After leaving the game, I looked at the clock and saw it was 5 pm which is just about the time the alarm would go off.

I go through the routine after getting up and using the bathroom for numbers one, two and then a bath. Then get ready for work and go eat before leaving after making sure everything is secure, locked and I had everything.

Like always the route was the same boring route with nothing new.

Oh right, I haven’t mentioned the current date is January 3, 2116. My current car is a self automated car that moves on its own after it’s out of the house and on the road and given directions. Yes it’s a levitating car, most of the foundations of the cities and highways were changed. The asphalt was put to better use when these cars became mainstream. They float through magnetism and have two modes.

One is stream mode which makes them float around 40 cm off the ground and the max speed is 180 km/h. The other is airplane mode where the car takes to the air, which is only allowed when needing to cross over 1000 km. The top speed is around 1000 km/h which is almost as fast as what fighter jets 100 years back normally flew in. Nowadays the military ships can achieve hypersonic speeds which are above mach 5.

Anyway I reach my workplace after a while. All the while I was checking the forums of VLO.

As usual the forum about Yggdres was all the same. Complaints about the mass of bugs but outside of town there is maps and info on weak monster hunting grounds and some dungeons that were discovered.

I get out of the car that was parked in the parking lot of the company and go and pass the ID card before entering.

I was still looking at my phone when I pressed the elevator button, I felt the distinctive feeling of a woman's hand.

Looking up while quickly pulling my hand back in surprise. I sigh as I see one of my co workers that works in the research and production of medicine and drugs. Her name was Debbie Grimm, she was about 168 cm tall with dark brown hair and chestnut eyes that were covered by glasses. Her hair is normally in twin braids that hang on both sides of her head. It gave the feel of a nerdy girl though I have already seen what she really looks like without all the downgrading features she imposes on herself to not draw the attention of wolves. She was wearing a blue short sleeves button shirt, knee length synthetic silk skirt with black pantyhose and simple slippers. All this was under her lab coat which was just like mine. Plain white and went down near the heels.

“Oh, hi Debbie. Didn’t see you there. How are things?” I asked her.

“They are fine… so you are now on night shift?”

“Yeah, research has reached a bottleneck and the stress was killing me so the boss switched me until we get something to study. What are you doing here?” I asked.

“Same as you, most of the research on medicines has slowed down to a crawl. Mr. Kinway also switched me to night duty to help guard the research and give me a breather. He suggested I play that virtual reality game that just came out.” She replied.

“Oh! Same, where did you begin? I started playing in Yggdres.” I said excited since I may get some backup from a very useful person.

“Oh I started there as well. I checked the forums before starting and it said there was an epidemic happening so I felt that if I went I may be able to help discover a cure with medicine. I’ve just started today but I already got the alchemy skill and I… kind of wanted to do blacksmithing since I do more physical work and wanted to see how it’s like.” She replied.

I looked at her for a moment before looking away and covering my mouth to muffle the laughs that were almost getting out.

“That’s cruel Leon!” She said.

*Ding*

Just as she began complaining the elevator arrived and I went in and started laughing as she complained more before she turned the other way pouting while blushing.

“Still, that is… an interesting combo.” I said after getting over the giggles.

“Yeah… my thoughts were on making poisons and using the bow and arrows. I started training on those in the training hall when I had some free time.” She said.

Good idea though, I wonder where she is getting her alchemy materials. Could she be working at the shops she got the skills from to have materials.

“So what about you?” She asked.

“I got a bit lucky or maybe unlucky and got a D rank quest to stop the invasion of insects in Yggdres. I played yesterday and researched all the bugs in the region and herbs as well. I got the herblore skill if you want to know. Hmm… also trying to use bugs as pets.” I said.

She looked at me shocked before she started laughing.

“I-It’s just like you to look right towards bugs even in a virtual reality world!” She said laughing.

“Yeah yeah miss alchemist.” I said.

Yeah medicine maker equals alchemists so she can’t talk one bit.

As the elevator stops we both get off since we work on the same floor.

“Well, see you later, tomorrow want to meet in game? I may be able to help with your quest.” She said.

“Sure, why not, we can solve the problem together. Oh right, my name in the game is Droso."

"I am Florista… my look is me without braided hair." She said quickly before walking away while putting on a serious face while trying to hide the slight blush.

I chuckled and headed for my lab and turned on my PC there.

I open a large file which shows hundreds of insects from the real world. These are not just from earth but most of the colonized planets in the solar system. The moon, mars and the moons around Neptune were colonizable and are still under the constant work to terraform the planet to heat up and gain an atmosphere.

The moon can't have it because of the size but we made enclosed cities that cover 1/3 of its surface and have flourishing forests inside after toxic gases were pumped in. Toxic to humans mind you, for plants after filling parts of the world with water from ice found in space and in Jupiter's rings we put in alge first then slowly introduced other small plants as the atmosphere in these enclosed spaces grew better and they could handle them.

