Chapter 42: Shava's Oath
Editor: Atlas Studios
System followed the temporary nest's tunnels and advanced. As he got closer to the nest's exit, he smelled the scent of many worker ants and also heard the sounds of those worker ants moving around.
There seemed to be many worker ants patrolling near his nest.
"Is it possible that Shava had commanded them?"
As System crawled out of the hole, almost 100 ants nearby instantly gathered toward him.
The commanding level of the soldier ant, Shava, had no obvious increase as those normal ants still viewed him as their enemy. Thus, they would attack him without hesitation after seeing him.
System did not jump. Instead, he gently opened his carapace, which was filled with complicated patterns, and just like a feather that was blown into the air by the wind, he flew.
After the third molting, System's body and wings had undergone a qualitative change. His body was now lighter while his wings were more agile.
However, System was unclear about the way the structure of his wings had changed. Nevertheless, this change was for the better, as System's wings were much easier to use now, and he could effortlessly control his body to hover in the air.
In the past, after System had evolved into an adult grasshopper, one had heard loud, rustling sounds whenever System had flapped his wings. Now, the sound his wings produced while flying was negligible.
System gently flapped his wings and flew above the worker ants. The ants did not chase the flying System and continued using their antennae to patrol the surroundings of System's nest.
After he started flying, System stopped giving attention to those worker ants, as he had suddenly locked on Shava's scent.
System followed the unique scent in the air, and soon, he encountered Shava, who was beside a small seedling a few meters away.
…
In the past two days, Shava's injuries had already clotted into off-white scabs.
To System's disappointment, other than the broken antenna on Shava's head, which seemed to be growing back, there was no sign of her severed limbs regenerating.
'Looks like Shava does not have the [Limb Regeneration] ability like me.'
System did not choose to immediately disturb Shava. Instead, he observed her from afar. Although they were a few meters apart, System could see Shava's every action easily and clearly due to his evolved vision.
He had a feeling that his eyes were sharper than an eagle's now, and he could even vaguely see a dead leaf mixed with the clouds in the sky.
System turned his insect head and concentrated on observing the soldier ant in the distance.
Shava, whose remaining limb was her left foreleg, was more agile than two days ago when she had been gravely injured. At the same time, her abdomen seemed to have become her second limb.
Shava used her left foreleg and her abdomen to move about on the ground in a jump-like manner. Then, she opened her huge mandibles and bit at the small seedling vigorously.
After biting the seedling, Shava used her left foreleg to check the cut that had appeared on the seedling's trunk before she gradually moved back to her original spot. Afterward, she charged toward the seedling's stem to bite it once again.
System noticed, at least, tens of cuts on the trunk. Shava should have practiced on that seedling for quite a long period.
"Is it possible that she is doing that because of the images I showed her?"
System recalled the message that he had sent to Shava before he had completed his molting and those images of knights that he had imagined.
He had imagined a knight who was always practicing his slashes against the wooden stake while holding an iron sword.
It might be because of those images that Shava had started to train like a knight. Although she did not have a sword, Shava had a pair of huge mandibles. Thus, she had started practicing with the seedling as her biting target.
System did not think that the human knights' practicing methods would be suitable for insects, not to mention that those images were but a figment of his imagination.
In System's mind, rather than spending time to train like this, Shava might spend the time to eat more food to allow her physique to improve. That was the correct path for insects to grow.
Shava had already lost five of her limbs, and the way she trained would not result in anything. Thus, System decided to stop Shava's training session.
However, when he saw Shava practicing how to bite another two times, System came to an abrupt stop. It seemed as if a flash of blue light had appeared in System's dark green compound eyes.
System opened the database in [Tools Menu] and carefully compared three of Shava's biting actions. After analyzing, he realized that what he had felt just now was correct.
Shava was improving!
Each time she bit the seedling, she would reflect and slightly adjust her actions the next time she bit it.
System was unable to quantify Shava's biting strength, but her charging speed towards the seedling the last two times increased slightly each time.
"Is it a coincidence? Or is it the potential of insects? Or is it that Shava is naturally gifted?"
