Chapter 31

Gerhan's mandibles clicked in thought as he studied the system window before him. The information displayed had changed significantly since the last time he checked.

[System Window]

[Name]: None[Race]: Saturius Taturius (Red Ant)[Strength]: 1.4[Agility]: 0.6[Mana]: 1[Intelligence]: 40 [Soul Power]: 10.6[Strength]: 2 [Life force]: 0.8

Skills:[Lay Eggs – Rank F] → Allows the host to lay eggs.

(Consumes Endurance)[Control – Rank D] → Can control offspring based on Soul Power and Endurance. (Consumes Soul Power)

[Random Eggs – Rank F] → Can alter the size of offspring before hatching. (Consumes Soul Power and Intelligence)Talent:

[Essence Devourer – Rank SSS] - The ability to convert consumed creatures into power.The stronger the consumed essence, the greater the gained abilities.Beast Rank:

First Stage – Vitality Surge of the Feral Awakening Realm (0/7 Stages Completed)

Known Realms of Evolution:

1.Feral Awakening Realm

2.Bloodline Refinement Realm

3.Apex Predator Realm

4.Monstrous Sovereign Realm

5.Divine Beast Realm

6.Primal Deity Realm

Gerhan's eyes gleamed with curiosity. The system window had clearly evolved. He could now see his Beast Rank, something he hadn't known about before. The mention of realms and stages hinted at a structured path of growth, but their meaning was still unclear.

Was it related to strength? To his physical evolution? Or perhaps to his very existence in this world?

One thing was certain—his awakening had triggered these changes.

Feeling a surge of curiosity, he decided to test his new status-checking ability. He focused on one of his nearby worker ants.

[System Window – Worker Ant]

[Name]: None[Race]: Saturius Taturius (Red Ant)[Description]: Unawakened Ant Worker

His mandibles twitched in slight disappointment. The information was extremely limited—just a race and a short description. He couldn't see its stats or abilities, which made this skill practically useless for now.

He shifted his focus to the yellow mushrooms growing in the colony's underground farm.

[System Window – Yellow Mushroom]

[Name]: None[Race]: Dilikaulis Defiminus[Description]: Yellow mushroom with white spots

Still basic. But the fact that he could identify species meant that, given time, he might gain a more advanced version of this skill. Perhaps something that allowed him to analyze enemies in battle?

For now, he set that thought aside.

His focus turned back to the colony itself. How long had he been asleep?

Colony Overview:

Worker Ants: 28 (Previously 19 – Increased by 9)

Digger Ants: 78 (No change)

Soldier Ants: 7 (No change)

Army Ants: 1 (No change)

From what he could see, he had slept for about 2 to 3 days.

During that time, only Worker Ants had increased in number, which made sense—he hadn't used [Random Eggs] to modify his offspring. Without manually influencing the egg production, the colony would continue producing smaller ants by default.

That needed to change.

If he wanted to expand the colony's power, he needed more Army Ants. They were stronger, larger, and capable of fighting much bigger creatures. They also had the added benefit of being good transport units, capable of carrying heavier materials back to the nest.

The only drawback? They consumed a lot more food.

Gerhan clicked his mandibles, deep in thought.

His Essence Devourer talent made it clear—eating stronger creatures would make him stronger. The wolf meat had already triggered some unknown evolutionary effect in him. If he consumed even stronger beasts, what kind of transformations could he undergo?

And more importantly—how far could he grow?

He needed a plan. A plan to hunt, consume, and evolve.

And for that, he needed more than just numbers—He needed an army.