Ch.1313. The Raptor’s Counterattack

Now that enough energy has been gathered to evolve from a Hive Core into a higher Hive Mind, there is something that must be chosen.

And that choice is none other than what type of Hive Mind to evolve into.

There are a total of 3 types to choose from. One is the Hive Factory, another is the Elder Hive Core, and the last one is the Hive Brain.

All three are classified as rank 4 intermediate monsters, and the classification criterion is simply “what are they specialized in?”

The Hive Factory is a Hive Mind specialized in monster production, and the Hive Brain is a Hive Mind specialized in psychic abilities.

The Elder Hive Core is a balanced type with moderate investment in both areas, and the monster type chosen here will have a significant impact when I eventually evolve to rank 1.

Of course, regardless of what I evolve into at rank 4, I’ll most likely become a Hive Queen eventually, but still—

—KEEESHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK!!!!

Just as I was deep in thought. Suddenly, a loud cry echoed through the cave, specifically from inside the main base where my core was located.

It was enough to make me panic, and as I hurriedly sensed my surroundings, I discovered that a considerable number of monsters that had been guarding the area were dead, and simultaneously, something was hanging from the ceiling near the entrance of the cliff-side cave.

With an appearance resembling a dromaeosaurid dinosaur, about 5 meters in length. A blade at the tip of its long tail, and forelimbs large enough to enable quadrupedal movement, unusual for a dromaeosaurid.

There was no doubt. This monster was a rank 5 Hunter Raptor.

Why on earth is this thing here?!

As I was bewildered by the sudden appearance of this intermediate monster, the Hunter Raptor, naturally, didn’t politely wait for me to collect myself.

KEEESHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK!!!

Slash!

With a roar, it charged forward, instantly racing across the ceiling and skillfully destroying my psychic amplifiers one after another.

Tail, hind legs, forelegs, teeth—it kept swinging all its sharp claws and spikes, and the psychic amplifiers, with their balloon-like structure, had no chance of withstanding such attacks.

But what I judged to be most important in this situation was one simple fact: instead of targeting my core directly, it was prioritizing the destruction of my psychic amplifiers.

Psychic amplifiers not only boost psychic energy but also serve to share vision or act as conduits for energy transfer, supporting nearby monsters in various ways.

Considering this, it clearly meant that this creature had fought a Hive Mind before, so I gathered my wits and hastily began both psychic attacks and monster summoning simultaneously.

‘Gather!’

[You have activated Telekinesis (D).]

I briefly considered activating Psychic Amplification (D), but since this looked to be a prolonged battle, I abandoned that idea and went on the offensive directly.

I deployed telekinesis widely and then suddenly compressed it to simultaneously restrain and attack—my most familiar method of psychic attack—but there was a problem.

Peeeeee…….

The problem was that the telekinetic force that touched the Hunter Raptor’s body suddenly converted into psychic energy and disappeared. Seeing this, I finally recalled the characteristic of Hunter Raptors that I had forgotten.

That very trait which usually acts as a double-edged sword for players, but when monsters have it, it becomes incredibly annoying.

Anti-Psychic, the superior trait of Psychic Resistance.

‘…Shit, why does it have that?!’

Anti-Psychic, simply put, refers to a unique physical constitution or property that literally repels psychic abilities.

An entity with this trait cannot use psychic abilities themselves, and in higher ranks, their mere presence can seal off psychic phenomena in the surrounding area.

Fortunately, the Hunter Raptor’s Anti-Psychic rank was equivalent to D-rank, meaning it could only neutralize psychic abilities directly applied to itself… but in the current situation, even this was enough to be a significant hindrance.

‘Damn it… activate!’

So I activated the Giant Armor that I had been saving, and then ordered the monsters that had just arrived to charge at it to buy time.

And just as I was connecting to the monster inside the Giant Armor to begin direct startup preparations.

Slash-slash-slash-slash-slash—

Swoosh! Thud! Swoosh!

Following my orders, the monsters were throwing themselves at the enemy to buy time.

At first glance, it might seem irrational and stupid, but it was actually part of a rational strategy devised by a brain with an intelligence of 50, taking into account the Hunter Raptor’s characteristics.

The Hunter Raptor is a truly textbook beast-type monster. High endurance and excellent agility, considerable close-combat capabilities, but low defense and no unique special skills.

