Royal Guard (A litRPG fic) (Book-1 Complete)

Underload · Sep 18, 2020

Synopsis:

I was an ordinary worker ant of the Kingdom, one of the millions populating a spread of land ten kilometers long. I had an ordinary life: I dug, I ate, and I slept; and a dream that was shared by all workers who wanted to live a life of adventure. I was on the last day of my mandatory community service, a day from becoming one of the harvesters --the crown jewel of our society-- when fate played its sick joke on me.

I broke my mandible, lost my dream, and was almost forced into slavery as a result.

That's when she came into my life, a princess. She had no wings on her back, but the wings inside her were wider than the fairies that roamed the sky. She took me under her wing and populated my life with adventures and mysteries unreserved for a mere harvester.

Life was good until we found termites sneaking into our territory. That's when the adventures ended.

She was mocked for calling the termites a threat. However, she remained determined to protect her kingdom and I, to protect her. No matter the difficulties I remained by her side. Because we were a pair: a princess and her Royal Guard.

Author notes:

Book 1 is complete at 624 pages. There are 47 chapters with average: 3645 words. The schedule is 2 chapters/ day and will be uploaded at 6-7:00 am (+5:30 GMT).
Thank you for reading. I hope there will be comments.

Ch-1: Awakening

The night was coming. Though the sun was still a large orange fruit on a moody red platter, it was the sign for most beings of their day coming to an end.

The rule was simple: stay out after dark and you risk losing your life.

Still, many creatures, both big and small, die every night: some for separating from their herds, and others for stalking the darkness for a little life-threatening adventure.

One among them was a worker, an oddball of an ant, who would see his life change by the end of the day; just not the way he had expected it to. That worker was me before the change, before the awakening of my greed.

As for the moment, while the sun was still up and the outside temperature a mellow 23 degrees Celsius —though dropping— the worker was busy digging underground. The lone wingless princess of his city had demanded a chamber be dug underground and the union had responded. Three hundred workers worked day and night to carve a series of veins and arteries to connect the digging site with the city —both of which were a good few feet underground.

The three square meters large floor was being dug parallel to the city Agnee-rath-Ji — a personal space for the queen to be. That was her only option as a wingless princess, to be a secondary queen and spurt more life into the already bludgeoning veins of the main city.

While other workers were busy digging through the solid thick dirt, scraping a new path grain by grain, our little worker was being intelligent. He carried an abdomen full of water to dampen the dirt while digging, not only making his job easier but also reducing the strain on his mandibles.

Dampening the dirt also helped him in clearing the tunnel faster; because where the other workers carried individual grains of dirt, he could compact them and make a pellet to increase workflow.

However, he wasn't a vain being. He had shown his method to just about everyone other than the supervisors, but instead of being praised, he was criticized by the workers. He didn't lose hope and presented his idea to the workers union, hoping to revolutionize the force, but was questioned by them instead.

You want the workers to work harder? Have you no shame?

In the end, they told him to complete the duration of his community labor and go away but also warned him to not create problems for them or he would be ousted from the workers union. That basically meant becoming an outcast. He bent but decided to push back by keep digging his way.

As a result, he was far ahead of his pears and making them look bad.

It was hard work, digging, requiring much endurance and focus. Yet, that's what made a worker different from a soldier and a constructor different from a caretaker. However, it was also an easy life, a safe living, and heavily sought by ex-scavengers and harvesters.

While working ahead, thinking about his upcoming days of no more community labor, open fields, and warm sunshine, our little guy got careless and chomped a bit too hard at the wrong time. He struck something strong. It was probably a pebble, like the hundred others found daily, but the pain that shot up his face from the base of his left mandible was something new. It was aggravating and horrifying. Pheromones of pain and warning, of danger and need, shot out of his antennas and filled the tunnel he had dug. He waited and waited but no one arrived to help. Not helping him carry larger pebbles was one thing, but to deny help when he was in pain? He found it unbelievable.

Sometime later, when the pain subsided, he carefully dug the pebble out. It was a small thing and only the size of his head, large enough to completely fit his mandibles, but small enough that leaving it there and diverging from the path would lead to problems with the authority. The supervisor would chew him inside out.

So hurt as it may, he decided to take the pebble out and seek help. Trash heap it was. The wingless princess was generous he admitted. Those working under her had meat and water and honey at their disposal, things usually reserved for the soldiers. He was sure she would let him rest for the night, believing a night's rest would stop the pain. He hoped at least because there was no other option. He either recovered completely to enjoy the life of a harvester or forced into slavery to be thrown out as a shield at the front line in a time of war. The latter was an option he would stake his life to survive.

The pebble he dug out was an unusual dull orange, shaped like a raindrop with a surface glow. It couldn't be a rock or just a large granule of dirt because it was uncharacteristically warm to touch. So warm in fact that his limbs relaxed like they do when basking under the sun. Strength filled his limbs and the pain reduced further. He lifted the smooth pebble in a single swoop and headed up the path that had become smooth from constant use. It wasn't a long walk, but he remained careful despite the strength, and confidence surging inside him. Even a small mistake can deal a large blow: he had learned the lesson by trying to be helpful.

Out of the tunnel, he saw his first fellow in hours. Our little guy released a happy greeting. But the worker wasn't so happy to see him.

They looked alike, both of them: the same shape and almost the same size. They both had a jet black body from the tip of their antennae to the end of their segmented abdomen with hints of red flakes here and there like embers lying in a pile of ash.

Hence the name: Ember ant.

At half a centimeter large, they were big among the many other species of ants that lived nearby — at least that's what our little worker had heard in stories from ex- scavengers and harvesters, while they still talked to him.

That being said, how to approach the princess was a big question he hadn't yet the answer to. He was in this state of contention when he sensed a scent sweet and strong, attracting him from the other end of the tunnel. He knew the scent. It belonged to the princess. Even being sexless couldn't stop him from becoming muddle-headed after being washed in her arousing scent. The closer he approached the end of the tunnel, the heavier his mind swayed.
His antennae stood erect in front of his head to greedily take in more of her natural sweetness. It was not every day that a worker got to bathe in the scent of a princess. She was a different bred of an ant with a different set of responsibilities. Workers were aplenty in their colony of two hundred thousand, but there were only five hundred princesses, and not a single one of them were allowed to roam more than a few floors near their chambers.
This wingless princess was special, for she could roam the city at will. And she meant business.
The princess was polite most of the time but could be strict when necessary. There was a pheromone called leave pass that she had invented to make sure no worker would bunk community labor. Many workers called her narcissistic for trying to steal their freedom. The little guy considered her intelligent. It was the perfect thing to deal with lazy workers, he believed.

There were times when he almost brought his method to her, but the fear of being outcast always pulled him back.

He found her in the chamber at the end of the tunnel. She was standing with her antennae coiled around those of her ward, deep into internal communication. That was an honor that none in attendance deserved. What she needed to convey must have been very important; otherwise, she wouldn't have gone to such lengths, and chosen such an intimate form of communication.

Believing that he shouldn't interrupt their communication the little guy moved to one side and stood there. He watched them intently but so did the others. There were close to twenty ants in the chamber, many workers, two soldiers, and the sergeant of worker division who was likely waiting for his orders.

The sergeant was a giant being, the bulkiest in the chamber. The soldiers appeared small in front of him. The giant approached him and the little guy stiffened. Workers were lower than the soldiers in rank, and it could be seen the difference in their demeanors. The giant was confident, his steps wide and pompous, while our little guy was stiffened still from awe.

Just one more day and we'll be similar in rank, he little guy thought as the giant stopped in front of him.

The giant tapped his head, asking what he was doing there while reading his designation: worker said the first segment of his antennae, number 5996 (5th gen, 6th lay, number 99) told the second one, on the 31 days of community labor, came from the third segment.

The little guy answered: to talk with the princess about leave — Direct and affective. The sergeant was neither surprised, nor angry. The guy was on his last day of community labor. And if he remembered correctly, it was this guy giving a bad name to the workers union by working too hard. The sergeant didn't despise hard workers. He nodded and allowed the little guy to stay, which he did by putting the pebble on the ground.

Right about then two soldiers entered the chamber from a different artery of the same digging site. They were dragging a worker behind them. The worker was agitated and shaking, releasing pheromones without control. She had most likely gone crazy working in the tight, humid site. It was easy to forget who you are while digging. Many even break down. Some said community labor was a test to see a worker's capability to handle pressure; others called it a form of tempering. For the little guy, it was but a passing route, nothing less and nothing more.

The crazy worker continued leaking her emotional state as the soldier dragged her. The little guy made himself comfortable. The sergeant moved away to check another worker that had come to ask for help.

The princess came out of I.C. And just as she did, the crazy worker slipped out her bounds and lunged at her. The sergeant was quick to act. It was lucky that he had gone to help the worker and coincidently met her on the way. He snapped his mandibles at her head to snip her life, but she was too small a worker and he was too big an ex-soldier. By the time he realized, she was past him.

The scent of panic rose from the soldiers beside him.

The princess was in a dazed state of mind from the I.C and didn't understand the gravity of the situation. She stood a still target for the worker, completely unaware. But when the crazy worker's mandibles clipped, she found them wound around the mandibles of another worker and not the princess. The little guy held her off. The bout aggravated his injured mandible, but he didn't let off. The crazy worker pulled back and their mandibles separated. A second time she came, but the sergeant had already recovered from his previous blunder. However, her mandibles wound around 99's chest before the bulky ex-soldier managed to cut her head off.

By the time the soldiers separated the worker's head from the little guy's chest he had already leaked a lot of warmth and was feeling cold. The ants released warning scents, as our guy staggered toward the princess. His mind was all rattled from the expenditure and the battle. She stood stock-still as he passed her and went toward the orange pebble. He dug into it again, his mind telling him to throw the trash out, looping it over and over again.

He squeezed the pebble with all his might and his left mandible finally gave away. It broke, while the right one punctured into the orange glowing gem. There he grew cold, but the voice inside his head grew strong instead. Throw out the trash. Refill your water. Only one more day of labor. Live. The voice echoed but wasn't received by anyone living.

More soldiers arrived soon to figure out the reason behind the disturbance, but everything had been sorted out by then. The princess personally tried to revive the little guy by sharing some of her warmth and calories with him, but he didn't move.
In the end, the soldiers who were carrying the crazy worker were reprimanded and the little guy was thrown out in the trash heap with the pebble still attached to his mandible. They couldn't get it off him.

In the trash heap, he remained until night passed and the sun rose in the sky bringing casting rays of warm sunshine through a field of clouds.

One such ray found the gem, bringing it to life and causing it to glow. Its shine grew stronger and heavier, and madly it absorbed the sunlight, only to flash once and disintegrate. It disappeared, but not completely. A second later the same orange glow rose from the once dead ant. The glow died, but the ant stirred. Life returned to his comatose limbs like the season of spring after the onslaught of a cold harsh winter.

He moved. The twitch of a claw transformed into the coiling of his stiff-straight antennae. His legs stretched one by one, exoskeleton crackled as his body came into motion after the night of cold. The ray of sunlight enveloped him, bringing warmth to his cold body. His jaw moved. The lone curved mandible flexed, and light returned to his eyes.
This was the start of a new life for the ant: My awakening.

Underload · Sep 18, 2020

It smelled of rot and death around. I was in a bad place: the worst place. I was in the trash heap, the pit where everything useless was thrown into.

I was not condescending. I could smell mellow dirt, rotten food, dead bodies, and everything else of that order. It was not a good place to be.

Still, I got to my feet and stretched. Had to do it; my blood had become paste from the night out. The sun's warmth was doing an excellent job of turning it fluid, but it also needed open vessels to flow.
There was also the existential question beaming inside my head for attention, but I ignored it for the time being. Other things took priority.

I rubbed some saliva at my smooth forepaws —it was heartbreaking to notice what had become of my once perfect mandibles— and polished my antennae. You can't expect an ant to function properly with dirty antennae. They are our sensory organs. We sense the world, mostly scents, with them. But that's what an ant's world mostly consists of — scents. It was our answer to habitual blindness: Living underground comes with its set of difficulties; blindness is simply one of the many problems that plague ants.

So, I stretched and polished my antennae and finally put my attention to these colorful, geometric scribbles, naively —or should I say pompously— hovering right in front of my face, blocking nothing, because —I'll just say it for the sake of putting the point through— I was blind.

*You have absorbed the essence of Greed. Greed has awakened in you.
*A neural Link has been created between you and the all-encompassing system.
Note: Reach level 1 to establish a connection with the system.

[Greed][Tier-0][Essence]
[????]
[Effects: ]
Pros: Infinite skill affinity.
????
????
Cons: Skills won't gain experience.

You have acquired Thermal resistance after being tormented by a harsh cold for a whole night.
What use is eyes that can't see or a mind that can't understand me? You have acquired Sight and Universal Tongue.

[Thermal Resistance][Lv-1][Tier-1][Passive]
[It slows down the rate at which your body gains or losses heat due to temperature change.]
[Effect: Keeps your metabolism active normally for at least 10secs after your body reaches critical temperatures.]
[Reward: Endurance increases by .1 points every level.]

***

[Sight][Lv-1/10][Tier-1][Passive]
[It gives you a hazy sense of visual perception That improves with the skill.]
[Reward: Intelligence & Wisdom increases by .05 Points every level.]
***
[Universal ear][Special]
[It is the knowledge of languages.]

I was blind, but the shining persistent thing decided that in order for me to fulfill whatever design it had in mind for me I needed to see. Therefore, I saw. There were colors, shapes, structures, up close that distorted into blurred motions further from me. It was my first time actually seeing something, and I was horrified for my sight was filled with bodies of my kin.

I was also thankful, because down there in the trash heap —It was actually a pit, but it was supposed to fill up and become a heap, so— it was impossible to make out any kind of scent signals. You fell in the pit, you died. It was a giant chemical furnace, continuously blasting strong sense disabling scents up and out. It was also one of the biggest reasons why no young ones liked community labor; other than being worked half to death, day and night.
But I could determine the top of the pit from the shape I saw, so I managed to climb out of it. The colony was just a distance away. There was a time when the gravel dug out was left out wherever, but when you are excavating in tons, even dirt becomes a problem if simply left out. Then some wise queen years ago had suggested using the excavated gravel to construct a surface city, and nothing had been the same since.

The tower standing tall was a proud marvel of ant-engineering. It was almost thirty stories (3 feet) up the surface, and strong enough to handle the elements. The latter was of most importance. This was the first time I was seeing it, still just a hazy outline in a grey fog of acute blindness, but when you see such a megastructure of your own creation, your home, you do end up forgetting about everything else for a time. I similarly felt senseless.
It wasn't long after when a patrolling soldier noticed me. We all have a scent. She must have thought me odd or hurt because she came to help me, or so I thought. Opposite to my belief, her antennas stood straight when she got in range of determining my identity. Then, instead of escorting me back to the colony, she blasted pheromones of alarm in a spreading ring of scent, agitated and vigilant.

I was surprised too, for she was just as quick to point her bottom at me as she was in raising the alarm. The minuscule amount of our proud burning poison oozing from the tip of her bottom was mortifying. There were dinner talks of its deadliness and crazy fast action time. It was said to be painful starting from 10 percent poison in the mixture and deadly at a surprisingly low 40 percent mixture. Friendly fires had traumatized many soldiers.
At least, this particular soldier was asking my identity instead of haphazardly storming at me. Someone older than one hundred days would have fired first and asked later.

With the scent came another one of those shimmering colorful geometric phantoms. It was up and gone as quick as it had appeared, but was terrifying either way. More horrifying was my understanding of them, because for some unknown reason, I knew what they were.
I pushed the issue of my skills —that's what those colorful geometric patterns were: my skills— to the back of my mind. The soldier was agitated and, quite scared. For her, I was an enemy, and in an ants world, an enemy never comes alone. When there's one there are always more.
The only thing I could think that might have led me in this situation was, either I was at the wrong place or I didn't carry any passport pheromones on me. The latter was true in this case.

Oh, no!

The workers had scrubbed off my passport before dumping me outside in the pit, which a sky or a predator would have taken if left on. So not only had I lost my mandible, but also my identity? The knowledge gave me an indefinable shook.

Passport pheromones are something like an identity card for not only ants but all insects. Every colony and specie has a different passport unique to them; and anything moving in occupied territory without one was a threat. It was ant rule number one: Don't let anyone steal your passport. You are dead without it. I had heard many tales of soldiers surviving a sudden shower only to be denied entry over missing passport pheromone. I never believed in the tales and considered them rumors spread to scare young workers and soldiers. Turned out they were true all along.

I tried explaining to the soldier that I belonged, that we were of the same colony and I was not an enemy, but she fired. Her poison splashed behind me. I was lucky her aim was off, but not so lucky when she raised the alarm in all its strength and made an intruder out of me.

I was just trying to get home.

The only thing left for me to do from there was to flee. There was no point butting heads with her. She had made up her mind. I had to make my mind too.

The situation was too unfavorable. I was uncomfortable and scared. I didn't want to die.

Then I sensed the others coming. There were at least twenty of them stalking the area around to catch me, even though they didn't know exactly where I was.

I could have been interviewing for a job as a harvester or at least a scavenger, but there I was fleeing from my own family. It was infuriating. I had given so much for them, my time, and work… my life. And they were ignoring all of that simply because I didn't have some stupid pheromones on me. It was anger speaking, but I needed to vent it or it would have consumed me.

The soldier followed my scent, rapping the ground with her many legs.

Everything has a scent, be it a rock or a leaf, a tree, or a flower. The scent of some things remains consistent, while others change with temperature and humidity among other things. The variable controlling my scent was my emotions. And they were all over the place.

I was leaking a strong and widening trail, inviting even those faraway sentries who weren't interested at first. The soldier chasing me directly was fast. I was just a worker while she was a fully-fledged soldier, longer, taller, and stronger than me. I couldn't run forever. It must not be forgotten that I hadn't eaten anything since last night and I was low on water.

My reserves had diminished from digging, further reduced by the night out. Now they were almost completely empty. The only way for me to survive the chase was to somehow learn to get control over my emotions (which was impossible in such a short time) or jump back into the pit to through off my chasers. And what a brilliant idea it was. There was just a small, aggressive problem.
It took great courage for me to turn back, but I made up my mind and did.

I rushed back in a frenzy, actively releasing all kinds of misleading chemicals to throw the soldier in a daze. The plan worked, the soldier entered something the colorful geometric patterns called a confused mental state, which made her spray the poison all around her. I don't know how I did it, but I somehow managed to successfully get away from her, without a single blemish. The unknown patterns flashed by my eyes, saying I had acquired a new skill? Something related to what I had done.

By performing a certain action you have acquired an active skill: Confusion.

[Confusion][Lv-1/10][Tier-1][Active]
[There is a 50% chance of your enemy entering the state of confusion when subjected to a large dose of mixed pheromones.]
[Effect:]
[Every usage consumes an amount of the maximum calories stored in the body.]
[The chance of confusing target increases by 5% per lv.]
[Calorie consumption decreases with skill level.]

Success made me believe I could maybe get inside the colony, but I once again noticed my missing mandible while flaring them in glee. That knowledge quickly squashed the hint of rebellion forming inside me. The fact that most guards were strategically placed in some way from the colony helped my cause, but only up till a fixed point. I made it back to the pit just in time to see more solders and sentries rushing out of the city. They spread around to cover a wider area, blocking my path to the city. The trail left by the patrolling soldier was found and followed. She was also soon found hunkered down on her feet, completely exhausted. Some questioned her, while others found the trail that I had left behind.

I watched mortified as many soldiers, large and small, young and old, with armor pristine and battle marked, circled the pit. I was caged. Stupid, so stupid! I should have run for someplace else. Even though they didn't enter the pit, I had no place to go.

Left with no choice, I spent a large portion of my time trying to find a corpse that might have some lingering trace of its passport pheromones. Corpses there were aplenty, but all useless. The only way around my situation was to somehow meet the queen because only she could provide me a new passport. However, that was suicidal. I didn't have the chance of making it to the city entrance, much less making it to twenty floors below the city, into her bunkered chambers and past queen's royal guards.

That was when I sensed a familiar sweet scent in the air, cutting through the all powering rot and disease like a bullet of acid through the skin of a petal. The wingless princess was around. She was at the entrance. Not alone. There was just no way around that. She was a princess and deserved all the attention, even though she would never get to have a flight of rebirth.

She was in a heated conversation with the captain of a harvesting party 50 heads strong. They were leaving the city on a mission. I wanted to be with them: to roam the outside world and enjoy merry adventures. They were workers among them like me but allowed to go outside, far from the colony, and into the world. That was my dream job, not community labor or subterfuge.

She can help me. If it's her… she'll remember me for saving her, and, and,

Well, there were a lot of possibilities. She could take me to the queen herself as a favor for saving her or, at least help me out of my situation. Only a princess could demand a meeting with the queen at any time of the day. That was her birthright, winged or wingless.

Then, while I was still dreaming and counting my lucky stars, a soldier, one of the bulkier, battle-hardened ones trotted up to the princess and requested something off her to which she readily agreed. I could only watch as she stopped at the lip of the pit, her infrared eyes at me —the ones only those of the royal line had— and pointed me out from the corpses. My morale took a dip right there.

The soldier's, almost a whole battalion of them, circled the pit after the revelation. They looked ready to jump into the pit and search me out from the piles upon piles of empty carcasses and rotting dead bodies and stones if they had to.

Her nonchalance angered me. Maybe she didn't remember or couldn't determine my identity, and it made me furious! Another one of those colorful phantoms passed before my eyes.

Your anger has reached a boiling point. Skill: Anger acquired.

[Anger][Lv-1/10][Tier-1][Active]
[The skill activates automatically when your anger reaches a certain point.]
[Effect: ]
[Pos: Increases your endurance and strength, and makes you resistant to pain.]
[Con: You become prone to making mistakes as your intelligence decreases the longer your anger lasts.
It increases calorie consumption by twice the skill level.

Something moved inside me. It was like all my warmth and energy were assembling and congealing to give me a burst of strength. For just a second I became immune to her sweet invigorating enticement, but also stupid. I decided if she didn't remember me, I would show her who I was.

I rushed up the pit before she could go back out of the danger zone before the soldiers could start drowning the pit in a torrent of concentrated burning poison. They were about ready to act. I was only about halfway up the rising slope when they started. A few shots missed me, but I was hit three seconds in. I didn't feel pain. I felt, unlike a worker, unlike an ant really. I understood deep down that I wouldn't survive if I was hit even once more, but I couldn't take my eyes off her. I rushed. Up. Up. Up.

I was out of the pit three seconds later, at her feet, and somehow not poisoned a second time. Then the pain hit me out of the blue. I was exhausted… empty. I rocked and the world swung with me. I fell, the burning properties of the poison digging into my exoskeleton, to get inside me.

You are poisoned. You have acquired Poison resistance.
You are exhausted but haven't admitted defeat. Skill: Toughness acquired

[Poison resistance][Lv-1/10][Tier-1][Passive]
[It increases your body's ability to consume poison.]
[Reward: Your endurance increases by .1 points every level.]
***
[Toughness][Lv-1][Tier-1][Passive]
[Helps you push past your physical limits.]
[Reward: Your endurance increases by .1 points every level.]

For whatever reason, maybe because of rot or other chemicals I had picked up from the pit, the soldiers didn't realize I was out. Even I wouldn't have realized there was anyone standing in front of me if it wasn't for my newly found sight. It was a thankful addition to my repertoire.

The princess was right there, frozen still, her antennas down and stiff. Not even a whole day had passed since she was last attacked. Even I would have felt scared from repeated assassination attempts. Our sights met. This whole situation reminded me of how I had died. That crazy worker had also been trying to reach the princess; maybe her intentions weren't as cruel as I had, as we all had decided for ourselves? But I knew deep down in my mind, that worker had mean intentions. She had managed to kill, just not the target she was going for.

The scent of alarm and panic rose from the soldiers. Their antennas buzzed as the information reached their minds. They stopped firing and started raising alarm instead. The frenzy woke the princess and she tried to get away.
It took me all the courage, and madness that I had been holding inside me since being outcaste by the worker union to get back on my feet. From there it was an even harder fight against emotions and pain. The poison wouldn't kill me, I knew. I told myself so. I would have already died if it could. Maybe the soldiers had thought of capturing me alive. No matter the case, I had to make the princess recognize me, even if it meant forcing her to make an internal connection.

She tried to get away, but I jumped on her back. From there was the difficult part because I had never performed an I.C with anyone before, much less a fertile female. The thought scared and excited me at the same time. I forcefully wound my antennas around her antennas, matching my segments from the first at the base to the eleventh at the top to her segments as closely as I could. For a moment nothing happened. Then our chemicals intermixed and the hormonal exchange started.

Our thoughts mingled. Her fear mixed with mine. Her loneliness and sense of failure surged, overtaking my plea for recognition. I reassured her of my identity and reason, she worried still. Our memories mingled — Mine more than hers. She had control even in this, while I couldn't control what I wanted to show and what I didn't. She read all my thoughts: From my dream of adventuring the outside world to my thoughts on the laziness of the community laborers. She saw me in life and saw me in death and beyond, along with the favor she owed me for saving her.

From her: I read emotions, loneliness, weariness, and a sense of something that was profoundly similar to mine. I sensed her want for adventure and reorganization. And then the connection was forcibly broken as a soldier pulled me off her.

The soldiers spread my limbs and pinned me flat to the ground. A cold sharp pair of mandible pressed at my neck. I hurriedly released scents of reason, of brotherhood, of familiarity and recognition and of alarm. The princess finally helped. She tapped the back of the soldier ready to cut my head and the mandible receded.

The soldiers scented wrong and demanded the reason. The wingless princess ignored them and touched my face with her antennae where the mandible was broken. Are you truly the little guy who had saved me from the worker?

Yes. Yes! I answered in a concentrated mix of scents. They were strong enough to make the soldiers cringe away from me. Scents when too powerful can hurt, a voice in the back of my mind iterated.
Calm down. How are you alive? You were dead.

I'm alive. I'm alive. Save me, I saved you. I managed to say as clearly as I could while suffering from a head-splitting ache. No one told me a forcibly broken I.C could cause pain! It was brutal.
The soldiers were getting restless. In the end, the princess spoke for me.

He's family. She let the soldiers know so they could stop raising alarm and passed me a hint of her pheromones, enough to give me access to the warmth of the city tunnels, just not enough to allow me to roam freely. They weren't passport pheromones, but they were something. At least the soldiers wouldn't try to hurt me at sight. Queen alone could issue someone a new passport. She went a step further and applied her medicinal saliva to heal my poison burns. A nearby soldier picked from her and shared some water and food with me. I put my antennae down and received all that she shared. That filled my body with energy once again.

Take me to the queen? Help. I asked her.

She was troubled. Can't, go right now. Have to go harvesting.

Can I come? I blurted out unintentionally. It was the result of having the pressure of death being released from my back. It was my dream to become a harvester. Perhaps, if my mandible wasn't broken I would have achieved it too, but all was for naught. This was my final chance, if it was a chance at all, to live as a harvester for one day. So maybe it was desperation that made me so brazen, even though I was still suffering from the poison.

It was a mistake I shouldn't have made.

But the princess listened. She had read my mind, my thoughts… me. She knew my true desire, why I had suffered through community labor even as an outcast, and why I had saved her. And because she shared my love for adventure, she didn't outright deny my request, rather asked the harvester's captain if I could come. The captain shrugged his antennas, saying one more worker was just another hand to share the burden. He was doing the princess a favor, but in reality, he was doing me a favor. One I wouldn't forget forever.

Okay, but don't wander. It can be dangerous. The princess told me. I agreed. And surprisingly, so close to death, I was getting to live a day as an adventurer, to see the world from a harvester's eyes. I couldn't understand whether to be happy or confused. For all I knew, I had gone mad.

Underload · Sep 19, 2020

We followed the scent trail laid by the explorers. It took us first, on a well-trodden climb up a dark hill, then on a low slope down rough trash littered path.

The two paths were strikingly different. The slow jog down the slope was exciting, however, it was equally tough and physically demanding. There were dried leaves that we mostly trod over and sometimes under. It was cold there and the dirt was wet, but only up to a certain degree. Nothing we couldn't handle.

There were scents all about, all different, all leading to different places: some into the trees, the giant pillars, and others to the layers upon layers of leaf cover, disappearing beneath them. We were surrounded by an unknown number of creatures from all sides. The soldiers marched on defiantly, not losing their composure for a second.

The worker paired with me tapped my head. Would you like some water? She asked. I dropped my antennas, a polite refusal, and got back to watching and sensing my surroundings.
We were walking a loud and brazen march; the sound of our stomping feet was unreserved and announcing.

Most creatures hid upon sensing our identity. I liked it, this show of power, this attitude of aloofness and strength.

The soldiers walked at the front while the five workers —six including me— followed from behind. The explorers had done their job by finding a new hunting place. Now all was in the harvester's hands to bring back food. That's the reason why most of the party constituted of soldiers. The workers though good at hauling heavy carcasses weren't so at the initial process of turning enemies into the said unmoving husks.

I had wanted to be part of the five every since my caretaking days. The city enters a buzz of excitement every time a harvesting party returns home carrying food. That had been enough to make me a devotee.

I was going to finish community labor and join them. That was my plan. It was a route that would have taken me many cycles of days and nights to reach here, and who knows whether I would have survived until then or not! So I was extremely thankful to the princess and the captain for letting me tag along.

The soldiers walked in a tight straight line, the workers following as closely behind them as we could. No matter what, all were very interested in knowing how I had lost my mandible, especially my partner. I could see their antennas pointing our way, something that I hadn't been able to sense. I had always thought of them as a strict tight group, but they were slowly making me reconsider my evaluation of them.

The princess walked at the front of the progression, besides the captain. She had demanded the position, and the captain had been all too happy to accommodate her. He was also a prince, a fertile male, and though the princess was wingless, it was easy to sense her scent possessing some sway on him, too. And I could sense the changes in her mood from her scent. She liked the attention.

As for me, I was doing fine now, but I had my fair share of problems keeping up with them. It was the pain from the poison. Even though I was past the tremors and the shaking, everyone kept divided attention on me. They didn't show it, but their scent told me everything. They pitied me. Once I found that out I stopped asking for brakes. I had pride, too.

I had my first encounter with a large, armored beetle pushing a ball of dung up the slope. It was a slow, but a daunting creature. To think it would look so big and powerful from up close. When we stopped under a beam of warm sunlight I thought we were going to hunt it, but my partner, the worker stuck with me, told me otherwise.

Nobody would hunt that thing without a valuable cause. Not only does it taste horrendous, but it is also a hassle to carry back. We have rules about hunting creatures like that. Don't fight a war you can't win and don't hunt a creature you can't carry — basically be respectful and humble. Then out of the blue, she asked me if I would like to have my back rubbed.

I humbly refused her again, but then I noticed the other pairs rubbing each other — including the princess. Her scent had attained a hint of warmth and eagerness as the captain rubbed her back with his forelegs.

Are you sure you don't want to do it? The worker asked again. I quickly agreed in a fit. It was better than I expected. I wondered why I had refused her in the first place. My legs that had gone stiff from all the walking started loosening as she rubbed them and moved them between her mandibles. My pores opened wide and air flowed into me. I let out a groan of scented pheromones when she suddenly stopped. Her antennas touched my head in amusement. I looked at her confused and she told me it was my turn. I followed as she ordered. First, I gently patted her back with the clubbed ends of my antennae, followed that with pulling her legs one by one until there was a pop from the joints, and at last rubbed them.

I don't think I did a proper job, but she happily told me that she enjoyed it. I believed her scent. The princess scent had gotten stronger, too. Our eyes met and she waved an antenna at me. I waved back, causing her to shrug. I realized I had just told her that I could see.

We were walking soon enough. The scents changed at the bottom of the mound. There was almost no vegetation down there. No shade or cover. There was however a substantial funnel that had a very sweet and attractive scent rising from it — too tempting to ignore. I couldn't help going forward to take a glance. What could be causing such a phenomenon in the middle of nowhere? Could it be something delicious? I hoped so!

It was only when my partner tapped my back and pulled my bottom did I realize that I alone had scurried away from the company, while they were going around the pit. But the scent trail went through the pit! What were they doing? And why was I screaming in my mind? I couldn't understand! I looked back and found that I was standing at the edge of the pit, sand granules falling and causing small avalanches as they slipped from under my feet. I had almost fallen in there. My mind buzzed at the same time as another one of those colorful patterns emerged to cover my hazy sight.

You were tempted to die, but you survived. Congratulations! You have acquired Charm resistance.

[Charm][Tier-1][Lv-1/10][Resistance]
[Have some confidence! You might not look like a handsome long-legged deer, but believe me, that's a good thing. They are prey, not predator! Are you one, too?]
[Reward: Your Wisdom increases by .1 points with skill gain.]

It was called a notification — the information that had suddenly popped up in my mind— and its intrusion worried me.

I was still dazed when my partner slapped me with her antenna. Don't go in there. It's a trap. I couldn't understand what she meant. She picked me up and carried me back. I kicked the air in a fit of vain retaliation. She didn't let me go until we had joined the others. Instantly, I found clarity. She put me down and offered me water. This time I took her offer.

We were at the end of the line so there was no holding anyone back. She brought a droplet of water to her mouth and I drank it. A sense of stability returned to my mind. Turns out, what I thought was the aftereffect of poison was actually dehydration. So she had been right all along. I asked if she could spare more. She brought another larger droplet out and I had my fill.

I thanked her with a touch of antennae. She told me to beware of the pits.
That was the nest of an ant hunter. If you sense anything like that again, just do one thing,
Stay away from it? I asked.
Yes, you can do that, too. She said, antennas shaking. I joined her by shaking my antennas. She was being sarcastic, but I couldn't stop myself.

There was a time when I believed that life was all about order and compassion, but the reality wasn't so bland. I enjoyed her company. There were no more interactions between us, and things fell into a routine. We kept a steady pace.

The natural range of my senses, when I wasn't actively controlling my antennas, was not further than a few heads around me. However, sight allowed me to notice the changes happening in real-time. The grass shade was nice and the openness of the world was another plus, but I liked the warm rays of the sun best. However, the captain was very persistent about staying in the shade.

There was grass, rocks, flowers, scent trails of other insects, dirt, unusually shaped plants, deep burrows, mounds, waste, a lot of smelly waste, long caterpillars, more dung beetles, but my favorites were the fliers, for they could fly.

Of course, every other insect remained a certain distance from us, but the fliers didn't seem to care and flew freely, sometimes coming close to look and at other times following from a distance. Sensing them was one thing, but seeing, though only a hazy form, of something so large, come so close to us was nerve-wracking. I leaked the scent of panic four times when they flew over us. Three of those four led to nothing, but that one time wind blew in the wrong direction and my scent caused panic in the company. I felt really embarrassed that one time.

The fliers reminded me that a princess was also supposed to have wings! And realized I hadn't been sensing her warm, attractive scent ever since the fliers had joined our company and accompanying us in our journey. She had not only retracted her scent —something I didn't believe was possible— but the captain and she were no longer in conversation.

She is sulking, I thought, and her behavior made sense. It shouldn't be forgotten that I had been in internal communication with her and shared more than just surface thoughts. I knew her more than anyone else… around.
We pressed on.

The grass forest slowly bled into rocky terrain. Here grew nothing. The mountainous rock was equal in height to our city but encompassed a larger area. We weren't to go above it, however. The trail led under the rock, into a wet-cold tunnel. I gained another one of those notifications here at the end of our destination, detailing information about something called a Map, but that is not important. The scent here was strong, both of trail and our opponents to be.

Termites! How did I know? I didn't. A scent wave from the front let us know. This was our destination. To think there were termites in our homeland. Impossible! Someone said. Others followed. But the scent was there. And scent never lies.

The formation was changed to form a diamond head with a long single file tail. Four soldiers and one worker made a tight diamond, with the worker in the middle and the captain at the base. The diamond was to act as a probe and check the tunnel fifty ant lengths deep for signs of activity, and send a scent signal if all was well or sound alarm if they encountered an enemy; the tail was to safely trail behind at a distance.

I learned that it was a formal military tactic, but the idea to replace the ants after a certain number of steps was the captain's personal touch, done to promote equality and fairness.

When the first group had cycled for the tenth time and sent an okay we were almost three hundred ant lengths deep underground, and in a large chamber with arched ceiling and platforms on the three visible sides. It was empty, but the signs were there of recent activity. You can't hide the scent.

It was dark inside. The formation was changed once again. The soldiers formed the arc of a crescent, becoming the shield and the spear, while the workers filled the hollow, becoming the backbone. The captain and the princess moved to the back. She was tense I noticed, and so was I.

I touched her antennae. She was spooked and snapped her mandibles shut out of fright at my touch. The snap stimulated the soldiers who collectively curved their abdomens to the front and dropped on their hind legs, getting into firing position.

Princess apologized. Steady, the captain scented a sensory load of information that reached every soldier without neglect.

I wanted to ask her if they had a plan, but then there was a noise from one of the platforms to our right and the captain himself went into motion. He curved his abdomen between his legs, took position balancing on his hind legs, and fired a bullet of 50% poison. The termite looked from the platform at the same time as the bullet reached.

He was hit!

The termite fell from the platform, but it called an alarm right as it hit the ground, not giving the soldiers enough time to quietly finish it off.
INCOMING! Someone shouted something buzzed, and something changed. The scent of termites grew stronger.

The soldiers waited with antennas vibrating and bodies tense, poison oozing to come out of their abdomens.

They came as a hail of large white bodies, up the tunnel under the platform and into the chamber. We were ready. Well, at least the soldiers were. They were ready for the termites — but what came up was anything but termites.

They were shaped like a termite, large like a termite, had broadheads and menacing mandibles like a termite, but they were anything but them. The soldiers couldn't see so they waited for the order.

But the captain, princess and I were taken aback. They could see much clearer than me, for they had infrared eyes. What I saw was a smidgen of movement in the dark, but it was what I sensed that made me doubt everything.

They arrived three at a time, rushing into the chamber with their mandibles wide open.

Fire! The captain finally ordered. A rain of poisonous bullets sailed across the chamber at the sight of the termites. It didn't work. The poison didn't work. The termites, a total of nine, pushed through the hail and entered melee range.

All hell broke loose from there. The soldiers outnumbered the termites almost three to one, but even that advantage seemed wage when the enemies didn't respond to their biggest weakness.
During this time one termite pushed past the defense line and came at…me?

I was horrified as its visage became clear. It was nothing like a termite. I stuck staring at it as it reached for my head with its mandibles. The princess intertwined. She didn't have a stinger or poison, but she had mandibles and her large body.

She crushed her mandibles to the side of its chest and flung it up into the air. The termite screamed. That's when another one clawed its way toward us. It didn't jump at me or princess but stopped a certain distance from us. I saw it trying something. The burning scent of acid rose from it, not from its abdomen, but its forehead. Scars would have been the least of the princess's worries had it fired.

There was no time to think. The termite fired the moment I charged toward him. I was doing something stupid again, but I would have no identity without the princess. Would a soldier, a team captain, vouch for me? I didn't want to take the risk.

There was a sensory alarm as the acid spray saturated the air in front of me. I ducked my face and hid my eyes just in time as the acid splashed on my head. I thought I was mentally prepared, but nothing can prepare one for that pain. My head itched with an intensity that made me want to scratch my exoskeleton off my body. I was burning without fire, my skeleton just about starting to melt. A cold wave cut through me as an ominous-looking glyph -4 broke away from my body and disappeared above my head.

I pulled my mind shut against the pain and forced a trot toward the termite, blind in both sight and sense.

I'll survive. It was my tenacity speaking. I am going to survive. I psyched myself for the confrontation. There were another spray and this one drenched my head completely. My antennae horribly went out of tune from the acid bath, and I lost even the sense of direction. I didn't admit defeat. Stopping here meant admitting that I was wrong and the others of the worker union were right. It meant admitting that I should have strived to act normal, and not work harder. It meant that they were right and I should have remained but a worker and died digging to ensure a longer lifespan.
I refused to believe that. I loathed the thought.

My mind buzzed in succession as the colorful geometric patterns, the notifications, buzzed in front of my eyes. One by one they came, each one easing my pain by a sliver, and proving me right.

What tenacity and Vigor! Are you sure you are an ant?
Skills: Tenacity, Vigor, Acid resistance acquired.

[Tenacity][Tier-1][Lv-1/10][Passive]
[Everyone can see the starting, but only the tenacious see the ending.]
[Effect: Prevailing through a tough task earns you 1 point in Endurance.]
[Reward: You gain .1 points in Strength every skill level.]
*****

[Vigor][Tier-1][Lv-1/10][Passive]
[To go strong into the face of adversity is not a mentality of someone weak and defeated.]
[Effect: You strength and Agility gains a 10% boost when you feel challenged.]
[Reward: Your Constitution increases by .1 point every skill level.]
*****
[Acid][Tier-1][Lv-1/10][Resistance]
[You could have gained a flowing design to your furbished monochrome skeleton had you let the acid wash you longer. Well, better luck next time.]
[Reward: Your gain .1 points in Constitution every skill level.]

The pain subsided. My sense remained scrambled, but my sight cleared — somewhat. I saw the termite's hazy form shift behind the acidic fumes covering my eyes. It sprayed a third time. By utter luck, I managed to dodge it this time by sidestepping, and lunged. The termite was taken aback; still, it tried to cover its delay in response by scissoring its mandibles around my head.

I proved to be the one faster. My small stature even seemed to help my lone mandible find rest in the ample softness of its left eye. It shuddered. I panicked. What next! I asked myself and came up with a method. I jerked my head and the mandible tore out from the left side of its head with the motion, leaving a large leaking gash. The termite faltered down to the floor and didn't get up again. Acid overflowed out of its forehead and onto its face, burning its remaining eyes into sludge.

There was a single notification that appeared at my opponent's death. It read: You have defeated a Puppet of Gluttony. Experience has been awarded. But its meaning was obscurer than that of its siblings.

When I looked back, the princess, together with other workers had already taken care of her opponent and was in a much better condition than me. She wasn't injured in the slightest sense, while I was… well, I fell down right as our eyes met for the second time. Another one of those ominous glyphs disappeared above my head.
She was before me in seconds, drawing a drop of water to her mouth. Her antennae mingled with mine and she washed me with courage before saying, did … save … again? I somehow made out of our contact.

You saved me first. I sent back, but I don't know what she read from the jumble of chemicals that I released. My antennas were in a big need of thorough cleaning and tuning.
…really … know ….to fight, do you?
I am a worker. We don't usually fight.
That's … another thing to …care.
I didn't really understand what she meant and believed she was wrapping up our conversation.

I guess so.

She dropped or contact and a drop of water on my face, washing my burns. The cold was refreshing. The ominous patterns ascending from my head stopped when she washed my face a second time with water.

For some reason, that's when we both knew I would survive. It wasn't long before she left me to take care of the soldiers who were hurt more than me. It shouldn't have come as a surprise but where I had survived or was likely to, there were also casualties among us.

Underload · Sep 19, 2020

There was the scent of pain in the air, panic, and a general sense of urgency. A worker was lying still before me, her legs contracted and antennae silent and unmoving. She was dead. Another, a soldier, was on her back, flailing the top half of her legs, the only set remaining. She was pushing away any soldier trying to help her.

My situation was different. I was a survivor. A worker, my partner, was thoroughly disinfecting my body with saliva. However, I was distressed from the death around and my stiff antennae were making sure that she would know my thoughts.

That's our duty, too. She scented. To deny help when there is no hope.

But she can survive if we take her to the colony. She'll—
She interrupted me. The soldier will only be a burden to the colony if she lived. And there is no crime heavier than that. That's the fate of a hunter. You have to understand that if you want to be one of us.

She went as far as to feed me a drop of flower nectar. It was sweet, very delicious, and nutritious. It was a little bundle of energy that instantly put me back on my feet.

I didn't forget to thank her properly by bowing my head and putting my antennae as straight as I could. A touch on the tip told me she had accepted, but I stayed in the position for a bit longer, afraid of looking back at the sight of soldiers dying. By the time I tired myself into straightening my head she was gone to help the others in need. It was surprising that she had decided to help me before the solders.

I noticed a few antennas tuning my way, but I ignored the attention and busied myself with cleaned my sensing apparatus as thoroughly as I could. To say I wasn't fazed by the carnage would be an understatement. I was bidding time to stable my distressing thoughts. I couldn't stop them from leaking, for I didn't have the control, but I could at least put them aside for the time being. So what I spread was an urge for preparation and tenacity and not more panic.

My antennae were covered in dried acid crystal. They were in much worse shape than I had first imagined. I rubbed them between my jaws as many times as I could to break the crystals off, before polishing them with the wet tips of my front legs. But time was short and the result unsatisfactory. The soldiers, those not injured or already recovered, were actively pilling the termites together. There were nine of those large succulent bodies. Not many. However, we were only on the first floor; and no one knew how deep this colony went.

I noticed upon standing that one of my legs on the left side wasn't working as it should. It was stuck in a narrow back and forth motion. The acid hadn't managed to drill a hole in my carapace, even though it had tried and thinned it considerably; my leg tissues, on the other hand, were open to its chiseling. There it had successfully damaged me. Still, considering everything, the reward of my recklessness wasn't as bad as it could or, should have been. And there was also this thing,

Damn! You one nasty ant, brother! Skewering your enemy in the eye… You make me speechless.
You have acquired Skill: Barehanded Mastery.

You have six legs for a reason. Don't run about changing your anatomy on the snap!
You have acquired skill: Balance.

[Bare handed][Lv-1][Tier-1][Mastery]
[It takes guts just to kill someone, much less with your BARE HANDS!]
[Effect: You deal 1% more damage to your opponents with bare hands.]
[Reward: You have acquired skill Charge.]
***
[Charge][Lv-1/10][Tier-1][Active]
[The skill gives you a sudden rush of speed for a few seconds.]
[Cost: uses 10% of your Endurance.]
***
[Balance][Tier-1][Lv-1/10][Passive]
[This skill improves your mobility.]
[Reward: You Agility increase by .1 points every skill level.]

I had an inkling that these graphical anomalies were the reason behind my recent success —or survival, as I should be calling it. I decided to put away some free time to look into them, and as soon as I could. As courageous as I had been with my life-threatening endeavors to the outside, inside, I was but a young scared worker who was slowly coming to the realization why ex-soldiers and hunters preferred to work in the narrow, dark and awful mines after military service. I felt relief that I wasn't a harvester, and also disgusted by the thought at the same time. I couldn't believe I was giving up my dream so easily.

Eventually, when all preparations were done we went down the tunnel —a tightly knit bunch. In the chamber below we found six more termites, their bodies. They were already dead. It was a surprising turn of events, baffling to all including the Princess and the captain. Moreover, there were no more paths leading to the deeper depths of the colony, or any signs of them.

The soldiers spread into the chamber, abdomens pointing forward and mandibles open. They didn't want to take any risk. Their caution eventually proved to be for naught, for the termites were not faking death. Everyone relaxed. That's when a soldier called the alarm. All the soldiers moved toward him at the end of the chamber. The princess followed the captain and I followed her, my partner right behind me.

What he had found wasn't an enemy, however, but an ant. And surprisingly, it had our passport pheromones! The ant was one of our own, just not from our colony. The captain ordered the soldier to check its identity, which he quickly finished. The soldier read: 17113, first-generation, 3rd lay and number 711; City: Door-Darshan-Ji (Heavenly view of the world).

That can't be, right?
That city is too far!
Is it a scout?
But even a scout from there would be accompanied by a whole company of ants from the highway cities.
The soldiers murmured before the captain silenced them.

Door-Darshan-Ji, the farthest city connected to the Kingdom. It was almost in the abandoned territory and would have remained so if it wasn't for the technical advancements that it presented and its number of inhabitants. Very little was known about the city, but it was said that the city had more than enough ants to hold its fort against the enemy colonies, all alone. And if that wasn't an amazing feat then nothing was.

An internal connection was tried with the ant and there was a response, but not strong enough to solve the mystery. The ant wasn't dead, just unconscious.

Alright, let's pack up everyone. And someone, please carry that ant for me. The captain ordered and the soldiers became busy tearing the termites into sizable chunks. A worker could carry a whole termite, but the soldiers didn't possess such strength or stamina. While they worked, I stood there gawking.

There was nothing I could do to help. Mandibles —I had lost my only weapon and tool. The harvesters shared an alarming intensity and work ethics, but I wasn't a part of them. I was useless. I had saved the princess but how was that helping the colony? I couldn't determine.

It is our duty to not burden the colony; to deny help when the situation is hopeless. The words stung more than the poison and the acid combined could have. Did I have hope? I couldn't determine. Everyone ate their share and I also shamefully filled my belly before leaving.

The trek back was very subdued. I couldn't make contact with anyone. Everyone worked their share and even the princess carried a termite in her large mandibles. I-I followed them empty-handed, dragging my feet. The soldiers laden with food walked at a slow pace. There were no interruptions on the way. None tried to stop us. We reached the colony just before noon when the temperature outside was just right.

The sentries let the city know of our return, and we were welcomed with applause and water and honeydew. City workers took the food from the soldiers as they enjoyed the refreshments. I couldn't enjoy the moment. A worker asked me if I would like some water and I couldn't say yes. Don't waste resources! The voice rang loud in my mind.

The princess found me at the entrance, head bowed, antennas sulking, dazed, and lost. I didn't notice her coming or stopping in front of me. I was surprised when she touched my head, and caressed my melted exoskeleton.

Does it hurt? She asked.
I replied: yes. And she was taken aback by my straightforwardness or lack of flair. She apologized to which I answered with silence. She must have realized my solemn mood because she asked me what I was thinking. And I let everything out like a broken record.

I saw a soldier denying help today. She was in pain, but alive, yet she decided to die. The worker I was paired with told me, the soldier knew that she would only be a burden on the colony if she survived; Hence her decision. But I-I was also of no help to anyone either.

I didn't think, but I was pretty loud with my scent and gathering quite an attention.

The captain took me on the premise that I would share their burned, but all I did was taking a portion of their hunt. While everyone else, including you, helped to carry the termites, I was the only one not helping. No one said anything like they expected nothing better from me. Doesn't that make me as worthless as the dying soldier? And I am disabled. I can't work as a worker or hunt as a soldier. I am nothing. So am I also not just a burden on the colony that needs to be replaced?

The princess listened quietly and tapped my head when I was finished with my rant. I expected many things from her, but she only scented one thing, something unexpected: Why don't we let Mother decide that?

I don't think she could have said it any better. Her words were precise and true. She didn't give me time to start thinking negative thoughts again and tapping my head she started walking. I watched her as she stopped a few steps ahead and looked back.

Aren't you coming? She scented and I did exactly that.

The soldiers at the entrance moved out of our way. I did notice them paying much attention to me. At the time I thought they found me suspicious, and only let me inside because I was with the princess. That was true indeed, but to a certain degree, they also pitied me.

You stay close to her. One of the soldiers told me and I followed the princess glued to her back.

Inside, a festival was growing in the tunnels. The harvesters were being lauded with appreciation. The celebration was on a whole different level because it was termites that made the feast, our eternal enemies. The caretakers were running around carrying mushroom mead instead of the usual water, the tunnels were filled with an electric scent; and for the first time in my whole life as a digger, I saw the miners lazing about. If the miners were allowed to rest that meant the win against the termites —though small— was pretty serious.

We went into one of the larger elevator shafts leading straight down. It was brimming with much activity. Many workers were moving about in it, mostly going down for the feast.

Only a few caretakers were carrying the large white oblong eggs up the shaft, to the top of the constructed tower where they could be bathed in the sunlight and kept warm.

There weren't any soldiers in the shaft, for they were concentrated on the surface floors. The feasts were for the workers only, who usually got the leftover from the hunt.

The Queen's quarters were a great distance below the surface. We left the elevator shaft on the tenth floor and worked our way down one-way bridges and narrow tunnels of the storage chambers. There weren't any singular tunnel that directly connected the surface to the bottom floor. That was a recipe for disaster. The feat was progressing here and resultantly the pathways were brimming with ants of all castes including some of the lower caste soldiers. We took another elevator shaft from the fifteenth to the twentieth floor bypassing the mold farms and finally reached the nursery.

The last I was here was over a month ago when I had worked as an egg carrier for a month. Those were harsh days. Here, there was a population explosion as soldiers and caretaker caste intermixed together. Soldiers made most of the numbers here on the twentieth floor with the young, recently released kind, making a higher percentage of the total. Similarly to a young worker, a young soldier was also worked hard to protect the nursery for a month before being allowed to join the army or the other parties.

Every floor below the twentieth contained sentry posts, with a large number of ants with heavy stone-hard skeletons protecting them. They checked the incoming traffic with precision and had the power to deny entry to almost all workers and low ranked soldiers. They checked princess's passport and she didn't let them stop me.

I was nervous beyond belief. Seeing how the soldiers were reacting to me I was confident that tackling the princess outside was the best decision of my life. No way I could have sneaked past this many soldiers, and managed to meet the queen. That wouldn't even have been hilarious. They would have used me as target practice. I became sure of that one when I saw a few marksmen pointing their abdomens at me.

The number of caretakers and nurses increased on the twenty-third floor. Even then, their ratio didn't dip below six to four. The twenty-fifth floor, however, was crawling with egg carrying caretakers and nurses. There were hardly any soldiers there, but the ones I could sense were battle-hardened soldiers with more battles behind them than the number of days I had lived.

Finally, we were in front of the impenetrable hollow stone that made the queen's quarters. There were only three entrances, all guarded by living doors, a caste of guards called coin ants that had heads large and strong enough to seal and protect the entrance if necessary.

Princess presented her Id to the door guard and we were let inside. A princess could meet the queen anytime. It was her birthright. I won't say I wasn't jealous, but I had many more important things on my mind.

Inside, it was a singular thirty heads by thirty heads large cathedral with an arching ceiling and minimal pillar support. The queen, an obnoxiously fat ant, was lying in the middle of the chamber with her upper body and feet dangling in the air.

A number of caretakers were massaging and moisturizing the queen's body, while a pair of nurses was stimulating her abdomen, with a dozen or so caretakers quietly watching from behind.
She was Agnee-rath of the heavenly colony. Agnee she had named herself, for she was not an ember flying in a storm of ash, but bright red fire hot enough to burn everything around her. She was the fire, the stimulant of this city's nerve tunnels, and we were her chariot, the force behind her domination.

She was the force behind the heavenly kingdom's expansion in the southeast territory, while the west conquest had failed to the termites.

There were rumors of our heritage being connected to an empire of fire ants. One glimpse at the queen and you start feeling like the rumors are true.

One of her large antennas singled us out from the thirty caretakers and nurses in the quarter. It followed us from the door to the rest of the way until we were in front of her. Being so obtrusively large she couldn't move on her own.

