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”From the perspective of a creature classified as a monster, that is. We cannot wear equipment, we cannot truly use any weapons – though some specialized tools do exist – and we have limited skills when it comes to making use of the advantages of the human form. For other Hive Queens, this innate weakness of their form is something that is inevitable. Even their full monster forms are not ideal for combat, so they rely solely on spawning powerful defenders and using the hive as their protective shield. However, we, as True Royals, are different. We are not just the mothers of our hives but the last line of defense.”

Vesperia took a stance a bit of distance away from Jake as her aura began to change. It retracted into her body, making her seem entirely powerless for a moment before she spoke.

”Vespernat Metamorphosis.”

A bright light resembling the shape of a pupa appeared, and Jake felt it served as both a protective barrier as well as as a way to hide the transformation. Not that it worked against Jake’s sphere and insane Perception as he saw her change.

Vesperia’s humanoid legs extended, becoming thinner and far more insect-like with jagged blade-like growths all over them, both looking almost like they were made of bone with sharp spear-like ends. Her skin transformed as it was replaced by plates of yellow and black chitin. Both arms transformed as the right one changed into looking like a long lance-like stinger, the left one changing to still be vaguely humanoid but with claws rather than fingertips, and a large piece of chitin grew on her forearm, resembling a shield.

Exoskeleton covered her entire body, even a helmet-like growth covering her head, leaving not even a slit for a visor, but instead had black circular coverings on each side one could faintly peer through, making her look quite a bit more wasp-like. Her four wings remained but had grown larger than before to match her increased bulk. The wings were covered in some pollen-like substance that gave off a powerful life affinity, but in general, her body did not give off much magical energy. Jake was confident… she was not a caster of any kind but a pure warrior type.

The pupa shattered in the very next moment, releasing a blast of energy as her full form was revealed to his eyes.

Vesperia had gone from a tall woman with soft features to a creature clearly designed purely for combat. Not a single natural opening remained, not a single identifiable weak point visible. The only slight giveaway that she was even a female Hive Queen was her thin frame and long golden hair flowing out of the helmet, but with even the chest region not having any outgrowth, showing her otherwise oversized mounds were no more. It could just be a thin long-haired dude.

Her new exoskeleton honestly looked like full plate armor, and Jake knew just by looking at it that it was insanely resilient. However, out of everything, the thing that made the biggest impression was the massive stinger-like right arm.

It made her look like a knight with a giant lance, except the lance was a deadly stinger dripping with potent venom. With her shield-like growth, she truly did look like a knight. A wasp knight.

”How long can you sustain that form?” Jake asked with interest, admiring the transformation.

”Perpetually. It is not a boosting skill but merely a transformation between two natural states,” Vesperia answered, her voice clear despite her head being covered by the helmet.

Jake nodded, inspecting her form more. The black pattern on the yellow armor did make her kind of resemble a wasp, but it was actually more like she wore some kind of… eh, mecha-suit, maybe? Not quite, but close.

”… so what do you think?” she asked after several more seconds passed. Her tone caught Jake off guard, as it seemed off compared to her usual speech pattern.

Is she… fishing for approval?

The thought seemed preposterous, but maybe?

”It looks powerful and resilient, and your presence is a lot more intimidating, but what ultimately matters is not how it looks but its effects on your fighting prowess,” Jake said honestly. ”Care to demonstrate?”

”Naturally,” Vesperia nodded as he saw her wings vibrate. Her entire form disappeared as she flew into the air with impressive speed, the armor obviously not slowing her down. Vesperia made dozens of stabbing motions, every single stab releasing a shockwave with impressive control. He used the word control rather than potency because what was made was more a penetrating shockwave than a big and powerful one, as thin as a bullet and far deadlier.

Jake smiled as he summoned his wings, a long enough time having passed since he used the escape skill from the hive back on Earth. With a leap, he also shot into the air, Vesperia stopping her movements. She looked at him, unsure.

”Come at me,” Jake said.

Vesperia looked for a moment before nodding. ”Very well.”

Without any hesitation, she charged. However, Jake could only scoff. He side-stepped the stinger that hadn’t even aimed for a lethal spot, and before Vesperia had a chance to react, punched her in the chest, sending her flying backward.

Good thing I had the glove enchant, Jake thought as he landed the punch, feeling the feedback as he hit the armor. It was not quite as strong as the Hive King… but it was far closer than he would have expected from someone over seventy levels lower than the termite had been.

