Ch.33. First Hunt

Immediately after the production of the Hive Spiders was complete, I sent four monsters outside the cave for exploration and gene (trait and skill) collection.

After the monsters entered the forest through a hidden passage I had secretly formed connecting to the forest above the cliff, I activated my psychic ability through a mental connection with the first-created Hive Spider.

[Activating Mind Control (D).]

The psychic ability I’m activating is Mind Control. Since it would be boring to just watch, I decided to directly control one of them to explore and collect genes.

Although the Hive Spider is fairly large, about the size of a large dog, it’s just a pathetic pest compared to the powerful monsters in this forest, so staying undetected is paramount.

Moving silently enough to make no sound, I led the other three monsters, hiding our bodies among the undergrowth as we moved forward.

‘……..Found it, prey.’

And thanks to that, I was able to find suitable prey before long.

A monster with a pair of curved horns growing on its head and protruding fangs outside its mouth, yet looking just like a large dog from the outside. A 9th-grade Beast Hound.

This massive dog, seemingly not long independent from its mother, was moving clumsily, looking around without caution.

Judging by the lack of any presence when I scanned the surroundings with my psychic ability, I assumed it was probably a stray that couldn’t join a pack.

In other words, it was the optimal first prey.

‘Ready……’

Through the mental network connecting us all, I gave orders to the other three spiders. As the remaining three raised their Hunter Claws attached to their arms, my command dropped.

‘—Now!’

[Activating Telekinesis (D).]

Woong!

Through the Hive Spider I was directly controlling, I used telekinesis, and the psychic energy emitted from the spider’s body converted into physical form and pressed down on the Beast Hound.

“Kae….kaeaeae…….”

Under the strong pressure applied to its entire body, the Beast Hound made a whimpering sound that could have been a groan and slumped to the ground.

Slash!

Crunch!

“—!!!!”

And the three Hive Spiders pounced on the incapacitated Beast Hound on the ground, showing skillful movements by instinct and instantly killing the beast-type monster one class above them.

[Level has increased.]

As its breath was cut off, a refreshing status message echoed in my ears. Due to the Hive Mind trait, level increases applied equally to all, so it was as if everyone had leveled up.

‘Being level 1 means levels come easily.’

I gained a whole level just from killing one monster. Purely delighted by this fact, I ordered them to transport the corpse.

Slice—crunch.

Crack!

Chomp chomp……..gulp.

The Hive Spiders approached the monster’s corpse, using their blades to cut the monster into pieces and eagerly began devouring its flesh and body.

To an observer, it might look like simple predation, but in reality, this action was using the Trait Predator (E) ability to break down the corpse for easier transport.

Clearly, the Beast Hound’s mass was greater than what could fit in the Hive Spiders’ stomachs, but by completely breaking down the corpse into nutrients and genes through the skill’s power, they could consume everything and still have stomach space to spare.

And after storing those nutrients and genes, the Hive Spiders began to retrace their path back to the cave.

Kae, kaeaeae—

Slash!

[Level has increased.]

‘Good, one more!’

On the way back, we had the unexpected gain of encountering another Beast Hound.

※ ※ ※

Immediately after the Hive Spiders returned with the Beast Hound’s genes and nutrients from two bodies, they threw themselves into the gene pool without a moment’s hesitation.

Splash!

The Hive Spiders that jumped in slowly decomposed in the meat slurry of the gene pool, reverting back to nutrients and energy, and the genes stored in the stomachs of the absorbed monsters were stored.

[Acquired trait ‘Blade-Resistant Fur (D).’]

[Acquired trait ‘Scent Detection (E).’]

[Acquired trait ‘Pack Hunting (E).’]

[Acquired skill ‘Pursuit (E).’]

‘Everyone, good job’

And simultaneously, what seemed to be the souls of the produced monsters were felt being absorbed into the Hive Mind.

The basic cycle of this Hive Mind monster was to share the memories possessed by these souls with each other, and then create monsters again containing these souls.

At first glance, it might seem inefficient to break down monsters that had been created and then recreate them, causing energy loss in the process, but it was actually a necessary process.

