IMPERIUM INSECTUM

“*Ehik*What the hell am I looking at here?”

I examined the blue box from top to bottom

“If *skrik* I had to guess this is *scrack* meant to help me.”

I decided to go through the menu again. Name and race are both self-explanatory. I imagine they will change when I decide on one, but for now, I’ll move on to the next section, title. This section was a confusing one. There wasn’t much I could glean from the word alone.

“It would have been nice *Ehik* if Cindi left a letter explaining this damn *Scree* thing”.  I complained.

Suddenly another blue box appeared

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• Titles

Titles are awarded when unique or great feats are accomplished. Titles have the ability to add bonuses to you but can also add negative effects. Once a title has been achieved, they belong to you forever. You can focus on any title you have to get a detailed explanation.

• Magic

Magical spells you acquire will appear and be listed here. Magical spells cannot be bought via the skill shop but have to be learnt. Currently, you do not have the ability to cast magical spells.

• Abilities

Abilities are similar to magical spells but are race specific. Unlike abilities, they do not require any mana to use. Abilities can be earned by experimenting, evolving and via the skill shop

• Resistances

Resistances are listed here. Having a resistance allows you to take reduce damage or weaken a negative status effect. Resistances can only be obtained when you are exposed to an effect for a long enough time or often enough for a resistance to develop.

• Subordinates

Your underlings are listed here. From here, you can check their statuses and even pick abilities and evolutions.

 

• Hive Management.

Manage your hive from here. Go to hive management for more details.

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Hmmm. There’s a lot here, but I feel like I get the gist of it. I wonder if everyone in the world has one of these status windows or just me? I pondered that for a while before deciding to drop it.

“How *Ehk* do I close this *scree* thing.”

As soon as I said close, the screen disappeared.

“I should *Skrick* get a move on. I don’t need to *criiik craa* stay here to read this, and besides *skrick* I would like to get somewhere safe before nightfall.” I did a quick once-over of the clearing to make sure I didn’t miss anything. The chest that Cindi had left for me had dissolved, leaving nothing but Dust. Nice to know she thought ahead. I decided to follow the river downhill. I assume somewhere along the river; there will be a settlement I can go in. Actually, thinking about it, is that something I want to do? I mean, I’m not exactly human. If I were to stroll up to a town like I am, they may just kill me. I thought for a few minutes, but nothing I came up with seemed that much better.

“*Ek* A bad plan Is better than *kek* No plan is the saying, right?” I said as I started following the river deeper into the forest. The forest looked like something straight out of a fantasy film. Tall, dark trees that nearly blotted out the sky. New and weird flora and fauna littered the entire place. It truly was a picturesque wonderland.

“*ehk*STATUS”

The blue box appeared again.  I instantly focused on the 2 titles I had been given

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• Outworlder

You have travelled a long distance to get here traveller and as such, here is your award.

(People with this title earn 50% per cent more XP on everything they do.)

 

• Herald of the end

Your presence in this world marks the beginning of the end of all things.

(People with this title have vastly increased mental fortitude. This title makes dealing with the atrocities you commit much easier and rewards you with 15 per cent more xp for it. It also has the small bonus of making people fearful towards you.)

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Those sound like 2 very strong titles, especially outworlder. Earning a 50 per cent bonus for free on anything is never a bad thing. However, herald of the end sounded like a double edge sword. The bonus xp and the increased mental fortitude were good but, the added fear factor could become an issue. I guess human settlements are a no go until I find a workaround for this.

 

I closed the titles screen and moved on to abilities; Let’s take a closer look at what I can do.

 

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• Living nest

A queen and her nest are one and the same. Wherever she goes, her nest must as well.

(Inside your body is a small personal nest that can store certain types of insects. You can summon from this nest at any time. Current capacity 200. See hive management for more details.)

• bestial call 

Mother nature sees you as one of her kin and as such, will never impede you on your journey.

(With a single shout, animals will turn tail and run or come to your aid if you so wish it. Limited to certain animals.)

• Pincers

A simple yet extremely versatile appendage. No hive queen should ever be seen without one.

(You can sprout 4 pincers from your back to use however you please)

 

• Venomous constitution

From head to toe. Your body is a dangerous weapon.

(You produce a very toxic venom inside of you, this venom can be secreted from any place and used in any way you see fit)

• Enhanced reaction

Faster than fast, quicker than quick.

(you have supernatural reaction speeds)

• Insect Vision

See the world how it was always meant to be seen.

(with this ability, your peripheral vision increases, and you can see the world in much more detail; additionally, you can see heat and have better vision during the night.)

