘Oh, it’s moving.’

Meanwhile, while I was thinking that. The preparations seemed to be finished as the tube started to wiggle and transport the internal organs.

Organs used for all functions except those necessary for production, such as gene storage organs, psychic storage, bio cores, or computational auxiliary brains, started to be transported.

Although it’s a distance comparable to 100 kilometers, even considering that, it only took about 10 minutes to transport from the starting point to the end.

This is… honestly speaking, because an extremely complex and high-dimensional method that I can’t explain with my lacking vocabulary was used.

Anyway, thanks to this, all my organs arrived at the new main body within 30 minutes in total, and now all that’s left is to transfer the mental body of the Hive Mind, but…

This was essentially a simple task for the Hive Mind, like just getting up from one’s seat and sitting in another chair over there, so I finished all the work in about 7 seconds.

In other words, it means I moved my main body and base to the North Korean region, and at the same time, it means I’m finally ready to evolve into a grade 1 Hive Mind—a Hive Queen.

…Although I’m slightly short on energy to evolve, so it will take a little more time.

Therefore, during this remaining time until energy accumulates, I implanted the monster ‘Tetra’, which will be the subject operating the production facilities on that side, inside the old body that has become empty, activating the former body.

Tetra. This monster with an independent ego like Theresia is, to be precise, one that will replace the main organs I’ve moved and operate the production facilities on that side according to my instructions.

Therefore, Tetra has no organs except those for producing monsters according to orders and computational auxiliary brains, excluding any other organs.

It doesn’t even have organs for maintaining life as a living being, so it has to use energy, antibiotics, or other hormones received from me, and naturally, its psychic ability is proudly at grade 10 level.

This structure of Tetra, designed to prevent the rebellion of a personality created solely to be used as a tool, might seem a bit cruel, but it was inevitable for me.

‘Tetra.’

Anyway. Right after completing Tetra by injecting a personality formed by tearing off a part of the Hive Mind, when I called its name, its communication began to be transmitted in my mind.

[Yes, mother.]

‘Mo… Well, no, never mind.’

It feels strange that something I created as a tool calls me mother, but the cause of such behavior is that I designed it to recognize me as a parent from the design process.

Therefore, I roughly crushed the dissatisfaction in my mind and continued speaking to Tetra, who had a neutral child’s voice.

‘From now on, you will perform my proxy role in the area where my main body stayed. If any problem occurs, contact me immediately even for trivial matters, and basically, you should follow the manual I’ve sent. Understand?’

[Understood. I will certainly carry out mother’s orders.]

It was such a blunt answer, but through the connected Hive Mind, I could tell that Tetra was currently very happy.

It was a complex mix of emotions similar to the joy a good child feels from fulfilling their parents’ requests—a sense of achievement, primitive joy, and pleasure.

‘…Then, good luck.’

[Understood.]

Of course, feeling such joy from hearing my orders was also a kind of control device I had implanted to control it.

※ ※ ※

Meanwhile, while I was having that conversation with Tetra. Finally, enough energy had gathered to evolve.

[Do you want to evolve into Hive Queen (Grade 1)?] (Y/N)

‘Of course, YES.’

When I expressed affirmation to the question on the status window that seemed to appear after a long time, the status window was displayed and I started to change.

[Hive Factory (Grade 4) is evolving into Hive Queen (Grade 1)!]

The first thing to change was, of course, the Rafflesia-like appearance of the Hive Factory.

As if a fruit was growing from a fertilized flower, the part that should be called the ovary of the Hive Factory if we had to name it, expanded—and from there, body parts started to grow one by one.

First, arms are generated, followed by the torso taking shape. What finally appeared had a form like the upper body of a skinny woman, but in the details, its essence was completely different.

The skin has a pale gray, rubber-like texture, and the arms are abnormally long compared to the torso size, with hands at the ends that look like they’re made of dozens of tough fiber strands twisted together.

Especially these hands have black nails, which are, of course, top-grade biological weapons.

In addition, on the head part, the flower of the Hive Factory grows as if the head from the time when it was a grade 4 Hive Mind in the game is taking its place.

As a finishing touch, on the back, like in the Hive Core stage, a crimson energy storage is connected with energy transmission tubes, and the lower body, which had been rooted like a plant until now, can move with multiple legs like a centipede.

Of course, due to the size of the legs, the burden is severe, so it won’t be able to show intense movements.

‘…Status window?’

Anyway, right after confirming my appearance. I opened my status window after a long time—and couldn’t hide my surprise at the result.

Name :: ???
Race :: Hive Queen
Grade :: 1
Level :: 79
Abilities
Strength :: 250
Agility :: 65
Vitality :: 750
Intelligence :: 5600
Resistance :: 5600
Energy :: 10500
Leadership :: 10500
Traits (89/???)
Monster Gene (EX), Predator (A), Imperturbability (A), Hive Mind (A), Versatile Psychic User (A), Subjugated Species Control (A), Bio Core (A)
*Expand
Skills (794/???)
*Expand
Biological Weapons
Psychic Claw (A), Psychic Computation Auxiliary Brain (A)

‘1, 10,000?!!!’

While Energy and Leadership exceed 10,000, other abilities are by no means inferior.

Strength comparable to the player’s stat limit of 255, Vitality at the level of a grade 3 boss monster. There are even abilities exceeding 5,000, which can only be seen in top-grade monsters.

No joke, with my current state, I could probably move mountains.

※ ※ ※

Gangwon-do, South Korea, Government-affiliated Monster Situation Detection Base.

At this facility, which exists to analyze the appearance of high-grade monsters in the northern region, they were currently frantically starting analysis work after detecting a new psychic wave in the northern part of Gangwon-do.

The detection room chief, aware of the recent increase in the frequency of high-grade monster appearances, was anxiously waiting for the results, and just then, a researcher opened his mouth.

“…Psychic wave analysis complete!”

“What’s the individual type?”

“Code H! That is, it’s a Hive Mind type!”

The moment the researcher said that, a sigh of lamentation burst out inside the detection base. The appearance of a Hive Mind near the former ceasefire line means that Hive Mind monsters will now appear towards the Gangwon-do area as well.

Moreover, through the monster forest area of Gangwon-do, which is too wide in area and low in monster level, resulting in low quality of defense facilities and stationed troops.

“Quickly contact the government!”

“Yes, senior!”

Therefore, they started reporting through the direct line used in case of the highest emergency situations, directly connected to the government.

Including concerns that in the worst case, a second Pyongyang Hive Mind zone could be born in the Gangwon-do area.