[...All right, I'm back. What'd I - hey, where's the squirrel?]

Finally.

I've still lying down in the same place as earlier. It's handy to know what numbers are when you need to measure time. I hadn't moved an inch, unsure if Joule needed me to stay in the same place to come back. A spider crawled over me about half an hour ago and didn't even notice me.

[Where have you been?]

[What do you mean? It's only been a few minutes - why is it dark?]

I stand up, my legs creaking from unuse.

[Do you have any idea how long you've been gone?]

[...What time is it?]

[How should I know?]

[...How long has it been back here?]

[About eight hours. My clock isn't great, but I can count now, so I waited.]

[For eight -]

I have a strange feeling in my head, as though she short-circuited for a moment.

[I am so sorry. I thought it was just a minute or two, I swear!]

[I don't really have the energy to be angry anymore. After an hour or two I was just worried.]

If whatever Joule was could cry, I feel like she would be.

[I'm never doing that again.]

[What were you doing, anyway?]

[I was doing some research on the difference between monsters and creatures. I think that the squirrel we saw earlier was a monster.]

I start walking home, maintaining the conversation as effectively as I can.

[What is the difference?]

[Monsters can acquire 'skills' and increase their physical abilities and size. That squirrel was actually called a 'Muscle Tail'. Apparently their tails have more strength than the average human arm, despite their small size. Something about compact muscle grouping.]

A thought occurs to me. It's not until much later that I realize how critical the difference is.

[Am I a monster or a creature?]

[I'm fairly sure that you're a monster, classically speaking. Your Void lets you increase in power at a way faster rate than any regular monster, though.]

[So I'm an apex ant?]

The thought makes me far less pleased than I thought it would.

[...Not quite. There is a species of ant in the Lymphadra region that's significantly more powerful than you are right now. In fact, their intelligence is likely on your level, if not slightly lower.]

That, although there's no way Joule could know it, is phenomenal news. Not having a colony is the eternal shame of any ant, especially a lowly male. If I get strong enough, there's a slight chance I can join their colony.

[Let's get more powerful than they are, then!]

[I think that's a great idea!]