Do you know how ants sleep?
Well, they don't. Not like how humans do at least.
Ants enter a state of something called "torpor", same as humans resting with their eyes open. In this state of torpor, the ants go into a deep half-sleeping and half-awake-like state. Their brains shut off everything, and their whole body relaxes and slows down, effectively helping them to conserve their remaining energy while simultaneously recover strength.
Noah at first was weirded out by this new type of sleeping. He was awake and sleeping at the same time, there was no dream or any deep unconsciousness. It was strange as fuck boi.
Noah woke up from his torpor, his carapace twitching slightly as he stood up from the cold hard ground. 'Another new experience of being a monster, I wonder what more I have in store.' Noah groaned, stretching his stiff legs.
His newly mutated legs still ached slightly, but it wasn't something too painful. Manageable enough for Noah, and besides that, the mutation brought more benefits than anything, so Noah was more than willing to take any pain to get stronger.
Noah took a look around, his antenna lazily flicking in the air, sensing the pheromone trails in the chamber. Everything was the same, the same myriad of pheromone trails, the same red ants, probably around 40 or more, kept guarding the peacefully sleeping queen.
Noah turned his head to the Queen. '... Now that I think about it, I've never seen her sleeping.' Noah realized, staring at the peacefully sleeping queen.The red ants, forever as loyal, never left the side of the Queen for even a second.
'Don't they fucking rest?' Noah stared at the red ants with disbelief, his antenna twitching in bewilderment. 'Wow, they are truly hard working... Maybe I should learn something from them.' Noah thought, clicking his mandibles as he glanced at the system screen for the hundredth time.
[• Stamina: 100]
'Nice, I should go for more hunting then.' Noah planned, taking a few steps to start walking out of the chamber. But he stopped in his tracks, as a familiar scent brushed past his antennae.
Noah turned his head slowly. His eyes caught a lone red ant, staring at Noah silently.
It was her. The same red ant, the one who had given Noah food yesterday. Noah's antenna had clearly remembered the scent of this particular red ant.
She stood near the entrance of the chamber, looking at Noah with her compound eyes.
'You again?' Noah tilted his head, looking at the red ant dumbly. 'Does she want something?' Noah wondered.
But different from Noah's expectation, the red ant flicked her antenna in the air gently, then turned around, leaving the chamber with her steady six legs.
Noah stared dumbly at the place the ant was standing in, his antenna also gently waving in the air. '...Was she checking on me?' Noah cocked his head in confusion.
'Damn... Looks like not all ants in the colony are mindless monsters. Maybe some of them might have a bit of intellect...' Noah mused, his compound eyes gleaming with amusement.
'Hm, this is interesting. Perhaps my own existence in this colony has brought new changes to the ants.' Noah clacked his mandibles, chuckling lightly at the stupid thought.
'Heh, that was seriously how a narcissist would think.'
Shaking his head of any useless thoughts, Noah turned to leave the chamber. His six ant legs briskly taking him into one of the dark tunnels. Entering into the dark, narrow tunnel, Noah quickly fastened his pace, swiftly scuttling through the cold ground.
From the distance, Noah saw some red ants walking up and down the tunnels, looking super busy as always. Noah stopped in his tracks, wanting to experiment with something.
As the red ants were rushing past him, Noah quickly flung his antenna in the air, releasing pheromonal signals. "Uh, hello my fellow workers! It's a nice day, isn't it?!" Noah spoke awkwardly.
But the red ants didn't stop, quickly rushing past Noah. Some only glanced at him before walking away.
Noah stood awkwardly, his antennas drooping down as he sighed heavily.
'So not every ant has intellect like that one red ant and the Queen.' Noah narrowed his eyes, staring at the retreating ants.
Noah had hoped that the other ants might have the capacity to think like the Queen and that particular red ant, but it seemed those were the only exceptions. Well, aside from him, of course.
'I should also use Identify on that particular red ant, the system might give me the information I need.' Noah planned, returning his focus as he turned to leave the colony through one of the closest exits.
After walking out of the exit, the sunlight greeted Noah, his black carapace shimmering in the sun. But Noah didn't stay too long appreciating sun and grass, moving in the direction of the Crimson Gate.
