The soldiers stood united under the Kingdoms banner. Some sung old war ballads and others drummed the ground with their abdomens. Every legion had their scent flag waving above their heads: a thousand of them total. That was a hundred thousand soldiers, half of our total population! It showed the Queen's determination, her resolve. The termites had angered the sleeping giant.

There were soldiers, and then there were the slaves. They had finally been let out of the dark underground cave. They barely made a tenth of the total numbers and stood stark compared to the soldiers.

Midst them was no fanfare, no flags or singing, and drumming.

They were the ants from conquered lands that had been reared as slaves; they were the captured, the won, and the useless. They were the dead ones walking that had no right to enjoy the festivities of the living.

Soldiers and slaves — they’ll be sharing the same war, but playing different roles. The living will fight the war for valor; the dead fight for a chance at life.

The commander appeared from the broken part of the tower. None accompanied him. He stood alone facing his soldiers.

At ease, soldiers, the order fell from the tower. The wind was blowing away from him, bringing his words to each and everyone on the ground.

Peace, he started, comes at a price. And it’s costly to keep. We have been at peace with our neighbors for so long that even mere termites don’t consider us a threat anymore. They have forgotten the fire that burned them away from this patch of land. The soldiers stirred. They have forgotten the chance we gave them. They begged for life and we allowed them to run to the west, to the land beyond the desert of white glowing sand. It has not even been three complete generations since and suddenly, they have grown a pair of wings, and think they can challenge us? The scents grew heavier. The flags rose higher and higher. The drumming became incessant. We showed pity when there should have been none. We gave mercy when we should have uprooted them from this world. Not again.

The activities stopped. Everyone raised their heads, antennae straight in the air, faces determined and ready. The commander passed the verdict.

It’s time we burn the termite’s existence out of our neighborhood, once and for all!

Ho! The soldiers cried. Even I found my heart pounding when I like many others were simply bystanders.

The sun glared from the sky as the progression marched past the boundary watched by the sentries and slowly disappeared into the thicket to the west. The scents they had raised hovered over the city for an instant before being swept away to the nearby regions by the wind, striking fear into the hearts of the trespassers living in our territory.

We were at war, but the city didn’t understand this. It demanded to be taken care of without caring for the sentiments of its residents.

Since the sky was clear and sunny, the workers decided to open the air ducts that had been blocked since the thunderstorm. They would open the closed tunnels when the time was right. With the city suddenly losing half its population, the existing chambers were enough to house the remaining population. Priorities like repairing the tower, stocking firewood, and bringing leaves into the city to increase mushroom growth took precedence.

The need for protein never dwindles, because the larvae require a strict protein diet to grow healthy and strong. Since the queen would be laying eggs at a quicker pace to fill the numbers, it would be impossible to feed the whole city on a diet of protein. The mushroom farm was going to play a large role in getting us through.

It all meant further delay in the completion of Princess Tinbuji’s personal abode, where she would be laying eggs after becoming a queen.

That being said, there was one thing that bothered me personally. There was this one notification that had been pestering me all day, ever since I had regained consciousness. I had tried to will it away as usual, but it was persistent. It said it was a notification log. I had no idea what it meant.

Later, our scouts returned from the neighboring cities bearing good news. The cities had agreed to send reinforcements to the west. The scouts weren’t late. There was just no time to wait for reinforcements. The 34th city was already under siege. If the soldiers had waited the city would have fallen by the time they reached it.

As for the Princess, she kept busy around the farm and sent me off to supervise the worker under me. There was a new tension to her that hadn’t been there before. The only time she relaxed was upon learning that the completion of her chamber would be further delayed, which was unusual from my point of view.

She had hoped to get valuable information out of the termite. It was supposed to solve the mystery and light our path. Instead, it had died worthlessly. We needed to know their motive, not where they lived, and their surprisingly burgeoning population. It was no wonder the termites dared expand their way into our territory. The numbers were in their favor.

Since I was not required by her, I spent the morning supervising the workers at the tower. It was the only way I could help. The workers weren’t pleased to see me and they made sure to let me know that they meant business. Keeping them working was a headache in itself, but regularly cleaning the cement that they mistakenly threw at me every now and then was a bigger nuisance than I had first considered. I believed it to be a harmless joke since the cement could be easily cleaned off —unless it hardens. That’s when you risk losing the affected area, which was their purpose in playing the sick joke on me.

