The Primal Hunter

Vesperia stared at Meira, Meira stared at both Jake and Vesperia as she shifted between them, and Jake tried to look at neither, feeling awkward as fuck. He considered asking for Villy to beam him up and allow him to escape. Or, at the very least, for someone to please cut the building tension.

”If you were asking if Jake succeeded in the ritual outside, then yes. As the result of the aforementioned ritual, I am pleased to meet you, miss?” Vesperia asked gracefully as she stood up to greet Meira.

”M… Meira,” the elf said and bowed awkwardly, looking shell-shocked. Jake was pleasantly surprised at the Hive Queen taking the lead as Meira got stuck on a minor detail he had not seen coming.

”You are calling Lord Thayne by his name?” she asked, her voice a mix between puzzlement and… second-hand offense?

”That is what was asked of me, and I simply follow the wishes of my sire. Ah, where are my manners? I am Vesperia, True Royal of the Vespernat Lineage. It is a pleasure to meet you, Meira. Are you also a resident here?” Vesperia asked courteously.

”I am,” Meira said with a nod, her eyes holding some level of hostility.

Vesperia clearly noticed this and looked toward Jake before shifting back to Meira and smiling while shaking her head. She looked at Meira, staring into her eyes for a moment before Meira’s face turned red as a tomato. ”I… I gotta go!”

Jake did not have time to say anything as Meira rushed out of the living room, straight towards her own residency. He stared after her before shifting his attention to Vesperia. Without him needing to say a word, she had ”fixed” the awkwardness and made Meira leave… but…

”What did you say to her?”

She had clearly told Meira something telepathically; he was sure of it.

”I simply dispelled her fears. The girl is clearly interested in having you as her mate, and I informed her that I am no obstacle to her desires,” Vesperia explained in a matter-of-fact tone.

Yeah, that should do it, Jake thought, considering her embarrassment as she left. It did feel awkward that it was so obvious even to others.

”Ah, but do not take offense that I don’t consider you a potential partner. As my sire, it simply wouldn’t be proper, and the result would likely be less than ideal as I have already inherited many of your Records, and our offspring could display negative traits akin to the children of incestuous relationships between humans,” she once more explained, her voice calm, as if she was talking about a totally normal subject.

However, her words were honestly a huge relief, as Jake just feared he had made a potentially literal honeytrap in the form of the Wasp Queen. She also honestly seemed like a scary-as-hell opponent if she decided he would be an ideal partner. He could only shudder at the thought.

”Good to know,” Jake said with relief. ”If it is worth anything, then I also find it preferable for that not to be a thing. Better stay friends.”

Vesperia nodded before thinking for a bit. ”Don’t misunderstand. I am sure other Hive Queens would find you a more than a suitable partner; it is just that you are my sire. Having experienced your Records first-hand, I would happily recommend you to other Queens if you are interested?”

”Please don’t,” Jake shut her down.

”Very well,” the Hive Queen did not argue or even ask for an explanation.

stayed in the living room a bit longer and finished their tea. The atmosphere was surprisingly not awkward despite the topics, Vesperia being incredibly good at keeping the conversation rolling. The Hive Queen asked some questions about the Order and the world as a whole, showing she had a lot of odd gaps in knowledge here and there. Jake also got a

she did need a new home if she wanted to start a hive somewhere. Until then, he learned she had some kind of internal world capable of housing her own

system that Jake could only compare to the city management system Miranda had told him about. Along with that, she had a special resource outside of stamina, health

a real-time strategy game before the system. The more powerful the spawn, the more upkeep it took, and the weaker barely took any. This entire system was something all Hive Queens had, but

like Jake had was that he, in the end, was just one guy. Until he learned how to clone himself, he could only be in one place at once, and even then, having

with some more powerful variants among them. These spawns were treated more like summons than actual children, and losing them only meant a bit of wasted energy and Vesperia having to spend time respawning

with the Isoptera Warriors, not real living creatures. They did not have Truesouls like Jake or the Hive Queen. They did

to this, and the Vespernat Hive Queens was not one such exception. Jake did also come to learn that Vesperia did not need a mate to birth another Hive Queen, but it was merely an option. As if the mate was

effectively donating Records that the Queen could then use to create more

up just resulting in worse offspring. This was because the Records of a ”lesser creature” – Vesperia’s words, not Jake’s – would only end up polluting the Records of the newly born Queen. So, her bar for any potential was set high as fuck

emphasized how much he would benefit a hive, and when Jake mentioned the Isoptera Hive Queen, she only nodded, viewing it as a reasonable course of action to try and have him stay there.

work on you, and the issue is that most individuals who are worthy companions for True Royals are all talented and strong-willed individuals with powerful backings, making underhanded tactics

smirked. ”Would I be wrong to assume the powerful Hive Queens over there got

A concept I am not quite familiar with,” Vesperia tilted her

means when a man or woman has an entourage of partners around them, often all of them of

Queens do take a preferred mate for life, but this is far from the norm. Diversity in Records is highly valued, and one male can assist several Hive Queens without any issues, but each Hive

Empire is a place to avoid,” Jake muttered, primarily to

to convince him of anything. Kind of

Hive Queens I have met so far haven’t exactly been good at combat but spawn powerful guardians. How does it work for you?

need to fully specialize. That is the only way they can still fulfill their purpose without ending up subpar, as they simply lack the Records to be more than be the mothers of their hives. While I am capable of spawning powerful guardians, please do not think that a True Royal is defenseless,” Vesperia said, her

thoughts. His danger sense and ability to evaluate others

didn’t seem that offended as she shook her

made for reproduction and to fulfill my duties as a Queen and not for combat. I am capable of displaying potent nature magic, and I do have certain specialties you may find interesting, including skills you desired from a Pollendust Bee Queen. One of the things my Lineage specializes in is not only gathering resources for the hive but cultivating it ourselves. But for the hive to not lose these carefully cultivated resources, you naturally need to be able to protect yourself. As a True Royal, I am meant to be the impetus of my entire Lineage, both mother and defender,” she said with a smile. ”I believe it will be easier with

wanting to

said as she stood up. ”Let me show you why the Vespernat name is

eyebrow and smiled. Wouldn’t be a wasp

as the S-grade Warrior Queen meditated, fulfilling her duty as Watcher. Occasionally – a few times a day – the Great Lineage Wall would stir, and one of the millions of bricks would light up. Each time it happened, she would note it down for her millennial report. It used to only be every millennium anyway, but with

of whenever a new Queen of one of the stored Lineages was born outside of the territory of the Endless Empire. The further up the wall, the higher the level of the Lineage. Most bricks that lit up were in the lower parts, with rare ones in the middle. To see one light up in the upper parts was considered very rare, and it only happened about once every month. At the

top of the Great Lineage Wall were the hundred towers. At least there used to be a hundred. Now, only sixty-one of the towers remained, the rest only having their base remaining. The last time a tower crumbled had been in the eighty-sixth era when the Automata Legion had invaded one of the Great Plains and

of the battlements light up with power, displaying a rune. A Queen had been born among the

chamber rumbled, making the Warrior Queen ready herself. Power surged out of her,

took out a token, but she didn’t have time to inject any energy as a presence