Chapter 21: More of the family.

“I’m going to try walking today.”

“What? Why? You are still recovering.”

I gave a deadpan stare at Apollinaris. “I’ll be fine. I’m not that much of a delicate flower, and besides, I can't lay in bed forever” I raised my arm.

“ look. My broken arms all fixed.”

Appolinaris gave me an apprehensive look before giving letting out a defeated sigh.

“ fine. But you're not going to be doing it alone. I’ll support you. “

“Really? I'm fine. I don-“

“AH AH AH. No buts, young lady. I'm going to help you, and that’s final.”

“FINE!” I let out a defeated sigh as Appolinaris shuffled over to my side and supported me as I stood up for the first time in what felt like ages. My legs wobbled like jelly a. I looked over to apollinaris and nodded. Slowly but surely, we made our way out of the tent. We decided I would do laps of the camp to see how my legs were feeling. It was difficult, but the more laps I did, the smoother it got.  It didn’t take me long until I could walk myself around the camp.

New ability added: painful recovery. [passive]

Some would say this is an ability for masochists, whilst others would say it’s an ability for athletes.

(Pain no longer hinders your recovery but aids it instead.)

I looked at Apollinaris, Who was staring at me with her mouth Wide open.

“How? You were barely able to walk yesterday.”

“As I said, my body is quite robust. This could be you if you let me convert you; you could have the same level of recovery as I do.”

“First of all, you have never said that. Secondly, I told you I would think about it.”

I shrugged. “You're missing out,” I said playfully. “When you're done admiring me, let's go meet the upcoming children.” I swiftly turned around, overextending my hip and...

“AhGaHHH”

A sharp pain rolled through my legs and up my legs.

“Oh, and How is that robust body your so proud of doing?” I glared towards Apollinaris and growled, Causing her to shiver a little.

“I-i-im Sorry,” She said, shrinking into herself a little.

I sighed. “It's fine. Sorry, you got me. I overreacted. Come on.” I offered her my hand. She looked at it briefly before taking it. I briefly rubbed my legs before walking deeper into the cave.

“So, how do you know they are ready.”

“Well, after the gestation period. The larvae need to mature. This usually takes 1 to 2 days, depending on the unit. During that period, the children must be fed continuously.”

“Oh, I guess that makes sense. It Sounds like you’ve got a lot of experience.”

“No. Not at all. I'm just going on what feels right. Instincts maybe? I’m not sure. It’s weird. The system helps me with most things but not everything. It tells me how long they will gestate but not how long it will take to mature. Maybe this is just something I'm supposed to just figure out.”

We kept on walking until we reached the door to the new nursery. Appolinaris went over and pulled the door open, revealing a room covered in mushrooms. Brown mushrooms sprouted from every, some even growing on top of each other.

“What the...”

“Yeah. I pulled a couple of all-nighters. But I finally got this patch growing. Had to use the remaining bodies to speed up the growing process, though.”

“That’s fine. With how many mushrooms there are in here well be good for a while. We’ll need to expand this space tho. I’ll move the children into the room with cages and turn that into the nursery. Speaking of children.”

In the centre of the room, there were 10 very large yellow cocoons. I walked towards one of them and placed my hand on it. The cacoon was warm to the touch inside. I could feel the worker getting ready to come out.

<Any moment now.>

*CRACK*

A large crack appeared on the cacoon. Followed by another and another. Soon all the eggs started cracking until eventually.

*CRACK*

The cacoons fell apart, and 10 new family members popped out.

“Apollinaris, say hi to my new workers and nurses.”

One of the nurses approached me and looked straight up towards me. First, they were a lot larger than the combat units but unlike them. They had fragile armour, only enough to protect them from bumps and scrapes, but that’s it. They had four very large compound eyes, a set of antennae, and a long feeding tube just above their mouths. They had 10 limbs 4 for walking and 6 for handling the young on two of the 6 arms. They had what looked like a sponge connected to them, and annoyingly, unlike me, they had a set of wings for flying. One peculiar thing about them was that They all had a very motherly demeanour, which is odd because they were all male.

<Mother, it is nice to finally make your acquaintance.>

Polite too. I raised my hand and patted his head.

<Pleasure to meet you as well.>

I turned towards the workers. Who was looking around the cave and inspecting the rocks?

The workers. They shared a lot of similarities with the combat units, except for 2 key differences. They had two more sets of legs that they could use to hold better manipulate stuff, and the other big thing is that they had WINGS. They had 2 enormous wings. I mean, they were huge, almost as large as a dog! Also, how come they get wings and I don’t? This aint fair.

As I grumbled to myself, I felt the presence of One of the workers.

<Mother, How can we be of service? Do you want us to reinforce the hive with wax? The stone here isn't strong. It won't stand up to any assault from intruders>

I chuckled. He's only just been born, and he's already critiquing the place.

<No. I have a different task. Go wait outside for me.>

They all nodded and left the cave. I also sent commands through the hive for the combat units to gather with the workers.

<Mother? What can we do to help? Are there any young for us to look after?>

<Not at the moment, but give me time. For now, stay here.>

I turned around and left them to get their bearings.

