2. Queen (2)
2. Queen (2)
'Just how many are there...?'
I can't even gauge how many there are.
I don't have trypophobia, but I'm so scared that I'm starting to wonder if I'm developing it.
In this massive, pitch-black cave, countless red eyes glowing with crimson light are staring at me, and the silent pressure is immense.
On top of that, the Creatures are clicking their sharp, hard teeth—ttak. ttak.—and the sound makes me feel like they're about to tear my throat out.
My body is trembling, and I grit my teeth to stop myself from instinctively backing away.
'I can't show weakness.'
I bite my tongue slightly to pull myself together.
Every being in this cave starts flooding into my mind.
As too many consciousnesses pour in at once, I close my eyes and focus.
'I must incorporate every being here into the Hive Mind.'
I won't miss a single one.
I have to put everyone here into my Hive Mind.
As I do, information about the Creatures currently in this cave naturally flows in, and my consciousness as the Queen begins to crawl out as well.
First, there's the Ners, which looks like a spider that evolved into a Creature, the one that came to see me off.
It's a Creature with higher intelligence than anyone else in this cave, tasked with relaying the Queen-nim's orders to the other Creatures.
Each Ners has the dominance to command a certain number of Creatures. As I incorporate such Ners into my Hive Mind, the Creatures they were commanding naturally enter my Hive Mind as well.
I first incorporate the Ners that have a particularly strong presence in this cave into my Hive Mind, which automatically results in the minds of all the Creatures in this cave being incorporated into my Hive Mind.
[ Excellent. ]
The Ners that came to me first bows its head and says.
The moment I take my first step as Queen-nim, I feel that this Ners is different from the others.
The Ners in front of me is exuding an overwhelming presence. I think the reason I didn't perceive so many Creatures at first might be because of this Ners.
'Was this Ners commanding all the Creatures here until I appeared—no, until I was born?'
[ Give us an order. ]
'With this many Creatures, why are they only in the cave?'
[ Give us an order. ]
"Huh? What was that?"
[ Give us an order. ]
Lost in thought for a moment, I react to the heavy, goosebump-inducing consciousness of the Ners in front of me.
Thud.
I take a step back.
It's audible.
It's palpable.
There are hundreds here, no, thousands? No, tens of thousands.
I can feel it through the Hive Mind.
54,254.
I can feel the Creatures in the cave and the countless underground caverns connected to it.
The number of those Creatures exceeds 50,000.
Of course, not all 50,000 of these are combat-capable Creatures.
But 50,000 is definitely not a small number.
It means there are 50,000 Creatures that could kill a human just by touching them.
And all 50,000 of those Creatures are waiting for my command.
I can feel the craving of every Creature in my head.
The Creatures had been waiting for the Queen-nim's appearance and were here to receive orders.
What if I can't satisfy the expectations of those Creatures?
I won't be a Queen-nim; I'll be food.
I steel myself.
I already know that my mind isn't entirely sane.
The consciousness of me living as a man is mixing with the Hive Mind and the consciousness of being a Queen-nim.
I surrender myself to the Queen-nim's consciousness within my mind and open my mouth.
"I am the Queen-nim. ]
Ttak. Ttak. Ttak. Ttak. Ttak. Ttak. Ttak. Ttak. Ttak. Ttak.
The Creatures express their joy by clashing their teeth together loudly.
I also know that becoming the Queen-nim of these Creatures is highly likely to mean giving up being human.
But.
There is no other choice.
I will just become the perfect Queen-nim, lead these Creatures, and I will not die.
[ Bow your heads. ]
[ Pledge your loyalty to me. ]
[ Obey me. ]
As soon as I finish speaking, the eyes of all the Creatures lower, and they bow their heads toward me.
Feeling an inexplicable thrill, I resolve to live as the Queen-nim.
==
Where on earth is this?
Is it Earth? Or is it a fantasy world? Or is it a different Earth, not the one I lived on?
A cave so massive it could be called a city.
Following the Ners' guidance to the cave entrance, I see a vast forest.
Even though the cave entrance seemed to have some elevation, I couldn't see the end of the forest.
First, before leaving this cave, I decide to fully grasp the situation I have to manage from now on.
Before that.
"I need to give you a name."
The Ners, the first Creature I saw, who keeps sticking by my side like a manager.
It's a Ners that is stronger and has higher dominance than any other Creature in this cave.
If this were a game, would you call it a named Ners?
[ A name, you say? ]
"Yes."
Actually, if I use the Hive Mind, I can accurately call out or command someone even without a name.
But finding someone in the Hive Mind and sending thoughts to them actually consumes quite a bit of mental energy.
In short, it's a hassle.
"From now on, your name is Dagos."
[ Understood, Queen-nim. ]
"Then now..."
