P.O.V Neutral | Year 1

It had been four months since the five gods summoned the heroes, and despite scouring Thoulma upside down, the scouts and the city guards could not find any signs of the fifth hero. Most of the King’s counsel had given up on such matters. There were more pressing issues at hand. Skirmishes against the demon forces were increasing by the days, and winter was coming. Pialflark was returning from such an attack.

“Commander Pialflark is here to report, your majesty.” A royal guard resounded his words.

Without needing formalities, the gates into the throne room burst open, and Pialflark walked into the chamber. “How bad is it?” King Zhahalm voiced his concerns.

“My King, we faced a demon general class and a few demon champions with their twisted beasts. While we were able to wipe out their attack, they’re only increasing in time. In the past month alone, my specialist team encountered two of such platoons, and our army defeated five smaller parties of demons around the border.” Pialflark was confident when dealing with such formations. However, what would happen if the demon lords begin to appear?

“And what about you and your team?” Zhahalm’s worries can be seen on his face.

“My level has increased to level 72, and General Handurim has reached level 70. His upgraded class is Greater Archer. He is taking time to get used to the new skills imparted by the gods. A few of our other members are lingering around level 68 to 69.” A small light in the dark.

“That is good news. We need all the help we can get. Using the idea of “power leveling” from the heroes up North is beneficial for us. Last we heard, they are doing well for themselves. The lowest level hero is around 30. A truly unprecedented speed. I guess that’s why they are called heroes.” Zhahalm replied.

Pialflark’s eyes brow furrowed at the mention of the heroes. The system’s widespread message to all the residents worldwide about the arrival of the heroes relieved the general public from their fear of the demon invasion. In contrast, those in the known were skeptical of the heroes. Pialflark was unsure how those youngsters would fare against the demon sovereign despite their swift growth. Considering all the previous eras, there were always five of them, and now, before the war had truly begun, the heroes were already missing a member.

Sensing Pialflark’s concerns, Zhahalm continued. “We received words from the representatives of the church that this batch of heroes was supposed to be the strongest. The gods only felt the need for four heroes this time or something of the like. I heard that all the others in the Circle of Kings had acquired the same reply. What a joke. Something must have gone wrong for there to be only four heroes summoned. If the church thought that anyone would have believed in their obvious attempt at damage control, they must have been fools.”

Pialflark contemplated Zhahalm’s worrying words. The gods were never known to be so finicky in the past. Now the church is trying to cover up for such a monumental blunder. He could only make guesses as to what the gods and their followers were scheming. “Could they really be aiming for the downfall of the Dwarven Race, my king?”

“Doubtful. The demon sovereign endangers the entirety of Gradan. I doubt they would put everything at risk to wipe us out, even if they do want to do so. Although, we can’t ever be too sure. It is a possibility.” Zhahalm answered while being deep in his own thoughts.

Droplets of sweat tread down Pialflark’s foreheads. The idea that they might have to fight against the entire continent in the future was worrying. Strategies and battle plans were sprung like spider webs in his mind.

“There's no need for concerns right now. It seems like the demon sovereign is testing our forces, seeing what we can handle and what we can not. Reports of their forces are all over the Eastern Front. So far, we are still able to withstand their attacks.” Zhahalm’s eyes were swollen under the stress of leadership. Uneasy lay the head that wears the crown. Their king was starting to look thin in Pialflark’s view but it is not his place to question his liege.

“Take some time to rest and continue the hunt for demon generals. We need your team to be alive and strong when a full-on war breaks out. You all are vital supporters to the survival of our beloved Thoulma.” Both Zhahalm and Pialflark knew what he said was the truth. Their plan was to level up enough specialists so they could help their own regiments at strategic locations on Thoulma’s Eastern borders. While the front is holding, no one knew what might happen when the war starts. It was better to be ready than sit still in a well like a frog.

_____

P.O.V MC | Year 1

I welcomed a new creature into my swarm. So far, there had only been diverse types of insects that looked like spiders and centipedes, but now there was a scorpion in the mix. I know right? Riveting. With that, the last of the free wildlife in the contained subterranean cave had been altered into my pack. The ones that were useful at least. I doubted worms and the like would be useful so I left them alone as a sort of ration for my critters. Unlike me, the little bugs still need to consume to survive. In various instances, I felt their hunger assaulting my senses. The current group consisted of fourteen large and small insects. I’ve had them look around the cave for other species, but all I’ve found were these creepy-crawlies.

Now that I think about it, I’m not really sure where I was. I knew that underground pockets like mine do exist naturally, but the walls surrounding me were too straight, too artificial. It might be arrogant for me to assume, however, the surroundings appear to be built just for me. That does raise the issue of why this was happening. Were they built to keep something in, or were they built to keep something out? Is it intended to contain anything at all, or does it serve some other function? The questions were piling up on me like a mountain, which I might as well be under.

With the help of my critters and a careful examination of the walls, I’ve discovered a way for my army of insects to get through. Now that I had converted all the remaining practical bugs into my swarm. It was time to venture out into the unknown.

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Due to their narrow stature, centipedes were amongst the first of my familiars to cross over. The rest came after. It took a lot of work to get everyone through the walls, which were at least a meter thick, but my mana vision came in handy for figuring out the best route. It didn’t change the fact that they were still living beings with their own needs despite the physical improvements brought about by the crystalline connection. I employed mana vision on my first centipede to explore the new region while the rest of the pack rested. I chose the name Sebastian for the little guy in memory of a pet I had as a child.

The new location mimics that of my “home” with large and small stalagmites and stalactites littered across the ceiling and flooring. What was different, however, was the diverging pathways. Nearby my group alone were two smaller tunnels departing from the main channel the pack currently resided in. As I couldn’t determine if this was a common occurrence on Earth or not, I was struck by a mixture of awe and caution.

