Chapter 5- Blessing or Disaster?

[Species skill "Hive Obedience" has been removed due to certain circumstances.]

[Congratulations, you have gained the skill "Hive Control*"]

'Hive Control?' Jared thinks to himself.

[Hive Control(Level 1)

0/10]

[Due to the death of your leader, the Queen, along with the large majority of your colony, you have gained basic control over those who are considered a part of your "Hive". Any companion that is willing may join your "network" allowing you to communicate with them telepathically. You are also able to force those of your species who are weaker than you to join your "Hive", however, if they gain greater strength than the user, they may rebel.

You can "ask" other beings to join your "Hive", however, they must be willing to do so. You can "ask" them by touching them with any part of your body and thinking "Hive Control".

Currently you are capable of having five "Hive Members" 

Current Hive Members: 0/5

You can gain proficiency with this skill by using it passively or actively.]

'Woah the Queen's... dead? What could have killed such a monster, those humans?' Scared by the thought of being so close to those humans before, Jared's body shivers a little bit.

'Hive Control, huh. This seems crazy useful, I'll have to try it out when I meet something.' Happy with his newest skill, and no longer being controlled, Jared briefly forgets about his injury.

After the massive booms that he just felt, Jared looks up at the hole in the ceiling, watching as fragments of rocks and blue crystals fall down into the liquid below him. Still feeling the allure of hunger every time one of the crystal shards gets near him, he inches his body to the edge of the path he is currently on.

'Come on... come on'

Reaching over the edge with two of his legs, Jared attempts to catch one of the shards falling nearby. Struggling and failing, he moves his body even further, almost half of his body leaning over the edge. 

'Almost.. almos- AH!'

"CRSHK"

Before he could even register the impact, Jared's body falls off the platform, plummeting towards the blue liquid below. All he could notice was a flash of gold before he lost consciousness, his body causing a large splash as he collides with the water.

Unbeknownst to the unconscious ant, a crystal had fallen from the hole above him while he was distracted. Unlike the others, this crystal had a distinct golden hue, and was nearly perfectly spherical. This crystal impacted his body directly on his previous arrow wound, penetrating his thorax and becoming embedded inside.

Right after impacting the water, Jared's body luckily floats on the surface, half submerged. Very quickly, a searing pain wakes him up, his legs flailing around helplessly before he could get a hold of himself. Calming down, Jared struggles to read the system messages that are popping up in front of him.

[Mutated Exoskeleton proficiency has greatly increased due to active use. 4/10]

[Warning! Body cannot handle the sudden introduction of a Mana Core... forcefully adapting.]

Barely managing to read the messages through the almost burning pain coming from his thorax, he nearly loses consciousness as a different wave of pain hits him. This time, however, it seems to radiate out from his old wound, traveling across his body and tearing it apart, piece by piece. Cracks continuously forming on his exoskeleton, bits of translucent liquid leaking out of each crack, draining his energy more and more.

[Warning, body lacks enough mana to fully adapt... attempting forced evolution..]

[Error- not enough Growth Points to evolve.. external energy source required]

As the messages flow by, Jared's consciousness continues to fade away, his vision being slowly taken over by darkness. 'H-help me.' He weakly thinks to himself, though no one is close enough to do so. Before his consciousness totally fades, he notices the liquid around him once more. Small amounts of the liquid can be seen seeping into the cracks on his body, seeming to provide him with energy to keep going.

'This-this is my only choice...!'

Sighing to himself, he embraces the pain, taking big "gulps" of the liquid around him. Unfortunately, it seems the inside of his body is no where near as tough as his exoskeleton, as he feels a disgusting, relentless, searing pain everywhere the liquid touches. Luckily, the other pain he is feeling at the moment is covering up his pain. 'P-please.' After many gulps of the liquid, Jared can no longer maintain his consciousness, passing out as his body drifts towards the edge of the pool of liquid.

[External energy source acquired... attempting evolution... attempt failed]

[Attempting evolution.. attempt failed.. lacking Growth Points]

*CLICK*

After a loud clicking noise, something inside of Jared's body seems to snap into place, prompting another message from the System.

[Hidden conditions satisfied... pseudo-evolution has begun.. brace yourself for pain!]

If Jared was awake, he would desire more than anything to be unconscious. His body seemed to fold in on itself, his light blue exoskeleton flaking off piece by piece. Underneath, a navy blue exoskeleton began to reveal itself, visibly more tough than its prior state. His legs pop off, sizzling and dissolving in the blue liquid around him as thicker, navy blue legs begin to grow out from their place.

The entirety of his body seems to be remade piece by piece, adapting to its environment, changing to suit Jared's current needs. After about ten minutes, the crackling and popping noises from Jared's body stop. Silently, his unconscious body floats around the pool, bumping into the walls around him. After an indeterminate amount of time, one of his legs catch on the wall nearby.

[Congratulations! Pseudo-Evolution is complete! Your Species name has changed! Please think "Status" to see your new information]

Sadly, Jared wasn't awake to read these messages just yet.