I recall what I heard from Dagos while heading to the cave entrance earlier.
"Dagos. You said food is scarce, right?"
[ It's not just scarce; it doesn't exist. ]
Every living thing needs food.
Even humans need to eat something to survive.
But there are over 50,000 Creatures in this cave, and there's no food?
"Then what are you doing?"
[ We are eating our own kind. ]
"Hmm... That's not good."
It seems the most important thing right now is the food issue.
The fact that they eat their own kind despite there being a forest in front means their food must absolutely consist of meat.
Well, I didn't even expect otherwise.
Dagos in front of me alone is a spider Creature that looks about 3 meters tall.
A Creature like this eating vegetables instead of meat?
That makes absolutely no sense.
I tapped my head with my hand.
'Alright, alright.'
The Queen-nim's consciousness is insisting that it's sad for the cute Creatures to die and that I need to get food quickly.
But moving rashly is dangerous.
To be precise, the living things in the surrounding area are in danger.
If this many of them go through the forest at once, all living things will vanish.
I'm quite confused about becoming a Queen-nim, but I feel like the current situation is similar to playing a game like Civilization.
A mix of a management simulation game and an RTS.
The most important thing I'm thinking about right now is a breeding ground.
The amount of food 50,000 Creatures need will be astronomical.
To fill that food requirement, it's clear that even if I sweep up all the surrounding living things, it will run out quickly.
Then I have to produce food myself.
Animals? Are there animals here? There must be, since there's a forest, right? Or are there humans?
But humans are too inefficient to use as a breeding ground. They can only give birth to one person a year, and if they're stressed, they miscarry, so you have to manage them, making them very inefficient—
'What the hell.'
I slapped my cheek hard.
[ Queen-nim! ]
I had thought about using humans as a breeding ground so naturally, without a second thought.
The Queen-nim's consciousness, the Hive Mind containing the minds of all the Creatures.
I was aware that my single mind, which used to be an ordinary office worker, would have a hard time handling all those consciousnesses.
Even though I was aware of it, I also knew there was no way to stop it.
But I didn't know it would be this fast.
'I must always stay on guard.'
[ It seems you are having a hard time because you were born not long ago. I will guide you to your room, Queen-nim. ]
"Okay..."
==
'What is this now?'
After returning from having small, flying Creatures scout the endless forest outside the cave, I was taken aback as soon as I entered the place introduced as my room.
A room made by the Creatures in the cave.
Since the words shouldn't go together, I thought it would just be a cave, but as soon as I entered the room, what I saw was a luxurious room that could be mistaken for a noble's bedroom.
'No, how did they even make these things in the first place?'
There was a bed, a mirror, and various pieces of furniture.
I understand the light-emitting lamps because I can feel through the Hive Mind that there are light-emitting Creatures inside them, but I don't understand how they made the furniture.
Everything is incomprehensible.
[ I will take my leave. If you need anything, call me anytime, and I will come. ]
"Okay. Thank you."
After Dagos left, I let out a big sigh and lay down on the bed the Creatures had made.
My body sank in, and it wrapped around me softly.
'Why is the bed so good, too?'
It's a considerably good bed, to the point where I feel it's the best bed I've ever lain on.
The texture is also ridiculously good.
'This is driving me crazy.'
For the first time since opening my eyes as the Queen-nim, my whole body felt languid during my alone time.
I turned over onto my stomach and buried my head in the pillow.
'How should I solve the food problem...'
Even if I find animals, I don't know how to build a breeding ground.
I'm not some GPT, and I've lived my whole life just working, so how would I know how to get food for 50,000?
Information is scarce, and knowledge is woefully lacking.
Even though the Creatures know information about Creatures through the Hive Mind, the outside of this cave, which is not Creatures, is a completely unknown place.
The Creatures don't know either.
'Did we all come to a new world together? Ha... My head hurts.'
As the tension drained away, various thoughts flashed through my mind, but those thoughts didn't last long.
I always rested on my stomach when sleeping or relaxing, but for some reason, it was so hard to breathe today—
'Ah.'
I realized the reason at once.
"Ugh."
As soon as I turned over to lie facing the ceiling, a huge mass of fat wobbled significantly.
My breathing had been difficult because these massive breasts were being compressed.
When I saw them, I thought I wanted to touch them, but now that they've become my own breasts, they were just an uncomfortable lump.
After lying facing the ceiling for a while, it started to become uncomfortable again.
If they were moderate-sized breasts, it would be fine, but because they are so big, they kept sliding to the side, and I felt a pulling sensation in my chest.
"Ha..."
Eventually, I turned onto my side.
Only then did I find comfort, and just as I was about to close my eyes and rest for a moment.
[ Queen-nim, I have found living beings. ]
'Damn it...'