“What was that about? They looked disappointed.”

“Oh, nothing…. They want something to do. But there are currently no larvae for them to look after.”

“Oh…. Do you plan to make more….. with……. Her.”

A mischievous smile crept onto my face.

“Why? Do you want to take her place?”

“What! No…. I.. don’t….”

I stopped dead in my tracks and faced Appolinaris. “I would be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it. “ I said, slowly approaching Apollinaris; she slowly backed towards the wall.

“Oh, come on, just think about it,” I said seductively; Apollinaris was shaking like a rabbit cornered by a starving fox.

“it could be so much fun.” Her back smacked into a wall. She tried to move to the sides. But my pincers instantly stabbed the wall around her. Stopping her from moving.

“Please no……”

“Oh. Do you really think you have any say in what happens.? The idea of forcing myself on you excites me in ways you couldn't imagine.”

My head moved closer to her neck. My hot breath caused her hair to stand on end. Her cheeks were redder than a tomato, and she was shaking heavily now. Is it out of fear or excitement? Me thinks it's both. I slowly moved up from her neck towards her tiny ears. I leaned as close as I could to her ears and whispered.

“Just kidding.”

Appolinaris's eyes shot open, and she instantly stopped shaking. I pulled my pincers out from the wall and took a few steps back.

“Is that it?” apollinaris said.

“Is that it? You sound disappointed. Did you want me to go all the way? *gasp* is this your kink. Do you enjoy being dominated?”

“Wha…no..i” She stammered over her words.”

“Oh, so it is your thing?” I said mischievously

“NO! IT ISN’T! ….ARGHHHH.”

She pulled away from the wall and stormed past me. Face still red as hell.

“YOU CAN WALK BY YOUR DAMN SELF.” She yelled as she stormed away.

I chuckled. As I turned back around and started walking. When suddenly, I had a brain wave. I summoned the five nurses via the weave.

<I know what you can do. There is that girl in my room. Look after. Clean and feed her, and if you can, tidy up that room.>

<YES! MOTHER!>

They eagerly left and went toward my room. At the same time, I sent a small detail of royal flies with the nurses to make sure she didn’t try something stupid. I continued walking around, trying to get as much out of [painful recovery] as I could. It was helping but not much. Eventually, I found myself outside, where 5 workers and 5 combat units eagerly awaited me. I heard the sound of rustling and turned to find Apollinaris climbing out of one of the tents. I gave her a friendly smile. Her face instantly blushed, and she hurried away.

<All of you come here>

In an instant, they were all lined up in front of me.

<Alright. This is your first task.>

They all leaned forward eagerly.

< You combat units are to go into the forest and hunt. There aren't many of you, so play it safe in the meantime. I want 2 worker drones to follow closely from the air. Anything they kill, you bring back to the hive. You 3 wait here. I will need you later>

<Yes! Mother!>

<Also. If you see any mana beasts. Make sure to kill them.>

They all nodded. The combat units scurried off into the forest. Then, simultaneously, the workers flapped their wings and took off into the air. Following close behind.

< And now we wait. >

[Horned rabbit Slain]

+50xp

+ 25{Bonus xp}

<that didn’t take long>

I walked towards one of the tree stumps and sat down. I pulled up my system.

NAME:

Diva: LVL 17

HEALTH: 190/300

STAMINA: 600

MP: 400

POINTS: 21

RACE :

N/A

TITLE:

(outworlder) (herald of the end) (Fanatic Xenophobe) (sadist) (Silent assassin)(mother)(midwife)

ATRIBUTES:(NEW)

MIND: 30

BODY:20

SOUL:20

RECOVERY: 20

MAGIC:

N/A

ABILITIES: (new)

Living nest (LVL 2)

Bestial call (LVL 1)

Venomous constitution (LVL 1)

Enhanced reaction (LVL 1)

Insect Vision (LVL 1)

Insect speech (LVL 1)

Hive link (LVL 2)

Efficient Processing (LVL 1)

Feasting (LVL 1)

Hive weave (LVL 1)

Painful Recovery (LVL 1)

Resistances

Pain resistance (Moderate)

Subordinates

Cindi (Servant)

MISC

HIVE MANAGEMENT

ABILITY

SHOP

<Slowly but surely. I'm getting better. I should be fine or close to it by tomorrow.>

I leaned back and opened up the hive management screen.

HIVE STATS

EGG SPECIALISATION

: UNIT TYPES :

SELF IMPREGNATION

HOST IMPREGNATION

Nice. Much clearer than the old menu. My only gripe is that I wish the biomass was in the main status screen. It would make it easier to keep track.

Would you like to move the biomass counter to the main status?

Yes

no

Speak of the devil. I instantly pressed yes, and a version of the counter was now on the status screen. I quickly moved over to the unit types and was instantly hit with a notification box.

New unit available: Spitter

A small, winged insect that can spit a corrosive version of the poison you produce.

Resources: 175

Gestation: 2 days

Interesting. A new aerial unit and ranged two. Now all I need is something for defence and the mid-rage, and I've got a full party. I instantly chose to specialise 5 of them.  At the same time, I specialised 5 more workers and 5 more combat units.

