The next morning Van was going about checking on the progress of their little camp. All the tents have been made and set up and Isa and Kella were organizing a small party to start chopping some trees and gathering wood for fires and to make a watchtower that will be built within a few days' time alongside some palisades.

He made sure to go over the layout and growth of their campsite into a proper defensible position in case of monster attacks. As well as making those four hobgoblins from yesterday into group leaders and corporals to lead the others and send them out on short expeditions. They will also be learning lessons from Isa and Kella in their free time.

As he was doing some last-minute inspections before he headed out for his little incursions into the forest, Lyn suddenly appeared out of nowhere flying fast in his direction. Followed by her group of zappers.

“Van! Quick! How quickly can you turn zappers into insect-kin!” she asked desperately. “I need as many as you can give me!”

Van blinked in shock, wondering if his eyes were deceiving him. “Lyn… you're… big! How are you so big!” Van asked in disbelief as Lyn came closer into view. As it turned out, Lyn was far bigger than her normal size, almost reaching his chin.

“Insect-kin and fairies can change sizes from insect size to human size, but that doesn’t matter right now!” she said, zipping right into his face. “Right now I need to know, can you turn my zappers into insect-kin!”

Van leaned away from the frenzied Lyn, completely taken aback by her attitude. It had only been a few days since she left so it worried him to see how much she had changed in such a short time. “Uh, maybe? But you were a special case, and we had a lot of materials and mana cores that we could use on you. Not to mention the amount of mana it would take to force an evolution, I’ll also have to check your zappers to see if they meet the requirements first before I try.”

Immediately she turned and ordered her zappers into a line in front of Van. “Do any of them meet the requirements?” she asked on edge,

“Uh…” was all Van could say in reply, taking a page from Lyn in that regard before kicking his brain into gear and analyzing the hundred or so zappers in front of them.

It was then he realized that most of the zappers in front of him were wounded in one form or another. Taking a quick glance at Lyn, he noticed that she too was looking worse for wear. Such a sight made his heart run cold as fear and worry gripped it, but he pushed it aside and did his best to see which zappers were ready for promotion and which were not.

After careful selection, Van chose about a dozen zappers who met all the requirements and just needed the boost necessary to get over the last hurdle. “These are the ones that can evolve, but I can’t do that without a lot of mana cores and mana. And also… your blood… it’s the only thing I can think of that would help push them above the threshold.”

“If it’s only that much, I would be glad to pay the price,” Lyn said seriously, she then pulled out dozens of mana cores. “If it's mana cores you need, then I have them. Hells, I can get hundreds if I had some time to pick up all the pieces. As for my blood, just tell me when and you’ll have it. How soon can you do this.” she asked, giving a gaze that seemed to pierce Van with its seriousness.

“I… don’t… know… I’ll have to take them into the circle and try first, from there we can figure out a time frame,” Van said.

Lyn nodded. “Lead the way.” was all she said, her serious expression not leaving her face for one second. Something that scared Van more than he realized.

Going over to his magic circle, Van took the offered mana cores and set them aside, ordering one of the zappers into the center and making the proper preparations. Once everything was set, he asked Lyn to make a small cut to which she did and he then manipulated it with his magic and added it to the circle.

Concentrating, he used the mana cores and the blood and fused them into the zapper, draining any of the excess mana cores for their energy as he used his own to push the zapper over the edge into a new state of being. The whole process took around half an hour, draining Van far more than he thought it would.

But at least he succeeded, for in the center of the circle was a lesser insect-kin. She looked at herself in wonder, opening and closing her hands in fascination.

He turned to Lyn. “I don’t think this is very economical as it is. I’ll need more mana potions and mana cores if you want me to keep up this pace.” Then a thought occurred to him. “If possible, you can help act as a battery alongside me. As I turn your zappers into insect-kin, you will provide me with the mana necessary, I’ll also get the harpy mage to help. Is that fine with you?”

“Whatever will be the fastest and quickest method I'm all for it,” she said, moving in place as if she was on the clock.

With that scene egging him on, Van quickly called for the harpy raven as they prepped for the next one. By the time he was done, the harpy had come, wondering why she was so suddenly called.

“Is there something I can do for you master?” she asked, concerned by the clearly anxious Lyn standing next to him.

