Chapter 51: Connected
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"*sigh*... it's a type of network item that is kind of rare…" Mia says.
She pulls out a wooden box that is filled with 12 jars of jelly-like fluid. The fluid switched between multiple colors, and it had sparks of lightning flashing through it. Everybody couldn't help but shudder at the thought of drinking that…
"Drink it,"
Mother fuc-
"At least tell us what it is before we consume it," Aria says.
"I should probably tell you about how this monster works first. Just as you girls had perhaps already ȧssumed, this jellyfish is from a water dungeon. It's the top-tier monster within its dungeon, even though the boss isn't even the same species.
The jellyfish aren't strong by themselves, but when they're in a group of five, they can take down even a blood shark… Yeah, a blood shark," Mia says.
Blood shark, the deadliest monster in a water dungeon to be ever found. They are entirely dark red, allowing them to hide in a mist of blood and shadows. They are fast, strong, and their scales are extremely hard to break or tear off.
They are also able to manipulate blood to a certain degree. It's not as strong as the Bloodriver family's power stones, but they can still kill with blood… And a few jellyfish can kill that shark.
"You might be thinking that's impossible, but there is video evidence. And it's pretty easy to guess that they can take it down due to their exceptional teamwork. Teamwork on their level is only possible due to a-"
"Hivemind," I interrupt.
"Exactly, they have a hivemind. And they have a special ritual where they share their jelly amongst each other, basically making them quote on quote 'Blood Brothers,'" Mia says, making air quotes with her fingers.
"What does that have to do with this disgusting stuff?" Amanda asks.
"They connect their own power with each other. They can receive the potential from anybody they created this bond with, raising their power by at most… 5x,"
Everybody's jaws dropped.
"H-how do we not know about this monster. Is it a monster that your family specifically owns? Like do they own the dungeon for this monster?" Electra asks.
"Oh… I guess so. I thought other families had this same type of dungeon… I guess not," Mia says.
"So, what are the effects?" I ask.
"Our lives are connected. We can tell where each other are, everybody's physical and mental status, and of course, we can draw power from each other with only a slight debuff in return," Mia says.
Everybody nodded in agreement, but I had one suspicion.
"You said our LIVES are connected. Explain more on that," I said.
"What I meant by our lives being connected… if one person receives a fatal injury, we'll receive half of that. If somebody dies, then the others will probably be crippled for the rest of their lives… You might be wondering why I brought this out then… Well, it's to make sure nobody betrays each other and how we can never abandon each other until we separate each molecule of this jelly from our blood, flesh, and bones," Mia said, her face slowly turning into a grin that sent shivers down our spines.
This is basically like joining a cult…
"I'm out. I'll stay in the org, but I'm not doing something dumb like this," Clio says.
More girls had agreed to go through with it than I thought. It was just Clio that didn't want to get involved in something as sketchy as this.
Everyone present directed their gaze at Clio. She was singled out, but in my opinion… it is what it is. If she doesn't want to do something like this, she doesn't have to… but the other girls aren't having any of it.
"Tch… fine, but why do something as extreme as this?" Clio finally agrees after being slowly backed into a corner.
"Ah, because I have a goal past just getting a grasp on the underworld… I want the entire underworld, throughout the earth, in the center of our palms. That would be nice, wouldn't it?" Mia asks.
Everybody was shocked by Mia's bold statement.
"Well, first, we have to survive, and most of all, I have to survive," I say.
"What do you mean by that?" Mia asks.
"There's an organization after me for… special reasons. I won't say it now, but I can't fight them alone, so I need support that can wipe them out. But, that's a long way down the road… You just have to know that they don't want to kill me, but make me a test subject for some crazy-ass experiments," I say.
Everybody was silent. There were no signs of immediate betrayal, but some girls felt uneasy.
"Okay, so we have to wipe them out. That means we need to step up our game. I have our masks ready, but we'll do the raid next weekend… no, let's do it when they least expect it—mid-day, around lunchtime, where the guards are probably the most careless. I mean, why would somebody- no, a group raid a massive mansion in the middle of broad daylight. We'll also do this on Thursday, and I hope nobody has anything to do on that day," Mia says.
