Why the fuck am I doing this?! I should be packing up my things and running to the unfinished statement in the mountains, caving in the passage behind me.

Still, listening to this creature might provide me with some useful information.

Let’s act cool and see where this will bring me.

The queen ant and I were facing each other, as our servants brought us a table between the two of us.

Moving the chair a little, I positioned it so that I could talk with her at the same height.

“I am not very versed in the art of negotiation, mind if we don’t hit around the bush?”

“No. Never been a speaker. I would prefer this.”

As I could tell, she was uncomfortable, as she was crossing her arms.

“Then please tell me in detail about the demons which are coming out from the ground.”

The woman on top of the monster’s head scratched its cheek.

“They are climbing. Already destroyed several deep colonies. The abyss is in chaos. Sleeping monsters are awakening. Danger is coming.”

“…Where is this abyss you keep mentioning?”

“Layer. Earth has several layers. Surface, humans, elves, dwarfs. Underworld, ants, dungeons, kayeri. Abyss, demons, and old monsters. Dangerous. Too dangerous.”

Does she mean that the earth has two underground biomes? I need to gather more intel about this.

“Why would these demons and old monsters be moving now? What changed?”

She looked panicked as her mandibles clicked together.

“Change is happening. The ground is crying blood. The sky is turning red with anger. Soltis of the end is coming.”

“Soltis of the end?”

The ants around us shattered, becoming agitated.

“Legend. Every thousand-year it happens. Monsters will appear, then, to fight with each other. Blood will rain.”

Delightful. This is exactly the fuck I needed! I defiantly need to move right -Wait, this is an opportunity!

“…I am…We are building a hidden bunker, deep in the mountains. Off the grid, hidden from anyone. If you wish, you may join us if you accept our conditions naturally.”

“…What are the conditions?”

“Basic things of course. We will work hand in hand, building our respective living areas and sheared sections. We will share resources and information. If you hunt for us for example, we can turn them into Wields, deformed animals that you saw before. In exchange, we can forge your armor and make buildings.”

“Ants don’t need armor. Nor building.”

“You said yourself, the world is changing. Maybe it is time for you to do that.”

“…We are able to build. We are able to collect. Why would we join you there? Why would we move?”

“Well, there are multiple reasons. The first one is that there is an entire monster kingdom over our heads, itching to kill anything which they can get their heads on.”

I wasn’t lying, I could easily imagine the king and family ripping these creatures easily for kicks.

“Then there is the strength in numbers you said. Being separated may still work, but it would be less efficient. Lastly, even if we cannot present you with physical gains, we still can provide you with mental help, like coordination or architectural designs. Personally, I do not see any reason you would refuse it.”

I waited, seeing the reaction of these monsters.

From what the ants told me and the things happening on the surface, I was sure of one thing: I couldn’t after the thing I just did. These ‘old monsters’ waking up from their nap’s just another reason for me to run away

A super-strong protagonist would certainly save everyone with a snap of its finger, probably taking that king in as one of its harem members, but that person wasn’t me.

I wasn’t brave, my most noticeable feature was that I was a coward who would run away from any danger, and I was aware of that fact.

Take the city for example.

I turned it into a hot pot of my mold, and when things got too troublesome to work with, I bailed to join this kingdom.

Same logic, different situation.

So, if they accept, I gained useful allies. And if they refuse… I was ready to flood this place with my spores.

My run-in with the red hulk taught me that this world was a bitch and to survive it, one needed to do things that could be considered immoral.

But I didn’t care. Until I stay alive, I will do anything.

The ant queen looked at me for a while then, she nodded.

“We accept.”

As she said that, her body started to change.

The giant insect part of her body, slowly shrunk as it was absorbed into the human portion of her body.

Ince the transformation was finished, she looked like a normal human, with some white chitin on her legs.

Perplexed, I made the chair descend, to be the same height as her.

“Why did you do that?”

“We will move, no? Easier to go in this form.”

“…I know what I said, but I didn’t mean like we are going immediately. The settlement isn’t finished yet and it won’t be done for a long while.”