She was happy to see us. Being a queen of a large multi-level city is boring unrelenting work, and there were not many ways for her to enjoy life. So two of her advisers had consulted many individuals and come up with a solution.

When I worked there she only had a 'touch me not' plant that used to grow shy at her touch. Now among the three different varieties of plants --including one that blossomed a bright beautiful flower upon sensing danger-- there was also a glow bug trapped in tree resin. It glowed when tapped on the bottom. It looked healthy and quite content with its life. It was smaller than the queen and surprisingly an odd addition to her possessions.

Queen sensed our passport and identified us. For us the passport was not different from another pheromone, but she could sense one's intentions from it. She was the greatest perfumer and had the finest olfactory nose. For her, the pheromone was not just identification but the record of our lives. The loss of my passport was essentially also similar to a loss of my old life.
After she finished reading the pheromones she commenced the scent communication.

From Fire come embers. Though free, you are mine and forever you shall be until the ember in you grows cold and only ash remains. She greeted us in her usual.

It was the only bit of mysteriousness that she possessed. Finishing the greeting she went back to tapping the 'touch me not' and the 'glow bug'. A shudder passed through her body when the 'You scary-I'm scary' plant opened into a bright flower, intrigued by the activity. A set of five slimy and small eggs came out of her behind, which the nurses quickly moved away with the help of their caretakers. An equal number of caretakers filled the now empty space, waiting in line to carry an egg into one of the hundreds of incubation chambers lining the queen quarters.

Mother, Princess scented. This child has lost his passport and I promised to help him retain his identity.

And why did you make such a promise to him, daughter? Queen asked.

Because he saved me when I was in danger and it's only right that I save him, too.

Tell me more. The queen said and the princess started telling the tales of my death, escape, and rescue.

Excellent child, The queen rubbed my head. So that is the reason behind your appearance.

Her words stung where I was burned, and I tried to hide my discomfort but I knew the Queen read me like a blown leaf.

Truthfully, I had almost forgotten about this part. Needless to say I was nervous again, almost on the verge of fainting. This was where my fate was going to be decided. The queen could see my missing mandible and my injured leg. She had smelled the scent of acid from my head and the damage it had done. I knew it.

I was so afraid of being denied an identity my thoughts grew a scent and pushed out of my antennas. The nervousness made me let out, again. Please let me stay a worker. I'll dig without complaint and mine all day without stopping to meet the quota. Don't make me a mercenary. I'm injured, but I am not defeated yet.

Are you? The queen asked. Not defeated, yet? She was not polite at all. How will you work with a face so beaten or fight? Can you even walk properly with your bad leg?

So I am a burden. My thought was heard or sensed again. She didn't need I.C to do that. We were the embers of her fire. She knew our temperaments because we were once hers.

We don't know about that. She rubbed my head. You are only a burden to my home if you don't add any value to our home. Do you have anything to add to my home? You can't be a worker or a soldier. But you need a way to earn food. I believe you already know that hence your dilemma.

My head fell. It was true. I had nothing to give.

Don't be shy my child, look up. You have not done anything to deserve mockery. You might think the loss of a mandible and a leg has made you worthless, but you should know that which is worthless to one might be priceless to another.

Really? I solemnly asked.
Yes, of course. The queen said. You saved my daughter, not once but twice, moving in favor of the colony without caring for your own wellbeing. You are not a burden, my child, but a proud member of my city.

She tapped my head and I had my passport again. With that, I could roam the tunnels without fear of being chased by the soldiers. I could go outside and come back in. I could do all those things again, but, but—
The queen continued: As for your job — I think, someone has already decided what to do with you. Haven't you, TinbuJi?

Who was that? The princess spoke. I would like permission to dub him my royal guard. Her request was granted without delay or question. And just like that, my problem was resolved. I had questions, confusions to clear, but my queen had more to tell her daughter, so I could only close my antennas and keep my thoughts to myself.

You, my child, should understand your position. You might think you are doing a great job by acting like a soldier, but in fact, you are only creating problems.

You might be wingless, the Queen definitely knew she was touching a rotten nerve, but she carried forward anyways. But you are a princess still — a fertile female. Your wings, they will come. You don't have to bind yourself to this tower. It's good that you are preparing a space for yourself. Preparations are important, but you have to look far ahead for the sky and learn to fly. If you don't believe in yourself, who will believe in you?

I'm sorry mother.

Alright, at that point she broke the connection with the princess and told me one last thing before releasing me too. From today onwards you are her guard. You will follow her, listen to her, advise her, and god forbids protect her if it comes to that.

She broke the connection before I could reply, and we were out of her quarters a few moments later.

This was not what I had expected. I don't believe there was even a job called royal guard because the princess was not allowed to go out of the colony and the princes were mere soldiers until the festival of rebirth. I couldn't help think that the princess had created a path for me where there was none.

The princess turned toward me before I could become lost in my thoughts. "Let's go." She said and started toward the way opposite to the one we had traveled, the path that led… to the lower floors? I had no idea where she was taking me, but I could only follow, for surprising as it may seem, that was my duty as her royal guard.

Underload · Sep 19, 2020

Princess Tiny —that's what she told me to call her— took me to someplace familiar. We went down to the twenty-sixth floor and took a left into the newly furbished artery, widened for heavy multi-way traffic. It was empty. The workers were away, enjoying the feast, and she was not yet a Queen. The floor would burst with life, both new and old, once she took command and started laying eggs.

This was the expressway built to connect the secondary queen's chamber with the main city. I couldn't grasp the idea of having two queens. It was something unprecedented. Who will have command? I casually asked but she was solemn in her reply.

I won't be queen. She said.

It felt like I had peeled a mask off her face. An eagerness for adventure, that's what I had taken from her during our internal connection. And pressure, a burden eating away her mind. To say I didn't want to pry the answers out of her would be wrong, but I didn't dare do that. I didn't believe she would like a stranger meddling in her affairs.

Queen had ordered me to advise and protect, with a heavy emphasis on the latter.

However, I didn't think it was my place to do that and neither did I want to dissuade my relation with her. I perfectly remembered being excluded from the workers union for trying to change the tradition of digging with a unique idea. So call it selfish if you may, I decided to remain her guard until I was sure she needed the emotional help of someone lower in popularity than a glow bug.

Although most of the workers were away to the feast, there were still a few worker ants roaming or power napping in the tunnel. They would wake up anytime and start working again. That's the life of a worker. Eat, shit in a corner, worker till you start feeling dozy, rest a minute, and repeat the cycle.

We soon reached the junction where the Princess was attacked and I had my accident.

You were dead silent, you understand? Princess Tiny suddenly scented. You had not a single spark of life left in you.
She stopped in her tracks, turned, and touched my chest where the crazy worker had grabbed me in her mandibles. There was not a single blemish there, much less a wound.

She had sheared your chest open, making you freely bleed. You were cold to the touch when I finally got to you. The sergeant announced you dead and I believed. She took her antennae away, keeping our contact with scents, showing her control and strength over pheromones. Yet, you are here, standing tall and following me, no longer a worker but someone much higher in the ranks than even a sergeant. Did you think your life would take this turn?

That was a question she had deliberately asked me. I might have stumbled had she asked my advice on a matter, but I did have an answer to this question.

No. I told her. I was sure to be forced into slavery, to be sent off to war somewhere. I had no doubt. Yet, I am here, beside you Princess Tiny, as your royal guard. It is something I don't even know the meaning of. I am scared, so scared of letting you down, but also excited. I can't thank you enough for your help.

She tapped my head. Don't be silly now. You have thanked me enough by saving me, and not once but twice. I can't help believing that if you are around, you just might save me from my fate, too.

Her scents were heavy. They didn't float in the air for long, before dropping down and getting absorbed by the dirt. That's why I didn't understand what she meant. The scents were something I couldn't hope to recreate. My lone attempt had driven a soldier to confusion, causing her to go into a frenzy. I considered it a result worse than failure.

You are early Princess. The sergeant noticed us first. He stood at the end of the dark junction connecting the two locations. This was where I had… died. That part was official now. There was no doubt about it.

The sergeant was nonchalant toward the princess. I could understand that. I had been like him until yesterday. I suppose she was so far apart from us workers that there could never be any other sort of emotion between us unless forced or of opportunistic nature. My relation with her was neither; it was born from an accidental.

His antennas stopped at me for a few seconds longer than needed. He could clearly read my passport and the Princesses stamp. What astonished him was my personal scent. The one he had sensed going out and cold. I had only bought time against the worker. He was the one who had really made the difference between her life and death.

His antennas stiffened straight when he finally remembered me. He was surprised to find me alive. Just like Princess Tiny had been.
How are you alive? He asked.

I have no idea, was my answer, but I had more than just an idea behind my apparent resurrection. Still, I knew revealing the notifications would do me no good. For all, I knew it could be a sickness! I truly didn't want to be thrown out of the city right after being accepted. I didn't dare.

They talked about the progress and the sergeant told her the floor would be ready in two weeks. It was a large space to dig and the progress was slow because Princess Tiny had been approved only a limited number of workers by the labor association. Yes, there was a labor association that kept note of pending work and new projects and efficiently distributed workers to them.

Although the sergeant talked to the princess he did keep one of his free antennae on me, afraid I would follow my predecessor and let loose.

Don't worry. Princess Tiny assured him. He's mine now. The sergeant shuddered visibly at being called out like that, something we both noticed. I was as surprised as him that she said it, but also couldn't help feel some pride.

Princess turned to face me, touched my antennae, and asked: you worked here, didn't you? So how about a tour? The sergeant tried to stop her, but she was already walking down the tunnel before he could do anything. She, I had noticed, was stubborn like that, and didn't care much for other's opinions. I followed behind her unconditionally and the sergeant could only follow us. He wouldn't leave a fertile member of the royal caste alone in an area under his jurisdiction. Not after his last security blunder.

There were some workers working, digging away at the solid wall, and building a pile of waste to take out at a later time. And then there was the tunnel I had dug up. It was long and they still hadn't gotten to where I had left it — yesterday! They were just too lazy. I was sure those sisters were only here because they were behind on their daily quota. The sergeant might not care for the mean or the method, but he surely did care for the end result. He could be strict if he wanted. Why else would the soldiers have dragged that crazy worker out, if not for his order?

Who dug that? Princess Tiny asked the sergeant who instantly started thinking and staring at me. I was sure he believed I had complained to her about the process — like I was that petty. There was no way he would have thought my association with Princess Tiny being out of any other reason. Strict, and strong, but also dumb. He would have made captain a long time ago if he could think for himself.

He did. The sergeant gave up and told the princess when her antennae started waving about. I later asked him why he gave in so easily, and he told me the waving antennae were a sign of her impatience; something he had learned over the days.

Princess was generally impressed, going as far as to say she had never heard of my method before. But the difference also infuriated her. The tunnel I had dug was three times as deep as one dug by another. The workers had managed to close the distance to a mere five ant lengths, but they had taken a whole extra day to get there.

I want you to call the workers here, right now. She told the sergeant, which turned into a stern order when he tried to make excuses.

After a few tense minutes, the workers started trickling in, antennae flailing and heads churning. They were not happy. Princess Tiny ignored their impatient scents and directly cut to the crust of the matter. Explain. She scented antennas pointing at the tunnel. Many noticed my presence as their antennae moved in my direction. They were brazen and bold, but not stupid. None complained.

Had they listened to me this wouldn't have happened. Now they were paying for it. The sergeant included. I enjoyed their situation very much until Princess Tiny decided to include me in the mess, too. Once again, without asking for my opinion, she made me the supervising leader of the site. Meaning, the sergeant would work under me —until the site was completed that is; she didn't have the authority to make my misery permanent and that was the only good news. She called it my first job, to watch over the workers who now hated me. This was neither a promotion nor a form of protection.

He'll be acting in my place. Think of him as you think of me. And listen to him. Understood?

Of course, the workers, the ex-soldiers, and the old laborers-diggers-miners understood. I was sure they were already planning to dig me a hole and dump me in it. They knew the city better than me, and most likely had a few places where no one would look for a missing disabled ant. Maybe she thought I wasn't hated enough already?

My life changed at that moment. And a notification from my mysterious watcher finalized that change.

You just had to do it, huh? Couldn't keep your voice down and leave the others in peace. You had to screw them before leaving for good. But Society doesn't work that way, kid. You better understand this before it's too late.
You have acquired a new Title: Loud-mouthed Traitor

[Loud Mouthed Traitor][Title]
[You have been officially excluded from the worker's unions for speaking behind their backs.]
[Effect: Every worker will know of your deed. Your status has turned unfavorable with the worker caste of all ant species.]

A title was something new. Although I had thought of trying to understand the mystery behind the notifications, I didn't feel well enough to try that now. Not after this magnificent blunder.

The workers weren't happy. It was clear from the collective scent of alarm they released. The scent calling me a traitor was growing strong. I told the sergeant to diffuse the crowd and send them back to work. He did hesitate but followed through. To think I would have to look after them daily until the construction was complete… I really wished to complain, but I was neither bold nor brazen. Just thinking about the task gave me the chills. Here, the old ex-soldiers ruled. The workers union was their brainchild.

The workers weren't completely sold on the idea of dampening solid dirt with water for digging, but even forced, they did as they were told and the work progressed at a visible rate. No, really. Working in the dark narrow space makes you lose hold of time, but seeing the hundreds of workers moving in the space, scratching damp dirt, create a pellet out of it, and rushing up and out the colony was an exciting sight to see, even if blurred and hazy.

Why did you do it? I asked the princess. The sergeant had to work the workers so we were the only ones left standing, giving me a chance to vent.

Didn't you regret not being able to prove the effectiveness of your method and being excluded by the workers union? Princess Tiny told me. It was the strongest emotion I felt from the internal connection you forced upon me, right before the sadness over losing the mandible and its consequence buried it down.

I really leaked everything during the I.C, didn't I?
You would have been killed if you hadn't. Consider it a part of your compensation for saving my life, if you will.

This time I was not sold on the idea and she sensed it. I decided to work on my scents along with the notifications. My lack of control was turning ridiculous. It was hard to believe I hadn't noticed it until now.

I didn't understand what she meant by compensation, but I dropped my head and antennae to her feet regardless, similar in manner to the ritual of accepting help from a caretaker, but with more respect and gratitude.

She accepted my gratitude with a tap of antennae on my head, and I stood straight beside her.
It didn't take the workers long to figure out the gist and the guts of my digging method, but the older of the ex-soldiers kept nudging me when passing by, showing their discomfort. It wasn't long after when princess Tiny poked my chest and asked me to come along.

Where to now? I asked and she gave a surprising answer.
Now, I have to – we have to visit the commander.

I stopped right in my tracks. By commander do you by any chance mean the brightest ember after our respected queen? I asked. The one who has led the most charges against enemy forces in the history of the Kingdom; the only who protected us against the wandering army and made them turn back; who is also nicknamed 'the coal', for he's always smoldering with anger! Are we talking about the same ant!

He sure is popular, She mused.

I didn't know about her, a fertile female of the royal caste, but I, a worker of the lower caste, and now a disabled, would never have been allowed to visit the thirty-sixth floor where the headquarters was. And as for meeting the commander… let's just say that the idea alone was scary enough, much less the apparent execution of it. But Princess Tiny had made up her mind.

W-will it be alright?

What do you mean? She scented and I notice that we were already inside the elevator shaft leading directly to her destination. I had lapsed. I hurried with the explanation, heart racing.
I meant, won't the commander find me offensive.

Because…

I am a worker. I said and she nodded as if that was all the explanation she needed. She didn't wait for me to elaborate.

You can stay back if you want. She playfully said, and abruptly broke our connection.

I was taken aback. That is not a place for someone like you. A little voice spoke in my head. Don't follow her. Go dig a tunnel or something. The voice was cranky and sarcastic and everything I needed to remind me that I was no longer a worker. I was no longer a worker. The truth was harder to accept than the rejection of my digging idea.

Princess might have told me to stay behind, but it wasn't even a choice. I was her guard. Queen had ordered me to stick with her, protect, and advise her — and that meant following her wherever she went.

I easily caught up to her in the shaft, even with my one lame leg, when the traffic was light and there was ample room for everyone to move about. The realization was a tense one.
She had waited for me. The gesture gave me some confidence. It was a quiet trek down the shaft when we started walking again. The shaft was loud enough with banter and hurry, but we didn't have another scented conversation until we reached the end of the shaft.

That's where she touched my antennae and advised me.

There's nothing wrong with being afraid. Everyone is afraid of something. But you can't let fear control your actions. You let it do it once and it'll come around to haunt you during an important decision. I understand your worry, the shackles society has put on you, but you are not a worker anymore. Break free.

Underload · Sep 19, 2020

She asked me to be courageous. A simple request, really. But it scared me. Everything new is scary at first and only becomes easier with time. I hoped she would give me the time to settle into my new responsibilities.

The thirty-fifth floor was, for a loss of better words, tiny. There weren't many soldiers around —at least not in the chamber, Princess took me to. The floor comprised of mere three chambers, but each was easily twice as large as the others. There weren't many ants about, for most of them were concentrated on the thirtieth and thirty-sixth floors, both of which were military encampments.

I don't feel prideful saying this, but I was stopped at the check post on the thirty-sixth floor. Only captains and higher ranked officials past this point, one masculine battle marked soldier made the point clear with the snap of her mandibles. She didn't say what would happen if I insisted otherwise, like there was a need for her to specifically address that termite in the tunnel. I sure as hell didn't think so.

Princess Tiny was special in this sense, for she was allowed inside though her rank didn't fill the requirement. The soldiers guarding the post were so used to her they didn't even stop to identify her. She even bumped their antennae when passing through. It was a really strange sight. Needless to say, they did allow me to follow her inside after she revealed my position as a royal guard, appointed directly by the queen herself.

It was a half-truth; let's just leave it at that.

Alas, I was where no worker would ever be and the thought had me nervous. The soldiers looked at us as if we were hiding some secret. Heads turned where the princess passed through, and antennae stood up erect and pulsating. She was holding her scent back, but there was no hiding the presence of a fertile female, even one not as developed as her.

I followed her unquestionably, though deep down afraid of making a mistake. The headquarters looked like any other place. It was a large and open chamber. Not fashioned out of indestructible materials like the queens quarters, but made with a similar kind of detail and perseverance.

Where Queen's chamber was an amphitheater that bounced scents back into the air instead of absorbing them, the headquarters was purposed in a way that it was quick to absorb the scents. Of course, the young I didn't know the difference. Everything looked the same to him. Though he did grow to doubt the construction when the residue of scents released after Princess Tiny's touch disappeared from the air before he could grasp them properly.

More surprising was the knowledge that the chamber fashioned into the military headquarters couldn't be accessed directly. We had to pass through the other two chambers, all connected to each other with a single narrow channel.

In comparison, the rest of the city was connected through means of various arteries and arterioles, some of which were dead ends designed to puzzle an enemy force that many or may not have broken through.
Princess was quick to warn me to stay quiet. Don't release any scents. Don't even think if you can. You think out too loud. I don't want to give him an advantage over me if I can.

Shall I stay back?
No. How will you guard me then?

Guard her against whom? The answer to that was an unexpected one.

The commander was a big burly ant with long spiky hair. His head was a lump of burning coal sitting over a pile of ash, larger in proportions to the rest of him. He was a first-generation, but nothing else about him was public knowledge.

He was in a conversation with another — most likely something very important. The guard stopped us outside the chamber, at an inaudible length. Moments later, the captain left the chamber, paused when he noticed Princess, and we were allowed to go inside.

Well, well, if it isn't my favorite princess. The commander scented cheerfully. I half expected him to demand an antennae connection, but I guess, he wasn't so stuck in the old ways. What can I do for you today?

What makes you think I want something? Princess said in a tone salty enough to make my throat dry. They had a history together.

You don't? Commander poked. The scent was almost strong enough to hurt, but also not quite there. He had phenomenal control over pheromones.

Princess also felt the effect. Her antennae almost dropped down in resignation, but she kicked back up and tersely continued the conversation. I want to meet the explorers. She demanded. I want to know how they found the termites and hear their full report.

See, why would you come to see me without a reason? In a sense, you are even worse than the generals and the captain. At least they are polite. The commander finished saying then turned toward me. And who's that.

I almost spoke up, when the princess smacked my head with her antennae. She stared at me, and wordlessly reminded me of the discussion we had just a few moments ago. No scents.

Don't try to change the topic. She laid it bare for the commander, and me — especially me. Answer me. I have the right to know. I worry the termites are doing something wrong in that region and we need to find out before it's too late. They had chased an ant all the way from the 47th city into our territory. That alone should set have off our alarms, but we are behaving like nothing out of ordinary happened! Needless to say, the termites themselves were very odd. Did the harvesters report the termite's strange resistance to poison?

She paused to let the commander make a comment and continued when he didn't.

I have asked Mother to let me lead a delegation to the far city Door-Darshan-Ji. She didn't give me an immediate answer, but I believe she'll be asking for your expertise in the near future. I want you to back me up when the time comes.

She stared at the commander after she was done saying her piece as if trying to instill the importance of her request into him.

The commander gave in to her after a while. Alright, He said. But you still haven't told me who he is? Why are you carrying a disabled worker around? You are a princess, a future queen —you should know better.
My heart skipped a beat. The commander pushed his antennae toward me as with interest to perform an internal connection. I realized something. He would know everything about the notifications and my death if we connected. My legs shuddered at the thought. I wasn't expecting things to go this way. I must have leaked my distress because Princess covered me with her body and swatted his antennae away.

He saved my life, twice. She explained. When everyone else, including the soldiers and captains, were busy fighting for their lives, he fought for me. So, yes, he might be a worker and a disabled, but he's also my royal guard.

Maybe her words held some merit or the commander got bored; whatever the case, he took his eyes off me and put his attention back on her. He could see, for he also had infrared eyes even though he was not of the royal line. He didn't have wings or the stature of one. Mutations like his weren't common —queen and her caretakers were very deliberate about maintaining the status quo— but it's not like I had seen others with infrared eyes; he could have been one of those lucky births.

Alright, The commander responded. I'll let the explorers know 'when' they return. But whether they'll want to meet you or not will be up to them. You see, unlike me, they don't like pretty disturbances very much.

What? But I heard they were back!

The commander stretched his antennae, signaling the soldier outside that he was about done with us. The explorers are a busy group. I believe I don't have to explain that to you. They were back for a bit, but now they are on a mission again. They won't be back for some days, just so you know.

Princess wasn't happy when the soldier tapped on her shoulder and asked her to leave. Once again, I wasn't addressed. She didn't make a scene, but it was a close call and things could have escalated quickly. The soldier looked about ready to pick her up and drag her out with her open mandibles, a clear warning gesture.

Princess Tiny didn't say much even after we were back on the thirty-sixth floor, but her silence alone spoke volumes of her mood.

That's how I met the commander and earned his attention. For all my expectations and nervousness, the meeting was underwhelming, if not too normal? I had no words to describe it. It's like the commander hadn't taken us seriously — Well, taken the princess seriously, because for all he knew I was just a worker she had taken under her wing —a very protective and comfortable wing I shall add.

However, still, it was an honor to meet him. One couldn't just waltz into the headquarters and have an audience with him, after all.

It had been a long day — a crazy day. And the day was only getting longer, not shorter, now that I was not working tirelessly. Following behind her I was starting to realize why the ex-soldiers and foragers demanded mining work after their dismissal from the services. Add to that the constant harassment by the workers and I was beginning to miss my old job. They caretakers refused me water and food, advising me to ask the princess for such necessities. Word traveled really fast in the city; this was just one example of that. At least they hadn't started calling me a traitor out loud, yet.

Why can't you control your pheromones? Princess suddenly scented. We had stopped at the base of an elevator shaft. It was one of the two and led back to the surface. The other one was the ominous path to the fortieth floor, where the slaves were kept.

She said something that I didn't hear and proceeded to wash my head with a drop of chilling water she had in her stores. She decided that I wasn't paying attention and wrapped her antennae around mine. Coldness washed over my mind and woke me up. Did you hear anything I said?

No. I answered solemnly.

She shook her head. I guess, there is no other choice. We need to beat this unbiased fear out of you before we can get to the other things.

A tremor passed through my chest. Her nonchalant number me; it instantly took my attention off the shaft and placed it back on her. What do you mean? I asked, but she ordered instead of answering.

Follow me.
And we were walking… down the other shaft: to a place called the dreg of our society, the wastelands, the slums, and its inhabitants who smelled of stale fungus and infections.
I wished I hadn't found the pebble. I cursed in my mind but closely followed her as we bumped and pushed into the traffic.

The enormous halls of the fortieth floor were a sight for my sore eyes. The number of soldiers here were equally fitting and easily filling the large space. I believed the fortieth floor was where the slaves were kept, tied, and unfed so they can't run.

I guess the rumors were not true.

Everywhere soldiers marched or dueled or exercised, putting time and effort while they were still safe.

The duelists were occupying a whole hall. The protocol to find an appropriate partner demanded one to greet a soldier of interest by shaking the clubbed ends of their antennae, pulling legs to test strength, and butting heads to compare will. Those already in a match played with strict regulations to cause no unnecessary loss of life or injury.
No blood was to be spilled during the duels, or limbs torn.

Nearby, a pair was dueling under the watch of a dozen young soldiers. They butted mandibles and compared strengths. They were even in strength, and the winner was surprisingly decided in a split second when the solider with one red antenna flipped her opponent on her back.

Nurses rushed forward the moment a winner was decided. The duelists were separated and each thoroughly checked for wounds and injuries, while a second pair from the watchers took their place in the ring.

There were many such rings where soldiers dueled and purged their itch, each accompanied by a dozen or so watchers, both young and old.

To my left were soldiers marching, changing formations at the signal of their sergeant. The three divisions hard at work had more young ants than old warriors, creating more problems with every iteration than results. But that's why they were practicing, to improve. It was better to fail in training than on the battlefields; the knowledge was learned with experience and loss. They practiced as if their life depended on mastering the formations, which was a fact both true and sad.

The next chamber hall was occupied by marksmen firing at a faraway target. The target was moving and the marksmen missing as much as they were connecting.

I tried to keep my mind occupied with the details, but I couldn't keep that up as we approached the slope leading down to the forty-first floor. It had an ominous smell to it. No one sane would have gone down there.

I hoped the soldiers posted at the junction would stop Princess, but they didn't. All excitement left my body when we stepped into the tunnel. Cold washed over me. I felt my body growing sluggish; or as it really happened, my metabolic reactions growing stale. The change was small, but a direct result of the drop in the ambient temperature of this part of the city.

So it was true. The city really doesn't spare any expense or care for the slaves. I scented out loud, for there was no one to hear me there. The scent echoed in the tunnel, repeating over and over, becoming distorted the longer it stretched, before completely breaking down into incomprehensible motes and getting absorbed by the dirt walls.

All I had heard were stories from the workers and caretakers that sometimes brought food down this low. We were essentially entering the slums of the society where parasites crawled. They called it the hub of infections and diseases. Everyone was supposedly crazy down there. Well, anyone would go crazy if kept trapped in a tight space for a long time.

I wavered. I hadn't put my life on the line only to be imprisoned there in the end.

You are right. She is putting you there for good. A small unforgiving voice rose inside me. I ignored the voice, but couldn't ignore reality. Even the scents down there were different.
The halls were full of those wounded and in pain. None was infected, but many were dying. These were the soldiers, workers, and warriors who had survived life-threatening wounds but were otherwise worthless to the city. Most were recuperating, while some had healed physically but lost their minds.

Princess walked past them, going deeper into this hell hole. I closely followed her closely with shaking steps.

I was so engrossed with myself I didn't notice how quiet she had gotten. It was a failure on my part.

The scent of pain in the air was oppressively dense. I developed a headache simply by being there. Away from the injured and the wounded lived the healed and the disabled. She took me past from them. They were lazing, unresponsive to even the Princess, and her allure. I was appalled! How bad must things be for them to have lost their will to live?

The deeper we went the large our surroundings became until it opened into an enormous antechamber, a cavernous empty pocket glowing with a constant brilliant light.

In there, the temperature was normal, a mild 30 degrees Celsius. As enormous as the chamber was, it was still packed with ants, all marked by various degrees of disabilities… grunting and straining? There was no pain in the air, but the smell of blood, and screams of anguish. They fought, drawing blood, tearing limbs and ripping carapaces!
So the stories were true! They are really crazy!

I almost turned back when Princess stopped me.

You can see, right? So look carefully. They are fighting, but they haven't gone crazy. Princess Tiny interrupted my thoughts. I had leaked them out again.
It's alright. She said. You have been doing it since I met you.

I followed her words —not out of respect, but to take my mind off the hundred gruesome ends I had thought for myself. And what I found when I looked, really looked? The slaves were fighting, yes, and hurting each other, for sure, but not killing anyone. They were practicing? How ironic was that…

They are preparing for war — preparing so they could return and enjoy another chance at a respectful life. Princess explained.

This is practice? I wondered what kind of a spectacle they would put on display when their life was really on the line. So they weren't insane? Good for them. But I didn't want to have anything to do with them. They were considered the lowest of the low and I belonged to that part of the city. A few words weren't enough to wash away my biased opinion of them.

You have courage, She praised. I'll give you that. But you don't know how to fight. There is no point in harming yourself over protecting me. How long will you last like that? That's what we are here for, your first real job. You will be learning from them —she pointed her antennae toward the slaves who were battered and bruised and fighting like their life depended on it— to protect me without getting hurt.

We got in their midst. Scraping shoulders with a few we pushed past. There was no order to their madness.
The slaves stood still when they sensed the princess. Some excited, others dreading their time had come, while a few were happy.

There were a lot of them, each one in a condition worse than the other.

Some had no eyes, only scars of acid damage left behind. Others had missing limbs, and not just one or two! There was one who was barely standing on her three legs. Another looked fine from the left side but had excessive acid damage on the other.

They were soldiers, all more than a generation old. And among them was one who smelled of age and had a bare face with no mandibles. She was the only one I pitied. She was sitting alone on a ledge by the right wall, watching rather than participating.

The worst of all was the warm welcome they gave us, especially me. I didn't speak up my mind, but my disgust was open for them to see and sense. That, however, only intensified their familiarity with me. I wondered.

They tapped my head in a disturbing fondness, reading me for all my worth. Most of them were from the fourth generation. That was how it was. Ants didn't get to live long; especially those who worked outside: the solders, harvesters, foragers, and the explorers.

But the one with no mandibles was different. She was of age not just from the body, but also smell. Everyone had a faint lingering smell of fungus to them, but she stank of the stuff. The fungus grew everywhere, covered the walls, and even the ground in some places. I could see workers actively cultivating it, putting pieces of leaves near the glowing warm crystals for them to ferment.
Princess dragged me behind her and took me to see the aged warrior who definitely looked unhappy to see her.

It's you again. The aged warrior said. What do you want this time?

Nothing, elder, Princess lied; it was a deliberate one, meant to ease the tension. I have only come to check up on your health.

The aged warrior was thwarted. A princess dragging a worker around, have you no conscience! Want me to take care of him, too?
Yes, She said to my disbelief.
See! She's really putting you away for good. The little voice enjoyed my discomfort. Let's run away before it's too late. It gave a piece of advice that I could only ignore for now. Runaway to where? My mind wasn't thinking straight. Of course, I blamed that on the slaves, too.

I shook my head clear just in time to notice a pair of rough and long antennae trying to touch my face. I tried to squirm away, but the princess pulled my abdomen and put me back in front of the aged warrior.

The antennae —to my discomfort— moved from my face to my head, and then down my neck to my chest. They were long enough to comfortably arch over the back, wormed around my chest and tapped my leg joints, checked between the plates of my bottom shell, and swatted my bottom. I asked the princess for help, which she rejected. She looked to be enjoying my misery.
The antennae left me feeling violated.

The aged warrior shook her head. I sense your mark on him. You don't want to put him here, do you? She asked the Princess, straightening her antennae for the princess to take. Princess Tiny approached her and their antennae mingled, initiating an internal connection.

I gasped as a few of the broken mercenaries approached. They didn't interfere and the princess came out of I.C soon enough. She staggered a few steps back, tired. I felt for her right there. I knew how demanding the I.C could be —especially when one was rough with its use. Her pain didn't make me less concerned. However, one thing I knew for sure, she had done it out of care.
Missing mandible, The old warrior counted my disabilities one by one. Lame leg, and broken antennae—

Wait, what? I wasn't expecting the third one. My antenna isn't broken. I released. Instincts pulled my antennae to the jaw for cleaning, while inside I grew worried about my future.

Haven't you been releasing your thoughts out loud? The old warrior said, her voice growing ominous. That's a sign. The bad news is that the injury won't heal and sooner or later you are going to end up losing the antenna. You want me to say what that means?

I shook my head and she continued. That leaves you with two choices; you chose us and get beaten very badly, every day, all day until you learn to fight without a mandible, walk without a leg, and sense without an antenna; or you could choose to leave. I wouldn't be any happier by either of your choices. I don't need you. She lay bare. And from what I have learned from the I.C, you don't want to be here either. That's perfect. My claws are already full keeping these guys busy enough so their minds don't wander. I don't need a kid midst them who can come and go, sparking their rebellious minds.

I looked toward the princess, ritualistically polishing my precious antennae on the hairbrush at the ends of my forelegs. She left the decision to me. Did I agree? Did I even have a choice? The notifications, said the little voice in my head. It was growing brazen with my doubts. I pushed it back down, telling it to find a way around them and it turned somber. 'I am not a coward!' I told it and myself; raising the question whether the statement had some semblance of truth, or was it just another lie in the end.

I was still undecided when someone approached us from the other side of the cavern. It was a soldier, a young lad who had only a single antenna hanging over his head. I wondered how it hadn't gone crazy yet. The aged warrior clapped her forelegs and made me regret my indecisiveness. Running would have been the better option, but I stayed and now she wanted me to fight the soldier.

Let's see how you fare in a fight. She scented, which didn't make me feel any better about my circumstance.
The soldier trotted past me and directly went for the princess. I thought he was going to attack. I pushed him. He staggered.

What are you doing little one? He scented, angry emotions spilling. I was giving you such a great chance to run away! Why are you still here?
I thought you were going to hurt her.

--Hurt Princess? He was offended. I wasn't going to fall for the old hag's words. Just so you know they were coming. But I can't let you get away with what you just said —not in front of my lovely princess! The old hag will not stop calling me a coward if I do. Get ready. We are fighting.

My life as a worker was lonely and tiring, but I would have rushed back to it if the option was available. I would have finished my community service and become a harvester or a forager, and lived a normal life. Anything would have been better than this.

Underload · Sep 21, 2020

You are dead.
The aged warrior made the comment in passing. She was having a heated conversation with the Princess who had joined her on the ledge. Their topic was bouncing around me, the city, and the slaves. She wasn't kidding about me being dead, though. By the rules of the duel, I had indeed suffered a catastrophic injury: a scratch around my thorax. It doesn't sound much, but the wound was dealt with such ease that had my opponent put more strength behind his mandibles he would have mortally injured me —no one can survive being sliced in half, after all.

I am special.

I was just glad the familiarity of the scratch didn't bring my past trauma to light. As for the result of the duel: I didn't know what to make of it. My opinion was biased toward the slaves, but a worker can't fight a soldier anyways. Yes, I had killed one, but those circumstances were different, and it had involved more luck than ability.

Did you drop your other mandible on the ground? The aged warrior scented: the odor was crisp and piercing, striking like an alarm.
No? I made a confused reply and was yelled at for stalling.

Stop dawdling. You are not a pampered princess. That earned her a cry of unfairness from the princess, which she should have just kept inside because it had no effect on her rowdy master. Show me the spirit with which you killed the termite soldier! Give me that anger and vitality. I'm not asking you for the impossible —a worker can't kill a soldier— but, if you can't even get serious for yourself, I can't take you seriously either. Then we'll have a problem.

How do you know about the termite?
Are you that foolish?

She knew thanks to the I.C of course! I made a mental to not let her or anyone else make that kind of connection with me. If she could freely siphon knowledge from the princess then I hadn't any hope of blocking my mind to her. My worry was as real as a pair of mandible hanging a hairsbreadth from my neck —outrageously serious.

Are you alright, brother? You look a little winded there. My opponent tapped my back. There was a buzz about him and it was irritating to say the least. You are not wounded, right? He said tracing the souvenir he had left me. His touch tickled. I could almost hear his worry from the scent. It was weak, courtesy of his missing antennae, but accurate than even the scents laid out by the princess. He was considerate. I liked him —until he said something that irked me like a grain of sand in the eye. You should rest. Let me worry about guarding the Princess. A soldier is a much better choice anyway.

Take my place? His words did more than just irked me. They lit a fire under my bottom, boiling my fluids to produce bubbly anger. Eat the result of my hard work? I stood up asking for another match and this time showed the soldier his place. Become a guard my blasted bottom!

I was angry, of course, though only hyperventilating, not out of the mind crazy that I was against the termite soldier. That was something else. This anger was more subdued; just a lot of steam. Needless to say, I didn't somehow overturn the situation and pulled a win over my opponent. All that happened was me taking another beating and him earning respect in the princess's eyes.

Do you see it? I'm good, aren't I? The soldier flexed his mandibles to the princess, who had reached out to me in kind to help disinfect the second scratch he had gored me. It was oddly infuriating. This one was on top of my head and deep. A little mishap and I would have lost a part of my brain… and died.

Why don't you dump this worker and let me take care of you? He continued, despite being ignored by the princess. He can't even take care of himself. How will he take care of you?

That surprised me. That's enough! I discharged a hefty dose of pheromones in the air, for dominance. It wasn't strong enough, for the soldier only pulled back his antennae instead of going crazy, but it did make him pensive. You should stand back. I told the princess, eyes staring at the soldier who could not have been more ignorant of the spark he had lit.

I'd been wondering what I had done to deserve such reprehension. They had forced me into a duel against a soldier, who though wounded, was doing better than most soldiers. He was taller, stronger, and definitely sharper than me. And they wanted me to preserve my dignity against him? It was a sick situation.

I got up and pushed his head back. He was getting uncomfortably close to the princess. Get back and get ready.

Oh! The soldier finally got his mental gears twirling, shown excellently by his whirling antennae. He rubbed his head where I had pushed him and sharpened his stature. You aren't done yet? He asked.

And in the heat of the moment, I ended up agreeing for another match. I wondered what the princess thought when she sensed this exchange of scents. She might as well have spoken her mind because her wavering antennae told she wasn't too happy. The audience was surely happy thought, and unconventionally verbal about their thoughts. Most called me stupid. A few were interested in seeing the outcome. And, surprising of all was the lot of them that were supportive of me for some reason.

Will you both get going already? I'm not getting any younger!
With the aged warrior's blessings, we tussled for the third time: One in anger and the other in utmost concentration. I was the latter until the bout ended and we switched the emotional states.

The soldier bore countless scars over his body, like red veins struggling to pop out from under his skeleton. We took positions facing each other. He stopped taunting me. Much of it was related to his inability to hold a conversation over distance. Apparently, it takes a good pair of antennae for a long-range scent transmission, which I sadly couldn't do, and neither could he.

My opponent had practiced hard to turn his lone antenna into a very good and precise receiver, but it was also where his fault lied. He had to keep vibrating his antenna to produce that effect, causing the buzz and a sensory overload of information, resulting in a momentary lag in his movement.

I wished to take advantage of that lag.

It was a surprisingly good examination of the situation, but that didn't help me. I didn't know how to convert this information into a successful attack. I couldn't spray poison and he had been crushing me at close range. A notification appeared out of the blue, halting me for a second. And I almost lost my momentum to it.

You keep looking at others with such concentration and they're going to label you a pervert, pervert.
You have acquired Skill: Analyze.

[Analyze][Tier-1][Lv-1/10][Active]
[Looking close enough at something can reveal the most amazing of things. It's a matter of understanding and focus.]
[Effect: Increases your focus and understanding of foreign principles and objects.]
[Reward: Your wisdom increases by .1 points at every skill up.]

I shook the static from my sight and charged straight at him. But I had already missed the timing.

I confronted him head-on, and he took note of me when I was close enough to slice him a new mark. He circled around my back and pinched my head, holding me as effortlessly as a caretaker holds a pupa. He released the victory scent, while the aged warrior commented again:

You are dead. And that's enough from you. You don't have the desire to get better. I can't help you.

The soldier let go and turned to face the two on the ledge. See? He can't protect you. Even the mighty chariot admits it.

Do you want to get your antenna plucked?

I heard their cheerful banter —and it hurt. I wasn't jealous of him. He was a soldier and I was a warrior. There was a clear distinction between the two castes.

So, Said the little hungry voice inside me. Are you giving up? The workers don't want you near and now you are not good enough to even be a slave. Wanna lie down in the pit and get buried under the dirt?

My heart pounded, sight tinted red. I rushed at the soldier; no plan in mind only a craving for recognition.

She's going to leave you. The voice grew louder, controlling.

I went for his abdomen.

It was a cowardly attack, but I couldn't control myself any longer. A warning scent rose from the slaves around us. And somehow the soldier noticed. Instantly, he pulled his abdomen out of my sight, and the next thing I knew a stinger was growing larger in front of me. I was stabbed in the chest. The realization halted my steps, but there was no pain and the soldier was now facing me, mandibles open and head lifted in a display of warning. He hadn't poisoned me out of courtesy of the duel.

I was pacified and heaving; still, I charged straight at him. It was anger and the feeling of loss. Such negative emotions don't work well together. They distorted my perception, draining me of common sense. I wanted to express all I was without thinking about the consequences. The soldier looked about ready to chop me a new hole, but he didn't.

This time he held my lame leg and dragged me around. I lost that one. I got up infuriated over my failure and he surprisingly attacked first, slammed into me with all his weight and force, sending me swinging into a tumble. Once more! I stabilized myself and went back, anger forgotten, sight back to normal and a plea lopping again and again in my mind: Just once; let me hit him once.

A notification lit up my sight again, asking rather than telling, whether I would like to perform a charge?

I agreed without thinking. Strength was drawn from inside me and put in my legs. The step I took pulled me off my feet and flung me at the soldier. I instantly covered the distance between us. My opponent was still processing the sensory information he had collected when I entered his range of close encounters. I felt him panic. My mandible inched closer to his chest, just a bit more and I would have stabbed him… killed him. Sight focused on him, his chest, the hair growing on his black skeleton, the warps and rends hidden under the hair—

Do it! The voice told me. Stab him! Kill him!

The thrill left me drained and dizzy. I woke up from it and turned my head left, pulling my mandible along. I was late in the sense that I couldn't stop the serrated tip of my mandible from carving him another bleeding shallow trench on his thorax —this one leading from the middle of his puffed up chest to the edge and beyond— but barely early enough to not stab him dead in the center of his chest.

We collided. I fell to his left and he went to the ground in shock.

By Queens bloated buxom —he defeated a soldier! The aged warrior commented as the audience erupted in scents and alarm.
My body grew slugging and heavy. My sight darkened.

Did I win? Finally,

Dazed, I sensed movement next to me. The soldier was getting up. I turned and saw him coming at me for real this time, mandibles moving to snap and separate my head from my chest.

But then a cloud engulfed us and I lost sight of him. Not just him —I lost sight of everyone. It was not pheromones, but poison, a misty, constraining version of it that didn't burn or hurt, but paralyzed instead. I tried to get up, but couldn't. I felt lashed to the ground, unable to move.

The effect lasted for an unknown length of time before slowly fading, returning me the senses it had stolen. I woke up and sprung to my feet ready to defend myself, or face the soldier if it came to it. There was no need for that, however. The soldier was sprawled on the ground, head down, antenna sluggish and feet folded underneath his body. The princess was beside him, disinfecting the wound I had given him. She had cleaned and patched it up, and was in the process of finishing the aid.

I could have killed him. I didn't feel well.

I saw the aged warrior riding on the backs of four brawny soldiers. They stooped beside me. You surprised us there at the end. She scented. Are you happy about the win?
No. I replied.
So what do you want to do?
I don't know.
Well, think about it and come back when you do know.

She transmitted her orders to the soldiers and they started toward the princess and her patient, where they stopped to pick up the injured soldier and away they went into the crowd. I lost her to a mess of intermixing motional blurs.

The princess took off without me then stopped and looked back. Her antennae waved, impatient, and waiting. I filled my body with strong breath and followed her out of the glowing cavernous chamber, up the slope and back into the civil part of the city where the soldiers were disciplined and workers tamed.

The familiar heat and relative calm of the chambers and the tunnels worked as a panacea for my lost senses. I started thinking again, in droves. My excitement and worry were drowned by blame, but disappointment and shame won in the end. I almost killed someone from my own colony. Sure, it happened in the heat of the moment, but I was in the wrong and there was no denying that.

I was still lost in thoughts when I felt a tap on my head. We were on the threshold of the elevator shaft. The same one I had been afraid of traveling through. History was repeating itself.
What are you thinking about? Princess said.

Nothing,

Are you sure? She pushed. You are dragging your feet and walking slower than a snail. You are gathering quite some attention, even more than me. And the fact that we came out from that slope and still smell of fungus is not helping either.

I took a carefree sniff and learned that we did indeed smell of that nefarious stuff. The scent seemed even more profound now that we were not among the slaves and the mercenaries.
I'm sorry for causing you trouble.

You are no trouble —unless, of course, your antenna has finally broken down. In that case, I can only send you to the mercenaries. You might even have a great future, now that you have been acknowledged by them.

That came suddenly as a bee's drone and shocked me senseless. Huh? NO! I'm fine. See? I quickly tapped my feet on the ground, even my lame leg, which moved awkwardly at best. And twirled my antennae and swung them around, moving them between the states of flexibility and erection to show that they were in perfect health. I'm fine.

I didn't figure out what she was doing until she leaked a trace amount of amusing bafflement. That's when she tried to explain and her farce broke down completely.

That's al-alright. I-I 'dung' thi-nk you 'pregnant' 'lilliy' areee fine 'dumb'. The scent was such a jumbled mix of chemicals that it was mostly incoherent, but I understood her intent.
She was making fun of me.

Very funny, I said and stopped making a fool of myself.

Don't stop! Show me the tap dance again. It was very … invigorating. She had spasms and even contortions. I even felt for a moment that she was dying. It was fortunately not the case. She had only lost control of her body, she told me with complete seriousness; like it was supposed to make me less nervous.

It took her a while to get going, and when she did we walked side by side, together.

We had a conversation on the way to the thirty-first floor. The topic ranged from her hope for the city and plans to fortify it further.

She wanted to cover the tower in twigs and skewers the kind of which she said were found in the west, protecting the veins of a glamorous flower that smelled of sweetness in its freshest state. She also wanted to make a trade pact with the bees; she just hadn't thought of the right kind of object for their delicious honey. Daring of all was her idea to train enormous beetles for transportation of soldiers, conquering the sky as well as the land.
I felt my heart racing by simply listening to her ideas and hoped they would remain as ideas at best. There was no need for sky faring ants. We had enough enemies already.

Like this, we reached our destination, the thirty-first floor, where we parted. The thirty-first floor was another military encampment, one to keep the royal females safe. The soldiers there too stared at us in bewilderment. A worker who smelled of a fungus with a lame leg and the scent of royalty, and a princess who was a size too short for her caste and carried no wings on her back; we were an odd pair.

She wanted to sleep, even asked me to join her in her burrow. How could I? The soldiers were quick to erect their antennae and point their mandibles at me. I took the clue and bid her farewell.

I didn't know about her, a fertile female of the royal caste, but I, a worker, didn't need rest anyway. I had only ever taken minute naps between eating and working to ensure a consistent state of energy level. I was not comfortable with the concept of cutting myself off from the world for a long interval of time. That's not how workers lived.

So I told her and she was taken back. The soldiers eased their aggression at my counter. I was just happy they didn't pick me up and send me to the Looney bin out of jealousy.

I thought everyone slept. Even Mother sleeps at night. So why don't you? She asked.
What could I say? We just don't.

Bidding her farewell, I was turning when I felt her antennae rub my head. You did well today. I'm proud of you. She said and was gone by the time I turned.
I felt nostalgic.

That single moment changed our relationship for good.

I vibrated my antennae and read the scent signature she had given me: Royal guard of TinerJi, 799th princess, 6th generation, 1st lay. This worker belongs to me.

The knowledge that someone depended on me helped me relax. I felt tired. So I found a lonely corner near the elevator shaft and lay still to sleep. There I slipped into partial hibernation and learned the benefits of sleeping without a care in the world.

Underload · Sep 21, 2020

A large hairy spider held a rat in her jaw. Her sharp pincers were stabbed in the creature's chest, pumping volatile neurotoxin into its body. The rat was struggling and screeching and trying to escape the spider, but she had it tightly bound between her strong front legs and her chitin jaw.

She had laid the groundwork over several days and waited, hidden under the carpet of dead brown leaves to catch the rat. It was her meal; she wasn't going to let it get away.

The rat tried to overpower her, but she wasn't some ordinary web spinner that filed her belly gorging on yucky bugs and insects! No. She was the queen of the land, the master of disguise, the fearful tarantula whose presence alone terrorized predators, much less prey like the pathetic rodent
The rat's once incessant struggle was slowly seizing and giving way to slow and irregular shrugs and muscular twitches. It was on its last breaths; just perfect for her. A little more and she could enjoy her meal and call it a night.
Once it died, she carted the rat to her burrow some thirty meters away, dragged it inside her dry home, closed the entrance behind with a heavy rock, and started feeding.

Sometime later, she was almost finished slurping the juicy inside of the rat —turned gooey by the effect of her mass dissolving venom— when she smelled a presence.

It was a minute disturbance, too small for her attention, but enough to demand vigilance.

She knew how dangerous a wasp could be. She didn't want to wake up catatonic from head to bottom with a number of larvae growing inside her.

She shifted the rock to peek through the gap and found the movement being caused by a passing pair of colorful ants. There was a kind of ants that she feared, but these were not them. Those tiny pests moved together in an army of thousands. There was no getting out of their jaws once caught, but these would be of no threat to her. She knew from experience.

She plugged the rock back in its place and went directly to her meal. These little ants were mindful of her and also good house pets; they even cleaned her porch from time to time by disposing of the leftovers.

Finished feeding she went directly to sleep. It felt wonderful sleeping on a full stomach. She chased rats and mares in her dream, catching and eating to her heart content when she smelled the scents again, stronger than ever. Then she was bit and woke up annoyed.

They were at it again, trying to steal her leftovers. But she couldn't have been more wrong! The ants were up to something, indeed, but they were there for her, not her leftovers. She was surrounded by hundreds of tiny little pests. They were everywhere: crawling on the floor, the ceiling, even on her!

She quickly realized her dire situation. They pulled her hair and nibbled at her skin. She panicked and tried to get away, but couldn't. They had chained her feet to the ground by linking their bodies together. It was the army she dreaded. They had found her!

She made the clicking sound of warning, but there was no point in this action. The ants even saw her open mouth as an opportunity and tried to get inside her throat! She quickly shut up and jerked her legs. The chain broke. She was free.

She rushed toward the exit stepping on a number of ants, killing some and shocking others. She reached the exit and pulled the rock, but it didn't budge. Her heart fell. The ants came back with fervor. They emptied their poison on her body that burned and itched. She flailed helplessly, but couldn't get them off.

Her legs were bound again and stung continuously by hundred of the little pests. More climbed up her legs and on her soft abdomen. She didn't have armor covering her body, but she did have hair. Her sharp and dense coat protected her from poison bullets. Unfortunately, her abdomen was bare.

They had found her weakness. Angered at the pain she started stomping, taking a few ants down with every stomp. The ants, however, didn't let her do as she pleased. They caught her hair and pulled back, binding her to the ground again. Their individual strength was laughable, but together they were strong!

Her hair protected against the bites, but the ants were many and they were bound to find a way in, an opening.

Among the hundreds of soldiers were four brave ants, all from a different origin. One was red, another was green, one black, but their leader was silver and with red rings at the ends of his limbs and antennae. They were not part of the force nibbling the spider's health and senses, instead were waiting at the top of the rock sealing the exit. The jumped atop of her head the moment she stopped moving and went directly toward her eyes.

She understood their plan before they had even taken a full step forward. Unable to move, she turned her head and rubbed it against the wall. Her eyes were naked to the environment with no protection; losing them would mean the end of her.

Half of the ants fell away to the ground, but the other half kept hold, their leader even pushed forward.
His mandibles glowed in a blue sheen, reflecting his daring set of seven eyes in her black oblong spheres, and he bit. A scream erupted from the spider's throat as her eye ruptured and split open from end to end at his barest touch.

She went into shock as the pain drove her motor nerves crazy, slamming her into the walls of her burrow. Thanks to the swift orders of a red ant the soldiers managed to retreat in time, but there were still a few that died because they were far too invested in attacking her. This was the end of her as the slayer burrowed into her ruptured eye, opening the path for his legion to take her down.
She convulsed as the ant's sprayed poison inside her eye, bit, torn, stung, and carved a path toward her optic nerve. Their leader pushed toward the dead end and snapped his glowing set of mandibles at the optic nerve, cutting into the hard flesh and breaking through.

The tarantula screamed. She didn't die, but the agony she felt was leaps and bounds above anything she had ever gone through in her entire life. She had seen some really disturbing things in life, but this was torture!
She gave one final push to get away, but the blasted ants blocked her path till the end. She was trapped. Slowly they had whittled both her sanity and strength. She was unable to breathe; they had stung her one too many times. Tired she fell to the ground where the ants overtook her. They slipped over her hair, but slowly accumulated nonetheless.

She entered a shocked state from the poison that had accumulated inside her body, fell on her back, and grew rigid.

They bit her and stung her, burning her alive. She felt her anus unclenching and the ants upon finding a weakness pushed inside her body. Her slim brown hair protected her till the end, but once they entered inside her it was a done deal.
The final nail in the coffin was hammered when the silver ant, their leader, did something with his mandibles and widened the hole in her optic nerve, opening a direct passage to her brain.
The ants gorged her from the inside out and filled their wasted strength, while she died cursing their mother and their whole colony a death worse than the one they had given her.

The silver ant was the first to come out of the eye socket, not a single drop of fluid on him. His soldiers flared their mandibles to him and blew victory trumpets.

They had finally killed the savage spider. It had taken them a week of preparation, getting close to the spider, understanding her lifestyle to complete their mission.

The eight-legged goliath had been terrorizing the army for weeks, killing their members and taking over their territory. Silver fang and his legion of slaves was the army officer's first choice. They had struck while the matter was hot and he couldn't refuse. Refusing would have meant disburdenment of his groups and slavery; there was no one in his legion who didn't know what that meant.
Silver watched his soldiers enjoying their meal. With this, they had fulfilled a week's and wouldn't have to hunt for the time. More important was another week of protection. At least for one week, they wouldn't be sent t on another giant hunt.

A soldier, black as the night and built as rock joined him on the head. He was twice as large as the silver ringed ant of unknown origin, but he was as subdued as a bright flower in front of the blazing sun.