System stopped and silently observed Shava's training and used [Tools Menu] to record it.
In an hour, Shava had bitten the seedling 131 times. Shava's charging speed had been faster than previously 117 times.
Thus, in conclusion, Shava's charging speed increased by nearly 1/4 in an hour compared to her speed in the beginning.
Shava continued attacking the cut-ridden, two-centimeter-thick seedling of a woody plant before she finally bit it off completely.
Although System did not want to admit it, training like humans was indeed effective towards Shava. It looked like the effects were quite good.
…
After splitting the plant in two, it seemed as if Shava had consumed too much of her physical energy. Hence, she started devouring the food piled up beside her.
System saw that, so he flew down from the tree branch above and used [Spirit Connection] on Shava.
Shava was stunned for a moment before she expressed a doubtful emotion. However, that emotion instantly changed to joy as she excitedly crawled in front of System with her current incomplete body.
System noticed that Shava had pushed out the stinger in her abdomen, so he was puzzled.
Was it possible that Shava was going to use her stinger to attack him?
It was simply impossible!
Suddenly, System witnessed Shava turning her body and stabbing her stinger into the soil—she actually used the stinger to stand upright!
Shava resembled a human, as she placed her left foreleg on her chest, but her pose was hilarious.
System's mandibles could not help but twitch as he felt a little awkward. He could not figure out why Shava had assumed such a weird posture.
System asked, "What are you doing now?"
"Swearing an oath!"
Shava's message was filled with pride.
"An oath? Erm… what you are doing now? Is it the knight's oath?"
"Yes!" replied Shava excitedly.
System's mandibles could not help but twitch yet again. He looked at Shava's embarrassing stance and felt that transmitting to her the knights' images was a mistake.
What the heck had that normal ant turned into? Why was she messing around and being so extra!?
Chapter 43: Tentacles Envelopment
Editor: Atlas Studios
If System had another chance, he would definitely choose to modify the knights' images in his imagination.
He would definitely delete the content where the knight was swearing his oath to avoid such an awkward situation.
…
However, upon seeing Shava's persistent and anticipating expression, System felt that little awkwardness in his heart gradually disappeared.
System observed Shava's injured body and could not help but lift his forelimb. Then, he extended the tentacles stored in his forelimb and touched the scab on Shava's severed limb.
"It's still excruciating, right?" System sent a message to Shava.
Unexpectedly, System did not receive the anticipated answer from her. Instead, he sensed the emotion of bitterness coming from Shava, as if she was waiting for him to do something.
System looked at Shava's expression and pose, and then he gradually understood what Shava wanted.
System could not help but shake his head and sigh in his heart before saying to Shava, "I, System, accept your pledge of loyalty, my knight."
After receiving System's message, Shava seemed extremely excited and wriggled her body, trying to move closer to System.
However, Shava was unable to move despite twisting and turning her body numerous times, as her stinger was still stabbed firmly into the ground…
System shook his head again. Shava's funny appearance was a stark contrast to her previous firm and indomitable presence when she had been using her mandibles to bite the plant.
System stretched out his tentacles, wrapped them around Shava's body, and used them to pull her out of the soil.
Previously, Shava had used too much strength when stabbing her stinger into the ground, and she had pierced into the roots of a plant. As the roots were too firm, Shava was unable to pull her stinger back into her body with her own will. Otherwise, such a situation would not have happened.
…
After grabbing Shava with his tentacles, System suddenly felt something.
The tentacles wrapped around Shava trembled gently, while System's dark green eyes occasionally flashed with blue light.
System suddenly realized that the talent [Perception] obtained from the world's voice seemed to be closely related to his tentacles. When he used his tentacles to touch Shava's body, he seemed to be able to feel bits and pieces of information within Shava.
System kept on using his tentacles to wrap around Shava's body, and then the bits and pieces of information gradually became clearer.
Meanwhile, as he was feeling the information coursing through his tentacles, System received an abnormal message from Shava.
"King, I feel so hot…" Shava seemed to be flustered.
System's insect head revealed a puzzled expression as he asked, "Hot? You mean these tentacles?"
