As the simmering summer persisted, the respite brought by the early rains died down and the heat stabilized. Though, it showed no signs of reaching its previous levels which the Malfae had dubbed as vomiting hot, which was the highest temperature that it had had the misfortune to witness. It easily surpassed the current temperature, affectionately dubbed by the creature painfully hot, by a few levels.

Within this timeframe, the [Hive Monarch] had continued to hunt the newfound spider species but the returns had diminished with each successive hunt. Where the initial spider had given 5 Levels to the Malfae, the following spiders had given it 3 and 1 respectively. The ones after had combined to give it merely a single Level.

As a result, the [Survivor] had reached Level 12. However, it had stopped its hunt soon after as it had collected more than enough venom in its cave while the hunt had become increasingly difficult with the absence of rain.

Meanwhile, the [Reincarnated] had also laid a new batch of eggs about a week ago and promptly forgotten about them. Given the time it had taken for the eggs to hatch last time, the creature didn't see any point in caring about the eggs for the next 3 weeks.

With the eggs laid and venom available, its routine had returned to hunting for food, poisoning itself and working on [Mana Manipulation]. Not that the creature had achieved any success with it, resulting in the [Survivor] shifting its focus to gaining Levels. The recent successful hunts had bolstered its confidence and also its courage while teaching it the importance of using the environment against its prey.

It was hence little surprise that the Malfae chose to hunt near the lake. Its cowardly mind equated its success to water, bringing to the lake. However, her fractured memories granted it enough experience that it didn't try to hunt using the lake.

Instead, the Malfae chose to make a puddle near the lake to hunt. Creating the puddle had not been an easy thing but digging was not something that the creature wasn’t used to. At least, this time it had actual hands to use rather than its mouth. It was quite happy about that.

The [Survivor] had considered creating a small canal to connect the puddle with the lake but as it had eyed the depression, which had a depth of about a mortal’s finger, it had shaken its head and dismissed the idea. The structure of the future puddle had not been stable enough for such an endeavour.

Thus, the [Reincarnated] had ended up using a curved leaf to fill its puddle with water. However, as the water from the first few runs had been absorbed by the earth rather than filling the supposed puddle, the task hadn't been easy.

Once it had been completed though, it had released its poison into the water without expecting much from it given the level of dilution. With the puddle set up, the [Survivor] had begun using it to hunt the other creatures. However, it had only been able to hunt critters and Tier 1 immortals. None of the Tier 2 monsters had fallen in its trap.

Sick and tired of the wait, the [Hive Monarch] had considered luring some of the strong monsters to the puddle but it had immediately dismissed that thought. Even if it were cowardice, the Malfae could live with it as long as it was alive.

0.0

As the cowardly Malfae waited for the prey to come to it, time continued to pass and the temperature which had stabilised at the Level of Painfully hot decreased to Just plain hot before it decreased further to Hot and finally it came to rest on Uncomfortably warm over the course of the next 3 weeks.

During this time, the creature had waited for its prey but nothing had come out of its patience. The wait tempered its courage but failed to overcome its cowardice which the [Survivor] confused with caution. As a result, the [Reincarnated] still didn't plan on luring the prey to the pond.

Meanwhile, the gestation period of the eggs ended but out of the 21 eggs laid by the Malfae, only 5 produced caterpillar drones while the rest failed to hatch and rotted. In such a situation, if the Malfae had been a mortal, it would have investigated the reason for such a pitiful hatch-rate but as the creature was an immortal, it cared only for natural selection. After all, only the fittest survived in the Wild.

However, it did cause the [Hive Monarch]'s mood to worsen. Though the reason for it was rather different than what a mortal would expect. ‘I had difficulty taking care of a single of them, how will I take care of 5?’ The Malfae was worried about the extra drones and not the eggs that it had lost.

Before the newly hatched caterpillars could eat their eggshells to gain their first Levels, the [Reincarnated] ordered them away with a thought. ‘There is no harm in trying.’ Its pupil-less shined as they fell on the eggshells before it devoured an entire Shell.

‘Tch. It seems the no cheating rule really applies.’ It had eaten the shells to receive the drones' first Level ups in their stead. The malicious creature had tried to steal its own progeny's birthright. However, it had failed to receive the caterpillars' Gift.

In its greed, it had not only failed in its experiment but also taken away the Level from the original recipient. It had been a loss all around. ‘What a waste.’ The creature eyed the 5 caterpillars as another thought popped up in its mind and it ordered. ‘Use [Moulting].’

Given that the caterpillars were drones of its old self, it suspected them to possess similar -if not the same- Skills. However, as it was uncertain, the Malfae wasn't sure if its order would work. Sure enough, all the caterpillars stilled at its order before their skin dried as the Skill came into effect.

As it eyed the drones, another idea popped up into its head and its eyes shined. ‘Well, I can just cut down their numbers, can’t I?’ This solved its initial problem of too many drones. However, it didn’t immediately act on the idea and reserved it for later.

