Rock Hollow thrummed like a living drum. Piles of stolen seed fragments filled the storage alcoves. The two captured workers huddled under a pebble, their antennae drooping, surrounded by my veterans. Victory-scent hung heavy in the tunnels — pride, hunger, anticipation.
I climbed onto the spider fang totem. My antennae quivered as a pulse ran through my body. The system's glow ignited before my eyes.
[Evolution Available]Choose Path:
— Warrior Lord:Hardened armor, venom glands, personal might.
— Strategist Lord: Expanded army limit, advanced pheromone control, accelerated construction.
The words flickered like heat haze. My mandibles clicked softly.
Warrior Lord would make me a monster on the battlefield. But I remembered the giant soldier's mandibles slicing through one of my veterans. Even with venom and armor, I would be one ant against many.
Strategist Lord… that was different. Webs of control. Faster growth. I had won the raid not with my jaws but with my planning. I had always been a thread-puller, not a blade.
I pulsed a single command into the system: Strategist.
Heat rippled across my carapace. A sweet, metallic taste filled my mouthparts. Pheromones surged outward, spilling through every tunnel like a warm wind. My body shuddered.
Cracks formed along my exoskeleton. Patterns of faint blue-green light traced over my thorax and antennae like living veins. My antennae lengthened, the tips splitting into delicate plumes sensitive to every vibration.
Around me, my followers froze, then bowed as one. Their minds brushed against mine — a hundred tiny sparks forming a net. I felt them as if they were my own limbs.
[Evolution Complete: Strategist Lord]
New Abilities Gained:
– Pheromone Web: Link all allies for instant coordination.
– Expansion Instinct: Tunnel and chamber construction +30%.
– Mind Anchor: Captured workers can be indoctrinated over time.
I raised my antennae high. The nest responded with a single unified clack, like a drumbeat.
"Bring the captives," I pulsed.
The two enemy workers were dragged forward. Their bodies trembled under my new scent. I wove strands of low-level pheromones around them — soft, persistent. They resisted for a heartbeat, then sagged, their antennae drooping in submission. Seeds of obedience planted.
I extended the web further. My seventeen veterans snapped into formation at once, no hesitation, no lag. Their minds brushed mine — eagerness, loyalty, hunger for the next order.
Already, plans formed in my mind: new trap tunnels to the east; a hidden nursery chamber; silk snares above the main entrance. The rival colony would come looking for us. We would be ready.
Far above, in the tangle of grass, a different scent stirred. The rival queen had scented her loss. Anger rolled off her in a crimson fog. She released her blood pheromone, summoning her elite guards.
In the mist outside Rock Hollow, three dark shapes crawled through the dew, antennae flicking, mandibles sharp — scouts, already closing in.
[Warning: Hostile Presence Detected]
I felt their vibrations through the soil. My mandibles clicked once, slow and deliberate. Let them come.
This was no longer just survival.
This was war — and I was no longer a mere ant. I was the mind of a colony.