"That's stupid. We need the cover of the night even to have a chance of infiltrating," Charna speaks up.
"Don't worry. I know you can't use your shadows which is why I picked the perfect first target. You'll see when we get there but just know that half of the mansion is constantly covered with a shadow due to a mountain," Mia says.
Everybody nods their heads in agreement before grabbing a jar of the electric liquid.
"Wait, don't drink it yet; otherwise, you'll go into cardiac arrest. Their shock and venom are extremely potent," Mia says, pulling out another wooden box filled with grey clay.
"It's a buff snack, it will help you not to have any permanent injuries, but most of you will probably have injuries that could take a few days to recover… Though I've never experienced the pain, I hope you all are prepared to suffer,"
"We have school tomorrow," Astra says.
"If you want to go to school tomorrow, then fill your stomach with this disgusting clay," Mia says.
Mia said this, thinking everybody wasn't going to stuff themselves with it… but everybody except for Mia and I ended up doing precisely that.
Once everybody had stuffed themselves with the clay, they gulped down the electric fluid. I could see instant regret on some of the girl's faces as I swallowed my batch as well.
But, the pain was still there. I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists as I waited for the pain to subside.
[Pseudo-Hivemind has been established]
[Pseudo-Hivemind attempting to evolve into Hivemind]
[Full Hivemind has been rejected]
[Pseudo-Hivemind attempting to evolve into Hivemind]
[Full Hivemind has been rejected]
[Pseudo-Hivemind attempting to evolve into Hivemind]
[Full Hivemind has been rejected]
[Pseudo-Hivemind has fully established]
Suddenly, a searing pain had appeared on my tongue. It felt like it was getting ripped to shreds and healed over and over. The pain wasn't the worst pain I had felt, but I struggled greatly to stay conscious.
After about 5 minutes of my tongue burning up, it finally subsided.
"HUFF HUFF HUFF… Are you girls okay?" I ask, lifting my head.
'Yeah,'
"HOLY SHIT! WHO SAID THAT?!" Nuala shouts.
"You mean that 'yeah?'" I ask.
"Oh, that was probably the Pseudo-hivemind feature. We can hear each other's thoughts, and if we want, we can influence each other's emotions to a certain degree… about 15% at most," Mia says.
"Is there a way to turn it off?" Celestine asks.
"I think… Ummm… try to imagine a switch flipping off or something," Mia says.
Everybody closes their eyes, and the thoughts that harassed my brain started to disappear slowly. Some minor thoughts leaked through, but that was pretty much it in the end.
"Wow, that worked… hehe," Mia chuckles to herself.
It seems she didn't know how to turn it off.
"So it's kind of like a server that we can join whenever we want and talk to each other," Aria says.
"Did anybody get a searing pain on their tongue?" Amanda asks.
Everybody nodded their head in agreement, and without any verbal confirmation, we stuck our tongue out. I could feel Mia's gaze that had some ŀėwd intent behind it.
I snap my head in her direction and give her a death stare that quickly redirects her attention.
"When did you get a tattoo on your tongue?" Aria asks Amanda.
"Huh, you have one as well- wait, all of us have one," Amanda replies.
Everybody had a black tattoo that was relatively small on the center of their tongue. It was a small hollow circle with eight wavy tentacles coming off of it.
"Hmmm… I've never heard of this happening… Maybe it was a secret kept from me?" Mia mutters after everybody withdrew their tongue.
She probably stole these from her family. She seems utterly oblivious to specific effects.
We continued to talk for a while before everybody got up and left. Mia kissed me goodbye as I ran back to my apartment.
…
"Maybe, she is home now? She did say she was leaving today, but maybe I can catch her before she leaves," I say, walking out of my apartment after taking a shower and changing.
Opening the door of my apartment, I see Auntie standing right in front of me with a serious expression.
"Auntie! I have something to tell you-"
"Follow me," Auntie says coldly.
Auntie was serious about her words, so I matched her attitude while following her. We left the apartment and walked into an alleyway that had not a single light in it.