It was while our shift was coming to an end when the workers forgot all niceties, and it set me off. Show me what you have got, I thought out loud. Though it didn’t make the workers even hesitate, it did send the persistent notification that had been hovering at the center of my sight, into an explosion of colorful messages and characters, some familiar, but the majority of them were not.

You have killed a puppet of gluttony.

Experience gained.

Congratulations! You have leveled up.

Frankly, I did wonder if you’d ever reach this point. But here you are. Better late than sorry, I guess.

Your status network has connected to ‘The System.’

Personal status can be viewed at the user’s discretion.

Note: Please take note not to show your personal information to anyone.

(.1) points were automatically distributed to your constitution as a level-up reward. (.1) points were automatically distributed to your strength as a level-up reward.

A Skill has been gifted to you for analyzing the contents of your status.

Skill: Analyze acquired.

[With this skill you can analyze the contents of your status to your heart’s content.]

[Analyze][Tier-1][Lv-1/10][Active]

[You must have been wandering around the river of your status like a lost duckling. This one will guide you.]

[Use: speak the word Analyze, and repeat what you want to be analyzed.]

I had been trying to find something about the phenomenon, a spark I could work with, but what I got was more than just a little something. I got enough to build a fire that could easily burn me.

It was a scary change but was also a chance to ask the questions I had been holding back.

The moment we completed our shift I found myself a secluded place and started thinking. There were more than enough such places in the city. Even on the tenth floor, where I was at, there were tens of abandoned chambers. Some had been taken over by the elements and others couldn’t be finished because of impossible to navigate obstructions like giants rocks and dried roots to name some. I was inside one such chamber, palpitating with excitement and worry, looking at something unexplainable.

STATUS: 5-6-99

Level & Rank

1/10 [0]

Willpower

Low-Low

Endurance

12.5/13.4

Dexterity

Low-Low

Mana

0/8.4

Perception

Low-Low

Species

Ember Ant (Common)

Hardness

Low-Low

End Reg. (.4/hour)

Mana reg. (0/hour)

Calories

10/13.1

Stat gain/Level:

+.1 CONS, +.1 STR/ +.1 AGI

Strength

.9

Intelligence

1.5

Agility

.6

Wisdom

1.2

Charisma

0.0

Luck

0

Greed

42

Constitution

2.5

Titles:

Master of Greed, Loud mouthed Traitor, Royal Guard

Skills:

Sin

Greed(-)

Racial

Digging(5), I.C(1), Ant sense(3), Bite(2), Absorption(4), Pheromone Control(2), Climb(1), Tracking(3), Balance(3), Hibernation(1)

General

Universal Tongue(n/a), Breathing(3), Movement(3), Memory(3), Patience(5), Focus(5), Hygiene(7), Tenacity(1), Toughness(1), Anger(1), Sight(1), Roll(1), Dodge(1), Feather fall(1), Vigor(1), Examine(1), Analyze(1)

Utility

Confusion(1), Map(1),Charge(1), 

Resistance

Thermal(1), Poison(1), Acid(1), Charm(1), Stress(1), Strain(1), Mental Corruption(1), Overwhelm(1), Pain(1)

Mastery

Barehanded(1),

It was a complicated piece, this thing called status. Something told me I should get accustomed to the sight for I would be seeing it fairly regularly. However, there were too many squiggles and too many characters, all far too personal and bold.

It wasn’t the answer I was looking for. But it was something. Or was I asking the wrong questions? I would have to wait and see.

I calmed myself. I could worry and hurry, or I could be patient and focused; I had to take one thing at a time. The latest squiggles had told me the skill or as I called it, the phenomenon called Analyze would help me figure out my problems. The next steps were easy to figure out.

The word skill was the first thing I analyzed because that’s what my sight was, a skill. It had been the most prominent of all. Many had come and gone, but none was quite like it.

