"Wait a minute! You're not going to control me into doing anything weird, are you?"
Mo Liuli suddenly shot Wang Chen a wary glance, suspicion dancing in her eyes.
She had watched a lot of strange anime before stories of beautiful girls, fully aware, yet unable to resist, bound by some unseen force to obey orders. It made her shiver just thinking about it.
"Sorry, I'm not into brainless women with big chests."
Wang Chen waved her concern aside, shaking his head as he began walking deeper into the cave, unfazed.
"Hey! What do you mean by that?" Mo Liuli exploded in outrage. She raised her magic staff, ready to strike, but as soon as she moved, the surrounding mechanical worker bees and ants advanced, their huge mandibles and poisonous stingers aimed directly at her.
The sight of those long, sharp stingers caused her imagination to run wild. She pictured herself restrained, helpless, her legs forced apart in the most humiliating manner as the bees and ants closed in on her.
"No... no way! Absolutely not!" she squeaked, panicked.
Wang Chen raised an eyebrow and muttered to himself, "What kind of awakened Ice Mage is this... or is she more of a high- Mage?"
Behind them, the enraged queen ants and bees were roaring, their massive forms struggling as they were surrounded by Wang Chen's mechanical army. The purple BOSS names over their heads were all too clear.
"Too bad I can't control them," Wang Chen mused, his face scrunching in frustration. "The queen ants and bees are the central intellect of their colonies. If I could control them, I'd have an endless supply of worker bees and ants."
Looking at the defeated "Invaders" that had been crushed underfoot, Wang Chen sighed. With his current level, the Invaders were only level one, their control abilities weak at best. He needed to upgrade his Mechanical Factory to level two to enhance them something that would take him to level twenty.
The two queens, not yet transformed into mechanical beings, couldn't be added to his population and were instead dropped into his mechanical space.
"Guess it's better to just finish them off."
A flash of determination crossed Wang Chen's face, and with a flick of his wrist, he commanded his army of worker bees and ants to charge. They swiftly tore through the queen ants' defenses, ending their reign, and heavily wounding the bee queen.
The ground trembled with the impact, and a massive pile of loot burst forth, glittering with valuable materials. Wang Chen felt a rush of energy, the familiar notification chiming in his ears.
You have defeated the Black Armored Ant Queen! You gained 1230 XP!
"Ah, feels good!"
With that, his level shot up, reaching level sixteen an impressive leap in a single day.
In fact, leveling this fast was unheard of. Even with the help of powerful family members, no one could manage this kind of progress so quickly. If he told anyone about it, they'd probably faint from shock.
Mo Liuli walked into the chamber just then, her eyes wide with curiosity.
"This one's yours," Wang Chen said, pointing to the bee queen.
He had intentionally left the final blow to her. Despite her lack of brains, the girl had shown loyalty, sticking by him in dangerous situations. He couldn't let that go without some recognition.
"Really? Thanks!" Mo Liuli exclaimed, her face lighting up with excitement. She quickly drew her magic staff and shouted, "Ice Spike!"
A long, jagged shard of ice materialized, hurtling toward the bee queen. With a sickening thud, it pierced the queen's skull, sending her collapsing to the ground. More loot rained down.
"Ah, that felt so good!" Mo Liuli cheered, her voice dripping with satisfaction.
But then, a sudden shift came over her. She dropped to her knees, gasping for breath. The vast amount of experience flooded into her, more than she'd ever felt at once. It was overwhelming like a dam had broken open and poured into her. She couldn't even process it all.
"Too much! I can't... I can't handle it!" she gasped, a flush coloring her cheeks. Her level jumped 8 as she experienced the powerful surge.
Wang Chen had long since grown used to her exaggerated reactions. As she basked in her newfound power, he quickly grabbed all the materials that had dropped.
Lucky day two BOSSes, and they had dropped a ton of valuable stuff!
"Hopefully, there are two magic wands in here!" he muttered, eager for something specific.
He wasn't disappointed.
"Wow, two magic wands!"
Wang Chen grinned widely, picking up the first one. The wand sparkled with an almost dangerous aura.
Name: Venomous Bee Queen's Magic Staff
Category: Magic Staff
Level: Bronze
Attributes: +60 Spirit, +25 Strength, +15 Constitution, +25% Spell Critical Rate
Special Effects: 25% chance of inflicting Poison, Paralysis, or Strong Fertility Effects on enemies when attacking
Skills: Venomous Bee Aura (Active): Summons a venomous bee with 70% of the wielder's stats to fight for them until death.
Description: A magic staff crafted from the death of the Venomous Bee Queen. It has remarkable effects.
"Well, not bad," Wang Chen mused, noting the high-quality stats of the staff. But then, he read the "Strong Fertility" effect and raised an eyebrow. "What...?" he muttered, unsure what kind of effect that was.
He moved on to the next wand, a darker, more ominous-looking piece.
Name: Black Armored Ant Queen's Magic Staff
Category: Magic Staff
Level: Bronze
Attributes: +65 Spirit, +28 Strength, +15 Constitution, +25% Magic Penetration
Special Effects: 10% chance to increase Strength, Constitution, and Male Endurance by 10% for 30 seconds when casting spells.
Skills: Ant Queen Aura (Active): Summons a black armored ant with 70% of the wielder's stats to fight for them until death.
Description: A magic staff crafted from the death of the Black Armored Ant Queen. It has remarkable effects.
"Hah, this one's more normal... Wait, Endurance? What's that all about?" Wang Chen's face twitched in disbelief.
These were some strange drops. But then again, they were BOSS-level monsters from the same hive, so it made sense the loot would be... unconventional.
Even so, the value of these items was undeniable. He could sell either one for a small fortune.
But Wang Chen wasn't thinking about money right now. His primary focus was power.
"Time to ascend!" he announced, his arms flashing with black-golden armor.
The two magic wands shattered instantly, their power being absorbed into his arms.
Suddenly, the voice of the World Will echoed in his mind.
Left Arm Attack Path Ascension Successful!Right Arm Attack Path Ascension Successful!Congratulations, you have acquired the Palm Cannon!
Wang Chen raised his arms, watching as the internal armor pieces rapidly collapsed inward. Two brilliant orbs of light began to form, spinning and whirling in midair as countless circular components floated into place. A low mechanical hum filled the air as the transformation completed.
But Wang Chen wasn't concerned about that. His eyes were fixed on the next question: Could he upgrade these two bronze items into something more? Could they become Silver-grade items with the fusion?
And, more importantly what new skill would he gain?
A moment of silence followed before the World Will's voice rang out again.
Congratulations, the Black Armored Ant Queen's Magic Staff and Venomous Bee Queen's Magic Staff have leveled up to Silver grade!
Congratulations, you have gained a new skill...
The next words sent a chill down Wang Chen's spine.