Where is everyone? Aren’t places like these normally teeming with life? Other than those three sleeping back in that room, I haven’t spotted any-... ah, there is someone. Looks like more of those guys. They seem to carry something in their… things on the head.

What are they called? Mandibles, or maybe in this case, more like horns. They are clearly not for eating nor fighting. Unlike my horns, pointy and quite sharp, judging by how easy I can stick them into the walls, these are longer and smooth with a slight curve. Maybe designed to scoop up the larvae from the ground?

Ah, those guys were the ones carrying me? But these larvae are so small? Or am I just big? Guess I’m some kind of higher class, and those might be workers. Best to follow them, might take me to the feeding ground.

He walked unseen behind the group of a dozen or so Helpers. The Helpers looked extremely busy with transporting the new larvae, now that the Queen could finally create more. This gave him time to study their bodies some more.

The Helpers walked with three pair of thin legs, similar to his own.

On their 'foreheads' were two huge, completely oversized compared to the rest of the body, horns with a smooth flat surface and a slightly upwards curved shape.

Under the horns were two small antennas, that bobbed up and down as they walked. Sometimes the antennas moved in weird patterns, possibly used for communication between each other.

They saw the world with two dark eyes, or rather, the eyes were compound eyes, numerous tiny lenses attached together. He guessed his eyes were the same, but since he did not have a mirror, it was impossible to confirm.

Their mouths were very different from his own, they had a small tube sticking out, with something like tiny lips at the end, that opened and closed randomly. Very bizarre, just what did they eat with a mouth like that?

The actual body looked like an ant, with the three major parts. The head, which was just described in fairly big detail. Mesosoma, the middle part that the legs were attached to. The metasoma, the last plump part, the posterior, the butt, to make it easy to understand. The whole body was completely covered in a red-brown chitin exoskeleton.

It took two of these Helpers to carry one larva, since the Helpers were much smaller than the larvae. Unlike before, when three Helpers died of over exertion, two Helpers could carry these larvae without suffering too much.

Seems I was right. The feeding ground, but… was it always this crowded?

Dozens of white larvae wriggled around inside the very primitive underground dirt cave. They were the basic form, blind and unable to move around by themselves. If one looked really closely at them, one could faintly see their insides through their skin, but as they grew, their skin would grow thicker and that semi-transparent state would disappear.

A new sort of creatures walked around, feeding the hungry larvae through a tube.

The new creature looked similar to the Helpers, but with a few key differences. No horns for one, and the legs were a bit thicker. It also had a tube like mouth, but it was much longer, about half the length of the actual body. However, under that tube was another mouth. Did this creature have two mouths? The second mouth seemed a lot more practical, being capable of easily biting off and chewing solid food, thanks to having real teeth.

The biggest difference was the size, though. With an impressive size of around ten times bigger than the Helpers, they walked around like giants amongst the larvae and Helpers. This feat was mainly thanks to the huge, inflatable, stretchable, transparent and very durable balloon-like food storage sac placed on the back. The creature looked like it walked around with a huge sack on the back. With an even redder color than the Helpers, it was just like Santa, giving out gifts to the young from the sack on the back.

Its purpose was to feed the lower class larvae through trophallaxis, giving them liquid food through its long tube. Mouth to mouth. Thanks to that, it could quickly feed two or three nearby larvae, squirting the liquid down their throats, without even moving. Their names, just like the Helpers, were simple and easy to understand. Feeders.

Huh, that looks interesting. I wanna try it. He walked over to one of the Feeders and opened his mouth.

The Feeder stared at this new gigantic half-evolved larva for a few seconds before agreeing.

Say aaaahhh….! Hehe, that was pretty tasteless. Think I prefer my old feeding method. Eating straight from the source. Hmmm, what is that room back there?

While he observed the feeding process, and as he got fed himself, he saw deflated Feeders going in, and almost bursting Feeders coming out.

Must be where they refill.

He snuck towards it, sticking close to the walls, trying to remain unseen. However, a giant larva, three times the normal size, with legs and horns was not very stealthy.

Ugh… they are all watching me, but they are not stopping me, it seems.

When he entered the room, a wonderful sight greeted him. A small mountain of plants and corpses.

Dinner is served.

Four hours later, the vast majority of the mountain of food had mysteriously vanished. In just a few hours, seventy percent of the total food storage in the colony was gone. Now the colony was truly in a tight spot. To make things worse, it would still take a couple of days for the vast majority of the larvae to grow up into workers. And the faster they grew, the weaker they would be, and thereby less useful in gathering food in the first place.

