“You would like to know about the separation of the enlightened races from the SYSTEM? Is that so? Well, first I would have to return to life a couple of thousand years ago to the Primordial Era. It was said that all of today’s enlightened races: Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, Giants, etc. originated from a certain kind of “monster”. I say monster because lifeforms without the ability to gain a class are referred to as such, our great ancestors were unable to gain classes because they didn’t exist at the time. The SYSTEM was believed to be ‘Young’ back in those ages, and a lot of abilities and properties that are commonplace today weren’t available during that Era. In fact, it was believed that the secondary stats that we all see such as Will, Spirit, etc. weren’t even displayed to SYSTEM users at that time. Back to the story. Well throughout the years, the story that has been passed down has to do with “Champions” emerging from each race or species. They had the ability to grow extremely quickly and were generally stronger than other members of their species. These Champions grew stronger up until the 12th Tier where they were presented with two options. They could either proceed normally and advance to the mythical 13th Tier or instead face possibly fatal ‘Tribulations’ assigned by the SYSTEM that would advance them to the 13th Tier as well as their entire species to “Enlightened” status. This “Enlightened” status essentially referred to the species ability to utilize classes, the very thing that separated us from Monsters. Classes that allowed us to achieve unprecedented levels of individuality at earlier Tiers. Which made our progression through the Tiers as a species much faster than them, and hence we eventually suppressed and cast them out from society. However, since then Champions have never been documented to exist among either the Monster or Enlightened races.”

- An excerpt from “The Historical Implications of the SYSTEM"

{Meneo POV}

Life was ironic. To think I would be delving back into the earth not long after escaping it was slightly disheartening. However, I understood that it was something that needed to be done, and it just so happened that I was the perfect termite for the job. Crete had led me down into the weird structure he nicknamed the lab and then into a light-consuming hole. The darkness underneath wasn’t an issue, however, as he carried a light source in the form of a flower along with us.

While we were descending through it he was constantly hammering into my head the idea that if any danger arises I was to run and seek help immediately. Although belittling, I couldn’t argue with his train of thought. These were unexplored lands and as we’ve all come to realize, the strength we’d accrued so far wasn’t enough to survive the unknown.

I observed the change in the size of the tunnel as we came to the bottom of the incline. I saw the mandible markings on the wall slowly being consumed by the smoothened portion of it before abruptly stopping and turning. Crete decided that tracing the tunnel all the way back would most likely be an unfruitful endeavor, so he cast his attention to the hole in the side of the wall. And gesturing for me to follow behind him, I did so.

The mandible-like markings on the side of the wall weren’t visible if they were there. Instead, the smoothened edges and cylindrical tunnel were all that remained. Almost as if something was moving through the soil… We continued walking along for a few minutes before there was an abrupt drop, and the tunnel became a descending slope. Crete stopped for a while to analyze the walls, but I guess he didn’t find anything worth noting as he continued exploring again.

In times like these I was glad that my legs were able to support my body upside down; because if I couldn’t I imagined rolling down a few tens of meters slope would hurt quite a bit. Our descent was uneventful and only took a few minutes more than before to reach the bottom, but that’s when things got tricky. At the bottom of the incline, there was another tunnel passing through it. I could feel my brother stop again and hesitate at the decision of which one we should explore. But in the end, he chose to continue along with the one we were following.

The original tunnel was straight for a few meters before it started winding, an abrupt right, and then an abrupt left turn. If it wasn't already understood, we had definitely confirmed that these tunnels were artificial, and most likely constructed by a living creature. Why would it do this though? we didn't know. After the winding, we saw another thing that made us stop to observe. There was some wood-like substance jutting out along the edge of the tunnel. Coming to analyze it closer, we realized it was similar to the roots of the trees we'd seen above ground, just a few sizes larger.

The both of us put two and two together almost immediately. There was only one tree anywhere close by that could accommodate roots of this size- the mother tree. That brought about another question, however, what was chewing away at its roots? Crete took my considerations a step further, however,

"... Whatever this is, it's not good. The mother tree needs its roots to survive, and we need the mother tree to survive. So whatever is doing this, isn't only killing the tree, it'll affect us as well.“

The fact that over 50% of our rations came from the mother tree had eluded me. The situation had just taken a turn for the worse. We needed to get to the bottom of whatever was doing this, and we needed to put a stop to it as soon as possible. The two of us wordlessly increased the pace and the fervor in which we explored the tunnels. I could also feel Crete wanted to ask me to go back and tell Rock, but we didn't know what we were dealing with yet.