We did it! He said in subdued excitement, conflicted between celebrating and maintaining decorum in front of his leader. He had seen the army hunt the goliath's monsters, but never in his life would he have believed that one could be taken down by only a few hundred soldiers —when a similar number usually listed the death toll. It was like jumping into a lake and hoping to be blown to the other side without getting wet.

His antennae rose to hear the response, but there was none.

Are you thinking about the ones who died, sir? He asked and was well responded.

Well, someone has to think about them, Black.

The five of them, the captains of his legion and the oldest slaves alive had names, provided by the army, for their positions demanded one.
They were simple names, given in jest for believing they could be anything more than slaves, but the legion had delivered results and tradition demanded them respect.
Why do you worry, sir? There will always be more slaves to recruit from; there is never a shortage of good fodder.

That's your problem. Silver turned toward him. You think everyone is disposable.
Well, I was once a true soldier of the army, sir. And as you know, everyone is disposable in the army —except the leaders of course.

Silver nodded and turned back toward the sight of his soldiers resting and feeding, replenishing their stores and energy. Well, there might not be a chance to fill the number anymore.

Black's legs stiffened at the words. He wasn't smart, but even he understood what those words implied and where he was coming from. The army really didn't like the amount and rate at which they were gaining popularity.

Silver's words were shocking, but everything about him was an enigma as well. There were times when Black believed his captain could actually see them, but that would be heresy at best. Silver neither had the three extra sets of sensors on his head nor was he from a royal caste. Well, no one really knew what kind of a hybrid caste he was —his mandibles were too small for a soldier and body too big for a worker, and his olfactory control was better than even the royals.

LEADER! We did it! Another ant, green as the leaves both in color and experience, climbed out of the eye behind them. She was loud, wild, and brazen. We killed the giant! She proclaimed.

Black noticed her and sharply turned and pounced with mandibles wide open. She was Tiny compared to the two, only half their size, but was fast and nimble as a bee in flight.

She easily evaded his reckless charge, tickled his bottom, and moved into the gap Black had left. Not worried about retaliation. She knew Black wouldn't attack her from the back. Impressively, Black settled behind her; his mood soured. Fixed with the sharpest set of mandibles, she was named Green, but the soldiers called her Scissor. And she loved her nickname —which was not a surprise.
We'll talk later. Silver told Black but didn't otherwise move. Are you ready to go back and inform the army of our success? He asked her.
Yes, Sir Fang, She said.
Green was playful in her use of the address, and by nature. She had a rather unique relationship with Black. See, Black was very short-tempered and ticklish at his bottom, and she loved agonizing him.
Green buzzed in excitement when Silver finally gave her attention. He touched her head to pass her a complex scent of his scout and gave her the message: The giant has fallen and we are bringing it back. SIR! Won't that take a lot of time, too much time actually?

That's why we'll be taking it back whole. Don't forget to inform the scouts of our intentions. We don't want them to panic and raise an alarm.
Is that a good idea? Black said, scents betraying him; the soft citrusy rush spoke of his excitement. We have already picked quite a lot of infamy. Black said over the drone of Green's energizing looping chant: let's do it. Well, she might be wet behind the antennae, but she was not stiff under the legs.

Silver finished rubbing the pheromones on Greens head and told her to leave. She rushed down the spider's face, remembered to make a stop by red before she was out of the burrow, and disappeared into eh wild. Black didn't worry about her safety. A scent trail marked the destination. She simply needed to follow it, which he was hopeful she would do with getting distracted.

This is not a good idea. He told Silver, a soldier's etiquette forgotten under the effect of hot-headedness, the reason he was tuned slave in the first place. I know. Silver scented a relaxing mixture of chemicals that soothed the mind of his captain. That's why we are doing it. The higher-ups are already moving against us. We need to start preparing our defense.

The legion went into motion at the command. Red, their military planner, and adviser, wasn't happy with the decision and talked about the unfeasibility of the plan. In the end, it was decided to separate the spider's body into workable pieces. So they separated the limbs, head, and abdomen, and carried them out of the burrow piece by piece.

Underload · Sep 22, 2020

Warmth filled my chest and my heart started thumping faster and faster. It was a change I didn't notice because I was engrossed in the fresh sweetness of honeydew I tasted in my mouth. It was a refreshing sensation, one very helpful against the lethargy and my stiff limbs —two things that I did notice.

My surroundings were cold, explaining my physical state. I wondered how the outside fared because the city temperature had plummeted to a low nine degrees Celsius.

It must have rained, I thought —which didn't make much sense. I had gone to sleep on a clear and sunny day! What also didn't make sense was the princess, who should have been sleeping, instead was by my side and arduously rubbing my back to relight my metabolism. That would help my body produce heat and improve my condition. Perhaps, it was also her who had fed me the honeydew?

She saw my antennae moving and was quick to tease me.

Workers don't sleep you said. Then she added a few really spicy annotations that I couldn't understand because my antennae were still not attuned yet. Similarly, I couldn't answer her either.

It took me a while to get back on my feet, but Princess Tiny stayed by my side until she made sure that I was no longer cold or susceptible to the element. It was a gesture I really appreciated because workers don't go that far for anyone; they usually leave you at the first sign of movement or throw you into the pit at a later date. Maybe she was overdoing it because of the same reason because she blamed herself for letting the workers throw me into the pit?

I couldn't ask. Some feelings are better left without justifications and reasons.

However, she was getting impatient; the indicator of which was her waving antennae. I did a rough job of cleaning my antennae and asked her how long I had slept. The revelation was a surprising one.

Apparently, I had slept right through a sudden thunderstorm. The low temperature had caused me to hibernate, and it had already been a day and a half. More important was the news that although the underground city hadn't suffered any damage, the west side of the tower was unfortunately partially destroyed.

That could get dangerous. I said.

She nodded. I fear the sky predators will be stalking the city until the tower is fixed. But come on, She dragged me to my feet and pulled me along. We need to get going or we are going to miss them again!

I didn't have to ask for the details. There was only one group that could make her this urgent. The explorers are back? I asked, receiving an affirmative nod.

Suddenly walking without having stretched or massaged my limbs wasn't easy. But I made a grueling attempt to keep up with her pace. She trolled through the jagged paths like a passing wave, while I pushed behind her stumbling through the dense mass of bodies.

But we were not alone in a rush; the whole colony was in a hurry. The workers were frantic, soldiers surprisingly cooperative and nurses sluggish. Fire moss was being carted around the tunnels in heaps to heat the residential areas; eggs were being neatly piled in the incubation chambers and disinfected with even more fervor. The workers kept busy blocking tunnels, which forced us to leave the main arteries and detour into smaller arterioles, leading us around the colony. The delay irritated Princess like nothing else. I hoped there would be no more delays from the twentieth floor up.

Damp air is not good for the city. It can easily turn the dark and narrow tunnels into parasitic breeding grounds; especially when the airflow is restricted. Hence, a worker's job is of the utmost urgency in such times. They block the already damp tunnels and use the city infrastructure as a filtration system to make sure that only dry air circulates through the main arteries and shafts.

The 9th city, the Kandei-rah-ji (the Thorny road to heaven) was lost because their workers weren't able to curb the infestation and it reached their queens quarters. That was the end of the line. Once the queen was infected they lost all chances of recovery.

Fallen tunnels could be dug through, refurbished with twigs and stones for strength, coated with saliva hardened cement, but there could only be one true queen in a city —at least that was so for the Embers that had fallen away from the Fire. So the queen had to be protected at all costs.

The chambers on the various levels had the capacity to hold the suddenly overflowing population. Hibernation would have been the answer if we were in the winters, but summers see rain like spring see the foliage. You learn to live with the conditions.

But when a soldier blocked the already agitated Princess on the twenty-fifth floor, it sparked a fire in her that made her confront the queen in a fit of both anger and worry. It also made me reconsider the importance of explorers to her. I hadn't the slightest idea about the reason behind her fascination with them. Yes, they had found the termites and the ant, but what would they know besides the circumstance and the conditions at which they had found them?
I could only hope her suspicions regarding the lost one were not as important for the city's health as the danger of a predator looming above us; because that's what she was implying. She didn't seem to even remember I was following her or I would have asked.
The royal guards weren't so keen at our appearance. Princess demanded an audience with the queen, but they denied her. That shouldn't have happened. It took us both off guard. Already angry and irritated, the stalwart guard's nonchalant tone set her off. I somehow pulled her back, rather held her off by holding her abdomen or things could have taken a seriously sharp turn.
Why are you doing this? She scented in drowning quantities. Is it the commander? Has he asked you all to keep me from meeting the explorers? Is that it?

Don't misunderstand me, princess. The royal guard calmly scented back, not even a little apprehensive. Someone is already in the audience with the Queen. You only have to wait for your turn.
Oh… Princess stopped pulling. You can let go now. She told me and I did just that. However, she didn't move away and stood directly in front of the guard, defying him.

A few moments later the door guard cleared the opening. I relaxed. Now there would be no more stare offs with the strong royal guards, who could easily dismiss us with force.

Another princess, this one twice as large as princess Tiny and carrying a beautiful translucent veil of wings on her back, stepped out, carrying a sweet stimulating scent that tickled my antennae.
She was curvy and bountiful. I had no doubt she would give birth to millions of healthy eggs. Her antennae were a blur of motion, touching everyone they passed. They touched me and I felt bliss. It evoked a feeling nervous tension inside me, that I understood, but didn't do anything to control.

Then the antennae moved over princess Tiny, hovered, and retracted without touching her. The stimulating scent drew back, leaving me with a craving for more. Mind told me I should follow her to get my fix. Heart told me, 'look at the front, you buffoon!' That's when I noticed that my princess had in fact stopped moving altogether. She had also retracted her scent; well, as much as she could retract it. Her antennae that had been waving around in irritation were stiff and straight, head raised, mandibles open in a warning. What in the name of a hoppers hop is she doing? I found out soon enough.

What are you doing here? The winged one spat out. Her words might be normal, but her tone was condescending and scent venomous. Hoh, I didn't like her. Princess Tiny firmed her legs, raised her head a bit higher, and replied, are you dumb? I'm standing in front of the queen's quarters; does that explain something to you or should I put it out in simple words, so you could understand?

That tone and such words, Princess Tiny had directly torn a page from the aged warrior's book. The royal guard looked at me, waving his antennae and asking when I would be intervening. Intervening between two royal fertile females? Well, I did wonder if it was my time to advice the Princess, because the winged one was not alone. She had a few other royal females following her —eighteen to be exact, including the nurses and caretakers. They were intimidating enough.

No wonder Princess Tiny's anger didn't trigger them. At the moment they looked like someone had fed them the citrusy essence of a stink bug! It's bad enough on its own but add the oily saliva of a meat-eater plant to it, and you have a deadly combination that is worse than putting a live snail in your throat.

Is the worker's princess misbehaving again? The scent came from behind the winged one. The scent was both heart moving and attracting, soliciting opinions, and changing moods at the same time. I knew it belonged to someone great. You want to meet Mother because you want to go outside, don't you?
Yes—
Of course, you would, Interrupted the calm scent. That's why you are a worker's princess. But it suits you, working that is. Can't be a queen so you have to earn your keep some way; I understand. I hope you have a happy life here, 'tiny' wingless worker. The group leader said. Now step aside. We don't have the time or the urge to meet your salty antennae.

Yeah, added a third scent. While we'll be flying in the sky, looking for a place to make ours and etch our names in the annals of history, you will be here, pumping eggs for Mother to mark and name hers. But don't worry! We'll always remember you and tell your story to our children so they can know how pathetic you were until the end.

I didn't understand half of what she said, but it angered me. The royal guard waved his antennae again, signaling me to intervene. And in the fit of the moment, I did just that. I stepped forward and stood beside Princess Tiny.
That's enough of your nonsense.

Somehow my feet had stopped shaking and I was no longer under her influence. Step aside, I told the winged ones, scent blaring alarm. We have a meeting with the Queen.
Why is a KFL (Kamikaze front liner) here? Is he here for revenge against Mother? The followers whispered. Their antennae stood up, leaking scent bordering around mischief. They were cooking something bad and were clearly up to no good.

I'm her guard, Princess. I told their leader, the first female, but that only amused her.

Now isn't that funny. She scented. It's the first time I'm seeing a guard who might need a guard to guard him. Her followers didn't forget to share their amusement, but they weren't so concerned with me. Their only target was Princess Tiny. I really couldn't figure out what she might have done to earn their anger.

The first royal princess tried to influence me. Leave, she said, drowning me in an overloading amount of pheromones. Go back to being a worker. She doesn't need you.

I was tempted, but I resisted the temptation. It wasn't easy, but knowing what she was doing made it easier to block her out of my mind. It was a mental battle. The winged one was surprised by my resistance and increased her attention upon me. I swayed. Somehow I had learned to do this, but I was not good enough. I almost gave up when Princess Tiny washed my head with a drop of water. 'Always keep water with you. It can help in so many ways.' Everyone knew that, but it was so common a saying no one believed it. Thank the shade Princess did believe.

You go back to your holes and leave him alone. Princess had enough of their banter. He's mine.

I fell for her. At that moment I knew I would do anything for her; Even if it meant running away from the colony with her in pursuit of danger — I would do it.
The winged ones let out amusement. I hated them more.

Just perfect: A broken guard for a broken Princess. The first female tried to pat Tiny's head but was swatted away. Enjoy your freedom Tinsey-Tiny-Toy. The day we fly is the day you get chained to the ground. We'll see how you retain that fire then. She exchanged and left; her followers went right behind her. In haste they followed the first female, forgetting about us, and disappeared into the newly dug temporary burrows.
Are you all right? Princess asked me when I should have been the one asking after her health.

I'm sorry I couldn't protect you better.

Don't worry about them. Most of them are not even going to make it. She said. I wondered what she meant. I wouldn't have to, had I seen a festival of rebirth, but it wasn't far and I was in no hurry.
The guards checked us for signs of infection and finally allowed us entrance into the queen's chambers.

We passed the gate and the doorkeeper placed her coin-shaped head back into the entrance slot, blocking it once again. I thought a worker's life was tough, but a door guard's life was absolutely colorless. They were birthed specifically for the purpose of blocking the entrance to the queen's chambers. The worst thing was their absence of antennae! They could only feel physical touch and nothing else. Though limited in actions, they played a vital role in protecting the queen because their coin-shaped heads were strong as stone and almost unbreakable. A door guard can't be pushed back once it locks its limbs, giving better protection than a stone block ever could.

Cold as the door guard's story was, the Queen's chamber was warm and open. It wasn't just a large cathedral, but the heart of the city. Its fall meant the city's fall. Obviously, it had to be kept at nominal levels of temperature and humidity at all times. Caretakers were busy at that. My stiffness reduced simply by entering her abode. There was no greater honor than meeting the queen, but I couldn't get excited after what had just happened. From the egg piles, I conquered the Queen hadn't stopped laying just yet. As a matter of fact, she laid another string of warm pearl white eggs right in front of us, that the nurses disinfected and their helpers carted to the seven and sometimes eleven head tall piles, by the wall.

These eggs wouldn't hatch under these circumstances. They would need to be baked at about forty degrees Celsius for three to five days of wet heat. Once they turn brown, they would require constant warmth of thirty to thirty-five degrees Celsius for the seed to grow into a pupa. The workers would be frantic to complete the repairs.

A few nurses rushed to decontaminate us with their saliva. They pumped the herbal saliva through every inch of my skeleton, leaving no plate unturned and no crack unchecked. They asked us to wait after the procedure, for the queen was being fed. I wouldn't have liked being interrupted while feeding either, so I understood.

The queen was still the same: Large, carefree, and accompanied by her consort of servants and playthings. The glow bug looked healthier than yesterday. He lit up upon noticing us. She was playing with the touch me not plant, kicking it the moment it relaxed making it retract and curl its leaves again.

We stood alone in a silence that seemed heavier than the pain of being humiliated in front of the whole community. The chamber being as large as it was, didn't help contain my emotions either. It only amplified the question buzzing in my mind. In the end, afraid of spilling the grains at the wrong moment, I toughened my chest and laid the question in front of the princess.

Princess… I called her with a touch of my antennae on her chiseled jaw. Why did you ask me to call you Tiny? Don't you hate being called small?
She didn't react at first, but soon she was telling me everything.

Because the ones you called winged ones —I'm keeping the naming sense just so you know— might be harsh, but they speak the truth.

Princess—

No, hear me out. You asked the question, so it's only natural that you hear the answer, too. She waited for me to accept, which I did with a nod. I am small, tiny in fact. I cringed, but she continued unfazed. I am not even half the size of a normal royal female. And I have no wings. It's natural that the other females of my caste don't consider me one of them. Nobody likes different. You of all should understand this.

Of course, I did. Why wouldn't I? Hadn't the worker's unions acted similarly toward me? Of course, they hadn't gone out of their way to make fun of me, but they had indeed turned away after knowing that my thoughts and motivations were different from theirs.

But why call yourself by that derogatory term? Why ask me to call you tiny?

To keep me aware; to remind me of what I am. You see, you can run, she said, speaking to me, telling me I was wrong in the way I had handled my situation. I had hidden away in a tunnel instead of confronting the workers and the supervisors. I should have fought for my rights. They had told me to stay quiet and I had done so. What if I had the same confidence and fearlessness that she had? What if?
She continued. You can run, but you can't hide. And there is no stopping once you start running from your problems. Her antennae stopped moving and fell to the ground. It was clearly a heavy topic and a burden for her, but she told me her thoughts without holding back and it made me respect her more.

The others think my size and winglessness is a problem. I don't think so. They taunt me believing it affects me, but it really doesn't. I might not have wings outside, but the wings growing inside me are bigger and stronger than the set they'll ever possess. My ambition is all I need. I'm okay with being wingless and frail if I can continue moving around the world without being interrupted.

Alright, I said. She hadn't left room for me to comment. I could only let her words sink in and digest them slowly over the course of my time with her. Her thoughts were deep for someone her age, which might also be the reason why she had been handed such freedom of movement. We were two blades of grass with similar roots, but where I had bent to the weight of the dewdrop she had absorbed the drop and grown to stake her claim at the sky.
It wasn't long after when the Queens's caretakers called us. The queen greeted and touched our heads to initiate scent communication. The princess was no longer angry and was respectful and honorable with her request, which the queen listened but denied.

These are difficult times, daughter. The queen scented. You must understand your importance. With the tower out of order and the next generation delayed, the danger looming over our heads is larger than a mere flier in the sky. For such reasons I can't agree to let you go. Not this time.

Princess didn't back down. But I have to meet the explorers. She pressured. I truly believe we need to investigate the 47th city or our nonchalance will stir the future out of our control!
Do you have any proof, daughter?

I have a gut feeling. Princess answered with complete confidence; as if that was all she needed, gut feeling. We have to investigate the termite origins and send a delegation to the far city. We need to find out what's happening out there. Or the damage to us will be larger, the longer we idly sit in the dark. What happened to the fire must not happen to the embers or one day only ash will remain. Princess pushed, but the queen was not fazed. Her eyes did grow hazy for a second before light returned to them.

You have found a way with words, daughter. But I have more worries about the near tomorrow than the far future. A delegation that far won't be small and we have neither the time nor the soldiers to spare. The workers are already spread thin to patch the tower and strengthen the tunnels; while the soldiers have to scavenge for black wood and fire moss to keep the city heated in the meantime. I'm afraid, between these duties and the protection of the city there are no free hands to help your noble cause.

The queen stayed adamant to her decision, causing Princess to unfortunately retreat. She bowed her head and was about the break the connection when the Queen pulled her back.

Remember my child: You are not alone anymore. You don't have to do everything by yourself. A queen only needs to command. She said and removed the connection. She touched the back of her neck and the caretakers, already used to her commands, pushed us away to take care of her needs.

Princess looked toward me, antennae buzzing and we came out of the queen's quarters with a plan.

We decided that she would meet the commander, to see if he agrees to send a few probing expeditions in the regions near the mountain where the ant and the termite were found. And I would travel to the surface and sniff the explorers out of their hiding place. Princess didn't believe the commander would agree, but she believed I would be able to find the explorers. Her heavy touch told me I had no choice. I had to find the explorers or there would be consequences.

Underload · Sep 22, 2020

I waited until Princess disappeared down the slope then traced my steps back to the surface. I took the fastest route up, where the traffic waved and smashed into me with the curling, swirling paths. There I gained a few more notifications.

You are still injured, buddy. Take it easy for some time. Don't get hurt. Have some respect and care, all right?
You have acquired skill: Stress resistance.

[Stress][Tier-1][Lv-1/10][Resistance]
[Don't play the game of tug and war against opponents you can't handle. It might increase our strength, but will definitely cause an injury.]
[Reward: Your Endurance increases by .1 points every time the skill levels up.]

I shuddered when the colorful graphics blocked my sight. My brethren pushed me along, taking me for a ride along the waves while my mind tried to solve the mystery behind the phenomenon. All was for naught. I realized I was missing something important, a key to the lock. Still, I tried, until a hard nudge brought me back to reality. The workers weren't happy with my conduct. I apologized and moved on with nothing to show for the disturbance I had caused them, deciding to wait for some other, more peaceful time.

I made a stop at the fifteenth floor and tasted a few mouthfuls of soft and white mushroom cakes to fill my stomach. Honeydew was good to jump-start the day, but it was a high potential fuel that didn't last long. Mushrooms were slow to digest and a very good source of long-lasting energy.

The workers at the farm worked tirelessly to keep the quantity and quality of their product stable. The site was regularly disinfected and checked for pathogens. The workers took great care of the farm, as was required of them.
The mushrooms were farmed in a set square shape five heads long and five heads wide. The excess was regularly cut and stashed in the excess chambers that fed the city population. Leaves were daily brought into the farm that was first smashed into tiny pieces, and then mixed with water and ant excretion collected from the various corners of the city, and turned into fertilizer. The fertilizer was one of the greatest finds of the previous generation. It had single-handedly allowed the city to become self-sufficient.

There was talk of paying the beetles in protein for balls of dung that could free the workers made to collect leaves, but it was difficult to make them listen, and not every beetle was friendly.

The workers all gave me the stiff antennas of rejection when I asked about the explorers, and ran away as soon as I was done feeding. I asked the few soldiers around if they knew where I might find the explorers and they were all too happy to tell me to go up… to the tower. For some reason, the explorers had decided to spend their day outside in danger. I hoped nothing bad would happen to them before Princess was done with them.

Workers wormed their way up and down the tower tunnel carrying a water and dirt mixture of cement in their abdomens.

The project might sound small scale, but for every worker focused at work, there were ten in waiting. The tenth level of the tower alone was occupied by over three hundred workers! The rain had destroyed more than five floors worth of exterior wall and inner construction. Add to that a soldier to supervise every five workers and there were a well over a few thousand bodies at work at the same time!

I found my curbed excitement rising when I reached the tower. From the fifth floor up I encountered more and more workers and soldiers. They were strict, disciplined, and patient. But everything was not good. There was a bit of nervous energy floating around. Everyone knew about the dangers and the endless nightmarish possibilities. However, the constraints also brought the workers and soldiers together, mending their relation.
I was casually making my way through, looking for someone sane enough to answer a few questions, when I bumped into a soldier.

She had long legs that one, making me wonder how I had managed to bump into her. Her antennae were waving all over the place, abdomen swaying. I couldn't believe it. She was drunk out of her senses.

Who are youse? The mutated long-legged soldier poked me in the head. Her scent speech was all over the place. And why youse smell of a female royal. Youse pretending to be ovulating? Youse a pretender?
At first, I was appalled by her behavior then remembered my task and changed my opinion. She was contacting me of her own accord —and why would I waste the opportunity? I tried to get the information out of her, but things didn't go as planned. No. I'm Princess Tiny's royal guard and I'm here to—

Youse a what? She was flabbergasted. A Royal? Hear that, captain? The soldier turned her head, antennae lagging behind. He, the captain, was standing right next to her but she couldn't find him. The brew was messing with her senses —which was not unexpected. The royal winged male, however, made her vent some of the intoxications before, finally, pulling her face to his. He could see her after all, infrared eyes were a boon only the leaders were gifted. To my surprise, the same oblongs spheres were also upon his companions head, situated on the forehead right between her other larger set of eyes.

Captain! She said. This wok here has the same title as youse. He says he's a Royal something-something. Says he's a big wok!

Is that right? Another soldier, a slender marksman joined the conversation before I could claim otherwise. He reeked, but of poison, not mead.

I heard him, Scented a fourth soldier, the largest among the lot with mandibles the size of-of my whole shading body! I heard him true, alright. He said it. I'm not worse than a soldier, he said. I speak the truth. You all know me!
Youse said that? Youse asking for a BEATING, small wok?

I couldn't understand why they were doing this, but they surely had me intimidated. My legs shook like a leaf under the onslaught of wind. I was most probably leaking fear, for the soldiers were growing confident by the second. No, I'm here to find the explorers. I almost blasted into the tunnel.

Maybe the sudden overload of pheromones broke their confusion? Whatever the case, they stopped harassing me. And the winged royal male finally intervened. What for? He scented; it was a crystal clear injection of pheromones, precise, and authoritative.

On the order of Princess Tiny, I—

The tower shook. Is it an earthquake? A scent asked. It wasn't that.
It shook again.

The soldier no longer had their attention on me. Surprisingly, the chatter had also died down.

All the soldiers and workers stood motionless, antennae raised, and vibrating — sensing the change. The workers had stopped working and were passing down scent signals.
The tunnel shook again and the city inhaled.

It was too intimate an exchange to neglect. An extremely pungent scent of alarm washed down the tunnel pores and engulfed everyone present.
The soldiers stirred, their released pheromones adding to the whirling storm passing through. My body started moving on its own, drumming the ground with the abdomen to signal the lower floors: a practice I learned the day I graduated from the nursery.

Attack! Attack! Attack! Attack! Attack!

The chant undulated through the tower, and down the city, as the large organism started waking up. It did something to me, the chant, the chemicals, the energy and anger in the air. The change wasn't instant but it staked and increased with every passing second. I wasn't alone in this change. The soldiers behaved in much the same way; including the group, I had been unlucky enough to confront.

I soon found myself heaving, and moving, rushing behind; no, with the soldiers. I felt purposeful: rash, but also dignified. This was different from the time we had fought with the termites under the mountains. There I had been alone; surrounded —sure— but alone still. Here I was a drop of blood, a part of something whole.

We rushed up through the broken tunnels, toward the hole in the western wall. The soldiers rushed out first. I went right behind them. Sun rays blasted my sight full of light, but the scent was clear, the path laid, enemies identified. It was them again. The termites! They were attacking. Why? Why and how? Attack! My surrounding pulled me out of thoughts and into actions. My sight returned only a second later.
I saw.
There were hundreds of them, blurs of motion suspended in a white haze. Familiarly large and armored, the termites were winged! Some even carried passengers under their bulky bodies: hulking soldiers, easily three times the size of our largest hunter. But those monstrosities were far and between, barely numbered enough to hold all my legs. Most of their carried numbers were made of those armored, black monsters we had encountered on the mission, the ones resistant to poison.

Something grew hot inside me. The pain and the anger came back at their sight. The soldier and her painful cries grew strong in my mind. My panic rose with my breaths and anger from the scents in the air. They were falling from the sky like drops of rain, wetting the tower surface with worker's blood. Soldiers lay on the ground in pieces, limb and headless; some unmoving, and others convulsing and flailing.

The sight made my anger surge. It made me storm ahead of the others. I left the long-legged maniac and her companions behind in a cloud of dust. The strength surging inside me pushed at my joints, wanting a release. I gave in. The chemicals made me fearless. I crashed into something large and dark, something that smelled foul and foreign. I was mostly blind following the fumes tails rising behind the termites.

Instantly, I felt my surroundings light up and the energy coursing through me decrease. My high didn't break but my thoughts did return. I questioned my action as something hot covered my face. It stung, but not in a painful way. That sting stimulated another course of heat inside me, but not at a level that it could control me again. When I finally found control over my body I was hanging from the side of a termite, being threatened to be flung over. The termites had its middle legs caught and stretched by a pair of soldiers, and face dripping with the burning poison of our specialty. I was hanging at its abdomen, mandible dug deep inside but slipping. Needless to say, another set of notifications covered a part of my sight.

Hold on, little fellow! Don't listen to the wonderment of the battle high! Focus on my voice. Focus!
You have acquired Mental Corruption Resistance.
***
First you stressed your body and now you are straining yourself by outputting more power than your body can handle. You are hopeless.
You have acquired Strain resistance.

[Mental Corruption][Tier-1][Lv-1/10][Resistance]
[It protects your mind against foreign influence.]
[Effect: a small chance to completely negate the effect of someone's mental fiddling.]
[Reward: Your intelligence increases by .1 points every skill level.]
***
[Strain][Tier-1][Lv-1/10][Resistance]
[Your body becomes better at handling the strain produced with time. The skill enhances the result just a little bit.]
[Effect: You feel 2% lesser after-effects from physical skills.]
[Reward: Your Constitution increases by .1 points every skill level.]

I stroked my legs to find some purchase on the tower wall, kicking air but getting no results. Out of chance, another soldier saw our struggle, and she slew the termite. The others let go when the termites stopped moving. Horrified, I watched as the termite legs lost their strength and it fell back from the tower, taking me along. We fell into a tumble. The dirt tower and the brown ground became indistinguishable to my eyes. A notification appeared and disappeared from my mind.

Out of some freak miracle, I managed to pull my mandible free, but couldn't stop my free fall. The termites kissed the ground first. There were no sounds, only a small displacement of sand grains, and that's it. Falling from height wasn't a death sentence; our body was light enough, but there are always complications. No one comes out of a fall completely unscathed.

But I fell on my feet, stumbled forward, and rubbed my face on the ground. I somehow found balance mid-fall and curled my head between my legs, rolling and scrapping my back in the process. The momentum swung me all the way around and put me up back my feet without anything broken; all in one continuous motion.

A notification colored my sight for a dazed interval before it vanished.

Small as a pebble and light as a feather, no wonder the fall didn't hurt you much.
You have acquired a new skill: Feather Fall.
***
You have five and a half legs, and a segmented body, actions like rolling are not made for you. You better learn your lesson now, before you break your back and end up paralyzed.
You have acquired a new skill: Roll.

[Feather Fall][Tier-1][Lv-1/10][Active]
[It makes your body light as a feather to ensure a safe and reduces fall damage.]
[Effect: Fall damage reduced by 10% according to the skill level.]
***
[Roll][Tier-1][Lv-1/10][Passive]
[It is the knowledge of moving your body in a way impossible without the skill.]
[Reward: You gain .1 points in dexterity every skill level.]

It didn't occur to me then —courtesy of the chemical remnants still coursing inside me, and the battle high— but I wasn't nimble enough to perform such actions.
I pulled away from the battlefield, scared and stunned. I wasn't hurt but shocked out of my senses. The scents on the ground level were indistinguishable from each other. All the instructions and trails were overtaken by the emotional outlet of the soldiers and the termites dying and fighting.

A winged termite turned toward me and fell lifelessly to the ground. It succumbed to the soldier's poison and, as I later noticed, to the large rend it had suffered on the back.
The wound had leaked, but the termite's inability to cope with poison was strange. The ones from the cave had been different.

The two castes weren't the same, but resistance against poison wasn't something selective. If their queen had found a way to pass on the gene to one caste then the whole colony should be resistant; that strangely wasn't the case.

The winged royals —I noticed— acted firmly as carriers alone, none dropping into the mess that was the battlefield. Rarely ever did one pass through the poison mist raised by the soldiers on the tower, or hit a bad draft and fell down; otherwise, they seemed to have a clear plan. Such an ingenious method! Never before in the history of ant warfare had an enemy or a friend ever decided to use their royal caste as carriers. There were many stories, but none quite so exquisite. No queen would issue such an order, for it was akin to playing with their future!

This was my first true battle. And it was different, much too gruesome for a damaged worker to be a part of. I was slowly finding my feet again, but the chemical shouts and pain trails were not kind to my mental health. I always believed battles and wars were fought like the duels: the opponents respectful and honorable. That only the end result differed. But in reality, there was no respect no honor, only suffering, anger, and death.

The battle on the ground was just a small part of the mayhem that was happening atop the tower. The termites had found the one vulnerability and were pressing into it with unquenchable motivation. Our soldiers had already established their territory on the ground.
Most of the royal termites had dropped their passengers upon the tower and conceded the sky. Not worried about rescuing the survivors? I wondered what they were thinking! How could they do that to someone their own? Their actions only made it more convoluted to guess their aim. The termites were basically committing suicide. Or they had an objective other than simple destruction of the city and provocation?

Well, there were professionals to think about that sort of thing. For all that was worth, I had done more than should be asked of someone like me. I had gone to battle, assisted a kill, and survived. Now I could sit back and relax. I could, but I didn't. The soldiers never thought like that.

I hadn't yet forgotten the one who had kicked her helpers away because she didn't want to be a burden on the city. For all my wisdom and intelligence, I was very much a fool. It was a tough job to put my life back in danger, now that the battle high was worn out. I suddenly wished the high would take me again, so I wouldn't feel badly obligated to work my worth.

Just do your job and stay quiet, a little voice spoke in my head. It acted only as a painful reminder of my situation and nothing else.
The field around the tower was littered with mutilated bodies of ants and termites pushed off the tower. Most were dead; while some still stirred with last sparks of life: locked in battle, mandibles holding squeamish opponent, digging deeper and deeper. Soldiers were busy putting them to rest, both the enemies and friends.

The termites were supposed to be a source of food, not invincible raiders who didn't care for their lives!

Their behavior didn't make any sense.
That's when a flood of soldiers arrived at the surface from the deepest depths of the city, the headquarters. They rushed out of the colony through the various vents and exits and started scaling the tower from the ground up. Many followed them. I didn't. I went the other way first, back inside the city before rushing up behind them. I wasn't giving up; I had just realized the limitations of my single mandible and my position. There was no place for me on the battlefield. But there were other ways I could help.

The tower wasn't a small place. Its surface was large enough to hold the five hundred or so termites that had been dropped by the winged ones.

The termites were pressing into the destroyed portion of the tower, attacking it with an unseen craze. By the time we reached the initial point of collision, the battle had already moved inside the tower. The termites had already crushed our soldiers and were now busy mowing down the workers.

The workers were finding it hard to resist them. Although these hard-shelled termites were really immune to poison and didn't succumb to the whittling of the soldiers, even their defense crashed when the new wave of soldiers joined the ones already up there. However, the giants flourished when the battle intensified. They crushed many and spit even more before someone noticed that they couldn't easily change directions. Still, the five of them alone took more than three teams of thirty soldiers before succumbing to the rush.

Robbed of their shields and outnumbered five to one, the termites couldn't hold on for much longer. They did make an all-out attempt when they saw the jaws of death closing on them and tried to take as many with them to the other side as they could, but failed to do so. There were losses and higher than the amount there would have been had the battle had played out in the more conventional ways. And when all was said and done the termites lost their lives and us, our prestige.

They had waged a war. Soon we would have to answer them. Soon we would have to make them pay us back for the loss of life and the damages. But for the time being, the situation was clear. The reason could take a step back until this mess was sorted.

They had come from the west, the unoccupied region where no ember queen had ever managed to dig her claws and stake her claim. There was a generation that had sent princesses in that direction to search for open land and untaxed resources, but none had ever sent back delegates to announce their presence and create a supply route with the kingdom. However, it wasn't like there was no ant city in the west direction. The western front was far, with a city situated right in between.

I didn't follow the soldiers back to the ground. I didn't walk behind empty-handed everyone while the others carried the weight.

I deigned the role of a caretaker and offered water to anyone in need. I couldn't heal, but I cleaned the wounds of the injured with water and fed them the little honeydew I had managed to wrestle out of the pots supervised by angry workers. My title of a loud-mouthed traitor was as true as it could have been. The worker really looked at me unfavorably. And that was it. It, however, sparked a realization in me regarding the notifications. Not that the knowledge excited me.

I dragged the injured to the ground and took them to where the nurses had created a healing station. I wasn't alone in the cause; many workers joined me once the battle was over.

It was the job a worker was supposed to handle: repair and caretaking. Fighting and wrestling were jobs best suited for the soldiers —there was a reason behind their bodily strength and larger mandibles. However, I couldn't be a worker anymore, and neither was I a soldier. I was nothing, but I wasn't going to let my disability hold me back anymore.

Never again, I promised myself.

The whole place was a mess.

The soldiers were done with their job, but the workers were going to have it rough. They would have to scrub the scents away and repair the damage and I was going to be with them till the end.

I was thinking about the princess and how she would feel about a delay in the construction of her project, when a foreign set of antennae touched my head. They read me with three simple taps and went forward to make a connection in a manner of precision I hadn't felt before. My first reaction was to offer water, as I had done for so long, but that's not what they wanted.

You surprised me. They transferred their thoughts with their chemical signature attached. You were very brave today. I never thought someone in your condition would take the arms of their own accord.

Who? I asked in surprise and jumped back upon learning that it was the winged royal, the captain of the four delinquents I had met right before the battle had started.
I believe you were trying to find us?

I-I had forgotten about that part. Exhaustion and hunger didn't help either. However, since he had found me in the middle of all the soldiers, to ask about something that may or may not matter to him, I decided to answer him with all the seriousness I could muster at that moment.

I was asked by princess Tinbuji to find the explorers. Princess might believe she needed to be reminded of her stature, but I personally didn't want to be the one with the job.

Then it is your lucky day. He said. Obviously, I asked him to explain, ignoring his surprising merriment. I thought he knew the explorers, but I wasn't expecting the truth.

Well, congratulations young wok-worker, for you have found us. I am the captain of the explorers. You can call me 7; And they, are the members of my team. He pointed an antenna to his left where five soldiers were gathered around one of the termite giants, all busy shredding the giant, part by part.

I grew vigilant.

Underload · Sep 23, 2020

Did you really find the explorers?
More like we found each other.
And you told them to meet me here? Princess pressed for an answer. She was nervous. I also shared the sentiment. We had just been assaulted by flying termites; there was no knowing what they would do next. It was going to be a long sleepless night for everyone, and an even exhausting morning the next day.

Princess wasn't impressed with my nod but didn't complain either. I just wished she would trust me a bit more.

We were on the twenty-sixth floor, in the construction site that was to become Princesses home once she became a queen. The explorers decided the time and I, the place —this was the only one I was familiar with that was private enough for her to meet the explorers without external influence. The site was isolated from the city, the ruckus and worry, the aftermath of the assault. And since all the free workers had been called to report at the tower, it was also unoccupied, empty, and desolate. It wasn't complete yet and would take even longer now that the situation wasn't so positive, but Princess didn't seem worried about that.

The termites had given the city its largest wound since the second generation's western expansion project. Nearly two thousand dead and a quarter of that number injured; of course, we killed them back, but the price we paid was too big. They have insulted our authority: Is how Princess summarized their action. In simple words: the next great war was on the brink of eruption.

I could sess no vibrations from the ground or sense any scents. The chamber was eerily silent and chill until it was not. Minute vibration passed from the ground up my legs. I sessed them coming. Princess agreed. She stood a bit straighter, sharper. Their scent arrived before them, allowing us time to get our bearings straight. Princess was born ready. As for me, well, I copied her as closely as I could and hoped I wouldn't leak any emotions and embarrass her.

There were five of them: The swift and strict captain at the front, the long-legged monster at the very back, and everyone else in between. I was half-expecting them to be flying their scent banner high and mighty. They hadn't left much of an impression on me.

I see them. The long-legged one let out. She was loud, whether by design or not, was not important. There are only two of them. They are alone. No ambush.

They approached and stopped at an appropriate distance for holding a scented conversation. Princess moved forward to exchange greetings, but the long-legged one was faster than her.
Youse the princess he was telling about? Youse don't look the part. There was an awkward silence before the captain slapped her head and apologized for her insubordination.

Don't scent again. He told the long-legged soldier and walked toward Princess Tinbuji. They greeted by touching each other's antennae, reading the segments and the scents laced over before separating. The royal captain stepped back to his team and Princess returned to my side. I was glad she did.

He started. Accept my apology, princess, for being suspicious. It's how I was taught; preparation triumphs genius – my seniors used to say.

I was told a similar thing once, many moons ago. Princess picked up. Prepare to be betrayed and you will have an easier time expecting the truth.

It seems exactly like something my senior would say. The captain said then nodded. His demeanor changed. He stood a bit sturdier, antennae straightened. From casual to serious, he switched in a heartbeat. I heard you wished to know something regarding the termites, Princess?

I felt Princess's attention upon me. Real sly, I thought but acted unimportant otherwise. My opinion of him fell further.

They are The explorers. My inner voice rose. Why are you being biased?

I just didn't like them for some reason. They were too—too confident. That's right. It was the ease with which they operated that worried me. The arrogance they had. The termites hadn't fazed them. The death hadn't saddened them. The remorse should have affected them, too. They were one of us, weren't they?
I wished to share my thoughts with Princess but decided to wait. It wasn't my place to say anything — yet being the keyword.
However, Princess fidgeted. I realized that I must have leaked something again. My heart thrummed, nervous thoughts emerging. She ignored me, however. I hope my guard didn't say anything inappropriate.

Of course not; he's well taught, unlike someone. The long-legged soldier clicked in a show of discomfort. I might as well say he was very persuasive.

I wondered what he meant. Nothing bad, I hoped. It was stupid actually, my suspicion.

Its jealously, said my inner voice. No its not! I retaliated. The voice giggled in response. Then why do you suddenly want to join the slaves? That was my decision and it had nothing to do with them! And I wasn't decided either. Not yet; but I was almost ready.

The battle had shown me the reality. Now I knew what I could never be. I could never be a worker again, and I was not good at being a soldier either. I could be a caretaker… no, not even that. Princess needed a guard, a real guard who could save her. For that, I was ready to ask the help of the aged warrior, even though I didn't want to associate myself with her kind. Just like how I brought the explorers to meet the princess even though I didn't like them. There would be strings attached, but if the aged warrior could bring me up to speed and the explorers could help the princess, then those small favors would be well worth the pain —at least that's what I thought.

A little scented push brought me back to reality. It was disbelief, danger, alertness, everything mixed together. Something had happened. They are attacking! I got on my haunches, ready to pounce, but I was mistaken.

That can't be right. The scent exploded from Princess. Dirt absorbed the chemicals before they could bounce and distort her following words. But we followed the trail. The trail lain by, by…

You see, the explorer's captain confronted her emotional outbreak with calm expertise. Anyone could have laid that trail. Someone must have known our destination and used the opportunity to send you all to the mountains.

I listened to their conversation, horrified at the possibilities.

But why would anyone do that? Princess asked, equally uncomfortable.

Well, The scent came from one of the other explorers. Someone must have really wanted you to find the termites and save the ant.

She was surprisingly a worker, a nurse to be accurate. Of course, they would want one to take care of their wounds, which none of them surprisingly had? That was intriguing detail in itself. More surprising was her body. She was tall, taller than me, and just shy of her captain's height. That was not what a worker was supposed to look like; especially a nurse. There really was no one normal among them.

That will be easy to find out once the ant wakes up. The royal captain said. If it does wake up, that is. Though I do wonder, why do you find the ant special? Does it look any different, princess?

It looks the same as us and carries the same passport pheromones. She replied the spark that she had started with dimming along with her confidence. However, he fought against twenty termites and not only managed to kill half of them, but also kept his life? If that's not suspicious I don't know what is.

Youse serious? Youse should have started with that— a tentacle swished toward her head, but the long-legged one timely ducked and evaded this time. Alright, alright, I won't speak again. Just stop hitting me. It hurts.

That is indeed suspicious. The captain agreed.

Princess raised her head back. She had finally found a supporter. Of course, it is suspicious! She scented a vibrant mix of emotions, previous blunder already forgotten. He managed to do the work of thirty individuals alone!

And he didn't die.

He's alive. Princess said. The nurses incubated him in the tower post aid for faster recovery. He's not dead. She added upon seeing the captain fidget — he didn't exactly move, but it was easy to see that the possibility of the main lead dying had surprised him.

Princess continued. The nurses sent him down to the thirty-sixth floor before the thunderstorm hit. He was unconscious and not injured. So there was no point in keeping him at the tower. If I'm right, Princess explained. He would still be there, kept under watch, but safe and sound.

He would have been taken to the fortieth floor and forgotten there if he was one of ours is what I heard. He would have been accessed for injuries, total damage, the position of his wounds, and then checked with the slaves for extended hospitality. Every life matters —is not complete without— and should be used appropriately.

Someone —we knew who— let out a scent of amusement. She was ignored, but the smallest one among them, a soldier lankier in form compared to his peers, said something that brought the discussion to an end.

You want to go to the 47th city, and you want us to take you there. Am I right, Princess?

Princess was taken aback by the sudden revelation but recovered quickly. She must have been thinking about how to broach the subject because once the truth was out the antennae that hadn't stopped waving above her head, calmed instantly.

She agreed with his assessment. I failed to make mother believe me, but that doesn't matter. She's was against sending troops so far without any concurrent information before the assault. Now she has a different priority to take care of.

The Queen was more worried about the near tomorrow than the distant future. Since the near tomorrow was dangerous enough, why would she worry about a future that might not come to pass?
Princess surprised me by turning toward me. He's right. She said. I had leaked my thoughts again. These antennae were going to be the death of me. But I hope I have gained enough of your interest to at least think about the issue. The termites have changed. If the reason behind their change stems from the 47th city, then it needs to be investigated before the situation grows out of hand.

That's a very tall order. The long-legged one said. Youse should think about it for a second. That place is not in our backyard from where you can return easily. That place is far-far away. So far away youse can't get there in a day!

I know. Princess said. And I understand I'll never get there on my own; the reason I beg you to take me there.

But why do you want to go there? The lanky soldier questioned. Espionage is not your job?

Because I care, said princess.

Everyone turned toward the captain who had simply been observing since the lanky soldier had started speaking. He had listened to both the truth and the issue. Being the captain, it was his decision. I didn't want him to agree. I wasn't strong enough to protect the princess in the colony; how would I do that out in the open free world? But that's what Princess wanted. She wanted to join them because she cared? That wasn't a lie, but it was only half a truth. I hadn't forgotten the yearning for adventure that I had felt from her during our internal connection.

Let's see our guest first. The captain said. We might find out more from him.

But he's still unconscious. Princess said.

You don't have to worry about that. 29 here, the captain pointed his antennae toward the lanky soldier, the only regular one among them. He is good at these kinds of things. He claims to have the ability to read the minds of the dead.

That's a false claim. 29 cleared with a short burst of temper, which he also quickly subdued. I can read minds, but not a dead mind. There is a difference. The long-legged one let out amusement again.
How? Princess asked in disbelief.
He doesn't say. Captain interrupted. Anyways, now that we have a plan, let's not waste any more time and get to it.

I believe 29 would have told us his secret, had the captain not interrupted. The long-legged one clicked in annoyance but didn't disobey her captain. They, I was learning was a tightly knit bunch than even the harvesters I had the opportunity to accompany on a mission. I had been excited at that time. That had been an opportunity. That had been marvelous until we met the termites and the day turned to hell. But this — I was not in favor of this. I had my reasons. There was something that had happened to make me hesitate. I had gotten another one of those colorful graphical notifications while talking to them. And it had been an ominous one.

Don't let your suspicions ruin your life. The fun of living lies in the unknown. What good is a life where you know the future?
You have acquired a new skill: Premonition.

[Premonition][Tier-1][Lv-1/10][Passive]
[Future is a flowing river and its flow an unknown force. So heed the warning with a grain of salt. Don't break ties without confirmation, because you may end up inviting trouble instead of evading it.]
[Effect: Makes you sensitive toward the others and helps you sense their intentions, whether good or bad, without any difference.]
[Reward: Your intelligence increases by .1 points every skill level.]

I had always understood what these skills meant without really understanding their nature or origin. It was these skills that had bestowed me the gift of sight and the ability to hurt others with charge, had protected me from the termite's acid, and now given me premonition, an extra sense.

They were changing me every day, enhancing me, and change is suspicious. However, I also couldn't say that they hadn't helped me, either. So, between the alien skills that for better or worse were a part of me and the explorers —whom I didn't know— I had decided to stick with my suspicion and keep searching their faults until I was confident that they truly meant Princess no harm and were allies to keep.

We left the empty chamber and went back to the city. The once narrow and full tunnels were suddenly broad and empty. We barely met a handful of soldiers patrolling the tunnels since most were stationed outside to lookout. A preemptive platoon had already been sent to the distance western outposts. There hadn't been any news yet, but everything would be clear by morning.

The residents we met gave way where the explorers passed. I wasn't the only one who had paid them attention at the tower. Everyone had seen them fight, seen them mutilate the termites, and ignore the inured. They had shown their strength and shown their cruelty. They had their priorities, and now we all knew them.

The long-legged soldier was nimble and could perform acrobatics impossible for the regular folks. She could jump a large distance and even flip over her back.

The giant, who was also a bit crazy, was a beast that had thrown termites off the tower! He was the one who had held back one of the five giant termites, that his mates had then killed.
I hadn't seen the nurse fighting, but that was obvious. She was a nurse.

The captain and his left man were a team that worked. They weren't nimble as the long-legged one or strong as the giant but knew each other well enough and it showed when they fought. Together they were a storm that had shredded the termites apart one by one.

They barged into the sparsely occupied military camp and weren't stopped or questioned. The soldiers stopped Princess and me, however, and only let us go after checking our identity. The number of soldiers present would have barely filled a platoon. The soldiers some stared, some followed the explorers, but they were quick on their feet and passed by. We had to run behind them.

Don't we need the commander's permission? I asked from behind.

Youse will never get it. The long-legged one scented. And we don't need it. Answered the lanky soldier.

Princess, The captain called from inside the downward slope leading to the thirty-seventh floor and she took the lead. She took us toward the southern wall on the thirty-seventh floor where the soldiers had dug in burrows. All were empty except one that had been barred by a door guard from the outside, the coin head facing inward.

That's the one. Princess scented and sped up, antennae buzzing in expectation. But the burrow was guarded and we were right in the middle of the soldier's camp. Even fewer soldiers occupied this place, but a few had followed us from the preceding floor and they doubled the pressure. Needless to say, the soldiers had been specifically ordered to stop anyone seeking the guest.

The soldier's order and the explorer's aggression led to a confrontation. The giant stepped in to protect his team —or should I say, to protect the soldiers from them— and the long-legged one skillfully evaded the soldier's aggressive grabs by rolling, jumping, and slapping them, and reached the door guard. They both performed their duty with such finesse, their actions almost seemed practiced. Maybe they were?

There was no stopping the explorers once the long-legged one reached the door guard, especially the giant. Soldiers clung to his limbs and he dragged them around like a bee carting pollen. In the end, their captain pulled the door guard back and entered the burrow.

A sergeant stopped the brawl soon after before anyone could get hurt. Thankfully, the soldiers had been sensible enough to not through poison around like stomped dirt.

It was an amazing spectacle, to say the least. I considered them crazy, but they were absolutely mad! Princess liked them. I shared her feelings, but reminded myself of the premonition and extinguished the spark before it could feed my doubt. They had no hesitation. Where did they gain the confidence to go against all the soldiers? Whatever the case, Princess was right in asking for their help; they had the ability to handle the journey to the far-city. It's just that I wasn't so sure about the chances of us two making there with them.

The soldiers had caught us the moment they retaliated. We were let go, but the humiliation felt worse than having my skeleton sheared off.

Don't just stand there. Princess said as the rest of the explorers crowded the burrow. Come on; we need to see this through.
We followed right behind them, but the truth was shocking. The burrow was empty, the ant missing.

What is this? Where's the ant, the one form the 47th city? Princess bellowed out the scent.

The soldier didn't say, but their sergeant knew something. We don't know. He scented.

What happened? The captain asked. He kept his emotions in check, unlike Princess Tinbuji who had turned ghastly still.

He has been missing since the assault. The sergeant replied. We answered the call for help during the assault; he was gone when we came back.

Now can we finally have some rest? The long-legged one scented. She had been grumbling since we had met, and was on the verge of falling asleep right there.
The lanky explorer clicked his mandibles. We should meet the commander. He said and was turned down before he could give a reason.

You won't find him? The solder said. He's in a meeting with the committee. They are deciding you know what. He doesn't have time for a missing ant right now.

You should go back. Captain told the sergeant. His order was followed and the sergeant went back to his soldiers. It's up to us now. Finding what's lost is the perfect job for us. The captain said, making princess fidget in nervous hesitation.

Did she want to participate? I believed she did, but I hoped she wouldn't. I needed rest like the rest of the workers and soldiers that had been working without a pause to get the city back in order.

I hadn't lazed while the rest worked. I had kept my promise to myself and helped the workers scrub the scents off our territory. I helped the wounded and dragged them to where the nurses had set up their work station. All of that had taken a lot of time and energy. The workers gave me a rough time, but since I had decided to help that's what I had focused upon without worrying about their nitpicking. For a time I had felt like a regular worker on the clock, running against time; until the work was done and I had no one to share my tiredness or thoughts with.
Thanks for believing me. Princess said.

Of course, it's our job as explores to explore all options and find the truth. The captain said. I couldn't even find any fault in him. He had taken it upon himself to find our messing suspect — or was he a clue? Whatever the case, he had just denied Princess Tinbuji's help, and even told her to get rest. She hesitatingly agreed.

We walked together up till the thirtieth floor where we separated. The explorers went up and we went down to the thirty-first floor, to the royal chambers.

Although it was midnight, the city was wide awake. Why would it not be? There was no knowing when the termites might attack again.

There were fewer workers around, and even fewer soldiers. Everyone was busy. Even the thirtieth-floor military encampment was only half full. The security was made so strict that the same soldier, who had once let Princess Tinbuji in without checking, checked both her identity and passport pheromone before stepping aside and letting her in.

I left her there and went to sleep in an empty place nearby, but couldn't. I was restless. The whole city was filled with this restless energy that seemed ready to burst. It was the anticipation of the residents, the zeal for revenge. The soldiers were nervous and the workers were even more. There was no rush of bodies in the tunnels. Everyone was waiting for the sun to rise and the committee to pass their decision. Tomorrow would decide the fate of the city and its residents.

We would know about the situation on the western front in the morning, but then we were already at war with the termites according to the princess, and they had the upper hand.
I got up and started walking. I let my feet take me, no destination in mind. The day played in my head like a broken record. Some of it made me bashful and other parts scared me to death. One such moment was her reason behind suspecting the ant from the 47th city. She found it suspicious because it had survived when it shouldn't have.

A thought emerged in my mind: What if she's only given me the job because she finds me suspicious, too, for not staying dead as I should have? The possibility gave me the jitters.
I promised myself to get to the bottom of the suspicious notifications as soon as possible. The question was coming soon. I made it a priority to find an answer before it was asked.