"A-Auntie?"
An icicle formed in Auntie's hand.. With one shove of her palm, the icicle began to barrel towards me.
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"*sigh*... it's a type of network item that is kind of rare…" Mia says.
She pulls out a wooden box that is filled with 12 jars of jelly-like fluid. The fluid switched between multiple colors, and it had sparks of lightning flashing through it. Everybody couldn't help but shudder at the thought of drinking that…
"Drink it,"
Mother fuc-
"At least tell us what it is before we consume it," Aria says.
"I should probably tell you about how this monster works first. Just as you girls had perhaps already ȧssumed, this jellyfish is from a water dungeon. It's the top-tier monster within its dungeon, even though the boss isn't even the same species.
The jellyfish aren't strong by themselves, but when they're in a group of five, they can take down even a blood shark… Yeah, a blood shark," Mia says.
Blood shark, the deadliest monster in a water dungeon to be ever found. They are entirely dark red, allowing them to hide in a mist of blood and shadows. They are fast, strong, and their scales are extremely hard to break or tear off.
They are also able to manipulate blood to a certain degree. It's not as strong as the Bloodriver family's power stones, but they can still kill with blood… And a few jellyfish can kill that shark.
"You might be thinking that's impossible, but there is video evidence. And it's pretty easy to guess that they can take it down due to their exceptional teamwork. Teamwork on their level is only possible due to a-"
"Hivemind," I interrupt.
"Exactly, they have a hivemind. And they have a special ritual where they share their jelly amongst each other, basically making them quote on quote 'Blood Brothers,'" Mia says, making air quotes with her fingers.
"What does that have to do with this disgusting stuff?" Amanda asks.
"They connect their own power with each other. They can receive the potential from anybody they created this bond with, raising their power by at most… 5x,"
Everybody's jaws dropped.
"H-how do we not know about this monster. Is it a monster that your family specifically owns? Like do they own the dungeon for this monster?" Electra asks.
"Oh… I guess so. I thought other families had this same type of dungeon… I guess not," Mia says.
"So, what are the effects?" I ask.
"Our lives are connected. We can tell where each other are, everybody's physical and mental status, and of course, we can draw power from each other with only a slight debuff in return," Mia says.
Everybody nodded in agreement, but I had one suspicion.
"You said our LIVES are connected. Explain more on that," I said.
"What I meant by our lives being connected… if one person receives a fatal injury, we'll receive half of that. If somebody dies, then the others will probably be crippled for the rest of their lives… You might be wondering why I brought this out then… Well, it's to make sure nobody betrays each other and how we can never abandon each other until we separate each molecule of this jelly from our blood, flesh, and bones," Mia said, her face slowly turning into a grin that sent shivers down our spines.
This is basically like joining a cult…
"I'm out. I'll stay in the org, but I'm not doing something dumb like this," Clio says.
More girls had agreed to go through with it than I thought. It was just Clio that didn't want to get involved in something as sketchy as this.
Everyone present directed their gaze at Clio. She was singled out, but in my opinion… it is what it is. If she doesn't want to do something like this, she doesn't have to… but the other girls aren't having any of it.
"Tch… fine, but why do something as extreme as this?" Clio finally agrees after being slowly backed into a corner.
"Ah, because I have a goal past just getting a grasp on the underworld… I want the entire underworld, throughout the earth, in the center of our palms. That would be nice, wouldn't it?" Mia asks.
Everybody was shocked by Mia's bold statement.
"Well, first, we have to survive, and most of all, I have to survive," I say.
"What do you mean by that?" Mia asks.
"There's an organization after me for… special reasons. I won't say it now, but I can't fight them alone, so I need support that can wipe them out. But, that's a long way down the road… You just have to know that they don't want to kill me, but make me a test subject for some crazy-ass experiments," I say.
Everybody was silent. There were no signs of immediate betrayal, but some girls felt uneasy.
"Okay, so we have to wipe them out. That means we need to step up our game. I have our masks ready, but we'll do the raid next weekend… no, let's do it when they least expect it—mid-day, around lunchtime, where the guards are probably the most careless. I mean, why would somebody- no, a group raid a massive mansion in the middle of broad daylight. We'll also do this on Thursday, and I hope nobody has anything to do on that day," Mia says.
