Level 3 came with some perks: quicker reaction time, stronger grip, and best of all, the ability to not get instantly stepped on by a larger insect. But it also came with a new problem. Ryan was now getting noticed.
A scout ant that bigger than the workers and armored like a tank had seen him soloing a beetle larva near the food chambers. Instead of reporting him, she brought him straight to the Huntmaster.
That's how Ryan found himself standing at attention in front of a battle-scarred ant with one missing leg and a jagged scar down his thorax. His name (delivered via a brain-tingling burst of pheromones) was Kraggoth.
"You're not normal," Kraggoth said through clicks and chittering, half speech and half pheromone signal.
Translation filter active: Colony Speak converted to Human Intuition.
Ryan shrugged or the ant equivalent of it. "I get that a lot."
Kraggoth leaned in, antennae twitching. "You hunt alone. You use tools. I have seen lesser ants die with more dignity. But I have also seen them stay dead."
He paused.
"Join the scouting party into the Rotfang Tunnels. Prove you're not a fluke."
A few hours later, Ryan found himself marching through a winding tunnel, surrounded by six hardened scouts and a silent, massive ant tagged as Sentry-Class – Lv. 8.
The Rotfangs were an infamous ancient offshoot tunnel filled with spores, acid pools, and creatures too mutated to classify. Even the walls looked diseased, leaking bioluminescent green slime that stank of decay.
Entering Rotfang Depths: Hazardous Zone
Quest Update: Predator Kills [1/3]
Bonus Objective: Survive the Crawl
"So what exactly are we scouting for?" Ryan asked the nearest scout.
"Movement. Smell of blood. Rival pheromones," she replied.
"Rival…?"
Before she could answer, the ground beneath the lead scout exploded.
A massive, hulking insect burst forth with six scythe-like limbs, an eyeless face, and a jaw that unhinged like a nightmare.
Rotfang Burrow Horror — Lv. 7 — Predator-Class Toxic Glands detected
Special Trait: Acid Spray
The beast shrieked and impaled the lead scout before anyone could react.
"Fall back!" Kraggoth roared.
But Ryan's instincts kicked in and his Cognitive Overclock flared to life.
Predictive Pattern Analysis: Active
Weak point: Underbelly membrane
Inventory: Twig-Spear (Sharp, Fragile)
He rushed forward.
The Horror lunged.
Ryan dodged, spun, and rammed the spear into its stomach. It shrieked and flailed
Critical Strike!
+60 XP
Worker Ant (Lesser) — Level Up! [Lv. 4]
It reared back for one final acid spray, but Kraggoth pounced, snapping its neck with brute force.
Back at the colony, the surviving scouts carried the corpse in as a trophy. Kraggoth approached Ryan in private.
"You think like prey," he said, "but fight like a predator."
Predator Kill Count: 2/3
Skill Gained: Combat Reflexes (Lv. 1)
Stat Bonus: +5 Agility
Ryan clicked his mandibles. "One more to go…"
That night, while resting near the egg chamber, a new screen appeared.
EVOLUTION THRESHOLD REACHED
Choose Evolution Path:
Venomspitter — Gain acid glands and ranged spit attacks. Increases Constitution and Attack.
Shadow Crawler — Lose color pigment, become nearly invisible in darkness. Gain Stealth and Speed bonuses.
Ryan stared at the screen.
Both were powerful.
Both were terrifying.
But only one would help him survive what came next.
Ryan didn't hesitate.
Evolution Path Chosen: Shadow Crawler
Stealth enhanced. Movement speed +20%.
Passive Skill Gained: Shadowmeld — "You vanish when still in dim or no light."
New Trait: Silken Grip — Wall-crawling speed increased.
Pain.
White-hot, chitin-splitting, soul-wrenching pain.
Ryan collapsed near the Queen Egg chamber as his body cracked, twisted, rewrote itself. He didn't scream, he couldn't. His thorax split open along invisible lines. His glossy black exoskeleton dulled into matte charcoal. His mandibles grew serrated edges. His legs grew subtle hooks for silent climbing.
And when it was done, he lay panting in the dark… and realized something.
He couldn't hear his own breathing. He couldn't even see his own limbs.
He had vanished.
Evolution Complete. Class: Shadow Crawler (Mutant Caste) — Level 4
Warning: You are now outside standard Worker parameters. Pheromonal loyalty compromised. Other ants may view you as aberrant.
"Fantastic," Ryan muttered. "I've officially gone rogue goth ninja ant."
Hours later, while adjusting to his new form in the empty chamber, a strange scent hit his antennae. Sharp. Oily. Wrong.
Not predator. Not fungus.
It was… ant. But not from his colony.
Suddenly, the shadows shifted.
Something was in here with him.
Stealth Intrusion Detected
Enemy Unit: Brood Assassin — Lv. 6 — Rival Hive Agent
Objective: Eliminate rogue element and destroy Queen Egg.
The figure dropped from the ceiling—sleek, blade-thin limbs, antennae wrapped in dark silk. Its eyes gleamed faintly red.
It lunged at the egg.
Ryan didn't think. He vanished.
Shadowmeld activated.
Surprise attack opportunity: +50% Damage
He dashed across the wall and launched himself from above. His serrated mandibles dug into the assassin's side, knocking it off balance.
The two tumbled across the chamber.
The assassin hissed a high-frequency screech that only bugs could hear. Its tail lashed out like a whip and stabbed into Ryan's shoulder.
Poisoned!
Venom Resistance Check… Passed (barely).
Ryan struck back, slashing with a shard of crystal he'd scavenged earlier. It scraped the assassin's eye, blinding it.
The enemy reeled.
Ryan vanished again.
And this time, he didn't miss.
He leapt from the dark and drove his mandibles into the assassin's neck, severing its brain stem with surgical precision.
Predator Kill Count: 3/3
Shadow Crawler — Level Up! [Lv. 5]
New Ability Unlocked: Phase Skitter — "Temporarily phase through solid material for 1 second."
The body twitched once, then collapsed.
Ryan stood over it, bleeding, gasping, victorious.
Then the Queen Egg pulsed.
Not with light.
But with heartbeat.
The Queen Egg is awakening.
Evolution chain updated: "You are now her Guardian."
Later, in the deep tunnels, Kraggoth received a message delivered by a trembling worker ant who'd witnessed Ryan's duel.
"He killed a Brood Assassin," she whispered. "Alone."
Kraggoth tilted his head, intrigued. "So the rogue ant chooses the shadows."
He looked east toward the rival colony.
"Then let's see if he can survive a war."