Evolution begins with an ant colony

"Hey, Leona," Akun inquired curiously, "I noticed that I’m not seeing some of the evolved male ants around. Where did they go?"

Leona’s face lit up with a smile as she shared, "You see, they’re off on a little adventure to collect food for the anthill. It’s an important job to make sure everyone has enough to eat and stay full of energy."

Akun raised an eyebrow, intrigued by Leona’s response. "Isn’t most of the work in an ant colony handled by the females? Why send the males out for this task?" he asked.

Leona replied with a warm smile, "The female ants still handle most of the actual gathering, but I don’t want the male ants to become lazy or feel less capable, boss. They should all be more like you, a true leader."

Akun pondered to himself as he observed the male ants around him. "Except for Ember and I, all their stats are downright cringe-worthy," he thought with a hint of amusement. "The only thing they all seem to have in common is their good looks." He chuckled softly at the thought.

He saw some promise in his fellow male ants, you know? Their fighting skills might not be as flashy as the females’, but they could be real assets in other ways for the anthill. "I’m thinking, down the line, we could set them up to gather info and create like a scouting crew," he thought out loud.

Of course, Akun was also aware that they’d need to amp up their abilities a bit for those jobs to work out.

"Leona, can you tell me where they went? I want to go check on them," Akun said, his curiosity piqued.

Leona nodded and replied, "They’re near the edge of the forest."

"Alright, I’ll go check them, you can stay here" Akun said, as he then began to walk up the wall.

Meanwhile at the edge of the god forsaken forest, six of the male evolved ants, Liam, Oliver, Jake, Ethan, Max, and Leo, stood, pouting and discussing their newfound responsibilities.

Liam crossed his arms, "This is so unfair! Ever since we evolved, the females have been making us do all the work."

Oliver chimed in, "Yeah, seriously! We used to have it easy, and now they treat us like worker bees."

Jake added, "I thought evolving was supposed to make things better for us, not worse."

Ethan nodded, "Exactly. We should be out having fun, not working all the time."

Max gave a playful smirk, "I miss the good old days when the ladies would do all the heavy lifting."

Leo, always the thoughtful one, observed the conversation with his usual contemplative expression.

So, little did they know, a bunch of adventurers were low-key watching the guy ants chat it up. Their faces were all like, "Huh? What’s going on here?" but you could tell they were also kinda curious about it.

Darius, the leader, furrowed his brow and whispered to the others, "What are those creatures? They look so much like humans, but something feels off about them."

Elara, the cool elf who’s all about bows and arrows, was like, "Totally get what you’re saying. They’re almost like humans, But, you know, looks can be tricky. Let’s play it safe."

Gromm, the half-orc who’s all about smashing stuff, rolled his eyes and was like, "Honestly, I don’t give a hoot about their looks. If they’re monsters, they’re monsters. Time to wreck ’em!"

Lyra, the magic whiz, jumped in and was like, "Hold on a sec. Before we go all crazy, we better make sure they’re legit monsters and not just some lost souls or forest dwellers."

Raela, the sneaky one, pitched in, saying, "Yeah, what she’s saying makes sense. We shouldn’t just go all out without figuring things out first. Let’s keep an eye on ’em a bit more."

Then there’s Torin, the cleric, nodding in agreement. "Yep, totally on the same page. Quick choices might just cause us headaches. We gotta figure out what these guys are all about."

So, the gang decided to hide in the bushes, peeking at those fancy evolved ant monsters from afar. These ants were yapping away like they were having a chill chat, and you could hear their voices kinda echoing through the woods.

But, here’s the kicker: they were gabbing in some monster language that our adventurers couldn’t wrap their heads around, so they were pretty much in the dark about what was being said.

So, after a bit of checking things out, Lyra, who’s all about the magic, was like, "I can use my appraisal skill to size up their info. It might spill the beans on whether they’re legit monsters or not."

Darius gave a thumbs-up, like, "Yeah, that works. Go for it, just keep it low-key. We don’t wanna get their eyes on us."

Lyra carefully activated her appraisal skill, focusing her magical energy on the evolved monster ants. She frowned as she read the results in her mind. "They are indeed monsters. Their status confirms it. But it’s strange, they seem to possess high intelligence and advanced abilities. It’s like they’ve evolved beyond regular monster ants."