"That's stupid. We need the cover of the night even to have a chance of infiltrating," Charna speaks up.
"Don't worry. I know you can't use your shadows which is why I picked the perfect first target. You'll see when we get there but just know that half of the mansion is constantly covered with a shadow due to a mountain," Mia says.
Everybody nods their heads in agreement before grabbing a jar of the electric liquid.
"Wait, don't drink it yet; otherwise, you'll go into cardiac arrest. Their shock and venom are extremely potent," Mia says, pulling out another wooden box filled with grey clay.
"It's a buff snack, it will help you not to have any permanent injuries, but most of you will probably have injuries that could take a few days to recover… Though I've never experienced the pain, I hope you all are prepared to suffer,"
"We have school tomorrow," Astra says.
"If you want to go to school tomorrow, then fill your stomach with this disgusting clay," Mia says.
Mia said this, thinking everybody wasn't going to stuff themselves with it… but everybody except for Mia and I ended up doing precisely that.
Once everybody had stuffed themselves with the clay, they gulped down the electric fluid. I could see instant regret on some of the girl's faces as I swallowed my batch as well.
But, the pain was still there. I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists as I waited for the pain to subside.
[Pseudo-Hivemind has been established]
[Pseudo-Hivemind attempting to evolve into Hivemind]
[Full Hivemind has been rejected]
[Pseudo-Hivemind attempting to evolve into Hivemind]
[Full Hivemind has been rejected]
[Pseudo-Hivemind attempting to evolve into Hivemind]
[Full Hivemind has been rejected]
[Pseudo-Hivemind has fully established]
Suddenly, a searing pain had appeared on my tongue. It felt like it was getting ripped to shreds and healed over and over. The pain wasn't the worst pain I had felt, but I struggled greatly to stay conscious.
After about 5 minutes of my tongue burning up, it finally subsided.
"HUFF HUFF HUFF… Are you girls okay?" I ask, lifting my head.
'Yeah,'
"HOLY SHIT! WHO SAID THAT?!" Nuala shouts.
"You mean that 'yeah?'" I ask.
"Oh, that was probably the Pseudo-hivemind feature. We can hear each other's thoughts, and if we want, we can influence each other's emotions to a certain degree… about 15% at most," Mia says.
"Is there a way to turn it off?" Celestine asks.
"I think… Ummm… try to imagine a switch flipping off or something," Mia says.
Everybody closes their eyes, and the thoughts that harassed my brain started to disappear slowly. Some minor thoughts leaked through, but that was pretty much it in the end.
"Wow, that worked… hehe," Mia chuckles to herself.
It seems she didn't know how to turn it off.
"So it's kind of like a server that we can join whenever we want and talk to each other," Aria says.
"Did anybody get a searing pain on their tongue?" Amanda asks.
Everybody nodded their head in agreement, and without any verbal confirmation, we stuck our tongue out. I could feel Mia's gaze that had some ŀėwd intent behind it.
I snap my head in her direction and give her a death stare that quickly redirects her attention.
"When did you get a tattoo on your tongue?" Aria asks Amanda.
"Huh, you have one as well- wait, all of us have one," Amanda replies.
Everybody had a black tattoo that was relatively small on the center of their tongue. It was a small hollow circle with eight wavy tentacles coming off of it.
"Hmmm… I've never heard of this happening… Maybe it was a secret kept from me?" Mia mutters after everybody withdrew their tongue.
She probably stole these from her family. She seems utterly oblivious to specific effects.
We continued to talk for a while before everybody got up and left. Mia kissed me goodbye as I ran back to my apartment.
…
"Maybe, she is home now? She did say she was leaving today, but maybe I can catch her before she leaves," I say, walking out of my apartment after taking a shower and changing.
Opening the door of my apartment, I see Auntie standing right in front of me with a serious expression.
"Auntie! I have something to tell you-"
"Follow me," Auntie says coldly.
