The beetle's shell still lay cracked in the dim tunnel light, its legs twitching as life faded. Around me, the colony buzzed with frantic activity. Ants dragged away the soft inner flesh, the queen's pheromones pulsing approval through the air.
But for the first time, the workers were looking at me.
I wasn't bigger, faster, or stronger than them.
But I had acted, and it had worked.
They felt it too: the faint hum of my pheromones changing, sharpening with intent.
A dozen ants broke off from the feast and fell in line behind me, antennae brushing my sides. Not submission — interest. They had seen what I'd done and wanted to follow.
The system inside me flickered awake again.
> [Leadership Instinct +1]
[100% Drop: Minor Loyalty gained]
A thrill went through me. It was real. Every small action had a return. Not only crumbs and scraps, but trust and influence.
I led them away from the main tunnel. Out in the fringe passages, the colony's walls thinned, and the scent of the surface drifted down. Here, danger lurked—spiders, centipedes, rival ants. But also opportunity.
We found a crack in the wall no one had touched, heavy with the smell of dried seeds. My first raid. I sent out three scouts, two guards, one runner. Even as ants, we could plan. We could coordinate.
By nightfall, we had dragged back enough seed to feed a hundred mouths.
> [Resource +10]
[Followers' Loyalty +2]
The others began clicking their mandibles in a strange rhythm. Not words, not yet, but recognition. A small group, a splinter of the colony, now moved when I moved.
It was intoxicating.
But the queen's scent changed — a warning pulse. I was still nothing in her eyes, a minor worker with a minor trick. My growing faction was a spark. Sparks could be crushed.
And above the tunnels, the earth rumbled. A shadow with eight legs slid across the crack we'd raided. Its eyes gleamed red in the dim light.
A spider. A predator. Far bigger than the beetle.
My tiny army huddled close. Instinct screamed at me to run.
But I stayed. This was the second test.
If I fled now, I would remain just another worker.
If I acted…
> [New Quest: Defend your first followers. Reward: Skill Evolution]
I flexed my mandibles, antennae slicing the air.
"We don't run," my pheromones said. "We fight."