Underload · Sep 23, 2020

What are you afraid of? My inner voice asked. I had no answer. I was at the bottom of the elevator shaft leading to the fortieth floor, staring at my choices —restlessness devolved into a nervous shuddering of the legs.

The city is at war. The slaves need to prepare. I'll visit another time. All were excuses; each one more concrete than the other, and strong enough to keep me from stepping forward.

It was the result of the cultivation, the mental hypnotism that ruled the social status of our society. Soldiers are better than workers; slaves are the lowest of the low; failure is unacceptable; these ideas had been planted so deep our minds, everyone believed them for the truth. Hence, workers didn't go against the soldiers, and soldier's favored death, over life as a slave.

I feared to be suspended from my current post of a royal guard and to be permanently turned into a slave. A result that I had died to escape.

But your Princess won't stay in the city for long. The voice whispered again, causing my heart to skip a beat. Precipitation dripped from my head, nervous temper causing me distress. She's going to leave soon. You know it, and you can't stop her. You can only go with her, or stay behind. The choice is yours. All that matters is whether you want her or not?

The steps felt heavy. Expectations and considerations chained my feet. Last time I was here, I had tagged along with the Princess. It had been her decision, not my choice. This time the choice was mine, my decision. It gave me the jitters.

Forcing someone through a thorny bush won't kill them, but the thorns will leave their marks on the body. And neither the person nor the bush will even be the same again.
It's all but a matter of perspective.

Sometimes you protect others by putting your life on the line. Other times you put the line behind you and make a new path.

I was in that kind of situation.
The fortieth-floor training ground was silent. It wasn't empty, but the opposite of it. Soldiers lined the chambers back to back, waiting in patience for the morning light to shine, the news, and the committee's decision. There was however no fighting.

Training, the voice said. But where you are going there will be fighting.

Instead, there was a cold war in progress — a suppression of emotions so hard that the restless energy had taken a new form there.

There was no nervousness in the air, only dread determination. The soldiers were ready to earn their worth. They believed themselves ready.

The termites had broken all common norms by bypassing everything and directly attacking the mother city. If they could show such courage, running away from the fight would be cowardly. The embers might not be as hot as fire, but they were not cold either. A spark burned in the chests of us all.

This time would be different. This won't be a war for the expansion of territory or a hunt for food, but cold and raw revenge. There is a difference, but only those who live long get to understand it.
There were almost no scents in the air. Everyone was deep in thinking. No movement I could sense or vibrations to sess. The city had lost its hum to the growing unease.

My presence broke the soldier's concentration, and their antennae moved erratically at my entrance.

A questioning scent asked the reason behind my sudden appearance and the chamber cackled with the clicking of angry mandibles and raging pheromones. I rushed away from them, down the path, on to the next chamber that was also occupied.

A new chamber had been carved into the wall and a pit dug in its center, opposite the site where marksman once practiced. There were soldiers standing at the rim of the pit, pushing something back inside that was screaming and scenting, hungry for murder, for escape.

It smelled of wood inside, of dead rotting wood. The same smell as the termites, the mad, crazy kind that couldn't be killed with poison. Realization dawned over me. They hadn't killed them all! Some had been kept! It was horrifying information. I sped up; away from them, from it, from everything, toward the 41st floor.

There were soldiers at the exit, but I wasn't stopped. I almost rolled down the slope leading to the dark pit, the infectious hell. Pain exploded around me as I slid to a stop. The scents down there contained an unreadable degree of madness. It was a compound of everything nauseating and bad. There was no laughter there, neither anticipation and nor excitement. Only hunger lived there.

The number of injured had increased, and increased was the number of those recovering. I could have been one of them or one of those thrown into the pit, outside. If a soldier hadn't timely killed the termites I had stabbed in a fit of emotional relapse, it would have certainly injured me at least.

The wounded had doubled since yesterday. It was sickening, this dark side of the war. Anyone who wasn't strong enough was showed away down these sewers of the city and left to either die or recover.
The scents were searing all the way. After a point they grew so heavy and dense I had to tuck my antenna away. It was cold there, shivering.

Why leave the wounded there to die? What did it accomplish? Was this a warning to the soldiers so they don't grow lazy; an emotional determent for the slaves so they won't try anything oddly brave? It was a show of authority and it had me afraid, so it clearly worked —at least on someone like me.

My head buzzed; a notification covered my sight, and instantly I felt a cold relief wash over my mind. The relief was paltry but enough to get me going again.

You have already been through this once, so why does it overwhelm you? I don't understand you sometimes.
You have acquired a new skill: Overwhelm resistance.

[Overwhelm][Tier-1][Lv-1/10][Resistance]
[Mind is a sensitive faculty. It works best under suitable condition but put a bit more pressure than the threshold and it easily breaks.]
[Effect: protects your mind from various kinds of harmful auras and energies.]
[Reward: Your intelligence increases by .1 points every skill level.]

The mercenary cavern was warm. It was a blessing in disguise that they had the cavern. The soldiers would have already taken over if it was any other place, but not from them. The odor of fungus was strong here. It was a source of food and not the parasitic kind. The slaves ate the green. That was their food, their way of keeping alive. Protein was sent down, but only sometimes. The city wouldn't waste its resources on them. Only their numbers matter to her, not strength.

It was finally their time to be tested and a few of the survivors would be allowed back into society. Unlike the soldiers, they were hard at work. Twice as hard, I should say, because they were training, —Fighting, corrected the voice— with even more vigor. Their bodies glowed under the bright crystal light. The soldiers would have a future if they returned intact in one piece, but they would need to show their vigor or it was back to the slave pen with green fungus and death's odor for company.

These recovered slaves, both foreign and native, hadn't set up rings like the soldiers above but were simulating a real war with real consequences.
No deaths, but real pain.

The marksmen —the scant few that had lost their identity as soldiers or raised as slaves from the beginning— were raining poison upon the warriors, the lot of them that was trying to pass the trenches dug in the ground and pebbles put as obstacles and reach the other side of the cavern.

The poisons odor wasn't strong, meaning the marksmen weren't using a concentrated mix but a diluted solution, one that would sting for sure, might even take them out, but not kill or injure them. The purpose of the activity was to gain experience, and nothing else. There was only one place they would be allowed to die, and it was not here.

Further past them were two opposite groups of soldiers rushing at each other and taking each other out with strength alone. There were a few cases where mandibles were used, tackling was the only option allowed.

The captain or the leaders among them were hard at work, keeping the slaves motivated, giving them hope, and even cheering them up.

"You only lose when you admit defeat. You won't think on the battlefield; you won't feel on the battlefield. That is not a place for emotions. Cry now if you have to. Fear now if you have to. Think in the middle of a battlefield, and you die. Show compassion, and you die. Become emotional, and you die. You act, you kill, you check if your opponent is dead, and you move onto the next one. Don't dally, don't dwindle. Keep your heads up and keep pushing forward."

There is no other place for you lot to go. Is this where you want to come back to?'
NO!
Do you still want to be treated like vagrants with no future?

NO!
Then keep moving. Don't stop. Forward is the way. Forward is the only option! You open a way into the enemy forces and a way to the city will open for you. Remember: Do not die!
I got Goosebumps all over my body. It was not a speech, but raw and bloody truth. Forward is the only option. The saying was delightfully rich in both sentiments and experience.
I wasn't expecting you back so soon. I jumped. The aged warrior was standing behind me. When did she get there? She surprised me.

You surprised us both. It was a different, much younger scent. She wasn't alone. The soldier I had fought and given a wound across whose chest —it had almost healed, but the grey scar that was left behind would keep his arrogance in check— was with her. And he seemed embarrassed to be there.

So what do you think? She said, tapping my head with her antenna. Believe you have what it takes to be one of them?
No. I answered, and kept it short. I had no word to justify the feeling I felt for them.

You chose the wrong day to come back down here. The solder said. He was behaving differently. Yeah, he was not being arrogant, and the change was off-putting. His seriousness was making me feel bad for the scar I had given him. Come back when we do. We'll have our rematch then, and I'll have you taste the mucky taste of defeat.

Spoken like a true soldier. The aged warrior chided. Are you going somewhere with your broken antennae? Was being almost killed at the hands of a worker not embarrassing enough? Want to really die this time?

The soldier was taken back at first then almost retaliated in anger but shriveled away when the guards beside her moved and decided to let his scent do the talking. I won't be dying you old hag. I can't stay behind when everyone else is going. He put everything in his scents, but they weren't strong enough to have the effect he tried to produce. His control was great, but a weak output. 6436 has only three legs and no one's stopping her. He complained. I know you would be going too if you weren't so old.

Stupid brat, shut up before I uproot you other antennae, too. The aged warrior harassed. You made the mess, now you clean it. Don't forget your own words, smelly brat. You will be teaching this one to control his antennae.

But when will I have time to learn?

You lost to a cripple. She poked at his still green wound. Learning my blasted bottom —Teach him, and you might finally learn a thing or two, useless brat.
I don't want to. The soldier said and shriveled to the ground in pain when she twisted his only antennae. He released a pheromone s sharp even I felt his pain. Want me to rip it off, huh? He conceded. Alright, alright, I give, I give. So when do I start?

Like I'll let a useless fool like you take care of someone. She pushed him away. Go run away and do something productive. I wait the day you heal and go die on a foreign battlefield.
When the soldier ran he was confused and dazed as a willow brush with no idea where it was flowing. I shared his sentiment and prayed for my sanity. Could I run away, too? Maybe she heard me because she held me from the chest with antennae wrapped around it.

Compared to Princess Tinbuji, whom I considered an unstoppable gust of wind, the aged warrior was a storm with no end in sight.

Don't call me aged warrior again. A shiver snaked down my back. Call me… heck; I've even forgotten my number. Aged warrior is fine, I guess. It makes me sound wizened. Well, it's better than what that parasitic leech calls me. So are you ready? She said and before I could answer I was on the ground, pain shooting through my head and the ground swimming in front of me.
What was that? Had someone attacked? Were we under attack!

No such thing.

You are clearly not ready. She commented as if anyone could be ready for that. If premonition worked on things like this it would have colored my sight purple with its warnings by the time I had hit the floor.

I got up, felt it happening again, and rolled backward, dodging whatever it was that was aiming for my head. I haphazardly looked around, half expecting to see the soldier being responsible, but he was nowhere to be found and the others were not free to harass me. There were a few dallying around and they were pretty amused at my situation — just not the kind of amused you'd find in a perpetrator.

Come. She said, seriously, menacingly. Did she want to fight? I hoped she wouldn't drop dead from being overworked.

Stop wasting time! Come. I don't have all night. I have to prepare others, too.

I half-assed my effort and kissed the ground for it. However, the pain showed me my place. She tried to harass me, but she didn't have to. I got up serious. She meant business. The voice laughed in my head. I shut it out, too.

The world slipped away from me. My focus grew. I was a diligent worker, never lazed around unnecessarily. Concentration had never been a problem for me. I could dig for hours and hours at a time without resting. But that was when I was a worker-driven by a dream; this was a different me. Thoughts passed by my mind before I snubbed them. My pores opened and the cold air I sucked in cleared my mind.

With senses focused and mind active I charged at the warrior. Not the kind of charge that required physical effort, but the one that had garnered her attention in the first place. The skill had let me kill the termites and almost send the soldier to the other side of the yellow river; I was confident it would produce a result.

I was confident, not inconsiderate. Killing her wasn't the plan. The past few times had been done drunk on anger or emotions. The skill was a dangerous tool, but a tool nonetheless. It was nothing without my intention.

There was nothing to worry about. She even had to be carried everywhere, there was no need to be too intimidated by her. I planned to shrink the distance between us with the skill, and somehow harmlessly disable her. Nothing would go wrong.

You have selected an opponent. Would you like to activate the skill: Charge?

The aged warrior scented annoyance and I agreed to the magical phenomenon. The magical thing lifted my body from the ground and pulled me toward the target, the aged warrior. The process both scared and awed me. I sensed her astonishment. It was an enthralling experience, an expression of untamed power. The closer I drew to her, the stronger grew my sentiments. But something struck my head and I was rolling on the ground this time, head pulsating with pain.

A bright red number floated out of my body and disappeared above my head as I shook away the daze —not a bright idea for someone with a head injury. The surroundings didn't make sense to me for a whole minute.

All that drama for such a weak performance, She cursed. We are fighting, not dancing. Come again.

That was not just a strike, but a slap to my confidence. I was sure of touching her. I had even considered how to not hurt her, but what was this result? Why was I on the ground again? I raised my head and found the warrior still sitting at her position; she hadn't moved one head away.

You better get up before I grow any older. You'll be calling me dazed warrior soon otherwise.

She was so—so mean, and humiliating and frank. I hadn't met her to be treated that way. I would have stayed a worker and let the others shun me, call me a freak, make me an outcast if I wanted to be treated like that. I had come to her for respect. I wanted respect. Yes, that's what I wanted. This—this wasn't what was supposed to happen.

Oh, my shedding skin, he's worse than her. At least she didn't leak out her thoughts. Now, I can't even test if he complains against humiliation or not. It's a shame. Listen to me! She blasted my senses with a scent cloud. You either listen or I'm going to break your antennae.

Her words were harsh enough to gain my attention, focus, and eagerness… all of them actually.

Now, look here: You are no guard. She continued irrespective of my reaction. Whatever the kid has told or made you, you are too weak to guard anyone. You are a disabled worker who should be leaving for the war with the others and die there. What the hell was she saying? Can you really not understand me? Am I saying anything wrong? Do you believe you can save her, your Tiny princess? Don't rub your ego kid, grow up. You can't even save yourself; saving her is out of your hands.

I retaliated. You are wrong. I scented.

Am I wrong? You think so? Don't make me laugh. My body is too weak to laugh; I'll get diarrhea!

I got up, positioned myself, and told her to get ready.

She had crossed the line. I took a step back and looked around, sensed, took inspiration from the soldier's she called a brat, and vibrated my antennae at double the frequency than usual. I took it to 15000 hertz/sec and tolerated the sharp pain that arose with it. The scents rushed into me. I ignored them, and put my focus onto her. I'll show you: the chant played in my head over and over again.

Anger flared, but I suppressed it. It was no time to get angry. I didn't want to become a murdering whirlwind. I slowly approached her. I was wrong with hurrying when she wasn't going anywhere.

Would you like to analyze your target? A voice asked. I agreed subconsciously.

And I sensed it, them. Her antennae glowed in a red-orange hue. She pulled them to the back of her head, leaving a glowing clone behind, before whipping them at me. The clubbed ends tore at the air as they carved a glowing path toward my head with pinpoint accuracy.

I—I don't know how I did it, but I timely ducked my head and her antennae harmlessly passed over my head, leading a shiver down my back. I instantly exploded with joy and she released amusement, but I head the swish again and was smacked to the ground, right at her feet. She hunched over my head, closed her mandibles around my neck, and announced: you are dead.
But that was pretty good. She said. You controlled your anger and paid attention to me instead of giving away reason to anger. You are much better than someone. What do you think? I thought she had asked me. I was wrong.

I thought he would be going down a few more times before getting somewhere. It was the Princess. What was she doing there?

I should be asking you that. I thought you were done with them.

Well, everyone changes.

Yeah? If you say so. Don't mind me. Continue your lesson. Don't you have something to ask her?

Yes? I did? Oh yes, there was one thing I was surprised about. Antennae can be used as a weapon? I asked the aged warrior who had gone to sleep, standing in the middle of the ruckus.
I went to wake her but she didn't need my help. She was faking it; and I found out with another slap to the head. It hurt more because I wasn't expecting it. I finally understood why the others stayed away from her. To put it nicely: she wasn't very social.

These younglings are so easy to fool.

That was uncalled for!

All bark no bite; can't even handle a cripple. You are not any better than that smelly brat. What? She continued taunting. Think otherwise? You really do? Don't make me laugh.

Princess intervened. Teacher, She stressed the words, as if trying to get the attention of a mischievous child. Give him a break, will you? He's not a soldier.

Really foolish, She finally gave in when princess pressed. Alright, alright, don't start chocking me with your bullshit either. I know you in and out. Save your nonsense for someone who doesn't know you. Want me to tell him what you really want? Huh?

I'll leave, okay.

You better do! The passing slaves shuddered at her outburst and quickly scampered away. They pitied me, and showed it openly with their low antennae and shaking heads. They seemed to consider the war simulation a better place to be at than around her. I agreed with them. Wish I could also be there instead. In between the highs and lows, I wondered who the aged warrior was when she was still active.

Someone like her must have been very popular with the soldiers. The sarcasm filled thought was enough to lighten my mood.

Princess went and sat on the ledge by the wall from where she could keep a sight on me, but wouldn't be able to disturb us.
Now, as for you, The aged warrior faced me. You did well — much better than I expected.

Did she just praise me? It felt odd, unnatural even; especially since it was coming from her.

You didn't lose hope or gave reason to temper. I know anger fuels your strength, but it also takes away from you. Internal connection, just so you know. Was she teasing me? Was this another one of her sick tests? And that thing that you did to get close, it is shading invigorating. It gives me the jitters every time I see it. I want to know your secret, but you better hold tight to it. She scented and tapped my forehead as if to get the point through. Secrets are your weapons. And that's your second lesson: hide your secrets.

What was the first one? I asked and had to dodge an antenna stalking my head.
What did you learn?
To stay alert,
That's right. She said. Stay alert. Out of curiosity, what else did you learn?

She was testing me. I had learned to keep my eyes on her because she was crazy. Of course, that was not for her to know. And I had learned that charging madly at a target was not the safest of options. I wondered how I was still alive. My opponents had been wizened soldiers not exactly like her, but they were soldiers and must have had a fight or two before. They had killed before, unlike me. Yet, I was the one who had survived and they hadn't. It made me wonder if they were sane or not. There was one more thing I had learned from her:

That my mandibles are not the only weapons I have. I was not just talking about the antennae that I would learn to whip-like her even if it took all of my time, but also the skills, the mysterious phenomena that only I was privy to. She didn't need to know that.

You are an intelligent little something, aren't you? She might have praised me, but all I heard was sarcasm. She had given such a bad first impression that I didn't know if it would ever wash off. War is hard enough on its own; you don't want to limit yourself by only rushing or bitting. You either throw your whole body into the fire or don't expect to retain it afterward. Expect to be surprised and stay focused.
Now come; let's see what you have learned so far.
We tussled for an unknown number of times. She gave me the job of touching her and I wholeheartedly went into it. Her antennae sped up drastically every time I managed to dodge them. She struck me many times and I got up every time, only to be struck back down again.

Slowly, I manned to increase the number of whips I could dodge before falling. My inherent ability to stay focused for long intervals of time shined here. I know she was impressed, and she showed it by becoming incessant at keeping me away from her body. It was difficult to break through her offensive defense.

I learned to Dodge and tolerate the pain during our exercise. They were new skills, important skills that gave me a slight edge against her. One allowed me to evade danger to a thinner margin, and the other increased my capacity to handle pain, nothing too fancy. Now, if I could only solve the mystery behind them that would be a burden lifted.

Keep moving. Don't stop. Keep moving. Yes, right, now left, now roll, and stand, jump and rest. You have successfully evaded masculinity.
You have acquired a new skill: Dodge.
***
Does it hurt? How about this? No? Let me get a bigger needle.
You have acquired a new skill: Pain tolerance

[Dodge][Tier-1][Lv-1/10][Passive]
[The world will constantly throw shit at you. it's entirely up to you whether to push through or evade it.]
[Effect: Increases the efficiency of your evading action.]
[Reward: Your Dexterity increases by .1 points every skill level.]

***
[Pain tolerance][Tier-1][Lv-1/10][Resistance]
[Mortal body is fragile and breaks easily. Pain is not a nuisance; it's a warning of the absolute limit you can take before shutting down.]
[Effect: Increases your ability to handle pain.]
[Reward: Your Constitution increases by .1 points every skill level.]

The one time I managed to reach an arm's length away from her, believing I was about to win, she got up, evaded my touch, and disappeared behind me. I was so surprised that I couldn't react when her cold antenna touched the back of my head and announced me dead for the zenith time.

Secrets, she sprinkled the scent atop of my head and moved away, giving me space to react.

My head fell to the side from the surprise. She seemed pretty smug about her achievement. A crowd had gathered I noticed and they were pretty amused by my reaction. Some were even lost in nostalgia. They must have fallen to the same trick before. It was just sad. The training had ended as far as I could tell, and the slaves were resting. How long had we been at it?
You can walk? I asked. I assumed you were—

Don't assume anything. The aged warrior interrupted me. Always keep your antennae open and sense wide. Everyone holds a trick or two down the fold of their plates, waiting for the right time to plunge their opponent in a world of hurt. That is your fourth and final lesson of today: be wary of your opponent's secrets. She said, broke form and stood at ease. Alright, that's enough for today.
That's it? But we have only just started?

We have been at it since the last moon, kid. It's already morning. And four lessons are enough for one day.
I counted but she had only told me three. What's the fourth one?
Are you in a rush somewhere? Want to join the war?
I shook my head.
Then digest what you have learned. We'll continue once you have figured out the fourth lesson. The crowd flinched when she looked at them. What? You lot still has the energy to move around? Let me help you all if you can't help yourself. The slaves dispersed as if a disease had been let loose in their midst. They ran to the corners, the aged warrior right after them, her guards keeping even pace behind her.

Princess approached.

When did you arrive? I asked her, and she tapped the side of my face in response.

When you were getting slapped left and right by the master, She let me know. I let out amusement. It was good to see her happy for a change. The termites had irritated her for so long I had almost forgotten that she could also joke.

You called the aged warrior master. What did she teach you? This time she let out amusement. I knew the answer. She was taking lessons in sarcasm.

We watched the slaves go about their work. The workers nervously went to cultivate the fungus, and the others started stretching and massaging each other. They had done everything to prepare. Now they would wait for the future to be decided for them; their only burden was to stay alive.

We said our farewells and left. Back in the ruling society, the fortieth floor, soldiers buzzed with anticipation. The decision would be made public any minute. It would matter for not just the soldiers, but us too. However, before that future could unroll, someone had left a message for us at the camp guards. And it got us both more nervous than the confirmation of war would have.
The explorers had called us to the mushroom farm. They had found the missing ant.

Underload · Oct 2, 2020

They have found him already?
That's what I was told. The soldier scented.

How long had it been? A few hours at best and they had already found him? The city was not a small place! The tunnels stretched for miles and miles underground; the chambers numbered in the thousands. How had they been so swift?

Suddenly there was a commotion and it got our attention. I followed the messenger's sight and found myself looking at the Princess rushing at the guards like someone possessed, shoving away any that tried to stop her. However, it was not a time to be in awe. The soldiers were already on the edge, and her aggression was only going to light up their fuse. The scent of alarm was already rising in some places.

I had to personally explain the situation to those distressed young soldiers and make them false promises: We are not yet at war; the decision is still pending; there is no confirmation from the higher-ups. Only then did they calm down and agree to not pursue the matter.

She was long gone before I managed to get away from the soldiers, nowhere to be seen when I hurried after her. The best I managed was following her on the paths she took. It caused me great distress to forcefully demand directions from cursing workers, but I did it out of duty and dread for her. Thankfully, my lame leg didn't start acting in the middle of the chase, or managing even that much would have been difficult, if not impossible.

I knew the path to the mushroom farm but was scared of missing her on the way up, reaching the destination, and not finding her there. However, my worry was needless. She seemed to know her way around from the paths she had taken. Morning is the busiest time of the day and she had taken to a sparsely used route.

The explorers weren't to be believed. They were odd in every way, shape, and form. This could all be a ruse set up by them to separate us or use her as bait to maybe flush out the perpetrator —a bit farfetched I know, but I didn't want to assume safety where there was none. They were incapable of empathy; using princess as bait would be nothing new to them.

Princess had really taken charge of the situation with her bigger reach and larger frame. I had some relief in the elevator shafts and straight routes, but cutting corners was a hassle, much so while running. My lame leg simply dragged on the ground when walking, nothing bad, but woefully tangled with the other ones when running.

I was late to reach the farm. The body had already been moved by the time I got there. The workers needed to work and the farm couldn't be closed for a single death. The whole population depended on the farms produce. The savory white mushrooms filled the bellies of more than half the city every day; there was a reason the farm extended from fifteenth to the twentieth floor.

A worker my height and build was waiting for me outside the farm. The explorers had asked her to lead me to them —which she decided against after one look at me. My notoriety preceded me.
Half-angry, half-exhausted, I begged the worker to show me the way. She shoved me in a direction and yelled at me for missing an obvious trail leading toward the excess chambers; like I would know it different from the half dozen other trails --all leading in different directions-- if she hadn't specifically told me to follow it.

I followed the trail, blaming Princess for leaving me behind and cursing the explorers for my situation. I found them occupying an excess chamber that must have been recently emptied, for it still carried the sweet smell of the mushrooms.

The long-legged one was at the entrance. Not guarding, simply standing there —waiting for me. Youse took your sweet time. She commented as I passed her. She was chewing on a freshly cut piece of mushroom. Yeah, She said enjoying the sweet succulent thing. There is still some inside. if youse have the guts to eat them. That alone uplifted my mood slightly.

Princess was inside, standing by the left wall and staring at the ceiling, whether dazed or thinking I couldn't figure. I considered the worst for a second, but her antenna noticed me and they were enough indication of her health for me to revaluate my thoughts. So she was safe; to me, it only meant they hadn't acted yet. No need to drop vigilance.

The giant was standing over the ant's carcass; the nurse beside him was busy dutifully probing at the body. The other two were standing by the right end, past the corpse, both in a hushed conversation.

The ant was releasing death pheromones, and the chamber was slowly soaking in it. The intensity of the foul odor said he was dead for at least a good few hours. As for his condition — oh, it was so bad. No-one stopped me from taking a look or bothered to warn me before I did. The carcass stank strongly from up close. The foul odor made me scrunch down my antennae.

But odor wasn't the worst thing about it. The body horrifyingly looked to have been left out in the sun to dry. His chest had sunken in and abdomen stretched as if someone had sucked it out from the abdomen. There were puncture wounds on his chest and he was missing an antenna and his left eye. Only his exoskeleton was keeping him together; the rest of him was already falling apart.

How had he degraded from a healthy individual to the macabre remains? A dizzy look told me the others didn't have an idea.

I pulled away from it. My head swam as the death odor was suddenly too influential and personal. I heaved up and ran out of the room. My desire to eat mushrooms was gone, along with my mood.

Going so soon? Aren't youse going to hear our precious 44's report? When that didn't stop me, the long-legged one tried again, this time she went straight for my heart. Are youse leaving your princess behind, wok?

I stopped and stared. She continued eating the mushroom-like I had imagined her last words. There was a call from the inside a minute later. She picked the block of mushroom and dared me to follow her. I dared.

The nurse was done checking the carcass and was ready to report. Princess was still by the wall, using it as support, but no longer dazed. Her eyes were sharp again, though mandibles clenched. She waved an antenna at me when I showed worry. I expected an apology but there was none. She still wasn't in the right state of mind, or so it seemed.

Their captain and his first mate had turned up by 44's side, infrared eyes on the carcass.
So what's the story, 44? Captain asked.

The 44th worker, the nurse, started her report with a nod.

The carcass has no signs of being dragged or lifted. Her antennae followed her words and pointed at his chest and abdomen from where it could have been held from. She continued. Mandibles would have left marks, but there are none. The puncture wounds are the right size for a stinger, but there is no discoloration of his wounds or skin. He didn't die from being poisoned. The rest of him seems like the work of a predator. His insides were most likely sucked clean. I shuddered at the revelation; the princess antennae waved above her head. The captain stirred and the lanky soldier moved a bit closer to him. My hypothesis is that a hidden predator must have found it wandering, administered it venom and sucked it dry from the abdom—

What is this nonsense? Princess abruptly interrupted. You are calling his death a mere coincidence? She directly addressed the captain.

Of course, we aren't, princess. The captain bit back. 44's not recounting what had happened. She's giving a theory based on the evidence she has found on what might have happened. There is a difference. We will find an answer if there is one to be found. We have to sift through every possibility to find the right path. This is how we do things. You asked for our help, now have some patience. Continue 44.

Once the nurse completed her report the explorers started going back and forth through various possibilities. They put the ant in three different situations and drew the outcomes. In the first situation, the termites ambushed the ant and his legion, killed, and ate them. In the second situation, the termites were bringing the ant to us. In the third and the most absurd situation, the ant ambushed the termites. They had a back and forth with each possibility, ranching and eliminating the one that led nowhere. In the end, they drew the conclusion to visit the far-city, Door-Darshan-Ji.

However, they remained inconclusive to the reason behind the ant's death. And it angered Princess Tinbuji when they decided that it didn't matter how or why it had been killed anymore since they had already decided to visit the far-city at a later date. It caused the Princess to protest.

His death should be making us doubt the very reason behind his presence in the mountains where he was found; not be shoved off as nothing but a false alarm. Princess clenched her mandibles, but the action only worked to set her off. I'm telling you all, his death is a warning of what's to come. I'll get to the bottom of this if you are not going to help. She stormed off. I stared at the explorers for a sign of compliance and went right after her upon finding none.

This time I stuck with her, even though it burned through my endurance as if I had suddenly gained a leak in the abdomen. I couldn't let her go off like that again. It was less stressful to keep up with her than chasing her through the web of endless tunnels without any direction.

I was slowly coming to the decision that my lame leg needed to go. It would have recovered by now if it could. But now, it was only making my life harder. Seeing the Princess taking a lead again, I decided to think about it later —following her came first and I was getting tired. At least she didn't go on another round around the city. She only barged into the farm. It wasn't a crime to go in there; though the workers there didn't like outside presence. But it would be a crime to damage the product or harm the workers. I confronted her before she could do any of those things.

What are we doing here?

We? She asked in temper.

Yes, we. You and I: We. I'm your royal guard, remember? I told her. Being told off brought her temper down a degree or two, and irritated her.

We, she said, and for some reason collected the chemicals before they got spread out, and tasted them. It was unusual behavior, but it calmed her down. She had been under a lot of stress lately, and I didn't want to add to it by pointing out her behavior. So I ignored her until she was ready to hold a conversation again.

We are going to see visit the murder scene. She finally scented.
Did the explorers say how they found him?

They said a worker found the corpse and told the soldiers. Since it was in such a highly regulated place, it was quickly removed. The soldiers had put the body in the empty chamber but forgotten about it in the excitement.

And they happened to be at the right place at the right time to ask the right soldier if he had seen anything unusual?

Well, —She was certainly surprised, but continued nonetheless— they didn't put it out like that, they said—
I had had enough of them. Are we going to confirm their claim? I interrupted Princess, but she didn't seem to mind but became curious.

I gave it to her straight. I don't believe them.

She was started and asked for an explanation. The weight behind my comment had upset her. She had been eager to ask for their help, and I, someone who should have been supporting her as her guard, was against her decision. That's what I meant when I said, 'I don't believe them.' Of course, it would tick her off. However, she remained in control and calmly gave me a chance to explain myself; something I respected.
We had a back and forth argument Like the explorers. I presented the facts and claims, and she judged them.

They are cunning and cruel.

So am I. She said. It's a part of the job.

They don't act like the other residents. I don't think they care much about the city.

That doesn't make sense. They are the explorers. They find the food we eat. I believe that's more than enough to earn them some freedom.

I couldn't tell her about the premonitions, but I had one more thing to share that I had noticed about them.

I believe, they specifically scouted information on you before the meeting and made up a story about preparations, which you love so much, to leave a good first impression.

Finally, I had something that interested her. She asked me to continue. I did.

I also believe being outside the city all the time has changed them somehow. Not physically, but mentally. When the wave of emotion hit us at the tower, everyone was affected, but they weren't. That shouldn't have happened.

She waited for me to continue, then shook her head upon realizing I had said my piece. That's just another conjunction, another theory. We don't have time for theories. For all we know, he could have been a means of destruction, a conduit of horror none has ever seen, the kind only told in stories… She started thinking. Her antennae calmed, straightened, lowered to the ground. Something had grasped her attention —something about a story. I expected her to come up with a solution, but at the end of her contemplation, she had nothing.

That doesn't matter. She scented out loud, and then to me. It's not enough.

I know. I said. That is why I advise you Princess; please don't take their words on the face value. They must have found something that they are hiding from us. We should investigate ourselves.
What do you think I'm—we are doing here? Turns out she was planning to have the facts checked anyways. She didn't need my meddling after all.

No. It's good to know that you have my back. She patted my head and went forward to ask for help. She said that, to me. I would have been elated if she hadn't just been ignored by a worker carting excess mushroom to the chambers. Her confusion was a surprising thing to behold. It was tidbits of life like these that helped me see who she really was inside the hard and sharp exterior.

These workers are perfectionists and workaholics, princess. Don't waste time stopping someone hard at work; they will ignore you again.

These farmers were a closely-knit bunch. They had been together since their times as egg caretakers. Never forced into community service, or made to work outside. They were some of the best caretakers of their generation and had spent their entire life taking care of us since before our births. And they were bloody good at it. If the explorers deserved some freedom, then they deserved to have some ego, too.

I wanted to lead by example, but a figure purposefully darted toward us from the chambers and started screaming through scent communication after stopping at a very personal space.

You two can't just barge in here like that. Did you even get disinfected? Come with me. She was a nurse and she only let us go after proper and thorough cleansing. Annoying as the process was, the nurse was more help than not. She not only narrated us her account of the aftermath but also provided us a worker to guide us to our destination. Her account didn't amount to much, but the guide was a lot of help.

The little worker was hesitant at first but navigated for us without complaint. She took us to the outer ring of the farm where the workers were planting mushroom buds and fertilizing the beds. Their actions were precise and practiced.

They were but a small part of the workforce that was navigating around us, entering and leaving the deeper rings with white sweet bits clenched in their mandibles.

How many workers actually work here? Princess asked out of bafflement.
There are as many as fifty to two hundred caretakers no a floor at one time, princess.

That was a huge population of workers just managing the farm, but even ten times that number would have been justified because they produced food for a well over a hundred times that number every day. It was a thankless job, but they did it with passion.

We found the one worker among the thousands we were looking for. She was trimming the young mushrooms that hadn't molded to the square shape yet. She wasn't alone at work. There were three more workers helping her. A full-grown mushroom can easily grow to the size of a medium-sized chamber and damage its confinement in most cases. Such a mushroom would take anywhere from twenty to fifty workers to take care of. The one she was working upon was still only a few heads tall; hence uneatable, its excess a waste they would make fertilizer from.

334448 (3rd generation, eighth lay, 3444th worker) our guide called and the worker turned. They want to talk to you about the carcass you found.
Princess interrupted our guide and told the 3444th worker her objective. We want you to take us to the place where you found the corpse.

I have a lot of work to do. 3444th worker complained to our guide. I'm busy. She didn't even address us.
It was no joke when Princess pulled her down from the mushroom, picked her up in the mandibles, and lectured her.
You don't tell me what I can do and can't do. Stop wasting time and just come.

But 3444th silence as she led us across the farm was pretty funny at the time. We couldn't get anything out of her after the incident; I just hoped the few hushed scents that wouldn't lead to unnecessary rumors.

The outer rings had grids a good few heads large and grew one mushroom each. There were pathways between two consecutive grids that made it easy to bypass the whole outer section of the farm.
Further in, the mushrooms grew big and dense, but none touched the other directly.
At the inner ring, they almost touched the ceiling.
Some even had workers trimming the edges to give them the regional square shape, piling the excess on the ground for easier pickings later.

There was no straight path to the center from the inner ring. We had to go around and encompass most of the section, before cutting back toward our destination.

The air there was thick with mushroom spores. 3444th worker was accustomed to it, but we had problems. It clogged our breathing pores and made it difficult to scent anything in the air. It was only thanks to the scent trials laid on the ground that we knew we were on the right path.

3444th worker asked if we wanted to continue. Princess pressed forward, and I blindly followed.

A few minutes later she announced that we were there. The center wasn't a group of mushrooms, but a single one that had grown to the ceiling. Its head encompassed the whole farm! It was the only one that hadn't been shaped. Its white trunk was oval and thicker than four regular mushrooms combined. It was an overwhelming but beautiful thing. The fins underneath its giant grey head were stark red and continuously showered us with tiny spore that made it impossible to sense anything of use —giving credit to the worker's warning.

There was no clue to be found there. Still, Princess tried. She started vibrated her antennae at higher and higher frequencies. 3444th worker tried to stop her. Don't, you will clog your antennae! But the princess didn't listen and the consequences were dire.

Princess complained about flashes of floating antennae, screaming ants and whatnots, as the 3444th worker dragged her behind us. She released a scent of emergency the moment we reached the outer ring and the caretakers gathered. The princess was scrubbed, her antennae passed from many mouths, cleaned as best as they could. I forcibly fed her water as instructed, while the others took her care for five minutes straight; only then did Princess stop hallucinating.

She was quick to get on her feet but stumbled after a single step. I helped her find balance and held her as she fine-tuned her antennae.

It's a no sense zone, princess. Don't do that ever again. We don't want more trouble on our hands. 3444th worker told off. Soon they left us to our own, which was probably for the best.

I bon't beel blean. Princess scented, and spent a good few minutes cleaning her antennae some more. I followed her in the practice; and it turns out I really needed a good rub and scrub, too. Oh, how my antennae vibrated with happiness at the cleanliness of the air around. I sensed chemicals that I hadn't been able to smell before or had forgotten were always around. It's surprising how easily my senses had dulled and I had adapted to the condition, forgetting so much.

Princess interrupted my session; her straight antennae she was conflicted. I found something. She scented.

I wasn't expected that.
What? I excitedly asked, and she delivered fully.

The wooden scent of a termite,

Underload · Oct 3, 2020

There was a termite in the city, and it was alive. I had seen it in the soldier's barracks, at the training facility on the fortieth floor.

Could it be responsible for the ant's death? Was it really killed by the termite? I asked Princess.
I know what I found. She scented, antennae quivering. And it was definitely the scent of a termite. Nothing else emits that wet wood odor. I have no doubt.

Not a single termite's life had been spared on the tower. The soldiers had killed everyone. I know because I was among those who dragged the bodies to the treasury afterward. The soldiers still gorged on their meat; the pit was filled with their skeletons.

However, to imagine one of the termites had slipped past all the soldiers and workers and invaded so deep into the underground city.

It could have harmed the Queen! It could have taken the incubation chambers hostage! And no one would have been able to stop it.

But it hadn't done any of the aforementioned, instead had killed one specific ant from the hundreds and thousands. The action was odd enough to raise alarm in my mind.
I know it's absurd, but what if the termites only raided us to kill the ant; and if so, why?

We discussed but nothing came to mind. It was an absurd thought anyways, not worth mentioning twice. We would need to ask the termite to be sure. More important was the proof that the explorers weren't completely honest with us.
Can you imagine the explorers missing the scent? I was elated but also worried. I only wanted Princess to stay away from them. I didn't want to imagine them working behind our backs to harm the city.

Princess wasn't pleased by my sarcastic comment. Let's ask them. She said, making me wish I had approached the topic sensibly.
The idea of confronting the explorers gave me goosebumps, but when we reached the chamber they were nowhere to be found. The chamber was abandoned; the body had been moved, the explorers, long gone. Only a worker worked inside, scrubbing the lingering scent of death and disinfecting the chamber for future use.
I decided to question the worker. Do you know where they went? Since he was working I wasn't expecting an answer and was surprised when he did.
A few soldiers came to get them. He said. They took the carcass with them. That's all I know.
That was more than I was expecting to know.

How many more coincidences are they going to have in a single day? I blurted out. More like they found out about Princess's discovery and ran away before they could be questioned.

That's enough. She said. We'll confront them when we come around them. Let's focus on what's in front of us, for now. We can figure out our next steps once we have the truth from the termite.

For some reason, she felt really lonely at that moment. She had trusted them. Losing them was bound to hurt.
You can trust me. I told her. It wasn't an empty claim. I hoped she would trust me like she had trusted the explorers like she trusted the Queen. She had saved me when I was at my lowest point in life. My trust was the least I could give her.

Can I — trust you? She asked.
Yes. I said.
She's going to ask you the question, friend. My inner voice jumped in. Are you ready, yet?
I wasn't ready, and it seemed, neither was she.
Okay, She said. I trust you.
And it wasn't an empty claim, either. The phenomenon came down upon me with fanfare that it had only shown once while crowning me a loud-mouthed traitor.

[Royal Guard][Title]
[Be elated, for have found the complete trust of a royal heiress and officially become her royal guard.]
[Effect: You will know when your mistress is in mortal danger.]
[You can find her anywhere in a fifty head radius.]
[You can agree to exchange your life for her one time. The exchange can only be made between two life-forces of equal standing.]

***
The sun was up outside. The air ducts had been opened and the soldiers were moving about. The tunnels were lively, but the tension was still in the air.
On the fortieth floor the soldiers were training again. They had waited the night, now it was time to work. A few were leaving to join the hunting parties. War or no war, the city needed to be fed.
Among the ruckus was a group —quite a large group— that had formed around the pit. Scents ranging from astonishment and amusement to pain and anger hung around them. And they were all pretty elated.
I pushed a few soldiers around to get a clearer view of the commotion. They weren't happy, but the sight of the Princess behind me made them reconsider their approach.
The termite was still in the pit —that was a relief— but it wasn't alone. There was a soldier fighting with it, a bulky one with red striped limbs and dotted chest. He was getting beaten black and blue.
What are they doing?

Had the soldiers fallen in the pit? No. The others were cheering it on, not trying to rescue it. That meant the soldier had voluntarily jumped in the pit with the termites.
He's training? I thought.
No. Princess, scented. The soldier's fighting the termite.

Fighting the termite alone? In a close-range when poison didn't work on them? It was insane!
And such was clear from the soldier's condition; his days would be numbered if he didn't get help soon. He was bleeding from the chest. It had broken. Not cut but broken, caved in, and he was limping on his left side; his middle leg was missing.

The termite was still healthy in comparison and was showing no sign of slowing down any sooner. It was bold and powerful. The fleeting sight of him had sent a shiver down my back last night; up close it gave me goosebumps. I had seen and fought one of them before, but this, though looked the same was a different kind of beast. It was ferocious.

The soldier was pulled out of the pit when the termite got another solid hit into him. The onlookers helped. The termite was literally drowned in poison that surprisingly paralyzed it. Turns out it wasn't immune to poison. The soldiers had already found a way. Where quality hadn't worked quantity had. Though the effect wore off soon, the paralysis gave them enough time to pull the soldier out. The termite was more aggressive once it started moving again. Its effort to escape increased, making the soldiers work harder to keep it in the pit.

Everyone, Princess scented, but there was no response. She tried again but there was again no response. There was too many scents in the air, too many emotions for her to get through — even with her sexual signals. I told her to back off a bit and blasted a wave of pheromones amidst the crowd.

EVERYONE! I blasted and the soldiers stopped moving.

Last time this maneuver had overwhelmed the soldier chasing me and sent her into a frenzy. This time I hadn't dumped all my chemicals into the wave and it only got the soldier's attention. The effect wore off a snap later and they were bubbling with curiosity again; this time toward me.
What was that?
I felt like someone had poked me in my brain.
Yeah, and taken my brew.
—And made me drink poison instead. Yuck, I can still taste it in my mouth.
The voices were many and rowdier than before. Princess wasn't any help. The commotion was too much for her to take.
Everyone! Their attention fell on me and the commotion hushed. It was the perfect time to say my piece.
Does anyone know where this termite was caught? I waited for a response. There was none. I continued, more out of desperation than need. It's very important that we know this information. We believe this termite is responsible for the death of a guest from the far-city.

The soldiers stated scenting again, making conversation, but not the kind I wanted to hear.

Hey, isn't he the one who barged into the barracks last night and scared everyone? There was a hushed whisper, but it found wind when the others started recognizing me.
Yeah, and I recognize the princess. She pushed the prison guards in a rush, and one even got hurt. What was she saying? None had gotten hurt!
Then someone made a comment that instantly pacified me.
Can you smell it? He has the smell of the stuff: The thing that the slaves eat. Is he one of them?
A few antennae turned toward me. I pulled away as they touched and felt me, caressed my face and body, and then they pulled away as if scared of touching me.

The smell is faint, but it's there.
He's one of them!
He's not, but I know them both. They like to go down there.
He even looks like them with his ugly mug and limp, mean and green.
My heart thrummed. They had found out! This was why I was scared of associating with the slaves.
That's enough! Princess bellowed out. Answer or I'm complaining to the commander.

What will he do? Send us to war? One gibed. The others let out amusement.
They didn't anger but stupefied me. I had always seen the soldiers as these disciplined, battle-hardened figures that could be relied upon, but for the first time, I felt like they were not better than the workers who had outcasted me.

What I didn't consider was the stress they were under. The night had been hard on them. Not everyone wanted to go to war. War and revenge sound good in stories, but in reality, are things that should be stayed away from. Many must have felt that way. They were bound to let loose in some way. Brawling with the termite was an extreme way of letting loose, but I was an easy target.

However, not everyone shared the sentiment.
Who's asking? A drunken scent rose midst the cursing and the sarcasm.
I'm the royal guard of Princess Tinbuji. I let out in desperation, eyes, and antennae focused to locate the scent's source.
An ant stepped out of the mass and approached me. I looked at the princess and she teetered to my side. All around the soldiers were becoming rowdy again and had started pushing each other. Even the termite in the pit was growing aggressive. For some reason, I felt its antennae on me. The sensation was cold enough to chill my chest.
We exchanged our ID's and she commenced the conversation. What do you want to know? She asked. She was an old one, a rare one more than a thousand days old! Even her scars had scars of their own.

I told her the story and she disagreed. Outside the prison is where I found it, dazed and lost. As for why I didn't kill it? Call it a coincidence. We had just finished this pit for the purpose of training against steep climbs with enemy troops atop. Now, I have fought termites in wars before, but none were quite like it, neither this big nor hard. So I decided to keep it to train the kids. Since we are on the cusp of a new war. You can't be surprised if you know what to expect.
And it followed you all the way down here?
It quietly followed me to the floor, yes. She said, though even she knew how hard to believe that statement was. It only became aggressive at the entrance. We managed as you can see; Anything else? She asked.

Be careful! Princess suddenly scented. The soldier acted before I could react. I felt betrayed when the soldier pushed me back. Surprise and horror overtook the feeling when I watched a pair of mandibles held her from the chest and lift her up from the ground. There was a sharp crunch and the soldier lifelessly fell to either sides of the termite. The termite had broken free.

Finally, I sensed the damn scent of alarm floating in the air with my broken antennae. The termite had pulled a guard down and killed it, then climbed over and caught the 2564th soldier.

Get up! Princess pulled me to my feet as the soldiers drowned the termite in poison, a technique that should have paralyzed it, but didn't. It decapitated a gunner and turned toward us. I was right about it being engrossed with me. It charged through the soldiers toward us.

A soldier managed to get his mandibles around its hind leg. The termite slowed but didn't stop and pulled the soldier along. Another tried to catch it but died to its mandibles before she could get on.

Princess was frozen still. This was not supposed to happen. I separated from her. It followed me. I ran. A soldier rammed her mandibles into its abdomen — Useless. Nothing seemed to phase it. Another soldier dragged from its middle leg. The termite struggled and faltered when another got on its back. Its legs buckled and it fell to the ground, screeching. More soldiers piled atop of it as it struggled to get its legs under its body, but the soldiers knew how to handle large adversaries. They stretched its legs flat on the ground, completely immobilizing it in seconds.

One tried to kill it. I charged into the soldiers and pushed her away as she tried to stab her mandibles into the termite's head.
Don't, I said. We need it alive.
You want more of us to die? The soldier blasted. A storm of pheromones was forming around us. The alarm was spreading, engulfing everyone's sanities.

No! Another tried to get past me flaring the scent of valor, high on the thrill. I pushed my mandibles into his, deflecting them. The graphical squiggles overrode my sight for a second before I willed them away. I had no time for them.
Princess! I yelled. Quickly, do it quickly. The soldiers were advancing. Sanity was being forgotten under the effect of the alarm raised by those young. Soon they would be rushing to tear the termite apart, and anyone that tried to stop them along with it. She tried to push toward me, but the soldiers were many and she too far. She couldn't make it.
I sensed her desperation from our new link. Not, now, her eyes seemed to be saying. We are so close. Not now. We had finally found a clue. She had only overlooked the explorers because she had somewhere else to concentrate her thoughts. How could I have let the soldiers kill the termite when it was her only hope?

The termite stirred. I was still parrying soldiers when it somehow got its hind legs free and jumped. Next thing I knew, I was underneath it, the soldiers rushing at us, its mandibles around my chest and pain flourishing inside me. I tolerated the pain. I heard the soldiers raise the banner of death for the termite and panicked. Amidst their rage was the sweet calling of the princess. But it was faint and almost indistinguishable. I tried to move but there was no wiggle room. Moreover, with my legs were facing up, my struggle was meaningless.

They stabbed the termite. Its mandibles loosened. I trying to swivel away when its antennae flashed in front of my eyes, reminding me of my purpose.
It is too late. It's already dying. The little voice inside me said.

It was right; the glow was fading from the termite's eyes. I felt life draining from my chest. Then the glow flickered and grew stronger. It was a horrifying realization, but also a chance. I wrapped my antennae around it's and the world grew silent. First, I felt nothing, and then my whole consciousness was pulled into the termite's mind.

Its metabolism had stopped, heart growing cold, nervous cortex shutting off. His memories were decaying. A black fog of Death was quickly spreading from the edges of its memory vertices and toward the central node, sucking the life out of the memory tendrils that had grown off from the main roots.
I was surprised but forced my perception toward its central node where I found carnage, hunger, and darkness. Past them was a layer of fear and love. Something had already decayed its most precious memories. What I saw were small flashes of color amidst an eternity of darkness.

It had an unquenchable hunger; a pain that was eating it from the inside and it was spreading. Then I saw a sight — his first one. There was a tree, one that shouldered the sky. It had hundreds and thousands of branches and an uncountable number of roots. Millions upon millions of termites lived inside it — gorging it from the inside, growing numerous and strong. There was pain, not from the termites, but from the tree. The tree cried and its cry resonated with the termite, making it angry. Only a few heard the cry and something changed in them. I wanted to see more, but the vision cut off. There was darkness, then there was a flash of light and I was pulled away from the termite's mind. I believed I was returning back to my mind, but I was wrong!

I was pulled into the tree: up the hollow roots, into the tunnels gorged through the entirety of its dying husk. I passed through cavities (wounds) some thriving (infested) and others abandoned (dead). I stopped in front of the light at the heart of the tree, a dark sphere that had a violet glow.
Behind it, something moved. It was a giant beast, a horrible creation. It opened its serrated maw that encompassed the whole world and swallowed me.
I woke up.
I tried to stand, but someone held me. Stay, they released; it was a familiar scent. I was close enough to see who it was but didn't have to. Princess stood behind a wall of colorful notifications. I willed them to go away, but they persisted. I ignored them the best I could.
I was wet and cold, not freezing but at a nice temperature to stop my injuries from flaring. She looked tired. I tried to stand up again and she slapped me gently on the head. Stay still. She said. What else could I do?
After some time she moved onto stretching my limbs. I felt embarrassed.
What happened? I asked her to keep my thoughts from straying.
You lost consciousness. She scented nonchalantly.

She made it seem like it was nothing. I wanted to press her for more information, but let the thoughts go. Other things took precedence.
What happened to the termites?

It died. It was already dying and the internal connection completely burned out its mind. She raised her face and looked at me with her oval eyes. That was pretty foolish of you. If I hadn't pulled you out at the right time your mind would have died along with its. You came this close —she put her face right in front of mine, not even a hairsbreadth separating us apart— to dying.

She pulled back before anything could happen. Though my drumming heart said something had happened.

Did you find anything? She asked.
I tried to remember, but my memory was a mess. There were flashes of what I had seen, but also pain that came from trying to remember more than what I already could.
I don't' know. I told her and She believed me.
I was doing a final check of my antennae when the ground started vibrating. It wasn't a passing tremor, but the city coming to life. Something had happened while I was unconscious. Princess confirmed my thoughts.
Messengers arrived from the western border city, Akhari-Killa-Ji, baring grave news. They are under siege. She told me. We are at war.

Underload · Oct 3, 2020

The soldiers stood united under the Kingdoms banner. Some sung old war ballads and others drummed the ground with their abdomens. Every legion had their scent flag waving above their heads: a thousand of them total. That was a hundred thousand soldiers, half of our total population! It showed the Queen's determination. The termites had angered the sleeping giant.

There were soldiers, and then there were the slaves. They had finally been let out of the dark cave deep underground. They barely made a tenth of the total numbers and stood stark compared to the soldiers.
Midst them was no fanfare, no flags or singing, and drumming.

They were the ants from conquered lands that had been reared as slaves; they were the captured, the won, and the useless. They were the dead ones walking that had no right to enjoy the festivities of the living.
Soldiers and slaves — they'll be sharing the same war, but playing different roles. The living will be fighting the war for valor; the dead will be fighting for a chance at life.

The commander appeared from the broken part of the tower. None accompanied him. He stood alone facing his soldiers.

At ease, soldiers, the order fell from the tower. The wind was blowing away from him, bringing his words to each and everyone on the ground.

Peace, he started, comes at a price. And it's costly to keep. We have been at peace with our neighbors for so long that even mere termites don't consider us a threat anymore. They have forgotten the fire that burned them away from this patch of land. The soldiers stirred. They have forgotten the chance we gave them. They begged for life and we allowed them to run to the west, to the land beyond the desert of white glowing sand. It has not even been three complete generations since and suddenly, they have grown a pair of wings, and think they can challenge us? The scents grew heavier. The flags rose higher and higher. The drumming became incessant. We showed pity when there should have been none. We gave mercy when we should have uprooted them from this word. Not again.

The activities stopped. Everyone raised their heads, antennae straight in the air, faces determined and ready. The commander passed the verdict.

It's time we burn the termite's existence out of our neighborhood, once and for all!
Ho! The soldiers cried. Even I found my heart pounding when I like many others were simply bystanders.

The sun glared from the sky as the progression marched past the boundary watched by the sentries and slowly disappeared into the thicket to the west. The scents they had raised hovered over the city for an instant before being swept away to the nearby regions by the wind, striking fear into the hearts of the trespassers living in our territory.

We were at war, but the city didn't understand this. It demanded to be taken care of without caring for the sentiments of its residents.
Since the sky was clear and sunny, the workers decided to open the air ducts that had been blocked since the thunderstorm. They would open the closed tunnels when the time was right. With the city suddenly losing half its population, the existing chambers were enough to house the remaining population. Priorities like repairing the tower, stocking firewood, and bringing leaves into the city to increase mushroom growth took precedence.

The need for protein never dwindles, because the larvae require a strict protein diet to grow healthy and strong. Since the queen would be laying eggs at a quicker pace to fill the numbers, it would be impossible to feed the whole city on a diet of protein. The mushroom farm was going to play a large role in getting us through.

