I Became a Hive Mind in the Game

The name of the high-grade hunter captured using the cyborg Mountain Lord was Choi Seo-rin.

Feeling somewhat familiar, I searched my memories and checked the database, and it turned out she was none other than ‘Apprentice Hunter Choi Seo-rin’, one of the named NPCs from the 5th installment.

There was an early quest where you go hunting with her and deal with a named Flame Lobster, a grade 7 monster… this quest was infamous for her trolling.

The weapon she carried had an effect of absorbing psychic energy from the surroundings, interfering with psychic use, and when trying to support with ranged attacks, she would exquisitely cover the not-so-large Flame Lobster with her back.

Moreover, since she’s specialized in close combat and an emission-type psychic user, she’s not tough enough to use as a tank, so if left alone, she’d self-destruct while fighting and fail the quest.

And if you ask if she’s good at close-range damage… frankly speaking, she’s only slightly better than mercenary NPCs of the close-range damage dealer type, and those mercenary NPCs are so trashy that at best they’re used as meat shields when there’s no tank NPC.

And the cause of this absurd situation is precisely the game’s unique stupid AI.

In fact, most NPC companion quests are famous for being notoriously difficult due to this AI problem, but the important thing is that this quest is the only one among all NPC companion quests that’s mandatory for story progression.

Considering that various systems are unlocked and the maximum level increases only by progressing the story, this woman delivered in front of my main body is probably the culprit who raised the blood pressure of millions of people.

‘…What should I do with this.’

Of course, I’m also one of those millions whose blood pressure was raised.

The first thought that came to mind was to just kill her out of spite, but my trait Imperturbability (A) suppressed such impulses while helping me regain my reason.

Feeling a strange calmness as if cold water had been poured on my head, I was carefully considering how to deal with this woman—Choi Seo-rin—in front of me.

The first thing that came to mind was to just kill her, but of course, such an option is foolish.

A high-grade hunter completely subdued like this, unconscious and unable to maintain life without me, can be utilized as a force comparable to grade 1-2 monsters if appropriate measures are taken.

Yes. Right now, I was thinking of using this hunter by having her reborn as a monster to be used as a force in my legion.

As mentioned earlier, her combat power is strong enough to easily face or overwhelm grade 2 humanoid monsters, and her command ability, cultivated as the vice guild master of Seonggwang Guild and a high-grade hunter, is excellent.

The problem of her not following my words because she’s human can be solved through appropriate modifications like with the Mountain Lord, so I started her full-scale modification as it would be stranger not to use her.

‘…Whew, shall we start?’

First, I began creating ‘parts’ to replace Choi Seo-rin’s damaged areas from her severe injuries.

First, there’s an adamantium skeleton to replace the bones crushed by the recoil of being hit by the Mountain Lord’s sound wave shells.

Adamantium, named after the metal in mythology, is the physically toughest metal in the game, formed by monster cells permeating steel.

Although it has the slight disadvantage of being heavy, for a high-grade hunter like Choi Seo-rin, this much is nothing, and considering its characteristic hardness, there’s no need to worry about fractures.

Next, there are prosthetics using monster biological tissues to replace severed or destroyed body parts.

The left hand cut off by the Mountain Lord’s claws is replaced by a prosthetic hand with muscles and scales from Theseus—the Hive Dragon—and sharp retractable claws (psychic claws).

For the right eye with a large hole, a modified version of the petrifying evil eye, the eye of King Basilisk, a grade 4 monster that is a higher species of the grade 5 lizard monster named Basilisk after the mythical monster, is prepared.

Both ankles, amputated by compressed sound wave bullets, are prepared with prosthetic legs combining the legs of various monsters with high agility, rather than using anything particularly special.

In addition, various internal organs destroyed by the shock wave are all planned to be replaced with artificial organs that can be operated by bio-energy produced from a bio core that will replace the heart, and naturally, an A-rank bio core is planned to be implanted as the heart.

Finally, a control device is also being manufactured. This part, to be implanted along the spine to the back, is a top-grade implant using cells from my main body and mithril particles inhabited by Nano-Spirits generously, and its performance is certain.

It’s basic to raise reaction speed and assist in calculations needed to activate psychic abilities, and it can even accelerate thoughts to make 1 second feel like 10 seconds or amplify psychic energy.

However, even though I’ve worked hard to make various parts like this, attaching these to Choi Seo-rin now would be meaningless—rather, it would worsen her condition.