The other intersecting tunnels became more frequent and varied in size the further we delved. It eventually reached a point where the main tunnel we were following along became spacious and maneuverable enough to accommodate a few termites our size. We advanced for a few minutes more until we came upon another dip, this one sharper than before. The feeling of suppression was palpable from the hole, although not as overwhelming as the aura from the Elder Shrew. It was enough for us to understand that whatever was down here was at least one tier higher than we were.

My brother hesitated more than ever before as he was faced with the decision to continue going or to head back and pray that the next termites coming would be enough to handle the threat. But eventually, he succumbed to his self-sacrificing nature and decided to continue. But seeing him turn around trying to address me I cut him off,

"I'm coming along with you brother. I need to see what the threat is if I'm to properly inform the general." He froze up listening to my words. But I knew he knew I was right, as a result, he didn't bother trying to dissuade me again.

{Crete POV}

I admired my brother's bravery and selflessness, but I didn't appreciate it at the moment. No- looking once more at the hole that had an aura of suppression radiating from it, I wish he had been sensible enough to abandon this mission. I wish I had been sensible enough to have gone alone as well.

Whatever- it was too late to regret it now and walking towards what could potentially spell my brother's and my doom I descended. My senses were on overdrive as I analyzed any and everything around me. I was looking for any vibrations, any rumbling in the earth, any telltale sign of the creature. As a result, our movement slowed to a crawl, but I prioritized our safety and being able to respond quickly over our progression.

We continued slowly creeping down the wall and I could feel we moved for about some tens of minutes before reaching the bottom. At which was another horizontal tunnel that we had to traverse. But laying at the end of that was an awe-inspiring scene. Before us was a room mirroring the size of the main chamber in the termite mound, albeit with much more holes and several roots shooting from the ceiling.

They were thick roots, about a few meters in diameter at least, which thinned out the further they were from the ceiling. Until eventually, at about 2 meters from the ground, they stopped, forming a web of roots that were over a basin. A basin? Wait. Taking a closer look at the roots, I could see at their tips traces of a liquid-like substance. Confirming my conjecture, one of the tips harbored a dropping honey gold droplet that was about to fall.

Meneo and I watched in silence as the droplet, escaped the grasp of the tip and fell peacefully with a muted plop into the basin. Curious but still cautious, I gestured for him to stay put while I inspected it. Inching my way closer to the edge of the basin my eyes were witness to a small pool of honey gold liquid, softly glistening underneath the light of my almost depleted sunflower. Unable to help myself, I inspected the liquid.

Liquid Ambrosia: extremely condensed nutrients and energy that acts as an emergency store for a young world tree.

The description was a little off-putting, as it referred to the mother tree as a young world tree. However, I understood I wouldn't get any information concerning its effects unless I consumed it, which is exactly what I did. Dipping my head into the viscous liquid, I inhaled about a mouthful of the substance. A cool sensation occupied my mouth. And swallowing it, I felt it run down my throat before transforming into a warm tingling feeling.

The new sensation spread throughout my body, and I could feel it doing something to each part of it, but I sensed the majority of the liquid being attracted to one part of my body as it settled there. I would be lying if I said I wasn't tempted to take another mouthful. The sweet aftertaste it left in my mouth was soothing. And the pleasant sensation it left inside me was on par with the one I experienced after evolution. Thinking about that I was tempted to look at my *Status* to see if the Ambrosia brought about any changes to it. But I reigned in the impulse, for another one, much more primal took control of my mind- fear.

My body felt frozen, a stillness similar to the experience with the Elder Shrew, but not as pronounced. It felt as if I was within the sights of a predator, a creature above me in the food chain. I could still move my head, but it felt like my legs were glued to the floor. Glancing behind me, however, I was able to make out my brother at the entrance to the room. His gaze was alternating between me and onto the ceiling above, and I could see his antenna shaking about nervously, but I had already accepted my situation.

So instead I tried to convey the decision I’d made to him in the most discreet way possible. A directed wisp of pheromones transmitted to him, carrying only one message, to Run. Upon detecting it, however, I could make out his evident frustration and hesitance to obey my order.

“It’s okay, I could figure out a way to make it out, you just focus on getting back to the general and making sure the colony knows about what’s happening here”

The decision to choose the more rational Meneo over the impulsive Amore, I hoped would be enough to at least ensure one of us made it out. And seeing him freeze up and slowly nod towards me before carefully backpedaling I was relieved it did. It was only now that I turned around to face what the source of that invisible pressure was.

Looking up to the ceiling, my eyes fell on one of the holes there, but this one was particularly different. Unlike all the others, there was a presence occupying this hole. What I could only describe as an oversized cylinder with no eyes was now slowly inching out of the hole. The creature appeared to have surprisingly soft skin for something that would have to literally be moving through tons of soil. But wait- the creature had no eyes and no ears, so I wondered... was I actually detected?

