Chapter 845 – Remior’s golden century – Wasp mutations (Patreon)

While Percy and Nephthys had been almost certain that they would pick a time affinity for her third core, they had still studied and compared the mutations of other wasps to see what interesting abilities she might be missing out on.

Wasps with the same affinity always seemed to develop the same mutation, and there appeared to be some overlap between species, too. Percy couldn’t imagine Micky developing a venom gland or a pair of antennae if he had possessed an acid core, but his water mutation had been practically identical to Nephthys’.

Percy’s theory was that every species would develop the same generic mutation for a given affinity, unless they possessed some specific biological trait that resonated more deeply with the element, producing a unique effect.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, wasps with pure cores didn’t obtain any mutations.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, composite affinities had the advantage of producing three mutations each – one for the fused element and another for each component. Those mutations were typically less impressive than those produced by rare elements, though quantity had a quality of its own – especially since the mutations might open up even more possibilities when they started merging and strengthening one another.

Percy and his fellow aspects had briefly entertained the possibility of giving Nephthys a lava core to complete the set of common elements, but ultimately decided that a couple of extra mutations weren’t worth lowering their ceiling as deities.

The mutations associated with the rare elements they already possessed were also somewhat interesting.

Wasps with soul or gravity cores obtained Soul Predator or Giant Body, respectively. Nephthys and Micky had already possessed the first one by default, while the second mutation could have been useful if it had affected the wasps’ nectar output.

Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to.

The mind mutation greatly boosted a bug’s intelligence, arguably making the affinity an excellent choice for the average beast. However, it was useless for higher-graded beasts, which grew smarter on their own – let alone a reincarnated deity.

Regardless, Nephthys wouldn’t have picked a duplicate element either.

Wasps with karma cores developed a directional sense that allowed them to locate other members of their species or return to the hive more easily. Percy could have looked for a way to repurpose that ability for interstellar navigation, but he would have needed to bring the wasps to other planets first. In hindsight, he was glad that they had picked a different affinity, since his Star Atlas now served the same purpose.

Bugs with space cores developed spatially compressed nectar and venom glands that could store several times the usual amount. That was another ability that sounded impressive but was of little use to Percy, because he cared more about the creatures’ nectar output than their internal capacity. After all, he could simply stash the hives’ excess nectar in external reservoirs, since it remained stable for a very long time. Percy hadn’t forgotten that the coins of Fools’ Amber on Robari had persisted for tens of thousands of years.

Wasps with life affinities regenerated their bodies much faster and lived longer. Ironically, that mutation might have been a better match for Micky – assuming that he could have obtained something similar. Rapid healing wouldn’t do much for the Huehuan, but Percy hadn’t expected the mutation to provide a lifespan extension. The prospect might have swayed them if they’d conducted those experiments before activating the crow’s third core.

Then again, Percy would still need to find a solution for his own shortened lifespan. They were also quite happy with Micky’s supersized body and their upgraded silk, so there was no point in crying over spilt milk. Nephthys was an Orange-born, so she had even less reason to worry about the Void Decree’s requirements.

All things considered, the time mutation had seemed like the best fit for her, making their choice even easier.

Time mana could accelerate anyone’s mana regeneration even without a specialized mutation. The wasps’ Temporal Chamber allowed them to greatly amplify and concentrate the effects of the affinity on specific body parts. For example, they could accelerate production in their nectar glands while slowing down organs that consumed more beast mana, thus greatly improving their net output.

After Nephthys’ promotions, the combination of her higher grades and the new mutation had increased her jelly generation by a factor of nine, which had played a big role in Percy’s willingness to share Gloomy Dawn with more people. Combined with his improved brewing yield, Nephthys’ production was enough to perpetually support over three hundred and fifty two-cored individuals with the superior cleansing resource, and that didn’t even include the output of the other royal wasps.

Unfortunately, Nephthys’ spawn hadn’t inherited Temporal Chamber – not even those hatched after she’d acquired it. Future generations might, if the mutation merged with Merciful Spring Monarch when she became a quasi-divine beast, but her descendants would probably inherit an atrophied version that they wouldn’t even be able to use without the correct affinity. Percy had no idea whether the Moirais’ Decree would start giving time cores to some of the creatures, or whether that would benefit the hive more than having every wasp awaken an acid core.

Percy and his fellow aspects could also take advantage of one another’s affinities to an extent. Lacing his or Micky’s weapons with Nephthys’ soul-melting acid mana was a no-brainer. The Huehuan’s gravity mana allowed Percy and Nephthys to strengthen their bodies even without the corresponding mutation, while the wasp’s time mana boosted Percy and Micky’s speed and mana regeneration.

Mind and soul mana weren’t as useful to Micky and Nephthys. Percy could lend his friends far more brainpower through his mind clones than they could ever generate on their own, and they could already interact with souls due to their status as aspects. The wasp couldn’t really use equipment either, so the Hepta-Woven silk was practically useless to her. She could still launch some extra spells using soul-freezing ice or phantom mana if necessary.

Having access to so many mana types had greatly contributed to their high combat power. Despite not specializing in offensive magic, Nephthys might even be slightly stronger than Percy or Micky thanks to her higher grades. Her first core had already reached White, while her second and third cores had both reached Violet. On the flip side, those higher grades were also why she couldn’t be considered a paragon. Without the March, she could punch only a couple of grades above her own.

With it, she and Percy could just about reach the threshold of the Eleventh Circle using the original hive. The swarm had grown much stronger, with its numbers matching or even exceeding their previous levels. The tens of thousands of newly evolved and mutated Starry Commanders that had mastered their boosting arts and raised their second cores to Green hadn’t hurt either. The artificial hive was still a lot weaker, but Percy estimated that it would eventually surpass the one in the Fungal Spire.

Leaving the wasps aside, Percy had considered giving the Moirais’ Decree to a bunch of crows or other animals out of sheer curiosity. He couldn’t help but wonder whether Micky could have unlocked some other interesting ability if they had spent more time weighing their options.

However, Percy would have needed to possess hundreds of thousands of creatures to cover every affinity, then wait for them to evolve. It would have taken too much time during the war – time that had been better spent in other projects. It would still have been an unnecessary hassle during the following century of peace, considering that they’d already made their choice.

It might be worth revisiting that idea if Micky ever had the chance to gain another affinity, but Percy was almost certain that three was the maximum number of mana cores a creature could have. Phoebe’s Decree seemed to think so, and he could hardly imagine where a hypothetical fourth core would even go.

Percy was drawn out of his thoughts when he reached a vast cavern around halfway down the narrow mountain and found a pair of White-cored wasps waiting for him.

One was naturally Nephthys. The Merciful Spring Empress was over two hundred metres long, and her ten-pronged crown and radiant carapace looked a touch more impressive than those of the other wasp.

The second creature was the only Minor Spring Empress in existence. She was a couple of dozen metres shorter than her mother, and her crown only sported eight crystallized protrusions. Funnily enough, Nephthys was also her daughter, since the newly crowned monarch was none other than the late Ruby Empress!

Nephthys had preserved her mother’s soul inside her gem and enlisted the creature’s services as a temporary proxy during the war. Her evolved mutations had given her the ability to permanently infuse the stored souls into her eggs, giving them new bodies and lives!