Mutagen



Day 350 - 10:02 AM - Central Pond, Mountain Base, Mount Malabito, General Nakar, Province of Quezon

It should be a normal day for everyone. As for Mark's crew, it was another day to prepare for their next journey.

However, just as unexpected as the apocalypse came, the egg of the [Evolved Dragonfly] Mei received in New Jersey showed signs of hatching.

It had been several months. And given the dragonfly's egg-laying behaviors, they left the egg at the pond they created around the [Night Everred Pure Spirit Tree]. The one tasked to take care of the egg was Milielle, the [Mermaid] Princess, who chose to live in that same pond.

Milielle was also the first to notice the signs and immediately asked someone to call for Mei and Mark, who happened to be present at the base.

And now, a small group of people gathered, with Mark and Mei at the center, waiting for the egg's cracks as they widen.

It was not the first egg to hatch nor the first baby animal born in the Mountain Base. 

The [Evolved Greebes] Mark caught before already had a dozen chicks expected to provide a consistent egg supply for the base in the near future. Even the [Evolved Cows] had already given birth to a calf. There were also other animals and insects in the base that already had an offspring or two.

However, it would be the first time for most people to see a newly hatched dragonfly. Furthermore, most people did not even know what hatches from a dragonfly's egg or their life cycle.

With an [Evolved Dragonfly] egg hatching, many people in the base, especially children, would feel interested. In fact, the morning class for the children got cut early for the students to watch a dragonfly egg hatch.

The dragonfly egg lay in the middle of a nest-shaped clump of water lily leaves mostly submerged in water. They placed it at the deepest part of the pond usually, but Milliel moved it to a shallower part after she noticed its hatching. It was not something recommended when hatching insects, but they needed to do it. This egg was not a usual dragonfly but a highly mutated one. It could turn out to be dangerous if left alone unguarded.

"Ooohhh, it's cracking!"

One of the children loudly exclaimed, only to be hushed by everyone around him.

Slowly, the cracks of the egg spread out to the top of the egg. It was quite a strange way to hatch. One would expect it to be at the side of the egg instead.

SNAP!

A snapping sound followed the cracking of the egg's hard shell. The nymph inside the egg seemed to be pushing the large part on top of the shell off.

SNAP!

Another snap echoed as the top part of the egg's shell came off.

It was one leg at first. Then, the mandibles and head.

A clear-white nymph peeked out of the opened shell.

"Everyone, step back first," Odelina warned the onlookers. "Don't get too close. We don't know if it will be aggressive or not."

Everyone complied. It was better to be safe than sorry, especially in the world's current circumstances.

The only ones left near the pond were the members of Mark's usual crew, with the addition of Annica and Berrak. Of course, Milliell was also there, watching inside the pond.

One leg after another, the nymph came out of the egg. And with a splash, it plopped into the water. However, it did not sing or swim. It floated motionlessly, seemingly dead.

"What happened?"

Annica asked, worried that the new pet had some problems.

"Just watch," Mark answered. "It just hatched. It's still weak, and its body is still too soft. Wait until its body gets some color."

"How did you know, Uncle?" Emika chimed in. "Another of your Otaku knowledge?"

"Not really," Mark denied. "We have a creek near our house where we planted river spinach when I was little. There are a lot of dragonflies there, and I lost count of how many times I raised one of these."

"Oooh."

Emika and the others who heard Mark were impressed.

"And this one in front of us is not just idling around," Mark continued. "It's impressively intelligent."

"What? Why?"

Annica asked for further explanation.

"It's observing its surroundings, especially us," Mark explained. "I'm pretty sure that's not a usual behavior for newly hatched insects."

"Maybe it's imprinting?" Berrak spoke. "A lot of baby animals do that, even magical ones. Though, I don't know about this one. Maybe not."

But to everyone's surprise, Mark agreed with Berrak.

"I think you're not wrong," Mark nodded. "The nymph had been focusing on Mei'er since earlier. I wonder if it recognizes her since she received the egg and was the first one to hold it."

On the other hand, Mei seemed to only focus on the nymph. She also wanted a pet of her own. And now, it would be fulfilled. However, it was rather unusual for a woman to have an insect as her personal pet. Then again, it was Mei. She did not even care much about getting carried by Fein, the coward beetle, and flying in the sky.

After two minutes, the nymph gained some color. Its skin showed a yellower color. It was quite fast, in Mark's opinion.

As the nymph's body solidified, it began its first paddles of its legs. Soon, it moved its abdomen and began to swim. It then latched on the rocks at the side of the pond before staring at Mark's group while tilting its head.

At this point, everyone was on guard. Not everyone here could tell how the nymph would behave.

But Mark stared at the nymph. Then, he scratched his head.

"Try approaching it."

Mark helplessly said with a pat on Mei's head.

"Is it okay?"

Mei asked. Although she was rather excited, she was also wary. It was a mutated insect, after all.

"I don't think it sees you as its mother. At the least, it's not aggressive. Just take it slow and don't startle it. It looks confused about something." Mark explained. "Also, try this first."

