Like everyone else, I have one hobby.
Actually, calling it a hobby might be a stretch. No one would say raising animals counts as a hobby.
I raise animals too. More precisely, an entire animal colony.
It's an ant legion thriving in a fairly large aquarium I've set up with a realistic environment.
Thanks to tending to them for quite a while now, the colony has stubbornly refused to die off or decline, steadily bulking up instead.
It's outgrown the small test tube or plaster setups. Now it flourishes in a proper terrarium with soil layered on the bottom and plants sprouting on the surface.
'Should I add another terrarium soon?'
The moment I step into my empty house after finishing errands outside, the first thing I see is always the ants' terrarium.
Complete with lighting, it fills me with an inexplicable sense of pride every time I look at it.
I drew a ton of help from the internet, sure, but from start to finish, I built that terrarium myself.
I have no urge to mess with it, but if I wanted, I could still add a few things.
There's space right next to where it sits, so expanding with a new one seems worth considering.
"They sure pack it away..."
I clicked my tongue at the sight of the insect jelly I'd put in for food, now scraped clean from the bottom.
Come to think of it, the colony's been devouring food faster lately.
The visible numbers don't seem to have increased much, so I can't figure out why.
Building the terrarium with soil and decking it out nicely is great for the ants—friendly and all—but it's a nightmare to observe. The difficulty is at least double.
Honestly, if they'd wiped out in a few months, I'd planned to call it quits on ant-keeping. But that didn't happen.
'As long as they're eating well, that's good, right?'
I tossed in more food without a second thought.
Obviously, thriving beats dying.
"Special treat today."
With a smirk, I dumped a bunch of mealworms in place of the jelly.
Ever since the colony got stronger, their hunting skills have improved too. They don't even need me to chop the mealworms anymore—they handle it themselves.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙[The inhabitants of another world fear your subordinates]
"???"
That was when an inexplicable string of text floated before my eyes, like something out of a dream.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙「Acquired overwhelming fear and awe」 「Divine Net activated」 「*Irregular awakening detected. Some functions restricted」
And it didn't stop there.
A barrage of incomprehensible messages scrolled up, cluttering my vision.
"What the hell is this!"
I flailed my hands in panic, like I'd seen a ghost, but the text hovering in front of me wouldn't vanish.
Rubbing my eyes did nothing. Slapping my own cheeks changed zilch.
Still, I had a gut feeling this wasn't some hallucination or mental breakdown.
For whatever reason, even in this absurd situation, I felt certain of that.
「Subordinates Overview」
It took a solid ten minutes of me thrashing around the room—waving my hands wildly, rolling my eyes, shaking my head like a lunatic—before I realized I could control these floating elements.
The interface shifted at my will, just like manipulating a phone or monitor screen.
'What in the world...'
That's when I accidentally peeked into the "Subordinates Overview" function.
Instead of text, a screen shimmered before my eyes.
It was pitch-black and dingy.
The only hint of activity was the wriggling silhouettes of numerous shapes.
「Darkvision available」
Thankfully, there was a function like infrared vision that pierced the darkness.
Once the gloom lifted, I recoiled in shock at what lay revealed.
A teeming mass of ants swarmed through dim earthen tunnels.
They moved with frantic precision, executing their tasks without a single error.
Where this was happening? Obvious.
Inside the ant terrarium right in front of me. Deep within its soil.
'Can I control this view at will?'
The perspective shifted like a movable camera, following my intent.
The ants loomed huge up close—maybe grotesque to some—but I was used to it. I followed them effortlessly, exploring the ant nest I'd built inside the terrarium.
'So this is where they've been living all this time...'
The instant I'd switched to a soil terrarium, what I could see of them became just a fraction of the truth.
Their kingdom, layered thick beneath the dirt, was no longer comparable to the test tube or tiny acrylic days.
Hundreds—maybe more—Worker Ants. A couple of massive-jawed Soldier Ants starting to appear. And just as many eggs and larvae.
I lost track of time, standing dumbfounded in the middle of the living room, just watching.
For anyone who raises ants as a hobby, this sight would captivate and stun.
'What's that over there?'
That's when I spotted it while probing every corner of the nest.
A spot somewhat distant from the central hub where countless chambers converged. Connected by a long tunnel.
