My mandibles snap down on the mouse (sadly not one of the winged ones) and it's over before it began.

[That was a good lunge!]

[...Thank you.]

It's been a week since we talked with Noah, and I'm still awkward talking to Joule. Is there something I should do after an apology or was that the end of it?

Chewing on the mouse, I ask,

[If it's all right, would you mind telling me how much energy we have?]

[...You don't have to be so formal, you know. You apologized. That means a lot by itself.]

[Oh, okay.]

There's a long and awkward silence.

[Oh! Right, the energy. Um, you have enough for an enormous increase in permanent size.]

[What's the difference between using it to get bigger and just stockpiling Void?]

[It's a big difference. Using it to get bigger is a permanent change, a lifetime guarantee that your new size is simply larger. Gaining Void will indeed increase your size substantially, but it can be pulled back into your void to reduce your size if need be.]

I think I get it. [How large am I at the moment?]

[You're bigger than most mice right now.]

I'm stunned. I'd just assumed that the mice were getting smaller.

[Let's use all of it, then. Oh, and Joule?]

[Yes?]

[Is there any way we can make it hurt less?]

[Sadly, no.]

And the process begins.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I carefully examine my new form. My lustrous shell had gradually been losing its brown color for quite some time now, but it wasn't until just now that I realized it was completely black. Such an absolute shade of black, in fact, that it didn't even shine anymore.

[How much bigger am I now?]

[I'd say... approximately four hundred percent larger.]

It's a satisfying increase. I can probably defeat that snake from earlier without emergency conditions activating, though I somewhat regret not asking Noah what exactly those were.

[Is there anything nearby that I can hunt?]

[There's actually something else I wanted to talk to you about.]

I pause. She sounds a little serious.

[What is it?]

[You're getting larger at a more rapid pace than I anticipated. You're going to want to find a place to stay, or else you might get picked off by a creature that's less picky about what it eats.]

That is an excellent point. If I was attacked by something too much stronger than me, I'd probably have to use the Favor, and I'd like to save that for as long as possible.

[Where should we dig?]

[Pretty much anywhere would work, really. We can use your Void Bite to dig at some incredible speeds, and even gain a small amount of energy from it.]

I looked around, then down. Well, if it doesn't matter...

I dive into the ground, Void bite working full force. I'm basically swimming through the earth at this point, and it's disappearing as I chew it.

[How big should we make this?]

[Probably several times larger than you are. If you're going to keep growing, it's just going to be a hassle to redo it over and over, so... just make it bigger.]

[Okay.]

It's quite nice to be digging. I haven't done it in quite some time.

Absentmindedly moving earth through my mandibles, I ask, [Are all humans like Noah?]

[...Are you serious? He's not human at all.]

That is a surprise. He'd said something about it back when I first met him, but I'd thought he was lying at the time.

[So, what is he?]

[He's a Cosmic, a unique existence in the multiverse, capable of harnessing and manipulating atomic matter and-]

[You lost me.]

She's quiet, and I finish the entry tunnel by the time she says, [He's basically really freaking powerful.]

[I get that.]

I still remember how the trees flattened when he lost his temper.

[But... if he's not human, what are humans like?]

[In this universe? Pretty unusual. You got your basic mages, guilds, knights, stuff like that. It's an honestly pretty common stereotype.]

[...I still have no idea what you're talking about. How powerful are they?]

[Ehh, they're decent. I've heard Noah talk about animeverses where the more powerful people can destroy planets.]

I try to clack my mandibles in irritation, but get a mouthful of dirt instead.

[Can you put in terms I'd understand?]

[They could defeat you very easily.]

That's unusual. I feel like I've been getting a lot stronger.

[Haven't I been increasing in power a lot?]

[You've got to remember, you're still an ant. You might be ten times bigger than you used to be, but you're still just an unusually large ant.]

That is incredibly disappointing to hear.

[Also, most of these humans can do magic, and that will certainly be fatal to you.]

[What about emergency conditions?]

[Honestly, I don't know what would happen if emergency conditions kicked in. I still don't know what happened back then, or even if it's possible to do it again.]

I finish digging and stand back proudly. I'm now standing in a spacious cave, a small amount of light trickling in from the entrance. There's a tunnel near the back that leads to a smaller room where I can store anything that I find, and the roots from the trees above have all but been removed.

[How does it look?]

[...I've seen better.]

Oh, be quiet.