Chapter 7

“So how did the test go?” Faye asked once I was finished checking my swarm.

“I think it went well. It took a bit of time but I managed to finish every task the assembly master asked me to do. I also unlocked the third growth unit just before you got here.” I said with a shrug.

Faye stared at me with wide eyes for a moment. “You unlocked the third growth unit?” She asked in a shocked voice.

I nodded. “Is that unusual?”

“It means that you have the talent to be a swarm knight. Perhaps even a swarm lord.” Faye answered.

I blinked at her for a moment and thought back over what I had been told. I hadn’t thought being a swarm knight was that uncommon.

“What are the chances that I’ll be a swarm lord?” I ended up asking Faye.

“The main barrier will be whether you can unlock the growth unit. Control can be taught. It’s impossible to unlock a higher growth unit if you don’t have enough innate talent.” Faye said with a glance at the box sitting next to me.

“I’ve noticed the access messages. I managed to unlock the nano factory just before you came.” I answered the unspoken question.

“Which means you just need to purchase one and unlock the mental connection to officially become a swarm knight. After that if you unlock the next growth unit then you will be eligible to become a swarm lord. I never expected that you would be a prospective swarm lord.” Faye said clearly, still experiencing a bit of shock.

“Is it really that rare? The assembly master explained that people that can control the swarm are very rare. But it’s hard for me to grasp just how rare.” I said.

Faye considered the question for a moment before answering. “The average planet in our galaxy has a population of over a billion. Most planets are lucky to see a swarm knight born among the general population once a century. It’s possible that one of those could be a swarm lord but it’s extremely rare. Almost all swarm lords are descendants of a swarm citizen, squire, knight, or lord.”

“Why are the ranks so important? I get that it unlocks a higher growth unit but that doesn’t explain why there are no other requirements to have a higher rank.” I couldn’t help but ask.

“The more talented someone is, the more they can do with the swarm. Swarm commoners have so little talent that they can’t create the mental connection with a swarm. They are valued though since their children are more likely to be swarm squires or even knights. Squires have the talent to use the swarm to reverse aging. As you go up the ranks you also unlock new abilities. For instance in addition to reversing age a knight can also give someone enough talent to become a mage. Unfortunately each rank is roughly a hundred times rarer than the previous rank. So for every hundred swarm knights there is only a single swarm baron.” Faye explained.

“Swarm barons?” I asked, interrupting Faye.

“Barons are the lowest rank of swarm lords. They can create nano core factories for the knights and squires below them. Often they are responsible for up to a dozen populated worlds. Above them are the counts which have the ability to fix major mana node issues and even build or expand the magic system on a world. Then come the dukes who can use the swarm to create planetary portals allowing instant travel on a planet. At the top of our galaxy are the various kings and queens. They are split into three ranks. Low, great, and high. They can terraform and integrate new worlds into the swarm and create portals that allow travel between worlds and even galaxies. In addition the kings can grant someone the talent to control the swarm. Our galaxy is ruled by three high kings. I don’t know much about the ranks above that. From what I’ve heard they are called swarm emperors.” Faye explained.

At this point I was just staring at Faye as my mind tried to catch up. I suppose I hadn’t thought of the full implications of the swarm. I hadn’t thought it would span the entire galaxy, let alone multiple galaxies. “Just how many planets and galaxies are ruled by the swarm?” I asked.

Faye shrugged. “I’m not sure anyone knows anymore. Unlimited resources and mana makes it easy to colonize new galaxies and terraform new planets as needed. The portal network that allows people to travel between planets and even galaxies instantly. That’s part of what makes swarm lords so important. Otherwise planets would become overpopulated.”

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“What about alien species? Is there other life out there?” I couldn’t help but ask.

Faye laughed and nodded. “Life is rare but when you colonize trillions of galaxies eventually you are bound to run into someone else. In fact the mythology of your planet has stories of many of these races.”

