The Triangle Temple (Part 3)
I gently lowered Ganeungi from the Devil-Bee and scooped her up, carrying her forward with long, steady strides.
Though my strength was depleted, I worried a little. But Ganeungi felt surprisingly light.
I reached the entrance and pulled out the Triangle Temple key, slotting it in.
Ssrung~
Drururur~ A satisfying grinding sound echoed as the triangular entrance slid open.
===
Welcome to the Triangle Temple.
Jang Sara and I exchanged a glance, then took our first steps into the temple together.
The interior of the triangular pyramid was surprisingly simple.
A triangular pattern was etched into the stone floor.
And at each vertex, a large hemispherical space had been carved out.
===
Insert the remains of a monster to be hybridized or the essence of a monster corpse into each hemispherical space.
Even without the explanation, I could intuitively understand how to use it.
I laid Ganeungi in the nearest hemisphere, then pulled out one of the prepared Devil-Bee corpses—the largest and sturdiest I could find in my hurry.
The final hemisphere already held the essence I had hastily collected from the Megahornet just before arriving.
Placing both monster remains and their essences into the three hemispheres, the pillars forming the triangle began to glow brightly and converge toward each other until they locked together in a massive triangular prism of light.
===
Insert the license into the center of the triangle.
I took out the one license I had acquired and inserted it into the correct slot.
But disaster struck immediately.
Biiiiik-
===
Living monsters cannot be hybridized.
I see.
Then what now?
Did I really have to kill Ganeungi with my own hands?
I wasn’t the sentimental type who treasured every insect’s life. On the contrary, I was closer to the guy who would crush anything that caught my eye.
But we had only been together for a few days, yet something had taken root. She was like a pet dog to me.
On top of that, I owed her a debt.
Without her, I probably still wouldn’t have caught the Megahornet.
At that moment, Ganeugi’s antennae twitched as if waking from a doze.
It’s okay. Even if I die.
“You might lose your memories…”
Memories. Will remember. Ganeugi!
Yeah. In the end, I’d just have to do it anyway.
Ganeugi, take a gamble.
I stroked her head gently, then reached for the stinger still embedded in her. Just as I did, she spoke urgently.
Hwang-nim. Stinger. Retrieve it. Someone must become the Queen Bee.
Even in this situation, she was still thinking of her hive first.
“Alright. After you die… I’ll do it that way.”
Ganeugi answered weakly, her antennae trembling.
Before dying… I want Acacia honey……
I quickly grabbed a bottle of Acacia honey from my inventory. Since she had grown so much, I would have to pour in several bottles straight down her throat.
She drank the honey with her feeble lips, working hard.
So delicious. Thank you……
That was all she managed.
Jang Sara examined Ganeugi and spoke.
She’s gone.
A lump formed in my throat.
She had always given up the best food for the princesses.
For the group.
But now, when she reincarnates, she won’t have to do that anymore.
You’ll become the goddess of this fourth basement level.
I tried to resume the process, but Jang Sara stopped me.
If it’s hard to touch her body, shall I retrieve the stinger for you?
I left the extraction to Jang Sara. She performed the task with practiced ease and handed me the stinger.
I tried to resume the process again.
But I hit an error.
Biiiiik-
===
Hybridizing an already-hybridized monster is not possible.
Damn it.
The Devil-Bee corpse was useless after all.
At that moment, Jang Sara laughed and spoke.
My value is already shining. If I hadn’t come with you, what would you have done?
What do you mean?
Have you ever dissected spiders?
How do you know what I can’t do?
If you could, when you extracted the stinger and essence of that large wasp queen earlier, would you not have extracted the spider’s tissue as well?
Damn it. This woman.
I really can’t hold a candle to her.
Can you do it?
When I received the Thomas Hopf Prize as valedictorian from Harvard, do you know what the title of my master’s thesis was?
I’m not interested. We’d better go get the essence of Titanula before the big wasps bury everything.