Ah, now that’s what I’m talking about. Some of them were kinda crunchy, but my 'jaws' were stronger than I thought. The extremely bloated larva lying unmoving on the ground, thought to himself.

Okay, time to go back. Here we goooo….. uff. I... I can’t move. Umm...HELP!

He could only wriggle like a dead fish. Only his bottom part and his top part could raise a bit from the ground, but the middle had even sunk down a bit into the ground, thanks to all his wriggling.

He helplessly looked at the nearby Feeder, busy picking through the leftovers. Their eyes met, and after a few seconds it seemed like the Feeder rolled its eyes. It exited the room.

Did it understand me? Was it angry I ate all the food? Ah, it’s back, and it brought more Helpers. Hurray!

The Feeder brought six Helpers, who all stopped in their tracks when they spotted the target. After a few seconds of hesitation and life flashing before their eyes, they slowly walked towards the fat larva. With a, literally, backbreaking amount of effort, they finally managed to lift the larva up from the ground, and they walked away with unsteady legs.

Yes! This is the best way to travel. I’m just gonna rest my eyes for a few seconds....Zzzzz...

The larva took a nap as the Helpers's exoskeletons cracked more and more, but they did not falter. The Helpers would do their job. No matter the cost.

Wooowowowo- What’s... Not… Again… Phew…. Managed to stop myself with my legs. Damn, what’s their problem? Can’t they just put my down gently for once? Hmph.

The larva looked around, slowly recovering from the dizziness of rolling around so suddenly.

Hah! Now they are just sleeping again. So lazy. Those other guys are still here. It’s a whole group of Helpers sleeping together. Well, going back to sle-....Zzzzz…

Yawn… feel really refreshed now. And as usual, those lazy guys are still sleeping. Huh, did they shrink...? No, not them, it’s me. Hehe, I look different now. I’m no longer that creepy half transparent white color, and my body seems to have gotten a lot harder. Either that, or the walls got weaker, hehe. Is that a shell? Damn, this neck is useless. Really need a mirror.

The larva rubbed his body against the walls, testing his new strength and durability. He even charged the wall once, but after his horns got deeply stuck in the dirt, he swore to never repeat that again. Besides, ramming the walls while underground is a bad idea no matter what.

What should I do now? Should I log out? How do you log out? I don’t even know what time it is. How long have I been playing now? What is my level and status?

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Still haven’t seen any other players. Maybe we each get a small colony.

Kinda annoying that no one is talking, though. For two in-game days, all I have done is talking to myself in my head. At least I’m getting better at it. If that's a good thing or not, I don’t know. I even miss Hercules. Think I forgot to feed him.

Well let’s try: LOG OUT! Nothing… STATUS!

…

Do I need a mouth for this? I mean talking out loud. That's very possible. I grow after eating and sleeping, so I should be out of larva state soon enough, and then maybe I get a mouth capable of speech? Time for food then.

Man, these guys… Looking closely at them, they are not even moving. At all.

He looked at them for about one minute before poking them with his horns.

No reaction. Are they dead? Why are there corpses in my private sleeping quarters? Ah, how foolish of me. They are my food. Just like chocolate on the pillow. Instead I get Helper corpses. How kind of them. Feel like I have seen some of these before though… Ah, what am I thinking? Haha, they all look the same!

A crunching and slurping sound could soon be heard from the royal sleeping chambers.

Well, that must have been designed for someone smaller than me, because it didn’t help very much. Guess that is just like the chocolate on the pillow. A small snack.

Time to explore more of this place. Have only seen two rooms, and one of those is my own. Kinda odd that I get this huge room for myself, though. Considering how crowded that… mess hall was, you’d think that I would get some company here. But then again, since they only have to dig out a new area to live, they can expand with no cost. It's not like they must build a new apartment complex to house the next generation.

As he walked through the tunnel, he arrived at a fork in the road. Last time, he went right, and that led him to the 'mess hall'. This time he took the left tunnel. The walk was just as empty as before, until he finally reached a new room.

Hoho, this is where the others sleep. Rows upon rows on larvae with Helpers going back and forth. Looks like some of them are slightly different from the others. Some got much larger mandibles, some even got horns. Not much I can do or eat here though… Unless… No, I don’t want to eat babies. They might get slightly upset if I do that. Maybe if I get really hungry...

He left the sleeping area and continued down the tunnel. He passed many empty rooms on the way.

Huh, what’s up with all the empty rooms? Future expansions? Or other private sleeping quarters maybe?

What the larva did not know, was that those rooms used to be inhabited.

Ooh, something important is here, lots of traffic.

