An ant which eats dragons

After what felt like hours of effort spent laying eggs, Gerhan finally stopped, exhaustion creeping through his tiny body. Around him were small white balls—his future workers, his first step toward survival. Carefully, he nudged them closer to himself, their smooth surfaces gleaming faintly in the dim light of the tunnel.

"Well, you're my only hope," he murmured, his antennae brushing over the eggs gently. "Grow quickly. I'll need all the help I can get."

He knew that the nourishment he'd gained from eating his wings wasn't much. At best, it would allow him to raise two of these eggs into workers once they hatched. His stomach ached at the thought, but there was no point dwelling on it now.

"Ahh, these days are so tiring," he muttered, glancing around the cramped walls of his tiny chamber. The entrance was still sealed, and the space around him was quiet and secure. For now. Satisfied, Gerhan lay down on the dirt floor and let his body relax.

Darkness embraced him.

When he woke up, he spent a moment trying to orient himself. For a fleeting second, he almost forgot where he was, but then it hit him again—he was an ant, a tiny existence in an enormous and unfamiliar world.

The thought was unsettling, but Gerhan pushed it aside. Bigger problems demanded his attention.

He turned his attention back to the eggs, lowering his mouth toward them instinctively. He searched for an opening, a way to feed them, but found nothing. His antennae twitched in frustration.

"How am I supposed to feed you?" he grumbled, nudging one of the eggs. But after some time, and no progress, Gerhan sat back.

Focusing his thoughts, he accessed fragments of memory from past ant queens. The knowledge came to him like flashes—brief but clear. Eggs couldn't be fed directly. They needed to hatch into larvae first, and only then could they be nourished.

"I guess I have to wait," he muttered with a sigh.

With no immediate tasks to perform, Gerhan decided to use the time to study his talent. He called up the system window, the glowing screen appearing before him once again.

[System Window]

[Name] None

[Race] Saturius Taturius (Red Ant)

[Strength] 1

[Agility] 1

[Mana] 1

[Intelligence] 40

[Soul Power] 10

[Endurance] 2

[Skills] Lay Eggs, Control

[Talent] Essence Devourer (SSS)

{Remarks} Juicy little meat with eggs

"Still the same," Gerhan muttered, scanning the stats again.

He studied the menu more carefully this time. "Mana… that's probably for magic, pretty basic stuff. Intelligence… could be for knowledge or thinking capabilities. Agility is definitely for speed, and endurance… obviously, that's stamina and life force. Strength doesn't need an explanation, and soul power…" He paused, his antennae twitching. "Something to do with the soul. Maybe I can become a ghost or something? Who knows."

What fascinated him most was still his Essence Devourer talent. He needed to figure out how it worked.

"Does it activate on its own, or do I need to use it deliberately?" Gerhan wondered aloud.

The description wasn't particularly detailed, so he pondered its mechanics. Was it passive, constantly converting whatever he consumed into power and abilities? Or did it require him to trigger it manually?

"Only one way to find out," Gerhan concluded. He needed to test it, but for now, with no food or prey in sight, he'd have to wait.

Patience, he reminded himself. Survival came first. Testing and exploration could come later. For now, he shifted his focus to monitoring the eggs, waiting for them to hatch into larvae. It was only the first step, but Gerhan was determined to climb higher—one small step at a time.