Chapter

Gerhan sat within the confines of the queen's chamber, observing the bustling activity of his growing colony. The workers were diligent, tirelessly feeding the larvae and ferrying meat chunks back to the colony. He couldn't help but acknowledge how far they had come, yet the overwhelming thought of how small and vulnerable his colony still was lingered in his mind.

The current status of the colony:

• Workers: 5 fully grown workers (one with a newly darkened exoskeleton) and 1 newly hatched worker.

• Larvae: 5, still voraciously consuming food.

• Pupae: 3, nearing their hatching stages.

He turned his focus once more to the system, specifically to his talent:

[Talent - Essence Devourer - Rank SSS]

You are able to convert eaten things into power and gain abilities.

Despite consuming several chunks of meat from the wolf carcass over the past few days, he hadn't noticed any groundbreaking changes. The realization struck him that perhaps this talent required a substantial amount of food to activate its effects. With renewed determination, he continued to eat, knowing that patience might yield the results he craved.

Two more days passed in this routine. The colony continued to grow, with one of the pupae hatching into a healthy worker. Now, there were six active workers in the colony, five with hardened, dark exoskeletons, and one still slightly pale but growing stronger by the hour.

Opening his system window, Gerhan observed the changes in his stats:

[System Window]

[Name] None

[Race] Saturius Taturius (Red Ant)

[Strength]: 1.3

[Agility]: 0.6

[Mana]: 1

[Intelligence]: 40

[Soul Power]: 10

[Endurance]: 2.2

[Skills]: Lay Eggs, Control

[Talent]: Essence Devourer (SSS)

{Remarks}: Ant

He sighed, rubbing his antennae thoughtfully.

"Strength and endurance have gone up… but agility has dropped. Guess I'm getting a little too fat with all this eating."

His antennae twitched with irritation. He hated not having the ability to analyze the strength of other creatures in the forest. Without such knowledge, every foray into the outside world was fraught with risk, and he was left feeling blind and powerless against potential threats.

"Maybe I need a skill for identification," he muttered. "But I don't have anything like that yet."

His frustration simmered as he gazed at the colony. More workers would soon join the ranks, and with their numbers growing, he knew it was time to make his next move—perhaps scouting farther from the colony or seeking a more formidable source of food to test the limits of his talent.

For now, though, his focus remained on survival, growth, and understanding the mysterious power that lay dormant within him.