Chapter 563: A Shared Future

The termites were more than happy to join their faction, but now their interest had been piqued as well. What could the plans of this rather unique faction of refugees possibly be?

"Before we reveal our plans, I think introductions are in order. I have a rough idea about the first and the elventh daughter, but it would be nice to hear more about what each of you is capable of," Thalion said, taking another sip of his drink. He was genuinely curious how strong they were and what kinds of insects they represented. The termite queen was known for breeding with other races.

For a moment, the termites looked at one another as if they weren't sure whether to answer, but then the third daughter shrugged, shoved a piece of dried meat into her mouth, and began.

"I possess many body parts of a spider. My poison will kill most creatures with a single drop. My mother created me as an answer to the uprising of spiders in close proximity to our hive. I can't produce silk myself, though my many sharp arms and legs make me look very similar."

"Oh yes!" Maike exclaimed loudly, punching the air before kissing a surprised Kaldrek on the forehead. "We're going to talk about a special mission after this meeting."

The third daughter stared at her in confusion for a few seconds before eventually nodding. A moment later, the next daughter began her explanation.

"I am called the fifth daughter of the hive. I can shift into a mutated dragonfly. Everything about me revolves around speed. I also possess poison, though it isn't nearly as potent as my sister's. Also, I like the drinks. Culture has really been something our hive was lacking."

"Hoho. What pleasant guests," Kaldrek chuckled. "I can tell you everything about the different beverages we have here. If anyone's an expert, it's me."

Kaldrek's chest almost swelled with pride as he spoke. The alcohol was definitely beginning to take effect.

"Now, onto the next one. What is your specialty?" he asked the daughter beside her, who hadn't spoken yet.

"I am called the eighth daughter." Her voice was so high-pitched that it could have belonged to a young girl. "My fighting form is that of a flesh-eating caterpillar. I am more of an ambush predator that strikes quickly, and the moment I manage to get hold of my target, it's going to die."

To Thalion, a mutated flesh-eating caterpillar sounded like something straight out of a horror story, but since it was on their side, he didn't mind all that much.

"My dear sister, the elventh daughter, and I are very similar. I am primarily focused on physical combat and possess multiple skills that allow me to absorb additional stats by consuming my prey, while my sister has additional acid and telekinetic abilities," the first daughter explained, deliberately keeping her description rather vague.

Thalion didn't mind. It was more than enough for him, and he had never intended to ask them to reveal all of their secrets in the first place.

"Good. Now, who here is confident they could fight a Chosen like Eric or Ethan?" Thalion asked, pleased with how the conversation was progressing.

"He looks as though he has progressed quite far while I was stuck defending the hive against the vampires, but I should be able to hold my ground. Depending on the circumstances, the eighth daughter should be able to kill him with relative ease. Just so we're clear, however, I am not going to leave our unborn sister to go off on some war campaign, and neither will any of my sisters."

"It's not about starting a war," Thalion said, though he was surprised that the eighth sister believed she could kill Eric. She simply didn't give him that sense of danger. "It's about the academy."

"Hmm, but before we continue, we have told you what we can do. Now it's your turn. We already know that you're a shapeshifter, Thalion, but not what your current forms are. We also don't know what your friends are capable of, and you mentioned an elven Chosen before. Who is she, and is she as strong as Eric and the others from the last broadcast?" The first daughter asked.

Her questions were reasonable, but Thalion saw no need to answer everything right now. They would have plenty of time to get to know his companions over the coming days. For now, it was more important to bring everyone up to speed on the Convergence and the academy.

"I mainly have four forms for fighting: my human form, a wyvern, a water serpent, and the Eclipsari. That should be enough for now. There are more important matters we need to discuss, and you can chat with the others later."

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Thalion exchanged glances with the termites, and once everyone nodded, he continued.

"Great. Now, about the academy and the Convergence. The System is divided into four quadrants that have been separated until now, but with the Convergence, the barriers between them will slowly disappear. The academy will play a major role in determining which quadrant gains an advantage. It is very likely that only the gods will truly benefit, but it could also have an impact on us mortals. Either way, I believe it will be hard to find greater treasures than those hidden within the academy, which means we need to get as many of our strongest fighters inside as possible.