“Yes, I need you to join me in my circle. I want you to aid me in making these zappers into insect-kin. Don’t worry about messing up though, I only want you to play a supporting role, as well as provide me your mana. Just follow me and you will do fine.” Van said to the harpy, then he turned to Lyn. “As for you, don’t do anything but provide mana, I don’t want you getting in the way. Okay?”

Lyn nodded, just wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible.

“Alright…” Van said, then taking a position around the circle. He then asked them to take their own positions, pointing out where he wanted them to stand. When they did he sent out a thread of mana to them and they all connected with each other.

“Now feeling Lyn’s and the harpy’s mana pool and how the harpy was ready to help him, he ordered the next zapper into the circle.

Then the process began a second time, though a bit different than the first. For one thing, he had access to everyone's mana which helped keep his costs down. For another, he was surprised and appreciative of the harpy’s help, which did far more than what he was expecting, and was able to shave ten minutes off what would have taken thirty minutes by himself.

After that was mostly smooth sailing, with him and the harpy taking a few mana potions from time to time and Lyn having to leave the circle halfway through because she was completely drained and was now resting until the two were finished.

Eventually, they turned the last zapper into an insect-kin and Lyn was able to recover some of her mana back while she waited.

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Van was tired but somewhat proud of himself for being able to complete such an arduous task. More importantly, he realized how useful the raven harpy was and how she could be an important assistant in the future. “Actually, now that I think about it, she is practically the only other mage in the entire group I have. And she was very useful in helping me with this. Perhaps I should take her under my wing and have her help me more in the future? Gods know how badly we need another mage.”

But he saved such thoughts for later, now he was more worried about what Lyn would do next. And he had every right to be, for no sooner had he finished and was just about to relax than Lyn took a few mana potions and started ordering her army to get ready to depart.

“Wait! Where are you going!?” Van asked, incredulous that Lyn would just leave like that and without an explanation. Now more worried than ever that something big was happening and that it could put her in great danger.

Lyn turned to address him, all the while getting her zappers and new insect-kin in order. “Sorry Van, but I'm in a rush. Got things to do, places to be, battles to fight. From now on I’ll send some of my soldiers to dump off mana cores over here. Just promise me you will save some for when I need some more insect-kin. Also, do you need bug parts? Because we have a lot of bug parts if you need them. Actually, never mind, I'll send my people to get in touch with you and we’ll figure something out.” she said in rapid-talk fashion.

Then as if realizing something, “speaking of people.” she said, then flew right into Van, a few minutes later, she came back out with a few dozens more zappers and twice that or more in bees.

“Ouch…” Van said, rubbing his chest.

“Sorry,” Lyn said, then pulled him close and gave him a passionate kiss before pulling away. “I’ll be gone for a while, but you don’t have to worry about me, I'll be fine. Take care of yourself, okay?” with that she turned and left as fast as she arrived, her and her little army already disappearing off into the distance.

Just then Amie popped out looking very concerned, but seeing that Lyn was already long gone she turned to pop right back into Van’s soul realm.

Only Van didn’t let her, holding out a hand to prevent her from getting too close. “Hold on right there. What in the hells is going on here? I demand an answer.”

Amie looked a little put on the spot but then sighed realizing that he probably should know what's going on, and did her best to explain with what little information she was able to gather.

It turned out that Lyn’s story was more true than he first thought it was. More importantly, she hid a lot more than what was going on and the situation was far more serious than first thought. For one thing, the wasp horde had somehow punched through the wall of spider webs that block off a section of the forest. For another, things have taken a turn for the big, as even giant insects have started taking sides in the conflict.

And since it affected the entire forest, tribes who were not insects started to weigh into one side or another. Since if one side won, that would affect the entire ecology of the forest, sometimes in one tribe's favor over the other. Turning what was a big small thing, into a big huge thing that was slowly affecting everyone it touched.

This worried Van considerably, the more he heard, the more it sounded like the entire forest was going to go into complete total war. He began to pace as he was told more and more about what was going on before he couldn’t take it anymore and stopped Amie from talking, trying to let everything sink in first.

After a few moments, he turned to ask Amie a few questions. “That thing where you guys turn big, was that a thing you could always do?

“Well… yes, but there are some risks to doing it, for instance getting stuck on a bigger size, though it's not all that much of a big deal. The reason why we stay as small as possible is that it's just so convenient and we are used to it. We take up less space and less food and most insects don’t want to stand out too much and use numbers to win in the first place anyway for the most part.” she said.