He reached an open area, with dozens of Helpers walking around. Many carried larvae as they walked past him, not paying him any attention. He did not cause trouble for them either, he stuck to the sides, getting out of their way. He did not want to cause an accident that killed some babies.

Holy shit! A gigantic monster!

Ah no, that’s most likely our Queen, judging by the amount of Helpers that keeps picking up larvae from behind her. Not to mention the amount of Guards around. Huh, what are the Helpers doing? They are eating something? Oh, they are eating that membrane that the larvae lives in. Huh, guess that is their reward for taking care of them.

The Helpers used their tube mouth and lips to munch on the soft membrane. It was, in fact, their only available food in the Swarm. If they did not take care of larvae, they could not eat. However, thanks to the unusual circumstances, the Queen not being able to produce larvae and all, they were thankfully allowed to eat some liquid food from the Feeders.

She spotted me!

"Ah, you have grown a lot. Though, I have received reports that someone ate our food stockpiles dry. Know anything about that?"

Wha?! Who?! Oh you. That surprised me. Telepathy, huh. Can I do that too? Can you hear me now? Hello…?

"Oh right, I forgot. You most likely cannot respond yet. And your pheromones needs a lot of work, since you weren’t born with the instincts to use it. No matter, just listen for now. I will tell you what you need to do."

"Follow the squad of Guards and Workers that goes out to hunt for some easy food. Avoid fighting battles you can’t win for now, since we are still quite low in numbers. Do not get yourself killed. You understand? Even if the whole squad must die to cover your retreat, you must never stop running."

Not get myself killed. Sacrifice the grunts to cover my retreat. Got it. No problems. Would have done it even without you telling me.

"I’ll tell you some more things you need to know when you get back, but for now, just go out and see the world you now live in."

Okay? Where are Hunters? Are they Hunters or Guards? There is a difference? Something tells me there is. Not sure why, but I can instantly tell what they are called. Those guys? Ah, they are leaving. Better follow them for now.

He followed them through the colony's tunnels. Reaching the light in the end of the tunnel did not take as long as he thought it would. He now saw light for the first time since he was born.

This is, this is… Ugh, can’t see, haha. Getting better now. Wooow…

As his eyes adjusted, an amazing view spread out before him. The scale was... off the scale. The game got more and more impressive each day. First day, he experienced an amazing taste, the kind his taste buds never tasted before. Second day, he experienced the amazing feeling of moving around with a completely different body. Third day, he saw this amazing view. Endless draw distance, as far as his eye could see, unlimited frames per second. The world just looked so alive.

The wind giving him his first taste of cold, making him shiver in delight. The countless new smells, completely overwhelming his mind. The sounds were, well, they were not that special actually. Sound was the easiest to replicate after all. The temperature change from standing in the sun, making him feel all warm and fuzzy on the surface of his body. He felt this from the moment he was born, but it deserves to get another mention, the absolute real sense of touch was just like real life. The dirt physic acted just as he would expect when he stepped on it.

Never seen such trees before. At least ten meters high, I’m guessing. Completely green with no branches or leaves. Very odd. And that guy cutting one down with his mandibles. Oh, it fell quickly. Holy shit! He just dragged it all by himself.

He just stood there in shock, as he watched several other workers each drag back a tree into the hole.

Well, can they, can I. Let’s see here…. Tastes like… Hm… Feel like I recognize this taste and smell from somewhere, but can't place it. Ooo, it fell! That was easier than I thought. Hey, I can move it too. Haha, they must be pretty light. And I was so impressed at first. It's like lifting a meter sized sponge, super light, even though it looks big. They are very thin, so it’s lighter than it looks. Um, where should I put this. Ah, let’s just dump it at the entrance, someone else will pick it up.

Let’s hunt something alive. Any birds or other bugs maybe?

This place is huge. Even just the gravels on the ground are the same size as my feet. Not to mention, the numerous huge boulders that are everywhere.

What are the Guards doing now? They look like they are more into the killing type of hunting. Not just killing trees. Hmm, they seem to just guard the area. Honestly not sure what I expected. They keep looking into the sky. Hmm, is that clouds? Looks like something high up in the sky blocks most of the sun. Seems like there are some huge, tall mountains all around us too. Very weird-looking mountains, but it’s a game so I guess they can look however they want.

I wanna find some sturdier tree and climb up, so I can see the area better. Ah, there is one.

He walked up to the absolute humongous tree he decided on, but just stared at it for about a minute.

I have no idea how to climb with this body! It’s so stiff and heavy. Let’s go back. Hmm… where did the Guards go?

Suddenly, a large shadow passed over him.