* * *
===
Ancient Emperor Wasp Queen DNA acquired.
Ancient Queen Bee DNA acquired.
Ancient Spider Hunter DNA acquired.
Choose an individual to inherit the head.
Intelligence ranking: Queen Bee 6 - Emperor Wasp Queen 4 - Spider Hunter 3
===
I shouted with joy.
I could actually choose?
I immediately selected the Ancient Queen Bee.
This way, maybe Ganeugi would resurrect with her memories intact.
===
Head: Selected Ancient Queen Bee.
Choose an individual to inherit the torso.
Flight ability ranking: Ancient Emperor Wasp Queen 29 - Ancient Queen Bee 16 - Ancient Spider Hunter 3 (can fly by shooting webs)
===
I didn’t need to think. I immediately chose the Emperor Wasp Queen’s wings.
===
Wings: Selected Ancient Emperor Wasp Queen.
Choose two individuals to inherit the abdomen.
===
You can choose up to two abdomens.
Ancient Queen Bee: Shoots venom with poison. The tip is hook-shaped; once shot, it won’t come out easily. When the stinger is removed, the individual dies.
Ancient Emperor Wasp Queen: Shoots a powerful poison stinger. The stinger paralyzes the target.
Ancient Spider Hunter: Shoots tough spider silk.
===
Without thinking, I was about to choose the Emperor Wasp Queen and the Spider Hunter. But Jang Sara, who had been silent until now, suddenly intervened.
If you can attach the stinger to the spider silk to make a hook, that combination would be incredibly powerful.
Is that possible? A Queen Bee dies right after removing the stinger, right?
It doesn’t die immediately. It survives for a while.
Thinking about it, this could become an incredibly powerful weapon.
The Queen Bee’s stinger is specially designed with a hook at the end.
So when shot deeply, it doesn’t come out easily, and the individual often sacrifices itself.
But if it connects with the tough spider silk, it would gain tactical advantages for various uses.
But won’t the Emperor Wasp Queen’s poison stinger also have advantages?
It does, but the Emperor Wasp Queen’s stinger can be mobilized from the Emperor Wasp Empire anytime. Hybrids should have unique features of their own, right?
Her words were a hundred percent right.
===
Abdomen: Selected Ancient Queen Bee.
Abdomen: Selected Ancient Spider Hunter.
Fluorescent paint has been applied to the Ancient Queen Bee’s body.
Would you like to apply this to the surface of the hybrid monster?
Yes No
===
Of course I chose Yes.
The legend of the Firefly Queen would continue in many ways, after all.
Now, the hybridization begins.
Biiing~ Suddenly, the hemispherical spaces at the vertices of the triangle were covered by circular membranes, and rays shot upward from the center.
Lasers fired from each of the three vertices met in mid-air.
In that moment, a shape like a pyramid formed.
And another beam descended from the peak of the temple structure.
Paji jji ji jik- A sound of something forming echoed, then all at once everything went dark with a snap.
Another error?
…But then, Ping! Light flooded in and the status window displayed new text.
===
New monster created.
New Rune Stone slot opened.
Skill Point 1 acquired.
New hybrid monster born.
Choose a name for the new hybrid monster.
===
New monster created.
New Rune Stone slot opened.
Skill Point 1 acquired.
New hybrid monster born.
I named the creature “Firefly Spider-Wasp.”
===
New monster created.
New Rune Stone slot opened.
Skill Point 1 acquired.
New hybrid monster born.
The first individual received a large supply of super-sperm.
===
New monster created.
New Rune Stone slot opened.
Skill Point 1 acquired.
New hybrid monster born.
The moment I saw it, Jang Sara spoke.
Good thing. If there was no sperm, I could only lay unfertilized eggs and produce drones. Then they’d have to breed through incest with their own sons, which is gross. But since diverse sperm was provided, there shouldn’t be any problems now. By raising various queens and letting them interbreed, the species will become stronger through outbreeding.
