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Chapter 17 - Chapter 17: Seeds Of War

The chamber was quiet.

Dim light from the bioluminescent fungi lining the walls pulsed faintly, casting a pale blue hue across the polished stone. Adam stood still beneath the central spire, antennae twitching as the system's prompt hovered in his mind. He had hesitated long enough. There was no turning back now.

He accepted the evolution.

A sharp jolt coursed through his body, like the cracking of stone under pressure. His legs buckled, and he collapsed, limbs splaying as a surge of heat radiated from his core.

It started with his carapace—an audible crrrk as his outer shell cracked open. His black exoskeleton peeled and thickened, layer by layer, forming new armored plating over his thorax and back. Each new segment shimmered briefly, then dulled to a matte, obsidian sheen.

His mandibles elongated, curving slightly inward, edged now with fine serrations. They clicked together involuntarily, their sharpness sending a tremor of power through his skull. His vision, once grainy and limited, became sharper—more focused. Where once shadows blurred together, now he could see depth, texture, faint movements of dust stirred by distant footsteps.

But the worst came next.

A searing pain bloomed in his abdomen. He thrashed against the ground, legs scraping the stone. As if something was being built within him, a twisting of flesh and nerves, a birthing of function that had never existed in his body before. The pain climbed like fire, burning from the inside out, and then coalesced into a singular mass.

His breath caught.

He felt every moment of it.

A set of spinnerets had formed deep within his lower abdomen. The strange organ pulsed faintly, as if testing itself. He could feel the new weight inside him, foreign and powerful. 

When the pain finally receded, he lay still.

The chamber felt smaller than before, but perhaps it was just him.

He rose slowly.

He was taller now. More solid. His legs moved with weight and purpose. The dull ache in his head faded, replaced by a clarity he hadn't felt before.

He had evolved.

A new chapter in his reign had begun.

Adam's Panel Update

Species: The Chosen Royal – Stage II

Title: None

Level: 2

Health: 30/30

Stamina: 10/10

Mana: 0/30

Attributes

Strength: 6

Defence: 8

Agility and Dexterity: 8

Intelligence: 14

Perception: 11

Active Abilities

Tactical Foresight

Tremor Pulse 

Appraisal

Ability: Evolved

Silken Thread (Active) – Allows the production of better fine, durable silk from internal spinnerets. Enhanced with mana to be sharper and more durable. Can be used for binding, trapping, or reinforcing structures.

Mana Cost: 4 MP/ shot

Cooldown: None

Passive Abilities

Royal Command

Mana Recovery (+2 MP/day)

Adam stood alone in the center of the chamber, feeling the strength coursing through his altered frame.

This was only the beginning.

A few days had passed since Adam's evolution. Down here, in the quiet hum of earth and life, time was measured not by light but by rhythm. The gentle glow of the Mana Core and the recovery cycle it followed. That was how they tracked the passing of days: the +25 mana added each cycle, and the slow climb back to full strength after every project, every fight, every creation.

Since the successful raid on the juvenile beetles, things had changed. Not drastically, but steadily like pressure building underground.

The colony had grown. New life was stirring in the tunnels. Where once there were five ants, now eleven worked side by side. Each had a purpose, fitting seamlessly like cogs of a machine. The roles had not just shaped the colony, but the minds within it.

Zell, ever sharp and observant, had naturally stepped into leadership. He was now the commander of the colony's small but growing army. His instincts in combat, his rapid decisions, and last but not least his ferocity during battle, all made him a beacon the warrior ants rallied to.

Mira, with her quiet patience and sharp gaze, had taken over the medical chamber. She was more than a healer. Showing her expertise as she helped Skitt. She was the caretaker of the colony's health, the one who oversaw every cut, bruise, and burn with a meticulous intensity.

Brill, solid and deliberate, had become the lead architect. His burrowing precise. He was the one who designed the branching tunnels, who made sure no collapse could ever crush the heart of their home.

Skitt, twitchy and fast as ever, was the colony's lead scout. His senses were honed. His ability to run when danger erupted was no short of a miracle, escaping from beetles with a broken leg, required more than just effort. He was their eyes and ears beyond the walls.

Of the six new additions: three had evolved into warriors, silent and strong. One had become a burrower, joining Brill in expanding the colony. One had evolved into a healer under Mira's wing. And one more joined Skitt's scouts, already learning the delicate art of stealth and detection.

The chambers were better defended now. The thick, dark-blue chitin of fallen beetles had been used to line the walls of the Mushroom Cultivation Chamber and the Medical Chamber. It gave the tunnels a cool, faintly shimmering texture, and Adam noted how it helped regulate temperature and made the chambers feel more insulated. Even the ambient echoes in the tunnels had quieted, dampened by the armored layering.

But calm never lasted long.

It was Skitt who came racing into the core chamber, his antennae trembling.

"Mister giant," he said aloud, though the words echoed only in their mental link. "Foreign movement. Different from before. Bigger this time."

Adam's mind sharpened. He activated Tremor Pulse — mana rippled out in subtle waves, feeling for vibration.

And just like that.

Eight signatures, slow and dense. And alongside them, four lighter steps — faster, moving in arcs. 

Species Identified: Beetles

Composition: 8 Armored Infantry Units, 4 Agile Scouts

It wasn't just a wandering patrol. This was a formation. 

Adam turned toward his loyal ants, all assembled. Zell, Mira, Brill, Skitt — their eyes locked onto his. The rest followed, forming ranks behind them.

Adam didn't speak, not yet. He did not need to.

The seeds of war had just begun.

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