”Be serious,” Jake said as Vesperia had easily stabilized herself. ”Come at me properly and show me what you got. Don’t be afraid of hurting me. If you were capable of killing me, I would have died a long time ago.”

Arrogant but honest. Vesperia also seemed to realize he was serious, and he felt her also shift gear. Intense life affinity mana revolved around her for a moment as she charged once more, this time far faster. He estimated some kind of boosting skill had been activated.

Jake still side-stepped it, but he didn’t have time to counterattack as the shield came, aimed for his skull. He raised his foot and kicked off it, sending himself backward, as Vesperia stabbed towards his retreating figure. He was out of range from the physical blow, but a shockwave hit him in the stomach, punching a small centimeter-wide hole into him as if he had just been hit by a bullet.

He then felt something more. Palate of the Malefic Viper went into full swing as his eyes opened wide. They weren’t just shockwaves. A small needle-like stinger had also been released, one that had been perfectly hidden by the shockwave so that even Jake had missed it.

Pleased but a bit miffed at his Perception failing him, he went on the offensive. Both katars appeared as Jake teleported behind Vesperia, aiming for her wings. She reacted instantly, whipping around to defend herself as Jake teleported again, only for her to stab where he had just teleported to, forcing Jake to retreat back to avoid another stinger in his stomach.

Omnidirectional vision? Jake questioned. The eyes on the helmet were clearly not for show…

Vesperia followed up and tried to press her advantage with a charge. Once more, she tried to use the large stinger, but just as Jake was about to be disappointed by her lack of diversity, a weapon he had forgotten about shot toward him.

The long spear-like legs were not for show.

She kicked upwards, the leg cutting through the air like a blade. Jake barely managed to dodge as the other leg kicked, releasing a crescent wave of energy outwards, forcing Jake to block using both weapons. Just as he staved off the wave, the stinger came again, pushing him back even further.

Jake got repeatedly pushed back as he faced the Wasp Queen’s assault. Her entire body was a weapon, every movement deadly and purposeful. In his opinion, she sure didn’t fight like someone who wasn’t even born yesterday. In fact, she pressured Jake hard enough for him to struggle to find openings. Her way of fighting was almost like a dance, utilizing all her natural weapons in fluid combos that Jake did not doubt would crush most opponents.

He felt her pick up the pace as she pushed herself. Jake’s windows to dodge got narrower and narrower, Vesperia overflowing with life as her body boiled with energy beneath her armor. He only managed to use his weapons to deflect blows at this point, the pressure mounting even if it was still manageable.

But suddenly, as he was about to dodge, he felt odd. His movement was slightly slower than it should have been, resulting in Vesperia’s leg leaving a gash on his forearm. He managed to block the follow-ups until he once more was too slow, resulting in a far worse outcome.

Jake was forced to raise both weapons to try and block, but the lance-like stinger skirted off his blades and managed to stab him in the shoulder before he could launch himself backward. As he was stabbed, he felt the venom invade his body, which was also when he fully realized what had made him slower before.

He had believed Palate of the Malefic Viper would handle the venom from the small stinger before, but that had clearly not been the case. It was worse than Palate not handling it… Vesperia made him think it had handled it, as she had controlled the venom and only activated it at crucial moments.

Neurotoxin, Jake concluded.

The toxin spread throughout his body, slowing him down. Vesperia was already showing speed and power superior to Jake, and now she had a clear advantage. The Wasp Queen knew this, too, as she pressed forward. Jake looked at her charge as he knew he wouldn’t be able to dodge the incoming assault in his current state.

In conclusion, Vesperia was stronger than Jake in her combat form. Right now, at least.

However, there was one stark difference between the two. Vesperia had activated a boosting skill… Jake had not.

An explosion of energy was released from his body as Arcane Awakening activated, boosting all his stats by 30%. His sudden boost took Vesperia by surprise as he slipped by her stinger, punching both katars into her chest at the same time. The resulting explosion launched her back, Eternal Hunger failing to penetrate the armor with the Blackpoint Nanoblade, leaving a small hole. It did not reach flesh, but it was close.

Vesperia took caution, and he felt her glance at his katars as she retreated. Jake wondered what she was up to as suddenly the stinger began to change. The black patterns on it glowed as the end of the stinger opened up, leaving a small hole.