From the way it was swaying its head around randomly in no specific direction while it squirmed through the hole, I concluded that I hadn’t been yet. It was still making its way out of the whole, and of what I could see of its body so far I estimated it to be a few meters long. However, the swaying stopped as I observed the creature latch onto one of the hanging roots and slowly begin to make its way down the root.

The shock to my senses from the aura of the creature had already dissipated, and the feeling in my legs was returning as a result, but I wasn’t stupid enough to move. Because although the creature had no eyes to see or ears to hear, I didn’t doubt its ability to sense other lifeforms. So I remained completely still, even as I saw it slowly approach the basin from above, slowly nibbling the roots along the way. As it got closer I was able to make out more of its features.

The cylindrical body wasn’t really a cylinder, it was more a group of joints connected to each other that formed the bulk of the creature's segmented body. On its head, I observed an arrangement of spikes jutting our from above it, and lower down a slit that stretched from one side all the way to the other- its mouth I assumed. My assumptions were confirmed when I witnessed the creature's face split and peel back, wide enough to swallow me whole without a doubt, before being dumped into the basin in front of me. And I grimaced as the pool of the miraculous substance disappeared within seconds.

I wasn’t even allowed a chance to feel regretful however, as the monster’s head rose out of the basin, and it dragged its body toward a corner of the underground domicile before stilling. I waited for a few minutes observing it before I concluded it had gone into slumber. I waited a while longer, contemplating whether or not my presence was detected by it or just ignored. Deciding that either of the two was an acceptable outcome however, I used the opportunity given to me and inspected the creature.

Name: Fossio

Species: Cleial Lumbricina

Gender: Male

Level: 18

Health Points: 869/869

Endurance: N/A

Strength: N/A

Vitality: N/A

Agility: N/A

Intelligence: N/A

Quite a number of things amazed me considering the table before me. Firstly, this was my first ever time seeing another lifeform with a name. I always wondered why the name I had made for Rock and Grubby was never registered by the SYSTEM but the ones I made for my siblings did… Maybe there was some other force at play I was unaware of concerning that, but I could feel a name was important, it meant something. As a matter of fact- I never thought about how my name got registered without any interference, I was just born into this world as Crete…

Putting that issue to the back of my mind, however, I observed the other stuff I was seeing for the first time. Firstly the health points of the creature surpassed even those of the general’s I’d seen a while back, and it was a few times greater than my own. Next was its level, higher than any I’ve seen so far, and an indication that the creature was most likely on the same tier as Rock if not higher.

I stayed still a while longer processing the information before me, and the realization that I had no way to survive if things got confrontational between us was further cemented. If I was to escape with my life it would be a miracle, but I fancied myself a miracle maker. So deciding that I’d waited long enough, and that it would have been fast asleep by now if it was actually sleeping. I slowly walked backward careful to not make any sounds or vibrations that would alert my friend Fossio.

One step- Three steps- 9 steps, by the time I’d made it halfway back towards the entrance I felt as if a few hours had elapsed, time seemed to be moving so slow while I was trying to escape. I continued my stealthy escape for a few more steps, the entrance only a short distance away from me now. My senses were on the highest alert possible coming to the last few steps I had to take, ready for any twists and turns fate enjoyed oh so much. However, it appeared I was spared her mischievousness today as I safely made it to the entrance without alerting him.

Releasing a sigh internally, I slowly turned around and continued making my way through and up the tunnel. But at the mouth of the drop I saw some soil shaking loose and a foot wide cylindrical head, much like the one behind me, popped out of the freshly made hole. Except on this one there was a smaller slit above the one I presumed was its mouth. I was spared having to speculate what it was used for, however. As almost immediately after its head popped out, its singular eye opened wide, focusing on the flower I held between my mandibles before finally resting on me.

After which a high-pitched Eeeee left its still open mouth, and only a moment later a much deeper sounding one echoed from behind- Ah sh*t here we go again. Throwing stealth out the window I bolted towards the wall, tearing apart the loud bastard along the way. Which elicited a more alarmed but dying scream from it once more, followed by a louder and enraged one from behind me- probably shouldn’t have done that.

It wasn’t worth the effort worrying over though. Because as my legs hit the wall and carried me up through the hole, I heard the rumbling of the room behind me and the sound of soil being tossed aside. It appeared my good friend Fossio was not happy one bit about me killing possibly one of his children. Wait- Children? Doesn’t that mean- as if on cue with my thoughts I heard at least a dozen more screams echoing from the off-shoot tunnels surrounding me. Things just got worse… much worse.