A Chemist's Interstellar Saga

Chapter 11: The Kering Family
Chapter 11: The Kering Family

Arix, looking at the dense swarm of insectoids, felt relieved that she could handle this sight; a regular person might have fainted of fright at such a scene.

Drexel retracted his gaze from the observation and nudged Arix, a mix of nervousness and excitement in his voice, ”This is an insectoid nest. You’re starting with something this thrilling? I like it, though.”

Arix rolled her eyes at the eager Drexel and whispered, ”Get ready, 1, 2, 3, throw!”

They hurled at least twenty potions into the center of the nest. The disturbed insectoids, ready to attack, suddenly fell to the ground. In just a moment, only a few low-level insectoids were left, frantically circling in confusion.

Arix and Drexel exchanged a look and silently took care of the remaining few.

Afterward, Drexel, looking at the corpses of the insects, said with a bit of hesitation, ”It would be great if real insectoids were this easy to kill. Sadly, it’s just a holographic game.”

Drexel’s words piqued Arix’s curiosity. ”Are real insectoids that terrifying?”

Drexel glanced at Arix, his expression unusually serious, ”The insectoids known to the Alliance include worker, parasitic, mutant, and queen classes. Worker insectoids, like these corpses, are just the bottom rung of insectoid society and pose no threat to the Alliance. Even the mutant insectoids, which can command others and have strength comparable to Supergiant-Class, only pose a limited threat to the Alliance. But the parasitic insectoids are the real danger. Once they infect a brain, there’s no saving the host, and the eggs can infect everyone who comes into contact with the host. There was once a tourist planet where the people got infected, and now that planet is a wasteland.”

”And the queen insectoids?” Arix asked, trying to hide her fear.

”Queen insectoids aren’t strong fighters, but they lay a billion eggs at a time and like to crawl into living bodies to lay their eggs. The eggs hatch and burst out of the body only when the host’s nutrients are depleted, leaving nothing but skin.” Drexel had seen videos left by victims and spared Arix the more gruesome details. The host remains alive until the eggs hatch, slowly being consumed from the inside.

Arix was speechless, finding the world terrifying. She wondered how she could return to the world she came from, working as a normal chemist.

Seeing Arix with wide eyes and a shocked face, Drexel found her unexpectedly cute. He ruffled her hair and chuckled, ”Don’t worry. Until you graduate from the military academy, you won’t come into contact with the truly dangerous insectoids.”

Arix pouted but didn’t explain. It wasn’t that she was afraid of insectoids; it’s just that humans naturally don’t like bugs. Especially something like queen insectoids and the parasitic ones.

Just the thought of bugs crawling inside a body made Arix so disgusted she wished she could wipe out all the insectoids.

Over the next three days, Arix and Drexel scoured the exam area for insectoid nests. They used potions to eliminate them until they destroyed the last nest.

With only three hours left until the exam ended, Arix was excited, ”With our points, we’re definitely in the top five. Not only is our tuition fully covered, but I heard the top ten get rewards. I wonder what they are. Can’t wait!”

Drexel, usually carefree, was now frowning deeply, which made Arix curious. ”What’s wrong? Is everything alright?” She wasn’t naive; seeing Drexel’s serious look, she knew something was amiss.

Drexel took a deep breath and said seriously, ”We might be in big trouble.”

Arix pondered for a moment, then her pupils shrank in disbelief. ”The other military academies?!”

”We haven’t seen anyone from the Hecaris Military Academy in these three days in the exam area. I don’t think we’re just unlucky, so there’s only one possibility left – there’s no one from the Hecaris Military Academy left in the exam,” Drexel said coldly, looking around the woods.

”Hah-hah! Heir to the Kering family? No surprise you’re guessed so quickly. But you’re too late. The trash from the Hecaris Military Academy has been eliminated by us. Oops...”

As the arrogant voice sounded, numerous students emerged from the depths of the woods.

Arix noticed the emblems on all the students’ uniforms: the crescent moon, the Golden Lion, the test tube, and the cherry blossom.

The dire wolf of the Hecaris Military Academy was conspicuously absent.

”How does it feel to be surrounded, Drexel? Even if you have Supergiant-Class psychic power, you’ll be eliminated just like them today,” Elio, the heir of the Snorri Military Academy, said arrogantly.

Drexel ignored the bratty Elio and turned his attention to Varden, the leader from the Ceres Military Academy. He raising an eyebrow and asked, ”Since when does the Ceres Military Academy start to steal points?”

The Ceres Military Academy was known as the odd one out among the five military academies, mainly focusing on chemists. It was known for its scarce student intake, so their participation in the exam was usually just a formality. Yet, this year, they had unexpectedly joined forces with the other academies.

”I’m not interested in points,” Varden replied coolly, then turned to Arix, ”Your potions are impressive. It’s a pity you’re not in the Ceres Military Academy.”

”Varden, don’t think I wouldn’t dare to hit you just because we’re cousins. It’s too much to try and poach Arix right in front of me!” Drexel glared at Varden,huffing.

Trying to poach Arix right in front of him was even worse than stealing points.

Arix never thought she’d unintentionally become the center of attention, evolving from a nobody to the main focus.

She felt like prey under the watchful eyes of the other candidates, akin to a piece of meat surrounded by hungry wolves.

Feeling a bit scared, Arix timidly hid behind Drexel and said to Varden, ”I really like the Hecaris Military Academy and have no plans to transfer.”

Drexel also shielded Arix, giving his cousin Varden a stern look.

Varden adjusted his glasses with a smile that grew warmer, saying, ”That’s truly a shame.”

”Come on! Are we fighting or not? The exam will soon be over; we don’t have time for this,” Elio impatiently raised his lightsaber, worth 20 million. He had just bought it from the in-game store.

”What do you two think?” Varden looked at Cirilla and Zephyr standing by his side.

”Let’s just fight and get it over with!” Cirilla’s voice, sweet yet haughty, came from her youthful and beautiful face.

”Let’s make it quick,” Zephyr said coldly.