NOVEL WEB Chapter 707: Evolution Ticket [2]
"Young master." Zarek smiled.
Nox's mind spun, several thoughts flashing through his head. Of course, he knew who this person was.
He had encountered him during the inter-town summit and learned that he was one of his father's tamed creatures.
A vampire.
"You're alive," was the only thing that came out of Nox's mouth.
"Of course, I'm very much alive," Zarek smiled. "I heard you're the only human settlement still standing in the kingdom, so I came to seek refuge."
Some of the soldiers were slightly confused and needed context; however, none dared to interrupt the moment and simply watched.
"Well, you're always welcome here," Nox replied without much thought and then gestured to one of the soldiers to arrange a residential place for him.
Even though he didn't really know Zarek very well, Nox was certain of one thing—he was stronger than your average expert.
He believed the vampire would be a valuable addition to the Barony.
He watched Zarek disappear into the town. There were still a lot of questions he wanted to ask.
However, Zarek seemed to have been traveling on foot all the way from the capital to the west.
'Although vampires have insane strength and stamina, even they get tired as well,' he thought as he slowly left the scene—just as Has arrived some moments later.
'Now, where is she?' Nox spread his senses out and soon found the location of the ant queen.
Sometime later, he arrived inside the ant nest. He quickly navigated through the hundreds of hardworking ants and arrived at the queen's chambers.
Without hesitation, he pushed the door open, appearing in the familiar chamber where countless eggs were kept in pristine condition.
"Master." The Ant Queen was slightly surprised, not expecting Nox to show up all of a sudden. "Is there a problem?"
"No, there's no problem," Nox replied, his voice calm as always. With a flick of his wrist, a shimmering golden ticket materialized in his hand.
"I have something for you."
The Ant Scourge Queen's antennae twitched as she examined the golden, rune-covered ticket. The moment it appeared, every ant within the chamber instinctively halted their movements—each one staring at the card with interest in their eyes.
The ants were smart. They were just as smart as humans; hence, even the lesser workers could sense that the card held great power.
"This is called an Evolution Ticket," Nox explained. "It will evolve you into your ultimate form—Hive Empress."
The Ant Queen froze, her compound eyes widening in shock.
"H-How is that possible?" she stuttered. "But… I haven't fulfilled the conditions. The Crown. The Chamber…"
To be honest, because of how absurd the requirements were for her to evolve, the Scourge Ant Queen didn't think she could ever complete them, as she was very busy running her colony.
Nox displayed a faint smile and said, "You don't need to. I paid for a shortcut."
The Ant Queen was still at a loss for words.
Seeing this, Nox decided to be practical instead. He raised the ticket slowly and tapped her armored chest with it.
[Ding! Use Evolution Ticket on contracted beast: Ant Scourge Queen?]
[Y/N]
Nox pressed yes.
The golden ticket disintegrated into radiant light, instantly flooding the chamber. A high-pitched whirring sound began to echo through the room as a golden magic circle expanded beneath the queen. Dozens of eggs began vibrating uncontrollably, but none shattered.
Her wings suddenly shot open as her whole body floated into the air like she was being pulled up by some invisible force. Bright golden lines ran through her body, and cracks started forming all over her shell.
The glow grew brighter and brighter—so bright that Nox and the other ants present had to shield their eyes.
Right at that moment, a sound similar to an explosion rocked the entire ant nest.
BOOM!
The tremor spread out through the entire town.
"What was that?"
"Sounds like an earthquake."
In the gardens in front of the Cromwell mansion, all the girls—Nyx, Akira, Serena, Wendy, Celine, Aina, and Camila—were present, discussing amongst themselves.
They all looked in the direction of the sound.
"Shouldn't we go check it out?" Serena asked, a gleam of concern shining in her eyes. "Nox went that way. He's probably the one responsible for this."
Nyx resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "He's fine."
"Quite worrying. Nox wouldn't do anything intentional to hurt anyone in the Barony," Celine said.
Wendy shook her head and pointed out, "She's not worried about that. She's just worried about Nox."
---
Meanwhile, back in the nest...
The Ant Queen jerked once, and a wave of energy exploded out from her. A few worker ants nearby were sent flying into the walls.
Nox's eyes narrowed.
'Here it comes.'
The cracks on her body widened until her entire shell broke apart like shattered glass, falling to the floor in chunks.
Underneath it was a completely new body—sleek, shiny, and way bigger than before. Her size had doubled. Her wings had changed too—longer and thinner, glowing faintly. Even her mandibles looked sharper now.
On her head was a curved black crown that grew naturally from her chitin skull—marking her as royal. From her back, glowing sacs formed, releasing thin trails of pheromonal mist into the air.
Her tail had changed the most—becoming long and segmented, ending in a massive emerald stinger that pulsed with toxic energy.
Her eyes opened slowly.
Six glowing violet lenses stared directly at Nox.
She dropped from the air and landed gracefully on the ground.
Nox stared at her majestic figure with a look of satisfaction on his face.
[Congratulations! Your contracted beast: Crimson Scourge Ant Queen has evolved into Hive Empress!]
[Ding! Your beast Crimson Scourge Ant Queen has unlocked new skills.]
Without hesitation, Nox wished to see her new skills—and what he saw made a smile light up on his face.
"Best 50,000 shop points I've ever spent," he smiled.
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