The cadre of three ants obeyed my directives seamlessly, springing into action the moment I commanded them to hunt for an exit. Disappointingly, our search was fruitless. Subsequently, I orchestrated an effort for them to burrow a tunnel in an upward direction, or at least what I surmised to be “up.” But the soil proved to be incredibly resistant, rendering our excavation woefully sluggish.
The only thing of mild interest in this enclosed cave was a tiny tree root that was embedded in the wall. Noticing the tree root, I decided to command the trio to dig near it, my thought process being that the dirt near the root would be loose and easy to dig through,
One unexpected curiosity within the dim cave was a slender tree root snaking its way through the dirt wall. A thought flashed through my mind: the soil adjacent to the root might be more malleable. Tasking the trio to dig near the root, my hypothesis was confirmed— the dirt relented, allowing us to carve out a narrow passageway alongside it. Remarkably, my Pheromones skill remained effective even during the digging process. While I couldn’t pin down the reason, I suspected it had something to do with my pheromones traveling along pre-existing trails, facilitating instantaneous communication.
As far as talking goes, these ants weren’t exactly conversationalists. They operated like autonomous drones, adhering to my orders without question. However, their rudimentary instincts did let them release occasional pheromone signals like “Hungry” or “Tired.” Sadly, with no food at hand, intermittent rest was their only solace.
Time trudged on, and eventually, we stumbled upon our first obstacle. One of the ants transmitted a pheromone alarm: “Danger.” I hastily signaled for a tactical withdrawal, unwilling to risk my modest army in unknown peril. Shortly after, the sounds of skittering insect legs emanated from the tunnel. The trio reappeared, their antennae oscillating in disarray. Through their jumbled pheromone messages— “2,” “Red,” “Small,” “Big Butt,” “1,” “Look like me”— I pieced together the situation.
“A lone Fire Ant queen escorted by a worker?” I mused, extrapolating from their frenzied dispatch. I had wondered how our colony could reproduce, seeing as I wasn’t a queen capable of laying eggs. But an innate understanding suddenly washed over me.
We couldn’t naturally produce drones or queens, so we abducted the matriarchs of other ant colonies to do the laying for us. This insidious act would not only subjugate the stolen Queen but gradually transmute her species into ours, likewise rendering it incapable of giving birth to ant drones and Queens.
Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
Learning about the presence of a solitary Queen and her worker attendant was nothing short of serendipitous. I quickly ordered their capture, personally overseeing the operation to minimize any snafus.
After navigating to a small aperture in the tunnel’s wall, I peeked in. I observed two ants; one boasting an exaggerated abdomen, and the other diminutive in size. Both were strikingly red, their mandibles sharp, and their eyes pinpricks of black. A cluster of roughly seven brood was stationed beneath the larger ant.
“A Queen, a worker, as well as some brood” I noted. The Queen still had her wings intact, showing that she had just recently settled down in this cave. “Don’t hurt the big one.” instructing my minions not to harm the Queen, we initiated our incursion. The Queen, noticing the sudden smell of foreign pheromones, made a clicking sound, prompting the worker to investigate the smell.
Unfortunately for the ant, it was summarily devoured before it could react, as my ants pounced into the chamber. The Queen already had her back to the cave, and there was nowhere to escape.
Cornered and desperate, the Queen clawed aimlessly at the dirt, but her attempts were futile. As I approached, I snapped my mandibles, locking eyes with her. She lowered her head, her antennae drooping. Acting on my instincts, I bit into her neck, injecting a mysterious form of energy. She writhed momentarily but made no effort to resist. Soon enough, she was wholly subdued, her body sporting a small patch of white where I had bitten her— a sign of her ongoing transformation into one of us.
The process didn’t take long and soon, the ant had become entirely obedient. It had become another of my subordinates. I could notice a few changes in its body, one of which was the tiny patch of white at the spot where I’d bit it. It was odd, but I instinctively knew that it was the gradual conversion of its species into ours.
I had no use for the brood, as their species wouldn’t be converted to ours either, and they were more useful as food for now. I ordered the three ants to consume them for nourishment. Our new Queen, on the other hand, didn’t dare to move as its body convulsed under the pain of its species changing.
In the end, we were left with 3 remaining brood that were left for the Queen to provide sustenance necessary for her to lay eggs. I’d only needed to consume 1/5 of a brood before my body had enough nutrition, on the other hand, the three needed to consume 1 each to meet the bare minimum. The Devour skill really helped in stuff like this.
The Intrinsic Skill: Weak Venom Excretion has been acquired
The consumption of the worker by one of my ants had apparently also unlocked the criteria needed for me to gain the skill as well. The only reason I could come up with was that Colony connected us somehow, allowing anything they ate to also give me skills. The brood we’d eaten, however, hadn’t given us anything. Whether it was because it didn’t have skills or because all the skills of the Fire ant had already been taken by us eluded me.
We decided to make this place our new base, since getting the Queen ant to make such an arduous journey down didn’t seem to be such a smart idea. Leaving an ant with the Queen for protection, I headed back to the tunnel, eager to find more prey with my ants.
This was just the beginning.