Blackthorn Bastion stirred with new life. Though its halls were crumbled and its towers weathered by time, the fortress pulsed now with a flicker of something ancient, reactivated, repurposed, and reborn under Takaviel's command.
He stood in the heart of the central chamber, the Hivecore site. The stone beneath his feet had shifted, rearranging as a glyph-etched platform rose from the floor, hexagonal in shape, radiating with subtle amber light.
System Notification:
- Hivecore Installed
- Territory Radius: 500 meters
- Swarm Control Range Enhanced
- Fortress Tier: 1 (Dormant)
- New Functions Unlocked:
- Resource Conversion Nexus
- Basic Construction Web
- Defensive Instinct Node
Takaviel examined the interface as it unfolded within his mind. Each category hummed with potential, offering options to invest in and evolve the Hive Fortress into something more than stone and memory.
---
[Hive Fortress Mechanisms]
1. Hivecore Functions
- Swarm Range Amplification: Extends control radius, allowing distant summoning, coordination, and communication.
- Mana Field Regulation: Generates ambient mana over time, supporting regeneration of Takaviel and his swarm.
- Core Expansion Node: Locked until Tier 2. Will allow integration with multiple Hivecores across distant regions.
2. Construction Web
- Requires: Swarm Labor Units + Mana + Raw Material Fragments
- Buildable Facilities:
- Hatchery Chamber: Reduces summon hatch time by 25%. Required to unlock advanced swarm types.
- Feeding Pit: Stores biomass; speeds up devouring efficiency and unlocks Devourer synergy evolutions.
- Spawning Nest (Tier 2): Enables autonomous swarm generation.
- Reinforcement Walls: Increases defensive stats of the fortress. Can be upgraded with bone chitin, stone, or arcane metal.
- Observation Spire: Enhances vision radius and reveals hidden units near the fortress.
3. Resource Conversion Nexus
- Function: Converts ambient energy, broken items, and devoured corpses into usable materials:
- Mana Crystals
- Chitin Plating
- Bone Shards
- Obsidian Core Dust (rare)
4. Defensive Instinct Node
- Passive Defense System:
- Hive Alarm: Alerts Takaviel when intruders enter the radius.
- Swarm Surge: Auto-summons defensive units if the core is directly threatened.
- Adaptive Terrain: Sections of the fortress can shift to create kill zones or escape tunnels.
Takaviel scrolled through the build list, eyes gleaming with purpose. He selected the Hatchery Chamber first.
System: Hatchery Chamber construction queued. Estimated time: 3 hours. Required resources deducted.
He could feel the Hive responding already. His Weavers swarmed the chosen location in the lower levels of the fortress, their bodies clicking and chirping as they began layering the first organic constructs, sticky silk, molded stone, and the hardened bio-resin of the swarm.
Meanwhile, Strikers patrolled the exterior, forming a living wall around the Bastion. Takaviel felt something he hadn't before, roots. Not the kind that tied him down, but the kind that held fast against the storm.
This place was more than sanctuary.
It was evolution made manifest.
He turned to his system once more and activated a scan of the surrounding territory.
Nearby Resources Detected:
- Crystalline Growths (Unstable Mana Type)
- Fungal Caverns (Biomass Potential)
- Obsidian Quarry Ruins (High Defense Material)
Perfect. Each of them had a use.
He exhaled, voice quiet.
"This is only the beginning. This Bastion will be the Hive's heart. From here, we spread. From here, we dominate."
And beneath his feet, the Hivecore pulsed again, eager to grow.
System Objective Updated:
- Fortress Tier Upgrade Requirement:
- Construct 3 Facilities
- Secure Outer Perimeter
- Complete a Hive Trial (???)
Current Progress: 1 / 3