I stood before the deadly serious Alqat, and looked around. All 17 stood, proud and unmoving, and looked over at me. I looked between them, and nodded.

"So, you support who you think to be the most suited or likely to become a Keel? Or who you think is most like to become Zaaktif?"

Second quirked a smile. "Somewhat of both. We believe that he or she who becomes the Keel progenitor will also be the chosen of Nievtala and the Zaaktif to rebuild Nievtra."

"Then are there other keelish swarms that also have groups of Alqat who look to reestablish the Keel race and Nievtra?"

Second's face became... resigned. "We are the only swarm, so far as we know, that has any knowledge of our forebears. Further, we are far and away the most intelligent swarm of keelish any of ours have ever come across. The rest... never progress beyond a juvenile thought process. The majority of our own are the same. You are sure to have encountered many of the kind." Brutus, Greel, and most of the yet unnamed keelish came to mind, almost involuntarily.

"So... the Alqat is comprised of those who aren't... mentally underdeveloped?"

"That isn't our primary requirement, but yes." Second was starting to glance at the door.

"Final question: How do you tell that one has the potential to become a... progenitor?"

Second arched an eye ridge. "Power."

I waited for him to expand on that. He didn't.

After a moment, Second chuckled lightly to himself. "So, you meant it when you said final question, even when provoked." He shook his head, "Even so, I meant what I said. The most powerful individuals are the closest to being a Keel." He then nodded and walked out. As he went, I watched, then thought to ask the [System].

Is this story correct? I've never heard of the Keel before.

[The Keel are an extinct race, and can be considered the forebears of the modern keelish.]

So is the story correct?

[The Administrator has deemed it unnecessary to divulge that information. However, that decision may be rescinded, depending on your future growth.]

Ugh. Are all of the evolutions available to me equal in offering me potential growth towards being a Keel?

[No.]

... I can't imagine I'll get a straight answer from you, but... which one is best?

[The Administrator has deemed it unnecessary to...]

I wanted to bang my head against the wall, but decided against it. I wasn't ever going to get all the deeper questions answered by the [System] but would instead have to continue growing and thinking of important questions to ask the Administrator when I got the chance. What should I ask about next? While I had been focused on personal growth and survival for the last month of my life, I still had one end goal--find and kill Viilor. I'd had more time on my hands of late, and as I'd found my mind wander, I felt less of a burning hatred towards him. I didn't like it. While I was (surprisingly) quickly finding myself fitting in with the keelish of the swarm, I still wished for my old life back in most ways. I missed cooked food, and not having to constantly be wary for my life, and soft beds, and good hands, and not just pissing where I stood, and not constantly training for combat, and not being able to use the Words of Power, and... the list would be neverending if I didn't consciously stop myself. Regardless, at its core was Viilor's betrayal.

That said, it seemed like if I could evolve to a Keel, I could very well create a society that fulfilled many of these needs and wants. So should that line of questioning take precedence? Who knew, since I couldn't figure out my own mind on the subject.

As Second left, he was accompanied by the majority of the Alqat, but Wisterl stayed behind.

"I've heard you want to be accepted by the Alqat." She grinned, and a glint of madness I'd never seen in her before seemed to flicker in her eyes.

"That is true."

"You just heard from A--Second," she caught herself, "that what we look for is power above all. In a fight with intelligent creatures, I'm 1. We have a war soon to be, so let me." In her excitement, she seemed to be cutting words from her sentences.

I hesitated. "So... you want to train me, is that it?"

She nodded, eyes glinting again with that mad tint.

A part of me was afraid of what she'd do to me, but the rest of me figured it couldn't be too bad. "Alright then. Count me in. Can we start in two days?"

She cocked her head, "Why wait?"

"I just have a couple of things to do real quick. I promise, in two days, we will be able to begin." I wanted to try to hunt and eat three new species as soon as possible, and then try to see what the newest Quest would be, before I moved into combat training.

Wisterl looked disappointed, but nodded. "Two days then."

I almost felt like I'd dodged a bullet, but shrugged off the feeling and rose up to my swarm's den.

...

There wasn't anything notable in my ascent, but I did see several other adult keelish lurking around, and two others who were speaking with some of the members of the Alqat that I didn't recognize, but recognized that they weren't currently Alqat. My competition, then.

I shrugged internally and made my way into my den. There, everything was proceeding as normal, but I came across Joral, who seemed to be looking for me, since he lit up once he saw me.

"What's up, Joral?"

He almost looked like Ilcron, my pet hultzi (a bird that had hooked talons on its wings), in how he bounded towards me and looked at me. "I heard we have a real enemy to fight, like you did with the wolfstags. I want to take some of the smaller ones out to try to find them, but Beta said I needed your permission. Permission?"

My immediate reaction was to say "Blazes no", but there wasn't much of a real reason to it, other than his very likely death at their hands... and the spawnling had no concept of his own mortality, so trying to explain that would be, very likely, to no avail. Instead, I looked down at him and said, "I'll let you know in the morning at the latest. Come look for me to remind me." Yes, I decided to put it off. I was physically exhausted from the sessions with Rulac, and emotionally drained by the vision of the Keel.

As I retired back to my room, I sighed, and wondered: do I need to stop caring about survival rates among my subordinates?