The most unique feature is that it uses a unique technology that makes an invisible force field that only holds gases in but lets everything else in and out like a real atmosphere. It’s impossible to see without computers showing them on the grid.

After bugs were introduced it didn’t take long for things to start adapting to the more toxic air that hadn’t been cleaned and most things on the moon got more poisonous but it just made researchers that more gitty to figure out how things worked since animals from earth were constantly introduced after a while and adapted to the vicious bug life that had begun to gain large size but became more controlled with human hunting and the introduction of mammalian and avian predators. Jupiter's moon was the same though it’s in it’s really early stages at the moment since space travel is a slow process even now.

Mars on the other hand is a totally different story. It already had an atmosphere, thin as it was. To get it done what needed to be done was melting the large quantity of frozen water. Truthfully melting and sudden release of gases from the planet's interior.

The fastest method to do anything like heating a planet is making volcanoes go boom, aka make them spit lava and carbon gas.

And so the planet was mapped and after they found the largest dormant volcano on the planet they dug deep and put several bombs at key fissure and points that would cause collapse of the dormant stable structure of the volcano and make cracks that the pressure from the magma below seep out and eventually cause the eruption.

Even today the videos of the first eruption of Mars are still watched because of the unimaginable power behind a dormant volcano on a frozen planet.

It was so powerful that several volcanoes around the world entered in eruption because the blast from the first one caused a planet wide earthquake that made nearby volcanoes erupt. A chain reaction carried the eruptions around the planet filling up Mars' atmosphere with gases and thickening it up into a primitive atmosphere that effectively made the planet surface 50 degrees celsius.

Nowadays the red planet has turned blue because the ice has totally melted and the average temperature is around 30-40 C on the equator and -10 at the poles that have frozen over with ice caps. The planet is 65% covered in water with several continents which, after transplanting earth vegetation, has become almost completely tropical forest except near the poles but the cold temperature is in a small area since the planet itself is smaller than earth.

The air is still a bit different from what humans need but settlements already exist but outside travel needs filter masks.

Anyway the bug life obtained from those that evolved from earth bugs gave a huge leap in research material to any and all scientists in our fields since the bugs we know will undergo mutations and adapt completely differently making new species altogether.

Shame we have already done most of the work on what few planets and moons we have been able to colonize. Still planets like Saturn are still out of our reach until proper planetary settlement in Jupiter's moons are built. After Jupiter comes Saturn and what most scientists want to reach because of the moon, Titan which, besides earth and mars, originally had an atmosphere and who knows what else.

After looking through the list, I opened the app on my phone and after paying a fee I was able to download a copy of the bug notes which also contain an encyclopedia I wrote with notes on all bugs I read about. I chose the bugs I own and looked for their closest copy on the list I possessed and found several. The same can be said about toxic blowfly and bloodsucker. Most of these have a common appearance on earth's moon during its toxic atmosphere period.

The current evolution reduced me to normal blowflies of several dozen varieties.

I took notes of all differences and actually had fun trying to match up stats that the game would need to breed to reach this combo.

Bugs have such a diverse evolution pattern that it can’t be compared to any other type of living being both plant, animal or microscopic.

I spend my entire night until midnight looking at this and get lots of these combos accomplished.

Pretty much my objective now is to breed the bugs in specific stats only using the strongest one and when it can almost be considered a different species I breed the separate stats together getting these mixed groups.

More agile flies with stronger flies will make good fighters. Ones with high intelligence and those with higher wisdom put together may eventually lead to more rational bugs or magic using bugs.

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

Finally looking at the time I stretch hearing several clicks from my bones and joints. I pull most of the combo’s I wrote down to my cell phone and close everything else before turning off the pc.

Soon after the time for me to leave for my humble abode arrives and I rocket out of there to get some shut eye.

Keeping the boring talk out as much as possible I had a grand sleep and a dream that gave me an idea that I am drooling over but that is my secret so shoo.

Waking up and getting my business done I call Debbie and find that she is getting ready as well.

I tell her that I normally stay in the town’s library so she should come meet me there.

With that I drop the call and jump right into the game.

I appeared where I left the game which was near the slums after having picked up the cocoons.

I instantly opened the notifications and found all the cocoon's had hatched and the eggs from the dragonfly as well.

I found that the area that the dragonfly nymph was had changed into a slight swampy area.

“This is going to be a pain to breed.” I said as I felt the waters of the hive for the bugs that were swimming around.

I then look all around through the feeling I had of the hive and felt all the strange bugs that were dragged inside yesterday.

They were all trying to find a way to get out but couldn’t and were getting weak since there wasn’t food.

