Strongest Hive Lord: Endless Evolution Of My Spawn Hive

The apartment door slid open with a soft hiss, and for the first time in… well, forever, Riven stepped into a place that didn't feel like a holding cell, a run-down shoebox, or a debt collector's waiting room.

The Union, in a rare display of generosity—or maybe damage control—had given him a "temporary living arrangement." Translation: We can't keep you locked up, but we're still going to keep you on a leash.

And honestly? Riven didn't care.

Because this apartment?

It had working lights.

A kitchen that wasn't a half-broken mana stove balanced on a crate.

A bathroom with an actual mirror that wasn't cracked down the middle.

He stepped further inside, blinking at the clean walls, polished floors, and furniture that didn't look like it had been salvaged from a dumpster fire.

A grin—an actual, stupid grin—crept onto his face.

The Union had even cleared his debts. All of them. No more loan sharks, no more shock-sticks, no more ominous "payment reminders" slipped under his door.

For the first time in years, Riven wasn't just surviving.

He let out a short, almost disbelieving laugh. "Hah… it's not lavish, but it's mine."

There was a small sofa, a table that didn't wobble when you leaned on it, a functional mana-powered fridge, and even a balcony with a view of the city's sprawling skyline.

He pressed the door panel. The lock beeped. It worked.

For a moment, Riven just stood there, hand still on the panel, grinning like an idiot.

"Oh yeah," he muttered, looking around like he'd just hit the lottery. "This'll do."

He tossed a bag of what little belongings the Union had handed to him on the sofa and collapsed onto it with a long sigh.

The cushions were soft. Not lumpy. Not broken. Just… soft.

He almost wanted to cry.

He flopped back on the sofa, hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling with a dumb grin.

"Man… this is even better than that piece of wood they called a bed back at my old place."

He sat up, rubbing his face. "Hell, I think this is the first time in years I've sat on furniture that didn't squeak or stab me with a spring."

With a satisfied sigh, he stood and wandered toward the bedroom.

The door slid open, revealing a neat, simple room. Bed made. Floor spotless. No weird stains anywhere.

Riven opened the wardrobe—and froze.

"…Huh."

Rows of shirts, pants, even socks... all his size.

He stared for a long moment, one eyebrow twitching.

"…Yeah, that's not creepy at all. Totally normal. Perfectly fine."

After a second, he shrugged, grabbing a shirt and holding it up. "Well, at least I won't have to buy anything. Free clothes, can't complain. Thanks, Big Brother Union."

He turned toward the kitchen and stopped dead. The fridge was stocked—completely. Fresh ingredients, prepackaged meals, even snacks. The cupboards had enough dry goods to feed him for weeks.

"…Okay. This is too much."

He shut the fridge door slowly.

"Nope. Nope, nope, nope. This is… This is like… 'We don't want you leaving' levels of hospitality."

He put his hands on his hips, frowning.

"Wait. Can I even still work as a cleaner?"

A pause.

"…Yeah, probably not. Three months no-shows? Wang definitely fired my ass."

He ran a hand down his face, groaning.

"And if the Union knows all that… what, they just want me to stay here? Like some kind of lab rat in a nice cage?"

He glanced around slowly, narrowing his eyes.

"…What if they're actually watching me?"

Riven crouched slightly, scanning the corners of the room.

"No way. There's gotta be a camera in here somewhere."

He checked the ceiling. Nothing.

He leaned close to a wall panel.

"…Maybe behind this thing? No, that's dumb…"

He pulled open a cabinet door and peered inside.

"…Still dumb. Why would they put a camera in the pantry?"

Standing in the middle of the room again, he pointed toward the ceiling like he was lecturing an invisible audience.

"If anyone is watching, just know—I will find the camera, and when I do, I'm charging you for emotional distress."

He crossed his arms, looking around again, muttering under his breath.

"…Yeah, this feels way too much like a setup. Perfect apartment, free food, clothes that fit… They don't want me working. They don't want me leaving."

He let out a dry laugh.

"Great. Riven Cael, officially a pampered lab rat. Living the dream."

He flopped back down on the sofa with a groan.

"…God, I miss being broke already. At least then I knew who hated me."

Riven let out a long sigh and flopped onto the bed, arms spread out.

"Okay… being paranoid isn't gonna do me any good," he muttered, staring up at the ceiling. "If they're watching me, fine. Enjoy the show, creeps."

He rolled onto his side, burying half his face into the pillow. "Screw it… let's see where I'm at now."

He lifted a hand lazily.

