Alvaric nodded repeatedly as he listened to what Niva had told him. It was truly unbelievable—the Giant Sandworm had done all of this. Even though they had fought for days.
Alvaric had completed the mission, but in another sense, he was the one who lost. He couldn't really boast about the result.
[Name: Alvaric Zorvok]
[Race: Human (Outcast)]
[Class: Human Hemomancer]
[Level: 1]
[HP: 12,000/12,000]
[MP: 60/60]
[Stamina: 2,000/2,000]
[Strength: 300]
[Agility: 60]
[Intelligence: 30]
[Luck: 1,600]
[Skill: Enhanced Regeneration (passive)]
[Description: Restores 1% of HP and stamina every second.]
[Skill: Shield Regeneration (passive)]
[Description: When an attack exceeds HP, the shield will absorb all damage and nullify the attack for 3 minutes.]
[Skill: Blood Domination]
[Manipulate one's own blood without reducing HP]
Alvaric stared at his status screen in silence. He was back to level one, yet his class had changed. Human Hemomancer? Alvaric didn't understand what this new class meant. He had never even heard of it before.
What made even less sense was that he returned to level one but with stats far superior to his old ones—more than double, in fact.
"Can any Awakened experience something like this?" Alvaric scratched his head repeatedly.
He had never heard of anything like this happening. Still, whatever it was, he was alive again and twice as powerful as before. That was something to be grateful for, even if it was confusing.
In his right hand was a massive blood-red sword. A weapon that radiated an overwhelming energy. It was even stronger than Niva. As if it could cleave mountains in half.
[Crimson Sword Demon]
From its name alone, it sounded convincing. A cool name. From what Alvaric knew, anything associated with 'demon' had to be something incredible. And with the word 'crimson' added to it, it just sounded badass. He couldn't hold back his grin.
"I'm so much stronger now," Alvaric said.
He laughed loudly. Meanwhile, beside him, Niva silently watched her master acting oddly. She tilted her head, wondering if her master's brain had been knocked loose due to his death.
"Are you alright, my lord?" Niva asked with concern.
Alvaric turned to her. "Of course, I'm fine."
He stood up and leaped off the large boulder. He felt perfectly well now. As he moved toward the nest, he looked back and smiled faintly.
"Thank you." Then he stepped into the Ant Bee nest once more. "There's a lot I want to try. Let's go in!" he called.
Niva nodded. The two of them walked into the Ant Bee nest again. A day that should have been full of sorrow had suddenly turned into a very memorable one.
Alvaric felt genuinely happy. Though, deep down, he felt a little guilty after realizing that the Giant Sandworm had sacrificed itself.
"I'll make the most of this second life," Alvaric thought.
"What happened?"
The figure turned his head, eyes widening. He swallowed hard, and his heart involuntarily beat faster than usual. Something he had never expected had happened.
"The Desert Nightmare is dead. Who did this?" He shuddered. It had never crossed his mind that the Giant Sandworm would be killed. "For two thousand years, the Giant Sandworm guarded that place. It even turned the region into a forbidden zone. And now… it has been defeated."
He couldn't think of a single candidate capable of killing the Giant Sandworm. That creature wasn't ordinary—it had evolved three times. According to the latest reports, it had reached level 82. That meant it was close to a fourth evolution. It was about to become the Perfect Sandworm, one of the five strongest beings in the world.
No matter how hard he thought, defeating the Giant Sandworm still seemed impossible.
"I have to send someone to investigate what happened in the desert. This can't be ignored," he muttered.
He immediately stood and walked swiftly toward the exit. He would send one of his best subordinates to find out. This was not something that could be taken lightly.
"This is insane. I need to act fast," he told himself firmly.
Alvaric stood while pressing his hips with pride. He was clearly pleased with himself. He was showing off his new power—the ability to control blood.
He could create swords, spears, or other objects from his own blood. There were no side effects whatsoever. He didn't even feel dizzy.
"You should all be clapping for me!" Alvaric said.
The Ant Bees clapped while looking at their master. Of course, Niva was among them. She felt relieved to see her master smiling and cheerful again.
Now that her master had become so strong, she had to train hard as well. She wouldn't allow herself to become a burden to him. As a subordinate, she had to be useful.
"You must now call me the Monarch of Blood!" Alvaric said with a laugh.
After about 30 minutes of showing off his new skills, Alvaric grew bored. He walked toward the Queen Ant Bee and lay down to sleep. He closed his eyes.
It didn't take long for him to fall asleep. Niva watched him, then walked over and lay down beside him. She hugged Alvaric and closed her eyes too. She joined him in sleep. And not just her—the rest of the Ant Bees also slept.
They were like Alvaric's children. In a way, they were—since they were born from Alvaric's blood.
Indirectly, he now had hundreds of children.
"What happened?" His eyes widened in shock.
There weren't just one, but three Queen Ant Bees. And even more surprising—there were almost two thousand Ant Bees. The place was now cramped.
Alvaric turned to Niva, expecting an explanation, but she shook her head. She didn't know what was going on either.
"All I know is that each Ant Bee colony should only have one queen." Niva looked at the three queens in turn. "I don't know why there are three now."
Alvaric stood up, scratching his head. There was no explanation for what had happened. Whatever it was, the place had become too small.
"Looks like we need a bigger nest," Alvaric said.
Niva nodded. "Agreed."
Alvaric then asked Niva to fly him upward. After that, he explained that they needed to expand the nest.
With just a few words, the Ant Bees got to work. They moved swiftly to complete the task. Alvaric thought he'd help, but seeing how fast they were working, he decided against it.
In just 30 minutes, the nest had become much larger. There were even dozens of new tunnels leading to other sections.
"With this, everything is settled." He smiled with relief.
The space was much wider now. He no longer felt cramped. Alvaric sat atop a rock. Soon after, several Ant Bees brought him food.
They placed it in front of him. There were various types of food—centipedes, scorpions, and surprisingly, a rabbit. However, all of it was raw.
Alvaric turned to Niva. "Can we get some fire?" he asked.
Niva nodded. "Of course."