As usual, what the Baron spoke was the rule, leaving aside how unreasonable it could get. Theo was sent to his room and had to stay inside it for two days. Lucien came to rub it in a few times, but it eventually became a good bonding session between them, where they talked about the mid-lower forest, where Theo was trying to go next. He gathered a considerable amount of information about the forest during those two days. For the most part, Theo didn’t even feel he was being punished, as there was so much to do with the ants now. Their evolution was just not kicking in, especially after realizing they weren’t able to eat most of the things they brought inside the colony, aside from the glass shards, which were weirdly their favorite now. Theo needed a better catalyst, and for that, his mind wandered to the moss slimes. They were the weakest beasts in the forest and also the same ones the mantis was able to defeat when it was only level 3. Theo also took a count and realized something. There were a lot of ants in the colony now, which went up to 850 approx before Theo lost count in the end and mixed it up. But in general, the important information he knew was: 30 worker ants were level 3, with their EXP nowhere near reaching level 4. 70 workers were level 2, which had taken a lot of effort. 350 workers were level 1, which was also really annoying to achieve, as everything was manual. 400 of the ants were level 0, the smaller and weaker ones that the ant queen mostly used to maintain brood, dig tunnels, and manage resources. There was also the fact that Theo hadn’t been able to focus on them until now. Getting the others to level 1, and some to level 2 and 3, was hard enough. And when he compared them to a moss slime and considered how they could ever defeat it, Theo went blank. The ants hadn’t increased in size, not even once, which was concerning since 30 of them were already level 3. True, their strength had increased in stats, and Theo had allotted points into their Intelligence and Strength, but even then, it felt ridiculous to make 850 of them fight for their lives against a slime that could jump, suck them in, and slowly absorb them. The mantis had an advantage—it had a skill called Metallic Strike, which helped it a lot. But the worker ants? The only offensive skill they had was Mandible Crunch, which was nowhere near enough to defeat a moss slime. This realization made Theo spiral further into the rabbit hole. He realized the ants were only capable of hunting rats and insects, not creatures that the real world would consider weak. It demotivated him for a while, and he sulked... but with the sulking came another idea too. Until now, he had been so focused on leveling the worker ants and the mantis that he hadn’t realized he was getting nowhere—and hadn’t used the method that had worked with the mantis. So, he ordered a live moss slime from Elias. When it arrived, Theo used his dagger to scratch the core before it burst out. When he was done, he had the mantis help cut the cores into smaller parts. The mantis took a huge chunk for itself in the process, but Theo didn’t care. The ants were only capable of eating smaller parts of the core anyway. "I thought you were adamant about making the ants stronger with just leveling, young master?" Elias asked, watching Theo place the smaller pieces of the core in front of the colony’s entrance. "I was doing just that, Elias. And it took me a lot of time to realize something so simple. This is what happens when you follow something with passion without thinking much," Theo said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. He continued, "If the ants could just level up and become strong enough to kill beasts a hundred times bigger than them, then it would’ve happened already and become common knowledge. But now, without evolution, the ants simply aren’t strong enough to fight anything I want them to. Even with strategies." Get full chapters from 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢•𝕟𝕖𝕥 "If I keep leveling them up without making them face dangerous monsters, they won’t learn anything. They’ll think eating insects and rats is all they’ll ever need." Theo blurted out, watching the ants carry the pieces of the core into the colony’s big entrance. "I can feel they’re strong for their size," Elias said with a sigh, "but I can also see they’re not strong enough for the real world." Theo nodded. If the ants were even half the size of the mantis at level 3, there could’ve been something they could do. It reminded Theo of what the Baron had told him, that there were giant ants inside the gate they once entered. Theo wanted to strive to make his ants like those. He had the goal; now he only needed to move forward smartly. "From what I remember, the mantis also evolved the first time with the help of cores, right?" Elias asked. Theo nodded and kept pestering the ant queen through the bond to eat the core as soon as it reached her. "May the benevolent artifact be with you, young master," Elias said, offering good luck. Theo smiled and nodded. Yes, he needed the artifact’s help right now. Two minutes later, Theo had drifted into his thoughts once again. Suddenly, a notification appeared in front of his eyes. He stared at it for a few seconds without responding, then his face turned to shock. "OHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He shouted making Elias literally jump up in scare for a moment. "W-What happened, young master?! Are you okay?!" Theo didn’t respond and kept shouting. The notification in front of him was just that good. [Evolution Potential Detected] But just as he shouted, another notification appeared. Until there were tens, and then hundreds, coming at the same time. "The artifact and luck really are on my side," Theo said with a grin before standing up.