The rest of the gang gave each other these worried looks. Things were getting trickier than they thought. These fancy ant monsters were more than just basic bugs, and going all-out without knowing their deal seemed like a gamble.

Darius spoke with determination, "We can’t jump to conclusions, but we can’t ignore potential threats either. Let’s be cautious and proceed with our original mission."

Darius gathered his party members closer and spoke in a hushed but determined tone, "Alright, everyone, get ready. We’re taking down those evolved monster ants and getting those cores. Lyra, I need you to cast your most powerful fire spell. We need all the firepower we can get."

Lyra nodded, a flicker of concern crossing her face. "I’ll give it my best shot, but I have to warn you, my attack might not be as strong as usual. These suppressed stats are really messing with my magic."

Gromm cracked his knuckles, a fierce grin spreading across his face. "No worries, Lyra. We’ve got your back. Let’s show these ants what we’re made of!"

Elara notched an arrow, her eyes scanning the area for any potential threats. "We should try to take them down quickly and efficiently. Don’t let them get too close."

Raela silently unsheathed her daggers, her agile fingers ready for action. "I’ll be ready to strike when they least expect it."

Torin held his staff tightly, a calming aura surrounding him. "Stay focused, everyone. We’ll handle this together."

Darius took a deep breath, his heart pounding with adrenaline. "Alright, on my count. Three... two... one... go!"

Lyra unleashed a torrent of flames towards the evolved monster ants, the spell erupting from her hands with dazzling brilliance. However, as she had warned, the attack seemed weaker than usual, as if the forest itself was sapping her power.

As the battle unfolded in the distance, a sudden burst of bright light caught Akun’s attention. The explosion was so powerful that even from afar, he could see the fiery glow illuminating the canopy of the god forsaken forest. Without hesitation, Akun tapped into his aspect power, feeling the energy surge through him, and he lifted himself off the ground.

Akun soared through the air, his speed increasing as he propelled himself toward the source of the explosion.

As Akun watched the distant explosion, his mind raced with thoughts and speculations about its source.

"Who could have caused such a powerful explosion?" he wondered to himself, his eyes narrowing in thought. "The Kingins? No, their expertise lies in dark magic, and this looked more like a mage’s work."

He mentally dismissed the possibility of the Kingins being responsible, knowing that their capabilities didn’t match the scale of the explosion.

"The orcs? Impossible," he thought, recalling their amicable relationship. "Well, I did fight one of their guards, but it was his fault and they owe me! They wouldn’t attack us without reason."

As he continued to ponder, the idea of goblins came to mind. They were known to be mischievous and sometimes aggressive, but their attacks were usually uncoordinated and lacked the finesse displayed in the explosion.

"Goblins? Unlikely," Akun concluded. "They’re cunning, but not that organized, and they typically don’t possess the power for such a destructive spell."

He furrowed his brow, his mind searching for other possibilities. However, none seemed to fit the bill. The forest was full of diverse creatures and factions, but the scale and precision of the explosion didn’t align with any known inhabitants.

Akun’s heart pounded with a mix of anger and concern as he soared closer to the source of the explosion. When he finally arrived, his eyes widened in shock and frustration. He saw a group of human adventurers attacking his ant comrades.

"What the... what is going on?" Akun muttered, clenching his fists in fury. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The evolved male ants were clearly in pain from the earlier explosion, but they were fighting back with determination. Their faces were etched with grit and defiance as they defended themselves against the unexpected assault.

Akun’s emotions surged as he watched his ant friends bravely holding their ground. He couldn’t understand why these adventurers would attack peaceful creatures like them. A mixture of disbelief and rage surged through him.

"Humans? how dare they?" Akun seethed inwardly, his mind racing with anger.

Akun’s presence caused a momentary pause in the chaos of the battle. The adventurers turned their attention towards him, taken aback by his sudden arrival and the intensity in his eyes.

His purple eyes glowed brightly with a mix of fury and determination, a reflection of the power surging within him. The evolved male ants, though still in pain, looked up at their boss with gratitude and relief, knowing they now had someone to protect them.

"I hope you humans have a very good explanation for your attack on my comrades," Akun’s voice rang out, firm and commanding.

"If not, this place shall become your graves."