There were several that had begun to find pairs and were fertilizing eggs to lay. They were weak already but this was probably because of the hive that made them breed before they die.

I turn my attention away and run towards the library and arrive in a short while.

Instantly I noticed who I was looking for in front of the library.

Standing there with the farmer clothes common to newbies with no money was a knockout with long waist length green hair that seemed to shine like silk. Her skin was fair with a slight tan and her eyes were sharp like she was sneering. Over here eyes were small square glasses that complimented her face perfectly.

I started walking over when suddenly three men walked over to her and I couldn’t help facepalming at the incident that was about to unfold.

One guy was a knight which is one of the advancement classes of warriors. One was a thief and the other an archer, all men.

As soon as she saw them she sighed but as soon as she turned to look at me and I waved her face brightened up.

The idiots see that but think it’s for them and they walk over like some macho men with a grin on their faces.

“Hey there baby, you seem lost.”

“Shut it little man. I’m waiting for someone much more important than you.” She bluntly insulted him.

Instantly the space around the three froze as she walked around them.

“Hi Le… Droso.”

“Hi Florista, seems it still happens huh?” I said.

She sulked and looked back with disgust and the frozen warrior.

“Yeah well, I wanted to let loose my hair so I can’t help for it to happen right.” She said.

“Come on, I have a sub quest for the bug one to do today and it would take a long time.” I say.

“Lead the way.” She said.

As we started walking towards the library the warrior came over red faced in rage.

“YOU BITCH!! Who do you think you are calling a little man!?” He shouted in rage.

“I don’t speak with mongrels that only think with their tiny dicks. Vanish from my sight!” She said an absolute zero tone.

I chuckled as I watched her talk. She was only warm to people she knew long enough to judge their character. If she judged you as someone trustworthy then she warmed up but if you are an ass then you will only hear her spit highly toxic venomous words that always seem to hit the worst spots on its victims. Not only that, her body language was that of an ice princess and because of her sharp eyes it gave her the look of a constantly angry woman that looked down on the world.

The men took a step back hearing her but I knew it was only momentary so discreetly opening a portal I had all my toxic bloodsuckers come out and fly around us hidden from view and carefully land on the back of the thief and archer.

They had lots of exposed skin or weak armor so with them landing on the gear they stuck the stingers which had a poison that numbed the pain from the penetration.

Slowly they began bloating and without them noticing their HP began dropping ever so slightly.

Just as they all filled up I had them activate their poison attack.

They injected the poison and instantly I recalled them all to the hive.

With them filled with blood it would now undergo digestion and they would level up greatly after drinking high leveled human blood.

As I looked at their health it was dropping rather fast now and the two finally noticed and were starting to freak out from the several doses of poison I had injected them with.

“W-WHAT IS GOING ON!?” Shouted the archer.

Florista looked back towards me and smiled.

“We got poisoned! HOW!?” The thief said and as he moved his body the fabric of his clothes rubbed against the bites of the bugs and it began to itch.

“BUGS! We were poisoned by bugs!” The thief shouted.

As soon as he said that everyone that heard began laughing but it was rather serious. Each of them were bitten by around 10 toxic bloodsuckers and injected with their poison. Though it’s only rank 3 poison, in large quantities it can get really deadly.

They both pulled out an antidote and drank it at once healing from the poison effects but the damage is done.

“Begone you pathetic scum. I have no business with such weak and pathetic little men.” With those final words she grabbed my hand and pulled me into the library before letting out a sigh.

“Finally away from retards.” She said.

“Yeah but we will need to go out in a bit.” I said.

She nodded but then shrugged.

We walked to Thomas and I introduced Florista to him.

“Greetings sir, I am Florista and a friend of Droso.” She said with a small bow.

“Oh, what a nice girl. My name is Thomas Magi and I am the librarian here. Just so you know floor three is off limits unless I say otherwise. You may ask Droso for any book you need or you can look at the map he drew up that is categorized to bookshelves.” Thomas said.

“Seems he already left his footprints here huh. Anyway I am here to accompany Droso on his task.” She says.

“Oh, so you will help him?”

“Yes but in a different way then he is doing. I want to help with curing the diseases as is my job from where we come from.” She said.

“Well the herbal books he can show you or you can borrow his notes that are with him.” Thomas said.

“We should get going.” I tell her and she nods.

With a goodbye we go and pick up the handcart. Florista was surprised about that since they cost a lot but I explained how I got it.

From there I explained what we would be doing. She was actually a bit shocked but then I told her that about half the alleyways I would pass through would become breeding grounds for my own bugs.

And so we began going to the slums and stopping at several slums. I tell the strongest pairs of each stat to breed and plant one larva on each body then with an order the larva begins attacking and claiming.

I do that to around 20 alleyways before finally we begin the real work and start pulling the bodies I wouldn’t be using to the guards burning circle.

