“Father, I’m back.”
The instant Kael heard those words, his head snapped towards the sound. His chaotic heart that was relentlessly calmed instantly.
“Ria!”
He rushed towards his little girl and scooped her tiny body into his palm. It was funny how the little thing was barely the size of his thumb, but meant an entire world to him.
“Are you hurt? Did something happen?”
He asked the first few questions, and before Imperia could even answer, he shot another batch of questions,
“Why were you gone so long?! You said ten minutes, and it’s been—!”
‘Six minutes, Father.’
Igni answered in a monotonous tone.
“Six minutes?”
Kael blinked in disbelief.
“Only six minutes?”
He repeated his own words.
‘Yes, Father.’
Igni nodded.
“I swear it felt like an hour had passed!”
‘You just walked in circles before you sent the message.’
“Igni, you stop keeping an eye on me.”
Kael ordered, as he then turned towards Imperia and,
“And you, you should start keeping track of time. Six minutes is six minutes too long!”
“Yes, Father.”
Imperia responded calmly, nestling into her father’s palm. Her soft purple-black carapace shimmered under the sunlight that filtered through the trees, her tiny antennae gently tapping against Kael’s skin, a soothing, affectionate motion.
Kael’s fingers instinctively curled around her protectively. He carefully examined every part of her body—her legs, her antennae, her big head, and only once he was sure that she was perfectly alright did he finally sigh in relief.
He then stared at the little thing and,
“I swear, if you scare me like that again I—”
“You won’t talk to her for two hours?”
Vitaria questioned playfully.
“…I will make it three next time.”
Kael answered in a weak voice.
His threat was so soft that it was laughable. Vitaria chuckled, her fluffy tail flicking with amusement.
Then suddenly,
‘Father,’
Igni called out. His tone sounded a bit tense.
‘Ants are gathering around us.
A lot of them.’
He informed.
‘Hmm?’
Kael frowned.
He narrowed his eyes as he looked around and expanded his senses.
Usually, his mind ignored ants, snails and other tiny creatures simply because they did their own thing and rarely bothered with the outside world, not to mention they were so numerous that keeping an eye out for all of them all the time was an impossible task.
Right now, however, something was different. As Kael expanded his senses, he saw hundreds of ants all moving towards him. Kael narrowed his eyes as he stared at them.
They were small, almost ghost-like. Their bodies had a deep midnight hue that shimmered faintly, if the sun was down, they would be able to perfectly blend into the night. Their exoskeletons were smooth and soft-looking, unlike the usual hard shell of most ants, and their body was so light that when they moved, they barely made a sound.
Each of their six legs was long and thin, with tiny, hair-like sensors that twitched with the slightest vibration. Their antennae were also longer than normal and moved constantly as if constantly sensing changes in the environment. Their eyes were a cloudy gray, giving them a strange, hollow look.
*Picture*
Kael’s eyes turned golden.
[Name: Unnamed]
[Race: Whisperveil Ant]
[Rank: Rare]
[Age: 6]
[Level: 56]
[Strength: 15]
[Agility: 77]
[Speed: 78]
[Stamina: 120]
[Defense: 33]
[Mana: 170]
[Intelligence: 230]
[Charisma: 121]
[Strengths: Hive Coordination, Shadow Camouflage, Vibrational Eavesdropping, Long-Range Sensory Relay]
[Weaknesses: Fragile Exoskeleton, Low Individual Power, Weak to Flames]
…
“It really is Whisperveil Ants…”
Kael’s gaze turned grim. He was doubtful before, but with System confirming his thoughts, he was now sure.
Ever since he learned about Imperia and Duskmarch Ants, he had been looking into other types of ants, and the Whisperveil Ants were one of the few races he was aware of, wary of even.
As their names suggested, these ants specialized in whispers.
Whisperveil Ants were small creatures. Their legs were covered in tiny hairs that sensed the smallest of vibrations. Their black carapaces blended easily with dark corners, tree bark, or stone walls, making them almost invisible in low light.
What made them even scarier was their network. These ants had an absurdly large network that was so fast and efficient that even the greatest human inventions didn’t come close to their information transmission.
A single ant could hear a whisper across a tavern floor, and within seconds, that secret would be known miles away. Their Queen connected every ant through a hive-wide Mindlink, allowing her to receive instant updates, no matter how far the scouts were.
No scrolls, messengers, or any other useless artifacts were needed.
It was a perfect, silent transmission.
Yes, a useful bunch.
One would think they would be the most popular choice of bonds and he would be correct in thinking that. A Whisperveil Ant Queen was one of the most highly coveted Bonds despite being much, much weaker than even the Normal Ranked Beasts of her level, but…
That was all she was, a highly coveted Bond, but almost no Tamer was ever able to form a Bond with her.
Usually, to form a Bond with a certain Beast, a Tamer needed to find its egg. To do this, humans usually hunt those Beasts and take the eggs. With Whisperveil Ants, however, this couldn’t be done.
Sure, they were weak, humans could very easily defeat them, but the real challenge was to find them. Their information network was so strong that every time they spotted a human, they moved into hiding and only left once the humans were gone.
Humans have tried to outsmart them for thousands of years, but in all these years, they never succeeded, not even once.
Only three humans in history were able to bond with a Whisperveil Ant Queen, and that too, through sheer luck. And all three of them were instantly recruited by different forces and were given ranks far higher than what they deserved, and even the royalties treated them with respect.
Yes, that was how strong the influence of the Whisperveil Ants was.
In a way, they were even rarer than Mythical Beasts.
And how could they not be?
These little things heard battle plans before armies moved. They uncovered betrayals before knives were drawn. They learned the names of lovers, the locations of vaults, the truth behind every carefully guarded lie,
They knew everything.
Rulers feared them. Generals hated them. Even assassins stepped lightly, knowing one unseen ant in the room could doom them.
Entire wars were lost because of one of these ants hiding under a war table. They weren’t just ants—
They were information incarnate.
But the question was…
Why were these highly sought-after creatures surrounding him?
Did he… do something wrong?
Or was he being watched?
Or was it…
Kael glanced at his little girl who had made herself comfortable in his palm and his expression changed.
“No way…”
The moment she heard those words, little Ria rolled over, glanced at her father with her big purple eyes, and then, her smile widened,
“Yes, Father.”
She nodded.
“They are mine.”