### **Chapter 11: Mutated Vigor Ant**###
*(From the novel "I Became the Gamer Who Controls Reality")*
Vivaan Sharma felt utterly drained, as though every ounce of strength had been sucked out of his body. His face turned pale, beads of sweat trickled down his forehead, and a wave of dizziness washed over him.
Inside the game, the **Companion Egg** absorbed all the Primordial Energy he had left. The red light pulsing within it grew brighter and brighter until it completely dyed the milky-white shell crimson, making it glow like a gem carved from living blood.
**Crack!**
A sharp sound echoed from the screen. The blood-red light split through the shell as the figure of a crimson Vigor Ant emerged. Its luminous form shimmered once before it shot straight into the body of Vivaan's in-game avatar.
At that very moment, Vivaan felt something powerful flow into him—an alien force that seemed to carry its own consciousness. It was strange and yet intimate, like a whisper that resonated with the depths of his soul.
> "Pledge my life to follow you… Pledge my life to follow you… Pledge my life to follow you…"
The eerie chant echoed inside Vivaan's mind as the energy gathered toward the back of his left hand. Slowly, it condensed into a blood-red tattoo — the intricate mark of an ant, its lines gleaming faintly like living veins.
Startled, Vivaan quickly tugged down his sleeve and curled his hand into a fist, hiding the mark.
Companion Beasts were mysterious entities — bound to their masters for life. They lived, fought, and perished as one. If discovered, such a symbol could draw unwanted attention.
Opening the status interface, Vivaan's eyes widened slightly. A new line had appeared under his **Companion Beast** section.
> **Mutated Vigor Ant**
> Stage: Mortal
> Strength: 9
> Speed: 5
> Constitution: 9
> Primordial Energy: 9
> Talent Skill: Vigor Divine Fist (Rank 9)
> Companion Form: Boxing Glove
Vivaan's lips curled into a faint smile. The Mutated Vigor Ant's stats were nearly perfect for the Mortal stage — each one above average — and its Rank 9 **Vigor Divine Fist** easily surpassed his own, which was Rank 7.
In essence, this Companion Beast could fight on par with him, maybe even better.
If he summoned it, it would be like having another version of himself — one that could strike harder, move faster, and never tire.
He clenched his hand, suppressing the urge to summon it immediately. The curiosity burned within him — he wanted to see what a real Mutated Vigor Ant looked like, not the simplified one from the game's cartoonish graphics.
But this was **Guide High Institute**, and summoning a Companion Beast here would attract far too much attention.
Especially one that shouldn't even exist at the Mortal stage.
Across the field, **Tanish Verma** noticed Vivaan sitting there again, looking pale and unfocused. He nudged **Rohit Nanda**, lowering his voice.
"Look at him — pale as paper and sweating like he's sick. If I didn't know his strength and Primordial Energy firsthand, I'd think he's about to faint."
Rohit gave a quiet laugh, "He probably stayed up gaming again. If that's what his 'training' looks like, I'd rather be lazy too."
Neither of them could have imagined that Vivaan's pale look came from the repeated loss of real blood.
Every time he revived in-game, the phone drew a single drop from him. Individually, it was nothing — but after hundreds of deaths and revivals, the toll added up. His body looked malnourished, almost frail.
Even **Arvind Rao** and the teachers had assumed Vivaan was wallowing in self-pity, wasting his potential after that humiliating defeat against **Reva Rathore**. His appearance only reinforced that belief — a pale prodigy who had given up on himself.
But in truth, Vivaan was walking a path none of them could imagine.
---
When he returned home that evening, Vivaan shut his door and drew the curtains tight. His pulse quickened as he extended his left hand. The red ant mark shimmered faintly in the dim light.
"Let's see what you really are," he whispered.
The mark blazed suddenly, flooding the room with crimson light. The glowing pattern seemed to come alive, flowing down his arm and wrapping around his fist like molten metal.
Within seconds, his hand was covered in a deep-red **boxing glove**, gleaming with faint light. On the back of it shimmered the ant emblem — sharp, precise, and alive.
Vivaan clenched his hand, and the air vibrated with raw power. His muscles tightened, veins bulged slightly, and he could feel the surge of unimaginable strength coursing through him.
He grinned. "So, this is the Companion Form. Strength augmentation, huh?"
It was exactly as the online forums described. In the **Companion Form**, the beast merged with its master, amplifying their attributes. For the Mutated Vigor Ant, that meant raw, brute force.
But curiosity still tugged at him.
Vivaan deactivated the form, and the glove melted away, leaving only the glowing mark behind. With a quiet command, he summoned the beast fully.
The mark on his hand glowed once more, then projected a shape into the air — a blood-red silhouette that quickly solidified into a massive, menacing **Mutated Vigor Ant**, nearly the size of a racehorse.
It stood there in his living room, its carapace gleaming like forged steel, its sharp legs digging lightly into the tiles. Its head lowered slightly as if awaiting orders, antennae twitching in silent awareness.
Vivaan's eyes widened.
The game's version had been cute — almost cartoonish.
But this? This was a predator.
The creature's blood-colored shell glistened like metal polished with fire. Its limbs radiated lethal precision, and even its movements were smooth yet terrifyingly powerful.
It was a monster built for battle — beautiful in a dangerous, unnatural way.
Vivaan couldn't help but whisper, "The game didn't do you justice. You're a masterpiece."
He circled the creature, inspecting its proportions, then impulsively climbed onto its back. The Mutated Vigor Ant adjusted instantly, its legs bracing with mechanical precision as it began to move in slow, deliberate steps.
Unfortunately, his living room was far too small. After a few awkward turns, Vivaan sighed and slid down.
"I'll try riding you outside when I get the chance," he said softly, recalling the creature with a wave. The glowing ant mark pulsed once before returning to normal.
For now, secrecy was everything.
A Mortal-stage Companion Beast would make him famous overnight — but it would also draw suspicion and envy.
Vivaan preferred silence and progress over fame.
Still, the discovery ignited something inside him. For the first time in months, he felt a spark of real motivation.
If one Companion Egg could drop, maybe there were others. Maybe stronger ones.
That night, he returned to the **Ant Nest** dungeon in-game, grinding tirelessly, searching for another miracle.
---
Days passed. The **college entrance combat exam** was approaching fast.
Vivaan arrived at Guide High Institute early, intending to catch a nap before classes began. But as he approached the school gates, he noticed Tanish Verma standing nearby with a conflicted expression.
When Tanish saw him, guilt flickered across his face. He hesitated, then blurted out, "Vivaan, I'm sorry. My friend… he invited me to join his team. I—I can't be in yours anymore."
Before Vivaan could reply, Tanish turned and left quickly, not daring to look back.
Vivaan frowned slightly. "What was that about?"
He entered the campus, his mind racing. "Did something happen? Or… is someone behind this?"
He soon spotted **Rohit Nanda** near the practice field and walked over.
"Rohit, do you know anything about Tanish quitting the team?"
Rohit froze, his eyes darting away. He hesitated for a moment before saying quietly, "Vivaan… I'm sorry too. I can't take the test with you either."
Vivaan's brows furrowed. A strange sense of unease crawled up his spine.
"Why?" he asked, his tone calm but sharp.
Rohit shook his head. "Don't ask. It's my fault." He bowed slightly — and hurried away without another word.
The pattern was clear now.
Someone was pulling strings behind the scenes.
When Vivaan finally saw **Riya Malhotra**, she stood silently for a while, guilt written all over her face. Her lips trembled before she finally spoke.
"Vivaan… I'm sorry. I can't take the combat test with you...