Records of Rebirth

Chapter 85: Crumbling Order

Looking at the Hive Core, there was no telling where the old hive ended or the core began. Aside from the first four open tunnels that remained the same, everything else was in disarray.

The walls dividing the sealed tunnels of the hive core had collapsed, with all their rubble pushed out to the other side. It was thrashed so hard when the creatures spread out from every direction that every semblance of order was gone.

But with the completion of that quest, I finally had the points I needed!

I immediately opened the system's Item store.

Now I have a choice to make between [Labyrinth Atlas] priced at [300XP], [Dimensional Box] at [350XP] or the skill [Mark] at [100XP].

After some thought I decided to buy [Dimensional Box].

My thought process was simple. Although [Labyrinth Atlas] was very important and useful, I had no need for a map right now, as I wont be exploring the corners of the Labyrinth anytime soon.

With that said, [Dimensional Box] is a very practical choice as it can help me store my hunted prey and other things. And with [420XP] points available, I would have some remaining, which I could easily use to purchase [Mark] as soon as I complete other quests.

After confirming the purchase of [Dimensional Box] my [420XP] points sharply fell to a mere [70XP].

With it now in my inventory, I began to wonder how I would actually use such a thing as It took on no form of any kind. I didn't want to ask Sensei either as I figured he was silently waiting for me to ask.

So I decided to figure it out on my own and focused on fallen debris of the tunnels within a metre from me, setting my sights on a rather large piece of broken wall. Since [Dimensional Box] was 10 cubic meters, it was much wider than the tunnel I was in. So, I tried to imagine that large piece of wall disappearing into it.

As soon as I did, the wall fragment simply disappeared, like a hole had opened up under it, swallowing it whole like it was never there. All the rubble around it was left to collapse without their support, in a way that was so much more dramatic than I would have imagined.

Pleased by the shocking result, I tried it on smaller pieces of debris. smaller openings equal to their size appeared, swallowing them too. I wondered if it was restricted to even pieces so I tried it on weirdly shaped bits of debris and openings equal to their size and shape appeared.

Encouraged by this, I was on to seeing if whole sections of wall would fit, making sure to avoid any surviving pillars, lest the entire tunnel came crumbling down on me. Shockingly, they also got swallowed.

It was like [Dimensional Box] was taking on the silhouettes of these objects as it opened up, to make sure everything fit. It seemed there was no limit to how wide an object it could contain - how cool.

The only thing I was unsure of was how far away it could open away from my body, and if it would close if I moved away.

I experimented by swallowing the debris near me, moving further away until I could no longer see the object itself.

I found the further away I was from it, the harder it was to keep it open. It was much easier to use [Dimensional Box] when the object was less than a meter away from me, and it only got more difficult the further away from it I got, even failing to open as soon as it was more than 5 metres away.

Anything more than that and it failed to open at all. This measurement, I noticed, roughly correlated to the range of my [Heat Sense].

When I tried to release an object, it was much easier. I just had to recall its shape from my memory but if I was unable to - a whole barrage of debris would spill out, since that was the only thing it contained right now.

At the moment there were no wasps around the Hive Core, but I had to be careful not to make too much noise, so doing this wasn't exactly a good idea.

But when I started to hear noises coming from one of the tunnels, I stopped all my tests and travelled down the length of the tunnel to investigate.

However what unfolded before my eyes was more than a little surprising. Outside the tunnel was a chaotic scene involving a number of hunter wasps and a group of hosts they were pursuing.

Turns out far more survived of my rebel army than I initially thought. The wasps had finally cornered them into one chamber and were moving in for the kill.

The stronger creatures who could break through did so in a frantic stampede, leaving behind the few weaker ones that were too slow. Among them was also my former cellmate, the lizard.

With most of the creatures gone and more wasps arriving to assist, it was besieged from every angle. Three hunting wasps specifically targeted the lizard and it would try to resist but with their aerial advantage, his efforts amounted to nothing.

It was almost like bullying and it was painful to watch.

Fortunately, it was smart enough to escape into one of the host chambers with two of the wasps in pursuit. Once the last wasp flew near the tunnel, I leapt onto it and quickly tightened around it, I didn't bother using [Mind Chain] but I dug in with my [Stinger] instead, killing it instantly.

〚You have killed LV9 Iuvenium Hesperia〛

〚You have earned 40 XP〛

Although the wasps were strong, after fighting the scary wasp numerous times, these were not worth mentioning at all.

After throwing the wasp body into the [Dimensional Box], I stared down into the host chamber where the lizard was trying to survive the two wasps. It seemed to be holding itself okay and I considered leaving it to look for more prey.

However, it noticed me almost immediately and its eyes stared in my direction, almost like it was pleading for help.

This, of course, led the wasps to notice me as well. I cursed it in my head and with no other choice, leapt into the cell to attack them before they could get out and make things more difficult for me.

The lizard was too battered and useless, but with four creatures, the space became tighter and it made it so much easier for me to slither around and pick off the wasps one by one.

〚You have killed LV8 Iuvenium Hesperia〛

〚You have killed LV7 Iuvenium Hesperia〛

〚You have earned 74 XP〛

With the wasps dead and their bodies collected, I climbed out of the cell. And the lizard, who was happy to see me for some reason, began to follow.

Outside the chamber, the wasps that were pursuing the hosts were gone and more wasps had replaced them, except these seemed to be fighting amongst themselves.

They seem to be isolating some and killing off others. Unrest had begun and the wasps kept attacking other wasps. Many host chambers had been raided and the unconscious hosts inside were killed for the sole reason that they contained additional eggs.

It seemed the entire hive was in the midst of dealing with the aftermath of the earlier chaos.

Unfortunately for me, the wasps around were all stuck together in groups and the only ones I could pick off were the wounded wasps who supported the hidden queen and they were only a few.

In this chaos, there was no way I could improve my skills without becoming a target myself, so I returned to the quiet of the scary wasp's lair to wait for our rematch.

I realized the lizard was still following me and tried to scare it away but no matter how many times I tried to get rid of it, it continued to follow.

I could only sigh and let it do as it wished.

As it was licking its wounds I took the chance to appraise it and was pleasantly surprised.

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LV8 Ivenium Stilio

Specie: Ailith Drake

HP: 51/78 Defence: 72

MP: 40/55 Intellect: 29

SP: 45/80 Magic: 42

Attack: 86 Agility: 79

Skills:

[Claw: LV7] [Scent: LV8]

[Bite: LV6] [Poison Slime: LV7]