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Out of all the skills I had, the one I was most interested in was living hive. I had to try this out. I walked up to a tree and sat down at the base of it. I closed my eyes and began to focus internally. Trying to find the nest that supposedly lived inside of me. Inside my body, I felt and heard a weird buzzing sound, like a new part of me was waking up. No, that’s wrong. What I was feeling was always there. It’s just that I never noticed it before.

A wave of sadness and anger washed over me. Sadness that I had neglected them for so long, and anger at me, at myself. I can’t believe I had been ignoring my nest all this time but, don’t worry, this changes now. I got up from the base of the tree and stuck my arm out ahead of me. I saw one fly slowly crawl out from the gaps with my armour, another followed him suit And then another until they were flying out of every part of me. I’m sure from the outside, I looked like some inhuman abomination, but right now, all I felt was bliss, being surrounded by my children was a new feeling I never knew I could have. The now swarm of flies circles around me briefly before coming to a stop in front of me. I walked up to the swarm of 200 flies to get a closer look. To a normal person, they wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between any of the flies, but it was a completely different story for me. Each fly here was unique in Its own way. I summoned 2 flies closer to me. One fly was completely dark green, whilst the other had a slight yellow mark on them. The dark green fly was born 6 minutes after I was born, whilst the other was born just 15 minutes ago. I told both flies to go back with the rest. I had to address my subjects.

I took a deep breath. I don’t know why I’m nervous. I knew they aren’t judging me. I slapped my cheeks; come on now.

“I’m so “Ehk” I stopped my speech, I thought back to every time I’ve spoken aloud since I got here. It is clear that I’m not meant to speak English; the way my Vocal cords grind and almost twist on each other is a sign of that. The only reason I stuck with it was that I Know if I stopped speaking English, I would be throwing away A big part of myself. I looked towards the swarm of flies. All of them were looking at me expectantly. I shook my head. I know these insects. No, my children would do anything I ask of them, no matter how dangerous. They are now the most important thing to me, not some stupid language that hurts to speak.

<Screek Scraaa>

“I’m sorry for ignoring you all this time. I am your queen err….” Hmmm. I don’t have a name. I could still use my human name, but a part of me felt like It wouldn’t fit me anymore. What’s a good name, Dianna? No to normal ermm. How about Diva? I like the sound of that.”

<scrick>

“I am your queen, Diva. I am glad to finally meet every single one of you. I have no orders to give you right now, but all I ask is that you continue with your work and do everything for the benefit of the hive. You are free to leave.”

All the insects let out a loud screech as if they were saluting me. And then flew back into my body.

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New ability added: [INSECT SPEECH]

A civilised tongue for a civilised race.

(enhances your ability to speak to your hive by adding pheromones to help convey your message across)

 

Name Added: Diva.

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I had a quick look through my other abilities. The only ones I could realistically test right now are pincers, venomous constitution and insect vision. Maybe I’ll try using all 3 at the same time to see if that’s possible. I closed my eyes, and suddenly I felt my back get extremely warm. Additionally, the clarity of my vision and range improved vastly. It was like going from watching a Small black and white tv to a massive colour cinema screen; it was amazing. Speaking of colour, I could see colours I never knew existed before. This already picturesque forest looked amazing before but now looked like something from an alien planet. During all of this, I’ve felt The warmth in my back steadily increasing to unbearable levels. The heat was located in the central area of my back. I thought I was going to burn up and started looking for a way to cancel the ability until there was a loud schlurp s and 4 pincers curved around me. I looked up and inspected my pincers. They Were completely dark green and made of the same, incredibly dense armour that’s on my chest. Additionally, they were dripping in some unknown slimy fluid. The tips of the pincers were long, pointy and the same pitch-black colour as my claws. I moved the pincers up and down. They felt extremely natural to use, like they were always a part of me, even though I’m sure they didn’t exist a few seconds ago. I moved my pincer closer, and I started seeing something green dripping from the tips. I took a closer look, and I saw there was a small hole. Which right now was slowly gushing venom.

“I wish I had something to test this venom on.”

As soon as I said that, something clicked inside of me. I have an ability I can use to call animals over to me. However, I am hesitant to do this, because I have no clue what the hell I am calling over. I could try to call over something small like a rabbit, but I could end up with a pack of wolves or something worse. I shook my head. Scratch that it’s a bad idea. I can always test that later. As of right now I need to get a move on and get out of this forest. My pincers made a grotesque schlurp sound as they returned back into my body. I then turned in the direction I was going, and continued following the river.