Chapter 627 - 624: The Solidification Ritual

Chapter 627: Chapter 624: The Solidification Ritual

「The day of the Solidification Ceremony was fast approaching...」

All sorts of new scents wafted from the flowerbeds. Mo Ling rolled around in them with great interest, but he also heeded Grass and Wood Fragrance’s advice. Every time he encountered a new scent, he would test it out before fully immersing himself.

These new scents were extremely pure, much like the ones from the Fragrance Bees themselves, and didn’t seem naturally occurring. Mo Ling didn’t know how the Fragrance Bees had brought them here, but he knew they must have been prepared for the Solidification Ceremony.

Mo Ling had no idea what this "Solidification Ceremony" actually was, but he could sense that the Fragrance Bees in the flowerbeds, as well as Grass and Wood Fragrance who had always watched over him, had become exceptionally busy, as if preparing for something...

Finally, one morning, Grass and Wood Fragrance led all the newborns to the center of the flowerbeds.

A clearing had been opened up, and all the Fragrance Bees were gathered there. The countless scents mingling together made Mo Ling feel a bit dizzy.

"The time has come, Leader. Let’s begin the ceremony..."

"Alright."

...

As the ceremony began, the Leader’s rich, fruity fragrance suddenly bloomed outward, instantly blanketing the entire clearing and seeping into the scent of every Fragrance Bee.

Under the Leader’s control, the previously chaotic, free-floating scents separated out, forming clearly distinct bands of fragrance that spread across the clearing.

At the same time, pulses of the Leader’s scent began to reverberate throughout the entire clearing.

"I have sealed off all the scents. Guardians, release the newborns."

Following the Leader’s proclamation, all the Guardians present opened the swaddling cloths made of scent and placed the newborns on the ground of the clearing.

Mo Ling, of course, was among them. He curiously probed his surroundings but couldn’t smell a thing, as if all the scents had completely vanished.

’Did the Leader do this? Seal off all the scents?’

’Amazing!’ Mo Ling hadn’t expected the Leader’s power to be so immense.

Just as he was thinking this, the diffusing fruity fragrance slowly enveloped all the newborns in the clearing.

Some of these newborns came from Grass and Wood Fragrance’s swaddling, while others came from the other Guardians in the flowerbeds. After placing the newborns in the clearing, these Guardians floated back into the air, seemingly completely at ease about their charges.

The Leader’s pulses came again.

"Newborns, this is the first time you have left your swaddling, the first time you have experienced the scents of the outside world. It feels pretty good, doesn’t it?"

All the newborns present were immersed in the sweet, fruity fragrance, squirming their bodies somewhat clumsily.

After the Leader’s scent spread out, it was no longer so dense. It was much fainter and smelled very pleasant.

Mo Ling followed this scent, rolling all over the clearing. Whenever he bumped into his clumsy companions, they would fall over in a daze. Their mobility was terrible.

Before the ceremony, Grass and Wood Fragrance had warned Mo Ling not to cause any trouble, so he had no choice but to go back and help his fallen companions up.

’So clumsy.’

Mo Ling complained inwardly before starting to roll around again.

The Leader’s scent spread far and wide without any restraints, and Mo Ling took the opportunity to roll around in it, having the time of his life.

The Leader paid no mind to Mo Ling’s antics, simply proceeding with the next step of the ceremony.

The scent began to pulse again.

"Although you have not yet gained the ability to communicate, I know that you can understand my meaning. You have grown in your swaddling for long enough, and now is the time to choose your own scent for solidification."

"Now, I will first tell you what scent solidification is..."

"All things in the world are composed of molecules. These molecules gather to form all matter, and when they escape from that matter, they become what we call scent..."

...

Fragrance Bees are a species that survives on scent molecules.

Their larvae, in fact, are molecular clusters made of uncollapsed scent molecules.

Although these molecular clusters can survive on other scent molecules, they are very easily influenced by them.

"Whatever scent they touch is the scent they will collapse into."

Therefore, to prevent the young from collapsing before developing self-awareness, the "Guardians" of the Fragrance Bee colony use their own scents to create insulating swaddling cloths, protecting all the larvae.

As the larvae grow, the scent molecules within them constantly replicate, much like the cells of a normal organism, gradually increasing in number. This also allows the larvae’s intelligence to increase slowly. At first, they are muddled and without consciousness, but as their scent molecules multiply, they eventually possess the same intelligence as an adult.

Once they reach a certain stage, they gain the ability to control their own collapse.

This is when scent solidification can occur.

"Scent solidification, in essence, is the process of a larva collapsing into a definitive scent molecule."

Only after becoming a definitive scent molecule can they begin to participate in civilized activities like hunting, building, communicating, and reproducing.

Once their scent molecules have solidified, they can strengthen themselves by consuming identical scent molecules, no longer needing to rely on slow self-replication. The speed at which they acquire scent molecules is therefore greatly increased. This is what the Fragrance Bees call "hunting."

The more scent molecules they gather, the richer their own scent becomes.

They can also freely change their volume and control the concentration of their scent molecules, just as the Leader was doing now—completely unfurling its body to let its scent blanket the entire clearing.

Furthermore, only after their scent molecules have solidified can a Fragrance Bee come into contact with other scents without being disturbed by them.

Additionally, once their molecular concentration increases, they can envelop other scent molecules to perform "construction." They can freely combine and manipulate scents, gathering other scent molecules into any form they desire or using them to achieve other objectives. This is "building."

Once they have a definitive scent, they can transmit information to their companions. By varying their concentration, they can express specific statements, and by enveloping other scent molecules, they can provide specific, indicative modifications. This is how they achieve "communication."

More importantly, when their concentration reaches a certain level, they can compress their scent molecules and combine them with those of another Fragrance Bee to create an uncollapsed molecular cluster. These clusters become the next generation of newborns. In this way, they fulfill the great responsibility of species "reproduction."

Scent solidification is the mark of an individual Fragrance Bee’s transition from larva to adult. It is also the prerequisite for controlling scent.

"Before you can control scent, you must first become scent."