The reason is simple: the cells and bodies of monsters and humans are completely different in nature, though similar in structure, so just implanting them is essentially no different from attaching pigeon wings to a human body.

Organs and body parts implanted with such a haphazard method won’t function normally, and rather, the immune system will cause rejection reactions, only shortening lifespan.

Of course, I naturally have countermeasures for these problems.

That is, although it will take quite some time, to gradually manipulate each cell one by one to degrade the nature of the cells themselves from human to monster cells.

Except for the brain to maintain self-awareness, all other body parts are planned to be ultimately replaced with those of monsters, and the spine implant’s function had to be added to the brain to prevent immune rejection reactions of monster cells.

‘…Whew.’

And after the preparation for parts and cell replacement was complete, I brought Choi Seo-rin, who was hanging with various life-sustaining organs, and put her into a pod for cell replacement.

The estimated time until complete cell replacement is about 74 hours. With about 3 days to spare, I started preparing equipment for her who would soon wake up, while also maintaining the cyborg Mountain Lord.

※ ※ ※

The first part I would work on was none other than the armor she would wear.

The suit she originally wore became rags during the battle process, but still, some parts remain, and fortunately, the memory chip containing the structure and system remains intact.

So I actively referenced this and reflected it in her new armor, and not long after, I was able to complete her armor.

The appearance is quite similar to medieval fantasy armor, unlike the SF and fantasy-mixed suit she used to wear.

In a word, it’s an armor structure that emphasizes mobility by clinging tightly to reveal the body shape, but this is just the basic form.

Thanks to the material of the armor being black iron (黑鐵)—adamantium particles possessed by Nano-Spirits, as mentioned earlier, it’s easily possible to manipulate its form and structure as desired.

On the other hand, the helmet with ears contains various convenience functions.

It not only provides basic night vision or infrared vision, but also has a built-in small radar and psychic shield generation function. It even has a function to enhance the effect of the Petrifying Evil Eye (B) to be implanted in the right eye.

In addition, the cloak spread out on the back is not just for style, but an anti-psychic cloak that can be freely activated or deactivated, made using the skin of Hunter Raptors hunted in the Gangwon-do forest.

…It would be a lie if I said there wasn’t a personal desire to see a female knight wearing a cloak.

Anyway, now that the armor is complete, the next thing to create is offensive equipment.

Although weapons can be made by manipulating the nanomachines in the armor, these are only temporary weapons, so good weapons are essential to exert proper combat power.

‘I wonder if this can be used…’

The two greatswords she used in the past are irreparable because the core parts were shattered, but if so, it’s just a matter of making weapons to replace them.

Therefore, for her who will dedicate her life to work for me from now on, I generously used black iron (adamantium), and by utilizing high-grade genes, I was able to complete a monster in the form of a living weapon… rather than a weapon.

The appearance is exactly that of a demonic sword appearing in fantasy novels. The grip is divided into segments with red light leaking from the gaps between segments, and in the center of the spiky guard, a red glowing eyeball is placed.

There’s a red glowing jewel embedded at the end of the grip, and the blade shows some monster carapace and flesh exposed except for the blade part made of energy.

Of course, this is just the basic form. In reality, this sword—Anitheus—can change its shape in various ways, and if necessary, can even fight independently.

Thus, what was completed is Anitheus, the third high-grade monster I created.

Anitheus (Hive Weapon)
Grade :: 3
Level :: 89
Abilities
Strength :: 1500
Agility :: 1500
Vitality :: 1500
Intelligence :: 2500
Resistance :: 10000
Energy :: 5000
Leadership :: 0
Traits
Monster Gene (B), Predator (B), Hive Mind (B), Subjugation (EX), Bio Core (B), Versatile Psychic User (B), Elemental Resistance (B), Psychic Resistance (B), Adamantium Skin (B), Living Weapon (B), Super Regeneration (B), Close Combat Proficiency (B)
Skills
Shape Change (B), Psychic Fire (B), Psychic Lightning (B), Psychic Frost (B), Psychic Shield (B), Telekinesis (B), Psychic Construct (B), Weapon Techniques (B), Psychic Enhancement (B), Psychic Healing (B), Psychic Explosion (B), Life Absorption (B), Psychic Stealth (C)
Biological Weapons
Psychic Sword (A)

As it’s a weapon to be held and swung, its own close combat specs are terrible, but the story changes when Choi Seo-rin holds it and enters combat together.

It will assist her with various psychic abilities while freely changing its shape to transform into the optimal form for killing enemies.