"...Open Status Window."

A soft chime resonated through the room, and the familiar blue panel appeared before him, floating in the air like a hologram.

⟡ STATUS WINDOW ⟡

Name: Riven Cael

Age: 22

Level: 3

Race: Human

Tier: 8

Attributes

Strength: 483

Agility: 481

Endurance: 485

Intelligence: 486

Luck: 452

Mana: 497 / 497

Mana Regen: 1.0/sec

Skill(s):

• Continuous Growth – D-Rank [Evolveable]

A passive, compounding trait. All core attributes increase by 5 points every 24 hours.

Growth applies uniformly regardless of health state, activity, or environment.

Affects Strength, Agility, Endurance, Intelligence, Luck, Mana Pool, Mana Regeneration, and adaptive neural faculties.

Immune to buff/debuff interference.

Growth is accumulative, permanent, and scales with user tier.

Trait may evolve further under extreme or unknown conditions.

Riven stared at the panel for a long moment, expression flat.

"Yep… still ridiculous."

He poked at the floating screen half-heartedly, watching the numbers shimmer faintly.

"D-Rank skill, Tier 8 body, Level 3 cleaner. Totally normal. Nothing to see here."

He then looked to his right, his heart sinking again as he gazed at the second system window.

"But this...."

❖ [Welcome, Hive Lord.]

❖ [Directive: Survive. Expand. Evolve. Eliminate all threats.]

❖ [New Skill Unlocked: Hive Mind Regent]

The panel expanded, displaying lines of information that chilled him as he read.

⟡ HIVE STATUS ⟡

Name: Riven Cael

Age: 22

Level: 3

Race: Hive Lord (Ascendant Human Variant)

Species Type: Adaptive Parasitic Sovereign

Threat Class: Omega

Attributes

Strength: 683

Agility: 681

Endurance: 685

Intelligence: 686

Luck: 652

Mana: 697 / 697

Mana Regen: 10/sec

Hive Data

Total Hive members: 527 (All Female)

Queen(s): 1

Spawns: 526 (All Female)

Soldiers: 210

Workers: 184

Scouts: 133

Skills:

Hive Mind Regent – Grants full telepathic command and shared sensory perception with all hive members. Enables advanced coordination and adaptive combat strategy.

Perfect Mutation – Ensures every hive evolution produces optimal traits without genetic degradation.

Transformation – Allows controlled alteration of your own body to seamlessly change between monster and human form.

Transfiguration – Allows controlled alteration of hive members' forms to suit tasks or combat scenarios.

Perfect Regeneration – Grants hive members and the Hive Lord flawless, rapid healing without energy loss.

Riven's hands tightened into fists as he stared at the words Total Hive members: 527.

"Spawn…?" he whispered.

His chest tightened as the realization sank in. The system wasn't speaking figuratively. It was counting living beings—his hive—like they were his children.

Riven's throat felt dry as he stared at the orange panel, the word Spawn burning into his mind.

His voice came out low, almost hesitant.

"…System… are they… really my children?"

For a moment, there was only silence.

Then the panel pulsed once.

❖ [Confirmation: All listed hive spawn are your biological children.]

❖ [They were birthed by the primary queen you mated with three months ago.]

Riven froze.

The room felt colder somehow. His chest tightened as the words sank in, each one heavy and undeniable.

"…Then… it must be referring to her," he murmured, his voice barely audible.

His eyes unfocused as his mind went back to that night—that encounter.

The insect-woman. Her voice. Her wings. Her bite.

The fleeting image of that slimy white liquid trickling down her thighs.

His hands curled slowly into fists against the sheets.

"Don't tell me she actually...."

Meanwhile...

Far above the city, cutting silently through the night sky, a figure glided with eerie grace.

Moonlight reflected off pale white hair that trailed behind her like a comet's tail. Her golden-yellow eyes glimmered unnaturally against the darkness, scanning the cityscape below.

She moved without sound, her form barely more than a shadow with the silhouette of a woman.

As she descended, her wings folded seamlessly into her back, and she landed softly in the narrow mouth of an alleyway.

For a brief moment, her entire body shimmered, bathed in a soft golden light. The glow traced along her skin, weaving threads of energy that solidified into casual human clothing—a plain jacket, fitted pants, and shoes that looked far too ordinary for someone so inhuman.

She stepped out of the alley, her expression calm, deliberate.

Her gaze shifted to a distant apartment complex, its lights warm against the cold night.

A faint smile curled her lips.

"…Found you... Broodmate."