Game of the World Tree

?WE’RE GOING TO BE RICH!

A hivemind, also known as unified consciousness or swarm brood.

It’s like a type of consciousness that functions as one collective mind often seen in various science fiction works back on earth.

Creatures with hiveminds typically works as a collective swarm.

And within this swarm, each individual has its own thought process, but their cognitive capacity is not entirely independent and sometimes can even be imperfect since above its general populace, there is an even more powerful consciousness exerting control over them akin to a ruler.

This supreme consciousness that oversees all the lesser members of its swarm is the hivemind.

In many science fiction works on earth, one notable species that behaves like this is from an old game called Starcraft, specifically the alien race known as Zerg.

These terrifying and ruthless amalgamation of biologically advanced, arthropodal aliens are considered to be a type of swarm consciousness lifeform and their supreme mind is their Zerg Queen.

When Evé examined the bodies of these crypt spiders, she also discovered that these arachnids shared a similar characteristics akin to a Zerg.

These crypt spiders do not possess completely intact souls. Instead, their souls have a shapeless form, rendering their minds incapable of functioning independently, thus, they lack the capacity to process coherent thoughts, unlike fully sentient beings.

This indicates that above them, there is also another more powerful consciousness or soul that’s exerting control over them.

And when these crypt spiders entered her Celestial Domain, all their connections with the outside world was also completely severed.

With their imperfect souls, these spiders were unable to sustain themselves in the usual manner. Thus, after a brief struggle, their souls ultimately crumbled, leading to their demise.

Moreover, while these crypt spiders were trapped within her celestial domain, Evé could also vaguely sense the presence of an unknown entity lurking in a distant place that’s attempting to emit a mental signal in an effort to reestablish a connection with them…

And the direction in which that signal originated from was located in Rivendell!

However, it was evident that the other party was not powerful enough to break through the barriers of her celestial domain thus it ultimately gave up after trying a couple of times.

“So… it’s true that there is indeed a more powerful entity or individual controlling these crypt spiders. The consciousness I’ve sensed at the end is probably the culprit and could be somewhat similar to a Zerg Queen!”

Eve’s mind stirred.

At this moment, she also understood why Meryer was reluctant in helping the players deal with the crypt spiders.

That cowardly black dragon masquerading himself as a ‘Silver Dragon’ must have known all along the secrets of these crypt spiders.

Meryer probably already knew that the gigantic silver-rank spider was nothing more than a lackey, and behind it lurked an entity that even the little black dragon would not dare provoke!

It seems that punk is not entirely foolish either.

“Is it…the Spider Queen?”

Evé became intrigued at the origins of these eight-legged creatures.

If everything unfolded as she had analyzed, the entity that’s controlling such a vast swarm of crypt spiders must have also possess an immense and formidable strength…

At the very least…she estimates that this Spider Queen must be at the level of low to mid gold-rank!

Evé lost herself in a myriad of thoughts.

In any case, how did these crypt spiders found their way into her celestial domain?

Hmm…oh right, she just received an offering prayer from a player mere moments ago.

Offering…tons of spiders…

Evé: “…..”

What are those players up to now…

She already had a vague idea of what might be going on.

With that in mind, Evé absorbed all the remaining life force left within these crypt spiders. Then, she delved deeper into her mindscape and located the player who had just uttered the prayer of offering. Focusing her divine sense towards his location, she connected herself to the player’s perspective and began observing the surroundings…

Soon enough, she saw the actual scenes through the eyes of this particular player.

Rivendell, entrance to the underworld.

The cavern that connects to the underworld have already become empty and desolate at this moment. Within its depths, faint glimpses of the underworld could be seen, but there was no longer a single crypt spider left in sight nearby…

Four players gathered around a massive offering circle near the cave’s entrance with each of their expressions filled with unbridled excitement.

“Holy F*ck! We actually succeeded, Captain Box! “

“Oh god! We actually managed to offer a huge living creature, along with over a hundred of its lackeys, and the system rewarded each of us with 1000 contribution points!”

