It was getting dark; sunset had arrived.

  The camp had not celebrated for long. It had started suddenly and ended quickly.

  Night fell over the savanna with a quiet certainty, and the echo of the swarm’s roar faded into the vast darkness. The scent of blood still lingered heavily beneath the trees, but exhaustion outweighed victory.

  Most of the Nuxali slept.

  Some twitched in restless dreams. Others lay motionless. The Queens remained awake a little longer than the rest. Their mental presence was dimmer than before, yet still resolute and alert.

  Alexander estimated that after this night’s sleep, they would recover completely.

  As sleep nearly claimed his mind, he thought, “Overpressure and Metabolic Surge… they greatly increased our hunting success.”

  “I doubt this is an evolution. I’m certain I didn’t add such a trait when I designed this race,” he thought.

  “Then how did these abilities come into existence?”

  Ever since the Queens had first used these strange powers, Alexander had wondered how they worked.

  Up until now, he had managed to develop a few theories about Overpressure, but he had never been able to understand what Metabolic Surge truly was.

  During the battle, in a way he could not comprehend, the Nuxali had momentarily exceeded their normal limits. The only logical conclusion Alexander could reach was that Eowyn had developed a technique that used mental waves to enhance the strength of her drones.

  But he did not have the slightest idea how she had done it.

  Even so, a sense of greed had formed within him for this newly discovered type of power, and he now wanted that power for himself.

  Alexander had given the Second Queen the name Eowyn in his own mind. Of course, he had taken that name from his previous life.

  He had been with them for five months, yet he was still calling them First Queen and Second Queen, and he had realized that this was becoming truly tiresome.

  So he gave her that name and began referring to the Prime Queen simply as the Queen.

  As Alexander continued thinking about these abilities, sleep finally claimed him completely.

  When he woke again, the sun had already passed its peak in the green sky haloed with violet.

  Newly awakened, Alexander rubbed his eyes and looked up at the sky.

  “Midday has already passed, huh? I must have slept more than fourteen hours.”

  After that thought, his mind immediately shifted to his body. He was awake, and he was curious about the results of the evolution.

  He focused inward, examining every sensation that felt different from before. In the end, he instinctively convinced himself that the evolution had been applied correctly and that there was nothing wrong with his body.

  Well, of course, there was a side effect.

  Hunger.

  The evolution had reduced his biomass reserves to 2.1/8.

  He also knew that since he would now grow faster, he would feel hunger more often, but he did not care and moved toward the leftover carcass at the center of the camp. What he saw when he arrived caused him brief surprise.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  It was a new hatchling.

  And it was male.

  It was obvious that he had just emerged from the egg, because he was trying with intense hunger to tear small pieces from the carcass on the ground.

  “It seems the Queen’s first egg has hatched,” he thought.

  “The others should crack within a week or two as well,” he calculated quietly in his mind.

  Then, without hesitation, he lowered himself beside the small hatchling and began tearing pieces from the carcass.

  The newborn was failing to tear through the meat; his small teeth were not yet strong enough for the task. Alexander noticed the effort, but he did not interfere.

  He continued eating in silence. The stag had been almost completely stripped; beneath the dried blood, bones and sinew were exposed. His own hunger gradually dulled, the ache in his stomach easing as his biomass reserves began to refill.

  By the time he finished, the hatchling was still stubbornly chewing on a piece far too large for him.

  Now satiated, Alexander left the hatchling to his struggle and moved away. He was heading to rest beneath his usual tree when his younger sibling rushed over with energetic mischief and forced him into play.

  As always, Alexander won their short play sessions.

  “He’s growing as well. He might have even completed one or two evolutions already. I should think of a name for him too. After all, he’s a Queen,” he thought.

  After that, everything returned to his usual routine.

  Two weeks passed.

  Alexander’s development had reached a point where it was impossible not to notice.

  The wound on his side had closed, but a large scar remained, and the pain still lingered.

  His growth had gone far beyond what would be expected for a normal cub. Muscle density had increased. His bone structure had thickened. His frame had visibly broadened and in such a short time.

  But the cost was heavy.

  His biomass reserves were being drained constantly. The normal hunting routine was no longer enough to keep his stomach full. His internal stores dropped to dangerous levels before stabilizing again.

  He had wanted to begin a new analysis, but it did not take long for him to realize that he could not sustain another major analytical process while this growth continued.

  He simply did not have the biomass to spare.

  Forcing both at the same time would weaken them equally, and an analysis conducted under severe energy deficiency would not yield efficient results.

  So he restrained himself.

  No new analysis.

  Not yet.

  And he did not know how long this would have to continue.

  The results, however, were undeniable. His strength had increased. His sprint speed had risen. His reaction time had sharpened. Even his endurance had improved visibly.

  These changes were reflected in the system.

  He opened it and checked his statistics.

  [STATISTICS]

  CON: 5.2

  STR: 4.9

  AGI: 6.7

  DEX: 5.5

  INT: 11.9

  [Biomass: 2.6 / 8]

  [Drone Capacity] 0/4

  [Template Capacity] 0/1

  Satisfied, he thought, “I still have a week before I turn six months old, and my stats have already reached this level.”

  “It seems my body’s development speed has more than doubled the norm.”

  Alexander performed several short sprints and dug into the ground, testing his new physical capabilities. He was genuinely pleased with how successful the evolution had been.

  He was certain that just two weeks ago, he would not have been able to move this fast, pivot this sharply, or change direction so abruptly.

  “Hmm… It seems AGI is the area where my body has improved the most,” he thought.

  “But the real issue is my INT stat. Because of the memories and consciousness from my previous life, my brain had already been forced to develop early. And now, on top of that, its growth has accelerated again.”

  Alexander fell into deep thought, his mood turning serious, even troubled.

  After a long period of contemplation, his expression hardened with resolve.

  “My brain is advancing too far ahead… This could become a major problem later,” he thought.

  “In the short term, reaching my brain’s potential quickly is good. But what happens afterward? I don’t know.”

  He adopted an expression of acceptance.

  “I don’t have a choice. The decision is clear. I cannot risk even the slightest damage or instability in my brain. If necessary, even if my body fails to reach its full potential, I will suppress my growth hormones early to ensure my brain’s safety.”

  Once he solidified that decision in his mind, he lifted his head.

  A cold wind swept across the savanna, bending the tall grasses in waves. The sky above shimmered faintly with its violet halo.

  His body felt lighter.

  And hungrier.

  But this was only the beginning.

  Growth had accelerated. The foundation had been laid. The walls that once limited him had already begun to crack.

  Alexander looked toward the horizon.

  There was still much to claim.

  And he would not remain small for long.

  

  

  ------------------------

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  Announcement:

  First of all, I would like to sincerely thank everyone who follows this book with passion.