Analyze: skill: Skills are your abilities, honed or acquired, by repetition or from knowledge. Every action that has affects you, another, or the environment can be a skill. Mostly categorized as General, Utility, and else. Training improves a skill, and hence its performance. Levels detail your mastery or proficiency over one. Lower tiered skills are easier to master compared to higher-tiered ones, but the reward also varies accordingly. Skills can be further categorized as passive and active once. Passive ones enhance you without order, whereas the active ones have to be activated to earn the desired effect.

It listed important things, but none that answered my question. Therefore, I decided to try acquiring a skill to see how that process worked before moving forward.

I had wanted to learn the aged warrior’s antennae whip since the first time she had slapped me with it. She had told me to use what I had, and I wanted it as my ability.

Nervous and excited, I moved my antennae-like her. At least I tried moving them that way. However, nothing happened. My antennae were stiff and weak compared to hers. She could whip them with enough force behind to create a snap from the clubbed ends. It didn’t help that her antennae were of an odd length for an ant; they were aggressively huge.

The differences were many, but they weren’t enough to stop me. I knew I couldn’t whip mine antennae, but I could at least flick them. When I flicked my antennae the notification appeared, just like that.

Nice flick, slick. I wonder what you are going to do with it. Show her your flick and brag, of course!

You have acquired a new skill: Antennae Whip.

[Antennae Whip][Tier-1][Lv-1/10][Active]

[It forces your antennae to move in such a way that the clubbed end strikes with a snap at the end of it.]

[Effect: Consumes .3 calories/ whip. The damage dealt is equivalent to your strength and proficiency.]

I didn’t do much, but I got the skill. However, when I flicked there was no sound. Then I remembered that charge was a skill that I had to agree to use. I agreed to use the antennae whip.

Lo and behold, my antennae moved like something possessed. There was a whip and the unforgettable sound —that snap at the end— and also a sharp pain. The pain wasn’t important, but the knowledge that the phenomenon called the system could override my control and force action through me was worrisome. The whip was performed spectacularly, while in reality, I could barely flick my antennae.

I couldn’t think what to make of the system and its powers. What was it? An infection of the kind that slowly takes over your body, a tool made to subvert actual knowledge with a false promise that could be broken anytime, or just a method to facilitate further learning. Because if I was left to my devices I knew the whipping action would take me an unknown length of time to learn, but if I learned by following the actions of the skill I would have a healthy learning chance, and an easier time than any teacher could provide.

So if I was to accept it, I would have a teacher that would not just show me the actions, but also move me through them. What could be better than it?

I decided to look further into the status before deciding anything.

Analyze: Endurance: Endurance is the limit of damage or abuse your body can take. Everything from walking to getting hurt takes endurance. You die when it reaches zero.

Analyze: Strength: Strength is a physical attribute representing your physical ability. It affects the damage you deal and the hardness of your body. The upper limit of hardness depends upon your strength and constitution.

The word called attribute got my attention. I analyzed it, too.

Analyze: Attribute: Attributes are the representation of your qualities. Certain actions, prolonged training, and skill levels increase the value of your attributes, strengthening you as a whole being, and increasing your natural limits. Usually leveling up is the quickest way of increasing attributes, but training skill levels is also a highly sought out method of raising them.

Skills affected attributes. It meant the status was not just a record! It was also a means of improving the physical body beyond the natural limits. That is what I understood, and why I got excited. This explained why I could easily penetrate the termite’s exoskeleton when others had to force their way in!

I get stronger the more skills I have?

I didn’t know at the time how small I was thinking.

My heart thrummed. I hadn’t gotten this excited since I had found out that my method of digging was way superior to the others. But I didn’t lose my focus, either. It’s not bad to be excited about something, but my digging had led to much disappointment and resentment. For all my excitement this time could have been no different.

We will have to see. And to reach that place, I would have to accept the system, which upon weighing the pros and cons, was undoubtedly the better option for me.

I should ask others for help. The thought was crushed before it could rise.

What others? My inner voice asked. Do you even have someone else you have been hiding? Are you talking about the princess? Yes, she trusts you, but are you sure you want to share this thing with her, even though it might be dangerous?

I moved on. It went on and on until I was done with all of the words represented on the status. Surprisingly, analyzing the word status simply brought the panel to the front. The notifications had been coming and going free of my influence, to think I could also influence them made me feel good.