“Can send workers there. Make the work faster.”

“…All right. The mold shouldn’t have spread there yet so it should be safe. Igor, are you here?”

“Always, Father.”

The small humanoid came to me and bowed.

“Design somebody to lead the ants to the settlement. Make sure that the one sent can talk. Also, I have sent you several other orders by telepathy, prepare for them and tell me when you are ready. You may use THAT if you believe it’s necessary.”

“As you wish. May Big Brother come?”

Remembering about the thing I made from hundreds of dungeon goblins a few weeks ago as an experiment, I got shivers running through my spines.

“He is still too unstable for this. I promise that he will have his time to play but not now.”

“My queen, after our team arrive you and I-Ugh

In the middle of the sentence, I felt like a thunderstorm hit me.

While trying to hide it, letters formed in my mind, these were crimson red and menacing.

[Slave Mark activated.]

[Restrictions been placed upon the marked soul.]

[Marked one must obey the following set of rules:

- Marked soul may not leave the city without the permission of its master]

- Marked soul must appear when summoned by its master

- Marked soul may not kill any member of the royal family.

]

[Not following the rules and the mark placed upon the soul will detonate, killing the mark.]

[ Mark been set that once winning the tournament or reaching a high enough place, the mark will automatically disappear.]

Tha-That bitch! The slave mark is still stuck to me?! I ripped off my own bloody arm for no damn reason!?!

The ant queen seemed to react to my frustration, she started to fidget.

“Are you in pain? Does this form make you uncomfortable?”

No, no I am fine…. Rather, queen Mirmy, have you ever drunk alcohol before? In litters I mean.”

*****

Patrick POV:

Girls are scary.

I couldn’t exactly tell what happened last night. I remember being dragged by that girl into a tavern, and then… Oh God, forgive me.

Fighting the pain I felt in my head, I hissed myself off the floor of the tavern.

Around me, the place was a mess.

The floor was littered with empty bottles and unconscious people.

“…My cranium hurts.”

When I was finally standing, I lost my balance for a second, making me slightly fall over.

“Damn it!”

To catch myself, I grabbed onto the first thing I could.

Bounce.

“Hmm?”

On the counter, somebody was laying on its back sleeping a moment ago,

It was that girl, Margaret, and I was holding her breast.

We looked at each other for a while, then I slowly let her go.

“…Not a word about this, or I will break your face.”

“My mouth is zipped.”

She sat up and stretched her limbs.

“How long have we been out?!”

“Don’t know, but my head hurts.”

“Yeah, lets get some wa-“

„AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaah”

Outside we heard the rumbling sound of people screaming, not helping with our hangover.

“What’s happening?”

Margaret and I ran out of the bar.

There in the middle of the street, a woman was crying, her cloth dirtied by mud.

Some of the people passing by approached her but quickly turned away for some reason.

“What’s with her?”

“Don’t know.”

Carefully we approached the woman.

As we got closer, I saw her skin was strange, black veins had started to spread all around her face and her left arm was entirely green and deformed.

“Mold Plague.”

“What is that?”

Margaret put her hand on my shoulder, stopping me.

“It’s a sickness. It came here when the kayeri joined the city. It destroys your body, slowly turning you into a mindless monster, only able to kill and spread the disease.”

Kayeri…Isn’t that the name of those small people Phil is rolling over? How could they?

“Move aside ma’am. We will take care of her.”

Speaking of the devil, a group of small men, wearing bags over their head arrived,

Enraged Margaret turned to the one who just spoke and pointed at the woman.

“What’s the meaning of this?! You promised that your medicine will protect us from this.”

“It protects. She didn’t take medicine. She knew this. Her fault.”

“…What will happen now?”

To my question, the dwarf surrounded the woman.

“She is too far gone. She will be taken down to us.”

“Nooo!”

The infected woman screamed as she was taken away, her last words ringing down the street.

“I SWEAR, I HAVE TAKEN THE MEDICINE! LET ME GO!”

*****

“How many is that?”

