Alvaric, Niva, and Lyrith had successfully made it to the surface. The moment they stepped out of the dungeon, their eyes squinted, and their skin felt the sting of the sun's heat.
Alvaric glanced back. He felt like staying inside the dungeon was actually better.
"Let's go!" he urged.
Niva carried him on her back. They took to the skies, with the demon girl climbing onto Niva's shoulders. Niva was forced to carry both of them alone.
Lyrith clung to her from behind, while Alvaric was held securely in her arms from the front.
"Shouldn't we just walk instead?" Alvaric asked.
"That would take quite a long time."
To Alvaric, it didn't feel much different. But Niva insisted on flying. Alvaric didn't mind at all.
He wouldn't say no to being carried around by someone.
For several days, they traveled back toward the nest. Along the way, they took turns carrying one another.
When Niva grew tired, Alvaric would take over. When Alvaric became exhausted, Lyrith would carry the other two.
It wasn't exactly the most efficient method, but none of them complained about this ridiculous arrangement. Eventually, they arrived near the Ant Bee nest.
Alvaric came to a stop. "Isn't this strange? They seem... far more numerous."
Niva and Alvaric looked at each other. Then they broke into a run, with Lyrith trailing close behind. They rushed to see what had happened to the Ant Bees.
When they arrived, Alvaric and Niva were stunned. It wasn't just a single nest anymore. They saw ten entrances scattered every 200 meters apart.
"What the hell is going on?"
They cautiously approached the nearest nest. It wasn't even the one they were originally aiming for.
But as they drew closer, Ant Bees began emerging from the nests. They would briefly disappear inside, then reappear again in even greater numbers.
And it wasn't just from one hole—it was from all ten. Each hole unleashed a swarm of Ant Bees.
They surrounded Alvaric, Niva, and Lyrith, rubbing their heads affectionately against Alvaric in a frenzy.
"Haven't you multiplied a little too much?" Alvaric muttered.
The Ant Bees looked proud. Their expressions were full of joy, as if Alvaric had just given them the highest praise. Which he definitely hadn't.
He was about to say something else, but decided against it.
"Let's go inside," he said instead.
The Ant Bees politely cleared a path for Alvaric and the others. They entered the first tunnel in front of them.
Inside, the air became cool again. As they descended, they found smaller Ant Bees in the first chamber. They stepped aside to let them through.
Alvaric had never seen these kinds of Ant Bees before. They were smaller in size but stood on two legs, holding sharp spears in their hands.
"Is this a new species?" Alvaric wondered silently.
[Ant Bee Warrior Lv. 7]
Alvaric frowned. He had never seen anything like this. He examined the odd Ant Bee carefully, scanning it from top to bottom several times.
"It seems they've evolved, Master," Niva said.
Alvaric turned to her. "Is that even possible?"
Niva fell silent, scratching her head. "I'm not sure. But as far as I know, something like this has never happened in our colony."
"Then how did they become Ant Bee Warriors?"
Niva shook her head. "I'm sorry. I don't know."
Alvaric sighed. If even Niva didn't know, there was no one else to ask. In the entire colony, only Niva could speak human language properly.
The others only made chirping sounds. Alvaric could understand some of it, but only a small portion—he wasn't even sure when he started to pick it up.
He continued walking. He moved down the corridor ahead. There were many hallways and chambers, but his goal was only one: the Queen Ant Bee's chamber.
As he went deeper, he spotted even smaller Ant Bees. Barely the size of two palms, but radiating a strange energy.
Alvaric was stunned. "Did it just teleport?"
The tiny Ant Bee suddenly vanished and reappeared somewhere else in the blink of an eye. If it had just moved quickly, Alvaric was confident he could have tracked it, but this—he saw nothing.
[Ant Bee Mage Lv. 10]
The deeper he went, the more subspecies of Ant Bees he encountered. And to think—they had only been gone for a little over a month, not even half a year.
Yet so much had changed. The Ant Bees now had several unique subspecies.
"Do you think it can teleport us to the Queen's chamber?" Alvaric asked casually.
A second later, the surroundings shifted. They were now in a familiar chamber—glowing crystals, a pool of water, cool air. This was Alvaric's favorite place.
But just a moment ago, they weren't here. He looked over his shoulder. A small Ant Bee descended and left the area.
"It teleported all three of us."
He was left speechless, mixed with awe. He felt like he now commanded an army strong enough to conquer the entire world on its own.
Soon after, several Queen Ant Bees crawled forward slowly. They gently rubbed their heads against Alvaric, like children reunited with a parent after a long absence.
Alvaric smiled widely. "I'm home."
***
By evening, the Ant Bees had prepared food. This time, it wasn't Crawlers. They served real meat, grilled to perfect doneness.
There were vegetables as well. Even some fruits had been laid out.
Lyrith ate enthusiastically. She loved the food. Alvaric glanced at her and felt happy. But Niva had been quiet for a while. She hadn't touched a thing.
"What's wrong?" Alvaric asked.
"This is really strange. There are five new Ant Bee subspecies in the colony now. Something that's never happened before." She looked at Alvaric. "I don't know if this is a good thing or bad. But it makes me uneasy. I can't control them anymore."
Alvaric gently patted her head. "You're their leader. So they'll follow you. There may be more of them now, but they're still the same. They're our family."
Niva nodded. "Thank you."
Alvaric picked up a piece of roasted rabbit and handed it to Niva. "You should eat. Don't stress about things that haven't even happened yet."
Niva nodded again and began eating. The three of them ate together. During the meal, several Ant Bees approached Alvaric and nudged their heads toward him.
He patted each of them in turn. Even the newly evolved subspecies.
It gave him a sense of relief. "They've evolved—but their hearts are still the same."