As Noah reached the spot, what he saw made him stop in his tracks, his eyes widening in shock.
A single red ant stood near the Crimson Gate, inspecting the red portal with her long red antenna. She stood near the Gate motionless, staring at the gate in clear confusion, her antenna gently swaying in the air.
Noah instantly recognized the red ant—it was that same red ant.
'What the hell are you doing here?!' Noah panicked, screeching in clear alarm.
'I knew this place wasn't the best hiding spot, but damn, one of the ants actually found this place so quickly!' Noah quickly rushed in the red ant's direction, his antenna wildly spreading pheromone trails.
"Ooooiiiiii! Stop! Stop!" Noah screeched, nearly tripping over his own legs as he bolted forward.
Noah hurriedly scrambled to the large red ant, his antenna swinging in the air in panic. Before the red ant could enter the gate, Noah quickly put his smaller ant body between the glowing Crimson Gate and the red ant.
"Stop there, I told you to stop!" Noah said, clacking his mandibles loudly.
The red ant stopped, staring down at Noah's smaller figure in confusion. She cocked her head at Noah, her large compound eyes staring at him in confusion. She turned to the Crimson Gate, then at him again, almost as if asking what the crimson gate was. Why was it here?
Noah was taken aback by the red ant in front of him, his compound eyes widening at her behavior.
This red ant had some intelligence—it was crystal clear to see. This level of curiosity was clearly different from any regular ant who only lived to serve the colony.
Noah frowned, his eyes locking on the red ant. 'This sort of behavior... yeah, she is clearly different. Just like the Queen. What the hell is happening here? It's totally different from the canon Solo Leveling again.' Noah thought, his head buzzing madly.
Noah had knowledge from the canon, so it wasn't surprising for him to know that the Queen ant was an intellectual monster to an extent. After all, she was the sole reason Beru was born. But apart from the Queen and Beru, the canon never showed the other ants having intelligence.
So it was a surprise.
'Looks like I can't solely rely on the canon knowledge from Solo Leveling. Things here are being way different from the canon.' Noah narrowed his eyes, already preparing himself for any new uncertainty in the future. If Noah had any fears, it would be the unknown. After all, it's in every being's nature to fear the unknown.
Sighing lightly, Noah focused his attention on the patiently waiting red ant. Noah was taken aback again. 'Oh, she is respectful.' Noah praised.
Then looking up, he started to speak again, his antenna swinging in the air frantically. "This place. Dangerous! Dangerous!" Noah spoke, making signs and gestures in the air with his front legs. "Don't come here again. You got it?" Noah asked, looking at the ant with reluctant hope.
The red ant stared at Noah dumbly, tilting her head in confusion.
'Damn her eyes... They look like they don't have any thoughts behind them.' Noah stared at the ant dumbly, his earlier conjecture of her being smart gone as quickly as it came. 'She looks dumb as fuck...'
'Sigh... Well, no matter. They are still monsters, I can't put any high hopes anyway.' Noah let out a defeated sigh, now in a dilemma on how to solve this problem, as he stared at the red ant in front of him, watching Noah in confusion.
'Should I take her with me?' Noah wondered, turning his head to look at the Crimson Gate, then at the patiently waiting red ant. '...That might not really be a bad option.'
Yeah. It really might not be a bad option. After all, the red ants were easily as strong as any low A-rank monsters, so taking just one ant as a partner, the risk of hunting monsters alone significantly decreases.
'But then again, it's also like a double-edged sword. She's still a monster. I can't control her. What if she just jumps at any demons she sees once we enter inside?' Noah frowned, looking at the red ant with narrowed eyes. The red ant also stared back patiently, almost expectant.
'ARH! You know what? Fuck it! We ballin'. Let's go and hunt some demons, my sista!' Noah clacked his mandibles, throwing his front legs in the air with a dramatic flair.
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Author's Note:
A bit of a side note. Just wanted to clarify, the ants are mostly female. Of course, aside from Noah and Beru, they will be the only males. But every monster ant gonna be a female. Don't worry, I'm not gonna write some incest.