With the caterpillars out of the commission for the next 6 hours, the Malfae went through its routine as it poisoned itself from the poison within the crevice before flying to its trap to wait. It got its food there but attracted not something that could give it Levels.

Thus, it was no surprise that it returned with a mood that was more than a bit irritated. Entering the crevice, the [Hive Monarch] found its drones wiggling within their shed skins, trying to break out. ‘Whom should I choose?’ The Malfae tilted its head.

‘Eh? This one is breaking out already?' It watched the first of the caterpillars break out of its exuviates while the rest still struggled within theirs. 'Well, I guess we have our survivor.’ The [Reincarnated] focused on the hunger that it felt from the caterpillar before it ordered. ‘Kill the rest.’

The targetted drone crawled over to its closest sibling and bit into the shed skin to create an opening, causing the one on the inside to adorably poke its head out. Its bid dark eyes hopeful. However, before it could do anything, the one on the outside bit the face of the other without a single thought of pity or remorse.

The caterpillar that had just broken out screamed and thrashed but it was being bitten endlessly and not long after, its struggled ceased as its short life ended. However, egoless as the targetted drone was, could it really be considered alive?

Meanwhile, the [Survivor] sensed the caterpillar's Level up the moment the other one died. Unhesitant, the creature of malice ordered the caterpillar to move onto the next and the egoless did. It was, after all, nothing more than a drone.

The [Survivir] watched as its caterpillar moved from one shed skin to next, ending the life of its brethren as it levelled up again and again. However, the Malfae face showed not a single trace of a smile. Instead, its face was twisted as if it had bitten on a particularly sour lemon. ‘It has such a good life.’ After all, it was a creature of venom and malice.

With the death of the 4 caterpillars, the lone survivor levelled up to Level 5 and the [Reincarnated] eyed it carefully. The drone looked the same, though the hunger that always seemed to cloud its mind seemed to have become stronger. ‘Fine. Fine.’ The creature dismissed the caterpillar. ‘Eat the corpses and their eggshells. I don’t want to deal with that mess.’

Rather than the fresh flesh of its brethren, the blue caterpillar moved towards the eggshells that the Malfae had previously forbidden the drones from eating. ‘Eh?’ The Malfae eyed the caterpillar’s choice but did not stop it from consuming the eggshells.

 

The caterpillar levelled up once it finished eating the eggshell, which was not a surprise. After all, the Level up following the consumption of eggshell was a ‘Gift’. What was, however, a surprise was that the done levelled up again after eating the second eggshell. And the third eggshell. And the fourth eggshell.

The [Hive Monarch]'s mouth had fallen open as it had watched the glutton eat eggshells after eggshells to Level up. The very same eggshell that it had eaten and received nothing. ‘What! What is this nonsense?!’ The [Reincarnated] glared at the caterpillar as if it was the drone's fault that the Malfae did not get any Level from eating the eggshell.

As the [Survivor] glared, the drone began devouring the first corpse and Levelled up. ‘What is this nonsense?!’ The Malfae was tempted to slap the caterpillar silly but it breathed deeply to refrain. ‘It’s ok. It’s ok. This is likely due to its Title [Hungry]. It likely got Levels from eggshells because of that Title too. We don’t begrudge it for that Title. I don’t want that Title. I certainly don’t.’

Despite the self-consolation, its eyes constantly twitched as it watched the caterpillar finish its first corpse to gain two more levels to reach Level 12. The [Reincarnated] tried to control itself but with each passing moment, its eyes twitched faster.

In the end, it failed to control itself and slapped the back of the caterpillar’s head which resulted in a loud smack resounding across the tiny crevice. The malice induced hit from the Malfae, which was as tall as a mortal's finger, caused the tiny caterpillar -which wasn't even one-third of a mortal's finger- to slam into the floor and twitch weakly.

However, the Malfae cared not for it as it panted in anger. It glowered at the little thing before picking it up and throwing it at the rest of the caterpillar corpses. ‘Eat! Eat some more! Be useful at least and clean this up!’

The badly injured caterpillar tilted its head before it moved its body with great difficulty. This slap of the Malfae had been a hit from a Tier 2 creature to a Tier 0 creature. The caterpillar had survived it by the skin of its teeth.

If the drone hadn't Levelled up beforehand and increased its HP, the egoless would not have survived that slap. But if the caterpillar hadn't levelled up by 10 Levels within the span of a few minutes, the Malfae wouldn’t have hit it in the first place. So, who was to blame really? Someone, somewhere, would have laughed at this absurdity.

Or that might not have been the case at all. After all, this slap had been an outburst of malice that the Malfae were defined by. This outburst was quite similar to the situations when the creature had gone on a rampage in the spider hunting territory and just flattened spiders for the sake of pure release.

The Malfae glared as the caterpillar slowly began eating again. The [Survivor] eyed the bug for a moment before the Malfae ignored it to console itself. If it had to choose between the Title [Hungry] and the slow Level up speed, the creature would always choose the slow Level ups. It hated the Title [Hungry] that much.