"We also have some information about the third System Event, and you cannot enter it as a group. Teamwork will definitely backfire during this event, so only Ricarda and I will participate. But don't worry. The gods will find another System Event for you somewhere in integrated space," Thalion explained, hoping he had summarized the most important information.

"Why is this Ricarda joining the third System Event then? Is it because of her influence as a Chosen? Also, you might want to know that those two are planning on joining the third System Event as well," the flesh-eating caterpillar sister said in her piping voice, pointing at Jack and Josh.

"No, not because of her influence. In the third System Event, you're matched against people who achieved a similar placement in the previous two System Events. Ricarda had quite a poor placement in the second System Event, which should make her one of the strongest participants in the third." Thalion slowly turned toward Josh and Jack. "You two weren't actually planning on joining the third System Event together, were you? Please don't tell me that's true."

"Might have mentioned it... one or two times," Josh muttered, trying very hard not to make eye contact with anyone.

"I already thought we'd have to knock those two out before the third System Event starts," Kaldrek commented in disbelief.

Thalion could hardly believe anyone could come up with such a stupid idea. The explanation was probably going to be just as ridiculous.

"Um... excuse me, but besides the first daughter, none of us has ever entered a System Event," the eighth daughter said in her high-pitched voice.

Thalion and Kaldrek exchanged glances, but after a moment, Thalion shrugged.

"Then it would be a waste if none of you participated, but only one of you should go. Since none of you has attended a System Event before, there's a high chance you'll all end up in the same one, fighting each other."

"Then I will join," the eighth daughter announced confidently, and none of her sisters seemed inclined to challenge her. "You know quite a lot about the third System Event. What additional information can you give me?"

There, Thalion couldn't be of much help. He had a rough understanding of the second System Event, but the third could be anything. He gave the eighth daughter a brief rundown of how the second System Event had unfolded and explained the mentality of R-87, but that was all he had to offer.

"Will these gods also help us?" the first daughter asked much later in the conversation, after they had spent some time discussing how absurd the two System Events had been.

"Unlikely, but Solan and Nyssa will. The help they can provide is limited, especially when it comes to materials, but their advice alone is incredibly valuable," Josh said in high spirits. He and Jack had tried to have a secret drinking competition, but it hadn't remained a secret for long, and Maike had already whacked both of them over the head several times.

From that point onward, the conversation became much more lighthearted, even if the termites didn't seem to possess much of a sense of humor. Most of the times they laughed, it sounded more like a musician trying to hit the right note than someone genuinely enjoying themselves. They repeatedly tried to steer the conversation back toward more serious matters with questions about where they would live and which factions were nearby. The answers they received, however, weren't exactly what they had hoped for.

"Where are you going to live? In one of our houses, of course. It's way too dangerous out in the jungle beyond our base. On one side, there are the ants. Right now they're pretty calm and only eat Ricarda's plants whenever they head out on hunting trips. Poor little Chosen elf keeps losing so many of her friends whenever she looks the other way," Kaldrek began, thoroughly drunk, his tongue no longer doing what it was supposed to. Thankfully, an equally intoxicated Maike took over.

"On the other side, there are the spiders. Nasty insects with those black eyes, all those legs, and the hair. Don't even get me started on the hair. The stupid webs are everywhere, and they're always hunting our weak humans while they're gathering materials for the base. I don't know if you've ever seen a spider before, but they have those fangs."

Maike waved her hands wildly through the air, trying to demonstrate just how enormous the spiders were.

"I'm telling you, those spiders aren't normal. Maybe they were sent here by the devil. You know what the devil is, right?"

The termites had no idea what a devil was, and they all sat there completely unsure how they were supposed to respond. Instead, they simply drank a little more, though the alcohol only caused them to sway gently in their seats. Finally, after an especially long silence on a topic she seemed to enjoy immensely, the eighth daughter spoke up.

"I like spiders. They are very stupid and so delicious to eat. You just make tapping sounds on the ground like wounded prey, and whoosh—they jump out of their hiding spot, only to be ambushed by me. First, you bite into their abdomen and suck out all the liquid insides, which are so juicy and tender. After that comes the crunchy part, and at the end you simply pick up the few legs you missed. Just delicious. Depending on the poison, the taste varies widely too."

The eighth daughter became so absorbed in her explanation that she failed to notice how Kaldrek and Maike, in particular, were desperately fighting against their stomach.