Reward

The knights all stared at the bizarre, twisted thing in the princess's hand. Its very existence made them uneasy and afraid.

Although they understood from the princess's words what it was used for, and that implanting it would grant them greater power and the ability to command the Swarm, which was why the princess treated it as a reward.

But as humans, they would always fear strange, unknown modifications, especially in surroundings that sent their sanity plummeting. Would this modification turn them into monsters? Would they be controlled by these peculiar magical beasts called the Swarm?

Chloe was not at all surprised by the silent crowd. Even she had been deeply apprehensive when facing the Hatchery's modifications. How much more so these shortsighted ordinary people before her?

Fortunately, she had prepared a plan.

"Raul, ever since we entered the Death Forest, you have served as my personal guard. You protected me twice in moments of danger and were wounded for my sake. Your loyalty deserves a reward," Chloe said to a somewhat young knight.

The knight named Raul stepped forward, brimming with excitement, knelt on one knee, and bowed his head to Chloe in a knight's salute. "Thank you, Your Royal Highness. It is my honor to pledge my loyalty to you and serve you." Raul's voice was filled with excitement, without the slightest trace of pretense.

Chloe knew Raul only too well. He was a knight so simple that he could practically be called foolish. He was quite capable, but his thinking was too naive, and he had bound himself with those so-called knightly virtues.

He was also deeply enamored of the princess's beauty. In private, he had even said that protecting such a beautiful princess was his lifelong duty.

How could Chloe, well versed in the art of handling people, pass up such a useful pawn? After all, this pawn was the most loyal to her.

"Do not be afraid, my knight. Implanting the Neural Thorn is very simple. The process will be somewhat painful, but it will not last long. Gaining power always requires some suffering, does it not? Just as farmers must sweat and toil in the fields to harvest grain, knights must work hard at practicing their swordsmanship to attain superior martial skills."

Chloe's voice was beautiful, her words and tone as sacred and melodious as a church hymn. Bewitched by those words, Raul declared with a fervent expression that he would endure the pain and accept the Neural Thorn implant.

The Neural Thorn was an inferior version, so naturally, it did not enjoy the Hatchery Pool's painless surgery. Chloe simply placed the twisting, writhing Neural Thorn on Raul's head. Like a little snake, it slithered through his hair to a suitable spot, opened its sharp mouthparts, and bit down.

The pain of its mouthparts piercing his scalp shot straight into his mind. Despite having prepared himself, Raul still howled in pain. Yet this was not the end. Connecting to his nerves brought even greater pain.

Unable to endure it, Raul began rolling across the ground from his kneeling position, leaving the watching knights shaken.

Chloe was surprised as well. The Basic Hatchery had told her this implantation method would be relatively painful.

Judging by Raul's reaction, there was an enormous difference between what the Basic Hatchery called painful and her understanding of pain. Had she known the reaction would be this severe, she would not have chosen to implant the Neural Thorn in public.

But things had already come to this. She had to find something to do to stop panic from spreading further among the knights.

She extended both hands toward Raul and drew upon the Swarm network she was connected to, amplifying her psionic power. This was a new method of using Psionics she had recently mastered.

With the vast Swarm network's support, her Psionics reached an inconceivable level. She did not know how powerful her Psionics would become, but they certainly far exceeded the highest rank defined by the Astrologers' Association.

The purple psionic energy took physical form, first restraining Raul as he struggled on the ground. Then Chloe held her right hand above his head and said, "Endure the pain, my knight. The greater the pain, the greater the power."

The psionic energy formed a dome over Raul's head. It seemed to block out the pain, and Raul stopped rolling and howling in agony, becoming quiet instead.

Chloe had used exquisite psionic techniques to transfer Raul's pain to the Swarm network, letting the Swarm bear it together for him.

With several hundred Zerglings sharing the pain, even the searing agony of the nerve connection amounted to little.

Only after the Neural Thorn had been fully implanted and Raul no longer felt any pain did Chloe release her psionic restraints, setting him free.

Once released, Raul lay sprawled on the ground, utterly drained. It took him a long time to stand up. The Neural Thorn was attached to the back of his head like a little braid.

"I feel different now." Raul lowered his head to look at his hands and murmured to himself, "The world feels clearer and easier to understand now. My whole body is filled with strength."

"Follow my lead. Mobilize your power and establish a deep connection with the Swarm network. Then strike the ground to your left."

Now that Raul had a Neural Thorn, Chloe could communicate with him on a mental level.

After a moment of surprise, Raul quickly understood that this was the mental communication the Astromancers had spoken of. He was already a high-ranking knight capable of using Psionics, so he grasped it quickly.

Following Chloe's guidance, and aided by the efficiency of mental communication, Raul soon learned how to project psionic energy as well.

He clenched his fist and struck toward the ground on his left with the psionic energy gathered through the Swarm network. The energy, condensed into physical form, blasted a crater two meters across in the ground.

The tremendous disturbance startled all the knights. They could understand the princess possessing such great power. After all, someone who could establish a Mental Contract with the Swarm was beyond the reach of ordinary people.

But they knew Raul well. He was too young, and imbuing his sword with Psionics Enchantment had already been his limit. Yet now he could unleash a Psionics Shock with his fist, something only mages could do.

People would feel little about a superhuman whose strength far surpassed everyone else's. But when an ordinary person who had just been much like them suddenly became immensely powerful, it dealt a tremendous shock to their minds.

People would wonder whether they, too, could become that powerful. A strange atmosphere spread among the knights.

A squad of Zerglings ran out of the Level Two Hive and formed a neat square at the foot of the slope.

"Sir Raul, you can now communicate with the Swarm. Go speak with the Zerglings down there. They will now follow your orders to hunt," Chloe commanded.

Having witnessed Chloe's ability to communicate with and command the powerful Swarm, everyone envied her. Now that they could replicate that ability themselves, how could they not be tempted?

As Raul ran excitedly down the slope, the black-robed Astromancer Stars stepped out of the crowd and knelt before Chloe on one knee.