I immediately put my new friend, Zeus the Anteater, to work massacring some ants, and over the night and the next day, I gained two entire Evolution Levels. My Stealth and Appraisal skills each growing one as well. But there were some downsides, the first being that Zeus was unable to fly like most Anteaters, making the periods between battles much longer.

  But the battles themselves grew proportionally longer and more fruitful, being able to finally deal with the Junior Prince’s. But only for two waves, since Zeus could only use his lightning that many times before fainting.

  Then, of course, I realized another issue, my small army below destroying another Ant mound.

  I gained two levels in two days; the amount of XP needed to gain a level was exponential with each step. And I had three days left to gain four levels, even if I kept my rate of one level a day, I’d be dead. Meaning I needed to change my strategy again.

  I tilted my little moth head to the sky and mentally groaned.

  Dear God, why do you have to test me like this? That’s a real bitch move, you know! Wait, no, not God, Terra, the system did say that was the name of my homeworld's god, and the person who sent me here. The implication of which I still couldn’t wrap my head around.

  So should I start saying Terra instead of God? Nahh, I'm going to be a devout Christian out of spite. You hear that, Terra, I found a real god, he’s ten times better than you!

  No, stop distracting yourself, Jacob, focus, hmmm.

  I started grooming my Antenna.

  So I need to gain four levels fast. How do I kill that many ants? I need to start expanding my tactics beyond just my minions, I need to start tailoring the land to my purpose. Zeus could dig like nobody's business with those claws of his, creating structures and stuff. But I needed more…

  My mind went back to that Salamander that had oh so unfairly attacked me out of absolutely nowhere. I remembered its slime that it threw around.

  I could make sticky traps out of those. And if I created a killing field around water, it could pick off the ants that fell in the water. And I could probably subjugate it now, considering my increased level and with Appraisal guiding me.

  The plan was still forming in my head as the battle below ended, and by the time my army was retreating, it had truly formed.

  OOO

  I flew above the place where I had nearly died, my Antenna picking up nasty smells from the humid bog below. I sent my Ravens down, searching for the Salamander, finding it hunting at the lake's surface.

  The Raven shot blades of water at it, creating a small gash in the side of its thick hide, not deep enough to harm, but deep enough to draw attention. The Salamander swiftly responded, spitting a ball of white slime at them and narrowly missing.

  I had the Ravens guide the Salamander out of the bog and onto land. It followed slowly, but with zeal. I closely watched above, counting every step.

  Yes… almost there…

  Then crack, it stepped onto the covering of debris I (The Ravens) had placed over a pit Zeus had dug out, the beast falling in. I quickly went over to it and started subjugating it. It looked up at me and spat out another ball of slime. But I was too high up for it to reach.

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  Ha! How do you like it now!

  I gloated, then it started climbing the perfectly vertical walls of the pit.

  …What…

  I knew small salamanders could climb vertical surfaces like that, but I thought, due to its size, that it couldn’t. But you know, fuck physics.

  I called Zeus, having him go to the edge of the pit and push it back down when it reached the top. The Salamander, though, grabbed Zeus’s neck, a yellowish mucus excreting from its skin, slathering it all over Zeus.

  But Zeus simply shook it off, the Salamander back at the bottom of the pit. I checked Zeus's condition through Lunar Scale Dust, and my suspicion was confirmed.

  Tempest Anteater

  HP: Light Yellow

  MP: Green

  EP: Green

  Notes: Big strong lightning boy.

  Poisoned: Orange

  Damn it!

  I had Zeus retreat, but the Salamander spat out another ball of slime, hitting one of my precious Anteater’s feet. Sticking it to the forest floor, the slime quickly turning into a concrete like material, expanding slightly as it rapidly dried.

  My first thought was, How dare you attack my poor boy! My second was, Oh, I could use that.

  The Salamander was now again climbing out of the pit. I checked its subjugation status with Appraisal.

  Giant Construction Salamander

  HP: Green

  Lv: 11

  MP: Yellow

  Lv: 7

  EP: Light Yellow

  Lv: 11

  Lunar Scale Enslavement Status: Yellow

  Ok, just a few more seconds.

  I had my Ravens deal with it, crawling out of the pit, since Zeus was currently stuck to the ground. The Ravens thrashed at it with their claws, using weak water blades directed at its eyes, succeeding at making it fall back in.

  But in the process, two of my four Ravens got hit by a Spitball, but the next moment I heard the sweet sound of two System ding.

  “You have successfully Enslaved a ‘Giant Construction Salamander’.”

  “Level up, +1 to Lunar Scale Dust Level. Current Max Level reached.”

  After celebrating my victory, I checked Lunar Scale Dust to see what changed.

  Lunar Scale Dust

  LV 3/3

  5/7

  Nothing besides my maximum minion counter rising, seriously, I reached max level, can’t you do something nice for once, System! Also, why do I have five minion slots filled up? It should only be four: Zeus, the Salamander, and the two Ravens.

  Then I heard a weak caw from the slime ball two of my Ravens had gotten trapped in.

  Oh…

  One of them had their beak sticking out, and one of its wings twisted in an unnatural way. I tried to find a way to free her, but couldn’t, so I had Zeus crush its head with his weight.

  It wasn’t pretty…

  “Level up, +1 to Evolution Level, gain 3 Mutation Points.”

  I knew it was necessary so it wouldn’t suffer, and I'd intentionally sent many Ravens to their death. But… that was so I could live; this was just senseless.

  I slapped the side of my face with my bug feet.

  Don’t be getting sappy now, all of the things that I've done are necessary. I even got a level out of it! Remember, it’s either my death or theirs.

  And that was a pretty easy choice to make.

  I flew off, starting preparation for the fight to come. Hoping it wasn’t the last.