In other words, it could be described as a hunter-type monster designed to definitely win in wars of attrition against single entities that are moderately weaker than itself, which means it has no way to quickly take down large numbers of fodder monsters.

Meanwhile, most of the monsters I’ve gathered are still-living rank 8-9 monsters. In other words, if I keep pushing with these expendable forces, even a high-endurance Hunter Raptor will eventually reach its limit.

Kehek, kehek, kehek, kehek…

No matter how high its stamina, with low defense, it’s only natural to get tired after fighting enemies coming from all directions for 20 minutes.

Of course, a rank 5 monster was still a rank 5 monster. The Hunter Raptor had single-handedly killed about half of the monsters under my control, pushing them to the brink of annihilation, but this seemed to be its limit as it now hung from the ceiling, breathing heavily.

‘Fire!’

Woooong—KWANG! BOOM!

And toward the Hunter Raptor hanging from the ceiling, the giant steel monster—the Giant Armor—that had been quietly waiting in the corner aimed its arm-mounted short-form energy cannon and fired.

KIEEEEEEEEEEEK—!!!!

The Hunter Raptor barely dodged the maximum output energy shell fired from the left barrel, then let out a roar as it looked at what had attacked it—and showed clear signs of confusion.

For a monster that had spent its entire life hunting beast-type monsters and occasionally eating Hive Minds, seeing such a giant steel giant was enough to cause shock.

TUDUDUDUDUDUDUDU—!!!!

KWAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA—!!!!

And what flew toward the confused Hunter Raptor were low-output energy bullets fired in rapid succession from the right barrel and high-output lasers from the machine gun.

If the Hunter Raptor hadn’t been exhausted, it would have certainly dodged all these projectiles and climbed onto the Giant Armor to swing its barrier-coated claws at vulnerable spots.

But it had been engaged in intense combat for a full 20 minutes without a moment’s rest. Even without direct injuries, its movements were clearly compromised due to stamina issues.

So the Hunter Raptor, in what might have been a final desperate act, gathered barriers drawn from within its body to thickly coat itself, glowing blue for protection—and charged straight toward my core!

‘—Damn it!’

The incoming lasers and low-output energy bullets couldn’t penetrate the barrier. To break through that barrier would require at least a maximum-output energy shell, but there was no way to hit a raptor moving that fast.

The 7-meter-tall Giant Armor in heavy plating was quite sluggish, so before it could even aim, my core, which was extremely vulnerable to physical attacks, would be torn apart.

Therefore, I had to squeeze out a solution somehow.

‘Amplify!’

[Activating Telekinesis (D).]

[Activating Psychic Amplification (D).]

[Activating Psychic Amplification (D).]

[Activating Psychic Amplification (D).]

Though their numbers had been reduced by the raptor, I used the psychic amplifiers that still remained to first increase the rank and power of my telekinesis.

[Activating Telekinesis (D->B).]

And extending this amplified telekinetic energy toward the raptor, considering its Anti-Psychic trait, I attacked not the raptor directly—but the barrier protecting its body.

CRACK! CRACK-CRACK!

With a sound like thin glass breaking, the barrier cracked and tore away, and the pieces of the barrier that separated from its body lost control and scattered.

TUDUDUDUDUDUDUDUDUDU!!!!

KWAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA!!!!

And as the barrier disintegrated, leaving the raptor without protection, another barrage of fire rained down, beginning to grind away at its body.

The laser machine gun mounted on the 7-meter-tall bipedal war machine was, despite its name, essentially a cannon.

There were three of these, and from the energy cannon with a barrel the size of my former human body, each shot fired was potentially lethal.

‘KEEEEE, KEEEEEEEEEEEEK—!!!’

Caught in the suddenly formed field of fire, the raptor began to slowly disintegrate. Pure energy shells exploded on impact, softening the hide, then high-penetration lasers pierced through those weakened areas.

In an instant, the raptor’s tail and left hind leg were severed, but even so, true to its tenacious nature, it somehow continued to writhe, demonstrating its vitality.

KUUNG—KWANG!

Of course, having lost its mobility, the raptor could neither dodge the incoming maximum-output energy shell nor withstand the attack, and died in one hit.

[Level has increased.]

[Level has increased.]

[Level has increased.]