“Can you tell me about them?” I was eager to learn more. I couldn’t help but wonder just what was out there.

Faye laughed at my eagerness and then spent the next half an hour telling me about dozens of different alien species. Like she had said, many of them bore some resemblance to mythology. Although I was kind of surprised to find out about some differences. Elves, dwarves, and orcs didn’t exist. Or at least not in the way that modern fantasy portrayed them. The most similar races were the fae, dvergr, and ogres. For example dvergr shared a love of mining, smithing and beer with the dwarves I was used to. But they were also taller than the average human.

Before I could ask more questions Faye stopped me. “We have been talking for a while. You should check your swarm.”

I nearly swore as I hurried to check it. It had been far longer than I had intended. Opening up the display I realized that I had definitely missed the optimal time to purchase my third nano fabricator. I quickly purchased it and hoped it wouldn’t affect my long term results.

Time: 259

Resource points: 10,563

Nano Cores: 156

Nano Drones: 16

Nano Fabricators: 3

Nano Factories: 0

Faye pressed up against my back and looked at the screen. “I see you’re making good progress.”

For a moment I couldn’t think past the feeling of her pressed against me. Then I realized she was talking about the swarm numbers on the screen. “Yeah I just finished purchasing my third nano fabricator.” I said even though she could clearly see that.

“It’s smart that you are saving your cores. Quite a few swarm knights have made the mistake of spending them as quickly as possible. It won’t result in a failure but it does extend how long it takes to purchase your higher growth units.” Faye said confirming what I had been thinking before about the cores being the main bottleneck.

“You seem to know a lot about the swarm and how it works.” I said with a smile.

Faye stiffened against me and for a second I thought she was going to move away from me. Then she bent down and kissed my neck. “I’ve spent a lot of time studying everything I could find about the swarm. Is that a problem?”

I shook my head. “No. If anything it makes me appreciate you more. I’ve always found knowledge attractive.” I said and then turned so that I could kiss her.

For a moment everything seemed to disappear as I kissed Faye. I reached for her but before I knew it she had backed away. “Something wrong?” I said slightly confused. Earlier she had been practically throwing herself at me.

“I don’t want to distract you from your test. Just talking has already distracted you once.” Faye said with obvious reluctance.

I frowned but couldn’t help but acknowledge that she had a point. Then again I had a pretty good idea of what the next few hours would look like. “I need to get a thousand cores in order to purchase enough nano fabricators for my first nano factory. A few minutes or even an hour won’t change that.” I explained.

Faye shook her head. “There is far more to the swarm than just purchasing the next growth unit. You need to get enough resources to establish a connection with your swarm.”

“How many resources do I need?” I asked hoping that she knew the answer. So far she seemed to have a wealth of knowledge about the swarm.

“It should cost a hundred billion resources. You won’t see the option until after you build your first nano factory. Once you create the connection you will get more access to your swarm. That includes a lot of things you will want to purchase. All of which you will need to use resources for.” Faye explained.

Glancing at my display I realized that I had barely over ten thousand resources collected. I knew that the amount of resources I gained would increase exponentially. Still a hundred billion seemed like an unreasonable amount.

“Are all of them going to cost billions of resources?” I asked, dreading the answer.

Faye shook her head. “A hundred billion is cheap in comparison.”

I couldn’t help but groan at the thought. “So I’m going to be spending almost all my time trying to figure out how to get my swarm to collect more resources?”

“Don’t worry after you get your first nano factory you will get about half a day before you can create your second one. Right now you should focus on buying nano fabricators as quickly as possible.” Faye said.

“What are you going to be doing meanwhile?” I asked hoping she planned to keep me company.

“I am going to stop distracting you. Probably find the bedroom here and get some sleep. Make sure you wake me up when you are done. Do it quick enough and I’ll make sure to reward you.” Faye said with a seductive smile. Then she turned and walked out of the room. My eyes couldn’t help but follow her until she was out of sight.