It all meant further delay in the completion of Princess Tinbuji's personal abode, where she would be laying eggs after becoming a queen.

That being said, there was one thing that bothered me personally. There was this one notification that had been pestering me all day, ever since I had regained consciousness. I had tried to will it away like usual, but it was persistent. It said it was a notification log. I had no idea what it meant.

Later, our scouts returned from the neighboring cities bearing good news. The cities had agreed to send reinforcements to the west. The scouts weren't late. There was just no time to wait for reinforcements. The 34th city was already under siege. If the soldiers had waited the city would have fallen by the time they reached it.

As for the Princess, she kept busy around the farm and sent me off to supervise the worker under me. There was a new tension to her that hadn't been there before. The only time she relaxed was upon learning that the completion of her chamber would be further delayed, which was unusual from my point of view.
She had hoped to get valuable information out of the termite. It was supposed to solve the mystery and light our path, but it had died worthlessly. We needed to know their motive, not where they lived and their surprisingly bludgeoning population. It was no wonder the termites dared expand their way into our territory. The numbers were in their favor.

Since I was not required by her, I spent the morning supervising the workers at the tower. It was the only way I could help. The workers weren't pleased to see me and they made sure to let me know that they meant business. Keeping them working was a headache in itself, but regularly cleaning the cement that they mistakenly threw at me every now and then was a bigger nuisance than I had first considered. I believed it to be a harmless joke since the cement could be easily cleaned off —unless it hardens. That's when you risk losing the affected area, which was their purpose in playing the sick joke on me.

It was while our shift was coming to an end when the workers forgot all niceties, and it set me off. Show me what you have got, I thought out loud. Though it didn't make the workers even hesitate, it did send the persistent notification that had been hovering at the center of my sight, into an explosion of colorful messages and characters, some familiar, but the majority of them were not.

You have killed a puppet of gluttony.
Experience gained.
Congratulations! You have leveled up.
Frankly, I did wonder if you'd ever reach this point. But here you are. Better late than sorry, I guess.

Your status network has connected to the Stellar Transformative and advanced transcribe of the user's subconscious aka The System.

Personal status can be viewed at the user's discretion.
Note: Please take note not to show your personal information to anyone.

(.1) points were automatically distributed to your constitution. (.1) points were automatically distributed to your strength.

You have been gifted skill for analyzing the contents of the status.
Skill: Analyze acquired.
[With this skill you can analyze the contents of your status to your heart's content.]

[Analyze][Tier-1][Lv-1/10][Active]
[You must have been wandering around the river of your status like a lost duckling. This one will guide you.]
[Use: speak the word Analyze, and repeat what you want to be analyzed.]

I had been trying to find something about the phenomenon, a spark I could work with, but what I got was more than just a little something. I got enough to build a fire that could easily burn me.

It was a scary change but was also a chance to ask the questions I had been holding back.

The moment we completed our shift I found myself a secluded place and started thinking. There were more than enough such places in the city. Even on the tenth floor, where I was at, there were tens of abandoned chambers. Some had been taken over by the elements and others couldn't be finished because of impossible to navigate obstructions like giants rocks and dried roots to name some. I was inside one such chamber, palpitating with excitement and worry, looking at something unexplainable.

STATUS: 5-6-99
Level & Rank	1/10 [0]	Willpower	Low-Low
Endurance	12.5/13.4	Dexterity	Low-Low
Mana	0/8.4	Perception	Low-Low
Species	Ember Ant (Common)	Hardness	Low-Low
End Reg. (.4/hour)	Mana reg. (0/hour)	Calories	10/13.1
Stat gain/Level: +.1 CONS, +.1 STR/ +.1 AGI
Strength	.9	Intelligence	1.5
Agility	.6	Wisdom	1.2
Charisma	0.0	Luck	0
Greed	42	Constitution	2.5
Titles:	Master of Greed, Loud mouthed Traitor, Royal Guard
Skills:
Sin	Greed(-)
Racial	Digging(5), I.C(1), Ant sense(3), Bite(2), Absorption(4), Pheromone Control(2), Climb(1), Tracking(3), Balance(3), Hibernation(1)
General	Universal Tongue(n/a), Breathing(3), Movement(3), Memory(3), Patience(5), Focus(5), Hygiene(7), Tenacity(1), Toughness(1), Anger(1), Sight(1), Roll(1), Dodge(1), Feather fall(1), Vigor(1), Examine(1),
Utility	Confusion(1), Map(1),Charge(1), Stab(1),
Resistance	Thermal(1), Poison(1), Acid(1), Charm(1), Stress(1), Strain(1), Mental Corruption(1), Overwhelm(1), Pain(1)
Mastery	Bare handed(1), Sharp Weapon(1)

It was a complicated piece, this thing called status. Something told me I should get accustomed to the sight for I would be seeing it fairly regularly. However, there were too many squiggles, too many characters, all too personal and bold.

It wasn't the answer I was looking for. But it was something. Or was I asking the wrong questions? I would have to wait and see.

I calmed myself. I could worry and hurry or I could be patient and focused; I had to take one thing at a time. The latest squiggles had told me the skill or as I called it, the phenomenon called Analyze would help me figure out my problems. The next steps were easy to figure out.

The word skill was the first thing I analyzed because that's what my sight was, a skill. It had been the most prominent of all. Many had come and gone, but none was quite like it.

Analyze: skill: Skills are your abilities, honed or acquired, by repetition or from knowledge. Every action that has affects you, another, or the environment can be a skill. Mostly categorized as General, Utility, and else. Training improves a skill, and hence its performance. Levels detail your mastery or proficiency over one. Lower tiered skills are easier to master compared to higher-tiered ones, but the reward also varies accordingly. Skills can be further categorized as passive and active once. Passive ones enhance you without order, whereas the active ones have to be active to earn the desired effect.

It listed important things, but none that answered my question. Therefore, I decided to try acquiring a skill before moving on to see how that process worked.

I had wanted to learn the aged warrior's antennae whip since the first time she had slapped me with it. She had told me to use what I had, and I wanted it as my ability.

Nervous and excited, I moved my antennae-like her. At least I tried moving them that way. However, nothing happened. My antennae were stiff and weak compared to hers. She could whip them with force behind it to create a snap. It didn't help that her antennae were of an odd length for an ant; they were aggressively huge.

The differences were many, but they weren't enough to stop me. I knew I couldn't whip, but I could at least flick them. When I flicked my antennae the notification appeared, just like that.

Nice flick, slick. I wonder what you are going to do with it. Show her your flick and brag, of course!
You have acquired a new skill: Antennae Whip.

[Antennae Whip][Tier-1][Lv-1/10][Active]
[It forces your antennae to move in such a way that the clubbed end strikes with a snap at the end of it.]
[Effect: Consumes .3 calories/ whip.]

I didn't do much, but I got the skill. However, when I flicked there was no sound. Then I remembered that charge was a skill that I had to agree to use. I agreed to use the antennae whip.

Lo and behold, my antennae moved like something possessed. There was a whip and the unforgettable sound —that snap at the end— and also a sharp pain. The pain wasn't important, but the knowledge that the phenomenon called the system could override my control and force action through me was worrisome. The whip was performed while in reality, I could barely flick my antennae.

I couldn't think what to make of the system and its powers. What was it? An infection of the kind that slowly takes over your body, a tool made to subvert actual knowledge with a false promise that could be broken anytime, or just a method to facilitate further learning. Because if I was left to my devices I knew the whipping action would take me an unknown length of time to learn, but if I learned by following the actions of the skill, I would have a healthy learning chance, and an easier time than any teacher could provide.
So if I was to accept it, I would have a teacher that would more not just show me actions, but move me through them.

I decided to look further into the status before deciding anything.

Analyze: Endurance: Endurance is the limit of damage or abuse your body can take. Everything from walking to getting hurt takes endurance. You die when it reaches zero.

Analyze: Strength: Strength is a physical attribute representing your physical ability. It affects the damage you deal and the hardness of your body. The upper limit of hardness depends upon your strength and constitution.

The word called attribute got my attention. I analyzed it, too.

Analyze: Attribute: Attributes are the representation of your qualities. Certain actions, prolonged training, and skill levels increase the value of your attributes, strengthening you as a whole being, and increasing your natural limits. Usually leveling up is the quickest way of increasing them, but training skill levels is also a highly sought-out method of raising attributes.

Skills affected attributes. It meant the status was not just a record! It was also a means of improving the physical body beyond the natural limits. That is what I understood, and why I got excited. This explained why I could easily penetrate the termite's exoskeleton when others had to force their way in!
I get stronger the more skills I have?

I didn't know at the time how small I was thinking.

My heart thrummed. I hadn't gotten this excited since I had found out that my method of digging was way superior to the others. But I didn't lose my focus. It's not bad to be excited about something, but my digging had led to much disappointment and resentment. For all my excitement this time could have been no different.

We will have to see. And to reach that place, I would have to accept it, which weighing the pros and cons was undoubtedly the better option.
I should ask others for help.

What others? My inner voice asked. Do you even have someone else you have been hiding? Are you talking about the princess? Yes she trusts you, but are you sure you want to share this thing with her, even though it might be dangerous?

I moved on. It went on and on until I was done with all of the words represented on the status. Surprisingly, analyzing status simply brought the panel to the front. The notifications had been coming and going free of my influence, to think I could also influence them made me feel good.

***
I left the chamber dazed, but highly impressed and also conflicted.

From what I had learned, the phenomenon that was called a status was not a natural thing. I had connected to it through the essence of Greed that was the hateful pebbled I had found. And that it could enhance my body. For what purpose or at what price, it didn't say and I couldn't figure.

I decided to remain vigilant, but also accept the phenomenon since it was already a part of me. The other annoying things could be dealt with in the future. Also, I needed the strength that was being promised.
I found Princess in the royal chambers, but I wasn't allowed to go in. She was in distress, but not in mortal danger. I knew because I was her royal guard, and not just in name.

I left a message with the guard: I'll be on the forty-first floor if you need me. She was dumbfounded upon hearing what I was admitting to but didn't say anything otherwise.

I returned to the slave quarters with a bounce in my steps. I felt invigorated, empowered. There were pointed antennae and name-calling from the few soldiers training on the preceding floor, but no physical harassment. However, for the first time, their jeers felt like mere shackles they had lain to bind me. And they had no effect on me.
There were fewer wounded and recovering in the usually clamorous corridor that led to the crystal lit cavern. The pheromones in the air were also lighter, of worry and fear, rather than pain and death. It was an odd sight to witness.
Since all the slaves had been taken away as war resources I believed the crystal lit cavern at the end of the tunnel to be empty. But there were many bodies milling about, mostly workers, but here and there were a few soldiers resting or practicing.

I found the aged warrior sitting on the ledge. The young soldier, her apprentice, was moving in front of her. Many of the workers about were taking care of the fungus, but even the few present couldn't hide how desolate the cavern looked. I was not used to the bustle that populated the cavern halls, but instantly knew the emptiness would be impossible to get familiar with.

I approached the aged warrior and she almost stood up upon seeing me.

You, she said then shook her head. She went deep into thoughts, contemplating something.
I heard what happened yesterday. The soldier said. Have to give it to you; you are pretty stubborn for someone your size.

There is no hesitation in you today. Something must have happened. She said.
Of course, something happened! The kid got taken out by a termite! I can't believe the humilia—

There was a loud snap and the soldier was limping around in a frenzy, cursing he aged warrior and calling her an old hag.

What did you realize? The aged warrior asked me, not paying attention to the soldier. Did you figure out your fourth lesson?

No. I said. That I haven't figured out.

Then why are you here? She scented. I didn't detect sarcasm from her. She was solemn, nostalgic. I did remember her saying she would be the first one to leave for the war if she could. But she was here and alone.

What happened last night was what had caused me to hesitate in the first place. I was afraid of being hated by the soldiers, but someone told me it didn't matter. All that mattered was how I felt about what I was doing. Sure, the others might not be happy with my decision, but if I was happy then that was all that mattered.

She didn't look surprised, so I whipped my antennae at her. She easily deflected but was astonished.
I don't know what the fourth lesson is, I continued. But now I know that I have much more to learn. What I learned from you saved my life. I am sure that if it's you, you can help improve my skills.

She looked at the soldier who clicked at her in annoyance and she busted out in amusement.

Kids always keep demanding for more. You want to learn how I can catch you sneaking up to me, and you want to hurt me don't you? Then come let's see how much abuse your young skeletons can take.

Ten minutes later, I was running around the aged warrior in circles, the soldier was in front of me, and we both wished to die.

What I believed was a figure of speech was her actual true intentions. She was really trying to break my skeleton.

She made me run with my lame leg and its opposite clenched up to the base of my thorax. She said it was easier to learn running with four legs instead of five. I don't know where she was getting her information, but I had been getting around on five limbs just fine. This, however, was torturous.

It wasn't easy holding the legs clenched, but running on top of it was painful. Worst was our supposed trainer who was hitting me every time I tried to stop. She was juggling between me and the soldier without breaking a sweat, while I was on the verge of breaking down. If this was the level of someone aged as her, I wondered what the battlefield looked like where thousands of warriors like her fought together.

She wanted us to dodge her tearing whips without looking at which we were failing spectacularly.

My mind was starting to wander, and I was hurting in the areas where it shouldn't. There were a few skills that I had acquired, but I was dying there.

Why are you stopping? Is this it? Didn't you beg me to teach you? Where did that fire go? She whirled her antennae at me, striking me the end of my sensitive bottom! My feet automatically picked up the pace. Since my antennae were not healing properly she wanted me to learn a different form of sense. Apparently, there was no better method of doing it than running for my life.

Do you sense anything yet?
No!
The Whip struck the top of my abdomen.
How about now?
NO!
It nicked my chest.
Do you like to get beaten up?
NO!
She made me trip. I fell hard and almost didn't get up.
Are you giving up? Is this all you had to learn?
NO! I answered. I had to keep answering. The soldier already knew, but I learned the lesson of not answering her back the hard way.
She struck me in the head when I was getting up and faltered back to it.
Doesn't the ground feel good? Don't you want to sleep?
NO!

She took a step in. I felt her shift behind me. Something moved. It was fast and coming for my eye. I tried dodging, but I was tired and as a result too slow. The clubbed end of her antennae struck me fairly on the head and I went down to the ground again. However, thoughts erupted in my head instead of the usual cursing.

What was that?

The answer came in the form of a notification.

Lo and behold, he has now woken up to the senses of a soldier. Wait for it and he'll be dumb like them too.
You have acquired sensitive hearing.

[Sensitive hearing][Tier-1][Lv-1/10][Passive][Racial]
[Antennae hair and feet together make the three advanced sensory organs of an ant. Every ant can use its antennae to sense and feet to sense, you have just opened to the new sense that is the combination of sensory information you receive from the vibration under your feet and the signals of your hair.]
[Effect: It allows you to sense your surroundings.]
[Reward: Your Wisdom and Intelligence increases by .1 points every skill level.]

Then I felt it again. It was a feeling akin to being poked, an alarming sensation. I rolled forward on impulse. The snap came from my previous position and I knew I had made the right decision. I steadied myself and got back on my feet, facing her. I was learning to roll, instead of letting the system push my body through the motions. It was an awkward maneuver to perform, but I was getting better at it.

The aged warrior had stopped moving, antennae hanging freely in front of her face. The soldier by her side was equally perplexed. They still hadn't gotten over the rolling. They called it un-ant-like.

You got the feeling, did you not?
I nodded.
Keep on to the feeling. Let's keep practicing so you don't forget the sensation.
Wait, what happened? He got hit, how is that a success?

Stop complaining you smelly brat. Move your body, not your mind if you want to learn something, too. You have been at this thing for the past three days; about time your blasted bottom received a whipping. She moved to hit him as he pulled back. But something caught her attention and went past him. Go play with each other. She scented. I'm too tired.

***
Finally, I faltered. Nothing was left in me. I got up to eat the fungus, but the soldier stopped me.
You don't want to eat that.
Why? I asked.
Right now you only have an odor of the fungus on you. It will disappear with time. However, you eat that thing and you'll be one of us. I got up to rebuke him, but then he said something that didn't make much sense. And there is no place in society for those who eat that.

Weren't the slaves promised life if they returned alive?

Yes. He said and left me. I asked him to stop but he didn't listen. It was a worrying behavior, but I was too tired to worry about someone else. I fell asleep.

It was high noon when I left the cave. By this time our soldiers would have reached the city and started fighting the termites.

The scouts had returned baring news from the neighboring cities. The help was being sent. There was also news of a scout from the 43rd city on way to the city.

As the chief, the commander had ridden out with force, leaving the city to the government, which was basically a committee made of the various department heads. One of them was the head of the treasury who announced the need for immediate recovery of the food wasted on the war effort.

Harvesters were to ride and bring back food to fill the empty treasury.

It had slept but my mind was still wandering. It was in this drunken stupor that I collided with someone. He was a winged male, a royal captain, steering a team of the harvester on a mission to gather food.

Be careful. He said and started walking. I knew him. He was the one who had led the team to the mountain region, the one that had found the termites. Something came over me as I blocked his path and scented out louder than I was expecting to. Honestly, I'm glad I did it.

Captain, I called. Can you get us to 47th city?

Underload · Oct 3, 2020

Where do you think they'll send us this time? Black asked, waving an antenna at a soldier who was trying to get his attention. Incidents like this happened regularly.
A week had passed since their struggle with the nefarious eight-legged goliath. Their immunity period had ended. The soldiers though were still as excited to see them as they were when they had walked the carcass into the city.
The soldiers some gave the wide berths to pass through, others expressed their joy by touching them. They had officially become the most popular group in the whole army; and it was a cause of concern.

I only know one thing. Green said shying away from the crowd forming around them. I don't want to be sent off to catch birds, again. Last time we went they almost took me in the air. It's only luck that I survived.
You know a drop can't kill you right? Black refused a worker that had come to offer him water. Being from the army his popularity had soared overnight and climbed a new peak because they would be attempting another mission now.
You don't know where you'll fall! Getting lost would be the end of me. Green retaliated.
Black released amusement. How will he army fare if in the forest if even the scouts start losing their way?

The command center became visible at a distance. Even from far, it looked menacing, a giant back ball that pulsed with life ever so slightly.
It was a bivouac, a living breathing structure made up of workers linking their bodies together. There were only two other structures of this kind. One called the mother node was where the Queen resided. It was almost as large as a medium-sized beehive and had a complex system of food storage chambers and chambers to store the eggs. The queen should have stopped laying eggs a week ago, but she was still going strong at it.
The army should have moved away by now to a new place. It was already becoming hard for them to find enough food to feed every mouth. It was about time the army stopped resting and started hunting for another residence.
I told you it would work. Green said.
You claimed no such thing. Red jumped at her. If anything, you almost had us attacked. How could you forget to inform the scouts of our plan when L-Leader had specifically told you what to do?
Not you too Red! I thought we were on good terms!
Oh, yes, we were.
There was another one of those bivouacs close to the command center. It had been recently raised as a temporary residence for the merchants. The merchants, everyone knew who they were. They were the bloodsuckers of the ant society. They didn't hunt and lived in a symbiotic relationship with others.
The ones residing in the bivouac were famous for espionage. It was only thanks to their Intel's that the army's success rate at capturing cities had soared over the past few months.

Green shook her head to straighten the antennae that had arched from disgust. I don't know how they live inside these gross things. She said out loud, addressing no one in particular. I get a headache from simply being around one.
Do you hear me complaining? Black told her directly. I don't say anything about your kinds hiding under the ground! So you don't get to say anything about how the army lives. I might be an outcast, but I still have my pride.
But look at them! Green urged, antennae blatantly pointing.
You know very well I can't see anything. Black retorted.
I mean it stinks. Just being near one causes sensory overload. It is no wonder everyone stays away from one.
She was right. The bivouacs were like a living breathing being. If one looked closely they could even see the individual ants moving slightly to shift the weight around. Silver noticed a few such movements, antennae dancing, and legs fluttering.

The inside of the complex skittered into motion when they entered. It was a surreal experience for sure; but what was the point of having so many eyes to spy on you? It never failed to amaze him. Things were done differently in his home city, more traditionally.

He couldn't see anything outside, but the scents were easily bypassing the thick living walls of the bivouac. He agreed with Green regarding the creepiness of it, but even he admitted to the soundness of the structure and the sheer functionality of it.

Inside, the commanders waited for him. Silver concerned them enough to warrant the presence of a group of guards to protect themselves. They stood between him and the commanders, passive-aggressively telling him to not come any closer. For the commanders, the others didn't matter. He knew their current life would end if he left and they would be thrown back into slavery. The reason why he hadn't left even when the command was ready to free him, even take him to a nearby city of his choice.
However, today the commanders weren't alone. The merchants were also with them. They stood at the side, observing.

What are they doing here? Black made a scented whisper behind him.

He had been teaching them to control their scents in the free time, but they weren't any good yet. It takes time to learn the exact concentrations of chemicals to release and the control to make it happen. If done right the molecules break down right after being emitted and get absorbed by the dirt instead of bouncing off and spreading.

I don't like this. Red scented. You all know the rumors. If they are true then we might have a bigger problem on our hands than being disbanded. No matter what, don't agree to their terms.
I know. Silver whispered. The chemicals disintegrated only a second later without spreading. It was a feat demanding praise, but it no longer surprised the others. They had already praised him enough to last a few lifetimes.

They wanted us. That is why they stayed a week this time. Yellow scented. He didn't like speaking but cut directly to the heart of the matter when he did. He was called the finest marksman because of his ability to see through his target, not just find him.

The merchants had come to visit on the day they had hunted the goliath. They were about to find out if he was right or wrong.
Carnage, the commander of the sixth division, or long bottom as he was better known in the army, tried to say something but the chief in command, a goliath of an ant himself, interrupted him.

You are here. Let's start.

Here we go. Green scented. She was free-spirited and didn't believe in control; also the reason why she was hit on the head and forced to shut up. This time she deflated under Blacks fiery gaze.

You should know the difficulties we have been facing to gather food. The chief waited for a response and started when he got none. He wasn't expecting one anyway. He simply liked to do things thoroughly. The resting period is coming to an end and, for better or for worse. We need a new place to anchor, one as far away from here as possible. Do I need to tell you why?
Silver didn't anything, again.
You! Long bottom started and was cut off again.

Suit yourself. The chief said. You are not going to find a new place. I'' be frank. We have our difference, Silver. And you know they can't be helped. But the army has its tradition and rules and they call for fairness. Don't worry; your task is not to find us a new place. The first battalion is already at it.

Instead, we want you to go to the other side of the river, and rob a farm. Should be simple enough, right.
***
A family of snails lazed under a rotting log lying some distance from the riverside.

Silver's slaved had finally found them. As for what it had to do with getting to the other side of the river? Silver had asked the same question to the merchants and they had given him a simple statement in response: everything.
If they had done it to get a rise out of him he would have understood. The army wanted to disband his unit, the slaved he had saved, mocked as slaved in the army.
He knew the merchants had told him the truth, just not in the clearest of ways. Well, they lauded themselves for profiting from the information. And it as exactly the kind of answer he expected from them.
It wasn't easy to find the snails in the hot environment. Morning and evening, that's when they are usually seen, and ignored; because no one in their right mind eats their slimy chewy bodies. They are too slippery to catch; their sliminess being too much trouble for too little a reward. Sure there are those that specifically hunt them, but they are usually left alone.

And as silver had known and could see, the things usually said about them were all true. A quarter of unit was already writhing on the ground, covered from head to toe in the slimy glue. Immobility was simply one of the effects of the slime; it also interfered with their antennae, blocked pores, made it difficult to breathe, and attracted dirt that hardened around the body.

Another cause of humiliation was that their poison didn't work on the snails and mandibles simply slip off. Snails produce copious amounts of slime that protect them by creating a barrier between their body and the environment.
It was almost a spectacle to watch his soldiers getting harassed by the target and failing miserably at their task.
Silver wasn't watching the spectacle alone. The merchants stood by his side and were also pretty amused. Aren't you going to help them? They asked him.
No. he said, plainly. They watched him for signs of stress or humiliation; there were none. He looked like a proud father waiting for his children to solve the problem.
You, don't seem to like us. Their spokesperson continued.
There is someone who likes you? Silver taunted.

They seemed to appreciate his sarcasm, even encouraged him to speak more. Silver ignored them, but it only made them happier and incessant. They had a charm to them that made it difficult to ignore them for long, but Silver was doing it and they wanted to know-how, his secret.
Well, of course, everyone likes us, unless they don't think they need us. Do you not need us?

What do you think?

We think you need us more than you think you do. We can help you and you know it. Not with this task of yours, but on a personal level. We won't harry you if you don't want to talk right now. We know you will come around. Everyone always does. Still, are you sure you are not going to help them? They are taking too long. The merchant pointed an antenna at the group struggling to get a snail down from the plant.

It had climbed atop the leaves after being pestered by them. They had tried to stop the snail, but it had slipped away. It looked relaxed sitting at the leaf, filling its stomach. Even its knobular eyes had stood swelling. Perhaps, it considered itself out of danger?

The rest of the snails had been encircled and were being milked for their slime. That's right. For some reason the merchants wanted them to collect the slime before their journey to the other side of the river. Silver had no idea what it was for. Red had been thinking since he had heard of the thing, and still hadn't come up with anything. The rest were useless in the thinking department and were therefore of no help.
Though Green did have an idea, it was too crazy to invest any kind of resource into. She believed one could walk on water when covered in the slime. Of course, even she didn't dare test the theory. Still, Black was told to keep an eye on her. You just never know with her —when something might popup to get her attention, making her go whoosh to the river and plop into her death.

How much more do we need? Silver asked the merchant. Talking to them had an odd feeling. Never the same one or more than one participated in the conversation, but they always had a consistently uniform scent. It was like they had dived into an internal connection and forgotten to come out of it.
Are you finally coming around?
I can turn back if you want.
And how will that profit you? All I see is a loss for you and this squad you have assembled out of slaves. Although the merchants were outspoken, he was slowly coming to find that they were at times also sensitive to others' temperaments. Like right then they dropped the topic and answered straightforwardly for the very first time since Silver had met them.

There are over a hundred of you, the reason we told you to shed some weight. Of course, they had to say it. But they also shared the information without holding back.

It's a long hard trek. You want as much of the slime as you can. A little extra won't hurt, but the opposite may cause deaths. You don't want these slaves, I mean your soldiers to needlessly die; do you? However, you should make them hurry. We have to get there before sundown. If we miss this window there won't be another chance for at last a couple of days. And you don't have those days.
Silver cursed the merchants and ran to help his troops collect the slime. By high noon they had gone through ten snails, collected twenty vats full of the slimy concoction, and filled their abdomens with the snail's chewy and tasteless meat.

There was no point in letting the snails go once they ran out of the slime to protect them. They would have fallen prey to some other predator, if not them. It was all the same. Yeah, they usually would have preferred catching something else, but the time constraints made them jump the leaf and eat what they had.

The merchants advised those already covered in the slime to only clean their limbs so that they don't hamper their movement. The others were told to apply a coat of it on their body, except the limbs and the antennae. It obviously depressed the slaved, but they saw no other choice. Black forced the ones hesitating to cover their bodies; while Green took it upon herself to get the job done, and she enjoyed every last second of their misery.

So what now? Silver asked the merchants who had stood up.
Now we take you to the other side of the world.
They took lead. Silver watched for lies but found one.

He nodded to Red who got the soldiers organized, and Black took position beside them. The older ones already knew the dill, but the newer feed was still to get accustomed to the strict regime. With the preparations ready they marched. The merchants acted fearlessly, the slaved before them were tense. None believed the river to have an end. It was a large body of water, vast and impossible to traverse. The fact was doubtless.

Many queens had spent many lives trying to get to the other side. None had succeeded. And now a bunch of merchants claimed to have found a way? There were bound to be suspicions.

The soldiers were tired, but that didn't stop them from taking in hushed scent whispers. Most cursed and others enjoyed the calm.
There were a few antennae turning Silver's way, looking for him to give an order but there was no such motion from him.
Finally, they exited the forest cover and were at the riverside. Grass sparsely populated this stretch of land. The dirt was wet near the water and the air cold; even though the sun was up.

Now, the merchants stopped on a dry patch that was protected from the river by a set of large rocks and started rubbing the slime on their bodies. That settled it. They wouldn't have done it if they didn't believe they could take them to the other side. The slaved grew nervous. Even Silver found his heart thrumming a most peculiar beat.

They had really found a way where everyone else had failed! No one believed. Antennae stood up straight as the merchants fished preparing and started instructing.

There were a few things that you all need to keep in mind. Firstly, keep your body always covered in the slime. It will keep protect you against the cold. Whatever happens, you don't stop following the trail. The path is straight but the cold will mess with your heads and make you delusional. You will reapply the slime every three hundred steps. The most important thing —the merchants finished applying the slime on their body— no matter what happens, Don't Fall Asleep. The slime insulates against the cold but also masks your scents. If you fall asleep the others won't know and you will fall into a forever long hibernation.

They cut a hole in the fungus that covered the bottom of the rock. Unbelievably, the fungus fell to their mandible and uncovered a deep dark hole that smelled stale. They went inside to check for something, and then returned with antennae open in a welcoming gesture. Welcome, one proclaimed. To the highway to the other side.

Underload · Oct 3, 2020

The answer was a terse no, and then the captain walked away with his squad, leaving me wondering why in the shade I had done that. It was an act of desperation I believed, of trying to make a way where there was none. The feeling, it was an odd sensation, echoed in my chest. It was a pretty serious throbbing.

Princess was distressed and desperate and the new connection between us was letting me experience all of it as her royal guard. I followed the throbbing to find her. It was a pretty useful thing, unlike another that had only brought me hardship since the day I had acquired it.

I found her silently standing in a corner of the twenty-fifth floor, solemnly staring at the queen's quarter. She made no movement when I approached her, but I felt her stirring inside. Maybe my presence calmed her down, but the storm boiling through our connection entered a period of rest.

Princess, I opened the dialogue and let it hanging as such. I wasn't the right person for this kind of situation, but I had also gone through something like this. So even though I didn't know what to say, I knew what not to say. And that was enough.

She looked at me with her big oval eyes and let the scents flow. What are you doing here? She asked.
I should be the one asking you that, princess. I countered.

I picked over when she didn't continue. From what I recall of my worker days, sitting back and lazing is the worst thing one can do when their heart is in a disagreement with their mind. It actually makes you go slightly mad.

She cocked me an eye and I gave her a smug shrug with my antennae.
How long are we going to stay here?
We'll stay here as long as it takes.
Then it's alright. I commented going to stand beside her. I believe we'll be leaving soon.
What makes you think so? She bit.
I told her the truth. Because your antennae have started waving above your head again and you are no longer desperate.

There was a lull in our conversation during which we watched a nurse throwing a tantrum over something or another, a soldier approaching a caretaker for water and being refused, the same nurse being abusive and being carried away by a bunch of young soldiers; and a pair of soldiers from the lower floors stopping to point at us, becoming amused over something, and leaving for the upper floors.

Maybe the spectacle amused her or calmed her, but she was the one to initiate the conversation next.
Do you think what we do matters in the larger scheme of things?

That's rhetorical. I truthfully answered. All I know is that we both have a future here. You will be the secondary queen and I'll be your royal guard, standing outside the entrance and identifying everyone who asks for your audience.

She passively waited, her heart struggling over something. I gave her the time she needed to settle her feelings. It took her a while but it wasn't long before she was decided. Then she went forward to blow away my perception of her.

I don't want to be a secondary queen. She said and carried onwards without checking out my condition after that sudden shock that she had delivered me. I want to create my own city and rule a piece of land.
I want to have children that call me their mother. I want to have wars with others. Expand my region. I want to do everything that a queen can do, and more.
I want to create ties with the other species. I want to grow flowers and have the bees cultivate them. They'll give me honey and I'll protect their flowers. And I want beetles to give us fertilizer. I want to ride the hornets, and use wasps for espionage. I want to have a tower made of a material so strong it can't be broken into. I want to farm grains. I want to do all of that. None of which I can accomplish by becoming a secondary queen.

When she finished and looked at me I was standing tense, with my lone mandible stretched to the limits. My antennae were erect above my head and I was sitting on the ground with my rear legs bent and weight on the abdomen.

Her heart thumped with pure desire. She had just told me her innermost desire, her dream. It was no time to be in shock. I had to say something. She was looking at me for a reaction. I gave a reaction; one that made her cringe with every sentence.

But-But what about the chamber you had me-the workers dig? You commissioned it! You asked the queen for permission and the union for workers. It was all you! Why would you ask it to be made if you didn't want to use it?

She turned solemn; the spark of interest dimming again. This connection between us was too bold and spilling. It was making me try to run away from her to save myself from her onslaught of emotions, but I stayed. I had to know her reason.

Do you think I asked it to be made? Why would I do it? It is all her fault. I felt her hatred. If her true desire was pure warmth, her hatred was a burning fire. The first princess made the queen agree and even forced the construction on me so that she can laugh at me if I end up messing the construction.
Why didn't you tell me…? It's not your place. I thought she would say it but she didn't.
Now you know. She said instead. So what are you going to do about it?
I—
She interrupted me before I could begin. I was thankful because there was nothing I could say. I could do nothing to help her or me.

Forgive me. She scented. You don't have to say anything. It isn't a matter than can be solved anyways. The festival of rebirth is almost upon us. Finding out what's wrong in the 47th city is important not just for me but also for our city. It's the only way I can help the city before being bound to this one place forever. I want to at least do this one thing before the time comes.

My heart skipped a beat. I wished I could help her someway.
The system reacted.
My wish was heard.

A suitable candidate has been detected for Greed's vessel. Would you like to proceed?

ERROR
Action can't be completed.
Greed is at tier zero. No slots are available.
(Number of slots depends upon sin tier.)

I understood the intent, but not the reason behind its appearance. Had the system reacted to my desire? No, it was clearly talking about Princess TInbuji. I had asked for help and it had reacted. Everything was clear other than the last part.

Analyze: Greed's vessel: As the master of Greed, you are allowed to have a few chosen subordinates. They will connect with the system under you, and will even have a chance to form their own shards of greed and inherit some of your strengths.

There was nothing here that said she would be harmed. If it was this I could help her. I could help her connect to the system, and then, and then what? I wasn't confident about the system myself, but to tow her into this… was the risk worth it?

I didn't have to think about it right then. I couldn't yet make her a vessel anyway. But I could think about the problem so I wouldn't hesitate to make the decision when the time came. So I put it to the back of my mind until the time came.

However, I decided that we had enough of sitting around doing nothing for a day. Ask a worker to work hard and it will be spiteful; ask him to stop working and it will curse you on the spot. I had enough of gloominess.
Want to go to the surface? I asked her, standing up, ready to move.

Why? What's at the surface?

When I was still a digger —it stung differently to admit that my life was on a different track than the one I had imagined— I enjoyed leaving the narrow tunnels and the tight corridors to take out the trash and feel the wind on my face. The openness called me —though I hated the pit and still do.

Don't us all. She mused. I had her attention.

So why don't we go out for a bit? It will be a nice change of pace. I know you want to.

It's all right. She said, but she was wavering. Her antennae were starting to return back to their dancing pattern. She needed a push, something to make up her mind. I didn't have much, but I knew if anything would work this would be it.

Don't be afraid. Her antennae rose sharply and head turned to face me. You taught me to look beyond the walls that society creates for us. Let me show you what I found.

She finally agreed.

The plan was to go to the surface and fell the wind, but I changed the plan upon seeing the behemoth shadow cast by the tower. We climbed the tower. She was skeptical but followed without complaint. At the funnel-shaped top wind blew strong and hard. It forced us to latch onto the tower so we wouldn't get blown off.

However, the experience wasn't simply a struggle. It was excitement made real and joy brought into reality. It was a time and place away from the burdens of our society; where I was myself, and Princess was happy again.

A few seconds in and my sight was already being colored in different characters of multiple shades.

Stand your ground, soldier. Fight the wind! Try as it might, don't let it force you to kneel, don't let it blow you away. Hold your head high and fight the wind!

You have acquired a new skill: Aerodynamic.
You have acquired a new skill: Iron claws.

[Aerodynamic][Tier-1][Lv-1/10][Passive]
[Your body grows in a way that makes it easier for the wind to flow around you, making you aerodynamic.]
[Reward: You gain .1 points in constitution for every skill level gained.]
***
[Iron Claws][Tier-1][Lv-1/10][Active]
[The skill improves our claw strength.]
[Effect: it activates when you clench your claws.]
[Reward: You gain .1 point in strength for every skill level gained.]

This … pretty dangerous. Princess scented. I didn't… you… adventurous.

I am not! I scented out loud, but the wind blew most of it away. It was true. When did I have time for such scandalous endeavors? This was a spur of the moment thing; nothing more.

She came to my side and touched my antennae since the scented conversation wasn't working. It's beautiful. She said. The tower has always been here, but none of us ever stopped to think of it as anything more than a tool. I can almost see the whole world from here. Thank you for bringing me here.
I wished I could share her view of the world.

For me, the world was a grey canvas with only the center colored. The rest of it was not more than an amalgamation of blurry lines and distorted sketches. My sight only worked at close range, almost only a few heads distance at best. I didn't know if it would improve with time or not, but at that moment I would have given anything to see from the princess's eyes.

We promised each other to climb the tower every day, not knowing that our next time there would be the last time we would be seeing each other.

For now, it was all happiness and sunshine until Princess noticed something. Her olfactory senses were far sharper than mine, and so was her sight. It was no surprise that she was the one who found a group of ants approaching the city from a distance.

Not long after a gust of wind dragged some foreign scent along to the top of the tower, solving the mystery. We had guests.
***
There were rumors of scouts from the 43rd city contacting us, but nothing concrete. I had heard about it in passing while dazed from sleeping too long or maybe a period too short. This group was a build-up in that direction.
It was surprisingly a delegation from the 43rd city, Nadiea-kande-Ji. We made it to the surface just in time as they reached the entrance to the city. Soldiers had already gathered to receive them. A royal captain was in a conversation.

The embers from the 43rd had stubbier legs —they said it allowed them to float on water— and an overall larger abdomen than us. They had brought frog meat as a gift, which the soldiers happily received. The most surprising thing about them was their leader himself; he was not a royal male, but a common soldier, an old one with battle marks littering his whole bulky body. The most striking among them was the star-shaped burn mark in the middle of his forehead. It was offensively in your face.

Why was he leading in the place of a royal male? Seeing him arguing with the captain from our side was enough to show why he was chosen.

Listen, lad. We have come from far away. And we are very anxious. We have to meet her highness right now. As I would like make to the journey back before sundown. Listening? We don't have the time for games. There are policies made for these kinds of things, right? He addressed the rest of his cast who nodded in response.

One of the more average soldiers, an adviser, recited the policy he was talking about from memory. During the 3rd generation war to expunge the remaining termites from our land, her highness Agnee promised our Mother Nadiea help to kill the frogs, especially after a sudden shower, in return for providing war resources.
They had come bearing help to hunt the frogs that had leaped out of the river and made base around their city after the rain. The sudden thunderclouds had affected more than us.

During peaceful times our soldiers would have voluntarily gathered, however, since we were at war with the termites, protocols needed to be followed so we wouldn't end up sending away soldiers needed to protect our boundaries.

They asked to meet the commander since that's what the rules suggested, but the commander was away and even though the committee stood in his place, the supreme authority for such decision resided solely in the hands of the queen.

They were taken inside, but kept on the first floor and asked to wait. The leader of the delegation, whom I named star, for his graphical scar, showed strong verbal dissatisfaction, but it led to nothing as the soldiers were also in the right.

Princess's had an idea and she shared it with me.
That's reckless. I told her and was smugly ignored.
She had asked the explorers for help and was denied. The queen had advised her against it since there were no troops to be sent so far.

Now she had decided to hatch a ride. She rushed to the troops from the 43rd. They were pretty depressed and tired, but their captain turned when he sensed a female scent. Obviously, he wasn't expecting her out of the city, venturing the surface.

I don't know what he was expecting, but what princess asked him and his troops did send him into thinking.
Do you have any recent news from the 47th city? Anything you can share.

Wh-what? No, they haven't contacted us since the fall and we have been too busy to contact them with the frogs and the rain, recently. Why do you ask? My presence and the scent I had only puzzled him more. He looked at his troops for help. They were as overwhelmed as him. Our soldiers were equally at loss from the exchange happening.

Do you by some coincidence know the way to the 47th city?

I-I might have been there one or two times before. He was slowly starting to realize where the conversation was heading.

Can you take me there? He looked like he had guessed right when she asked that.
He spoke confidently. He must have known the way or he wouldn't have said so. Or he could have been faking it. Can I ask why?

I believe think there is something wrong with the city. I also believe the termites might be responsible.
Has there been any report of termite sighting lately?
No. His troops said after a discussion.
That doesn't matter. I ask you if you can take me there.
Only if you help us,
Do you want to meet Mother? Follow me. She said and started walking, not waiting to hear the response.
She was excited once again, desperate still, but also greedy.
The soldiers stared at me, questioning what had just happened.

She can meet the queen at any time. It's her birthright. And she can take anyone with her. I was telling the soldiers and letting Star pick up the clue.

Of course, he said and we were rushing after the princess: The delegation leader, Star, and I. His soldiers were taken to one of the many waiting chambers on the first floor for rest and feeding. They wouldn't have been allowed to meet the queen anyways.

Can she really help me meet the queen?

Of course, I said, doubtful over his question. Who doesn't know that about a Princess's birthright?

I was told I might have to wait a few days before getting to meet her highness Agnee. The advisers gave me frog meat to bribe the soldiers. He shook his head in disgust. If a soldier could be bribed with meat there wouldn't be any cities standing. Why did they think soldiers ate the meant first? It was a ridiculous opinion.
Ridiculous was his contempt for his own advisers and the openness about it. That was a punishable crime in Agnee-Rath-Ji, which he obviously didn't know. And he wasn't finished yet, but I was also interested. He was from a whole different city, a city that allowed its soldiers to lead the charge! I intently listened to him talk about his city.

They even advised me do to anything I could to get help, short of creating a commotion. Another experience less advice, but they can't be blamed either. The frogs have really caused us a lot of distress this time. He slowed his pace, letting Princess take a small lead. He might have found himself in trouble over this if I wasn't with him. He didn't seem to realize.

You might not know this but our poison is very thin when compared to yours. It works when hunting small beings, but a frog is just too much for us. And this time a whole family of them came after the rain and took residence in the valley of bugs where we usually hunt for food. He kept going. If we don't get help soon we might have to take some really drastic measures.

Princess was again stopped by the royal guard guarding the queen's chamber. She argued that she was bringing an important guest from another city to meet the queen, and the guards were perplexed.

The royal guard was quick to ask me an explanation. He was different from the workers and the soldiers. While they ridiculed me, he didn't. I wondered if it was because I was also a royal guard, just like him.
I pointed an antenna at my companion. He nodded and called Star forward. They followed the procedure —checked his identity and asked the reason behind the visit— and tapped the coin door in a hurry. He even gave us a small salute before allowing us entry.

The queen, however, was really busy.

She looked unhealthy. Last time she had only laid five eggs in our presence. But now she was laying one every few seconds. A group of caretakers completed their shift and another took their place, constantly massaging her abdomens and back without a break. The nurses were disinfecting both the eggs and her anus, which was starting to look inflamed. Her playthings had been removed, the chamber laid bare. But no matter the tiredness or the pressure she looked determined.

That is until she was told of our presence. She hadn't even noticed us! It was not a good indication.
Why have you come? She didn't even greet us neither stopped laying eggs.

We have a delegation from the 43rd city at our steps asking for help, mother.

Queen finally spared us a glance and called Star forward. Instead of opening a scented channel she directly went into internal connection with him. She looked devastated when their antennae separated, and released the scent of remorse, causing a short panic between her caretakers.

Why didn't you come sooner if the situation was this bad? She asked the veteran soldier. You waited and this is the result. How many have you lost uptill today?
The male shivered and the queen pounced. Regardless, we will help you. But we'll take everything we catch.
We agree. The soldier solemnly responded.
Star waited to be released, but Queen Agnee had one more question for him. How is Nadiea? She asked.
Mother is… desperate.

Queen sent one of her advisers with the soldier to help him recruit soldiers for the mission. He waved goodbye and thanked the princess before rushing out, tagging the adviser along. He really must have wanted to get back before sundown.

Princess stepped up to request permission to join the delegation, but the queen stopped her before she could take her second step.

I know what you want, daughter. She scented. I'm proud to have birthed you who dare put her life on the line for my colony. But I can't accept your proposal. I can't let you go.

NO! Princess bellowed out, but the queen continued despite her outbreak.

I would have been happy to agree, even help you in your mission if you had come to me with your knowledge before the wood eaters raided our home. But call it out of love or need, I can't let you go now. You'll have to stay.

You can't stop me! Princess said in anger. Anyone can join a delegation for help. It takes volunteers and I'm volunteering.

No, you are not. Queen gave her verdict and did something that none of us believed would happen. She took away Princess's passport. The action broke the hope Princess was holding onto.

You can't do that! Princess proclaimed. It was no longer desperation that I felt from her, but remorse.
Hold her. Queen ordered her caretakers. I scared one off her, but the others took her to one of the side chambers. They glared at me when I tried to enter, but allowed once the queen gave me permission.
The chamber wasn't a prison, but an incubation pod that had piles upon piles of white eggs lined against the walls.

Princess was pacing around. For better or for worse she wasn't breaking the eggs in anger. That would have been the highest crime possible, one punishable with death. She wasn't alone. There was also a nurse beside her in the chamber, disinfecting the eggs and checking their temperature

She was smoldering inside, but outside she appeared collected. I had thought a few things to calm her, but she was in no need of such assistance.

What took you so long? She scented and pushed through without waiting for my reply. I want you to find help. Get someone who understands our cause. Go to the fortieth floor. Master will know what to do. We need to cover all perspectives, someone to work on the clue that none else is working upon. I believe the termite raid was a distraction. And they are planning something very big this time. Someone has to go check out the 47th city. It has to be done. If nothing's wrong then it's all good, but if there is even a single chance of trouble we need to figure it out before it's too late.

I'll go. I said out loud, surprising her as much as myself.

What? No! That's not what I meant. Not to even consider how you will get there? What will you even do when you are there? What can you do? Don't be foolish.

She said and they weren't just words. I felt her heart trumping inside her, the same way I had felt upon learning that I had broken my mandible. Though desperate, she didn't want me to put my life in danger. But her impatience only made my path clear to my eyes.

No. I told her. I'm going. I'm going to hitch a ride with the delegation to the 43rd city, and then I'll find a way.
I was decided.

Underload · Oct 3, 2020

Silver was the first to waken.

The sky was growing light above his head, night fading. His surroundings were quiet. He broke away from the huddled that his troops had created to pass the cold night. They had survived the tunnel, though not without loss.

The tunnel hadn't been as safe as the merchants had proclaimed. The slime insulated against the cold, but it had its limitations. Moreover, the tunnel was collapsed down the line, at a point where it made more sense to move forward than back. A large rock was wedged right in the middle, blocking their path. They had to go around it, digging through wet dirt, wasting time, slime, and energy. It delayed them when a delay was the last thing they could have hoped for.

The last hundred ant lengths was a fight against time with the sun setting outside and the tunnel growing cold beyond measures. It was a miracle that most of them made across, most of them. The number he had lost didn't matter. What mattered was the loss itself because it could have been avoided.

Silver searched for Black in the huddle and found his head sticking out on the other side, mandibles clenched and legs tightly wrapped around the body of a worker he had picked up during the frantic attempt through the last stretch. Both were safe. He wasn't the only one that had done it. They —him and his captains— had raised the example which the soldiers had followed with zeal. Not everyone could be saved, but not all was lost either.

It was another mark he would bear for the rest of them and learn to live with.

Silver woke Black up by rubbing some heat into his body. The giant soldier instantly showed reaction by releasing the worker. His mandibles unclenched and antennae uncoiled. Silver stepped aside to let Black shrug the forced hibernation from his body, and started stretching himself. Stretching was more important for an ant than eating. And cleaning was even more, but Silver was already clean. Finishing stretching he vibrated his antennae both to tune them and smell the surroundings.

Vigilance was equally important. They were in the open; there was no knowing what and who might be hiding nearby, waiting for one of them to leave the others. He found no scents in the air of the sort a predator would emit, but he found a few preys not far away. A quick glance told him his crew was far from ready to hunt. Half hadn't even been stirred yet. He would have to do it then.

The prey he had smelled was a worm, squiggling away in the mud fifty or so heads further from their huddle. The thing tasted mostly of dirt, but it would do for now. The other would find something better when they were warm and fed.

Silver waited for it to worm its way out of the mud and onto dry land before pouncing at it. He was not inconspicuous but was ignored by the worm for better or worse. He was an ant, with mandible that would barely be able to wound around its waist. The worm probably didn't consider him worth much; that is until he wedged his mandibles between the fold of its velvety soft outer skin and took a piercing tight hold.

The worm felt the pain, he had to. Silvers mandibles might not measure against one of an army soldier, but they had boundless strength behind them. The worm shriveled and started thrashing, waving the affected part of his body and rolling around in the dirt. Tried as it might, Silver kept a tight grip on the worm's waist, refusing to let go despite its struggle.

The worm kept at it for some time before getting tired and coiling to protect itself from further harm. At that point Silver started pulling it toward the dry patch where his troop awaited, performing the morning routine. They noticed him pulling the worm and came forward to help.

You didn't have to do that, leader. Black complained and urged his slaved soldiers to pick the worm from him. Silver released the worm, exhausted, legs trembling. The soldiers pounced on the worm, hungry and eager. They bit into its succulent flesh that melted in their mouths. The worm died to poison and multiple puncture wounds that its thin skin couldn't bear. The soldiers then lifted it up to take it back to the camp where the rest were also waking up. It was a practiced maneuver that was beaten into them by their leader in the name of practice.

Silver had wanted to do it alone, but something's are impossible no matter how one struggle's to prove otherwise. It was alright to give up. After all, he had a whole battalion to help him. NO! Silver got up and lifted the worms head against Black's incessant complaints, and led the troops back to their camp. Black actually wanted to help but someone needed to keep the soldiers in check. It was his job as a captain.

Green brought more soldiers to help carry the worm after Yellow told her about their leader doing menial work. Silver refused the help, but Green was moved behind him anyways. The soldiers also occupied free space under the worm, and everyone shouldered the burden, together.

In an hour's time, the whole battalion was up and full of warm meat —except the merchants, who remained huddled together despite countless efforts to wake them. Once the soldiers had eaten the captains ate their fill and at last, Silver ate. He alone gorged down a piece of the meat five times his size.
He could sense the disbelief rising from his soldiers. Those newly joined didn't know, while the others were betting on the amount he would be eating. Most had gotten used to his appetite, but there were still others like Black who couldn't quite believe he was doing it.

So what's the plan? His captains started discussing without him, but that was their job. He usually let them lead, but there were times when he took the command in his hands. This was not that time yet. He could do everything on his own then they would only learn to follow and not to think for themselves. That was the army's way. And he was not one of them.

They were in foreign lands, but that didn't mean they were lost.

It was still a forest, with its shade and cover, leaf foliage, and scents. They might be on a new patch of land, but all the land was the same to them. They had been through enough to how to approach this.
Red decided to send a squad of fifteen of their quickest soldiers into the thicket under Green's lead. They would separate into smaller groups of three each every fifty heads and head into different directions for fifty heads and look for signs of anything dangerous, be it a wasp, termites, or a passing group of ants.

The group returned an hour later having mapped 250 heads ahead and around. There were natives they admitted: signs of ants 160 heads north-east, a dead frog 200 heads straight, signs of a lizard in the south-east and crabs 50 heads south-east. They hadn't found anything of immediate danger. While Green had found them a place to stay 450 heads straight and 70 heads in the… well, she knew where it was and that's what mattered.

Black moved to slap her head but ended up rubbing it instead. He was learning to live with her. Though she was usually mean to him and like to tease and make fun of him, irk him and get on his nerves —alright, maybe she needed a slap or two, make it a thorough beating, but she was an excellent scout: a wind runner. And there was no doubting her ability.

Red ordered the tunnel to be sealed and asked a few soldiers to carry the merchants that had rounded their bodies and had become ball-shaped. With Silvers permission he got the battalion moving, Green at the lead and Silver beside her.

She led them straight into the forest. The land glowed with scents similar and new.

Be careful of the web spinner on your left; that plant over there might smell sweet and inviting, but it is a trap. You can still hear the fly buzzing inside the bucket. Oh— Green almost fell into a dark pit that was right there in the middle of the way. Thankfully, Silver was right behind her. I forgot about this one. Thanks, leader for saving my life.

Pay attention.
Okay. And she was back to explaining the various tidbits she had found about this patch of land. The third separating point had a scent trail that led to a caterpillar. They decided to hunt it, too.

They found the caterpillar quietly munching on the leaves of a bloomed plant with violet flowers the shape of a funnel with a tongue sticking out of it. It was easily a mammoth in front of the squad, but they faced it with a relaxed practiced approach.

Its size didn't matter to them as they carted it around until it jumped off to save its life. Unfortunately, there were even more ants on the ground and it succumbed to them. This time Silver simply watched from the sidelines as the point of contact alone ensured him that they didn't need him.

The merchants woke up by the time they were finished setting up their camp in the abandoned squirrel hole near the lower branches that Green had found. It was a maple tree with a lingering sweet odor to it. Silver was impressed by the find for the reason, and Yellow liked how high up they were. He took perch outside, lying flat at the edge of a broken branch that gave him a direct line of sight to the north and east directions.

The merchants raised their heads at the same time, scaring the soldier guarding them. Black came running to see what was wrong and Silver followed right behind him.
It's good to see that you aren't dead.
And that you haven't abandoned us somewhere and runway.
I can't say the thought didn't cross my mind. Silver kept the reply short and precise. The way to talk with merchants was to keep them in the loop. Well, eat up.
The merchants were astonished to see the roof over their heads.
No bivouac? One asked.
We are not the army. Silver replied.
But you are still going to rob the farm for them. Another commented with much the same tone and preciseness of chemicals.
They spooked him and there was nothing he could do about it; at least not for the time being.
We'll see about that. Silver said. However, I would like to know more about this farm since you have already raised the issue.
How about we show you?

Underload · Oct 3, 2020

I found the delegation on the tenth floor, splurging on meat, wine, and sugar to their heart's content. They were getting ready for a long journey. Star was among the rush somewhere; along with a few know scents. I recognized one as the soldier that the entrance to the forty-first floor, and another from the military encampment of the thirty-fifth floor —she had shown me mandibles in warning outside the royal chambers, so of course, I remembered her— was wolfing down the meat of a brown dotted caterpillar.

