The boar and the pup’s ears perked up, and they quickly ca inside the camp toward Theo and the baron.
When they were close enough, Theo saw the aquamandibles get ready to shoot from the top of the swarm of ants toward them, making Theo keep a hand on the boar and pup’s sides to stop them from moving forward.
Now four individuals were looking at the evolution playing out, and soon enough, four more joined when Clara, Elias, the ape, and Chip started moving toward them too.
"Chip and him started feeling sothing from the camp, which made them co here, is everything alright, young mas--" Elias stopped right away when he saw the horrifying spectacle of so many ants crawling over one another.
Clara couldn’t even look at them, making the boar and pup quickly go to her for support. They could sense the distress through the bond, much like how Theo and the mantis could.
When the ape saw the spectacle, it tried getting near, only for the aquamandibles to shoot a water blast right at it.
The baron got his arm forward to protect it, yet when the water shot touched his hand, nothing happened.
The baron casually wiped it away and, without dodging an eye, spoke, "No one is allowed to go further than . That is an order. Not even you, Theo."
The baron gave Theo a piercing gaze, making Theo nod. He didn’t wish to get closer right now either.
’All this ti, I was able to control the ants through the ant queen, and now that it is not there to give the commands, I don’t think a single ant will think of as an ally... this is annoying...’ When Theo thought about this, he couldn’t help but feel that this shouldn’t be true.
Ti passed by, and everyone kept standing there.
This ti, Theo felt a small jolt in the air, making his ears twitch a little. The baron noticed it and smiled.
"I know you just felt the change in the air, Theo," he said, and Theo nodded.
"This ant queen of yours is giving bursts of energy all around it every few seconds. It’s like the amount of energy it has is increasing every second," the baron spoke. "I have witnessed this for the second ti, but I am still not used to it. This should not be happening before level fifteen or even twenty."
Theo kept quiet the whole ti.
But soon, he closed his eyes and went deep inside the ant queen’s bond.
Theo had to go a lot deeper than he was used to, as the ant queen could not be seen anywhere.
Soon, Theo saw a silhouette and started following it until the silhouette beca as big as the ant queen’s head.
Theo could sense the emotions of panic and determination before, but when he got close, these emotions beca overwhelming.
’It’s like I am feeling them too...’ Theo thought.
He went even closer and kept a hand on the big ant queen’s head.
’Everything will be alright, ant queen. We will get through this. You have to stay strong,’ Theo spoke.
The ant queen did not really respond to any of his comnts, which made Theo play the last card he had.
"You have to stay strong for the colony," Theo spoke, unknowingly saying the sa thing in the real world too, with his eyes closed.
Everyone started looking at Theo in curiosity. The baron felt extrely proud of Theo’s emotional intelligence.
The ant queen finally responded. Her emotions of pride and determination increased by a few folds, and soon enough, Theo felt a pressure around him as if sothing grabbed him. Then he started seeing the ant queen’s head go farther and farther away.
It was not clear whether he was moving away or it was, but soon enough, he ca back to the real world and looked at the situation.
Many of the ants were off the ant queen now.
And Theo could see the silhouette of a very foreign being.
Soon, most of the ants got off the big being, revealing the creature to everyone.
"It seems the process is complete, Theo. Congratulations," the baron spoke, and both Clara and Elias did the sa.
Theo could tell that the ant queen had changed completely.
*
*
Tunnel Domain Ant Queen
Grade: Rare
Type: Domain-class Insect Type
PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES:
Strength: 21
Stamina: 6
Agility: 1
Vitality: 350
Intelligence: 74
Dexterity: 8
ABILITIES:
Hive Mind Nexus (Lv. 5, 22%): Acts as the central consciousness for the entire colony.
Pheromone Gland (Passive, Lv. 7, 37%): Emits pheromones to regulate colony cohesion and guide ants.
Crunch (Lv. 8, 72%): Efficiently breaks down minerals into energy for the colony.
Underground Hive Zone (Skill, Level 0, 0%): Makes the underground colony an active Hive Zone for the Tunnel Domain Ant Queen. All beasts linked with the hive get a 20% boost to all base stats inside the Underground Hive Zone.
Universal Dig (Skill, Level 0, 0%): All beasts linked with the Hive will get an additional Universal Dig skill. The skill helps the linked creatures gain an affinity with Earth and dig proficiently.
ATTRIBUTES:
Affinity: Earth
Favorability: 70% (Good)
*
*
Theo saw the information and was shocked to see all the new things that were in it now.
But more than that, his gaze couldn’t leave the ant queen.
It was not segnted like a normal ant anymore, but its body had beco a huge, shiny exoskeleton instead.
The more Theo looked at it, the more it felt like it was not an ant anymore.
"Theo... your insect is rare grade now..." the baron spoke with shock.
"The ant queen we slayed in that gate was also a rare grade... and this one just looks like a miniature version of it..."
When Theo heard that, he couldn’t help but feel like sitting down on the ground with relief.
"All that matters right now is... that everything’s okay." He spoke with a sigh.
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