At last, with all the immediate commands taken care of, I finally had long enough to myself to actually look at my [Status].

[Status:

Name: Ashlani

Race: Sonic Khatif Sub-Swarm Alpha

Title(s): Killer of Redael

Current quests:

—Have one of your spawn grow to adulthood successfully. Progress: Fetus. Rewards: Constitution +5, Intelligence +6, Magic +4.

-- Completely raze a community of creatures with a base Intelligence of at least 4. Rewards: Constitution, Strength, Agility, Intelligence, Magic +6.

—Usurp control of the entire swarm. Progress: 100%. QUEST COMPLETE. Rewards: Intelligence +9. NEW QUEST: Discover a Skill. Rewards: Will vary depending on the tier, focus, and effect of the discovered Skill.

Stats:

-Constitution: 59

-Strength: 71+3=74

-Agility: 72+7=79

-Intelligence: 69+9=78

-Magic: 61+7=68

Skills:

Innate Leadership—cannot evolve

Pack Tactics—current evolutionary progress: 1/10

Combatant's Bloodlust—current evolutionary progress: Unknown

True Dominance—current evolutionary progress: Unknown

Improved Vision--current evolutionary progress: 0/18

Improved Sonilphon—current evolutionary progress: Unknown

Evolutionary foresight

-Sonic Khatif Swarm Beta—Requirements: Acknowledgement of the Swarm's Alpha.

-Sonic Khatif Swarm Alpha—Requirements: Deposing the current Swarm Alpha. Acquiring the approval of 75% of the total swarm. REQUIREMENTS MET.

Other evolutions possible, but not currently foreseen.]

Looking at my status and how it had been updated, I had a couple of questions.

[System], where did all these other bonus stats come from?

[There were several influences for your statistical growth. In order from most influential to least, they were: Attaining the Title of "Killer of Redael", attaining the universal admiration of the swarm, and killing and eating part of a highly evolved member of the "keelish" race.]

So what exactly is the effect of this "Title"?

[Effects of Title "Killer of Redael" are: +2 to Strength, +4 to Agility, +3 to Magic, and improved influence of all [Domination] skills against keelish.]

How exactly does one acquire a Title? And can you benefit from multiple titles at once?

[The acquisition of a Title requires three things: 1. The completion of some colossal or noteworthy task. 2. Public witnessing or perception of your completion of the task. 3. The combined viewpoint of… The Administrator has deemed it unnecessary to divulge that information. However, that decision may be rescinded, depending on your future growth. All benefits of a Title are permanently enjoyed, unless the Titleholder loses the qualifications to hold said title. E.g, if a title was "High Nyust'taa of the Misti Hawar" and the Titleholder no longer ruled the Misti Hawar, then they would lose the Title.]

I grimaced, despite my best efforts. The information I'd received certainly was useful and answered my questions, but the more I saw "The Administrator has deemed it unnecessary…", the more I wanted to smash my head into the nearest wall. A small part of me noted that this frustration was new to me, and wasn't something that had slowly been building up inside me, but a completely new emotion that had only appeared after, surprise surprise, I had evolved to Khatif. The subconscious and involuntary change inside me was almost frightening, and I wasn't sure that I liked it. There certainly were benefits–leadership came naturally to me now, I understood better how to delegate and get the best out of my subordinates, and I wasn't bogged down by extra emotions. But… those extra emotions were what made me Ashlani, what had led me to reach out to Took and Oncli those months ago, what had formed me as I created my squad, and were my tie to my humanity. I couldn't compartmentalize these realities, and, after a moment's distress, I set my worries to the side to continue my questioning.

Now, how do I go about discovering a Skill? The way I've come across them previously is just through evolution.

[As you discover abilities that you need and ways to incorporate your current skillset into effectuating those abilities, the [System] may decide that your innovation will warrant a classified [Skill], thereafter enabling quicker progress and a deeper understanding of the skillset you have initially improved upon.]

So… just try to do it?

[The Administrator chuckles in affirmation.]

I couldn't suppress the sigh before moving on, again. What exactly does the stat "Intelligence" do?

[The stat "Intelligence" primarily affects two things: 1. The discovery of new [Skills]. The higher your Intelligence, the easier it is to discover new skills. 2. Removing evolutionary limits. While your mental capacities are slightly improved with the increase of the stat "Intelligence", the primary change that the increase of the statistic effectuates is to broaden your evolutionary possibilities.]

Ok, straightforward enough. Finally, my last question. How long will my evolution take this time?

[Evolution requires a basic restructuring of your body. You will fall unconscious as the reconstruction takes place. Evolution to species: Sonic Khatif Swarm Alpha will take 6 hours 30 minutes. Evolution will provide a marked bonus to your stats, as well as certain obvious physiological changes. Would you like to proceed with evolution?]

I grinned. Tomorrow morning, I would march on the nearby human settlement as an even stronger me.