Chapter 283: Preparation for the Real Battle 1

"I'm finally back."

I stretched my legs and limbs, feeling the stiffness leave my body. The familiar sight of the sanctuary made me sentimental. No matter what happened, nothing could beat being in the real world.

Although I did have wives and children back there, I never formed a true connection with them. Because the truth was, I was a scumbag and an asshole.

Basically, I had only used the women there for comfort and pleasure, and the babies were simply a consequence of that.

Forget calling myself an asshole.

I was a complete dirtbag.

Well, there was no point in overthinking it. It wasn't like I had ever been a good or honest person to begin with.

'I'm back'

Shadow, whom I had tasked with guarding me, quickly came to greet me through our mental connection. She immediately began updating me on the current situation. Fortunately, only a few hours had passed since I left, which was a relief.

Good. I was worried that my sanctuary would be attacked by that thing while I was gone, and I would wake up to a pile of dead bodies.

Then I would have to start some revenge arc like those overly dramatic protagonists who lost everything and turned into emo.

No thanks.

I wasn't really suited for that kind of character.

Before doing anything else, I checked the reward I had received. The card began to glow, and what appeared before me was a purple orb.

I already knew what to do.

Without hesitation, I swallowed it whole.

Energy surged through my body, spreading into every part of me. It carried the same power as the Hive Queen's power, and I could feel it beginning to alter my body.

But unlike before, I wasn't losing control.

This time, I could guide it.

When I did, my mind—or perhaps my subconscious—entered an entirely different state.

I became aware of my surroundings in a way I had never experienced before. It felt like I was floating above the sanctuary, looking down from the sky and observing everything at once, including my own body.

I could see things I had never noticed before.

Different colors, wavelengths, connections, and flows of energy appeared before me. Even the slightest movement of the wind was visible, like invisible currents moving through the air.

So this was how the Hive Queen perceived the world.

It was powerful.

But at the same time, it was distracting. There was simply too much information coming in.

No wonder she wasn't suited for combat where everything changed within a fraction of a second.

A sudden burst of energy or a powerful attack could create countless waves of interference, making it difficult to focus on what actually mattered.

But when it came to leading and unifying her spawns, this ability was necessary.

It allowed her to sense everything connected to her, understand the condition of her hive, and respond instantly. For a being responsible for hundreds of thousands or even millions of lives, this wasn't a weakness.

It was exactly what she needed.

But was this really all there was?

I thought it would be something far more impressive, like the other card that allowed me to create a duplicate of myself.

Just as I was thinking about how underwhelming it was, a system notification echoed in my mind.

[Host, would you like to combine 'Duplicate' and 'Hive Mind'?]

"Combine? What do you mean?"

[By combining the two skills, you will be able to create up to 12 clones of yourself using Duplicate and control them simultaneously through the Hive Mind's multiprocessing ability.]

I jumped to my feet.

Not just because it was incredibly powerful, but because of the possibilities it opened up, especially when it came to my magic.

Back in Shadow's world, I had developed and studied ancient formation magic. The problem was that it required a minimum of five people with nearly identical levels of magical proficiency.

I had already abandoned the idea because I didn't have the time to train others to reach a level where they could keep up with me.

But this changed everything.

With this ability, I could finally use formation magic by myself.

And with twelve clones working alongside me, the destructive power I could unleash would be several times greater.

"Yes."

[Affirmative]

The system began sending information on how to use it.

Now that I had the alien cells within my body, I could simply tear away a part of myself and regrow it into a clone.

Normally, the process would take a significant amount of time. That was why the Hive Queen needed to consume humans for nutrients, and end up killing humans.

But this world was different.

There was already an abundant amount of energy in the air, and both Shadow and I possessed enough power that our bodies were practically worth tens of millions of ordinary humans in terms of energy.

Creating my first clone didn't take long.

It looked exactly like me and possessed all of my abilities.

After resting and recovering the energy I had lost, I began creating more and more clones.

To make them less suspicious, I altered their appearances. Each one had a different face and gender, with only one retaining my exact appearance.

There was no reason to have twelve identical versions of myself walking around. That would only reveal my trump card.

When it was done, I closed my eyes and began the linking process.

The system was right.

I discovered that I could split my consciousness into multiple parts and control each of them simultaneously. In theory, I could create more than twelve, but the more pieces I divided myself into, the weaker my control became.

I also discovered another limitation.

Although the twelve clones shared my abilities, their individual strength was still weaker than my original self. Meaning, they possessed my skills , but not the same level of power. The energy and strength were divided between each clone rather than fully copied.

The only exception was the original clone I could summon before obtaining the Hive Mind ability.

Unlike the others, it possessed the same level of strength as my original self.

An idea flash on my mind.

If my strongest clone acted as the center of the formation, it could still deliver the same amount of damage as if I were using it myself.

And to make it more efficient, I needed to create a method for the clones to share their energy with each other when necessary.

This was one of the few things I needed to consider carefully.

I began working. The more I developed my tactic, the more excited I became.

The next time I met that bastard, he was in for a big surprise.