Are you sure you want to specialise:

5x spitter.

5x worker

5x combat unit

For: 2125 resources?

Yes

No

I instantly pressed yes, and the same pleasurable heat came from my crotch.

<AHHHHHHHHH. I missed this part.>

The heat welled up in my crotch and spread through my body.

<Hnnghaa, this is so good.>

I rubbed my legs together, trying my best to stimulate down there.

“Diva. I just wanna say what you di-“

I looked up towards Apollinaris. She froze, and her face went bright red.

“Ah…umm… hahaha. Il erm…. NEVERMIND.”

Before I could say anything, she bolted away. No matter all this means, I have fun with myself and having fun is what I did.

A few minutes later……

<That….was….intense….>

The afterglow was bliss. My entire body was dancing.

<I should do that more often.>

Suddenly, I felt someone trying to contact me. I closed me to access the weave. It was one of the nurses. She needed me urgently.

I sighed, <aint no rest for the wicked.>

I slowly raised off my feet and headed back into the hive, where a loud disturbance could be heard from inside my room.

“ARGH…GET OFF OF ME, VILE CREATURES”

It seems like our guest has just met her nurses.

“GO AWAY. I SWEAR IF YOU TRY TO PUT THAT THING DOWN MY THROAT AGAIN, I WILL-“

I should probably go in there before one of them gets hurt. I headed over and swung open the door. The 5 nurses were trying to restrain her, but she wasn’t making it easy.

“AHHH, WHAT THE HELL?! WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO TO ME!?”

“They are trying to look after you.” She froze as soon as she heard me. Her body started to shake and shiver as she craned her neck towards my direction.

“y-y-you”

“Yes, it is me. Now could you do me a favour and let these children help you.

Her eyes darted between me, the children and the exit. Oh no, I'm not letting you try anything stupid.

“Don’t think about it. If you do, I will have to get involved, and I'm sure you don’t want that.”

Her eyes flashed between the nurses and me before relenting.

“Good girl.”

The nurses then got to work cleaning her up. One of the nurses pulled up their spunged arm. Clear fluid was dripping fr. The nurse got to work, much to Ali’s dismay. I walked closer to get a better look. The nurses wiped her down, cleaning up all the dirt and blood. One of the nurses brushed over a cut causing her to yelp in pain, But almost immediately, the wound began to heal and stitch itself together, leaving only a faint red mark. So the nurses can heal people and look after children. I mean, I shouldn't be surprised. They are nurses, after all. I looked over her and watched as the bruises on her skin annoyingly faded away. One of the nurses approached her. And lifted her up to her feet. Whilst another pulled the dirty bedsheets away. I heard one of the nurses scurry out of the room and come back, holding a new set of clean bed sheets.

The nurse, with all the expertise of a professional, put the bed sheets back on the bed, making it look good as new. Next, one of the nurses made Ali sit down on the now clean bed. At the same time, the nurses lifted her feeding tube and moved it towards Ali.

“No! What are you trying to do!”

“He’s trying to feed you.”

“No. I don’t-“

“ME or Them, remember.”

She froze. And then looked towards the nurse and nodded.

“Good girl. Now open wide.”

She did as she was told, and the nurse stuck a feeding tube down her throat. She gagged and tried to, but the nurse continued. The feeding tube expanded as lumps of…… something poured down her throat. Eventually, the nurse stopped and pulled the feeding tube out. Causing her to cough and yelp violently.

“Oh, stop being dramatic,” I said as I approached her. I looked over to the nurse and said thanked them for their work. They bowed at me before leaving.

They all nodded and left the room. I slowly sauntered up to her. Now that she had been cleaned up, she looked a lot better. God, I can't wait to mess her up again.

“A….are….y…you going…to….again”

I crawled up to her. She tried to back away. But there was nowhere to go.

“That depends. Tell me where the nearest town is.”

“W..what…..”

“You heard me. Answer the question!”

She Yelped and she started nodding violently. “T…t……t..there is a s..s…s.small town called Doonvatel. If you follow the road east. You will reach it.”

“Good.”

I raised my hand and wrapped it around her leg.

“W…wait! Please. I thought you said. You weren't going to do that.”

“HAHAHA. When did I say that?”

My hand wrapped around her leg tighter.

“This is going to be fun.”

Diva's current status:

NAME:

Diva: LVL 17

HEALTH: 190/300

STAMINA: 600

MP: 400

POINTS: 21

Resources: 6070

RACE :

N/A

TITLE:

(outworlder) (herald of the end) (Fanatic Xenophobe) (sadist) (Silent assassin)(mother)(midwife)

ATRIBUTES:(NEW)

MIND: 30

BODY:20

SOUL:20

RECOVERY: 20

MAGIC:

N/A

ABILITIES: (new)

Living nest (LVL 2)

Bestial call (LVL 1)

Venomous constitution (LVL 1)

Enhanced reaction (LVL 1)

Insect Vision (LVL 1)

Insect speech (LVL 1)

Hive link (LVL 2)

Efficient Processing (LVL 1)

Feasting (LVL 1)

Hive weave (LVL 1)

Painful Recovery (LVL 1)