This all being said, the [Reincarnated]'s conclusion about caterpillar's rapid Level ups from shells wasn’t correct. The caterpillar had gained Levels from eating the eggshells, while the [Hive Monarch] hadn't because those eggshells had been meant to Level up Tier 0 creatures and not Tier 2. If the Malfae ate the ‘Gift’ meant for a Tier 2 creature, it would be able to Level up too.

Not that the creature knew any of that. It balefully eyed the caterpillar from the corner of its eyes and created another set of eggs for the caterpillar to eat before it flew off to bring in leaves for the creatures to eat later.

0.0

The next morning greeted the Malfae with a temperature that had shifted from Uncomfortably warm to Just warm. There was even a nice breeze passing through as the [Survivor] shifted its attention to the sleeping caterpillar to grimaced before it breathed deeply.

After consuming the caterpillar corpses and the most recent eggs laid by the Malfae, the drone had levelled up to Level 25. The [Reincarnated]'s irritation was not just because of the drone's fast level-ups. But it also compounded by the contrast between the drone's fast levelling and its current slow one that wasn't going anywhere due to its cowardice.

The [Hive Monarch] sighed before it laid another batch of eggs and went out to collect more leaves for the caterpillar. Once it returned, it poisoned itself with the remaining spider venom.

‘…the supply is running low. I will have to hunt them again.’ With that thought, the Malfae left the crevice and went back to its puddle to wait for its prey. Meanwhile, it used the waste of time to think. Usually, it used this time to ponder upon [Mana Manipulation] as this was Skill that the creature needed the most.

However, this time it chose to ponder upon the Skill [Hive Mind]. ‘It should be using mana to transmit thoughts and feelings. What else is there except that? If that is the case, then should I try to use [Mana Manipulation] while using the Skill? Though, can I even use 2 Skills at once?’ The creature didn’t know the answer to this question and instead of trying it right then under the open sky, it decided to wait and try it out within the safety of its crevice.

Excited as it was at the thought, the creature decided to return early and implement the thought rather than linger restlessly within the forest.

Entering the crevice, the [Hive Monarch] noticed the absence of eggs that had been laid in the morning. Its eyes moved the pile of leaves where it found the blue caterpillar demolishing the last of them. Meanwhile, its Level had risen to Level 40. ‘Such. Tch. Such a good life.’

The [Reincarnated] flew out to bring back more leaves for the caterpillar to eat during the day while it slept. After all, it knew what the hunger inflicted by [Hungry] felt like. The Malfae then laid the next batch of eggs for the caterpillar to eat before settling down in a corner to close its eyes as it focused on the hunger of the caterpillar.

It was just as familiar as before, though it was kept away from the Malfae, allowing the [Reincarnated] to observe it without being overwhelmed in the extremely familiar feeling.

The [Hive Monarch] tried to activate [Hive Mind] but it couldn’t perceive any change. The hunger of the caterpillar remained as it was and the separation too remained the same. It frowned for a moment before it activated [Mana Manipulation].

The world dissolved away as the [Survivor] found itself back within the mana system inside its body. The system, much akin to a circulatory system, passed through the entire body, its limbs, its extremities and its wings in the form of mana vessels and veins. The mana within these vessels didn't flow, instead, it appeared and disappeared randomly from the entire system. The mana seemed to be in the constant state of flux rather than a smooth flow.

The creature studied the mana flux carefully.

It was chaos. To study something was different from finding if there was something different from its previous state. The creature had to do the latter but it had little to compare. ‘This is going to be difficult.’ The only thing that it could use was its own memory of the mana system which was shoddy at best.

0.0

The Malfae continued to try and figure out the changes within the mana system but it had little success. The main reason for its failure was that the creature was analysing the mana system without anything concrete to compare with. The other reason was its own poor skill with mana and its low Level in [Mana Manipulation].

Still, the [Survivor] didn't give up.

It continued its mediation while halting its hunt near the lake. It only went out for the most essentials which were to feed itself and the caterpillar. And as it remained focused, time passed. Day by day, the [Hive Monarch] went through the mana system. Meanwhile, as the days progressed, the caterpillar drone continued to consume eggs and leaves to continue levelling up.

Thus, by the time the creature did manage to find a hint of the change within its mana system, the caterpillar had already crossed Level 95. And this had taken the caterpillar just a week. Meanwhile, only one of the Malfae’s various Skills has levelled up; it was [Night Vision] which had reached Level 8.

The Malfae stared at the mana that kept on moving randomly and narrowed its metaphorical eyes. It concentrated on the mana system and found two places where the mana seemed to move in such a way that it tangled with itself forming knots.

There were only 2 knots in total but they were nowhere near to each other. Not only were they in different places, but the knots were also varying in their entanglement too. The weaker of the knots was situated within the veins that neared the creature’s feet while the stronger knot was the situation within the middle of the creature’s forehead, in between its eyes.

The Malfae’s eyes narrowed as it observed the know in its forehead. ‘This…why does it feel so familiar?’ The creature’s eyes widened. ‘Could it really be that…?’

-X-

Within a desolate desert, inside a dilapidated shop, on a simple chair, a youth seemingly slept.

-X-