Mark then took out a piece of raw mutated lizard meat from his [Spatial Ring] and handed it to Mei on a platter.

"Why do you have something like that inside your ring?"

Spera asked Mark, seeing the odd thing he was carrying inside his storage.

"I didn't have it earlier," Mark replied. "I took it from the kitchen when Mei called me."

"Ah," Spera understood. "You already expected this since you raised some before."

"Not exactly, but close."

Mark shrugged. He had no idea if that would work. After all, nymphs and dragonflies feed on other insects. On the other hand, the mother of this nymph fed on [Infected] corpses. In that case, it should be capable of eating animal flesh.

Everyone watched as Mei carefully approached the nymph. The nymph did not show much movement. However, it continued to stare at Mei as she moved closer.

When the two were just a few steps apart, Mei placed the meat just a foot away in front of the nymph.

The nymph looked at Mei. And then, on the meat. Finally, the nymph moved, stepping closer to the platter.

As the nymph reached the meat, it began chomping on it. Was it hungry already? It was continuously biting pieces of meat off the platter.

While the nymph ate, Mei took advantage of the situation and slowly reached out. Finally, Mei's right hand touched the hardened shell on the head of the nymph. Mei looked at Mark with an excited smile.

Mark smiled back, and he was relieved. The nymph clearly saw Mei. However, it did not care. In fact, it also showed some excitement when she touched it.

It looked like there would be no problems raising this nymph, at least for now.

Nonetheless, it was quite a strange sight. It was a scene of a beautiful woman touching an adult cat-sized insect. 

"Can I touch it too?"

Miracle tugged on Mark's clothes, asking for her father's permission.

"Later," Mark patted her head. "It still needs to get used to your Mama before we can play with it. If it gets startled now, it might bite."

"Okay."

Miracle nodded. She was a little disappointed. However, she was understanding enough to follow Mark's instructions and be patient.

It took another minute, which passed rather quickly for everyone. At that time, the nymph finished its meal. After all, it was just a small cut of meat. Even if the nymph only took a little in each bite, it bit rather quickly.

After eating, the nymph quickly walked to Mei's foot. However, instead of rubbing its body on her leg as one would expect a docile animal would do, it began stretching its legs.

And then, everyone gasped. The nymph jumped onto Mei.

Unfortunately for the nymph, it ended up nowhere. A hand appeared out of nowhere and grabbed it on its back. It could only flail its legs in protest, but there was no way it would be able to escape the hand grasping it.

It was Mark. He could only shrug as he held onto the large insect.

"You okay?"

Mark asked Mei. She was also surprised. It seemed that she let her guard down after the docile display of the insect.

"I'm okay," Mei replied and asked. "Did it turn aggressive?"

"No, it didn't," Mark replied. "It's just, it is intelligent for an insect, but its intelligence is just on the level of a cat. It wanted to climb on your shoulder, I think. But it didn't regard its claws hurting you."

Mark pointed at the claws of the flailing insect. It had sharp hooks that could likely slice through human skin easily.

"We need to train strictly before letting it run around," Mark said before turning his head to someone. "Annica, your turn."

Annica stepped forward and nodded. Among the people in the base, she was one of the most important people because of her ability. It was to tame evolved and mutated animals that gained a certain level of intelligence. Furthermore, she could communicate with them clearly.

However, the most important thing about Annica's ability was her capability to transfer her "connection" to her tamed animals to other people. It might have a limit of one animal per person. However, it also meant clear communication between the animal and the owner.

Everyone watched as the process went through. Mark restrained the flailing insect while Annica held its head to tame it. Annica closed her eyes as she formed a connection with the insect. When the connection formed, the nymph's resistance became weaker.

It was then Annica grabbed Mei's hand before she closed her eyes again.

Mei felt a little dizzy and could not help but close her eyes. She could feel something strange forming inside her mind. Nonetheless, it was a familiar sensation for her. It was something she was already used to.

"Huh?"

Annica opened her eyes in surprise.

"What's wrong?"

Mark asked.

"There's nothing wrong," Annica said while looking at Mei. "Rather, it went so well that it surprised me."

Forming a connection to a tamed animal was like forming a new organ that could sense the animal's thoughts. Annica was already used to it, but people who would experience it for the first time would feel extremely nauseous. Sometimes, they would even fall unconscious.

As Emika transferred the connection to Mei, Mark was already preparing to catch Mei if that happened. However, Mei remained standing, although her thoughts were a little fuzzy.

Mei opened her eyes. She then looked at the nymph while the latter looked at her.

All of a sudden, the nymph went limp as if it became dejected about something.

"Wow," Annica exclaimed. "Sister can already send her thoughts. Other people needed a few days to get used to it and some more time to send commands. It's just been a few seconds!"

There sure was something strange going on with Mei. It could be a good or bad thing. Nonetheless, it looked like they properly put the nymph under control. The only thing left was to train it slowly while raising it to become a magnificent ruler of the sky.