Aidan opened his eyes, compound eyes now... and nearly panicked. Everything looked multiplied, stretched, and distorted like a kaleidoscope. Beneath him was coarse soil. Around him crawled dozens of pale newborn ants.
Okay… breathe. You're an ant now. Don't freak out.
But then he froze.
Text — floating text — appeared above his vision.
[Reincarnated Species: Lesser Worker Ant]
[Name: Aidan]
[Unique Trait Acquired: Evolution Path – Ascendant Ant Lord]
[Level 1 > 2]
I leveled up… just for waking up?
A sudden vibration shot through the nest. Worker ants rushed around him, pushing larvae to safer corners. Aidan felt their fear like a buzzing inside his mind.
Something big was digging from above.
The earth cracked, and a shadow descended through the hole, long, wriggling, and hungry.
A centipede.
Twice the length of a human arm from Aidan's new perspective, armored with red-black plates, dripping with venom.
The worker ants charged it desperately.
They were dying.
Aidan knew he was supposed to be weak, tiny and useless. But something inside him burned, a spark that wasn't normal for any ant.
A second notification appeared:
[Skill Unlocked: Proto-Combat Instinct]
[Temporary Buff: +20% Strength, +10% Speed]
His legs moved before he even decided to run.
He launched himself onto the centipede's back, biting down with all the force he had. His mandibles cut between two plates, not deep, but enough to make the beast screech and thrash.
Worker ants swarmed its exposed legs. The queen's pheromones filled the nest, commanding Defend. Protect.
Aidan bit again and again, climbing toward the centipede's head.
One strike from its tail slammed him into the dirt. For a second, everything went dark.
But then a warmth flooded his body.
[You have dealt damage to a higher-level creature.]
[Experience gained.]
[Level Up: 2 > 3]
[HP Restored]
Aidan staggered to his feet, new strength rushing into his limbs. He dashed forward, leaping directly toward the centipede's eyes.
If I'm going to survive this world… I can't be a normal ant.
He bit down.
Hard.
The centipede screamed. The worker ants piled onto its neck, pulling it down. After a violent struggle, its body finally slumped, twitching once before going still.
Silence returned to the nest.
Then the notifications came like a storm.
[Prey Defeated: Venomous Stone-Centipede]
[Large EXP bonus acquired]
[Level Up: 3 > 4 > 5]
[Evolution Options Unlocked]
A new window formed, glowing like a jewel in his mind.
{Choose Your Evolution Path}
1. Warrior Ant (Power + Defense)
2. Reaper Ant (Speed + Venom)
3. Royal Mutant Ant (Growth Potential + Skills)
4. Ascendant Ant Lord (Unique — Locked Until Level 10)
Aidan stared at the last option...
That's my goal.
He tightened his mandibles.
He would become an Ant Lord.
He would rise from the dirt.
And the world above would tremble...