“Hahaha… we really sent the boss to the goddess.”

“Hahaha… who knew we could use a method like this!”

“Awesome! From now on, whenever we encounter a boss we couldn’t defeat, we’ll just offer it instead!”

“Hahaha, the Goddess offering circle is truly omnipotent!”

“Guys… keep this a secret… this will be our hidden weapon in the future!”

“Hahaha! If we can’t defeat a certain mob in the future, then we’ll just send it to the Goddess!”

“Don’t celebrate too soon! It’s also entirely possible that not all creatures can become an offering.”

“Hahaha, anyway… if the monsters we can’t defeat have valuable loot on them, the offering circle will surely accept it. So what’s there to worry about?”

“Hmm… when you put it that way, it does make some sense!”

The players excitedly discussed as if they had discovered a new exploit.

Meanwhile, the Nightingale, who was hiding on the side was dumbfounded.

“T-They actually…succeeded in offering a living being…”

“Wait…one of your teammates was killed by those spiders! Aren’t you guys sad about it?”

She felt a bit confused.

“Don’t worry, Miss Nightingale. He’ll be resurrected back in no time. That person who died will probably return to the Chosen City soon. If you still don’t believe it, then just look around if his dead body are still here.”

“Hahaha, you’ll see him when we return back to the city!”

The other players laughed as if this wasn’t their first time witnessing a comrade die which left Nightingale speechless.

Nightingale: “…..”

She hesitated, then looked towards the direction of the offering circle and found that the corpse of the unfortunate elven warrior was indeed gone, leaving only a pool of blood behind…

“He actually… disappeared.”

She muttered in shock.

“Wait… could he have been sent to the goddess as well?”

The face of the elven girl suddenly turned pale.

“Hahaha! No way, the offering circle doesn’t allow players to be sent. It has already been tested before.” A player responded.

Nightingale: “…..”

However, soon her face was filled with puzzlement once again.

“Are the spiders these guys offered really the best fertilizer? Heck, does the Goddess even need some fertilizer in the first place?”

Nightingale muttered to herself.

Evé who was currently spying on them: “….”

When did she start wanting some fertilizer?

What strange knowledge are these players now spreading about her?

Evé looked utterly dumbfounded.

However, she confirmed her suspicions when Evé saw the enormous offering circle drawn on the ground.

Sure enough, it was the shenanigans of these players that sent her tons of spiders!

She couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time.

Who would have thought that the offering circle, whose original intended purpose was to simply send her the divine blood crystals they’d found, would eventually be used in this manner by the players instead…

Hell, they even directly sent her the monster they was supposed to fight!

Do veteran players like them really that proficient in finding game exploits?

From their useless junks at the beginning, now to even directly offering a live monster boss…

W-Wait a minute…

They won’t be sending her spiders on a daily basis from now on, will they?

Evé imagined a scenario wherein a group of spiders would be constantly thrown into her celestial domain by these brazen players as they all run amok within her peaceful domain…

Evé: “…..”

Oh hell no, this exploit must be patched immediately!

While the spiders being sent to her celestial domain would come under her control, and she could even siphon their lifeforce in the process, the risk involved would be far too immense.

Because once this exploit was leak to the public, the players probably wouldn’t stop at all and will think of even more ridiculous ways to exploit the offering circle.

If they encountered a difficult enemy and sent it to her successfully, then it would be acceptable for her and Evé would graciously accept it with a smile.

However, if the transfer were to fail and the offering circle were exposed to her enemies, the outcome of such scenario would be catastrophic. Her true identity would then be completely revealed since the circle of offering embodies the true essence of her divinity, and as the World Tree, Eve’s offering circle contains unique patterns specific to her, which can be easily recognized by those who are knowledgeable in such matters.

Moreover…this exploit really feels like cheating, and it is not conducive to the growth of the players, nor for Eve’s overall image amongst her believers.

Accepting living beings as sacrificial offerings…her image as a kind and gracious goddess would definitely crumble and everyone would really think that she’s an evil god!