“I see.”
At that moment, a bright light bloomed ahead and a new insect of Queen Bee size descended from above.
Its face was a cute, fluffy honeybee.
It was unmistakably Ganeugi’s face.
Its wings were clearly reminiscent of the Megahornet’s agility.
And its abdomen had a striped pattern like a wasp, but the black sections were covered in spider-like fur.
Overall, the appearance wasn’t as repulsive as the Devil-Bee.
Moreover, the yellow parts glowed brightly with fluorescent color.
“G-Ganeugi?”
……? Who?
“Don’t you recognize me?”
……? Don’t know.
I was extremely disappointed.
“It seems your memories have been wiped.”
At that moment, Ganeugi shook her antennae as if trying to clear her head.
Joke.
“Huh?”
All remembered. Emperor-nim. 1 million army. Air strike.
I rushed over, grabbed her head, and rubbed it vigorously.
“Ganeugi. You came back alive. This guy can even joke now?”
I. Something. A little. Changed. Acacia honey!
She really was.
She could joke, and she could demand what she wanted right away.
I pulled out the Acacia honey and made her drink it. But there wasn’t much left, and her body had grown bigger, so it disappeared in an instant.
“This guy has gotten bolder.”
“Probably because the Emperor Wasp Queen and the Spider Hunter’s blood mixed in. The brain affects the body, but the body also affects the brain.”
Jang Sara’s explanation.
At that moment, the creature spoke.
This person. Female?
“Yeah. She’s a female of our human species.”
Queen! Quickly. Copulate.
“Haha. What are you talking about.”
This female. Wants to copulate with the Emperor-nim.
“There’s no way.” Haha. How do you know?
Body fluids. Pheromones. Secreting.
“Hahahaha. Hahaha.”
Jang Sara, who couldn’t understand our conversation, asked.
“What did she say?”
“Haha. Nothing much. Hahaha.”
This conversation had to be sealed forever for the peace of the fourth basement level.
I cleared my head and asked again.
“Jang Director, if this Ganeugi lays eggs, how long until she becomes a mature female?”
“Ask if she has sperm.”
When I asked, Ganeugi answered that she could feel thousands of powerful sperm inside her.
“If there’s sperm in the abdomen, three days is enough.”
“Really? Can you turn her into a mature female in just 72 hours?”
“Yes, but there’s a condition. Within a few hours, you must build a house for this giant Firefly Spider-Wasp to lay her eggs in.”
“How many rooms?”
“As many as possible. Honeybees can lay up to 3,000 eggs a day, so keep that in mind.”
From that moment, the total mobilization order was issued.
100 Devil-Bees, 2,000 converted Emperor Wasps, and 1 million honeybees were all mobilized to begin constructing new homes for the new species.
The location was decided to be safe in the third basement level.
Jang Sara explained the honeycomb size and conditions in detail, then quickly visited her own lab and returned with enormous equipment and medicines.
I ordered the back-biting Devil-Bee to eat the larvae from the digested wasp hive, then curled up in a corner of the third basement and went to sleep.
“Researcher-nim, go home and come back tomorrow. It doesn’t look like there’s anything special for us to do until the hive is complete.”
Han Yejin glared at me and Jang Sara once, then said.
“No. I’ll get some sleep here too. It’s more troublesome to go out and come back.”
At that moment, Ganeugi came to me and said.
This female. After all. Body fluids. Pheromones. Excessive.
“Hahahaha. Stop it. Hahaha.”
But. Copulation. Not advisable.
“Hahaha. Why?”
Current. Body fluids. Stress value. High.
“Hahaha. Hahahaha. Haha.”
I spread the blanket I had received from Jang Sara and lay down.
Even though I had eaten Ebezi potion, the past few days had been too rough. Soon I slipped into deep sleep.
And forgot about body fluids.