I wondered what it was with the guards not liking their positions. Any ex-harvester or gatherer would have given a leg or more to get their jobs. Those that had seen the outside were content to say inside, even mining, while those that had never had an adventure in the outside world were ready to join a foreign delegation to fulfill their dreams. It was a surprising realization. I was once one of them; maybe still was.
There you are. Star, the burly delegation leader, noticed me. I almost thought you weren't coming. Then he noticed that Princess was not with me. She isn't coming, is she? He asked.
Right, but I'm coming along.

Well, eat up then. We have a long way to go and too little to take. I followed his antennae and found the treasury disturbingly empty. Bah, we'll hunt on the way.

He left me to myself and went away to have a conversation with his adviser. He heated up easily, but that seemed to do it as his adviser agreed to the demand.

I went forward to dig my jaws into a berry when I felt a familiar scent rising toward me. My senses tingled as I was caught and lifted in the air. I have finally caught you! The scent wrapped around my antennae. I remembered! It was the soldier that had chased me outside the pit, whom I had caused to frenzy! My hair stood straight at the silent implication of her words. I got ready to act but found myself being politely lowered back to the ground. She did it slowly as if afraid to break me by releasing too abruptly.

I turned. She wasn't alone. Soldiers from the advanced sentries stood behind her. Most of them dropped an antenna to the ground in a polite apology, instead of actually apologizing. I — wasn't expecting it. There was an awkward pause causing, almost forcing me to initiate the conversation.

I have my passport now.
I know, just give me a second to organize my thoughts.
Just don't panic this time. I don't want to be chased again. She was taken back at first, then one of her companions let out amusement and we all joined him.

At first, I was like, no way it's him. Then she said no I remember it exactly, this sharp scent that he has. Then I was like, but why would he be joining the delegation. Then she panicked, but it turns out she was right all along. How crazy is that?

Right, I said, putting my attention back on the rest of them. Maybe I shouldn't have asked agreed to hear her story. It was oddly mind-numbing. That talkative one was called 344 after his number 176344, making him the youngest among them.

So you want me to join your group? I asked the 5555th soldier. She was also of the fifth generation, from the current crop. No wonder she froze during the chase. There were five of them who had decided to join the delegation. Their leader was another giant of the fourth generation numbered 2568. They called him 2K. There was one who didn't like me. She didn't introduce herself. She was the marksmen who had hit me in the pit and she was angry that I hadn't died. It was a different kind of craziness.

I had fired with the intention of killing you. That was a 100% poison bullet. Why aren't you dead?
I ignored her question like she ignored my introduction; both of which left the others irritated. The last one was a scout and she was only tagging along.

Yes. We feel bad about what you had to go through. One said, and another continued. Don't worry. We'll take good care of you.
Is it alright? I asked the one who wasn't so happy with my presence.
She waved her antenna at my face. Don't ask me to save you on the way.
That won't happen. I stubbornly told her.
Are you sure? My inner voice questioned. I wasn't. Though was there another option? It didn't have a suggestion for me.

Soon we were out of the colony and surprisingly, the harvesters I had seen leaving were waiting for us outside. Their royal captain whom I had asked to take me to the 47th city was surprised to see me but didn't react otherwise. He got busy explaining something to Star before we got moving.

Of course, they were also going. The Queen had demanded frog bodies in return for our help. Someone had to bring them back; and who else would be better than them? Their whole job was based around carting food back to the city. I just wasn't expecting to see them. It hadn't been long since they had left. Just how were they back so soon?

We left in a hurry, at a running pace. The delegation ran at the front, with the harvester's right behind them. Volunteers like our group of soldiers and workers followed the tail. It was a progression numbering three hundred lives, including the twenty original members of the delegation.

Is this your first time going to a foreign city? The 5555th soldier asked. The returning delegation followed harvester rules. That meant pairing up and she chose me out of everyone else. Maybe it was her way of apologizing. I didn't ask or fret about it.

I nodded. Mine too. She replied and continued. I heard the princess took you under her wing, making you guard her?
Everyone knew that.
She spent a few minutes hesitating, figure out how to broach the subject, before giving in. Thinking wasn't her strong suit I was starting to learn.
You know there are rumors about her.
What kind of rumors. I asked in part interest and equal part fear.
The kind that says she's helping the injured soldiers to build a force; that she wants to overthrow the old queen.
What nonsense! I released. She doesn't actually want to be a queen of this city.
Oh, then what does she want to be?
I knew the answer. Princess Tinbuji's ideas might be farfetched, but we both wanted the same thing in the end.
She wants to be Normal.

I didn't fall prey to the ant lions charm this time around. But a few of the soldiers, including my partner, did. They were helped out. I caught her before she could rush off and jump down into the funnel. I held her by the rear leg when she persisted and slapped her bottom with my antennae. The snap caused others bafflement, but it stunned her for a second. Quickly I dabbed water on her head, bringing light back to her eyes.

She thanked me and pulled her antennae to the ground to not stray from the trail. However, it also caused her to stop talking. I had reacted in much a similar way during my first time out. And it was only thanks to the worker who was then my partner that I had managed to make it across without a mental scar or trauma.

To tell the truth, I missed her. She had helped me unconditionally, going as far as to pester me to get help. She had asked me for water every time I fell into thoughts, initiated the conversation, and always kept me on track. The truth that she was no longer with the harvesters only brought me a stabbing pain.

Would you like some water? I asked the 555th soldiers, my partner, causing her to slip out of her thoughts. She said no. It felt terrible to be rejected, but I kept my spirit up. That nameless worker had preserved through my rejections until I accepted. I decided to preserve through too —if not for me or my partner, then to show her wherever she was that she had helped me.

I didn't see any hoppers around this time. The reason could be the boiling scent of our army that still lingered, or they were simply afraid of our numbers and were in hiding. Even the slightest shift from normal would have screamed of an ambush out in the open land, but there in our own territory, it only meant respect.

The rain however had turned a large part of the land around the mound into a non-traversable marsh. We had to go around it. There was also higher activity of fliers in the air, pulling my partner's attention out of her thoughts.

So they are everywhere. I always believed they only lived around our city, to feed on the corpses and garbage we throw out.

What? Do these things also live around our city?

Of course, he exclaimed. That one that has an odd smell to it —she was talking about a smaller than average flier with flat wings and a tubular nose— they are always around garbage and rotting corpses. You'll do well by staying away from them. They carry parasites and infections of the like you have never seen before. And those other ones that smell of grass and dirt —there was one sitting atop of a grass blade. It had long spiky rear legs, grey chitin armor around its body with black lines, and two large antennae dancing in front of its eyes— we call it a cleaner around the city. You will find them moving around the pit at night, creating a loud clicking buzz and letting you know of its arrival. They don't eat meat but clean anything organic, even something old and stale.

Around the marsh, I saw my first worm. It was squirming in the mud when we passed close by and hid under the muddy water upon sensing us. No one was going to hunt it in there. That was a death sentence in waiting.
The flyers also kept their distance.
East of the mound a family of beetles rolled balls of dung toward us. They also changed direction upon sensing us.
It was a sweltering day, but the ground under the shade of grass rarely ever felt direct sunlight. The result of which was our sticky-wet path. Usually, the trail would have faded under the elements, but it was still strong and stable. The members of the delegation were seeing to that.

The food in our bellies held for a few hours before it became apparent that we would need to hunt soon. The harvesters sent scouts ahead to find us tidbits to gorge upon and reduced our pace to preserve energy. By noon we were barely walking and I was starting to feel hungry again. That's when the harvesters took lead from the delegation commander and steered our progression west of our destination, toward a large brown mountain.

It was an oddity in the middle of green wonder. It was such an unusual sight I almost fell into a pit. My partner saved me this time around. Keep track. She said. There were many such pits, all too similar and equidistance to be natural. But none had a predator waiting inside.

There were whispers among the soldiers of giants and gods, but there are always whispers. You just have to learn to ignore them. There is no point in controlling them. Also, complete silence is eerie.

Some even climbed down one and came out the other side to join the delegation again. I also took the 5555th soldier down one. She was afraid at first, but excitement won her over. The pit was peculiarly deep and smooth, not natural at all.
There was vegetation at the bottom, crushed and flattened. At first, it seemed like a sign, but we reached the bottom of the mountain without anything unusual happening.
The shadow that stretched form it darkened the shade. There finally the harvesters gave the anxious and hungry soldiers an explanation they deserved.

We'll hunt here. The royal captain started. We'll have to be quick. This place is called a moving mountain. It moves. If you stay on it for long you might never return.

We all let out amusement. It was pretty funny coming from him. There had been complaints of hunger and this was his answer.
You are already far from the city with no way to return. Out here I'm your supervisor, your captain, and your commander. You don't have to like the orders. You only need to follow them.
The way he handled the complaints was very professional and direct. Even Captain Star liked him for dealing with the soldiers as he had.

I sensed vibrations from the ground. There was also uproar in the air. It brought a tingling sensation every time, filling me with nervous energy.

This will be the easiest hunt of your life. He addressed everyone. The enemies up there don't run. They are parasites hurting the mountain, and you all will be catching them. Reach in grab one and eat it.
Don't dwindle. One will be more than enough to fill you for a day. Don't be greedy. Keep a tight hold and help each other. They will try to run once you have pulled them out of the skin. Don't give chase. Their bite can crush your skeleton. So beware. Our leader morosely announced. If you start feeling vibrations, forget the bugs and run for your lives. The ground is our turf. If it takes you too far away you'll be lost forever.
The mountain was of an indistinguishable height. The grass that grew on it was thin, tall, and brown. It was dense enough to form a traversable carpet over the unnaturally colored ground.

Small groups formed and they started climbing over the carpet of threads that separated into individual follicles when pressed. The six of us naturally formed a group and followed the others. We were also hungry and curious —later being the driving force among many of us. The leaders had called it a moving mountain. Not to give attention to the unnatural grass cover, but the odor that permeated from the land was strange in itself and deserved attention and investigation.

The carpet opened a little ahead, giving a peek of the smooth ground beneath. The thin brown grass was far smaller than its counterpart on the ground, but it formed a dense jungle that was not easy to get through. It was strong enough to not break when pulled and flexible enough to tangle around my limbs. It happened often enough to give me a headache. This place had the beginnings of a nightmare written all over it.

Our feet ever even touched the ground. None of us wanted to go down there and get screwed. It was easier for me to traverse through the countless spikes, because of my smaller size, but the others struggled.

Don't go too far ahead. Stay close. The 5555th soldiers scented. This place is like a maze and is really easy to get lost in. So stay close and stay focused. We are on enemy grounds now and they can attack from any…

I heard something moving.

There! I let others know. Something fidgeting under the tangled mess of the curling strands to our right, a few heads away.

Wall, 2k scented ordered then realized the impossibility of creating a formation with our unstable foundation. We could barely move in there. Still, a formation was required for our safety. So one way or another we moved the heavy hitter to the front and the marksmen to the back, which put in the center of the two who wouldn't save me if the situation arose. It was an awkward lineup for me. However, they were professionals at this and knew their priorities.

I can't sense anything. 5555th soldier was vibrating her antennae at five thousand times per second to collect odors from the air. She was not satisfied with the result. If it was princess… well, she was not around. I had to do this without her. She had her own problems to take care of.

Its odor was not distinguishable from the land, but I knew it to be there. Confidently, I was playing the role of a scout.
I'll guide. I scented.
Don't be a fool and just guide; you also need to keep a lookout since only you can sense what's happening around. The ground situation is always different from the reports. The one who didn't like me —let's call her stank for now, because of her personality— gave it to me. It was surprisingly useful information. I wasn't expecting that —well, anything from her.

Vigilance transformed our slow trek into an infuriating crawl through the dense jungle of spikes. There was barely any light or scents down there. All depended on my ability to sense our surroundings. Being dependent felt nice, but I wasn't good enough to grow complacent. There were signs of something living down there. But it was the excreted black droplets of waste that put us on the right track.

Stank sensed it first, which was ironic. It had a foreign smell, like water running over solid stones with high iron content. All I heard were slurping sounds. It was wide and big with an armored red back. It's had dug its head into the ground, six legs all recalled underneath its soft bottom.

That will be our way in. The careless one said.

The bloodsucker stayed nonchalant as we were told. The plan was for the captain to hold it and stank to sting it. That would take care of it. Nice and easy. But it dug its head out and ran when it noticed us, leaving a leaking well of red fluid behind. It was aromatic enough to demand attention, but my group was battle-hardened and focused.
They gave chase.

It rushed through the brown jungle, leaping from one strand to another like an acrobat. It was on its home turf and knew exactly how to handle a chase —that is until Stank aimed. A large 80% bullet of poison stuck its back. It fell dramatically, suffering as it had never before.

It was our chance. Stank might have hit, but that thing had an armored back. It was only in a daze, not injured or immobilized.

2K clamped his mandibles around its torso, but it struggled for life. Its legs were strong and it tried to pull away by holding a strand. 5555th soldier couldn't cut through its armor. It was too hard. The bloodsucker even managed to spat on carefree's face, which made him itch. It got out of 2k's bounds and lunged at him. I charged straight with my mandible pointed at its back. For the first time, my attack failed.
I simply bounced off instead of penetrating its hide, but my momentum managed to deflect it away from captain 2k. It fell toward carefree who fought through the itch and held onto its legs, barring it from running away again. 5555th soldier saw the chance and cut again, this time getting hold of its fleshy underbelly.

It screeched, leaking more spit. Stank didn't miss this time. He pierced the wound that the 5555th soldier had given and pumped its body full of venom. The bloodsucker sank to the ground, twitching, but slowly losing focus and energy. It died.

As she said, captain 2K broke the silence. The ground situation is always different from the report.
The thing was so hard to catch. I felt it wasteful to splurge on its meat and gooey insides. At least the delegates were right about was one thing. It was enough to fill one of us, but we all had a bite or two before searching for another one.

A little while later we found another stuck in limbo with its head dug into the red ground, and dealt with this one with serious vigilance. This time around the plan was followed to the note. 2k held the thing before it could vanish into the jungle; 5555th soldier opened its belly and stank finished it off with an injection of venom.

We also came across some eggs. They were round and black and soft enough to nibble on the way. Our paths crossed another group that claimed to have found four already. We went separate ways. They turned toward the ridge and we sank down toward the warm valley. The place had a rhythm to it that we all could distinguish. The ground rumbled under our feet every few seconds, and it was warmer. There we found something completely different from the brown hard-shelled sucker.

It was grey and fat. Its face was the same size as the previous ones, but its behind was swollen out of shape.

She looks like a queen ready to lay eggs. The 555th soldier commented. We all agreed. It was thrice as large as the captain who was the largest among us. It sensed us but didn't move. Its behind had grown so disproportionate to its body that they weren't even touching the ground anymore. They simply wriggled at the side, until carefree, the fifth original member of the group snipped them off as a failsafe.
Out of curiosity, I went forward to fondle its swollen end, and eggs rolled out of it one after another; lots of them.

Whoa! We reacted. We ate them to our fill and even went in to dig into her soft and juicy behind. It exploded a black odorless liquid at our faces, and finally, let go of the ground to make an effort to save her life. it was too late by then.

Right about when we were finishing it up the ground shook. The rhythmic beating rumbling the ground intensified and the spikes moved as air passed through them.

The mountain's moving. I announced, horrified. They didn't believe me. However, they also couldn't ignore the fact when there was a sudden jolt and the quakes become rampant and violent.

It's really moving! Some scented in panic as we were thrown into the tangled lots of the grass strands.
I hurriedly gripped one to not get tangled in them; the others followed the example.

My world shook. I tightened my grip around the strand. What passed next was a very long minute. I know we were told to get off the mountain as soon as it started shaking, but they didn't tell us how hard it would shake. The important thing is that the quakes stopped. I climbed up the strands dazed and scared once they did. I imagined the worst for us. Darkness welcomed me above the carpet and I fell into the dark solid sky when let go. It was the ground. The mountain had moved alright, but not into some distant faraway place.

The delegation was waiting for us outside when we crawled out from underneath it. The mountain hadn't moved but flipped on itself. As for the reason or purpose behind the maneuver, even the harvesters didn't know.

Everyone was scared and at alarm while the mountain loomed behind our backs and its shadow encrusted us.

However, the moment we found the familiar trail back under our feet, full stomachs and pretend safety calmed the unnerved hearts, and routine replaced dread. It wasn't long before the soldiers were sharing their experience, and a tale was starting forming to tell those back home. What could have been a disaster was distorted into an adventure and everyone was back to their normal self —except me.

I believed what we had witnessed was not a mere mountain, but something much more, much worse… something alive.

Underload · Oct 3, 2020

Our destination, the 43rd city, was alive with frog calls.

They were loud, announcing, and nonchalant. Most of the ants couldn't hear them, but I was different. Their croaks were mostly curses and funny pokes at each other, but there were also some matting calls.
There were even a few warning cracks --'grittits' of anger-- when one frog tried to barge into another's territory. However, barely once did they talk about the Kandaeians, the residents of the land; and when they did talk about them it was to appreciate their taste, rather than to worry about their presence.

Some complained that the ants had an uncommon sweetness to them, and others marveled at the stinging pop they felt in the stomach.

It was a horrifying ordeal. Thankfully, none could quite hear them, and those that could hear couldn't understand them. Otherwise, more than a few hot-headed soldiers of the 43rd would have launched themselves into certain death.

My bafflement was short-lived, however. Our behavior toward our prey wasn't any different from the frogs. We had simply come to a full cycle around; the predator was now the frog's prey.

Whatever the case, the frogs needed to be taught a lesson. Their presence spelled disaster for the city.
I looked at the wide fat tower of the 43rd city, Nadaei-kandae-ji. It was a monstrous construction. Along with its ring of advanced posts, the city looked like a crown lost and forgotten, now covered in dirt and crem. The feeling it gave under the setting sun was lonely and sad. That made sense, for it, was once the epicenter of the termite movement, their mother city. Then they were chased out and Nadaei, the current queen took perch.

However, the rain had played a gruesome hand. The vegetation around was crushed underneath layers of silt, clay, and dirt. It even smelled different there. Worse were the signs of digging on the belly of the tower —tunnels and chambers ripped open to the display of the elements. The members of the delegation explained the moment as pure terror.

It was a frog's doing.

They said the tower rumbled when the frogs clawed at its rain-soaked exterior and cried out in pain, sending the residents out to defend its body. And they hurled poison at the gigantic, slippery being, but to no avail. The frogs hide was tough, eyes resistant, and tongue a weapon of mass destruction. It swooped tens of soldiers with a single swish of its long gelatinous tongue, crushed them inside its throat before they could sting or bite, and swallowed them whole.

We weren't even a match, announced a member of the delegation. The only thing in our favor was its inability to move when attacking and feeding. We timed our attacks while it ate our friends. The soldiers dug their mandibles into the beast's skin and took hold, believing they could win. Yes, it had killed many, but their death would not have been in vain if we had killed it, but the beast simply leaped away. It carried all those soldiers and dove into one of the larger puddles that formed after the rain. None survived.

That also gave us a chance, however. Star added upon sensing the falling morale. Their death wasn't in vain, soldier. They scared the beast into hiding, opening the path that it had been holding. They also showed us that the frogs aren't invincible. Something invulnerable wouldn't have run away. If it can be hurt, it can be hunted, too. We just need to be patient. Our chance will come.

His words gave us the strength to see it through.

I couldn't see the goliaths but I knew they were out there, hiding in wait for a small group to venture out of the city. It was no wonder the city was starving and had to spread its arms for help.

Star rounded us inside an advanced post, the one not far from the center. It was barely occupied by thirty sentries, all gloomy and tired. That changed when they saw us, first in dread and then in joy.
I greedily took in the pride and marvel the sentries released. It was energetic and full of positivity. I liked it.

The sentries welcomed us with old dried meat. I guess there was not enough fresh enough food to go around if even the advanced sentries didn't have any. I was also offered the meat, but I rejected it. I had a fill of normal water, however. Not honeydew; I was not in the mood of having my mind refreshed —an effect of the sugary syrup. I wanted to be away from the bustles for the time being, to not be an active part of it.

Where are you going? 5555th found me stalking away from the group and into the wide paths leading deeper into the post tower.

Nowhere. I told her, but she decided to follow me anyways. Whether she did it out of curiosity or need, I simply let her be.

There were more soldiers inside: Mostly injured and resting. They waved as we passed, some in glee and others in dread. There was light at the end of the tunnel. I wondered if we were reaching the other side of the tower, but that was not so. We exited into a huge dome-shaped chamber that was lit by a beam of light coming from an opening in the ceiling. Actually, there was no ceiling. The tower was hollow from the inside and I could see the sky from the bottom, though it was colorless to my eyes.

I was admiring the engineering marvel when 5555th approached me. She was terrifyingly excited, a state I hadn't seen anyone in.
Come quickly! She pulled me along to the side of the chambers, toward the walls. Either all females didn't care about others opinion or I had really terrific luck. But what she had to show actually deserved haste.

The walls of the chamber were a creation of skeletons that shone under the radiance of the light beam. Hundreds of thousands of skulls stacked one over another, mandibles reaching out in wait and eyes glowing with light; it was a terrifying sight to behold.

We were talking amongst ourselves when a soldier of the 43rd city —she was also staring at the wall— interjected into our conversation.

It is a monument of our victory over the termites. She explained in a feverish rush of pheromones.

5555th pulled back when she saw her face. Her eye sockets were two hollows and face free of mandibles. Her Head was a canvas painted with scars, and there were three legs missing under a thorax horrifyingly shriveled. But the old and marred soldier continued unabated, showing no effect to our behavior. These termites fell in the one war of our dominance. We killed so many their bodies filled the pits, creating huge heaps of hollow skeletons and rotting bodies.

That's why the pits are called trash heaps these days and not the pit. 5555th told me with a touch of her antennae, while our guide continued. She was still stunned but also growing interested in the story.

It was a sight equally terrifying and awe-inspiring. The strange soldier scented, releasing a cocktail of emotions and pheromones, painting a picture full of hate and dread for a second. However, the termites proved to be a problem even after death. The scent of death was so strong it invited some special kind of predators from places far and wide —monsters of the night, terrors of the day— then started our second war.

5555th looked concerned. What are you saying? There was no second war. We won against the termites and that was it!

The old soldier continued without a pause. There were suggestions to bury the bodies, but digging takes time, which we had very little; that's when someone suggested using the carcasses as building materials, which led to the creation of the legacy towers around the city. It also stopped the mutants.
I felt 5555th shudder at the cold revelation. I was in the same situation.

It was all news to me, but I found it a great tale to tell Princess after getting back. She would be surprised for sure. Though she might also want to visit these skull towers and hold it against me for coming alone. But she wasn't petty enough to hate me for it.
Just how many were killed in the war!
The old soldier finally took note of us. Millions, She answered.

It was no wonder the termites wanted revenge. But I was more interested in the present, particularly the giant monument of skulls.

The old resident soldier guided us toward a part of the wall where a map of the territory had been created by leaving gaps in the skull placements. An unusually large skull with bulging cheeks and a thick set of mandibles denoted the main spire. It wasn't the skull of a termite. Six similarly obtuse skulls surrounded the larger one, denoting the wells that kept floodwater from reaching the city. Everything was connected by twisting lines of smaller skulls and long passes: the drainage lanes and flow breakers carved in the area around the city.

Our guide told us the history of the city, the struggle that happened inside the long pass. The termites trapped our army at the well and bombarded them with stones. Many died there, but the angry troops made a relentless push through the snake trenches, killing thousands of termites on the way and raided the city. It took us three days to get through, but the result was worth it. The city fell the very day we raided.

You were there, weren't you? I asked her.
Yes.
Do you think the termites are capable of opening the front in two directions?
She shook her head in pure disgust. They can do anything. There was a time when they even played the victim of their own cruelty. She said, but also read me like a gust of wind careering through her branches and leaves. Why do you ask?

5555th placed an antenna on my abdomen, asking me to think before acting. I thought and found nothing wrong with sharing the information. I was in the middle of telling her the story when she interrupted me.

Lies! She scented a powerful blast of pheromones. I swayed. 5555th held me form the abdomen and pulled back, getting some distance between us.

They aren't back. They can't be back! We killed them. We did. She fidgeted nervously, antennae swaying. You are lying. She released and rushed toward us. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned the story. 5555th agreed with a tap my back.

A few soldiers hurried into the chamber following the commotion and subdued her. They apologized for her actions and snaked her away into the shadowy circuits, vanishing behind the support pillars without explaining the cause of her distress or giving us a reason.

5555th asked to leave and befuddled as I was, I couldn't stay there any longer.
***
We returned to the main hall only to find Star in a heated discussion with our troop leader, the royal captain of the harvesters.

Captain 2K waived at us from near the end of the chamber where the rest of our team was also gathered. The hateful one shook her head at me when I drew closer. The similarity of her action to a termite's response to danger made me leap back. She was taken aback by my reaction, and so was I.

What's happening? 5555th asked, and 344th jovially accompanied us; well, he was more interested in her but was also loud enough to be heard from the other side of the shading world. I had no difficulty eavesdropping.

The two are arguing over the plan of attack. He told her. The delegation leader wants to fight the frogs as soon as we can, but our troop leader wants to wait for the next day when the frogs will be lethargic and sleeping. That way we should have an easy time picking them up, in theory.

He picked up on my confusion and further explained the reason behind the arguing. The frogs hide in the puddles and ponds during day time; so we can't exactly attack them then either.

Water anyone? A worker asked. We all had a few sips before 344th continued.

Another problem is the attack method. The delegation leader wants to go smack-dab, mandibles scathing and antennae rolling at the frogs. Our troop leader is against this. He called it stupidity. I personally prefer the burly scarred old soldier over our tight butt leader. He needs to learn to relax.
Yeah? And who's going to teach him that —you? 2K and 344th started playfully bickering, but the two leaders were so heated that their scents were reaching us at the back of the group that surrounded them.

Foolishly throwing ourselves at the frogs won't accomplish anything.
I understand but is there another way?
You have to give us time to think.
We don't have time! Star blasted the scent. He had had enough.

In my mind both of them were right. We needed to act while the frogs were still distracted. There was no knowing the amount of damage the frogs could cause if they attacked the city together. One frog had been enough to take a large bite out of the tower's body. The city wouldn't possibly survive a joint attack by them.

What we needed was a plan, to trap one of them away from the rest, and attack it from a relatively safe position; like what the termites had done in the story. If only we could trap the frog at the reservoir pit, too. I thought, maybe a bit too loud, because a few heads turned our way. It led to whispering among the soldiers, some agreed and others became excited. My damn broken antennae led to the start of our counter-attack.

I stared in nervous wonderment as the bare musing of mine fared its way through the gathering of soldiers and reached the middle of the circle where the two leaders were fighting.

What's that? Captain Star reacted first, but they both stopped fighting at the same time. And to my dismay, the two somehow concluded that it was far too good a plan to ignore. They decided to repeat the past one more time. It didn't take them long to figure out the guts and entrails of the plan once they stopped fighting and started thinking together.

We dispersed to gather supplies, filled our reserves with honeydew and water, and gathered once again, this time to act.

There you are. Star jovially scented and rushed toward me with a spring to his steps. He was waiting for me outside the main hall. His erect antennae showed his excitement.

This was what he wanted, and he was prepared.

There were no nervous jittering about him that I could observe in some of the younger soldiers, and even myself. He was jovial that his chance had come. Although the frogs still needed to be dealt with, he had brought help in time, and that was more than most could have accomplished.
He slammed an antenna on my back. It stung, but he was too happy to care.

You mad thinker! He blasted the scent into our surroundings without caring for others or our privacy. It almost caused an alarm, but his advisers expertly handled the situation. It didn't even annoy them anymore.

He continued unabated, unperturbed, un —well, he was roaring to have a go at the frog.
Are you really a worker and not an adviser? One better than those foolish ones around me? Antennae turned, alright; let's leave it at that.

It's baffling. He lifted me in his mandibles and shook me like a dirt grain, before putting me back on the ground. He was not gentle. I was more surprised that it didn't faze me.

Anyways, I know you joined the delegation to find a way o the 47th city. I'm saying: I agree to take you there if you still absolutely want to go.

I do! I barely let out before he took over the conversation again.

That settles it then. (He could have said perfect, but he was in a hormonal frenzy. There is no stopping the reactions once they start. His advisers would have said that. But they are all about that precision.)

We'll leave after we are done with the frogs. Well, that shouldn't take long, because believe it or not, your idea or reminder —which it actually was— came at just the right time. Thanks to the recent rain, the water flow has deepened the pit enough that even the frog won't be able to leap out of it, once inside. The last parts a problem, but we'll brute force through it. Heck, I'll drag them to the pit myself if I have to… His antennae shook. He had an epiphany. That's not entirely a bad idea, either! He released and also let out amusement. It seems like we are on the right track! We usually would be repairing the lanes and the passes after rain —who knew the termite relic would help us like this?

Someone called him and he left me standing there in a daze. All around me soldiers were getting ready to go on war against frogs, based on the suggestion of someone who had never been at war even once. I think it was foolish, but no one wanted to listen to me! However, I had found a way to 47th city. Now, I only needed to survive the mayhem. No big deal. How dangerous could the frogs be, right?
***
The wells dug around the 43rd city tower allowed a constant flow of water down the drainage lines. They had giant constructions of dirt and pebbles called flood breakers surrounding them; both for around dampening the flood water and protecting the city beyond.

We were hiding behind these flood beakers, waiting for the residents of the city, the kandaenians, to bring the frog to trap. They had contested the harvesters for the position and won, saying it was their city and hence their responsibility. And Star led the party.

Because the city was so close to the river, important measures were needed to be taken to get through a flood. These flood breakers were one such measure. A ring of these fifty head tall walls surrounded the main spire with wells and lanes leading away from them. The city had no underground; so the measure was as much a need as it was a necessity.

It was a simple but ingenious method.
Our own adviser was explaining the hunt, stressing on the word to make the soldiers believe that we were the predator and the frog was our prey; just like always.

It won't be any different. Just act your part and we'll be fine.

The plan was to wait for the frog to get in the trap and then wash it down with poison. All of us were hoping that it would do the frogs in and we wouldn't have to g into close combat with them, but you never know; hence the unease and anxiousness among the soldiers. They were prepared to take on termites and bugs slightly larger than. The frogs —if I had learned something from the damage to the tower city— were not common foes.

Our troop leader stood atop a flood breaker, facing west, to keep an eye on the frog's movement. Every passing second punished us with dread, but it wasn't long before the moment of truth came.
Get ready! Troop leader bellowed, the heavy scent chemicals rapidly fell and covered us. The order was echoed by every captain and in a few seconds, everyone was moving. The soldiers moved into a spread-out formation behind the wall, legs taut, and sprayer's position above the head. The grounds rumble was the first thing I felt.

A prayer leaked from me and my companions joined.

The older soldiers hushed those panicking before they could leave a trace of their presence. It was important to keep our presence hidden. The frogs had to be kept in the dark, or it wouldn't jump into the well. Each of us had left a trace of ourselves in the well to confuse the frog. The resulting scent masked, but it wouldn't work if everyone panicked.

I couldn't see them, but I could feel the grounds rumble. The frog was close, and getting closer with each leap. The ground thrummed with its leaps, and my heart thrummed along with it.

Don't jump out. Don't wander. We are together. We are a team. It's won't be easy. But we can do this! Our leader released from the flood breaker as the humongous frog suddenly appeared over our heads. I controlled my panic as it fell toward us. For a moment I thought it was going to crash amidst our lines and start killing everyone, but it didn't.
The frog followed the scent.
The plan worked.
It crashed into the well!

There was a small quake, and a loud croak echoed inside the well. It cursed in confusion and from the horror of the confinement. It wasn't expecting the well to be so deep!
A pheromone went out.
Attack!
Euphoria circulated in the air as soldiers noticed the feasibility of the plan. Their effort was being rewarded. They rushed out from behind the cover of the flood breakers and positioned themselves at the rim of the well. Abdomens pointed into its dark depths, they drowned the croaking frog in a hail of poisonous formic acid bullets. The bullets fired were an absolutely lethal concoction of 100% acid. There was no water used. The frog's skin was tough, and Star had already warned us against diluting the poison since their weak poison hadn't worked on the frog.

Five hundred ants, all marksmen, and stingmen, especially chosen for the purpose of hunting the frogs, wildly emptied their arsenal into the dark well. Half a minute later, the frog's croaking slowed to a long drawn out drawl. These were its dying breaths. The croak echoed in the well one last time before the frog turned silent.

Charge! A second pheromone rose and soldiers were rushing into the well, sunlight glinting off their exoskeleton like hope. We won! We had killed the frog! It was done. The city was saved!

No one noticed when a second shadow rose out from behind the cover of the flood breakers, or the wind it brought when it dropped toward us, or the panicked order that our troop leader had released.
A tongue flickered.

There was a snap and a group of our soldiers was gone, just like that.
Celebrations ended early as the second frog, this one twice as large as its predecessor, descended hard atop of the soldiers gathered near the well. They were instantly crushed. The gust of wind its descent brought blasted away all the scents and orders circulating in the air, leaving us orderless and dazed.
I saw a leg doing the deaths rattle, twitching without any control. A soldier headless body scrambled away from the site and crashed into the flood breakers. I saw one carrying another, but her abdomen was crushed. He didn't dare admit that she wasn't going to make it.
Retreat!

The alarm came far too late. Soldiers were retreating all around me, antennae quivering and legs shaking.
We had taken the battle to the frogs, and they had answered. Turns out, we were not ready for it.

Underload · Oct 3, 2020

The frog was a gigantic being at least 25 heads high and 10 heads wide. Its wet leaf green skin glistened under the dying embers of the escaping sun. An aggressive pattern of swirling black lines and dots covered its whole body, from face to the bottom; while its belly was chalk white and the front of its legs were marble yellow. Its hands were huge in their own right and fingered not clawed, rear legs long and muscular. Its sinuous and characteristically long slimy tongue induced fear int eh hearts of the soldiers; it was a weapon specially evolved to hunt anything the lazy frog could fit in its mouth.

There was a set of large black eyes fixed to the side of its immovable head and sat on the ground with its rear legs at tension, ready to leap him away from danger at all times. However, the same leap that could take it away from a predator could also bring it closer to prey. Beating it was going to be tough, but first, we needed to get rid of the fear spreading in our midst like wildfire.

Another frog wasn't supposed to join the battle. We still had no idea whether the one in the well was dead or alive! The new addition was not welcome by any of us.

The frog passive as a rock, stood among our broken lines, looking with its head kept parallel to the ground, determining where to start feeding.
Bushtit reports and plans —didn't I say the ground situation is different? The hateful one scowled. You are responsible for whatever happens next. She poked me on the flank and kept cursing me. 5555th scolded her for being shallow-minded and even 2K came in for support, but I couldn't pay them attention.

She was right. It was my plan.
I dug away from reality into my mind and hid in the depths of my flooding thoughts.

I considered why something so woefully huge had fewer legs compared to something small as I. Maybe the answer was hidden in the way it sat on its rear legs in a deep squat? And I wondered how it could communicate without antennae; all the bugs and insects had them. I wondered where the frogs had dropped theirs. However, I had to admit, if the frogs had antennae they would have been releasing enough pheromones to saturate everything around them, creating a dead zone for other insects like us ants.
So maybe it was a good thing that their form of communication was so intrusive and open. Anyone could spy upon them, but they were also pretty conspicuous thanks to their blunderingly huge body. So maybe it didn't matter? Although their croaks definitely had a longer range, it was not without pitfalls. The frogs had exchanged range for privacy and it was only a matter of time before a larger predator —though I doubted there was anything larger than the frogs— located them.

There were even more questions.

How could its body keep shape? Just how large was its heart to keep such a huge body inflated? How much did it eat every day? How large was its hunting zone? Why had I never heard of them before?
Thankfully, the frog took its time swallowing the soldiers. That sudden pause gave our leaders precious time to judge their next steps.

The frog straightened its body to lift its head.

There were crunches. It crushed the soldiers by rapidly clenching throat muscles, and swallowed them. Even the frog didn't dare engulf them alive and have them carve a way out from the inside.
The soldiers were overwhelmed at first, but the respite got them out of the daze.

Snap out of it! My inner voice rattled, and I followed its suggestion. There was a message in the air: a burning passage of passion. Attack! It read, one word, the only action needed. I saw Star commanding a large group toward the frog for a head-on collision. Our troop leader was closely following behind him.
The soldiers followed the order. They were all over the place and in fear, but not lost.
Fear wasn't enough to take their fire out. There were no weak ones among them; only those who were yet not strong enough. However, no matter the case, the soldiers didn't run from a fight. They had wanted an adventure. This was it.
What else could they do? The backup plan demanded a retreat. An undoing of everything we had accomplished. We had brought the frog away from its puddle where it was invincible and had stranded it in the middle of a wet patch of land with flood breakers to mount and drain lanes to hide. This was our best opportunity. Losing this chance meant letting the frogs eat away at the city's strength one hunting group at a time. It meant giving up.

Those near the frog had already decided to take a leap of faith and see what they could accomplish; the leader's agreement to support them only filled them with more confidence. I was at the back with my group rearing to have a go.

The frog had its fear, but the group led by captain Star only amused it. It turned toward the charging lot of them and leaped straight up after it finished eating.
It shouldn't be forgotten that this was the frog that had reared its clawless naked fingers at the city tower alone, and had been baptized by the resident's poison and stings. It had survived a much-much larger group of ants and now it was confident. It knew what to expect. And what it expected didn't scare it one bit.

Therefore it dropped right in their middle of the group led by captain Star, crushing a few too many, and scrambling the tight group with the burst of wind that it created.
The frog gave a croak, an invitation to the others of its kind to enjoy a free meal. That boiled my blood, but also reminded me what the hateful one had said. The soldiers had died like she had predicted and more were going to die.

Is it truly my fault?
The little voice inside my head had a few words for me.
Does it matter? It said. Did you believe it's possible to take down a predator without losing anyone? Are you that naïve?

The frog came into action. Its tongue flickered, picked up another group of soldiers, and took them into its mouth. We at the back released fear and remorse, but the ones at the front released determination and focus. Death of their companions only drove them forward.

It was a moment none were waiting for, but this was our chance for payback. The frog had to stop moving to crush the soldiers it had swallowed.

Soldiers rushed the frog from all directions. Mandibles pierced into its leaf green skin. The frog continued its task unperturbed, but that didn't stop the soldiers burning with revenge. Its legs were stung countless times, the burning acid of our specialty injected into its body without any reserve.

There was a reaction!

The stung leg jittered slowly at first, the skin rippling before the muscles unrented started having heavy contractions. It creaked in annoyance, finally understanding its mistake. It wanted to leap away, but the soldiers in its throat hadn't stopped moving yet. It had to kill them before going about escaping.

A few soldiers clamped their mandibles around the slippers skin of its large fingered hands. They drew something, a liquid red in color and scent familiar and horrifying. Everyone else was too invested in injuring the frog, but I remembered the scent. It was exactly the same as the liquid that the bloodsuckers drank. I remembered it exactly because the scent had left quite an impression on my mind.

But-but, what did this mean? Were my observations, my thoughts right? Was the moving mountain… alive?
It couldn't be! How could that be right? No-no, I was wrong. I must have thought wrong. How could something like that exist in the word? But a single lick of the air was enough to prove me wrong and right. The red blood of the frog was the same as the moving mountain. It was the same, the same thing.
I ringed back. 5555th asked for my well being, but I knew she wouldn't understand what I had learned. Everything was a lie. The protection of the city was a lie. We were insignificant. The frog? It was nothing! It wasn't even worth a hair on the mountain back. Back! That's what we had climbed. And those brown strands weren't grass, but hair! It all made sense. Suddenly, everything made sense!
It was all too much for my mind to comprehend. So I lost consciousness for some time. When I came back, the frog was still trying to shake the ants clinging to its hands. As if that would do it.

Our mandibles might be smaller than those of a jawbreaker, but there was enough strength behind them to grip until death; that's what the frog was going to have to go through. It would learn to fear us slowly.
Yes. Keep going. A drone added to my monologue. Keep thinking about these useless things. Distract yourself.

We might be of the same species, but the embers of the 43rd were smoldering hot. Star admitted it and the beast was feeling it personally. The soldiers held despite its efforts, and the frog croaked for the first time, in pain.
I wanted to stay hiding, but the status had a different plan for me. It colored my sight bright and gave me confidence.

You have acquired one of the TRUTH's of the world.
Greed has converted TRUTH into a skill.
Skill: Truth acquired.

[Truth][Lv-1][Special]
[Learn truths to acquire skills.]
[Skill: Confidence has unlocked.]
***
[Confidence] [Tier-1] [Lv-1/10][Passive]
[The skill will help you get through tough times when you are feeling low and maybe shading suicidal even. Remember, no wall is insurmountable, no problem too big. Have some confidence.]

No problem is too big? Well, I begged to differ. However, it also made a point. Maybe the system was trying to be ironic, but we had indeed mounted the mountain. Confidence, as straightforward as it was, didn't erase my fear or reasoned it away, but it did make me decisive. I conclude that it wasn't the time to be worried about something that had never posed a problem for me or my city. How could something that never interfered with our life be a disaster; the frogs, however, as hell-bent on destroying the 43rd city. Dealing with them was should be my utmost priority. I could lose my mind later.

I knew I could function again when I starting wondering how Princess Tinbuji would react to the truth about the mountain.

I would have to ask our troop leader behind this reason for choosing the place to hunt, but he was nowhere to be found, and the frog was acting up again. It was done feeding.

It's when I noticed that one daring soldier had climbed onto the frogs back. The soldiers tried to bite its left eye, but she missed the mark as the frog clawed her to the ground. She fell unconscious. I hurried to drag her away from the mayhem as soldiers entered a state of panicked rush around me. The frog retaliated by slamming its hands upon them, crushing soldiers with brute strength.

Its tongue flickered every now and then, leaving a rancid odor behind as it took soldiers into the bloody maw. But that's when something odd occurred. The soldiers in frenzy released death odor, which stirred the frog. It shook away from them in haste as if worried about getting contaminated by them.

We can kill it! FORWARD! Attack its limbs. Death to the beast!
The soldiers cried. Mixed in-between them was Star's official order.

Open its wounds and then it will be nothing. He had ordered. The scent was light, unlike the war cry's that covered the ground, and floated at a height where my antennae could catch it.

The soldiers were confident. The death odor they released worked like a charm and had the frog befuddled. it couldn't figure out why its food suddenly smelled of rot and decomposing.

However, just when we thought the frog was in our grasp, it leaped away; well, it tried, but couldn't. The leg that the front line soldiers had stunned beyond belief was swollen blue. The venom had reacted. The frog fell to the back of our group. It tried to run away still, but its leg seized and refused to budge. We overran it. Solders started drumming in victory, but the frog proved us wrong.

It made a defiant croak and licked the soldiers holding onto its skin. It didn't eat them but spat them out. The ball of slime fell upon three soldiers who were instantly covered in the slimy glue, stuck to each other, and unable to move. The soldiers attack unperturbed, but it proved to be a foe worthy of being called a beast.

The frog licked another group off the ground, this one containing a well over ten soldiers; but it didn't eat them, instead spat them at a group equally large.

The next group it swallowed it tried to eat, but they were determined to resist and defied its strength to the very end. They held their own against the frogs crushing throat muscles, maybe even managed to take hold of its slippery insides, because the frog croaked in pain, cursing.

Soldiers took charge to hurt the beast while it was immobile. Star had tried attacking it head-on, but he had only proved our troop leaders point that it was a foolish tactic. He had failed and it was time for a change of plan.

The promise came awake in my mind when I saw him standing dull-witted, staring blankly at the soldiers rushing at the frog. 43rd city was not the end of my journey. We needed to get through the frogs. This place was only a way station on the path, my destination was still far and the time was slipping. The frog was dangerous, but the termites endangered the safety of our whole kingdom! I couldn't stop there; I had to keep moving. Princess was waiting for me.

***
I started thinking because that's what I was good at. My paltry strength wasn't needed, but a good plan could easily change the impossible into possible. The well and the frog at the bottom of it proved me right.

We needed to find a weakness, something to bring the frog to the ground.
It had no exoskeleton, but a thick layer of skin; not six legs but two. It was no wonder it couldn't walk. Leaping around was not a superior way of getting around. Its head couldn't rotate like ours, but its sight was sharp.
Though, its eyes were too big a target to ignore, but how to get atop its head.

It sat straight with its head parallel to the ground: there is a blind spot right underneath its jaw. Moreover, its tongue could only attack in a straight line without much flexibility. It even needed to position its head in the direction it wanted to attack. It couldn't fire in rapid successions and was immovable while swallowing food.

Only one had managed to reach its eyes, and she had done it by, mounting the frog's back!
That's it!

The frog had another blind spot at the back of its head, besides the one directly underneath its jaw! A way… I had found a way to take it down. Now, all we needed was a group of soldiers ready to take the chance and someone to lead them, someone who could see and would be followed irrespective of the charge and order; and another group to distract the frog while they did their job. That someone would be Star.

The second group would keep their distance, but the first group needed to be led by our troop leader, and he was nowhere to be found. There was no one else who could see… other than you. My inner voice corrected.

NO, I said.
Yes and yes, It laughed and I gave in. There was no other option.

I hurried toward Star. He was charging straight toward the frog leading his remaining soldiers to their death.
Stop! Hear me out. I scented, but he was too lost, too engrossed in his thoughts. He kept going, leading; his troops exhilarated to accompany him one last time.
What are you thinking? 55555th tried to stop me, but I had made up my mind.

I charged into Star and tackled him to the ground. I kept special care so my mandibles wouldn't injure him. Together we skittered on the ground and came to a stop some distance away. The commotion forced the soldiers to stop, buzzing antennae raging to go without him.

Pain reignited hope in his eyes. What are you doing? He said skittering away from me and heaving up to his feet.
Hear me out. I have a plan, but I need to know where our troop leader is. He's the only one who can do it.
What? He said, his antennae were clearly out of tune. I didn't want to admit anything else.
I repeated my words, slowly, and he listened.
He's dead. Your troop leader is dead. He told me.
How? I asked but shook my head. No. I said. Don't tell me. We can still do this.
Alright, He said, not caring for an answer either. It wasn't the time for answers, but actions. What do you want us to do? He asked, ready to get eaten by the frog if it meant killing it.
Harry it with poison —I told him— but stay out of the range of its tongue, and the most important thing—
I know. He interrupted; his energetic self pushing through the determined role he had taken. You want us to distract it, right? I still don't understand what you are trying to do, but I agree. Your troop leader was right. I was wrong to fight it head-on. But if you think you can take it down, I'm all up for it.

5555th looked at me worried, but I told her there was no reason to.
We are only going to mount its back.
I was determined.
Captain Star grouped the remaining soldiers and spread them around the frog-like a triple-layered net. They kept their distance, however, rendering the frog's tongue ineffective. And I led a group of twenty soldiers that included my party of five. They only followed me because 5555th insisted.
The hateful one made sure to let me know her thoughts. I hope you have a good plan because I don't have any plans of dying yet!

I do. I told her, but she wasn't content by my response.

I had gotten another skill out of it called leadership that increased my faith and charm, but it wasn't more important than thinking about my next steps. The frog took precedence and it was a temporary position, given out of necessity, not skill. Well, the system had acknowledged me as a leader, but its acknowledgment was as weightless as a leaf.

We went to the right, away from the fight. We needed to get out of the frog's line of its sight if we wanted to surprise it. Star pulled the soldiers back and made the marksmen harry the frog from a distance, but the frog didn't stay quiet either. It leaped into them. But that didn't work this time as the soldiers were distant and experienced enough to dodge. It could have been a disaster if the soldiers were still grouped together. Only one soldier lost her life, which when compared to the last time was way a better performance. Still, a loss was a loss.

Don't worry about them. 2K scented. A beast like that will cause death whatever you do. Kill it and the pain will stop.

Everything is happening thanks to him. The hateful one scolded. We would still be resting in the post tower if it wasn't for him.

That's not true. One of the soldiers raised a scent flag in my favor. It was his city, his home, and had tagged along upon hearing my plan. You say that because you haven't lived in the terror of watching your friends leave to go for a hunt, nothing knowing whether they will return or not. Our city is worth dying for. I only regret that no one stopped to think of another method to hunt the frogs, an easier way. For generations, we have hunted them and always at a great expense.

The pits have been there all our lives and we never stopped to think they could be used to trap our enemies. The workers always cried about needing to repair them every time it rained and how much time that wasted. Another said. Thanks to you things will change.

The hateful one-clicked her mandibles in annoyance and disappeared to the back of the group. Oh, how I enjoyed her embarrassment.

I was planning to use the drainage lanes to get behind the frog, but its leap made short of our work. 5555th asked me if we should attack it since we were already behind it; I digressed. I told them my findings regarding its blind spot, and they agreed that the risk of being found out wasn't worth it.
Still, my findings were simply a theory I had cooked up. For all I knew, it could be complete garbage. The frog could have all-around sight with no blind or dead spots.

Slowly, I led my group toward the frog, releasing a trail straight as a line etched in the sand.
Heart pounced inside my chest. I could feel my follower's anxiety and anxiousness. But they had no hesitation. They were as determined as me; maybe more. I didn't know for how long captain Star would be able to hold the frog. This was our only chance. We laid flat on the ground every time the frog moved its head enough to see us.

We had to be accurate and sharp. There would be no second chances. I climbed up the frog's slippery back reminding myself that. There would be no second chances.

Attack! I released and climbed atop of its gaining another skill. This one was called Climb.
Go for its eyes. I told them and they listened. It seemed that danger and skills went hand in hand. I had acquired more skills in the last ten minutes than I had learned in a few days. I pushed the prompt aside and pushed toward its big, black eye. I saw myself growing larger in the inky blackness of its oddly shaped eyeball and charged with my mandible pointed straight. Fluids leaked from its eyeball and the beast croaked in pain.

I felt its momentum shifting. Hold on! Someone released at the same time as the frog leaped. It was running away.

I wouldn't let him. Not now, after reaching so far. I had to die! I would have dug into the slimy insides of its eye if my mandibles worked. Anything, I would have done anything.

But as my condition stood I could only hold onto the soft gelatinous surface of the black marble, pull my head out and stab it again. I repeated the process so many times that the mysterious system decided I needed a skill for the action. Well, it gave me two.

Stab one time in the heart to kill, two times to make sure they die, three times is a slip of hand; but who the fuck stab someone more the twenty times in the same place? You are losing it, dude!
You have acquired skill: Sharp weapon mastery.

[Sharp weapon][Tier-1][Lv-1/10][Mastery]
[Sometimes the only difference between life and death is determined by the sharpness of the cut.]
[Effect: You deal 1% more damage to your opponents with a sharp weapon.]
[Reward: Lv-1: You have acquired skill: Stab.]
***
[Stab][Lv-1/10][Tier-1][ [Passive]
[You deal 10% more damage with a stabbing action.]
[Cost: Uses 10% of your endurance.]

The frog descended, more like crashed to the ground, headfirst. A few soldiers fell away during the descent, and the shock from the fall jerked me out of its blasted left eye and to the ground.

I lost a few seconds to the trauma and when light my eyes, the frog as having a trauma, too. It was crushing soldiers during its jittering and convulsions. I had hurt it more than I expected.

I saw Star troubling to keep the soldiers safe, but he was doing a great job. They were brimming with heat, wanting to rush at the beast since it was already down. We had hurt the frog. It was proof that it could be killed. What can be hurt can be killed.

However, we needed to keep away for the frog and let it exhaust itself. Star was a veteran, and he understood this simple thing. I didn't, which proved to be a good thing in our case because the beast was recovering. It was getting used to the undulating pain that arose from its eye. Captain Star being an ordinary soldier couldn't see it, but I could.

Suddenly, the frog stood up, letting me sight a wound on its chest. Out of utter luck, it had managed to open the wound it had received during it tower raid. Pungent stark red blood was starting to leak from it, creating a phantom red incision down its chalk-white chest.

That'll work. I decided. I will make it work.

I set the wound my target and charged toward it.

The skill picked me from the ground and pulled me along. The frog was so angry it didn't notice me approaching at breakneck speed. Lone mandible pointed forward, I stabbed into the wound like an arrow and broke through. It cried in pain and the shivers almost pushed me out, but I dug in.

A wall of muscles stopped me. Since I couldn't go in, I decided to up between the layer of its skin and the muscles wall. I felt it clawing at the chest. One time a finger even brushed me, but I was motivated and feverish. There was no way it was going to stop me any longer. Its heart pulsed beat after beat in the chest. That was my destination. I was going to blast its heart into three pieces, one for each chamber.

I could feel it's every movement while crawling inside. Its muscles went taught before it leaped. It was taking me to the pond. There was nothing anyone could do once it had taken to the air. I hoped some of the soldiers had managed to get hold because if it survived this time, there would be no next time. It lost momentum and fell toward the ground. The power transmitted from its legs up the body, and it leaped again, using the momentum to keep moving. Its chest rattled like a hollow reed when it croaked for help.

I found a small gap between its muscles and collar bones and pushed through it. I had to shear them with my mandible, cutting the fibrous thin threads keeping the two together.

The frog shuddered every time I cut one of the threads. I enjoyed its pain very much; a little too much maybe. Its chest muscles involuntarily twitched and the bones they were joined to crackled in freedom. I wormed my way through its chest cavity when the ole was big enough for me to pass through, stabbing every inch of its soft flesh and veins. Its insides exploded in blood around me. I followed its wildly thumping heartbeat and found the organ, a monstrosity of its own.

But before I could even touch its heart, the frog gave a loud croak of the kind I had never heard before. It was full of pain. I had leaped high right before, but it didn't fall back to the ground no matter how long I waited. Then its heartbeat slowed and seized completely.

The frog died, but I hadn't killed it.

I climbed my way out of its throat and found the ground quickly skittering past me. We were moving at an unprecedented speed past the green pastures and into territory unknown.

A sky predator had caught the frog and was taking us far-far away. There was no one there beside me. I was all alone. My quest couldn't have gotten any more complicated.

Underload · Oct 3, 2020

This was a case of worry becoming reality.

The flying predator was so massive the large frog easily fitted its feathered white talons. I could make out its underbelly from my position, inside the frog's wet mouth. Covered in layers of white feathers, it shone a prismatic hue every time the sky predator swerved left or right, letting sunlight trace over them.
Outside, wide blew strong and scraping. Staying under it was a daring venture for the overconfident and strong; I was neither.

It took me far away from 43rd city and my companions. How far? I couldn't distinguish. Even the map, a system tool, a skill that showed my position relative to the geography, displayed me in a circle of black nothingness. Using it was my step toward adapting to the system; a little late, but better than never. The skill depended upon my knowledge of the surroundings to chart, and since was lost in a white haze somewhere up in the sky with no idea of the direction I was heading, it had stopped recording for the time being.

