I Became a Hive Mind in the Game

[Hello, Teio.]
……..(Happiness)!
After the design was completed, the seed for Teio’s birth was finished in just a few hours.
[How do you feel?]
(Wonder)(Joy)(Warmth).
This seed, about the size of a small car (Morning), was directly created in my main body’s hand, and even though it’s probably only at grade 10 level, it already had self-awareness and ego.
Although due to the limitations of being a plant-type monster, it won’t be able to speak fluently like other Te family monsters even when fully grown, it can still express emotions, so it’s fine.
[Shall we go then?]
(Surprise)!
Anyway, I transported Teio’s completed seed under the strict surveillance of four Royal Guards to the underground jungle, and placed the seed in an underground cavity located in the exact south of the jungle.
I inserted the seed into the part where it will take root in the center, and inserted fleshy pipes extending from the walls into the holes on the seed’s surface.
These pipes, connected to my main body’s base, continuously supplied nutrients and Hive energy to the seed, and thanks to this, the seed sprouted at once and grew rapidly.
The sprout became a long stem before I knew it, and the continuously lengthening stem kept thickening as it received nutrients, while the branches at the end of the stem likewise kept spreading widely.
This was the same for the roots, which grew along the path I had designated in advance, eventually dominating the underground of the entire jungle and plains area.
[How is it, Teio?]
(Pride)(Joy)(Thrill)!
And exactly 71 hours and 16 minutes later. Teio, having successfully grown to an adult (grade 1), expressed joy and acted spoiled towards me while quickly starting to terraform its domain.
While it only moderately touches the jungle part of the Lizardman territory that was already completed as my domain even before its birth, the change in the plains was much more dramatic.
As the ground shakes and transforms, terrain forms, and the stream connected to the great lake becomes a deep, long river that connects to the jungle’s river.
Teio used its roots deeply embedded in the ground as a medium for nature-type psychic power to create seeds, and by accelerating them, instantly transformed the plains into a jungle.
Tropical trees nearly 100 meters tall grew, and countless smaller trees and vines took their place in the empty spaces.
And now that we’ve created this jungle environment, it’s time to fill this jungle.
Of course, there are quite a few creatures coming over from the existing Lizardman jungle, but since I’ve already thinned that area out once, the monster density is lower than expected, leaving the overall area quite empty.
Therefore, I produced and placed various specially selected animal-type monsters to indirectly subordinate them to me while allowing them to reproduce on their own, while also producing various insect monsters completely subordinated to me.
As their original purpose was for surveillance, these insect monsters are at best grade 7 level, but in exchange, they are extremely productive and can cheaply produce tens of millions.
The types of insects are diverse. From hornets with powerful venom comparable to venomous porcupines to bees and ants the size of large dogs, and beetles the size of mid-sized cars or dragonflies that match Wyverns in size.
But even so, as these insects’ role is to compose the ecosystem and monitor the jungle, they’re not very useful for defending Teio against enemies invading the jungle.
[Teio, can you do it?]
(Affirmative)(Possible)!
So I had engraved the skill Minion Production(A) into Teio’s genes so it could use this skill to produce forces to protect itself.
Minion Production. A skill that produces degraded versions of oneself or lower-grade individuals of the same species, with extremely varied usage methods for each individual.
True dragons produce sub-dragons by performing the process of creating their own offspring alone, while for queen ants, this is practically the only production method.
In addition, some grade 0 monsters even create minions by condensing energy in the air like summoning in RPG games, so the methods are truly diverse.
And in Teio’s case, it quickly cultivates moving plant monsters by using its psychic skills Seed Creation(A) and Growth Acceleration(A).
Of course, plant monsters cultivated this way are not very strong. Unless they’re allowed to grow naturally over a long period, the level of hastily produced plant monsters is extremely low.
These plant monsters, which look like giant tree humans roughly 4 to 20 meters tall, gain various special abilities as they grow longer under the influence of the surrounding environment, but the problem is that when produced hastily, they’re born without any special abilities.
Their skills are only those that anyone can do as a plant, and characteristics, except for Bio Core, are no different from skills.
Therefore, it will take quite some time for Teio to produce its minion plant monsters, but given the wide area of jungle suitable for cultivating plants, it’s worth investing the time.
In reality, sufficiently grown plant monsters gain various means.
They can spray various plant-based poisons like poison gas, have abilities like traps mimicking carnivorous plants, or show close combat beyond common sense by creating various bio-weapons using only plant-based materials.
In addition, they can control insect monsters or dominate touched life forms using psychic powers inherited from Teio, gaining stats comparable to decent medium-grade monsters.

※ ※ ※

Meanwhile, as I was almost finishing the terraforming of the plains.
“Captain, I’ve returned.”
[I see. Good work, Seri.]
Seri, who had been staying in the jungle for a while, returned to the base through the underground passage.
“Not at all. This is just an action for a greater good, so I’m fine.”
[…I understand.]
Feeling a bit uncomfortable with her words, which showed a distortion of causality in the process of being controlled while keeping her experience as a hunter, I quickly moved on to the main point and questioned her.
[Seri, I have something to ask you.]
“Yes, please ask anything.”
[Good. Then I’ll ask you, who deals with monsters best among us. Would it be helpful to have something similar to the cavalry you commanded this time in dealing with Hive Mind monsters?]
Hearing my question, Seri fell into contemplation, and after a moment, as if she had reached a conclusion, she voiced her answer to the question.
“If it’s the primitive cavalry for current disguise, they would just be fodder, but if it’s cavalry equipped with enough advanced equipment… Yes. I believe they would function as a significantly meaningful force.”
After hearing Seri’s answer. Only then did I decide to try organizing a cavalry unit for her under her command, something I had only been imagining in my head.
Although the influence of my hobby can’t be completely excluded, more than that, I think that cavalry, which has not only become outdated but completely disappeared into history in this world, paradoxically might be quite effective now.
The biggest reason for the decline of cavalry in modern times is human firepower. Even when front-line infantry appeared, cavalry became auxiliary rather than the main force on the battlefield, and after the development of machine guns, they were almost half-retired from the front lines.
The problem is that the defense and speed of horses as creatures simply can’t break through the fire net of various heavy weapons, but in the first place, what we’ll mount our cavalry on are medium-grade monsters customized by me.
The force field formed by the bio-core or the psychic shield powered by psychic energy from the bio-core can’t be penetrated unless it’s an energy weapon that also uses a bio-core as its power source.
Monsters customized with determination can gallop at speeds that treat motorcycles as nothing, and according to my plan, they can even fly at that speed.
Of course, to have this level of specs plus close combat ability, we’ll have to give up on ranged attacks, but… that’s solved by giving heavy weapons to the rider on top.
In addition to heavy weapons, riders can flexibly switch between weapons suitable for the situation, such as shock lances or energy swords for close combat, laser machine guns for medium-range engagements, or plasma pistols as a kind of anti-tank weapon.
It might seem inefficient at first glance as it requires using two medium-grade monsters to properly operate cavalry, but still, I’m confident.
If used properly, the synergy between the mounted rider and the monster carrying the rider will be several times better than operating them separately.
……..Although I can’t say there’s no personal interest.