Alvaric had defeated the Ant Bees with ease. It wasn't difficult for him—he was far stronger now. He stood before the Queen Ant Bee, staring at her for a long while, tilting his head and stroking his chin.
He was thinking. At first, Alvaric intended to kill the Queen Ant Bee. But then he thought it would be such a waste to kill her just like that. He felt… then suddenly, Alvaric smiled.
He burst into loud laughter. An evil laugh. "That's right."
He decided not to kill the Queen Ant Bee. Instead, Alvaric chose to keep her alive—not out of kindness, but because the Queen would keep producing offspring every day. In other words, he could get an endless food supply.
"Wait, what does she eat?" Alvaric muttered. The Queen's body looked pale. He didn't know if that was her natural color or if she was starving. Either way, he didn't understand.
He looked around, trying to evaluate the area. Maybe there was something he could use to feed her. As he recalled, the worker ants had brought the Queen a sticky, clear, slightly yellow fluid.
But as far as Alvaric could see, there was none of that fluid anywhere. He got up and started searching every corner of the chamber. Nothing.
"What? Why isn't it here? That sticky stuff should be somewhere around." Alvaric was convinced of his conclusion. "If it's not here, then where did they get it from?"
He was completely puzzled. He searched again, but the result was the same—no sticky fluid to be found.
He sighed deeply and lay down on the ground. He wanted to close his eyes, but then he saw something on the ceiling of the cavern. Something sticky. Alvaric's eyes widened, and a grin spread across his face.
"There it is!" he shouted.
He jumped up—but immediately, his excitement vanished. The fluid was at least 200 meters above him, clinging to the glowing crystals on the arched ceiling of the dome-shaped cave.
There was no way to climb up there. The only method was to fly. Unfortunately, Alvaric didn't have that ability.
He tried jumping, but he couldn't even reach a quarter of the height. In the end, he lay back down and stared upward.
"Looks like I'll have to find another way."
He chose to rest and eventually fell asleep—hoping that a miracle would visit him when he woke up. A hope unlikely to come true.
Two days passed just like that. Alvaric still hadn't found a way to get the sticky fluid to feed the Queen Ant Bee. If this continued, the Queen would die.
At first, Alvaric wasn't sure if the pale color meant she was starving, but now he was convinced it was a bad sign. The Queen kept squirming like a worm.
"Should I just kill her?" Alvaric still considered the option. He stood silently for a while next to the Queen, even falling into a long daze. "Fine. I don't have a choice."
He had made up his mind. But a second later, he felt pain in his right arm. When he turned, the Queen Ant Bee had bitten him. Instinctively, Alvaric struck her head and jumped back.
He glanced at his arm—blood was flowing heavily. The bite was deep. Though, the wound healed quickly thanks to his Enhanced Regeneration skill.
"Damn it. I really should kill her," Alvaric muttered.
But then he looked again. The Queen's body began to glow with a faint yellow light. Her pale white belly squirmed strangely, no longer colorless. In fact, her entire form seemed slightly larger.
Alvaric looked at his right arm again. Then back at the Queen. Back and forth. Finally, he nodded.
"That makes sense." He walked toward her and extended his arm. "Go ahead. Eat."
The Queen didn't hesitate—she bit into Alvaric's arm and began to drink his blood. He watched as the red fluid flowed into her body, spreading visibly through her abdomen. Alvaric remained silent.
His head began to feel dizzy, his body weak. He nearly collapsed, but the Queen released her grip just in time.
Alvaric sat down. "Well? Are you full now?" he asked.
The Queen Ant Bee fell asleep.
She was full from drinking Alvaric's blood. Seeing this, Alvaric shook his head. Tired, he lay against her body and soon fell asleep as well.
Something squirmed and nudged Alvaric's body. He opened his eyes. The Queen Ant Bee was awake again. Blood dripped from her mandibles.
"You just drank…?" Alvaric's eyes widened. "You've gotten huge."
The Queen Ant Bee had tripled in size. She stood nearly twice as tall as Alvaric. Her body stretched nearly eight meters long and about 1.7 meters wide. A massive, pale mass of flesh that writhed in place.
Alvaric hadn't expected the Queen to grow this large. He knew that a Queen was always larger than other ants in the colony, but not this massive.
But after recalling the size of a Level 5 Ant Bee, Alvaric wasn't too surprised. Inside that bloated body was an enormous swarm of unborn Ant Bees. No wonder her belly was so gigantic.
"This is incredible." Alvaric couldn't help but admire the sight. "With this, I won't just have unlimited food—I can grind levels too."
He grinned widely. The Queen, seeing his expression, grew visibly pale. She looked terrified, yet she couldn't move. Her tiny legs were helpless beneath her enormous body.
Alvaric stood in front of her, hands on his hips. "Alright, I'll give you my blood as much as you want. In return, you'll give me as much food as possible." He nodded, pleased with himself. "That's a fair deal."
Alvaric made the agreement without any input from the other party. He decided everything on his own.
"What did you say? The Prince of Ant Bees is dead?" The figure sounded furious. A murderous aura radiated from his body, making the entire place tremble. "Who did it?"
His subordinate shook his head. "We don't know, sir. We only sensed the Prince of Ant Bees' presence disappear. Should we go there?"
The figure fell silent, lost in thought. Then, he sat back down on his throne, waving a hand.
"No need. Seems like there was a mistake during his birth. It doesn't matter—he'll be reborn."
His subordinate bowed. "Understood, my lord."