Numerous ants bustled back and forth along it.
"Wh-what the...?"
Then I noticed something off.
The moment I saw it, I froze in place, stumbling back instinctively.
The returning ants all carried something in their jaws. And those somethings looked wrong.
Utterly alien, mismatched things: limbs that looked like they had fingers and toes, cloth scraps resembling clothes, metal objects that screamed sword, spear, or armor fragment.
"..."
The impossible scene short-circuited my brain.
I'd have believed it if someone said it was AI-generated footage. Hard to even imagine. An ant carrying an armor shard?
「tip: Praise your subordinates for their victory in battle」
"Huh?"
As I stood there rigid, a single line of text popped up like a nudge to snap out of it.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Praise for the victory? No time for that now.
Bewildered, I kept shifting the view.
Figuring the end of that tunnel would reveal where my ants had gone and what they'd done.
'Here.'
With bated breath, I finally reached the tunnel's end.
And there, ants streamed in and out of a shimmering deep-purple spatial rift.
Moving the view beyond it took real guts.
I overcame fear of the unknown with curiosity that burned even hotter.
"A forest?"
The instant my viewpoint crossed the bizarre rift alongside a nearby ant—
My vision flipped. The dim darkness exploded into bright light. I hurriedly toggled off night vision, and the proper scene emerged.
"Where... is this place...?"
I could only mutter in a daze.
My viewpoint, which had traversed the nest's tunnel, now sat smack in the middle of some dense, unfamiliar forest.
Hundreds of ants were already there, at least.
And compared to the surroundings, their sheer wrongness stood out starkly.
Next to the trees, grass, rocks— the ants looked way too big.
A single Worker Ant, normally a mere speck against a tree trunk, now seemed capable of gnawing one down with its jaws.
Even my lowball estimate put their size at that of a hefty bicycle.
'What the hell have you guys been eating out there?'
Collapsing onto the sofa, I reexamined their spoils under the brighter light.
One ant dragged a half-crushed head by the jaws, dripping red blood. Unmistakably human. A man's head, judging by the rough stubble.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙[Awakening Background: The inhabitants of another world fear the sudden harbingers of death. These monsters heed no words or reason, devouring all that lives and moves]
I couldn't tell what came first or why. My head spun.
The sudden system fed me some "awakening info," but it was nowhere near enough to unravel this chaos.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙[Rumors and fear of the monsters soon twisted into dread of their ruler. Some believe a wicked evil god has finally come to end this world]
At least one thing clicked: the chain of events.
Basically, the reason this nonsense hit me is that my pet ants went berserk in some other world, and now I'm paying for it.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙[Having awakened as a Deity, you and your subordinates are now bound by fate. Their rise or fall will determine your rank and life—nurture them well]
"What...?"
And that wasn't all.
I had no clue about this "Deity" stuff, but my eyes widened at the idea that my life now hinged on these ants.
'No way—this isn't what I signed up for!'
Unknown reason: rift to another world opens in one corner of the ant nest. Ants cross over, rampage on instinct, lay waste to surroundings.
Backlash: I, their keeper, awaken as their Deity.
That was my rough timeline.
From one to ten, it was all bolt-from-the-blue disasters I never saw coming.
I tore my eyes from the screen and looked at the terrarium.
To my naked eyes, it was the picture of peace.
A few Worker Ants poked around outside, scouting leisurely, antennae twitching at the empty jelly spot.
[Feed your subordinates to praise them. They await your reward]
As I stared blankly at the terrarium, another helpful tip floated up.
I grabbed the paper cup of mealworms I'd meant to feed them earlier and dumped it all in.
The mealworms wriggled. Worker Ants signaled at once, summoning their comrades.
"What... are they doing?"
「tip: Your subordinates, now serving a Deity, are no longer mere insects of old. Lend them your power and wisdom to fuel their endless craving for growth and expansion」
I watched in confusion as the ants bobbed their heads in unison before the mangled mealworms, repeating the motion ritually.
The system explained it was their way of giving thanks. That ants—ants, of all things—recognized my existence as the one providing their food.
Even knew I was the one keeping them alive.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙[They rejoice at the great one's reward]
That nailed my suspicions.
I squeezed my eyes shut tight.
Forcing myself to believe this was some nightmare that'd vanish when I woke up.
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