Chapter 8- Meet Char!

[Please think of the name for your newest "Hive Member"!]

'Hmm, well, I did call her mother a pig. So how about "Charlotte"? Eh, that's a bit too long; what about Char instead? Yeah, I like Char; it's short and sweet!' After confirming his choice, the System responds affirmatively.

[You have chosen the name "Char" for the newest member of your Hive]

[You may change the name of your companion(s) at any time!]

[Hive Members (1/5)

1. Char- Minor Arachnid ]

Looking down at his first-ever friend in this world, Jared decides to try out the "telepathy" feature of his "Hive Control" skill.

"H-Hello Char, I'm Jared!" A little hesitant, Jared attempts to use the skill to introduce himself. As he waits for a response, he notices Char looking up at him, waving one of her front legs, almost as a greeting.

"Hello! Can you speak, Char?" Scared that he gained a mute companion, he waits in trepidation before hearing a squeaky voice inside his head.

"I Char!" Still waving her "arm" at him, Char responds childishly, her mind obviously not very developed.

Sighing in relief and slight frustration, Jared is happy that his new friend can speak, even if she seems to be lacking a bit in the intelligence department. 'Wait, increasing intelligence?' Having an odd thought, Jared looks back down at Char, who, for some reason, hasn't stopped waving.

"Follow me, Char, I have a snack for you!"

"Snack?" The mention of food trumping her desire to greet her weird-looking friend, she follows Jared quickly as they move back towards the cave with the pool. As they reach the edge of the liquid, Jared moves towards one of the crystals, still feeling slightly disgusted as he looks at them. 

"Here you go, Char! Free food!" Using his mandibles to push the crystal towards Char, he watches as she stares hard at it, clearly enamored. The sight of the crystal seems to cause her to "salivate" as more venom starts to slide down her fangs. As she leaps towards it, wrapping her legs around the crystal and puncturing it easily with her teeth, Jared watches as the Crystal seems to liquefy before being sucked up into her body.

After the crystal entirely dissipates into her body, Char begins to shake, her legs twitching, her body convulsing. "Hurts! Hurts!-" Suddenly, her messages stop along with her movements.

"Char? CHAR?! Oh no, I killed Char!" Pacing with anxiety, Jared is angry that he managed to kill off his only friend so quickly. Berating himself for being stupid, he doesn't notice Char standing back up behind him. Suddenly, he jumps as he hears a voice in his head once again.

"Hello, Jared! I'm Char!" Turning around rapidly, Jared almost jumps in joy as he sees Char staring back at him, waving her front leg once again.

"Phew, I'm glad you're okay, Char, you seem smarter now?" Asking to see her response, he can't help but laugh at her answer.

"Yeah! Char's the most smartest! Char's a genius spider!"

"Haha yeah, yeah, you're a genius spider, all right." Content with her increased ability to communicate, Jared brings Charlotte back to where he killed her mother, attempting to hide the body with his own.

Looking at him curiously, Char watches as Jared begins to devour the body of her mother, starting with her abdomen. Noticing Chars' odd stares, Jared watches as she creeps forward, grabbing one of her mothers' legs and beginning to chow down. 

'That's a little creepy,' Jared thinks to himself as he and Char finish devouring the corpse, receiving a notification along the way.

[10 Growth Points gained through consumption]

'What are growth points for anyways?' He asks the system, unsure if they are used for more than just evolving. While waiting for the System's response, he notices that Char's body seems to bloat up from overeating, causing him to smile as she shuffles around awkwardly, her "belly" nearly scraping the ground.