I do sneak several of these into the dragonfly pond. The larva were all devoured by the dragonfly nymphs before they began attacking the bodies.

I dump several bodies all around the hive and have the larvas killed unless they were a new species.

The wild bugs inside the hive all gathered at the bodies and placed the larva’s and laid their eggs before dying off leaving me with lots of eggs.

Moths and spiders were the ones that didn’t do this because they laid egg differently so they simply found a corner somewhere and put the eggs. Spiders on the other hand they made nets and tried to eat the flies and bugs all around.

I didn’t want my bugs getting eaten so after the wild bugs had laid their eggs I had my workers transport the bugs to the spider nets and let them feast on them AFTER the bugs bodies had absorbed my mana. Without noticing after eating 10 of these bugs the spider's mind was added to the hive and it was under my control at last.

Outside we both continued gathering more and more bodies in our inventory and in the cart and all that dumping them in the circles around town.

The speed was slow yet fast since I gathered 4 alleyways of bodies, 1/10 of the bodies becoming my bugs feed, and with that I gained 3 weeks on the quest making the time over 5 months before it was too late.

“That was a bit disgusting.” Florista said.

“Yeah but not something you haven’t worked with to get your samples.” I said.

“That is exactly why I am one of the few people that can work with you without complaining.” She said.

“True enough. By the way, what level is your alchemy and blacksmithing?” I asked.

“Both are level one. I just got the skills but I can’t really exercise them at the moment.” She said.

“If I’m not mistaken there is portable gear for classes like blacksmithing. Magic furnace that is small but expensive.”

“Yep, 50 silver coins for one of those then there is all the other gear and stuff.”

“You aren’t going to get any work?” I asked.

“I want to but you know my nature right?”

I nod understanding what she meant. To be able to get both skills was already rather impressive but considering she can fake a gentle lady personality that makes everyone melt in her hand.

“Well, you can work in the library which is simply fixing books or other stuff maybe.” I said as we reached the door of the library where Thomas was waiting.

“A job here besides organizing books there is also scribe work where you rewrite old books into new ones.” He said as he heard what we said.

“Seems boring but I heard he only works at night. If I have the same agreement as him, working only at night, then I would take the job.” Flor said.

“What would you do during the day?” He asked.

“I want to look through his book on herbs as well as books on blacksmithing techniques.” She said.

Thomas chuckled hearing the combo of books she said and made her frown.

“Yes I see how you would need the mornings. Still blacksmithing needs physical practice and not just reading books.” Thomas said.

“Yes but I’m not really sure I want to work with my personality towards people who try and pick me up.” She said.

“I see, well no matter, do you agree to the scribe job for the library?” He asked

She agreed without much resistance. From there he led us to the baths. I let her bathe first then I took my time to get the stench of dead off.

I looked at the notifications and saw I gained some stats for pulling the cart.

I checked on my bugs but no real change besides the blood suckers having gained 4 levels from the digested blood. I checked the stats and it seems leveling up by draining blood instead of killing gives 0.2 instead of 0.1 stats.

Useful observation for sure. May need to keep an eye on stuff like this.

I looked through all the list of bug species I had. It was growing rather fast as I pulled more and more. Here is what I have.

Bug list

Toxic Blowfly

Toxic Blood Sucker

Gale Strider

Lightning Strider

Striped Glitter Moth

Glitter Wing Dragonfly (nymph stage)

Brown Spider

Grey Garden Spider

Striped Garden Spider

Flesh Fly

Scavenger fly

Biting Midges

Rove beetle

Carcass beetle

For now only two bugs have a greater form but once I start spreading them out and properly feeding them all I will probably get more variations.

I really can’t wait for the spiders to breed into large numbers.

Though the species I have aren’t ones that live in groups I can easily change that after a while.

They will be the main force to catch and kill a large number of bugs flying around. But that will be in a while.

After I leave the bath I go outside and see that the flames of the burning bodies have died down.

I told Flor I was going out quickly and left running towards the circle.

The fires were already dying down and weren't dangerous anymore.

As such I began moving around through the charred piles.

I moved quickly trying to find anything that survived.

I actually got curious and dug into the dirt near the center and after one handful I got lucky to see a barely moving larva. It was a single one but it was there.

I quickly used taming on it and tossed it into the hive onto a random body and told it to eat.

I looked more and found another five survived. There were two male and the rest were female and all an unknown species. I will probably only find out what after it grows up.

I didn’t have it level up and just eat and grow. I need more of the base species instead of a ranked up version at this moment.

With a grin on my face I return to the library to start my work there after getting my 3 silver coins. Guess more work done gives more money yes. I leave 2 silver with him to pay him back 2 of the 10 silver coin debt for the cart.

Satisfied that I may get unique variant bugs I get to work after handing over my herb notes to Flor.