Refining the Heavens 5 (炼天五)

Chapter 96: Elven Forest (Part 2)

The Apoidea Queen is a rare magical creature to be found on Axis Mundi, thus few knew much about this elusive species except that they are the progenitors and controllers of insects. As for how many Apoidea Queens are there in this world, no one knows for sure, but naturalists are certain that there could be no more than a hundred. For a species so rare, they do lay numerous eggs and while it is difficult, it is not too impossible for egg merchants to track down nesting sites.

However, their numbers remained low for two reasons, the Apoidea Queens have a slow maturation process that span thousands of years, and the competition between their young are extremely violent. It does not help that few people would pay a handsome sum for the Apoidea Queen egg that is hard to procure, save collectors who appreciate rare familiars and elves who have the longevity.

The scarcity of this creature meant that not much is known about them. Kairos did not understand the reason he felt that this forest would be beneficial for his familiar, until the Apoidea Queen appeared next to him through the summoning. The shimmering fairy-like creature flew with blinding speed towards the nearest flower. The elk and other forest creatures looked at her with open curiosity as she dipped her entire body into the flower nectar. A moment later she flew out of the flower just to dive into another. In the brief moment when she reappeared, Kairos could visibly tell that the glitter in her dress became more dazzling.

Two words came to his mind. Bloodline improvement.

Now it is clear that the reason he felt that summoning his familiar here would be beneficial must be because there is something in this forest which will improve the Apoidea Queen's bloodline. For most creatures that inherits their abilities – rather than through training or cultivation – their bloodline is the main determinant of their strength and potential.

The Apoidea Queen is a creature with very powerful roots that traces back to a divine beast: the Apocrita Overlord. Although many mortal realm creatures have ancestors who are from the immortal or celestial realm, the Apoidea Queen's bloodline is exceptional. Firstly, they are directly descended from the Aculeata Empress – one of the most powerful immortal realm beasts, which in turn is directly descended from the Apocrita Overlord. Compared to most creatures that has numerous ancestral species in their lineage, the Apoidea Queens can trace their main evolutionary lineage back to only two primary ancestors. This makes her bloodline purity exceptional. Secondly, their ancestor, the Apocrita Overlords are powerful enough to be compared to dragons and phoenixes.

Individually, they are powerful predators, but when they are allowed to breed, they can dominate entire solar systems. There is even a galaxy that had been under the control of a single Apocrita Overlord.

With the two factors in mind, for Kairos' Apoidea Queen to improve her bloodline purity, even if it is just a little, it will cause tremendous changes. When the Apoidea Queen's bloodline improves, it will be able to reach a higher rank than it should been, and the insects it spawn will also evolved to become humanoid in shape just like the queen herself.

Now, having a humanoid form is rather common for many of the higher ranked creatures. They assume that shape to take advantage of the cultivation methods made by humans cultivators who succeeded reaching the peak through countless effort and wisdom.

There are plenty of animals that hitchhike another animal for survival, especially in a closed environment where the type of creatures is more or less always the same. When humans created and used cultivation methods, all the other creatures started following suit. Some created their own cultivation methods, but they soon realised they do not have the human's creativity, so they latched on using another way: becoming humanoid.

The gnomes that were plants from a celestial garden are only one example. The orc race came from a boar-like beast, pixies were from the insect kingdom, dwarves were volcanic rock golems, and the elves are, well... legend says that they were created by the elf king, Veritus, and had humanoid form all along.

Besides using human cultivation methods, a humanoid form is also convenient in many ways, like entering towns and cities or handling tools. With so many benefits, it is no wonder that so many adopt the humanoid shape. As for the reason why creatures that could not shapeshift can still take on a humanoid figure, it is only possible through divine intervention. Those creatures are either descended from a powerful god or their ancestors had gained the favour of one.

According to the limited information that Kairos had found from the elven texts, if the Apoidea Queen's bloodline can be refined to the next stage, her offspring will look like little fairies like her. Technically, the fae exists, so although the Apoidea Queen looks like a fairy, she is instead something called a pixie. It is difficult to hear of them both in Axis Mundi and Gaia. Only the celestial realm and worlds that are dominated by pixies will they be known. If not because of the elven texts that contained knowledge from Veritus, Kairos would also not have known just how rare and precious his Apoidea Queen is. To think that the egg merchant would place a chimera egg as the grand prize instead.

Kairos quietly thanked Lynr Dainsfon and his elves for all the books they had allowed him to read, albeit it was due to a bet, and that they gave him more books than he could read so as to ensnare him into breaking the magic contract.

The elk he rode on, slowed down and waited for the little pixie to finish slurping up all the nectar, but Kairos patted gently on its neck and have it hurry. As the magnificent beast ran forward, he looked back to the Apoidea Queen and called her, "Queenie, it's time to go."

The little pixie flew out from her flower and made an unwilling face at Kairos, eliciting a sigh from him. Relestia's safety is still in question. Although being kidnapped meant that she should be safe for now, there is no guarantee that this will not change with time. Kairos gently nudged the pixie saying, "We can come back later."

The Apoidea Queen only begrudgingly followed, after hearing that. Her wings becoming a blur as she zoomed forward at an incredible pace, and not even a moment later she caught up with the elk. Kairos smiled at her, but went into thought. After a good ten seconds or so, he reopened his eyes and snapped his fingers, chanting, "Gather!"

Within him, a spell circle was drawn with mana through his mana circuits. He had modified the Circle 1 spell, 'Create Water'. First, the magic tapped into his City Surveillance spell which maps out the surrounding area with Kairos at the centre. Then, the spell identified the elven forest flowers, specifically the ones which Queenie had picked before. Next, with the sources identified, liquid was drawn towards Kairos, forming a pool of nectar that floated above this palm. The Create Water spell normally draws liquid from the air around, but it is technically just as easy to choose from specific water sources.

The floating ball of nectar was an impressive sphere the size of a small barrel. When the pixie saw that, her eyes glowed with delight, and she happily took it. At first Kairos offered to help her store it, but he was pleasantly surprised to find out that the familiar had her own magical item storage box spell. With this much nectar, the pixie should have enough for the entirety of this trip to the elven capital.

Kairos quickly checked his City Surveillance map, yet he cannot find the nearest elf village. Stretching the mana he can control to his limits only revealed that the village is about a day's distance away according to the pace the elk is travelling.

"Are you able to go faster?" he asked with urgency. The elk simply glanced over and nodded, understanding his words. Then, the light sprint it was moving turned into a slow trot, however, the trees on their side started shooting by them as though they are flying through the air. It was lucky that the pixie had seated herself on his shoulder, or she might have been left behind even with her speed.

Astonished, Kairos closed his eyes and concentrated to feel the mana around them. As he thought, there is a powerful spell that surrounded them which he quickly deciphered. The elk can travel using a Fusion Spell of space, time, wind, and light magic.

He suddenly became very interested in the creature. In the first place, Kairos had been curious why this beautiful forest creature would offer him a ride, and now it has become a lot more mysterious. From the speed they are now moving, they will arrive in a matter of minutes. He calculated it to be nearly thirty times faster.

Kairos gently stroked the beast on its neck, "Would you like to follow me from now on?"

Aisa popped her head out from his scarf excitedly.

Kai Kai got me a new pet?YAY!