Hours passed slowly, one after another, but the Hollowkin waited patiently, curious to see if its plan would work. After a while, boredom crept in, and it glanced at its left hand. Why? It wasn't entirely sure. Somehow, it felt that an object existed there — small, worn, and capable of measuring time. How it knew, it could hardly explain.
Soon, the big-headed ants began emerging from the hole, hesitating as they tried to decide which direction to go. One ant, drawn by the smell of the putrefied meat, started moving toward it, leaving a trail of pheromones for the others to follow. A small smile appeared on the Hollowkin's face as it crept closer to the boulder it was about to push.
The ants were streaming toward the bait, unaware of the danger awaiting them. Not yet, thought the Hollowkin. Just a few more seconds.
It began counting silently:
"One"
"Two"
"Three."
And then it pushed.
The boulder gained momentum, rolling faster and faster. The ants continued marching into their doom, oblivious. A few feet away, one ant finally sensed the vibrations of the approaching rock — but it was too late. The boulder crashed down, crushing most of them instantly.
The Hollowkin felt no time for celebration. One ant had survived just long enough. With its remaining strength, it rubbed its body parts together, producing vibrations and sounds the Hollowkin had never heard before.
What is it doing? he thought, a sweat forming on its forehead.
The ant was sending a warning. Using stridulation — a communication technique it instinctively employed — it alerted the colony to the danger.
Above ground, a guard ant raised its antennae, sensing the vibrations and intercepting the warning. The Hollowkin's confidence began to falter. Sweat streamed down its head as it realized the situation was becoming dire.
Now it could focus. The ants looked like living war machines. Their bodies were segmented, covered in muscular legs and long antennae, all sheathed in fine hair. Their heads were massive for their size, and their mandibles sharp, dangerous like blades. Sneaking a glance at its dagger, the Hollowkin noticed the contrast: its steel blade was clean and well-maintained, while the ants' exoskeletons were a deep, rusty red.
To put it simply, the ants carried two daggers where mouths should be — and they were probably not afraid to use them.
The guard ant tapped its antennae against the other two guards, signaling the threat and indicating that it would go to the queen to inform her. Once the first guard departed, the remaining two became more vigilant, scanning constantly for any sign of danger.
After some time, a group of seven ants was sent to the site of the massacre. Most began cleaning the remnants of their fallen brethren, gathering the bodies in one place. Two ants remained on watch, scanning the surroundings.
The Hollowkin ducked behind a rock when one of them turned in his direction.
What he didn't know was that these ants had poor eyesight and relied mostly on smell to locate prey or threats.
Once the fallen ants were on their backs, the cleaners carried them back to the nest like sacks of potatoes . The Hollowkin wondered if they were going to bury them — it was the only explanation he could think of.
When the ants disappeared into the nest, the Hollowkin finally exhaled a sigh of relief. Soon after, the familiar light-green screen appeared, proudly announcing his achievements:
[ You killed 7 corrupted Amblyopones/Dracula Ants, Role: Forager ]
[ You leveled up and gained a Gene Point ]
The Hollowkin stared, dumbfounded. Amblyopones? Was that the name of their species, like his? Perhaps.
Gene Point? What was that even? After an embarrassingly long pause, he couldn't answer his own question and gave up.
"Oh mighty system," he thought. "Can you answer my plea?"
He issued the command, dropping his buffoon attitude.
System, issue command: ask.
"System, what is a Gene Point?"
Processing request…
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[ Gene Point or GP ] is a point obtained by killing others. Its value is very high. It can be used by the monster/creature that owns it to improve, discard, or add new traits to its body.
A smile spread across his face. Now he had a better chance to defeat the ants — or at least to escape them.
With a thought, he called up the Gene Point, and a three-dimensional figure of himself appeared before his eyes. He could rotate it left and right, view it from above or beneath. As he studied it, another structure next to the avatar appeared. It was hard to describe it — whirly and long, with straight lines passing through it. The whirly part was colorful.
After playing with the figure for a while, he snapped back to focus.
"Wait, I need to get serious. My life is at stake."
After pondering for some time again, he decided what to do with the point.
He issued the next command:
"Appoint point to…"