After a well-earned break, the familiars resumed their investigation of the main channel. All the smaller passages can be left for a later time. I was curious to see where this path would go first. On their way, the critters continued to convert any bugs they could find into my army of insects.

I soon began to detect the tiniest of motions tucked between two large boulders. A snake was lurking in the shadows, ready to strike at any moment. Was it attempting to ambush any passersby completely unnoticed? Leaving the rest at a safe distance, I dispatched one of my spiders to carefully approach the snake from behind and convert it into mine while another one strolled in front of the snake to distract it. The former spider bit into the snake as predicted, but its strong scales proved a difficult opponent for my modified critter’s fangs. In spite of this, it managed to penetrate the snake’s skin just enough to let some of my mana flow. The snake hissed in pain, then quickly snapped its jaw onto my familiar.

I felt a sharp pain, and then an overwhelming sense of sadness, like the death of a friend or family member. How dare it! Rage broke out after that. What went wrong? Wasn’t it enough? My mana inside the snake desperately struggled to consume the creature. Something is fighting against me. Its own mana clashed against my own, refusing to yield. My army had only fought against enemies of their size before, the possibility of something being able to resist me had not occurred to me. It was a significant oversight on my part. I could not stop now, even though I was not ready for the fight. The snake had marked my other spider as a target, even if I ran, it would chase after it. Wait. That was perfect.

I communicated my desire and the remaining insects hid themselves under pebbles, rocks, and the like. The spider ran towards them with all its might while the snake was chasing right behind its abdomen. The reptile was catching up now, but it did not matter. Right before it lunged to attack the eight-legged critter, my swarm emerged from their hiding spot and furiously crunched onto the large snake. A human would shiver at the sight of a multitude of insects crawling and climbing on top of something; however, all I felt were relief and satisfaction.

Just like before, the reptile turned docile to my troops and I took notice of a significant increase in my mana reserve. The thing that was so revoltingly foreign before was now charming to me. With the battle coming to a close, they were all hungry from the conflicts. Hunting was needed to feed the rag-tag group of organisms. Biting my loss, I allowed them to feed on all the creatures in the area, and such is the price of a crystal overmind. At least that was what I thought I was. I saw something weird, a group of bugs happily feeding their own kind to a snake. Anyone would find that odd if they saw such a thing.

After the meal, everyone seemed more energized in my view. I could feel their emotions fluttering with joy towards me. I guessed that animals don’t need to mourn for their fallen comrades and even for me, the sadness was fleeting. The sense of pain was something I could feel now, I noted. It would be best to avoid losing troops as much as possible. It felt like I had my whole body over a fire for a split moment but I was reluctant to purposely reach into pain for testing.

The spider that acted as the bait before proved itself during the previous ambush so I decided to name it, Chris The Quickie. No. That's weird man. Chris The Swift One? Just Chris it is. Moving on, the large snake will act as a guardian for my critters if they ever find any opponent that they couldn’t overcome so I gave it a name as well. I called it, Elizabeth. I could tell her protective instinct for her young, which at the moment were my insects. It helped my naming convention quite a bit since, with colorless visuals alone, I couldn’t tell their sex apart. Not that I could with colored vision anyway. I was now satisfied. There was nothing wrong with giving animal human names. Not at all.

In preparation for more explorations of the caves, I gave the creatures a quick headcount. My pack consisted of twenty-five insects and one snake. The forces are slowly but surely growing more plentiful. My abilities, on the other hand, had lately slowed in their development. My attention had changed from learning more about myself to managing my group at this point, which left me with little opportunity to practice anything. One second, I could have made use of my abilities in the last battle. I’m not sure how I managed to miss this. The tension of the conflict took its toll on me. I had forgotten about all the other things I could do and had become preoccupied with troop management. I should cut myself some slack though, it’s important to remember that this was my first combat experience, I was a complete novice when it came to these types of things. Water under the bridge they said.

Now that I’ve had some firsthand experience with fighting, I need to learn from it for future battles if I don’t want to risk losing all my familiars. I called upon one of the pseudoscorpion to test out my abilities. The tendril quickly manifested from the bead within the critter, exiting through its organs and out of the carapace. The horrific scene unfolded so quickly that I barely had time to react. It was like watching one of those alien movies where the xenomorph exploded out of a human chest. The tentacle wiggled free of the scorpion carcass as the light was drained from its eyes. The tendril and my bead continued to exist for a brief moment and then dispersed back into the natural surroundings. What?

The fiery pain once again assaulted my senses which followed up with a shade of remorse. What did I do! How did this happen? When I investigated what led the creature to such an explosive death with my mana sense, I came to a partial understanding of the problem. My crystal body itself was similar to a form of super-condensed mana. Therefore, having the energy moving and changing density inside me did not result in any damage. The same could not be said for creatures and objects with a physical makeup. Saying that it was an unpleasant procedure to endure was an understatement. Mana vision could be easily produced due to its much sparser nature; however, mana limb or mana bullets would certainly kill the target. This was something I could only use as a last resort. These skills being used in the group will result in significant losses over the long term and in my current condition, I didn’t have anything to spare.

With more understanding of my situation, I swayed my pack from their rest and continued the expedition into the main tunnel. Even without the skills, my group was still fairly strong. The previous tactic of ambushing showed remarkable effectiveness, so I could just use it when I come in contact with larger animals. I might have little mana gain from converting insects, but having a sizable swarm will be necessary to overcome more powerful beasts. If it’s not broken, why change it? I had varying plans revolving around the snake. However, I’ll cross that road when I need to.