To begin with, the lifespan of monsters produced by the Hive Mind isn’t very long. Since the role of reproduction is handled by the Hive Mind’s main body, it’s much more efficient to increase short-term combat power to protect the main body rather than extending lifespan.

Also, during this absorption process, the monster’s self and soul transfer knowledge and memories to the Hive Mind and receive them back, building combat experience for the entire swarm.

And in this process, monsters with more experience are produced again with fully restored, sometimes even strengthened bodies, creating a kind of cycle for continuous combat power improvement… according to the Tri-Wiki.

Anyway, I organized the traits and skills I had acquired while processing the absorbed genes.

For traits, I gained Blade-Resistant Fur (D) specialized in blocking blades, and common beast-type monster traits Scent Detection (E)/Pack Hunting (E), along with the skill Pursuit (E) that reveals the position of a fleeing enemy.

Most of these were useless right now, unless I were to create a pursuit-specialized monster later.

Therefore, instead of modifying monsters, I checked the amount and types of monsters I could currently produce with the remaining nutrients—energy.

Adding up the absorbed Hive Spiders, the nutrients in their stomachs, and the amount continuously absorbed through the ley lines, the remaining amount was enough for about 8 grade-9 monsters.

Roughly calculated, I could produce about 3-5 grade-8 monsters, or 1-2 grade-7 monsters.

For reference, these grades broadly categorize monsters into five levels based on their strength and other abilities, with more detailed classification into 11 grades total, with lower numbers indicating stronger monsters.

The five levels, which aren’t commonly used, are Lowest, Low, Middle, High, and Highest grade. They were originally used but were criticized for having too much variation within the same grade, leading to the 11-grade classification…according to the setting.

Anyway, the 11 grades further divide the Low, Middle, and High grades into three each, with Lowest grade being 10th grade, Low grade being 7th-9th grade, Middle grade 4th-6th grade, High grade 1st-3rd grade, and Highest grade monsters being 0th grade or “ungraded.”

The approximate combat power of each grade is as follows:

First, 10th grade or Lowest grade monsters are commonly described as being at a level where an ordinary person could beat them with a club. As such, most 10th grade monsters are non-combat types or larvae of existing monsters.

In contrast, Low grade monsters (7th-9th grade) are strong enough that it typically takes a well-trained, heavily armed infantry soldier to defeat them.

For reference, this world has oddly stepped one foot into science fiction, and with weapons reverse-engineered from monster bio-weapons, even regular infantry in the regular army basically wear power armor and carry rifles with special ammunition.

So, this is the level of monster that requires such equipment to handle—Low grade monsters.

Middle grade monsters (4th-6th grade) are often compared to armored vehicles or fighter jets, depending on the species.

Considering that America’s standard tank with a plasma cannon is theoretically evaluated to be able to subdue a large 5th grade monster, but often loses in practice, one can understand their strength.

And the coveted High grade monsters (1st-3rd grade) display combat power that could rightfully be treated as strategic weapons.

There are ultra-large species like land battleships with energy shields, Hive Queens that produce millions of monsters, and psychic-specialized monsters believed capable of moving small mountains with telekinesis.

These seemingly unbeatable monsters are High grade—and Highest grade monsters transcend even this level.

Lobriter, the final boss of the largest event in Episode 5, with mental control abilities strong and broad enough to dominate all boss-level monsters in East Asia.

The “Aircraft Carrier” S6 (Essex), a variant of the Hive Mind lineage that mass-produced tens of thousands of 4th grade flying monsters and was the final boss of Episode 5, and the Living Island, a giant turtle-shaped island monster the size of Ulleungdo.

These are monsters that appear more as background settings or terrain features rather than bosses, described as being on a completely different scale.

‘……..Makes me feel rather insignificant.’

And I am…well, a young Hive Mind that could be killed by even a single 6th grade psychic user.

So to survive on this hellish planet, I need power.

Yes, I need the kind of power that can force humanity to choose coexistence instead of extermination if I am to survive.