The rest of the day, I consciously contained my panic and instead attempted to radiate a calm aura of understanding and wisdom as I ushered the swarm to continue rushing onwards. Another hour passed, and I found myself carrying Ishtar over one shoulder and Isnanna on my back, both passed out notwithstanding the roughness of the travel, Iituli too proud to be held but flagging in strength. Meanwhile, I could feel a slight soreness building, but nothing more.

Night fell, and a scout let me know that the first of the hunting packs had been sighted with the first mound of hunted prey. There were several Scaled Deer, dozens of Toothy Bullfrogs, and two dulgar, the subterranean scaled mammal. I gestured for several of the leading packs to begin to eat, and they did after leaving aside several of the Bullfrogs for the spawnlings. The spawnlings needed no encouragement and swiftly began to set into the mound of corpses left to them while I went to find the leader of the hunting pack.The surroundings looked much the same as they had where we had come from–thick jungle surrounded us, trees tall, imposing and densely sprouting. Growth coated the ground, mosses, grasses, and ferns filled any space not filled by the massive burlraiz that were the primary tree in the area. Burlraizes were a sprawling city of a tree–massive roots that spread around the base of their trunk, spreading their twisting fingers everywhere they could reach and choking the life out of any plant life they touched. They gave no space to other vegetation, but to small creatures, they were a haven.

The hunting packleader happened to be Brutus, who stood sagging against a tree, a burlraiz.

“How was the hunt?”

“Easy. Nothing strong.”

“That’s not bad. Is there anything else nearby for us to also hunt?”

“All ran away. Scared of us.”

“Eh… how about the other packs? How far did they go?”

“Dunno. Not close.”

I internally rolled my eyes. “Great, thanks Brutus. Get some rest.”

He nodded heavily and stumbled towards the center of the gathering and simply collapsed in a heap of scales and limbs. I turned to the scout that had found the hunting pack, “Do you know how close the other packs are?”

She was a deep green keelish, built lean but muscular, on the shorter side. She nodded, “They’re maybe a ten minute jog away from here. Should I get them?”

I hesitated, then, “No need, I’ll take care of it. Do you know where Foire and his scouts are, relative to us?”

She shook her head. “I could find them if you needed it though. We have our signs.”

“Yes, I need information from him, as soon as possible. Make that your priority.”

A dip of her head, then she was gone. I realized that I had no idea how old she was, her name or anything else about her, but she immediately knew to find me and was steadfastly loyal to me. For some reason, the thought calmed and anchored me, making me realize something.

[System]. Show status.

[Status:

Name: Ashlani

Race: Sonic Khatif Swarm Alpha

Title: Killer of Redael

Current quests:

—Have one of your spawn grow to adulthood successfully. Progress: Spawnling. Rewards: Constitution +5, Intelligence +6, Magic +4.

-- Completely raze a community of creatures with a base Intelligence of at least 4. QUEST COMPLETE. Rewards: Constitution, Strength, Agility, Intelligence, Magic +6. NEW QUEST: Speak the Keel Words of Power. Rewards: Constitution, Strength, Agility +10, Intelligence, Magic +7. Hidden Rewards also available.

—Discover a Skill. QUEST COMPLETE. Rewards: Constitution, Strength, Agility +3, Intelligence +8, Magic +7. NEW QUEST: Establish complete control over a foreign body of keelish. REWARDS: Constitution, Strength, Agility, Intelligence, Magic +4.

Stats:

-Constitution: 69+6+3=78

-Strength: 82+6+3=91

-Agility: 87+6+3=96

-Intelligence: 88+6+8=102

-Magic: 76+6+7=89

Skills:

Innate Leadership—cannot evolve

Innervating Address–cannot evolve

Pack Tactics—current evolutionary progress: 2/10

Combatant's Bloodlust—current evolutionary progress: Hidden

True Dominance—current evolutionary progress: 1/10

Improved Vision--current evolutionary progress: 0/18

Improved Sonilphon—current evolutionary progress: Hidden

Evolutionary foresight

-Sonic Keel Alpha—Requirements: Acquire the Keel Words of Power, Receive the Blessing of Nievtala

Other evolutions possible, but not currently foreseen.]

I was surprised to note that my intelligence had surpassed 100, but I did note that since doing so, my thought process seemed to have been elevated. I couldn’t quite put my claw on it, but there was a notable difference.

My focus, however, fell on my new [Quests]. The second was straightforward as I’d already planned on annexing any swarm we came across, but the first had many things to unpack. [System], what does it mean by “the” Keel Words of Power?

[Exactly as you suspect. There is a total of one Phrase through the entirety of the Keel Words of Power. Once it is spoken…The Administrator has deemed it unnecessary to divulge that information. However, that decision may be rescinded, depending on your future growth.]

There was some information… Well, then what are the Hidden Rewards?

[The specific Hidden Reward that will be granted upon completion of the Quest is hidden, but it is notable and vast.]

I can accept that.

I was shaken from my reverie as my stomach growled. Looking around, I could see that the swarm was getting some rest briefly before the eventual return to marching and all the food had been devoured. A grin crossed my face: it had been a while since my last hunt; today was as good as any to resume it.