Auntie was serious about her words, so I matched her attitude while following her. We left the apartment and walked into an alleyway that had not a single light in it.
"A-Auntie?"
An icicle formed in Auntie's hand.. With one shove of her palm, the icicle began to barrel towards me.
"*sigh*... it's a type of network item that is kind of rare" Mia says. She pulls out a wooden box that is filled with 12 jars of jelly-like fluid. The fluid switched between multiple colors, and it had sparks of lightning flashing through it. Everybody couldn't help but shudder at the thought of drinking that "Drink it," Mother fuc- "At least tell us what it is before we consume it," Aria says. "I should probably tell you about how this monster works first. Just as you girls had perhaps already ssumed, this jellyfish is from a water dungeon. It's the top-tier monster within its dungeon, even though the boss isn't even the same species. The jellyfish aren't strong by themselves, but when they're in a group of five, they can take down even a blood shark Yeah, a blood shark," Mia says. Blood shark, the deadliest monster in a water dungeon to be ever found. They are entirely dark red, allowing them to hide in a mist of blood and shadows. They are fast, strong, and their scales are extremely hard to break or tear off. They are also able to manipulate blood to a certain degree. It's not as strong as the Bloodriver family's power stones, but they can still kill with blood And a few jellyfish can kill that shark. "You might be thinking that's impossible, but there is video evidence. And it's pretty easy to guess that they can take it down due to their exceptional teamwork. Teamwork on their level is only possible due to a-" "Hivemind," I interrupt. "Exactly, they have a hivemind. And they have a special ritual where they share their jelly amongst each other, basically making them quote on quote 'Blood Brothers,'" Mia says, making air quotes with her fingers. "What does that have to do with this disgusting stuff?" Amanda asks. "They connect their own power with each other. They can receive the potential from anybody they created this bond with, raising their power by at most 5x," Everybody's jaws dropped. "H-how do we not know about this monster. Is it a monster that your family specifically owns? Like do they own the dungeon for this monster?" Electra asks. "Oh I guess so. I thought other families had this same type of dungeon I guess not," Mia says. "So, what are the effects?" I ask. "Our lives are connected. We can tell where each other are, everybody's physical and mental status, and of course, we can draw power from each other with only a slight debuff in return," Mia says. Everybody nodded in agreement, but I had one suspicion. "You said our LIVES are connected. Explain more on that," I said. "What I meant by our lives being connected if one person receives a fatal injury, we'll receive half of that. If somebody dies, then the others will probably be crippled for the rest of their lives You might be wondering why I brought this out then Well, it's to make sure nobody betrays each other and how we can never abandon each other until we separate each molecule of this jelly from our blood, flesh, and bones," Mia said, her face slowly turning into a grin that sent shivers down our spines. This is basically like joining a cult "I'm out. I'll stay in the org, but I'm not doing something dumb like this," Clio says. More girls had agreed to go through with it than I thought. It was just Clio that didn't want to get involved in something as sketchy as this. Everyone present directed their gaze at Clio. She was singled out, but in my opinion it is what it is. If she doesn't want to do something like this, she doesn't have to but the other girls aren't having any of it. "Tch fine, but why do something as extreme as this?" Clio finally agrees after being slowly backed into a corner. "Ah, because I have a goal past just getting a grasp on the underworld I want the entire underworld, throughout the earth, in the center of our palms. That would be nice, wouldn't it?" Mia asks. Everybody was shocked by Mia's bold statement. "Well, first, we have to survive, and most of all, I have to survive," I say. "What do you mean by that?" Mia asks. "There's an organization after me for special reasons. I won't say it now, but I can't fight them alone, so I need support that can wipe them out. But, that's a long way down the road You just have to know that they don't want to kill me, but make me a test subject for some crazy-ass experiments," I say. Everybody was silent. There were no signs of immediate betrayal, but some girls felt uneasy. "Okay, so we have to wipe them out. That means we need to step up our game. I have our masks ready, but