Generally speaking, newly ascended gods would not accept sacrifices of living creatures as an offering.

It was a form of respect for life and it can be regarded as a guideline among the gods since ancient times.

Otherwise, if every god accepted living sacrifices from the get-go, then the entire mortal world would have long descended into chaos ages ago.

Evé thought about it, already considering how to patch this newly discovered exploit.

Meanwhile, the players’ discussion continued.

“Wait a minute… since we can do things like this, then why don’t we return to that mining tunnel once again? The spider lair at the end of that tunnel is also teeming with countless crypt spiders. I can’t even imagine how much CP we would gain if we can offered all of them too!”

This player’s idea sparked the interest of others to the point that even Boxlunch’s eyes gleamed with excitement.

Offering a single metallic spider leg would only yield a meager five contribution points. Generally speaking, most players would rather choose to hand over the spider legs they’ve gathered to a NPC instead.

That’s because by trading it over at the forging shop, the elven blacksmith Carlos would craft these spider legs into powerful arrows, which could then be sold to other players with archery profession for 15 to 20 CP!

Even if they sold them directly to Carlos himself, this elder would still give them 10 contribution points!

But… the spider lair they were considering would likely harbor thousands upon thousands of crypt spiders.

On a rough estimate, there are ten thousand crypt spiders, with each unit having eight legs. Offering one leg would yield five contribution points…

If they can actually manage to offer them all, then that would be a whopping 400,000 contribution points!

And that’s not even counting the legs from the larger adult spiders and that gigantic boss spider!

If they managed to lure them all out and send them to the goddess…

Wow…

Just how much contribution would that be!?

“Oh my god! I feel like we’re about to strike it rich!”

Excitement and enthusiasm spread amongst all the players.

“Do we have enough paint to draw another huge offering circle?”

“Yeah, we still have plenty…”

Boxlunch clenched his fist, slapped his thigh, and made a decision.

“Let’s do it!”

He then turned to Nightingale and said firmly, without a hint of doubt.

“You go back first. It’s going to be more dangerous from now on, so you can’t come with us.”

His tone brooked no argument.

After speaking, he then turned back to his team and dashed towards the direction of the mining tunnel…

Seeing Boxlunch and the other chosen ones suddenly filled with excitement and rushing off, Nightingale stood there in bewilderment.

She then stomped her foot in annoyance and cursed.

“That self-absorbed blockhead!”

Evé whose also observing the players as they all rushed towards the mining tunnel, couldn’t help but feel puzzled at their recklessness.

“They’ve found the spider lair, but do they have any idea what lies behind those spiders?”

Evé extended her perception towards the location they were heading, and she could vaguely sense the presence of a consciousness emitting a widespread signal.

This indicates only one thing…

Gold-rank.

Now that’s a truly high level being!

And if it were truly the hivemind that’s controlling these lesser lifeforms, then they likely also had countless minions at their disposal.

From Eve’s perspective, these players heading to that location are simply reckless individuals blinded by the prospect of acquiring vast amounts of contribution points at the expense of their own lives…

Wait, they weren’t even afraid of death to begin with, given their ability to be revived.

Evé shook her head in exasperation.

Nevertheless, she had no intention of stopping them, as it appeared that Boxlunch and his teammates, who had discovered the spider lair, were fully committed into doing this whole risky endeavor.

“Perhaps this is also an opportunity to draw out the hivemind lurking behind them.”

Evé then made preparations for her avatar to descend to their location at any given time, in case the situation suddenly turned sour.

“If they can truly lure out the spider queen and give me a chance to subdue her, then what harm would there be in granting them some contribution points?”

By subduing the ruling entity overseeing this whole arachnid swarm, Evé would’ve also gained control over the entire crypt spider population that’s living within Rivendell.

And as the reigning ruler of the crypt spiders that had dwelled within Rivendell for countless of years, this Spider Queen will surely held detailed knowledge of this ruins and its surrounding area.

Not to mention, they also possessed quite a formidable power!

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