Chapter 9: The Blood of an Awakened
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.