'Feed the larvae.' For a moment, Han's mind went back to his dream, to the squimish feel of worms digging into the pores of his skin, wriggling in his flesh so that it felt like maggots had infested the deepest parts of him.
This made him wonder. 'What exactly was he supposed to feed these things?' Surely the hive did not expect him to brood them within his body like some alien abomination.
However, he knew that this was not such a far-fetched idea.
After all, he was an alien abomination; what's to say that this was not the way of the Hive?
So for a few moments, he just stood there, fighting back even more vomit as those larvae crawled around the ground.
But even as he stared in disgust, his mind got to work. These larvae were most likely infant bees; natal warriors yet unraised that he would soon be able to add to his 'Hive'... his army.
Disgusting or not, his mind told him that he would do anything and everything to move forward. Even as acid clawed at the base of his throat, he knew that if it was asked of him, he would tear open his flesh and let them make nest in him.
"This is fucked up, Beelaques," he whispered, looking up at the ceiling. However, his glare was meant for the night sky beyond it, for those stars that he knew were always watching him... even now.
"You never said anything about children."
And as if in reply, his own wings rubbed against each other against his will, buzzing a low, short sound. Laughter.
'Fucking animals,' he thought to himself, gulping before looking back down at his 'children'.
He inspected them for a moment, each about the size of a grain of rice. And where normal bee larvae should've been white, these were gold, like shavings of the metal.
His mind went back to his time with his father. Trying to recall how exactly bees fed their young.
From what he remembered, they were fed something called royal jelly. Though it wasn't like he had any around with him. And this was assuming alien bees worked the same way Earth bees did.
However, after a few seconds of observation, the answer came to him. The larvae were slowly gulping down the golden bile they were drenched in. It seemed that this 'Eldergold' was in fact some sort of royal jelly substitute.
He sighed in relief, grateful for the fact that he wouldn't have to do anything disgusting again.
Though he realised, based on the mere quantity of larvae, that the Eldergold would be finished within the next hour, he only hoped that this would be enough for the things.
An hour passed.
As expected, the larvae had finished the Eldergold. Yet no notification came to alert him that the quest was complete.
Han knew what he had to do.
There was only one way to get more Eldergold for his offspring. And with a gulp, he retrieved another chocolate bar from his inventory and began the transmutation process.
'If only father could see me now,' he thought in sour sarcasm, as that soothing warmth built up in his stomach once again.
『Transmutation complete.』
『Eldergold has been successfully produced.』
Han's throat instinctively quivered, already expecting that putrid slop to erupt from his gut. However, right before he could brace himself, another notification chimed;
『Insufficient monster essence.』
『Produced Eldergold is void of larvae.』
Before he could even process what that meant, the golden vomit clawed its way out of his throat, covering the larvae in a new blanket of goop.
Han wiped his mouth, breathing laboured. "Ugh," he grunted, spitting out the leftover Eldergold that still lingered on his tongue.
He knew he would never get used to this, and the thought of having to do this multiple times weighed heavily on both his mind and his stomach.
"I hope you're happy," he whispered, staring daggers at the larvae.
They slopped up the Eldergold with fervent wriggling, as if to reply "Yes, father. We are happy."
As Han sat and watched them eat, he mulled over what the last notification had meant. 'Insufficient monster essence.'
The concept was not hard to understand. Monster essence likely came from encounters with monsters, or perhaps from any he slayed. The point was, he would need to hunt for more monsters if he wanted to produce even more offspring.
The idea was bittersweet in his mind. He would perform this humiliation ritual a few dozen more times, and in return, the Hive would grant him an army.
This, at least, was a way out of here.
He did not know how long it would take for these larvae to mature. But when they eventually did, he would have a couple hundred summoned bees at his disposal.
Never mind escaping this cell, with that number, he could probably conquer a few tower floors, regardless of the level of the monsters there.
'Hmm... no. That's over-optimistic thinking,' he thought to himself. The memory of 'Jack' the pumpkin man obliterating a horde of sentries replayed in his mind.
If beings of such power existed here, it meant even stronger monsters existed. After all, the tower hadn't been conquered even after all this time.
'Still, this is good. I just need to be patient. The path forward is clear now,' he thought.
His body still ached slightly from his fight against the sentries, and his eyelids felt heavy over his eyes. And so he closed them.
A quick nap would not hurt.
Would it?
**
A soft chime stirred Han from his slumber, and he awoke to something slimy crawling up his leg.
『Quest complete!』
『Larvae has evolved to Pupa.』