“And why didn’t you tell me how bad this war really was. Don't you think that should have been something I should have known before making a decision in coming here?” he asked.

“Sorry… we ourselves didn’t know how bad things were going to be, honest. We presumed that things would stay mostly the same, and if anything that we would be better off. It had never occurred to us how bad things have turned out or how much this was affecting the entire forest. If that was the case we would have gone ourselves and left you where it was safe.”

Van was a little mad at that last part. He hated the thought that everyone thought he was someone to be cuddled and protected, but ignored his indignation and changed the conversation to more serious questions like if they were in any danger or what they could do to help.

“As far as I’m aware, you are not in any immediate danger. You are actually a bit off from all the conflict, as for how you could help… Well, what you did for Lyn before in turning those zappers into insect-kin helped a lot more than you could ever have realized. Just doing that could make a world of difference.” Amie said.

Van stared at her as if daring her to hide anything more from him. But when she was unforthcoming and instead looked very uncomfortable and even a little scared, he sighed and dismissed her, apologizing for his attitude. “Sorry… this is just a lot for me to take in. For now just know that I will do my best to help out wherever I can. But after all, this is over, you, me, and Lyn are going to have a long talk. Understand?” his tone, brokering no argument.

“Yes.” was all Amie could say. Knowing full well that Van had every right to be angry right now.

After that, Amie returned to Van’s soul realm. Leaving him to his thoughts. “Damn, so not only do I have to worry about taking care of my goblins and finding resources to upgrade them with, but I may also have to do the same for Lyn’s army. Not to mention I have to worry about this war of theirs boiling over here. Should I just pack up and leave?”

He thought about it for a bit but then shook his head vehemently. “I'm not going to leave Lyn behind. And I’m not going to run away with my tail between my legs. This might be foolish of me. But I’m going to do my best to turn this situation into an opportunity to make myself and my girls stronger.”

“I just hope that this is the right decision.”

He then turned and started ordering around the goblins who were just standing around watching everything unfold. He also ordered a few goblins to get Isa and Kella to go over a few things now that their situation has changed.

When the two arrived, Van filled them in about what had happened and what they should do moving forward. More importantly, telling them his decision that leaving was not an option and that he planned to stay.

There was some pushback from Kella about that, but Van didn’t budge but agreed that they should send a small group back to the outpost to tell the rangers about what they had learned. As that was a logical course of action to take, using this opportunity to use the newly upgraded hobgoblins to go, deliver a message he had written, and come back. Since they were the only ones that, funnily enough, could be sent and be somewhat certain that they would come back in one piece.

There were some questions about sending their only useful group out in which they won’t be around for at least three to four days. But they didn’t really have a choice. Quickly packing a few things, they sent the group out as soon as possible, watching them as they rode on their shadow wolves off into the distance.

Now that that was done with, they turned to look at the layout of their campsite and started making changes to it. Now adding a moat, another watchtower, and a few more things to make this place more defensible.

After spending about two hours going over every little thing they could do to help their position, they left to do their tasks and set up everything they could before nightfall.

“Van… is everything all right?” Luna asked, concerned by all the sudden buzz and movement of everyone.

Van remembered that Luna wasn’t doing so well in this changing environment and that all the sudden hubbub probably didn’t help. But he didn’t want to hide what they learned and just told her everything instead and his decision to stay.

Luna looked worried, but slowly she gave a small sigh and looked at him lovingly. “Well, so long as we are together, we can do anything.” she then smiled, trying to show a strong face. “Don’t worry, if worse comes to worst, I’ll do my best to protect you. I promise.” looking into his eyes as if to convey how much she cared about him.

It was moments like these that Van had to remind himself of the gender roles of the world. He had to keep in mind he was the woman here and she was the man or something like that. And so she, in her own way, was trying to support and calm whatever fears or indecisions he might be having.

So he gave her a loving smile in return. “Thank you, my love.” moving over to give her a hug and then a kiss. “I know for a fact that I can always rely on you.” Seeing how she got filled with confidence at his words and actions. As he planned them to.

After that things got busy. And instead of going out to hunt, he decided to stay in camp for the rest of the day and help out where he can. Until tomorrow came.