Ash searched for about ten minutes, moving carefully through the sleeping territory.
The deeper he went, the more the structure changed.
The outer parts were rough and simple, built from wood pulp mixed with saliva into tough material.
But as he pushed farther in, the area opened into a cluster of multiple grey nests built around and inside the trees, just like hornet nests in his world.
Some were hollowed into the thick trunks, others wrapped tightly around heavy branches like protective shells.
The deeper he went, the larger and more elaborate they became, clinging to bigger trees with thicker trunks.
The nests grew grander and more polished, gleaming faintly in the dim light.
The air grew warmer, thicker, with a sharp insect scent.
Beedrill sleeping along the way grew bigger, guards with longer, curved stingers and thicker yellow-black bodies.
Finally, Ash reached the central area.
The hive here looked grander, more organized, a large rounded chamber with smooth, polished walls, big enough for a human to enter like it was the size of a small house.
At the entrance stood two massive guards, each at least one and a half times the size of normal Beedrill, their bodies thicker, stingers longer and curved sharply, wings folded but ready.
They lay slumped in deep sleep from the smoke, but even unconscious they looked intimidating.
Ash stepped carefully past them and entered the chamber.
Inside, the space opened wide, the ceiling high enough for him to stand straight.
The walls curved smoothly, layered with hardened resin that gleamed softly in the dim light filtering from small openings above.
In the center, on a raised platform of hardened pulp, lay the Queen Beedrill.
She was massive, twice the size of normal Beedrill, her body longer and thicker, stingers enormous and gleaming like swords.
Her yellow stripes shone deeper, almost golden, with black markings that looked regal, her wings larger and veined in silver.
She slept peacefully on the raised platform, her massive body rising and falling in slow, steady breaths.
Near her lay a shiny green male Beedrill, bigger than normal but not that big compared to her, only about 1.2 times the size of a regular one.
He rested close, curled protectively beside the queen.
Nothing too special other than being shiny by human standards, but in the Beedrill world he might be considered handsome. Who knows…
Strong, shiny, clearly favored.
The female was clearly the queen, the true ruler, larger and more beautiful, her form commanding even in sleep.
The male one must be the father of the shiny royal egg, probably part of her harem or her lover.
Well, it doesn't matter much. I don't have time.
Ash started looking through the nearby cells.
He moved quickly but carefully, eyes scanning every protected nook for the egg.
After some minutes of quiet searching, Ash finally found a cluster of eggs in a special, guarded area.
The eggs were arranged neatly in a protected room, surrounded by the largest sleeping guards.
He used his gender-checking ability to eliminate the male eggs, so he only had to pick the female ones.
But surprisingly, all were females for some reason.
He sighed.
Now he had to pick every egg to check which one was shiny.
Ash started his picking and putting-back job.
One by one, he lifted them gently.
If no system notification appeared, he placed it back exactly where it had been.
Finally, on the 23rd egg…
[Mission complete: Obtain a Queen Beedrill's egg (shiny female – future queen)
Reward: 5 Heart Balls]
Ash smiled.
Perfect.
But as the new mission window popped up, Ash ignored it.
[Mission: Make The Shiny Unhatched Female Weedle Your Slave
Reward: Unknown]
[Note: If the host manages to make it a slave before it hatches, there is a 100% chance to receive a new skill. If it hatches first, the mission reward will change based on its evolution stage.]
He took out a Heart Ball from his system space and gently placed the egg inside.
The ball enveloped the egg in a soft pink light and sealed with a quiet click, keeping it safe and warm.
Ash turned to leave, but as he was leaving his eyes drifted back to the sleeping Queen Beedrill.
For some reason, he just wanted her.
She was massive and beautiful, longer body, thicker stingers like elegant swords, golden stripes shining even in sleep.
This shiny egg might have potential, but she, the real queen, carried an aura, a presence, a raw power that the egg might never fully match if he raised it alone.
The Queen Beedrill was already proven: massive, commanding, beautiful even in her unconscious state.
She could protect the egg, teach it, make it stronger than any hatchling he could raise by himself.
And beyond that… having her would be better.
A living queen, obedient to him, able to lay more eggs whenever he wanted.
The shiny royal egg was the mission goal, but the queen herself was the true prize.
Ash's smile widened.
He couldn't leave her behind.
He pulled another Heart Ball from his system space and threw it at the Queen.
The ball opened, pink light flashing.
It shook once, twice, three times.
Click.
Captured.
The Queen Beedrill vanished into the ball.
Ash picked it up, satisfied.
Now he had both, the future queen and the current one.
Perfect.
As for what happened to the hive or the shiny male Beedrill, it didn't matter.
There were more eggs in that room, and the swarm would wake up eventually.
The hunt was complete.
He left the empty hive behind.
The forest air felt cooler as he stepped out, the weight of two new Heart Balls in his system space.
One for the shiny royal egg.
One for the massive Queen Beedrill herself.
Ash smiled to himself as he imagined.
One day, when he gets a transformation ability or something similar… as the queen was already massive enough. He could fuck her if he wanted, feel her enormous body around him.
But the thought of her in a humanoid form, curvy, powerful, regal, mother and future daughter side by side… both his…
He shook his head, pushing the fantasy aside.
That was for the future.
Right now, time to head back to camp.
Yellow was waiting…