I was heading toward the unknown and alone. Time turned unease into fear for me, the fate of my city and the princess whom I had left behind. Later confidence kicked in and confused me.

You are done. My inner voice laughed. Let's see how you finish your quest now.
It needed a whip on its blasted bottom and be reminded that it was my inner voice.
Why don't you jump? It said. You might make it to the ground in a single piece.

That surprised me. But suddenly the air grew cold around me. The bird dove and I saw water, blue sparkling water that roared like thunder and stung like poison. The sky predator pushed its free leg into the water body, skirting, opening a wound on the surface that closed behind us. It drank from the river, letting me a sight of its face. It had green circular eyes with a rim of yellow around it, a pointed beak that was large and sharp enough to pierce right through the frog. A long feathery mane curved along with the shape of its neck. It climbed back to the sky once it finished drinking and my sight grew hazy again.

Well, you missed the chance. Better luck next time. My inner voice mocked. I grew pensive and sat back inside the frog's open mouth, eating its flesh to stay full and drinking the rising blood to keep hydrated. The red blood was too salty for my liking. We were so high up it was impossible to make out anything.

Eventually, we slowed. The sky predator went into a dive, wings folded, legs stretched behind. I almost got thrown away by the pressure and only survived thanks to the frog.

It wasn't long before it pushed its wings out and flapped them to hover and slowly descend into the crown of a tree. I felt alive again as the drowning wind stopped and lively sounds erupted around me. The sudden explosion of greenery was emotionally overwhelmingly, after the never-ending white. I felt like I was at home again, but deep down I knew I might never return.

The all too familiar scents grounded me. Just a bit more and I could at least be back to my part of the world. The sky was not where I belonged.

Is the ground where you belong? You really think so? Even after meeting the frog and knowing the truth?
I ignored it.
We were getting closer to the source of the sounds, the sharp chirps, the cries of hunger. Sensitive hearing was too sensitive sometimes. The sky predator slowly lowered herself into the largest tree around, for as far as I was concerned.

Hidden between the branches and leaves was an enormous construction weaved from twigs, flexible reeds, and grass blades. It was carefully placed at the point where one of the larger branches extended into two. The sharp chirps were coming from it, loud enough to attract the attention of a predator, just like the frog. I wondered if there was something wrong with these creatures, whether they didn't understand the meaning of vigilance. Did they lose fear with their size? But the chirps stopped when she took perch next to the nest that was far too open, too accessible —the latter being the reason behind its hollow base and an open top.

Me, mother! FEED ME! I heard as the frog was lifted and then dropped in the nest.

I braced for impact, which came as a sudden jolt and then pounding. I first thought of running outside, but ran the other way, inside, when the carnivorous murderous chicks pounced upon the frog.

They shredded the frog apart in minutes. The difference between us horrified me. Tens of ants had lost their lives to give the others a chance to attack it. The carcass would have nourished thousands for the coming days, slowly eating through it!

They are going to eat you along with the frog. My inner voice said. You better make a run for it while they are distracted.

There was a lull that made me wonder if they were done feeding, but I was wrong.
The chicks started fighting over the last portions of the frog. The carcass was pulled and thrown around. That's when I knew I had to leave. Inside the frog was not safe anymore, which was ironic. I rushed out of its mouth.

The ground was a barely wide strip of dried grass blade that demanded my full attention. Around me the chicks danced, causing surprisingly small tremors.
The nest worked wonderfully as a shock dampener. I changed direction when a fuzz wall of feathery flesh blocked my path. Clawed feet drummed the nest, small wings flapped and loud chirps created a ruckus. The largest one among the three was trying to monopolize the whole frog. Two were fighting it. I noticed a fourth one, gigantic in its own right, but frail compared to the others resting to the side of the nest. It looked hungry but made no motion to fight for a portion.

It had given up.

I wondered why they couldn't share the frog then shook my head to clear my mind. This was no time for useless wonderment. My life was in danger. I would die the moment they noticed me.
Too late!
A claw crushed me.
That would have been the end of me if the ground was solid. Thankfully, it was not.

I fell through the senseless weaved construction of twigs and grass that the chicks called their nest. It made no sense to me. I couldn't see intelligence in this. Were they not afraid of predators, of wind and rain, the elements, of diseases and parasites?

My world turned upside down. Stunned, I rolled over twigs and leaves only to find myself completely catatonic lying somewhere deep inside the nest. Only my antennae moved, which they did from neural misfiring rather than intention.

The world inside that multi-layered construction was deep and dark. Barely illuminated by sunlight, shadows drove into the gaps, and filled them with darkness, while the burning edges of the materials gave it a sense of depth. The outside noises barely reached inside. I didn't know I was looking for solace until I found it there. The passing light made the shadows like a living-moving creature, hiding inside the nest. Well, its addition wouldn't have made any difference to my condition even if it was true.
Weary soldiers that survived the outside alone never told their stories. They only warned to be cautious. To stay on the trail, stay with the horde, never lose your way.

Our strength lies in numbers.

I lost consciousness right there midst the dancing lights and the warmth.

Night had fallen outside when I came awoke, and the world was under the veil of darkness. I climbed back to the surface —It was easier said than done, but not impossible. The sky predator was inside the nest, sleeping with the chicks under her wings, three of them. The frog was nowhere to be seen and another being, shelled and multi-legged, lay half-eaten to the side.

I passed by pieces of its broken shell, attracted by the lavish scent it was releasing. I wanted to leave, but hunger won me over. The scent was too inviting.

I approached the body with caution as the fourth chick, the malnourished one, slept right next to it. Far away a hopper cried for a mate. Wind careering through the leaves kept the night awake. The chick stirred in front of me as a cold gust swept through, but didn't come awake. Soon, I was digging into the succulent mass, forgetting my woes for the time being. The nervousness gave way to stress eating and my abdomen swelled with each bite I took.

Lost in feeding, it was too late by the time my senses woke and alarmed me.

The fourth chick was awake!

My heart thrummed. It stared at me, head cocked and eyes staring in interest and confusion. I stared back in dread, legs refusing to move. The stalemate continued until confidence kicked in and I found some strength in my legs. I rushed away from the multi-legged monster and down into the layered protection of the warm nest. Deep I went and lay there. I worried it would look for me, but it surprisingly didn't.

However, that was enough excitement for one night. Heart told me to leave, and my mind laughed at the proposition.

Where are you planning to go? It's the middle of the night. My inner voice said. I couldn't argue.
The night didn't belong to us ants. I was starting to doubt whether even day belonged to us or not. And it was safe in there, warm and protected. I didn't think any smaller predator would risk coming close to the nest while the sky predator slept inside.

The night passed uneventfully.

***
The next morning, the real owners of the nest, the chicks, started crying again in hunger, especially the largest one, the bully. Their mother, the sky predator had it tough. I was starting to pity her. Back in the city, the whole population was there for the sake of taking care of the queen and the newborn nymphs, that didn't make you go insane with their cries of hunger.

The chicks stopped crying the moment their mother left for hunting. At least they knew to be careful. I had trouble understanding why there was no one to protect them while their mother hunted. Where were their community, their soldiers, and warrior? The difference was uncanny.

At least we ants had a community to rely upon. These predators, though monstrously strong, were far too lonely.

I planned to look around. As for direction, any would do, unless it took me into danger. I was too lost to care. Going back to the surface was unnerving since it was day time, but I was careful and vigilant.
To my surprise, the chicks were busy beating the fourth one for food; I could smell the scent of my late night's meal coming from it. To think a family would hurt one of their own… but they were distracted and it was as good an opportunity as any I would have found. Taking a chance, I rushed toward the nest wall, cruised over it, and climbed atop. It was a green-green world, a maze of branches thick and thin. Sky a distant invisible thing, similar to the ground.

I was too high up to jump.

I picked my way through a set of branches, walking toward the center of the tree, toward the trunk. Falling down was not an option. In a territory unknown, I had to be careful. Who knew what hid in the layer of foliage, waiting for a prey to fall from the tree?
The wind blew sequentially up there.

I hadn't gone much further from the nest, only a few branches away, when my senses started tingling. My eyes saw nothing and my antennae found no one. Until I heard a swish and saw a familiar tongue shot toward me. It was long, elastic, and slimy; reminding me of the frog and the terror it had caused midst the lines of our soldiers. I was sure to die. However, it barely brushed past me and struck something behind. The thing had been hiding. I only saw it while the tongue was receding back into the mouth of the frog? There was a large brown mass jittering, stuck at the tip of the tongue, legs flailing, antennae blurring. It was helpless.

The pink tentacle disappeared somewhere in front of me, and I was none too wise to understand the shading hell that had happened. Where was the frog? Why was I still alive? Senses were no longer at unrest. Hair heard no movement. The air stood still for a moment. The hunter suddenly appeared, right in front of my eye.

It was no frog!

It had been hiding in plain sight, invisible to my naked eyes!

An explosion of colors brought it out from hiding. A smattering of orange made the tip of its chewing mouth, red and green and blue made the fingers that wrapped around the branch I was using as a bridge. Yellow flowered atop its horned eyeless head, and beyond. I stood motionless until its binocular eyes moved around in a haphazard manner and then fixated upon me one by one.

That's when I turned around and ran. It didn't pursue me, but I was terrified. Up this branch, down that leaf, I somehow ended up following the trail back to the nest where the chicks no longer fought and were sleeping. I knew the smallest of movement would bring them awake and screaming in hunger, but I couldn't create that kind of movement anyways.

In the nest, the fourth chick was once again lying to one side, but this time a wet reflecting red marred the side of her belly. The others had pecked her. The wound and the blood were still fresh.

She saw me and gave a chirp. Picked something up from behind and rushed toward me bouncing from one leg to another.

I just had about enough at that point. I was really exhausted. For a second a voice rose in me yelling at the chick to eat me. Dread had nothing on me. Anger flared, sight reddened, but the effect came undone when the chick dropped the thing she carried: a piece of the shelled beast that she had fought to save from her siblings. She happily chirped, telling me to eat.

I escaped.

What in the shade was wrong with her? Her behavior made no sense. Why would she do that? She was a predator and I was her prey!

Panic started to rise, but I pushed it away for the time being. It would erupt soon, but I could wait until I had found myself a good resting place to cry and worry.

I hid in the weaved mass, protected from all around, warm and cozy. I was uncertain of the chicks surviving if the hunter made its way to the nest. That thing was no frog. It had a mouth large enough to devour one instantly and a shell that looked tough and resistant. And it would come. Any predator worth the title would not leave such —relatively— easy targets alone.

It will make a meal out of the chicks —my inner demon laughed— especially the fourth one. The others will somehow escape, but she will be caught.

Not my problem! I yelled at it, the brazen, daring, shading voice. How dare it make fun of me!
The sky predator diligently came back, this time crying a dead mouse.

It smelled of death but everything had a small odor of death to them. You are dying every day.

She must have noticed the wounds on her daughter because this time she decided to feed them herself. Even though the biggest one cried for more, she fed them all equally, before flying away once again. She didn't notice anything wrong with her surroundings, however. There would have been alarms ringing by now if something like that had entered so near our territory.

The three didn't harry their sister needlessly but they warned her to stay out of their way.
Hunger was difficult to hold. You should have taken the help when it was given. I scolded myself for thinking such a baseless thing. A predator doesn't help its prey. Maybe it considered me less than one? That made as much sense as me making it back to the 43rd city tomorrow.

Princess, I don't think I'm going to make it. Once the thought would have been accompanied by notions of freedom, responsibility, and even likeness, but now there was only longing.

Be afraid. Her scent crisp and clear, I remembered. Be afraid. It echoed, again and again, until I was tired of it. Only then it changed. Break free.
I came awoke from the nightmare. I must have worried myself to sleep because I didn't remember it happening. Surprisingly, my head was clear as the sky above. I knew what I needed to do: Have to find my way to the 47th city. It was stubbornness, something I had gotten from her.

There were no trails to take me there, but event eh first trials had to be laid before there were any. Confidence didn't mean I rushed out of the nest on an adventure. The hunter was waiting out there, somewhere it wouldn't be noticed. It hadn't attacked yet, but soon it would. For all I knew it could be hiding nearby, indistinguishable from nature, waiting for an opportunity.

That, I thought, will be my opportunity to escape.

However, I could only hold on without food for so long. And the system was no help. It blared in my mind messages of low endurance, something I had never heard before. They were warning, ploys to get the wheels rolling. The surface was the only place where I could get food, but the young chick was waiting for me when left my hiding place in the nest. The sight of her grey beak right above my head almost gave me a heart attack. She chirped happily, but from so close, it was no worse than an attack. I was stunned, couldn't move, and couldn't escape.

The big bully came awake at her chirp. Hiding food! He cried and pounced at her, and not just with his sharp beak. He even tried to claw her face, to blind her. She shrieked, this time in pain instead of hunger. The other two also came awake and started crying. They weren't behind the bully. I dreaded for my life but the young chick shielded me. She didn't move, even unfurled her wings to stop her brothers. They weren't large like her mother, but feathered and daunting in their own right. That was an act of unexpected kindness.

They were still pecking her back when the stun lifted. I shied away from them under the twigs, but maybe she didn't notice because she didn't move.

Give! Give! The others chirped while she kept crying.

A drop of something sweet fell from her eyes and right atop of my head, unnaturally missing all the obstruction on the way. It was warm and sad.

I rushed out of my hiding spot, charged at her belly, dampening my momentum by rolling id-air. Yes, I did that. She noticed me and fluttered her wings in worry.

Don't, was the only thing I could make out in a hurry, but that was enough. Why did everyone only wanted to give and never receive anything in return? I was being so stupid. The fate of my whole race was on the line. The princess was waiting for my return. And I was charging toward a predator a million times my size. What could I do alone?

I climbed atop of her head and charged toward the big bully. I prayed to the shade to not take me so early and targeted the aggressor's eye. The bully lifted his head in surprise and I missed, bouncing off his beak.

But I found balance at the bridge of his nose, and out of options, released all my pheromones in an act to overwhelm him. I don't know if it worked, but he sneezed and I was flung back. My savior, the fourth chick caught me, as the bully entered a sneezing fit. So maybe it did work? At least it got him off of her.
Did you see that? I released, only for the pheromones to fall upon a bald head. Communication was going to be a problem. The other two weighed their options and learning that she was only hiding a mere ant, not a frog's legs, and decided to play it safe. They stepped back in a show of vigilance, staring between their leader and their sister, wondering what had happened.

I climbed atop her head as she fluttered her wings up and down in glee, an action that took her feet off the ground. Somehow she was flying, which was a happy occasion for her. There was just one small problem: My senses were tingling in absolute horror.

The shade had heard my plea and sent the hunter.

Underload · Oct 3, 2020

What do you suggest, Red? Silver asked.

They were near the farm, in hiding, and depressed. The merchants hadn't given them the slightest clue regarding the place, and reality was proving definitely far more challenging than their expectations.

Robbing this place was going to be a troublesome affair for sure. And Red agreed with the sentiment.
I suggest we turn around, run away deeper into the forest, and try to make it on our own.

Others thought he was acting hysterical; well, he was pretty damn serious! But Silver was not impressed.
Red changed his tone at the flaccid reception. Want to know the truth so bad? Alright, he scented. I'll explain,

They were hidden pretty well inside a stalwart red berry bush growing at the feet of a mulberry tree. Green definitely knew her stuff when it came to scouting and finding useful places. There were two hundred of them and no matter how Silver erased their scents he was bound to slip up at some point. But she had taken care of even that! The red berry bush had a pungent odor to it that usually kept pests away, but they were using it to mask their odor. It was ingenious and Silver was thankful for her thoughtfulness.

Red continued. There is a sentry post right in front of us. It's not even hidden, and there are good three hundred soldiers manning it. And you say there are others to its left and right? Both at a distance that can be easily covered in just a few minutes of time during an emergency?

They were far enough from the sentry post that only Silver was able to gather information, which by no means meant that it was a disadvantage, but Red had his own perspective. He knew there were bound to be key things that his strong-headed leader would gloss over, but could prove useful for their Endeavour.

However, good as Silver 'the mighty fang' might be, even he couldn't see the farm. They were a good few hundred heads away from it, with the advanced posts right in between.

If we are to infiltrate the farm beyond —Red was finishing up his report, which basically spelled 'D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R' from the D to the R and chocked the soldiers with the scents now that he was being truthful— We'll have to go through them without letting them cause an alarm. Not going to happen. He added upon noticing Green stirring to his left.

She was discontented with the stark refusal; he could have at least heard her piece, right? Sure it would be difficult for all of them to slip through, but who said she couldn't do it alone? She could slip through and, and…
Don't let her get away, Black.
I know.
Well, there went her plan in the pit. But she would try anyway. How would she succeed against strangers if she couldn't even give the slip to her friends (to those she knew left, right, and around)?

That's just one of the things. Red continued, worried. We don't even know what we have to steal? He was so worried precipitation was starting to form on his head.

Honeydew. Silver got their attention. You can smell its sweet taste in the air.

I think only you can smell something so far away, leader. Black said and turned toward the merchants. Well, the lot of them were fishing stars in the sky, and it wasn't easy to get hold of them once they were like that. He dared poke one in the head and they all stirred awake from their… sleep?

Is it true? Are we here to rob honeydew?

At first, the question confused the merchants, until Black explained, and they all nodded in glee.
You impress us more and more, troop leader. One of the merchants said.

Black felt something rising inside him. He suppressed it, leading his left antennae to twitch a few times. He was lucky to avoid embarrassment.

Someone really needed to bind them together and poke their insides, to find out everything that was wrong with them. Just how could they act lost and attentive at the same time? It was over Black's head. Only Yellow seemed to have an easier time around them. He had learned to ignore their eccentricity, even their existence.

Yes, another merchant, a frail and weak looking worker picked up the conversation. The farm produces honeydew and enough of it every day to feed the army for a week.

Did they send us to the other side of the river to rob such a dangerous place for a week's worth of food? Red didn't like the answer. That makes no sense. He knew the army commanders wanted to deal with them, but this is too low even for them.

Of course, the biggest of the merchants answered. The scent he released was deep, impactful, and serious, completely opposite of the previous speaker. We never said that was all there was to their stores. There is a distribution center deep inside the farm that stores everyday produce for monthly distributions to the alliance. That is the place you will rob.

How much? Silver asked.

Obviously, there is enough to start a war over it, troop leader.

It is all too good to be true. Red shook his head. And the alliance is also a problem. If one of the sentries alone has two to three hundred soldiers, then there are bound to be thousands protecting the farm, and even more of them keeping the stores safe.

There are fourteen thousand soldiers on the farm, approximately. The Merchants added, raising heartbeats ad causing scented murmurs among the two hundred soldiers. The colonies are also not far, and the tower is a safe hold that can't be broken into easily. The reinforcements can arrive in less than two hours, dumping nearly two million soldiers into the fray.

No wonder the army doesn't want to directly butt heads with the alliance. Black added, antennae shaking knowingly.

Green stirred. So when am I going in for a quick look around? She was woefully ignored. Well, she would get her turn. She always does. It was just a matter of time and safety. The others would come around, beg her, and everything would be perfect.

So, what are your thoughts, Red? Silver asked for the second time and he couldn't stall any longer. His leader had asked for his opinion and since warning hadn't worked he was sure the truth would. Well, it should! A lot of lives depended on it.

Truthfully, right now I don't have anything. We need to get Green inside and have her take a look around. We don't know anything behind the farm and the alliance. We chased the eight-legged goliath for a whole week, looking over its habits and activity periods before deciding the how, where, and when.

So you mean we need to infiltrate the farm as a member and gather information? Silver asked.
But that's impossible. Red let out in exasperation.
Is it Impossible? Silver asked the merchants, who all stood up together, as if ready to march off into the farm without a moment's hesitation.
We can get you into the farm. They said.
But you want something in return. Silver took the words right out of their heads. The merchants pounced at the chance.

Nothing much: We only want to know who you are, your history, your story, everything. It excites us much to know that there are still some places we haven't been to and species we haven't met. It gives us a purpose.

The others also stood a little forward, antennae straightened, interested. Everyone in the army knew Silver Fang, but no one knew him really. He had appeared out of nowhere one day and taken the army by a storm. He demanded to be put at the front of the line when everyone wanted to do the exact opposite, and there he earned himself a reputation and a name.

Do you want to look inside my head? Silver asked.

How else will we know the truths from the lies? The merchants wanted to perform an I.C with Silver, and however interested the slaved might be about their leader's past, they bared fangs at the merchants upon learning their true intention. They had crossed the line.

Don't agree. Red snapped. I-I'll make sure to find a way.

Black took action. He stepped toward the merchants, and the slaved moved with him.
Yellow didn't say anything but quietly pointed his bottom toward them and waited. That seemed to get the point across as the merchants wavered.

Look at the lot of you getting serious. A merchant, their spokesperson with a neutral tone scented. They didn't even rise up from their resting position when warned. Did they not care for their lives? The question confused and abated more than a few of the slaved, including Black, and he had seen enough in the army to know that no amount of training and thwart instincts.

But the merchants were so nonchalant he couldn't help but ponder whether it was actually the result of training or something else.

We are only joking, of course. Although the offer stands; you can ask us anything in return—

Silver interrupted. Of equal value, he completed the sentence. That seemed to get the merchants more riled up than having two hundred soldiers ready to butcher them.

So you have indeed met one of ours before. But why don't we recall anything? Anyways, we can only take forty of you with us, and they won't be able to leave the farm once in. So think about that. Tell us when you are ready.

***

Now stay here unless called. No mischief. You are under watch. We have brought you here, but they haven't agreed to take you in yet. We'll go talk with the authorities. I'm sure they'll like you all. Just whatever you do —don't wander off. They'll send someone to pick you up if everything goes right.

The merchants finished their speech and left the group exposed and trapped. They followed a pair of rock ants, big, hard-shelled giants that could easily wrestle with a young bee if they had to, and disappeared into the thicket of plants beyond the sentry post, leaving them on the ground with no place to hide.

The merchants had put them in a real bind. The antennae pointing at them only proved it to be true.
I don't like this. Red said. We are too exposed. And I don't think the merchants can be trusted.
It's alright. Silver answered. There was no unease to him; however, the same couldn't be said about the group behind him.

The two of them had picked forty soldiers and workers, as the merchants had insisted, and followed them out of their hiding place. The other group led by Black had retreated for the time being; and Green though relentless to go to the farm was forced to go with them. The group would have to hunt and live; basically what they had been doing, but without Silver looking out for them. And it would be up to Green to keep them safe and fed.

The soldiers rose to attention when a group of five approached them from the advanced camp. It was led by a large black jawbreaker ant with a mean pair of serrated mandibles hanging in front of her face. The group stopped a few heads away from Silver and his band of misfits, while the jawbreaker approached closer.

Captain, she addressed Silver, earning a few pointed glares, but continued unabated. Our chief, the black baroness, sends her greetings and offers refreshments for your weary minds. She also apologizes for having you stay in the open, but that's the protocol. She hopes you understand.

Thanks your chief for the refreshments. We happily accept them.
Red advised caution but was taken back upon learning that the refreshment in question was actually honeydew.
The slaved were delirious at the offer; refusing it would have not been good for other psychology. Accepting the offer displayed their leader's confidence, which allowed them to finally relax.
The sweet nectar refreshed their minds and washed their tiredness. It filled them with much-needed energy.
However, just when everything was going great, a scent rose from the post that sent their host sprawling. Her soldiers fidgeted in nervousness, and so did she.
What's wrong? Red asked. He had to tap her head to get her attention. And even then she acted scared and horrified.
The commander of the advanced posts is coming. She said, packing up and leaving, but stopped midway to warn them. Don't get on her bad side. She said and they hurried off toward the camp post.

She made it back just in time as another group appeared from the thicket of plants ground trash.

The progression stopped at the post, noticed them, and changed direction. The commander was a warrior, days and days old. That much was easy to see from the battles marks cladding her exterior. She wasn't a giant, however, but a digger of the mountains: Large orange head, with short but thick mandibles, a smaller black abdomen, and spread out legs to keep her center of gravity closer to the ground. Ants similar to her made the ensemble. And she was hostile from the get-go.

No introduction, no greeting. She dived directly to the bite the bone.
Are you the ones with the merchants? She scented.
Yes. Red answered.
Has the army sent you?
That bit sent Red into a thinking sprawl.

We are not at the liberty to say anything. Silver answered for Red was taking too much time. He might often leave decisions to his captains, but there were times when he took the command in his hands, and this was that time. The commander was clearly hostile and stubborn. Only someone who could be equally stubborn could handle those like her. Red was not it.

We'll see about that. The short, but stable commander scented. She was not large, but she was wide. Everything about her scented of power. You, she pointed an antenna at a young worker, one of the only three that Silver had picked. Come forward.

The worker looked at Silver who nodded and the worker followed.

Do you know why I called you forward? The captain asked.
The worker shook his head, hairs standing straight from nervousness.

A group is as strong as its weakest link, and you clearly are the weakest link of this group. Now you will either tell me what the army is planning, or I'm going to kill you.

The slaved stirred into action as the commander's ensemble caught the worker. The angry soldiers stopped when they saw their leader not budging, however, the worker was not released. The worker was young, but he had been together with Silver since the day he created his team of the slaves. He had seen his leader do some incredible-incredible things. He would go far to say things that no one else could do.
However, he also knew that the army constricted him and this was a consignment by them and there was a chance Silver wouldn't help him. He looked ready to struggle his way out of the predicament when his antennae stood up buzzing, and he relaxed.
I'm going to give you three breaths of time. The commander said. You either come out clean, or I'll kill you.
Three, the captain finished counting. So you have chosen death. She said and snapped her mandible at the worker's neck.
Silver watched it happen. Red contracted his antennae. The soldiers fidgeted as the worker was let go and he fell to the ground.

The commander let out amusement as the youngling crawled away from her, fear finally taking control of her. The worker didn't leak pheromones and he didn't cry for help till the end, but that didn't mean he was fine. Red heaved him up to his feet. Silvers pat his back, which made him lift his head. Confidence returned, but he stumbled a few steps in. The soldiers caught and welcomed him back. But his thrumming heart said all that he couldn't.

He believed when the commander said she would kill him and she wanted to do it till the last moment, until the snap. He had lived long enough to know that it was no acting.
Well, at least the merchants didn't lie about your group being daring, captain. Silver did not humor her.

They seemed docile enough to be useful. Let's see how to fare against enemies larger than them. They are yours, shepherdess. The commander left with her ensemble, leaving behind a small worker whom no one had noticed until then. Green would have loved to spare some time with, for the shepherdess looked exactly like her, with the difference of their sizes, of course. Green was a soldier, a scout, a
Umm, if you will follow me, please? The tiny shepherdess politely requested.
Add the difference of their temperaments to the previous statement, because Green wasn't the kind of soldier to say please. It would need a miracle to happen for the words to come from her.

Underload · Oct 3, 2020

A different hunter arrived that the one I was expecting. This one was longer, brown, scaled, and tubular; like an earthworm that I had seen hiding in the mud. It slithered over the nest, hissing, tasting the raw scent of life that the chicks oozed, and blocking any escape path. The chicks couldn't have escaped anyways. I had never seen their mother leave by climbing down the tree. She had always flown away and returned by flying —which they hadn't learned yet.

How should I describe the feeling it rose inside me? I had all but given up on determining the size difference at this point. The world was vast and there were bound to be even bigger predators out there. Maybe the hisser was also someone's prey. Maybe there was an even higher mountain than the one I had mounted. All could be possible at this point.

The system agreed.

You have learned another TRUTH of the world: There is always a higher mountain to climb.
You have acquired a new skill: Reckless Courage.

[Reckless Courage][Lv-1/10][Tier-1][Passive]
[The skill increases your stats when you are up against giants.]
[Effect: Your stats increase by 10% every skill level.]
[Reward: Your strength increases by .1 Points every skill level.]

The truth scared me. Did it want me to rush at the hisser and fight? Well, not a chance.

I was nothing to it. The hisser was for the chicks what the earthworm was for me, but it didn't shy away like the worm. It was confident, even smug. It hissed, split tongue undulating in front of its slit mouth. What do we have here? The air vibrated. What fresh taste! Yum-Yum! I'll be sure to enjoy you pretty little things.

It called the chick's pretty little things! One would have to be courageous and reckless to fight that; maybe even downright suicidal. No wonder the skill was named as such. Not me, though. Not me.
The chicks cried for help. Help, Mother, help!

The twin brothers wailed, while their sister pulled back to the nest wall, heaving, scared, and shaking. She squirmed down and rolled into a ball, the same way she acted when her brothers bullied her.

It's not going to save you. I told her, but she didn't listen, didn't hear. It was hopeless. How was I to save her? Did I have to be reckless? Did I need to put my life on the line, again?

The bully was the first to act; of course, he was. Rotten to the core, the bully and the hisser were not much different from each other.

Surprisingly, he opened his wings and started fluttering them, and chirping loudly in quick successions, bellowing. It somehow worked. The hisser pulled back in confusion.

It's working. He chirped and the twins joined him. They jumped up and down, wings fluttering, feathers ruffled, breaking away, and flying aggressively in front of the hisser.

The hisser was left dumbfounded but by the prey that should have been helpless in front of it. It was in an awkward situation.

Success made the twins grew confident. They pushed forward and clawing air the same way they clawed their sister, believing the hisser would mimic her for some reason. Things changed, however, when the bully saw a chance and ran toward the edge of the nest, wings fluttering faster and faster. He didn't wait for his brother and jumped off. Only the sound of him crashing through the leaves and branches reached the nest. What became of him was highly doubtful.

However, his escape made the hisser hiss in fury. It didn't like its prey getting away and pulled back out of the nest. It wasn't leaving. I knew that maneuver. It was similar to me getting on my haunches to charge at them. It was coming! But the twins didn't understand; they couldn't believe their brother had thrown himself off the nest. That meant death! Their mother hadn't taught them how to fly yet. However, But this worry and confusion made them cease activity, giving the hisser the opportunity it sought.

It sprung at the twins with its mouth stretched open, purple tongue hidden and large fangs visible. Hunger flared in its eyes. I smelled poison ooze out from the tip of its fangs, burning killing poison of the kind I had never sensed before. It made me cringe away, my heart race. Such was the momentum behind its rush that the air itself hissed in its honor. The hisser gave the twins no chance. One of them was already dead the moment it came into motion.

It struck. There was a scream and a screech of the dying kind —everyone makes it when they try to scream and breathe at the same time. The twin that survived fluttered his wings in horror, struck between the nest wall and the bark brown scaled back of the living terror. The other fluttered his wings in a dying struggle; much the same way our legs do the death jitters. The hisser caught it tightly inside its mouth, large fangs buried deep inside its chest pushing poison into its bloodstream.
Too horrifying!
It's your chance! The voice said. Run!
I rushed down the feathery neck, into the nest wall, and out the other side. I was free. I had saved my life. There was still the other hunter waiting somewhere down the path.
We'll deal with it when it comes.
Heart pounded like never before.
The hisser hadn't come for me, but I couldn't help feel dreadful. Maybe I would have been better off without my sight and hearing.
And better off lost and dead, too?
I wouldn't have lost my way if I was normal. An ant should never see these giant monsters. We were better off fighting over our small patch of land, calling ourselves the owners when it never truly belonged to us. Is this what the explorers are used to seeing and fighting?
Could they have returned alive after fighting them, my dear friend? My inner voice asked.
It was no wonder they acted like they didn't care about anything anymore.

It was easy to see how burdened my mind felt. I was talking to myself.
Well, it was about time you grew senile. My mind laughed and grew quiet. It was different today for some reason.

I thought I had escaped the hisser by leaving the nest, but I couldn't have been more wrong. What I had seen inside was just its head! The rest of its body was outside, coiled around the main branch like a vine growing around a plant, like a parasite. A deadly screech rose from the nest. The hisser stirred. The length of it rolled around the tree branch and started moving toward the nest.

It has nothing to do with me. I decided and climbed over the hissers scaled back. I had to do that; it would have crushed me in its attempt to fill the nest, otherwise. It had patterns similar to the frog on its back. Dark black circles and long thin lines made the most of them.

Weren't these patterns there to better hide their bearers? So even something like it has to hide?

Well, there was an undeniable difference in size between the hisser and the moving mountain.
Forward! I had to tell myself because I was not moving. For all my worry and horror, I was still letting it take me back. My heart didn't want to go.
You are not a savior. I told myself. You are an ant, small, and powerless. You can't save her. It is her life, her problem. Let her deal with it.
Break free, I heard Princess Tinbuji whisper.
Not today. No!
Break free!
The hisser suddenly quickened. The sudden acceleration threw my senses haywire. I couldn't make out left from right, and the voices were no good either. I clenched the groves between its scales to keep me steady.
I had to decide my next steps. I couldn't let it carry me back without a plan: I could either let go and fall down and maybe get lucky enough to catch a draft of air and get carried toward a leaf or a branch, or ride the hisser's tailback to the nest and do everything I can to help the fourth chick.
It would be my decision, not a scream from her, the taunting of my inner voice, or some another convoluted reason. I would do it for myself. I had nothing to prove by going back. I was to the hisser what dirt was to me. It would be only to save —laughable, my inner voice taunted. It was enjoying itself. But I had nothing to prove.

For all my considerations, in the end, it was her hurtful scream that made up my mind.

Reckless courage has activated.
All stats increased by 10%.

I rode the tail until it slowed again, and then rushed up the hissers back as fast as I could. I could have been faster if I was using all my legs, but retracting the two middle ones for balance had its adverse effects.

I knew I would be protected there because it couldn't see on its back. I hope the scales numbed its sensitivity, because my exoskeleton did, and it was only for the hairs on my body that I could actually perceive the world. But it didn't notice me. I would have had a difficult time escaping otherwise, for it was flexible enough to lick its own back —at least the lower portions where I was.

The frog wasn't able to handle us once we were on its back; I hope the hisser would be the same. For all their size and mass and strength, these predators had such an obvious weakness. Well, most ants couldn't even see, but that was a different thing. We were born to rule the underground.

Over the nest, the hisser was coiled around one of the two brothers and was engulfing him completely. His head was already deep inside its horrifyingly stretched jaw. The hisser wasn't eating it rather taking hold with its tiny sharp teeth and trying to wrap its slippery throat around the corpse. It was an unreal sight; my first and hopefully last.

The other brother was fluttering his wings, crying for help, while the one I cared about, the malnourished fourth chick, was surprisingly pecking the hisser, and trying to make it leave her brother. There was a far chance of that happening.

I knew she could stand for herself as she had for me, but I didn't know she would go even against something like the hisser. That was courageous of her. She would have been better of worrying about herself though, but some of us as just different.

I jumped toward her. I was too light to get her attention but appearing in front of her eyes did surprise her. She gave me a happy chirp then got back to pecking. I wanted to explain that it wouldn't work; the hisser's scales were too hard. Her beak wasn't going to get through.

She got through and drew red, fragrant blood. Even the monster had a softer belly when compared to its back.

I had learned my lesson from the frog. I wasn't going to climb inside there. The hisser had a thick layer of muscles behind the skin, and I knew from experience how hard it was to get through them. I would have been crushed had I tried entering its body from the wound.
However, it was pissed that a small prey that should have been cowering in fear was able to leave it a wound.

The tail whipped toward her. I heard the twang, but couldn't stop it. I fell atop of the tail as it struck her belly. A sharp painful chirp rose from her throat and she was flung to the nest wall, which absorbed the shock, but the tail did leave a red and quickly bluing bruise behind.

Anger flared, but I nabbed it before it could take away my intelligence. The hisser wasn't an opponent to go berserk against.
I'll show you! I decided.
Dealt with the nuisance, the pecker, the tail moved out of the way and directly above its head. I had an easier time jumping than running, but I did miss my mark and fell a distance from its head —though still on its scaled back—and slipped, but held by gripping the grove between its scales. That could have been difficult.

Confidence rose as I closed the distance between its head and me, allowing me to see how easy my target was. At least the frog could swat its head to defend; the hisser had no limbs!

I admit doubting the need for my six legs when it was doing great without even one. Even the frogs required only two legs to move about; the other pair was for support and various other things, but movement.
By the time I reached its head, it had all but engulfed the second brother.

If I was late it would have definitely gone for the fourth chick next, for hurting it. I knew because I would have done the same.

I wasn't going for its scales. They were impenetrable. Maybe there was another predator that could do it, but not I. This time I laughed at the notion. A few days ago, the TRUTH had horrified me, and now I had seen so many inconceivable things that I was starting to wonder if it even mattered. Since I had never seen these humongous monsters before leaving the city, it only meant that our lives were separate. We were not dependent upon each other and hence could safely co-exist; unlike the termites.

I climbed its head and its slit eyes appeared in my sight like two large globes rising from the horizon. I felt like I was trying to catch the sun from the sky. My plan was to hurt it so much it decides to run away. I was banking upon pain. And for that, I needed to hurt it deep and long.

I picked my target and got on my haunches. I charged I stabbed, it cried.

I struck and stabbed so deep, I tore through the outer membrane of its soft left eye and sunk deeper into the viscous fluids below. I only heard a confused chirp before the darkness swallowed me. A hiss resonated through its whole body and I felt it shift. But my work wasn't done. Ants don't have oxygen reserves; so I was basically drowning the moment I entered its eye.

I was swift and stabbed everywhere. It convulsed from pain, but it wasn't enough. I wanted to go deeper, act meaner, and stab harder, but my body was growing cold.

I couldn't breathe. I was chocking on its eye fluids when the system saved me.

You stupid ant, go outside. You can't swim!
You have acquired a new skill: Hydrophobic constitution.

[Hydrophobic constitution][Lv-1/10][Tier-1][Resistance]
[Water doesn't stick to your body.]
[Reward: Your Constitution gains .1 points per level.]

It's time. You better prepare yourself.
You have collected 50 skills and acquired title skill collector in the process.

[Skill Collector][Title]
[It is just a representation of your achievement. Or is it?]
[Reward: Evolving Greed from tier-0 to tier 1.]
[Calibrating]

I don't know whether the skill helped or not, but I was somehow able to make my way toward the wound. I was desperate for air.

Eerie red numerical figures rose out of my head with every passing second. I believed I was going to die.
Then somehow the shaking lined me perfectly with the wound and the force pulled me from the eye and flung me out of the nest. I was losing consciousness.

There were confused chirps. The hisser was standing tall above the nest, and shaking its head in pain.

My eye, my eye! It was crying, over and over again.

I worried about what I might find at the bottom of the tree, but the top of the tree worried me too. What was going to happen to the chick? Surprisingly, I wasn't the only one falling from the nest. She had jumped after me, chirping in worry, fluttering her wings and descending down like a real sky predator. Oh, she almost fell but handled herself. Well, almost like one. Her mother would have been proud, nonetheless.
I lost her behind the branches and the leaves. My blurring sight focused again since I could breathe, but I lost conscious still —not because of anything physical, but because of the surprise that the system held for me.

Calibrations complete.
Good luck completing Greed's first trial.

Underload · Oct 3, 2020

An alarm was spreading in the air. The protocol demanded a soldier to call for help upon encountering an invader. There was a caterpillar on the loose in the area under Silver's supervision. It was only a matter of time before groups from the nearby areas gathered to stake claim over the catch in the name of help. A soldier hurriedly arrived carrying the news of their encounter. Red was at the site and the situation was under control. They had learned early how important it was for a captain to be present at the site. The lesson had cost them a caterpillar, and everything to their opponents.

Silver sped up, leaving the soldier behind. They had divided work. Silver was to handle the invaders and Red was to find a way to the center of the green wonder, legally. The last bit was important because there was no way for them to force their way through the hundreds and thousands of soldiers protecting the farm.
Yes, they had successfully infiltrated the farm and had even received a place to protect.

Yes, they were each allowed a drop of honeydew every day. But everyone on the outer perimeter of the farm enjoyed the same benefits or the lack-there-of them. The drop of honeydew was nothing; it could barely even provide a rush of energy. Well, at least it was sweet.

And they had to get their own food —hence the intense competition over the invaders. The alliance of eight different ant cities, it sounded nice to hear but the reality was much different and dirty. There was a war going between the different groups and everyone wanted to profit.

The plants on the farm were connected to each other through the leaves. Some leaves were big enough to overlap one another, and others were glued together with a mixture of dirt and saliva, creating bridges in the process. The alliance soldiers used these bridges to get around; his way was more romantic. He jumped from the end of the leaf he was occupying and dropped atop of another a distance away. The leaves were too small, too young to bridge the gap.

The plants were connected, but the bridges were not all on the same plane. Some were on the upper levels of the plants and others were below, needing one to climb up and down, wasting time and effort. Sometimes you could see the invaders eating though the young plants, but couldn't get to them in time because of the overly convoluted passages.
His group of slaved were using this delay in response to snatch every invader they could find. It wasn't out of greed, but Red's proposal to get the authorities' attention, and small revenge for stealing from them. Their destination was the tower at the center of the farm, not the outskirts.

As they stood, the bridges acted more like a measure to keep the soldiers moving, to keep them from growing lazy.

Maneuverability was the key. And his workers were busy taking care of that problem. They had already connected five of the fifteen plants under his supervision to one another; another day, and they would have the whole area connected and battle-ready.

One would assume the thousands of soldiers must have been gathered to protect some really obscene secret, but it was nothing like that. There was no secret to be found at the farm, only small green parasitic ticks called aphids that sucked the plant marrow and produced honeydew.

Yes, the small (merely two ant head large) creatures produced the universally favored honeydew.
They were clustered at the various plant nodes in small bunches of five to larger coalitions of thirty. Silver found the creatures funny.

They were so dependent on ants to keep them safe that they only move for a shepherdess to when a shepherdess arrives to take them to the tower. A prey that didn't run and protectors that never arrived on time, it was no wonder the caterpillars frequently visited the outer regions.

Silver could see a soldier waiting behind one, tapping its back with her antennae. A clear drop slowly grew larger from its anus, which the soldier drank and left. That was honeydew —not otherworldly nectar as its sweetness suggested, but the aphids dropping.

Some members of his group claimed they were better off when they didn't know the truth. Red in turn exclaimed at the importance of coexistence that the farm put on the display. He claimed the army would have decimated the whole place and moved on, not stopping to understand its true worth (These were his exacts words).

His soldiers were already wrapping up the fight when Silver arrived at the area under attack. They were up against a giant caterpillar that fashioned some very aggressive colors and patterns upon its body. The thick spikes jutting from the entre of its back were no playthings either, but his group of slaved knew how to deal with these large and fluffy packets of meat.

The caterpillar was held almost glued to the leaf and was being shredded into pieces as he approached closer.

There were other groups, gathered outside the boundary of his area, feverishly watching his soldiers at work. Antennae erect, some zealously waited for a call of help so they could ask for a portion of the caterpillar in return, while the group that directly shared their eastern border was releasing anger. His group might have an easy time filling their abdomens, but these groups usually needed help from multiple neighbors, thinning their meals in the process. So there was a heavy competition over the bugs and critters that sometimes raided the plants. They were only brazen because help usually never arrived on time.
The leader of their eastern neighbor, a group of dirt ants —pale, yellow, and small— was in one-sided discussion with captain Red.

That belongs to us. She was passively complaining from the other side of the border. It was in 'our' territory! Which she didn't dare cross.
It 'is' clearly in 'our' territory. Red commented in passing. He was juggling his attention between the workers narrowing the gap between two leaves with a dead leaf they had fetched from the ground, the soldiers fighting the beast, and the angry neighbor. It was actually a compliment in itself that even under the burden he had commented.

But you took it from us! One of mine reported seeing—

Leader, Red released out loud. That was his indication to the opportunists and the troublemakers to get on their way. The yellow ant was the first to scurry far, but she didn't leave for good and neither did the others. They seemed to be expected something, which was a cause of concern. Red wondered if he'll have to ask Silver to show-off his strength once again. No, that would do no good. Silver needed to be kept as a deterrent against aggression, and that would only work if he was kept as a mysterious figure.

Silver stopped beside the caterpillar that had coiled in defense to protect its life. Red stopped everything and stood behind him. Are you having any trouble? He asked. Red shook his antennae. The onlookers were still not leaving.
Well, they weren't trying anything either.

None, he answered.
Silver touched his antennae for more private communication. It was not a foolproof method, as it was hard to contain the chemicals from spreading, but that was not a problem for Silver. The pheromones listened to him. Red had never heard of someone with such precise control over the scents. It was just one of the reasons Red respected him.

And how is 'our' mission progressing? Have you found a way to get us closer to the tower?
I am still asking around. Give me some time. The others don't like us much, you see. Maybe the shepherdess would know something.

Speak of the devil. The shepherdess, that frail leafcutter ant who was the complete opposite of Green was approaching. Tagging her was a whole group of giant black jawbreaker ants, the same kind that the merchants had followed to the depths of the tower, where they had taken perch and forgotten about them. There was still no news of those slippery snails. Well, the merchants only promised them entrance to the farm, which they had fulfilled. The rest depended upon them. They were most likely waiting in the tower, sipping honeydew day and night, enjoying their stay.

Red noticed the excitement rising from the onlookers. They surprisingly seemed to have been waiting for her arrival. He couldn't figure out the reason but told Silver about his findings just to be sure.

There were ten of those big black giants, and they didn't stop for the shepherdess to get Silver's permission. They went straight to pick up the pieces of the caterpillar that the slaved had prepared for them. Both sides were already accustomed to the trade.

The jawbreakers were also one of the eight members of the alliance and worked as the defenders of the tower.

Silver would need to get through a whole bunch of them if he wanted to have any chance at robbing the place. And if he was to make anything out from the fire burning in the eyes of his slaved, they were ready to pounce at his order. Not yet. It still wasn't time.

The shepherdess approached Red but stumbled on the way upon noticing Silver standing behind him. She had grown to fear him since he had fought a caterpillar alone and killed it. Not only her, but others were also starting to fear him for the feat.

I have… the caterpillar; she pointed a trembling antenna toward the carcass only to notice that the jawbreakers were already tracing their steps back to the tower with the caterpillar in tow. She had called them for her protection! Where were they going leaving her alone? She almost ran away but froze when Silver put his attention upon her.

Red enjoyed her company exactly because of her awkwardness.

Lurching and shaking she continued. This makes it your ten-tenth offering to the tower. Th-this completes your quota to defend the outer perimeter. She continued, nervousness giving way to fear and dread. This was an opportunity that every shepherdess waited and dreaded at the same time.

The groups banished to the outer regions rarely ever managed the quota of ten invaders between sharing the prize with their helpers and feeding.

According to tradition —she barely released— those who have proved themselves in the outer perimeter of the farm can move inwards toward the densely populated areas for a better stipend of honeydew and—
let's go. Silver interrupted.

She was taken back. The inner region was a dangerous place that was under constant threat by creatures of various strengths. There was no group that willingly agreed to work there! There had even been cases of shepherdesses being hurt for giving the news. She had cried in her chamber before coming out today, and even said farewells to her friends. This group of mismatched ants was far too scary. She was sure to be taken hostage at the very least.

Let's hear her first, leader. Red scented, barely controlling his excitement. She must have more to tell us. He decided to observe caution. Their neighbors couldn't be excited just because they were being sent to the inner region right? He wondered how they would react if they knew the situation was exactly what his group desired.

The shepherdess looked around. They had even created bridges! According to her friends, personal bridges were the first sign when a group expected to stay for a long time at the outer regions.

Inner regions are dangerous. There are many bugs hiding there in plain sight that mimic our behavior. Of course, there are benefits befitting the danger. She read the memorized lines one after another without a single fumble. She wanted to get through them as quickly as she could. This was the part where the groups usually grow cold feet. Your group will receive five drops of honeydew and one free meal each every day—

That's enough. Silver interrupted. Shall we leave now?

Yes? But why what about the bridges and your reputation here?

What about them? Silver asked. While Red observed.

He was very interested in the shock circulating among his neighbors. They expected drama, not for them to agree so easily. Even the shepherdess looked lost for words. The onlookers were starting to whisper. Most were simply relieved that they were finally leaving. It had only been a day, but the caterpillars they had caught could have easily fed ten groups for a few days. BY offering them to the tower they had basically taken away their food. No wonder they were relieved.

Nothing, the shepherdess scented, growing relieved. Wasn't this way too easy? There was bound to be a catch! She expected the silver monster —but even monsters couldn't kill a caterpillar all alone— to throw some demands her way, but he was far too nonchalant. Did he not care about his safety or at least the safety of those under him? Well, the rugged group didn't look like they were in any need of help. But still! What about the warnings, and the stories?

Who asks for hardship? Who asks for challenges? They are maniacs. She decided. Well, shouldn't she be happy? They had already agreed. She only needed to make it official and she would be enjoying a bigger stipend for herself and an additional percentage of honeydew for her city.

She grew pensive. What if this group made it to the tower to protect the stores? She shook her head to uproot the through. That was in simple words… impossible.

Red was mused to see their neighbors celebrating their leave. The slaved thought they were congratulating them and waved their antennae in response. They had experienced a similar change in reputation in the army. It's better this way. He decided.

The plants grew lush and green the deeper they went. Silver could see proper plants at a distance rather than the young sprouts of the outer region. The age difference between the plants had created a fictional boundary separating the two regions.

Red's antennae buzzed with excitement. He was also taking the nearby scents to create a better picture of his surroundings.

A long straight bridge of leaves made the last stretch of the divide between the inner and the outer regions. This area was fairly populated by both soldier and aphid population, compared to the perimeter. The bridge looked proper and cared for. It alone was a big step up from the outer circuit where the bridges were sparse and convenience was non-existent.

The movement of their group was causing a small commotion. Heads were turning to see the unfortunate being forced into the gate to hell.

There was a check post in the middle of the bridge, noticeable from its dirt construction. Manned by mere four black jawbreakers, the check post was neither to allow nor bar entrance.

Their shepherdess asked Silver to stay at a distance and took charge. She approached the guards and released trace amounts of a pheromone that was unique in its demanding way. It was the only way of communicating with the jawbreakers. They did not understand complex signals.

Once the guard nodded she confidently gestured the group to approach. Finally away from the group, she felt safe again.

Silver was the first to cross. What does the pheromone do? He asked as one of the four touched his back. He surprisingly showed no reaction to being touched, which she found very unnerving. They were jawbreakers! They were known for their inability to regulate strength when biting; hence their name: the jawbreakers.

Oh, she had turned and almost ran back the first time she had seen one of the giants.
No.
It was pointless to compare her with the monster.
He had killed a monstrous caterpillar alone. Why would he fear a mere jawbreaker? Even considering that was a mistake on her part.

It's a temporary passport. She plainly answered, which he casually accepted.

The plants were finally starting to show their age near the end of the bridge. They were huge and multileveled with at least ten levels to them. There was another check post at the end of the bridge; this one was actually protected by only one ant, a large-headed mountain ant.

They are known for their loud scents. The shepherdess scented as if that explained everything.
Past it was the inner region, and it definitely looked like someplace a soldier should strive for.
The plants there were greener and taller. Red counted seven stories above his head. It was dark inside, however. The bridges, though complete, also blocked sunlight. Soldiers milled about without worries of boundaries. There was an explosion in the aphid population; hundreds could be seen sticking on the plants, filling their abdomens without stopping.

There was enough sweetness in the air to send the slaved on a euphoric trip down the memory lane. Red worried that this environment would be a bad influence on the soldiers; Silver disagreed.

The solders grew denser. And so did the sweet scent. It was an inviting place for any critter. Silver agreed with that statement. No wonder it was also more dangerous.
Most of the soldiers showed no interest in them. They seemed disinterested even.
The shepherdess took them westward.

This is the region you will be protecting. There are no actual boundaries, but if you are found loitering when your region is under attack it will affect your whole group. So you all better take care.

The shepherdess was explaining when a pheromone in the air got her attention, and of everyone else around.
The scent was riding the wind from the North, bringing along the message of danger and an immediate need for backup. The scent contained no other details and was so thin it wasn't clear whether the backup was still needed or not.

Soldiers were breaking away from the group all around them to respond to the alarm. They were gathering together into a small mass, ready to march off in the direction of the scent. The oldest soldier had taken the role of a leader.

Can I join? Silver asked and the shepherdess could only agree. There was no reason to stop him. However, that didn't stop her heart from getting restless.
Will he be alright?
Worry about the others if you have to. Red scented and asked her to take them to their destination. He'll be alright. Red added, much to persuade himself as her. Nothing can happen to him until he finds the one he has been looking for.
She believed him.

Underload · Oct 3, 2020

By the time Silver reached the source of the scent, the group had expanded by another six soldiers to a total of twenty-three ants. The other group, the one that had set off the alarm, was busy shearing a pile of aphids to shreds. They were too few, and the pile was getting away.

It was a terrible sight.

The mountainous pile of aphids was neither defending nor attacking. It only focused on running —even with all the weight it carried. It was moving down an offshoot branch, banking upon reaching the plant shaft and opening a straight path to the ground.

The group was trying to contain it, but the pile of dead aphids it carried on its back protected it from all kinds of harassments: the soldiers couldn't get its legs or sting it. They were basically planting themselves in its way and obstructing it with brute force; not a bad idea against someone that wasn't fighting back. However, they were right in calling for help.

That's the corpse piler.
I don't know whether we are lucky or unfortunate.
At least, no one will get hurt. The whispers rose among the soldiers.

Marksmen, their leader called, and as many as fifteen soldiers separated for the group. You all know the routine. As for the rest of you —she told the rugged bunch of which Silver was an unusual part— Drag it to a leaf. Don't fight it on the branch. Half will help the other group, and the rest will wait. It will make a run for it once the pile is off. Catch it. Anchor it to the leaf and spread its legs. Hold it down. Don't let it run. It runs, it hides, and it'll be back again later. Let's catch it this time around.

It was a simple plan of action, nothing too complex that a newcomer like Silver wouldn't understand. Silver expected some kind of pushback by the soldiers. There was none, which was unexpected since the groups in the outer region fist decided the compensation and talked about the rest. Either, it was already decided or the compensation was based upon your effort, something Silver could get behind.
However, not everything was as clean as it looked. The group leader clearly held animosity against the dirt ants, for all four of them were put in the group that was to stop the corpse piler from running, which was coincidently the most dangerous task of all. Silver asked to be a part of that group.

What kind of a beast is it? Silver asked, causing a few heads to turn and antennae to follow him.

It is our greatest enemy. The group leader said and they were off, down the leaf bridge and up the plant stem. The first group intercepted the intruder near the node and pulled it back. A single soldier couldn't even budge it, but together they managed somehow. It took all seven of them and the soldiers of the other group to successfully bring it over a nearby leaf. It was strong for sure. Well, someone that could carry the dead bodies of over a hundred aphids on its back and looked like a beetle was sure to be strong.

Silver and the second group created a barricade around it as the others started shearing the pile of its body. There was nervousness spreading among those who stood around him. Not everyone wanted to be there.