we'll do the raid next weekend no, let's do it when they least expect itmid-day, around lunchtime, where the guards are probably the most careless. I mean, why would somebody- no, a group raid a massive mansion in the middle of broad daylight. We'll also do this on Thursday, and I hope nobody has anything to do on that day," Mia says. "That's stupid. We need the cover of the night even to have a chance of infiltrating," Charna speaks up. "Don't worry. I know you can't use your shadows which is why I picked the perfect first target. You'll see when we get there but just know that half of the mansion is constantly covered with a shadow due to a mountain," Mia says. Everybody nods their heads in agreement before grabbing a jar of the electric liquid. "Wait, don't drink it yet; otherwise, you'll go into cardiac arrest. Their shock and venom are extremely potent," Mia says, pulling out another wooden box filled with grey clay. "It's a buff snack, it will help you not to have any permanent injuries, but most of you will probably have injuries that could take a few days to recover Though I've never experienced the pain, I hope you all are prepared to suffer," "We have school tomorrow," Astra says. "If you want to go to school tomorrow, then fill your stomach with this disgusting clay," Mia says. Mia said this, thinking everybody wasn't going to stuff themselves with it but everybody except for Mia and I ended up doing precisely that. Once everybody had stuffed themselves with the clay, they gulped down the electric fluid. I could see instant regret on some of the girl's faces as I swallowed my batch as well. But, the pain was still there. I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists as I waited for the pain to subside. Pseudo-Hivemind has been established Pseudo-Hivemind attempting to evolve into Hivemind Full Hivemind has been rejected Pseudo-Hivemind attempting to evolve into Hivemind Full Hivemind has been rejected Pseudo-Hivemind attempting to evolve into Hivemind Full Hivemind has been rejected Pseudo-Hivemind has fully established Suddenly, a searing pain had appeared on my tongue. It felt like it was getting ripped to shreds and healed over and over. The pain wasn't the worst pain I had felt, but I struggled greatly to stay conscious. After about 5 minutes of my tongue burning up, it finally subsided. "HUFF HUFF HUFF Are you girls okay?" I ask, lifting my head. 'Yeah,' "HOLY SHIT! WHO SAID THAT?!" Nuala shouts. "You mean that 'yeah?'" I ask. "Oh, that was probably the Pseudo-hivemind feature. We can hear each other's thoughts, and if we want, we can influence each other's emotions to a certain degree about 15% at most," Mia says. "Is there a way to turn it off?" Celestine asks. "I think Ummm try to imagine a switch flipping off or something," Mia says. Everybody closes their eyes, and the thoughts that harassed my brain started to disappear slowly. Some minor thoughts leaked through, but that was pretty much it in the end. "Wow, that worked hehe," Mia chuckles to herself. It seems she didn't know how to turn it off. "So it's kind of like a server that we can join whenever we want and talk to each other," Aria says. "Did anybody get a searing pain on their tongue?" Amanda asks. Everybody nodded their head in agreement, and without any verbal confirmation, we stuck our tongue out. I could feel Mia's gaze that had some wd intent behind it. I snap my head in her direction and give her a death stare that quickly redirects her attention. "When did you get a tattoo on your tongue?" Aria asks Amanda. "Huh, you have one as well- wait, all of us have one," Amanda replies. Everybody had a black tattoo that was relatively small on the center of their tongue. It was a small hollow circle with eight wavy tentacles coming off of it. "Hmmm I've never heard of this happening Maybe it was a secret kept from me?" Mia mutters after everybody withdrew their tongue. She probably stole these from her family. She seems utterly oblivious to specific effects. We continued to talk for a while before everybody got up and left. Mia kissed me goodbye as I ran back to my apartment. "Maybe, she is home now? She did say she was leaving today, but maybe I can catch her before she leaves," I say, walking out of my apartment after taking a shower and changing. Opening the door of my apartment, I see Auntie standing right in front of me with a serious expression. "Auntie! I have something to tell you-" "Follow me," Auntie says coldly. Auntie was serious about her words, so I matched her attitude while following her. We left the apartment and walked into an alleyway that had not a single light in it. "A-Auntie?" An icicle formed in Auntie's hand.. With one shove of her palm, the icicle began to barrel towards me.