Wait.

She aimed it toward Jake as it flashed with energy.

That’s a fucking gun.

A stinger the size of a pencil was blasted towards him, Jake barely dodging in time as he was still shocked. Another stinger came right after, with four more released within the next two seconds. He dodged them all as he took out his half-ruined bow and coated it in some stable arcane energy to keep it from breaking apart as he smiled.

Ranged battle it is.

The venom was still bothering him, but Palate was hard at work, and the rush of arcane energy had managed to dispel most of it already. Vesperia also noticed this as their ranged battle picked up the pace, the damn stinger apparently having several different modes.

Rapid fire, shotgun, railgun, and even a damn harpoon where a string stayed attached. The Hive Queen soon realized that facing Jake in ranged combat wasn’t wise and resumed fighting in melee. Needless to say, then Jake found himself more pressed in melee, and Vesperia also had a bit more juice to squeeze out of her boosting skill as he felt her go full throttle.

Their fight continued for several more minutes. Jake even used Eternal Shadow as Vesperia also displayed some more skills while also willingly taking full advantage of her far more resilient defenses, gladly trading blows.

Jake’s conclusion after fighting her for a good while was clear.

About as strong as me with Arcane Awakening at 30%.

Which made her stronger than Sylphie – or at least a lot more well-rounded - based on Jake’s estimate, but still below someone like the Fallen King. He also had a feeling she wouldn’t be able to measure up to the Sword Saint, but that one was hard to tell as Jake hadn’t seen the full power of the old man for a while.

Though, to be fair, I am a bad matchup for her, Jake also concluded. Her venom was powerful as fuck; no two ways about it. He estimated the venom on her stinger was nearly on par with Scarlett’s, though he was sure Scarlett had far more diverse toxins while Vesperia only used one kind. Sadly for her, Jake was a bit overpowered versus poison users.

Vesperia also clearly noticed she could not get any good advantage as she retreated and stopped her non-stop assault. Noticing her intent, Jake also stopped the fight.

”Gotta say, I am not disappointed,” he smiled.

”Vespernat Metamorphosis.”

Vesperia used the transformation skill again, changing to her old form. The moment the light faded, Jake saw her expression. She seemed… displeased.

”Have I overestimated my own power?” she asked, partly to Jake and partly to herself. ”I felt helpless during most of that spar, nothing truly working, even when I managed to take you by surprise. Moreover, I always felt like you would have a response. Most frustrating was your ability to avoid my blows. You possess some kind of pre-cognition skill, do you not? How come none of my interference with your divination and the concept of time worked?”

Jake was surprised. ”You messed with the concepts of time and divination?”

”Yes?” Vesperia asked, also confused. ”General interference through the pollen I expelled from my wings. It should have created an environment where all magic, not of the life affinity, is hampered, though it did prove mostly useless against your magic as it mostly works on concepts, and the innate resilience of whatever affinity you are using is incredible.”

”Huh,” Jake commented. ”Sorry to disappoint, but no divination or time magic going on with me, at least not in the traditional sense.”

”Then how? How did you avoid all my blows as if you knew they were coming?” Vesperia asked, her frustration bubbling up a bit again.

Jake just grinned.

“Pure fucking instinct.”

”That’s ridic-”

”Don’t mess with her too much,” a voice suddenly echoed from the stairs leading up to the mansion’s main building below.

”Finally letting yourself be known, huh?” Jake turned to look at the Primordial snake god below.

He had naturally seen Villy pop in far earlier before the fight even began, though he had chosen to stay hidden to not interfere. Would Jake really want to fight right in front of his mansion if he risked ruining his secondary home?

Vesperia also noticed him as she quickly flew down and bowed deeply. ”I greet thee, Malefic One.”

Villy surprised Jake as he nodded. ”A pleasure.”

He then looked up at Jake. ”You should also get down here; we have some things to discuss.”

”What’s up?” Jake asked curiously.

The snake god smiled. ”Oh, nothing big, except the Endless Empire has already begun to send feelers out to find out how the new True Royal from a long-dead Lineage has appeared and where she is, causing quite a ruckus all around. So, ya know, the expected outcome of your bullshit.”

”Oh,” Jake said, scratching his head as he flew down and landed.

”Yep, so I guess the three of us should have a little chat,” Villy said to the human and Hive Queen. ”Because this shit is gonna leak whether we like it or not.”