"Yes…"
After receiving Shava's reply, System pulled back one of his tentacles, which was wrapped around Shava's body, and placed it into his mouth to feel its temperature.
"The temperature is just normal?" replied System doubtfully. Then he wrapped the tentacles on Shava's body once again.
System gradually obtained some information about Shava's body through [Perception] and [System's Eye] on the tentacles, combined with the [Reading and Analysis] function of his [Tools Menu].
10/14
Currently, Shava should be a Level 10 soldier ant, and her maximum level should be Level 14.
After sorting out the information, System used his tentacles to wrap and explore Shava more vigorously.
Suddenly, as the information System gathered increased, he thought of something.
Previously, Quin had used the special power of [Mind Transmission] before her death to transfer her ability to him.
Although [Mind Transmission] could only transmit some powers related to one's mind, [Mind Transmission] obviously did not meet the conditions needed to be transferred.
However, System possessed an extraordinary ability—[Ability Enhancement].
System realized that if he used the [Perception] power of his tentacles to search for Shava's information, he might be able to endow the [Limb Regeneration] ability to Shava and allow her to grow new limbs.
However, just as System continued to search for Shava's information, he could feel that Shava's abnormal emotion was becoming stronger and stronger. Her body even started to tremble slightly.
"King, I… feel very weird…"
Shava seemed much more flustered now and transmitted a strange emotion to System.
System realized that such an emotion was something that would only be released when creatures were mating.
System was suddenly enlightened.
Soldier ants were incomplete female ants, so Shava could not bear offspring. Basically, Shava could not understand a feeling that was related to mating, and thus she had sent a vague emotion instead.
System felt a little awkward, but he immediately calmed himself down.
System only did what he needed to do so that he could help Shava regenerate her limbs. It was not his kink to tie and wrap Shava up.
"Shava, endure it. It'll end in a while…"
System sent Shava messages to calm her down while using his tentacles to check her body.
System realized that after enhancing his tentacles with the power of [Perception], using them to touch and check Shava would make her experience the kind of pleasure which was similar to living creatures mating.
However, his tentacles did not feel anything special. All System felt was Shava's cold and tough exoskeleton.
…
A few minutes later, accompanied by a strong mood swing and intense trembling, Shava fainted.
After Shava fainted, System's efficiency in using his tentacles to wrap around and check Shava's body increased greatly.
Also, System created a new detecting method. He used his tentacles to gather pieces of her exoskeleton, her scab, and acid. Then, System placed all kinds of Shava's body parts into his mouth to taste and analyze them.
Soon, System had analyzed that Shava possessed two abilities, [Formic Acid] (3-5/5-7), and [Solid Carapace] (3-4/6-9).
System was unable to precisely calculate the levels of these two abilities, like her level, but he had estimated an approximate range.
System had also felt the [Insect Adaptability] within Shava and a special ability that was similar to [Molting Growth].
However, as the bloodline talent of these two types of insects was different, he was unable to detect the specific results using his [Perception].
Meanwhile, the most important thing was that even though System had discovered that Shava did not possess [Limb Regeneration], it was possible for her to obtain it.
In theory, Shava's body could be endowed with [Limb Regeneration].
…
System quickly put his thoughts into action and used his tentacles as the medium to transfer his energy. He used the power of his [Mind Transmission] and [Ability Enhancement] and tried to endow Shava the ability of [Limb Regeneration].
However, after busily trying for more than ten minutes and his EXP bar decreasing from 8% to 3%, System had no choice but to pull back the tentacles wrapping Shava.
His idea was not wrong as, in theory, using a certain trait of [Mind Transmission] and [Ability Enhancement] was enough for Shava to obtain the ability of [Limb Regeneration].
However, there was a precondition for that, and that was his [Mind Transmission] had to reach a higher level, which was Level 11.
His [Mind Transmission] was only Level 8 now and currently did not have the capability to completely transfer an ability.
Also, Shava needed to raise her [Insect Adaptability] to a certain level, or it would be difficult to activate [Limb Regeneration].
-- Gift
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