“Father, we have gathered around twenty intelligent beings and around a hundred monsters not counting the continuous supply of dungeon monsters. We will reach your expectations in around a week or two, long before the start of the tournament.”

“Perfect. And the priority targets?”

“They have been secured and are currently imprisoned.”

“Perfect, keep up the work.”

“As you wish.”

After the messenger left, I drank some more from my drink, while I arranged the newly drawn schematics for my prosthetics.

Things are going as planned.

First, I infected unsuspected people with a concentrated amount of mold. This high concentration can bypass the resistance the body gains from the medicine, kickstarting the spread again.

I made sure to target people who wouldn’t be missed, like prostitutes as drug dealers, flying under the radar of the king.

I knew that this was heartless but, I was practically at war with these fuckers and I needed ammunition.

It was a true pain for me to condense the spores, turning them into swallowable marbles, but in the end, I succeed

Once infected, the kayeri will bring them down here, so that I could turn them into weapons.

Meanwhile, using copies of prayers, I had a group seal of several other entrances to my home from the outside world.

Don’t want an army to just march in here.

“Aaaaahhhh, Alcohol good.”

The ant queen was already on the floor, hanging on a bottle of sweet wine. It was crazy how human she looked or acted despite being an insect.

As I expected, ants love sweet, combine it with alcohol and they are out.

“I wonder what her insides loo- What the hell am I saying?! I need to stop drinking this whiskey!”

Truth to be told, this stuff wasn't whiskey. It was closer to ethyl alcohol, with added taste, but I was calling it that.

This stuff was made by monsters for monsters, capable of sending a dwarf under the table with just a sip.

“…Time to go to work.”

I touched the chair and made it move.

Currently, I was in the research center, the only place which wasn’t infested with the mold.

It was a splendid job, my heart ached for it to be destroyed when we move out.

Walking through the corridors, I pushed open one of the doors.

The inside was modest, there was only a cage, which housed a pack of humanoids turned wields and a wooden table standing before the metal construct.

On the table, several green cores of gems were glowing faintly.

As I approached the cage, I made the arms grab the cores formerly belonging to some weak kayeri and gave them to me.

“Let us begin.”

First, I pressed them together, transforming them into a mass of green flesh and bones, then as their cores fused, I added the extra cores, strengthening the mix.

As the different manas became one, I added several things into the mix, like armor parts, leather, and started to shape the whole mass as if it was silly patty.

As I worked, I started to sing to myself to pass the time.

“

…

Von ihr, die Augen (From her, the eyes)

Von ihr, das Haar (From her, the hair)

Von ihr, die Beine (From her, the legs)

Und mir ist klar (and I realize)

Soviel Schönheit weit verteilt (such beauty is spread far)

Doch bald von mir vereint (but soon I put it all together)

Funken sprühn, die Schweißnaht glüht (sparks fly, the weld glows)

Ich bau mir einen Prototyp (I'll build myself a prototype)

(Eisbrecher – Prototyp)

…

As the rough shape of the object was done, I took off the extra mass and started to shape it into a right hand.

It was an ugly thing, disproportionate bones, held together by straps of muscles and greenish skin, but beggars can’t be choosers.

“ Von ihr, die Hände (From her, the hands).”

With one of the tentacles, I grabbed the and pressed it on the still-open wound.

“I hope this will work.”

With my other hand, I opened a bottle of healing potion and poured it onto the wound.

There was a horrible burning sensation as the two parts connected. Strings of muscles fused and after an excruciating pain, I managed to move it.

Imagine the feeling of putting a thick glove on your bones, then on your flesh, and on your skin, before finnally covering the entire thing with itching powder.

That is what the transplantation felt like.

But it moved.

“In your face you damned whore! I will make sure to strangle you with this hand!”

[Several gods are amazed by your creation]

[Several gods are horrified by your creation]

[Several gods are horrified by you]

“If you don’t like it, then don’t look. This isn’t a TV program.”

When I was trying something, I froze.

“It doesn’t work.”

My wrist, I couldn’t move it.

