I wake up and notice that it has become dark again. My biomass supply is empty, so I have to go hunting. I set off and instruct my drones via the mental link what they should work on next. A short time later I am at the insect colony and start circling it to look at it from all directions. Overnight not enough new insects have replaced the ones I ate, which means that I hunt them one last time, before giving them time to recover.

I find my first target and concentrate on my magic fire attack. A few seconds later I burn a piece of grass next to the insect, which jumps up in surprise and retreats to its colony. Hitting moving objects with my magic is not so easy. I find a new target and try again. This time I divide my attention and track the insect's position in parallel with the fire spell. It's not so easy and it takes me much longer than the first time to create a flame. On the other hand, my target moves slowly and does not escape my spell. The direct hit roasts the finger-sized creature, which falls dead to the side. I wait a moment and grab my prey, which is still smoking a bit, and pull back to look at it in peace.

The carapace is blackened on the outside, but inside the creature still looks fine. Probably the sudden temperature shock was the cause of death, since my flame didn't burn through the carapace. I devour my first snack and find a new target to continue training my magic on moving targets. I experiment with the distance and come to the conclusion that with my current skills I can roast one of the slow insects from a distance of about three meters quite unerringly. I continue until I'm full and end up feeling much more confident in taking out moving targets.

As I return my attention to my surroundings, I notice that something is wrong with the plants around me. A vine moves slowly towards my foot. I quickly move to the side and see more vines coming at me from all directions. I concentrate on the next tendril and use my magic. A stabbing flame appears and burns the top of the tendril, which then snakes away from me. This doesn't seem to bother the other two dozen vines coming at me. I change tactics and strike at the next one with my claws. It's hard to cut through the plant material, so I only cause superficial damage.

If I stay and fight, I will be overwhelmed, so I try to escape past the meandering plants and try to run past them quickly with my speed. The vines bend upwards and try to fence me in, but I am too fast and am over them in one big leap. I quickly move farther away from the vines and manage a dozen meter of distance before turning and looking back. The vines are too slow and won't be able to catch me. I briefly consider attacking them with my high speed but decide against it, because I don't know what other abilities this plant has. If the vines attack something of my size, I suspect that there is more than what meets the eye.

I do not immediately return to my new Hive Complex and continue exploring the area. I would like to get a new biomass supply and if possible, find a new reliable biomass source. If I don't find anything I can continue searching tomorrow or switch to plants if the need arises. However, as a Sylv Queen I should continue to eat meat if possible in order to discover new Strains and improve existing ones.

I continue to roam the forest, staying alert of larger hunters. After a while I find a worthy target. A lizard that is about half as long as I am tall, which roams around searching just like me. I recognize the creature as a Zaramander, as I have read an entry about it in Elise's bestiary. Zaramanders act alone and hunt smaller creatures like rodents. I cautiously sneak up on my target, but when I get too close to the Zaramander, it notices me and tries to flee. I sprint after him and catch up after only a few seconds. With a jump I bridge the remaining distance and drill my claws into the back of the lizard. It screams loudly and writhes in an attempt to get rid of me. But I don't let go and claw deeper into the flesh. Then I use my second strongest weapon and bite the creature in the neck. My shredding teeth make short work of my prey's neck and a few seconds later the lizard stops moving.

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

The sound of the fight must have attracted other predators of the forest. I carefully remove my claws from the creature, but leave my mouth over the creature's neck to prevent the large wound from leaving a large trail of blood as I drag it to safety. I drag my prey away as quickly as possible to avoid any other predators that might be on their way. This forest is extremely dangerous and I will not underestimate it!

I don't return to my Hive Complex by a direct route, but take a detour first and guide one of my drones to my location. My drone arrives safely at my location, so it can help me lick the Zaramander's blood from my claws. I then use the organic coating the drones use for the walls of a Hive Complex to seal the small puncture wounds on my prey. The last thing to do is to seal the neck wound in the same way and clean the skin from any spilled blood. This procedure is necessary in order to return to my hive complex without risking leading other predators there.

I make my way back together with my drone and a couple minutes later I am back in the safety of my Hive Complex. Once there, I first store my prey and then devote myself to laying eggs. I have already laid a lot of drone eggs and will soon need more biomass in order to feed them. It is safer for now to collect primarily plant biomass for the drones and planned structures as food. For this I need a new type of worker drone, which I name the Gatherer drone. The new drone type gets the Strains Poisonous Flesh and Ceiling Runner. The combination increases the mobility of my Gatherer Drones and the poison deters most hunters in the forest from eating them.

After laying the two Gatherer drone eggs, I decide to continue with my magic training. My fire magic has already proven useful, but there is still a lot of room for improvement. When it gets too bright outside, I decide to go to sleep. I could stay active longer each day, but that would increase my biomass consumption. I don't see the advantage of that considering how dangerous it is to be outside my hive complex right now. Time is on my side because the more time that passes, the more my swarm develops. Once I have a good unit production going with a good biomass supply, I will consider staying active longer.

As I try to fall asleep I realize that I feel quite lonely. My worker drones are not intelligent enough for me to talk to them. They are more like a part of my body, when I want to move it, it follows my instructions. This wouldn't change until I create synapse creatures like a hive commander. I miss Erik, especially Elise, and also Mark, although the latter never liked me much. I was safe, I could develop in peace and learn so many useful things. They helped me, gave me shelter and nurtured me. If I hadn't met them, I would have died in the middle of the Everglade forest before I could even start my first Hive Complex.

I pick the drone that is more exhausted and let it start its resting phase right next to me. Then I pull it towards me and hug it closely. Through the direct contact I can feel the warmth emanating from my drone, the calm heartbeat and the gentle breaths it takes. This calms my feelings somewhat and I fall asleep successfully a short time later. When I wake up the next morning, I feel fresh and rested. I start to eat some of my biomass supply when I notice two new drones joining the swarm consciousness. I finish my meal in peace and then turn my attention to my eggs. Like last time, I help my cute little drones to leave their eggs. My first two spider drones have hatched and more will soon follow. I will let them support their two comrades in the tunnel today, so they can grow a little more before I deploy them in order to improve the camouflage from the entrance. I don't plan to hunt today anyway with my current biomass supply and won't leave until tomorrow. My first two drones will be fully grown soon. Once that is the case, I will morph them to my first structures as I did it with my first hive complex.