Silver was observing the process when the soldier standing to his left opened a conversation with him.
You are new on the farm, right?
Yes. Silver answered, allowing the soldier to lead the conversation, which she did.
Of course, you are. Only the young, ignorant, and crazy ask to be a part of this group. Which one are you?
Maybe she expected a rise out of him because she was taken back when Silver accepted that he was ignorant.
Of course, you are. She continued, pressing harder. Do you even know what that thing is? I believe you have never seen anything like that in your entire life.
What should I expect?
Death! She said with great seriousness, but again, Silver casually accepted her remark causing her to grow flustered. A few antennae turned her way, circulating amusement.

Other newcomers would have already started shaking with fear. Why was this unusual looking ant so different? Shall she get someone else? No. She had her pride. The ant might be tough, but he smelled of pompous upbringing. His body was as pristine as a nymph's sleek bottom. No way had he ever been to a battle with armor so clean. He didn't even have the scent of death lingering around him, or dirt sticking inside the folds of his exoskeleton. Actually, the more she noticed these uncanny coincidences the more she hesitated. How had the silver ant lived his life to be so calm and clean?

Their leader raised an alarm, telling them to stay focused. She straightened at first, nervousness reaching its peak, but relaxed and let some fear leak out upon noticing that the situation hadn't changed much. There was a long way to go. The pile was dense and high. The aphids might be dead but they still held their scent, which was spreading. It was a cause of concern. There was a chance that another predator might follow the scent back to the farm.

She was so lost in thoughts that she almost missed when Silver asked her about the corpse piler. That was not calmness she had noticed, but confidence. She was sure of it. She decided to play it safe this time, to do him a favor. She could con someone else if she lived. And if she was right, well, that was great then wasn't it?

It's a hideous killer, she scented —not that she could see much but others called it hideous and so it was. It sucks the aphids dry and covers its body with their corpses. The corpses mask its scent and keep its hidden while it goes around feeding on the aphids —truly vicious. Even the beetles don't come close to it in terms of viciousness.

The great beetles are also interested in the farm?
What do you think they eat? She pressed, maybe a bit too hard, for even she felt embarrassed about it. The corpse piler, the beetles, and the caterpillars, all of them love the aphids! Sometimes I wonder whether it's really the honeydew that we are farming or the other way around.

Silver nodded.

That went better than she was expecting. Now that her hesitation was out of the way, she decided to press for some information, too. The merchants were not the only ones who dealt with information. And he didn't give her the impression of someone hard to deal with. He was basically of the silent type. The farm was more than what it seemed from above. One needed to be prepared out there, or there was no knowing when a fake alarm might lead to an ambush.

Say, which of the eleven cities do you belong to? I am 4367865 (number 36786, fourth-generation, sixth lay) from the city, Miti-da-mehal, of the west. She started lightly. Usually, everyone carried the pheromone of their city like a flag, but the silver ant was scentless. It was not information worth much, but how he reacted would allow her to decide her next step.

The merchants brought us.
It was not an answer 786th was expecting. She had heard about the situation related to the merchants. What was it? Something about warnings, and extortion —the army!
Say, Silver suddenly initiated the conversation and she almost had a heart attack. Will I get into the tower if I can kill ten others like this corpse piler?

Wha-What? Her next words made no sense. That was so unlike her! What was she doing, getting flustered over his words? However, where did that come from? What's the motive, the reason? The ones brought by the merchants wanted to get into the tower! She had unexpectedly hit huge.

Maybe he wanted to enter the tower because of the safety, the same reason as everyone else, or to give a show of strength as a warning? How could it be so simple? Alright, alright, no need to get excited, but there was nothing wrong with keeping their activity in-check, either.

It could be her ticket out of the farm and back to her home. Well, not that place. They shunted her out here into danger; maybe someone else would like her as a mercenary. Everyone likes information gatherers: especially ones they can dispose of later. There was no need for the sarcasm but, duly noted. It was a good point.
Did your shepherdess say that? She did not tell you the whole truth if she did. In the inner region, you have to protect.
Protect the farm?
And the residents, 786th nudged Silver on the side and instantly regretted it. She didn't show it, however; she was a professional. Can't have a farm if no one is there, right?

So, killing it won't do?

Kill, that? She scented out loud, attracting another group of antennas and another round of amusement. There really was no place for outcasts like her. Well, that suckered all enthusiasm from her.
The soldiers were almost done with the pile. It was half of its previous height and slanting toward the left. It would be coming at them anytime. The others forming the barricade were already getting ready. She got ready too — ready to run.

It is not a caterpillar that won't fight back. 786th scented, morosely. The things that attack the inner region aren't so easy to kill. Our best effort is always to keep the aphids safe whenever there is a swarm and keep them from destroying the plants. Rarely anything is ever killed in the inner region. Take the corpse piler's example: this is the fifth time that we have caught it. It escaped the last four times.

I understand. Silver said.

786th felt relieved for some reason. She had gotten overly emotional at the end. The heavy chest was not a feeling that she liked. The amusement of her group was the cause. Well, they were not in the wrong either; since it was her meddling in the desert ant's affair that had brought them all in their current situation, after all.

The other group was almost done peeling the layer of aphids from the corpse piler. It wouldn't be long before the intruder was caught, and if it managed to slip past them again… well, that was that then.

However, things didn't pan out the way she expected. First, the pile of aphids folded upon itself. That bit was expected. It always happened like that. But Instead of getting caught, the intruder instead managed to catch a soldier during the commotion; which was new. It usually made a run for its life, but for whatever reason decided to give a show of strength. Who knew whether it was tired of running or there was some other reason behind the change, but it lifted a soldier in its large curved pincers and started shaking her as a warning to everyone. Come close and I kill her, the aggressive gesture meant.

Don't hesitate! Hold it before it escapes! The leader bellowed, and it was suddenly their turn to act.
Eight serrated legs, an armored back, pinched face, and pincers that were larger than its head. A layer of thin bristles over the unarmored parts; It was bulkier compared to a hopper but sat flatter on the leaf. All in all, it was one nasty looking bugger.

It snapped its pinchers shut, killing the soldier and pushed another as he tried to hold its leg. A second later, it was suddenly rushing toward them, the last barricade. It would be free if it managed to get past, for the fifth consecutive time. And that would be a shame.

Poison flared, bullets were shot, but the beast was too fast for the marksmen to aim. It crashed into them and blasted through. Call it luck or misfortune, but it came straight toward the 786th soldier. A rock crusher ant managed to get a hold of its bloated bottom, but it slipped through before the others could pounce. It shed the extra weight and sped up even faster, blurring through the formation at ease. The poison irritated it more than anything, but it managed nonetheless.

Now the beast only needed to find a safe place to hide for some time before the ants lost interest and it could go back to feeding on the soft, plush aphids. The last barricade didn't even enter its eyes. He had a fart just thinking about the easy life ahead.

786th was getting ready to… do something, whether to escape or try her luck she hadn't figured out yet when Silver moved forward.
Don't be heroic. She blurted out. It has already escaped four times; one more time is not going to change anything. Her remark earned her scowls, which she found less annoying than dirt.

I'm getting into the tower.
I told you to protect the farm if you want to get into the tower!
That's what I don't understand. Silver scented. Won't I be protecting the farm by killing this thing?
And he off, charging toward the corpse piler that was equally as confused about his actions as 786th. What was he trying to accomplish by charging alone? The others had tried to stop it, hadn't they? They were mercilessly slaughtered for nothing. However, history was written that day.

It was not an equal fight. Everyone watched as the two collided. It was Goliath versus ant, and unbelievably the ant won. It was fast, but Silver was faster. He slid under its mandibles that were trying to cut him in two, jumped when he was right under its jaw, causing it to lift up.

It was still confused when his mandible glowed a shimmering blue and snapped. That was the last thing the corpse piler saw before its head fell on the leaf, rolled, and stopped at 786th soldier's feet. She couldn't believe it. No one could.
It was an impossible feat, but also the truth.
The corpse piler was dead.

Underload · Oct 3, 2020

I remembered falling from the nest, the hisser rising straight up in eye bursting pain, and the chick that jumped after me. I don't know what she was thinking. She was too bloody compassionate for her own good. Maybe she wanted to prove that she was different from her brothers.

Did she think she could save me? Like I needed saving. Height didn't matter to me. It was the floor, the predator infested ground, the foliage, and the beasts hidden inside the shadows that scared me; height —not so much.
Stop thinking about the past and concentrate on the present. Look at your surroundings. You don't have time to waste daydreaming.

And there it was… my sarcastic inner voice. It was a different being at this point. I wouldn't have been surprised if that turned out to be true.
Really, where was I? I could see nothing. It wasn't night time. Night had never looked so bleak, so desolate. My surroundings were too… how should I describe my surroundings? They were too empty, too devoid of everything.
Where are you looking? The voice came again. Stop being distracted by the darkness and concentrate ahead of you. Your trial is starting.
How did my inner voice know that? I craned my neck to look behind and saw something hovering right behind me. It was an ember, orange and dark, but an ember still.
I heaved up to my legs and made an abrupt turn. All of my legs were present, and unexpectedly working. Even the middle left one that I had lost to… what had I lost it to again? Too much had happened in-between. I couldn't remember.
The ember —it was still there, hovering like a stain in the air.

What are you? I questioned, but there was no answer.
I panicked when it drew closer to my face, but it thankfully stopped at a distance. I was ready to swat it with my antennae otherwise.
Vigilance is good. The voice came, directly in my head. Being afraid of something you don't know is even better.
is it internal connection, was the first thought that came to my mind, but the voice denied it.

Start walking. It told me; and for better or worse, I followed the command like a broken tool. There was nothing else to do. I had to find a way out anyway.

The ground was dirt, of the compressed kind, and I was inside a tunnel, familiarly dark and narrow. I couldn't figure how I got there, but the uncanny resemblance that the tunnel had to those of my city was unnerving, to say the least. However, there were no indications of the tunnel having ever been used. That was fairly odd.

The walk was short. Soon I found something hovering at the end of the tunnel: an unnaturally glowing mist. It glowed in multiple shades of blue with a hint of red mixed in. The mist churned as I went closer and someone appeared on the other side of it.

At first, I saw one, but my excitement fell when I noticed the other three familiar shapes. Before I knew it, the mist had surrounded me from all sides and I was standing right behind the lone ant. It was… not real? The figure though closely resembled a worker was clearly made up of the mist. Its shining body was a dead giveaway.

That's all I could think for a moment before the other three pushed him to the ground. They shoved their mandibles at him in a threatening gesture. They all were workers —detailed by their short mandibles and their small bodies— and familiar.

That's you. The voice pointed at the one on the ground, the one being bullied. I was thankful. I wouldn't have known that was me, otherwise.

Sarcasm, I like it. Finally, you are showing some character.

I couldn't hear them, for there were no chemicals scents from their exchange. But I didn't need to. I exceptionally remembered this evening.

One of the three bulkier older workers held my apparitions neck in her mandible and I felt my neck tingle. This had happened right after my digging method was rejected by the council of workers. The three were sent by them to force me into giving up, which I had, easily.

I noticed the red mist that wasn't mixing with the blue kind move closer to my apparition.

Fight back! A voice resounded in the tunnel. It was unlike the one that belonged to the ember. it was harsh and deep and echoing. The mist that made my apparition started boiling as if wanting to fight back. Kill them! The voice continued in hatred. Take what's yours!

The voice repeated itself and the mist started coalescing. It echoed in the narrow tunnels, setting my senses on fire. Something very wrong was happening and I had no idea what. I feared my misty apparition would do as was told, but it didn't.

I lowered my head. That's how I had reacted in reality and also what repeated in front of me. The apparitions disappeared as the mist started churning, happy to find me so close, and moved deeper into the tunnel, opening my path.

That was Greed trying to meddle in your affairs. Now, start walking. The trial hasn't ended yet. The ember explained. That was enough evidence to learn that it could read my mind.

How do you know that? Who are you?
Concentrate on what's important. You will know everything when the time comes.

NO! I retaliated in panic. I'm not moving until you tell me what's going on! And what's this trial you keep speaking about?
You fulfilled the condition required for Greed to evolve. Clearing the trial is the second condition.
Heart pounding, I asked, What if I fail?
Then you die.

***

I went deeper and saw the mist again. It was waiting for me and came into action upon my touch.
Another apparition formed from the mist, this time it belonged to Princess Tinbuji. She stood motionlessly to my left, antennae entangled around the air. The mist hadn't cared to create her caretaker. It wasn't long before my apparition suddenly formed from the mist to my right and started moving toward her. Then the sergeant appeared and stopped me.

I knew where this was going.

Next, two soldiers appeared carrying a crazy worker. Red mist hovered over her head and seeped into her mouth, whirling inside her. Her form was barely visible under its influence.

This was where I had died protecting the princess. My heart pounded as memories returned and my chest started aching.

The crazy worker slipped from the soldier's mandible and rushed toward the princess. The sergeant rushed right toward her.

The voice reverberated in the tunnels again as the apparitions froze in motion. Does her life matter more than yours? Why would you protect her? Stay back. You don't need to protect her. Protect yourself! The voice grated against my consciousness, echoing loud and heavy.

But I protected the princess and died.

The mist fizzed and boiled, strengthening, and thickening. The apparitions disappeared one by one as the mist started churning and once again disappeared deeper down the tunnel, opening another path for me to follow.

The next time around, I found myself at the rim of the pit outside the city. I looked inside and surely, I was there at the bottom, hiding between rotting bodies, scared of the infections, and the soldiers searching for me. My apparition was looking outside, at the princess. The voice spoke again, words that sent a shiver down my back.

She can help you! It said. Reach her. She can't fight back. Make her help you. Force her. Show her your memories!
I acted.
The mist quivered around me, growing darker and thicker. It shuddered in pain as the inky redness grew; like a sickness. It took over some of the blue particles, giving the calm blue mist a hint of ominous red.
Yes, yes. Greed bellowed, causing the tunnel to resonate with it and grow narrower.

That's when you gave in to your desire. The ember explained. You didn't care about her safety and pushed to protect yourself. You became selfish.

But that was my decision. I was trying to survive. Anyone could have done it. I—

How can you be sure? It stressed. You didn't fight back against the workers bullied you or the council rejected your method. But suddenly you decided to get your way even if it meant harming the one you had died protecting?

Then what should I have done? I asked, but there was no answer.
The mist moved again. It only went slightly deeper before I found it again.
This time the princess asked me whether I would like to go with the harvesters.
Yes, say yes! The voice bellowed and I easily agreed. It was my desire to be a part of the harvesters. Why would I decline the offer when the opportunity arose? It was my only chance! Should I have said no?

Greed laughed again and the mist shuddered in pain. The red sickness grew further, converting more blue mist into its ominous shade.
I had a bad feeling about this.

Next time I entered the mist, my apparition was with the harvesters, following the princess, but she wasn't the point of attention. There were only two apparitions, me and my partner. I missed her. Watching me ignore and refuse her help again and again deepened the wound in my heart that had opened after learning that she was dead. It hurt more because I didn't do that under Greed's influence, but my own selfishness.
Greed laughed as the mist quivered and grew another shade darker. The ominous red was beginning to take a hazy shape.

Carry onwards. The ember advised. Good or bad, these were your decisions. You need to see which once were influenced by Greed and which were not. The experience will help you next time.

I didn't listen to Greed when it asked me to forsake Princess Tinbuji and save my life from the termite. That caused some of the red mist to revert back to their previous blue shade.

The sickness whittled further when I fought my anger and didn't kill the soldier on the 41st floor.
Greed got angry and the blue shade of the mist strengthened when I helped the injured during the termite's raid, or when I followed Princess to the mushroom farm instead of letting her go alone.

The sickness completely dispersed when I promised Princess to reach the 47th city in her stead, leaving a red bead the size of my head floating inside the pulsating blue mist at the end. That was it.

Congratulations! You have overcome Greed's first trial.
Greed has evolved to Tier-1.

[Greed][Tier-1][Vessel-0/1][Essence]
[????]
[Effects:]
Infinite skill affinity
There is a small chance of your most-used skills gaining a level when you level up.
Skills can't gain experience.
????

The tunnel warped and disappeared, throwing me into darkness. I felt a pull starting to grow strong on my body when the ember glowed once again around me.
You didn't succumb to Greed this time. But that doesn't mean you are out of danger. Never forget what you saw here. Greed is a sickness. It is going to try and infect you again. Don't fall for its tricks. A selfish life is not a happy life.
I had so many things to say, but pulled away before I could even begin, and kicked out.

Underload · Oct 3, 2020

Hey, buzz, you awake? Is he awake, Shri? I really can't figure it out. Mind turning his face toward me? No? Well, keep to yourself then. Don't come running to me if I don't talk to you anymore!

The loud and obnoxious scent pulled me out of sleep. I was too tired to wake up, mind blank, and sight hazy. Some kind of drunkard was throwing pheromones around like crazy. I gave a mental groan and fell back into that sleep induced darkness.

Come on now, wake up, kid. You continue sleeping like that and you won't be alive to see another morning!

You are missing the setting sun. Don't the colors just remind you of flowers and their sweet-sweet nectar? Wait, you are not a bee. Flowers wouldn't attract you.

Whoever it was, gave up at that point, but not for long. They, however, changed their target.

Have you had a partner yet, Shri? Well, you do look kind of bulbous, if you don't mind me poking. What —didn't like that one, either? Come on! It was a great joke; it's you who is too stiff and tight assed. Don't you worry? I like you just the way you are! What, how are you still not impressed? I think there's something wrong with you, Shri.

Well, I had something to say, too. And it was not all retarded quips and drunken comments. How someone could have such a lousy control over the pheromones? He was blowing them in enough quantities to saturate our surroundings. That would have gotten him locked up back in the city. Wait! I was not in the city!

I pulled away from the sleep-induced darkness like I would from an infection.

Stay away from him, Shri. The screamer was continuing. I'll retaliate, otherwise. You don't know my anger, yet.
Plants, leaves, web, and a shading spider!

My senses screamed of danger. I came wide awake! The spider was a goliath, nefarious, and salivating. Fangs protracted and pincers cleaning its straw mouth, she was coming for me, tip-toeing upon the straight thread. I bolted. Well, I tried. I couldn't move. I pushed and heaved and even shook my body like I was having a seizure. But my efforts were wasted. I didn't budge an inch.

I was on my back and glued to the monster's dreadful creation, the web.

She stopped right beside me and I panicked. I scented alarm with everything I had. I called for help. I scented emotions of the kind I had never felt before, and help came.

Oh, you are finally awake, kid. The scent was powerful and demanding and mind-numbing.

Chirpers and hissers had nothing on a spider. I could have escaped them anytime, but spiders are nefarious in our community for their traps. They eat their prey slowly over the days. They are the worst.
Thought you were dead. The scent continued. I tried calling you, but you were not listening at all. Name's Barry, by the way. What do you call yourself?

Help! I turned. I don't know what I was hoping from someone so merry, but what I found was not hope. There was a hornet looking at me. It was cocooned from chest to end and only had its head left outside.

I would have liked to react to the situation, but that's when I felt the spider's hairy legs descend upon my body. Immovable as I was I could do nothing to stop her. She bit me; one of her fangs pierced my bottom and delivered a cocktail of toxins that would have instantly turned my insides into goop were it not for the system. However, mysteries as it was, even the system couldn't protect me completely. My sight grew colorful as the poison traveled to my head. Limbs stiffened right away. I tried something, but then the memories of my tussle with the ember and the mist resurfaced, paralyzing me. I didn't hear anything after that.

I was completely bound to the web when I woke up. A cocoon of shining grey covered me so tight there was no leeway to move. I was no longer paralyzed, but even flexing my limbs didn't budge the cocoon. It was a hopeless situation. It was the end. I was going to die.

Calm down, kid. You are not helping anyone like that. That thing is not so easy to get out of once caught. The giant hornet told me and then addressed the spider. See, this is why I don't introduce you to others. Everyone starts panicking upon finding your identity. Can't you web yourself a disguise or something? Like those beetles that carry their whole homes on their back? You can get some flowers maybe and cover that ugly face. That alone will be a huge improvement.

My head swam when the spider bit the hornet. His abdomen quivered as she sucked a few healthy gulps from inside him and pulled back. It was true. The spiders really kept their prey alive!

Maybe it was an act of asserting dominance, but the spider went as far as to twist the hornet's antennae, causing him to buzz in pain. But even that didn't stop him from cursing her as she was retreating back to her hiding place.

Yeah, run back to the side and stay there, you webbeber, Web-blobeber, web-bieber —oh, I'm too tired.
He noticed me watching. For a moment we both started. It was obviously he who broke the silence.
That's Shri, by the way.
There was a vibration from the net. I could sense it now that I was calm. What else could I be? Panic and strength had already proved to be worthless.
Shri likes jewelry. He said, pointing one quivering antenna toward the other end of the hexagonal web.

Shrunken, mummified bodies hung from the web ends like small trinkets. It was not a good sign. My chances of escaping were looking really grim.

Wait! He could understand her. So maybe he could convince her to let us go. I gave another hard pull, but the cocoon was unbreakable. Just how strong was her web?

I decided to try my luck. You can understand her? I asked.

Of course, I can. Who do you think I am?

Can you tell her to let me go? I need to be away. I told him my reason, the summary of my journey, and aim. He was highly impressed. There was one problem, however.

That's very romantic. He said. I like it. This kind of aim is worth protecting. It's just that —there came the excuses. I would have been better off without the hope— do you think I'd be here if she listened.
That was fair.

She's obviously deaf. The hornet scented loud enough to ring my head. The spider furiously tapped the web in return. I wondered how he could be so confident. We were literally seconds from death. If anything, he should have been weak and weary, catatonic from fear.

Oh, here she comes. Don't let her stick you —not that you can resist. However, keep in mind: she injects you, and you are done. Good luck. Hope you survive.

Mt heart undulated in synch with the web. She was coming directly for me. I cringed away into the grey cocoon, trying to hide inside my prison. The only positive news was that her fangs were retracted back, but the poking straw shaped jaw more than made up for it in the negatives. She wasted no time.

Positioned her legs around my cocoon and jaw at my abdomen, and bit into my abdomen through the cocoon without damaging it. My strength waned. A big bright numerical five rose out of my head, followed by slowly trickling ones and twos of yellow. Soon I couldn't even keep my head up and lost consciousness.

The sky was covered in a veil of black clouds when I came back. The shuddering wind was blowing the web everywhere, trying to free it from the constraints. I believe we would have had a much better chance of survival if the wind did blow it away. But the spider had been thoughtful. She had added a few more anchors to keep the construction floating, though the design had become a mess. We had another guest stuck on the web: a hoverfly. The hornet was still around, and still as merry as ever.

He noticed me waking up and welcomed my back with a cocktail of pheromones to drive my hangover away.

Did you think of any plans while you were concentrating?

I was unconscious! I would have shouted, if not for the following information.
It's going to eat us tonight.

I thought sensibly. It was not time to panic. We needed to find a path to freedom or somehow make the spider let us go.

Anyway, he said, think you can do anything about our situation with your mandible? I heard your kind can cut through anything if you push hard enough.

I turned my face to let him see my missing mandible, giving him much disbelief. He cursed as if that was the extent of his plan. I was not even surprised. He was not normal. Maybe all hornets were like that? No. How could I judge an entire species based on a single encounter. I was distracting myself and it was working.

What rotten luck. Mind telling us where you lost it? That's Giant by the way. He told me pointing an antenna below at the hoverfly, who buzzed his wings in response. He was still trying to escape. Good choice. Just that it wasn't so easy to escape the web once caught. Now that I was calm and collected I could see how panicking was not helping Giant, instead, it was making the web wind tighter and tighter around him. It wasn't long before the wing that it had free was also stuck the web.

I do mind. I said not feeling so well.
Come on! How else do you want to pass time? By sleeping, or maybe counting fireflies in the sky? Well, not tonight.
There were clouds in the sky. What if it rains?

Don't get your hopes up. Barry curbed my enthusiasm. She will drag us under a leaf if it does rain, and that will be that.
Don't you have any good news?
Now that you mention it, I do have one. Look to your left? He said.
There was a fresh cocoon hanging from the end of the web. That's Marcus. She finished eating him an hour ago. So there is a chance that she won't eat us tonight.
This is tomfoolery, nothing more! I lashed and he lashed back, blasting pheromones stronger than ever.

What? You have something better to add? If so, tell that to poor Marcus. He also believed in miracles and now he's dead —gone! I can't be gone yet. I have to bring back the news of an invasion to my home. I can't die here!

However, the night came and brought Shri —as Barry had named the spider— to eat us.

She went to him first and ate two of his legs. She tried to eat more but he finally had enough leeway to flutter his wings and that got her off him. Yeah, stay away from me, Shri. I don't like you like that. I had to give it to him; he had a heart so big it was growing out of his chest. If I didn't know any better I would say he didn't care about his life. But that would be a wrong claim.

And then Shri teetered toward me. It was amazing how easily she could move even under the wind.
That reminds me of Marcus. The wind carried the pheromones to me. You are about the same size as him. Better not let her get you again.

No. I screamed, but the spider was too much. I couldn't move, couldn't act. Charging with the skill took me nowhere. The web was too sticky, too strong.
Her legs felt the cocoon, finding a good place to stick me. Saliva dripped from her mouth. She was going to enjoy eating me alive!

Buzz your wings! The stupid hornet advised. I had no wings. All I had were my pheromones.
I targeted the spider's face and overwhelmed, causing an explosion of pheromones at point-blank.
Whoa, what is this? This is amazing. The hornet cried from the other side. He was enjoying the attack a variant from which had frozen a whole company of ants on the 40th floor.

It had no effect on Shri.
Do it again. The hornet exclaimed. I thought he was onto something. Do it one more time before you die! This rush is AMAZING!
Like hell, I could or would do it again! It was my only shot. The spider's mouth grew closer. Just when I thought this was it, a familiar chirp rose somewhere in the distance, sending a shiver down my bound back?
Something moved in the white boundlessness of my sight. The spider was about to dig into me when the chick swooped down from the sky and tore through the web in a single sweep. The web stuck to her face as she careened through the ferns and the bushes. Winds flung Giant off the web and he plunged into the foliage below; while Barry chanted bird over and over again. It was good to know that even he had his limits. What was not good to see was the large tree that we were approaching at breakneck speeds. However, the chick banked toward the left, dodging at the last moment, midst mine and Barry's fearful releases. Flying was too shading much for my heart.

It wasn't long before we were on the ground. The chick rubbed her face into one of the feathery wings and cleaned the web and us and then pecked us out. She snipped the cocoon and freed me and almost ate Barry. I had to douse him in my pheromones to sway her into letting him go.

The spider fell out of her beak when she chirped, but she was quick to pick it back up from the ground, munch it into a paste and engulf it. That was the end of a menace.

Shri, no! Don't leave me. Barry cried as I released him from his binds. At least return my limbs!

His condition did not look good. The spider had eaten him away. Only his front legs remained and even his wings were damaged. He was in no condition to fly, and I thought I had it bad.

I'm alive, aren't I? That's all that matters. The wing will heal. And these two legs are more than enough for me. He said moving them in front of my face. They barely twitched at his command.

You should learn something from him. My inner voice, the ember that lived inside me, spoke up for the first time in what felt like ages. I agreed.

Where are we going? The chick chirped excitedly. The world is so big. The wind is so cold. The sky is so empty. Where are we going, next?

I wanted to return to the 43rd city as soon as possible. It was only right that the chick took me back for the delay that her mother had caused. But I took a step back. Clouds rumbled above scaring the chick. The rain was coming. There was no way I was getting anywhere tonight. And there were also my considerations about Greed and its workings. Selfishness strengthened the sickness, the result of which I didn't want to know.

I couldn't figure if it would be selfish of me to force the chick to help me or not. She would be of much help, but I would be separating her from her mother. This is what the Ember had meant when it told me to be selfless rather than being selfish.

However, her mother was not around, and I didn't want the chick to be alone anymore; not after what I knew about her. She deserved a better life. We all did.

Say, I asked Barry. How far is your home?

Not far at all! He said, understanding. The sun sat in that direction so that means we need to go that way. He said pointing to my left.
Are you sure?
Of course, He buzzed and flexed his jaw from the resulting pain. Wh-who forgets the-the-ir way home? But how are we getting there before it rains?
I looked at the chick. She was feverishly looking at the lights in the sky, though the rumble scared her. She hid her head between her feathery wings every time lightning lit the sky pink.
What do you think about riding her? I pointed at the chick and Barry buzzed in painful excitement. He better stop buzzing!

Of course, Madhuri will help us, but will she listen to you?

He named her, too. That was… fair? I also had my number and Barry… actually, who gave him the name? Maybe every hornet had names? And what about Shri —did he name her, too? Did he also have a name for me? Maybe he was still waiting for my introduction.

I shook my head as the sky rumbled and a cold shuddering gust ruffled the forest. It was time to find out whether the chick —Madhuri, the ember whispered in my head and had a laughing fit— well, whether she would follow me or not. Selfish or selfless, It was not intelligent to spend the night in the open; especially since it was raining.

Underload · Oct 3, 2020

We were struggling to stay afloat.

Madhuri was still just a chick and the way she flew was nowhere near as graceful as her mother. She didn't have the strength to clench her stomach while afloat, resulting in her behind end hanging below her wings. She couldn't fly straight for the life of her and wobbled all the way, but it was still miles better than the effort I would have to produce to bring Barry home to his colony.

She's gliding to save strength. Barry told me as I grew concerned about her constant drops. That's how most of these birds learn to fly.

A bird he called her. I asked if he was giving her another name and he became defensive. Everyone knows that one. Just like how you are an ant and I am a hornet; she is a bird.

He was pretty amused when I told him that we had called them sky predators for ages.

That fits. He said. Considering birds eat ants. But they don't eat us. Someone really needed to tell him how painfully direct he was. Well, not me. I was more interested in knowing why the sky predators, or birds as he called them, didn't eat them. He looked scary to me, for sure. But to her, to Madhuri, he was but a bite-sized snack.

It has nothing to do with size. We were simply born special, superior.
Yeah?
Absolutely; See this?
He shoved his butt toward my face and protracted the tip of his stinger.

I scoffed. We also had that. I must have leaked my thoughts again… because he went ahead to shove the full length out. And I was impressed. He was big. The stinger was almost as large as my head, and it was thick. That thing could have easily penetrated my body from front to back. Add the strong poison that oozed from the tip, yep, it was no wonder the birds didn't target hornets.

I think I saved Madhuri by spraying my pheromones all over Barry's body. She would have attacked him otherwise, and things would have escalated quickly from there. Had he poked her at the wrong place she could have ended up with a swollen belly. That would have all but ended our chance of us making anywhere with her crying from the contractions.

The shaky flight and the wind were alright; since we could snuggle under her feathery warm coat. She squirmed every time Barry moved, scraping her skin, but between staying afloat and flying in the dark, she got used to it pretty quickly. As for how we controlled her. We didn't. She followed the scent of my pheromones, which I had to keep throwing out every time I recovered enough to hold some sway over her. According to Barry, his colony was straight ahead, but Madhuri never actually flew straight. So it was both troublesome for her and me.

I had to constantly run out of her warm feathery coat and into the cold numbing winds to correct our course as Barry dictated, which meant even more correction over time because even he was starting to have doubts.

The forest looks the same at night. He blamed. I was too exhausted to refute his claim but kept an eye on my map to make sure we wouldn't be going around in circles. But the map was static and refreshed into a blank slate every time we crossed a certain distance, two hundred ant lengths to be exact —I counted. And it only showed the portion that I had personally explored; the rest remained covered. It was still better than nothing, even with all the flaws.

I was still debating what to do with the skills. The trial had almost curbed the little enthusiasm I had regarding the system. The evil was out of the box. Now I knew cultivating strength with the system meant being in a constant tussle with Greed, the sickness that lived inside me, and my safety was but a delusion.

There was also the slot that had opened after Greed evolved to tier-1. But I was already against the idea of making Princess a vessel of Greed. As a vessel, she might only connect tot eh system, but since there was a chance of her forming a shard of Greed —whatever it was— I was against the whole idea, altogether. There would neither be any vessels nor any leaks about the system. The world shade was dark enough already.

The rain arrived at just the right moment because that's when neither Barry nor I were feeling well. Madhuri was exhausted beyond belief. It poured into the forest and quickly drowned all sounds of life. We had kept going in a trance —Madhuri flew, I corrected course, and Barry slept— but rain connected us back to reality, bringing exhaustion from the back of our minds to the front.

We had to quickly hide. Madhuri wouldn't listen until Barry bit her neck and pulled her toward the trees. He made sure not to hurt her too much, but it pained me that we were not any better than her brothers. We were also hurting her to get things done our way. I promised myself to see my behavior and not hurt her in the future —unless it was a matter of life and death. Selfish or not I couldn't let her die on me now, could I?
The same I made Barry promise. He reluctantly agreed.

We took residence inside a squirrel hole. Madhuri found it, a lesson she had most likely learned after being evicted from the nest. However, the squirrels that lived there didn't like her intrusion. They cursed in ways impossible to understand, clicking a racket that would have called a number of night predators to the hole if it wasn't raining outside. In the end, they pissed at her and ran out. Have no idea where they went. Not far, probably and hopefully, because we left as soon as the rain stopped near midnight.

Barry woke me and Madhuri came awoke because of us. She shuddered and gave a lonely chirp upon finding that she was alone again. I released a packet of pheromone to let her know that I was around, causing her to flutter her wings and do the hoping dance. And that was it for her sleep and my hibernation.
Barry and I looked out to see if our surroundings were clear. Madhuri followed suit for the gist and giggles. I uselessly tried to make her stop chirping, as the forest was too silent after the rain and her high octave voice ringed among the trees like a beaming signal.

A twig snapped at a distance, the wind ruffled the leaf, a scent arose nearby, Barry saw something move and it startled Madhuri. We flew out of the hole like chased by a ghost.

What was it? I asked, vibrating antennae to increase my range of detection.

Barry shook his head. I have no idea, but it was most likely nothing good.

At this point, we had more problems than solutions. There was hunger, danger, mental exhaustion, and aches. Madhuri was so hungry I could hear her stomach grumbling. I thought it was the sky until Barry explained to me that it wasn't something so far away. She didn't cry out as she would have done were she still in the nest. Actually, I had never heard her cry out of hunger, even when her mother was there to feed her children. Most of the crying was done by her brothers, especially the large selfish one.

I don't want to turn out like him. I thought.
Then be selfless. The ember stirred.
Cry she might not, but she was easily distracted by every little movement. Fluttering leaves distracted her the most, for they must have looked like flying critters to her eyes in the dark forest.

As a matter of fact, I was also hungry, but Barry told me the hive wasn't far and we would be able to eat till our stomachs burst. And that kept my hopes up.

It wasn't long before Barry grew excited. There, he pointed into the distance, too far from my eyes to see. My sight was still limited by the skill level, but I could taste the sweetness in the air. It was minute but I could sense it. I didn't even have to vibrate my antennae; the smell was all over the place. Madhuri liked it too, for she even chirped to happiness.

A dark city grew large past the cover of trees, branches, and leaves. Hidden between branches of a large tree with white trunk and waxed elliptical leaves, grew a large construction, dark and alive. It covered well over a quarter of the trees western side, sprawling between branches small and big. A buzzing cacophony had the air trembling. It was BEES!

Shading hell, we are too late. Barry cursed. The damn moths are already here.

The city was under attack by what he called moths, giants to me, but equal to the BEES! Hairy white and thick black dotted wings of grey, the moths were stark in contrast to their dark-yellow opponents. That didn't matter. Why were we at a Bee Hive? Barry was a Hornet! What was he doing worrying about them? That was like me going out of my way to protect the termites. Something like this was against the very nature of things.

The only relief was that when Madhuri called food, she meant the moths and not the bees. However, that didn't mean the bee wouldn't retaliate. For all I knew, they were already in frenzy, and a bird in their midst would be like throwing lightning at a dead tree. A fire was bound to flare from their meeting.

However, Barry was prepared. He openly shared his passport pheromone with me and Madhuri. He didn't just give it to her, but sprayed it over her head, covering a large part of to make her seem like just another bee —or a group of them— cruising through. But allowed to evaporate, it wouldn't last long.

The bees didn't attack us when Madhuri pushed into the buzzing, swishing crowd of moths and them. She confused them, which was good. And they pulled back from her, intimidated by her size. Thankfully, she was intelligent or nurtured enough to know the difference between something she could eat and something she shouldn't. Bee's weren't much different from a hornet, and eating one alive… the thought alone made me squirm in nervousness.

However, the colony acted differently. The workers congregated together to produce a warning by buzzing their bodies, creating aggressive patterns over the hive. They wanted her to stay away, and she firmly got the message.

The moths weren't many, but they were surprisingly immune to the bee stings. A drop of the poison would have killed one of my own ten times over, but the moths acted like they didn't care. They were all over the hive, pushing past the workers and cracking open the hexagonal pods to drink honey and steal the eggs and larvae.

I was seeing a pattern here, and the possibility scared me. Was there a chance that the moths were also similar to the termites that had raided the city, Agnee-Rath-Ji, my home? They too were immune to poison, after all.

The moths were having the time of their life until the sky predator happened. She was slow, but the moths weren't blurring fast either.

Madhuri pounced at them like a hungry beast. She picked one with her baby claws directly from the air, taking perch on a nearby branch to eat it before flying off to get another. She didn't have to say how much she liked the moths; her crisp chips and burning enthusiasm was all the indication I needed.

Go, girl! Kill them all. Barry encouraged her, but he was forgetting something.

Her passport won't last long. I told him. It's only a matter of time before your friends, which I hope they are—
They are my friends. He interrupted. You might think I'm after the queen but that's not true. Believe me.
I'm sure it was the truth, but his personal agendas were not the problem.

We need to get her help before the bees go against her. She won't survive if they swarmed her.

I would have told Madhuri to roll back on the chirps, for they played a big role in warning the moths, the reason why she sometimes missed her mark. Sadly, it was already something that two insects, one ant, and a hornet, were riding a bird. Guiding her in a certain direction was the limit of my ability; the rest depended all upon her.

She decimated the moths. However, the passport that Barry had given her was not foolproof. The bees were still confused about her, but they were starting to realize the truth and growing vigilant.

I chocked when she almost ate a bee in the heat of the moment. She became careful not to touch those hairy, buzzing spearheads going berserk after one painful sting. She nicely resisted the sting, making me wonder if she was also resistant. She had a good run, but it was clear to see that the bees were starting to get suspicious of her. The pheromone had run its course.

We need to get her help. The soldiers are starting to see through her.
Then we need to meet the queen. Barry advised. Only she can give her a passport to roam freely around.
I looked at the hive. There were gazillion bees covering it.
That's not going to be possible. I said.
It'll be a life and death situation in a few moments, right?
Do it. I told him.
He bit her on the neck and steered her away from the commotion.

She had given the bees the upper hand. The voids she left tin h moth defense became the reason for their demise. Bees had more than one weapon. The stinger was actually their last weapon of choice. Their jaws were also fairly thick and strong, and there were only a few hundred moths flying around. Opportunists as they were, the bees saw their chance and clung to the moths. Many wings were plucked that day.

What do the moths want? I asked my partner in crime as he steered her toward one of the closest trees.
Eggs, basically: to eat and implant. Their larvae eat through honeycombs like a sickness. And honey. No matter who it is, everyone likes the sweet delicacy.

Honeydew?

Don't compare the pure golden nectar that is honey to the watered-down plant extract that your kind likes to drink. I reckon you have never had some before. Well, don't worry soon you'll be drowning in it.

I didn't want to drown in honey but sure; I also wanted to find out the cause of the sweetness in the air.

We pulled her to a tree some way from the hive and got off her; well, I pulled Barry down. He needed some nutrition's in his body. He was surprisingly light for someone his size. His battered and bruised body was proof of his suffering at the fangs of Shri.

Madhuri surprisingly tried to fly off but took perch on the branch when I released an overwhelming amount of pheromones near her face, causing her to sneeze. It was all I could do. Things would have taken an ugly turn if she didn't remember that it was the same thing I had done to stop her brothers from hurting her. Thankfully she remembered.

The bees soon finished their work and approached us. Their heightened buzzing made me really nervous. They were bees and we were not. In simple terms, we were trespassing into their territory.

Didn't you want to know why I named the spider-Shri?
Yes? It's not the time for it, but sure. Tell me. I said. I liked the distraction.
You are a buzzkill sometimes. You know. Anyways, Shri means Mr.
That surprised me. But the spider was a female—
Exactly, He nodded his head, looking at me, antennae quivering.

We both burst out into amusement, and Madhuri joined us simply because it was fun to laugh together. It was no wonder Shri hated him. I'll never forget the confusion that the bees released. That sent us into another fit, causing the bees that were already hesitant about dropping near us to keep hover instead.
They weren't vigilant, simply stupefied!

Underload · Oct 3, 2020

You better control your pheromones when in the hive. I don't want you to end up with more holes than you already have. Barry said.

Very funny, It wasn't; it was offensive.

Nah, maybe a few more holes will help you relax. Calm down. The bees know you are a friend. They wouldn't be carrying you, otherwise. Right, marshal thirty-five and thirty-seven?

The marshals —I had taken to the names too keenly— were annoyed and irritated. One carried me, and three carried Barry holding him from the front, mid and back because he was heavy. All that exquisite armor was bound to weight him down.

I'm calm. I told him. I was not calm. If anything, I was excited and scared, also nervous.

I was surprised to find that the bees weren't a single bit interested in the moth's carcasses. They left them out to rot. Well, Madhuri had the feast of her life. I could only hope she wouldn't overdo it.

The bees were frightened of her, and it didn't help that she wanted to follow me. She had agreed to stay away from the hive, but that had come at the expense of me having to butt heads with her, literally; I didn't feel right about it. Seriously, though, I even got two skills out of the exchange and a dent in my forehead. Just kidding; it was simply a concussion and a normal head-splitting ache.

As for the skills, well, I was not too excited about them. Since the more I had the closer I would get to my second trial. However, I couldn't see any way out of this loop. If anything, I only needed to be selfless and could enjoy the strength and opportunity that the skills presented. But that was the hardest part of it all. I had been more selfish in this one night than my entire life. The second trial was bound to be tough

Yeah! We are gonna break that skull and break that bone and we gonna do it without a weapon in hand!
You have acquired a new skill: Martial arts mastery.

[Martial arts][Lv-1/10][Tier-1][Mastery]
[It's an art of self-defense.]
[Effect: Skill: Head butt unlocked.]
***
[Head Butt][Lv-1/10][Tier-1][Active]
[Heads are hard and they can break a lot of things. Just make you don't hit something too hard or you might end up with a fracture or two, alright? Peace.]

It was Princess Tinbuji's dream to visit the bees. She wanted to form a partnership with them. I made sure to take a souvenir for her.

Thousands of workers bees hung from the hive, sleeping.

The hive itself was not protected by an outer wall. The workers protected it with their bodies, which was a bit too extreme for me.

The hive was fundamentally different from an ant colony. The bees did not hide like us. They were fearless, mostly, and buzzing. The buzzing was everywhere. Even at night when they were supposed to be asleep. I guess it was a special night.

I wondered how they controlled the temperature and humidity. I tempted Barry into talking, which obviously didn't take much.

They buzz. He said. That's all they do. To warm or cool the hive, to give directions, to warn or excite others, to ask for food; they do all that by buzzing.

It's not as simple as that. Marshal thirty-fifth was vexed. She almost dropped Barry when he ignored her, but the others pulled him up.

From outside the hive looked like one giant structure, but there were free spaces in-between every comb. It was mostly made up of hundreds of deep hexagonal cells, each half the size of a bee and equally deep and yellow in color. The hive was but a queen's chamber scaled up to size.

They use these cells for everything, from laying eggs to storing honey. The bees are obsessed with them.

I'm saying again. Don't make fun of the hive. These things are not so simple. Eggs are only laid when the temperature is warm, and the cells that are used to store honey cannot be used for other purp— He's not listening, is he?

Barry was once again looking away. He either didn't like her or he didn't care.
I was listening. I let her know. She was not happy.
The colony was quickly going back to sleep. It's what they do at night. Barry said. What about you lot? Do you have some off time?
I shook my head, not knowing that it was a trap. We don't really sleep.
That explains why you are always on the edge.
The workers parted to let us in deeper. A few were chewing something and using it to repair the hive. Well, at least those awake were.
Its honey wax, Barry explained. He pointed an antenna at a worker; she was sucking drops of condensation from the back of another worker. That was the honey wax he was talking about, a by-product of the honey that Princess wanted so badly. The worker collected the wax and started chewing it.

I asked Barry why she was doing it, but his knowledge was clearly lacking. For this and that, He said, not shy of laughed at. I would have let the topic drop if Marshal thirty-fifth hadn't come to the rescue, again.

Chewing makes the wax soft and malleable. The other marshals motivated her and she continued. Malleability is important to keep the combs thin and flexible. The hexagonal form only appears after the wax solidifies. Marshal thirty-four and six rubbed her back in affection, causing her to look away. But her vibrating abdomen let known her happiness to everyone.

Still, I was surprised that there were no chambers, tunnels, or farms, but only honeycombs and the cells. Many of the cells had larvae growing, topped full with something sweet and thick, others had eggs at the bottom, while a few were empty and some were sealed off with honey wax.

The marshals dropped Barry into a cell that was larger than most, to complement his large body, and called workers who filled it to the brim with something grey and sweet.

It's a royal jelly bath. You just wait. I'll be up by the time the sky grows light.

Have a speedy recovery. I wished and was taken further in, deeper where the queen was working.

Marshal thirty-seven dropped me close to her and took rest behind. A few workers rushed to her with offers of food and other services. She was asked while I was force-fed and meticulously cleaned, by not one but three aggressively enthusiastic workers. It was the most harrowing experience of my life. They were not gentle and pulled my limbs every way to stretch and clean the most intimate of place. They smelled of flowers from up close, but with jaws like theirs, they were nightmare incarnates. I was only able to keep my sanity because I knew they didn't eat meat.

I later learned that most of the workers had never left the colony. I was the first foreigner they were meeting on a friendly basis, and that was the cause behind their zeal. I felt like a ball of fuzz when they were done with me. One pushed me toward the queen, and then raced away following her companions to pester the queen to sleep.

Welcome, little traveler. The queen buzzed her wings and touched my head. She was slender and mobile, unlike queen Agnee, my mother. She was only slightly larger than a normal worker, a giant for me, and had a red-colored abdomen. She had no caretakers, feeding and massaging her.

You have done me an invaluable service today, child of Fire. Tell me how I can repay the favor and I will see to your needs. She scented that while pumping an egg into an empty cell, after which she moved onto the next cell, asking me to come along.

She was large enough to walk over the cells, but for me, they were not less than inescapable traps. I managed somehow by keeping my balance on the footpaths that the top adjoined cells created.

I am lo-lost — I almost fell into a cell but didn't let the experience startle me into inactivity— your highness. I said. It would be kind of you if you can point me toward the city of embers.

You have fallen far from the fire, child. It would be a perilous journey back. Won't you accept my offer to stay?

That's very generous of you, your highness, but I am on a mission. The fate of my city depends on me. For that, I would have to decline your offer.

That's unfortunate. She said. Her eyes glowed with a glint of something sinister, but she blew it before it could catch fire. Maybe the thought was the reason that she decided to reward me? I would never know. Now go, rest. I heard you have never tasted honey before? Well, now you can.

That was my reward: a cell of honey. She also gave me some passport pheromone, enough of it to last for the next couple of days. Finishing our dealing she let the workers drag her away. They were reluctant to let her wait any longer. The night was growing older by the second and her days were already long enough. They didn't want her to tire out.

Since I was left to my own device, I decided to roam around, and sightseeing. However, it soon became apparent that the beehive was much less interesting than an ant colony. It was abundantly chaotic but structurally bare. Having lived in the narrow confines of our dark tunnels, the differences were enough to keep me from getting bored. I knew the hive would grow hectic in the day and the thought planted an eagerness in me that was simply wonderful. The last few days had been too bleak and dreary in comparison.

I was thankful for the opportunity and a worker showed me to the cell of honey that was rewarded to me.

Wasn't I worried about taking a souvenir for Princess Tinbuji?

Well, she would have to believe me once she tasted the honey. It was an absolutely wonderful delicacy! Honeydew had nothing on it. Barry didn't know how to describe it. Honey was liquid happiness. So sweet, so nutrition's, so slimy, and there was enough of it to drown me three times over. That was enough honey to last exactly a hundred ants the whole shading day!

I didn't dare eat more than a single drop, but even that proved too much for me. Gone was my tiredness and worries. Energy coursed through me, bringing me the strength to do anything. And it was a sustained rush; unlike the short burst provided by honeydew.

The honey gave me so much focus that I ended up spending a large part of the night watching a worker repairing the hive wall. But when the high faded, it also took the happiness along with it and left a void in me. The bees were used to honey's adverse effects, whereas I was left drained and tired.

Feeling lonely I went out, saw Madhuri nestled on a branch nearby, and took a seat close by. I couldn't sleep. I missed my city, Princess and safety. It felt like such a long time ago when I had dreamt of becoming a harvester. Life before it was all but a blur at this point. So many things had happened. However, the adventure was worth it. What I had witnessed and gone through were not common experiences. Princess would agree with me.

Oh, you haven't seen anything yet, fool. A female droning entered my senses and a shiver went down my back. I looked around, but couldn't find anyone.

A tongue swiped the back of my head, while the droning came again. You smell of Barry. What happened to him? Are you the food that he's caught for me? That's sweet of him.

I saw her. She gleamed under the moonlight. There was barely a buzz about her. She was long and slender, and silent as the night. Thin long legs allowed her to silently move around. Her colors were too monotonic, too metallic. She was a wasp of the parasitic family —an ants worst nightmare.

I ran without looking where I was going.

There were stories about those of her kind, there are always stories. But this one I had personally witnessed.

There was a nymph that had been injected by one during my caretaker days. I remember feeling fearful of the wasp, staying vigilant at days. That nymph died a painful death as the wasp larvae slowly ate her from the inside and tore out of her.

She easily caught and pinned me to the ground. Heart pounded. I had only thought of charging when she curled her abdomen toward me, bringing the hair-thin ovipositor out and pointing it at my abdomen. She was taunting me. Still, want to run? She asked. I fizzled, considered my options, and melted like frost under sunlight to her warning. There was nothing I could do than to let her lead me around.
Eventually, she got off my back.
Where's that fool, Barry?
He's recuperating.
Recuperating? Bah, is he in a royal jelly sleeping?
Yes? Was there something wrong with that? Perhaps.
Hmm, I thought you were lying. Well, anyways. I'm hungry.
Please don't eat me. That wasn't me being submissive. A wasp was not an opponent I could deal with. I didn't have to try to find out. She was an apex predator that killed spiders to lay eggs; I was still just an ant.
Then bring me, honey.

No need. He's not one of your toys to boss around, Bella. Barry came. Wings buzzing, he was slowly flying toward us. He looked much better since the last I had seen him, healthier. He's a friend. And we don't eat friends.

You look good. She buzzed her wings to laughter. And he joined her.

That moment screamed at me to mind my business and stop intruding between them, but I stayed firm out of fear of being chased by a parasitic wasp.

Did you bring the honey?
How could I not? Barry buzzed and she rushed him.
She literally disappeared and appeared in front of him.
Oh no! Would she kill a friend? The thought arose in my mind.

A gust rushed through the tree, playing with the leaves as the two entered a passionate mouth-to-mouth exchange. I had never seen anything so erotic in my entire life. Their antennae coiled around each other as they stood straight releasing sexual emotion. Wings flapped and they slowly rose into the air, jaws moving in a familiarly motivated manner. Bella wrapped her body around Barry's and held him tight with all her legs. They continued the exchange mid-air until Barry pulled away. The sexual tension tuned into a heated stare, which Bella broke by floating back to the branch.

He introduced her as a friend from his previous life when he used to travel the forest with his band of misfits. I finally got a chance to ask him about his family, and he was not reluctant to share.

They are dead. He didn't shy away, but I felt bad for digging out the old wound. I apologized, but he buzzed to denial.

That's just how life is. You can't morn for the loss forever. Yesterday it was them, tomorrow it will be me. You can't stop living out of fear. Anyways, this is my home, now. He said, proudly. I'm a proud guardian of the hive.

But you are a hornet and this is a beehive. Don't you yearn to return to your home?
I do yearn —He admitted— but for the friends that I lost. You see, home is somewhere you are happy and loved. He looked at the hive behind and then at Bella. And I couldn't have been happier anywhere else.

The wasp quivered and they had another mouth to mouth exchange. This time she returned some of the honey back to him, causing her abdomen to shrink and his to swell, slightly.

Bella asked us if we would like to go on a stroll. She had found a very good beetle to munch. Barry claimed to be tired, which I doubted. He seemed energetic enough to me.
She turned to me. How about you? She asked. Want to catch a beetle with me? I dare you to admit to having done something so exciting in your entire ant life.

I killed a frog! I retaliated. It just came out of me. My shading antennae acted up at the wrong time. I tried to do damage control, but the devil was already out.

And we survived a spider. Barry added, causing Bella's eyes to shine. They literally started glowing. Well, it happened in my mind at least.
And Madhuri listens to him, follows him like he's her mother.
Who did you name now?
Her. Barry pointed to Madhuri and Bella instantly grew infinitesimally more interested in me.

She brought her face close to mine, staring through me. Her jaw faintly smelled of honey, which made my stomach slightly tug at my insides.
I shuddered.
Start telling. She said and I was retelling my life story to two giant predators, causing them to grow more and more interested with every chemical word that I released. Even I felt shivers just recalling everything.

Some tales are fabricated to scare the listeners; while others are recalling an accident or an event. Then there are some stories that bring glory to the listeners, like embers conquest of the termite lands. I didn't realize it then, but I was also writing an epic with my actions, one that would be known to everyone from an ant to a bee and even beyond.

But my story was still in the making, and I still had a lot of work ahead of me.

You are pretty far from home, little one. Bella scented, and then stirred, remembering something that got her excited. She stated buzzing, eager to act. I just remembered. She said, excitement getting the best of her. It took her a few moments worth of time to come around, but it was worth it because she held the key to my conundrum. I can get you to this city you want to visit.

Royal Guard (A litRPG fic) (Book-1 Complete)

Making the rounds.

Making the rounds.

Making the rounds.

Making the rounds.

Making the rounds.

Making the rounds.

Making the rounds.

Making the rounds.

Making the rounds.

Making the rounds.

Making the rounds.

Making the rounds.

Making the rounds.

Making the rounds.

Making the rounds.

Making the rounds.

Making the rounds.

Making the rounds.

Making the rounds.

Making the rounds.

Making the rounds.

Making the rounds.

Making the rounds.

Making the rounds.

Making the rounds.

Making the rounds.

Making the rounds.

Making the rounds.

Making the rounds.

Making the rounds.