“Did I mess up the skeletal structure? Maybe the muscles are connected incorrectly. Damn it, now I have to cut it off and make a new one. Sigh… I will do it after I am done with this.”

I continued to work, still using the chair’s tentacles, to create something unique.

A living armor, made from metal and flesh.

It was black and dominating, with the extra spirit stones becoming decorations on its shoulders and it had some sort of green tail at the top of its helmet.

I opened the cage and mentally nudged it to move.

The thing slowly stepped out, getting acquainted with its new body.

[New creature been created:[Kayeri Armor Mimic]]

[God of Forging is amazed by your creativity and wishes to send his blessing on it]

[God of Darkness is amazed by your creation and wishes to send his blessing on it]

[Goddess of Abominations is delighted by your creativity and wishes to send her blessing on it]

[Do you accept?]

“Sure, it couldn’t hurt.”

[Blessings has been accepted]

[Creation received name:[Plague Father’s Armor]]

[Special effects received: [Auto repair] [Dark Wings] [Organic Evolution] ]

[The Armor’s rank has been increased to [Unique]]

“Not bad, not bad at all.”

Not having any more wilds at hand, I stored the armor in my body and went to the cells where the prisoners were kept.

“You!”

“Let us out!”

Each person here was a craftsman coming from different places and specialties.

“Shut up.”

I grabbed the nearest one with one of my tentacles and raised him over my head.

“You will do what I am tell you to do.”

I threw the craftsman on the floor before I made another tentacle grab the stack of papers in my coat and hand them to another one.

“This is what you are making. You have three weeks for it.”

“Why would we do something like that?”

It was the craftsman who I just slammed down.

Seriously, what wrong with these people?! Can’t they tell their lives are in danger! Do they want to die?! Wait, what if I change my approach? Maybe if I act like that king of theirs, they might obey me.

Okay, me, try to think like a bastard retard and bend these guys!

“Let me rephrase it then. Make these and I will NOT turn your families into monsters. Scratch that actually. Have you guys ever heard of a turducken?”

When I saw nobody was answering I kept on speaking.

“ Basically, it’s a delicious dish, consisting of a deboned chicken shaved into a deboned duck which is further stuffed into a turkey. Now, imagine this, but your family, friends, colleagues, acoustics, and pets. I will keep them alive while they are inside each other as I slowly cook them before serving them to you. I promise you will love the taste.”

The craftsman looked with utter disgust and rage at me.

Naturally, I wouldn’t do that, I wasn’t a monster. I would kill them first, then cook them.

“So, if no one wants to immediately turn vegetarian, grab that bloody hammer and start working!”

*

*

*

]

Name: Phil Smith 'Plague Father'

Race: [Molded High Elf] Lv: 22/100 (52/100)

Main Class: [Life Father]

Sub Class: [Rouge]

HP(Health Points): 284/284

SP(Stamina Points): 70

MP(Magic Points): 204/204

TMN (Tamed Monster Numbers): [0]

Blessings: [Blessing of Nergal] [Blessing of Airmed]

Active Skills: [Basic Steady Hand] [[Hive control] [Hive Absorption] [Hive Repulsion] [Mold Field] [Basic Spirit Voice] [Aether Vision] [Steam Engineering] [Dagger Arts][Presence Concealment] [Lock Picking]

Passive Skills: [Body Knowledge] [ Plant Knowledge] [Medicine Knowledge] [Stamina Enhancement] [ Movement Enhancement] [ Reflex Enhancement.] [Basic Sponge Mind] [Perfect Stomach] [Hive Mind] [Music Instrument Knowledge[Healing Hands][Medical Senses] [Medical Mind] [Surgical Precision]

Affinities: [Basic Farming Affinity] [Basic War Affinity] [Basic Pestilence Affinity][ Basic Fire Affinity.] [Basic Life Affinity] [Basic Death Affinity]

Titles: [The One Who Saw a Thousand Worlds] [Knowledge Driven] [Chosen by Flies] [Medicine Pioneer] [Hive Master] [Giver of Life]

]