Alexander kept his gaze on the eggs for a few seconds longer, then turned his attention back to the System.
The connection was still there in the background of his mind—steady, faint, but reassuring. For now, however, there was nothing more to examine. The embryos were still developing, and watching them would not accelerate the process.
So he shifted his focus elsewhere.
A new indicator had appeared on his own status panel.
[Biomass Requirement] – 212%
His eyes narrowed slightly at the number.
It was indeed high.
For a brief moment, he rapidly evaluated what it meant. Maintaining the body he now possessed required far more biomass than it had when he first awakened in it—more than twice as much. Every step he took, every regenerative process that occurred, and every future evolution would now carry a greater cost. The price of becoming what he was could not be considered insignificant.
Even so, he did not feel concern.
He was a queen.
For him, such a standard was acceptable.
Expected, even.
A central organism designed to produce, direct, and sustain a swarm could not be as efficient as ordinary members. He had not been created to be efficient. He had been created to be foundational.
But the same could not apply to the rest of the swarm.
If every individual required biomass at this level, expansion would slow dramatically. Growth would become unstable. Control would weaken. Such inefficiency could not be allowed to spread.
For now, the hunters remained within acceptable limits.
That was enough.
Once he was certain of this, Alexander dismissed the matter and let his attention move across the interface again.
Another section had appeared—one that had not been there before.
The moment his thoughts focused on the [Brood Generation] trait, the screen reshaped itself. The interface simplified, the other panels withdrawing as a new production list appeared in their place.
------[Brood Generation]------
Available types:
[Type: Scaled Hunter Drone]
[EMPTY]
[EMPTY]
For now, there was only a single template.
Alexander focused on the existing one. The header expanded, the surrounding information shifted aside, and the panel reorganized itself.
[Type: Scaled Hunter Drone]
-----------[PRODUCE]-------------
[Production biomass cost] – 19.5
------[Details]------
[Base Form] – 10
[Adaptive Regrowth] – 3.5
[Osteoderm] – 2
[Scales] – 1
[Nocturnal Vision] – 1
[Herbivory] – 2
Alexander stared at the list for a while without doing anything.
It was truly a good hunter template.
It was durable. Adaptable. Capable of moving at night. And now, it would also be able to obtain energy from plant-based resources. They would not become a swarm weakened by hunger.
But it was expensive.
Very expensive.
Even so, he did not consider it a problem.
He already knew that the eggs would take approximately three months to hatch. After that, it would take at least another year for the hatchlings to reach a level where they could truly fight.
His gaze slowly shifted toward the [PRODUCE] section.
But he did not have enough biomass.
Not yet.
"If my swarm's growth is going to take time no matter what…" he thought calmly, "…then at least they should be strong when they grow."
The thought settled firmly in his mind.
Immediately afterward, he made another calculation.
"Within a year… I must become strong enough to challenge even the peak state of my former swarm. The more of us there are, the more prey we will be able to hunt."
Alexander reviewed the interface once more. There were no new panels left for him to examine.
He closed the System.
Then he slowly rose to his feet and began moving toward the nearest patch of grass.
His mind focused on a single goal.
He needed to eat.
And produce more offspring.
---------
Loren rode forward atop the broad back of one of the Lurgim, moving in a slow but steady rhythm. Each step of the massive creature pressed deeply into the earth, while the loaded baskets hanging from its sides swayed gently in time with its stride. The small village behind them was still watching them depart. The narrow group of twenty—perhaps thirty—people stood lined along the edge of the path; some raised their hands, while others sprinkled water onto the ground in accordance with old traditions, wishing them a fortunate journey.
"May your road be clear!" one of them called out.
A woman poured water from a small bowl onto the path. Several others repeated the gesture after her. Thin lines of water shimmered briefly across the dry soil before fading.
Loren turned his head and looked back. There was a faint but sincere expression on his face. He raised his right hand and waved to them. The Lurgim did not stop; it continued forward with its heavy steps. The others in the caravan returned the farewell with brief gestures of their own.
After a while, the village disappeared among the trees and tall grasses. The voices faded. Behind them remained only the flattened trail and the distant echoes of farewell carried by the wind.
As the path crossed a wide stretch of open ground, they noticed movement ahead.
A herd of dozens of large bison moved slowly across the plain. Their broad shoulders, covered in long, thick hair, shifted beneath the sunlight, and their breath rose faintly into the air. Two young Urtu walked along either side of the herd, guiding the animals toward the village.
As the caravan approached, one of the youths raised his hand in greeting.
"Long road?" he called out.
"As long as always," Loren replied.
They exchanged a brief greeting and a few more words before continuing on their separate ways. While the herd moved toward the village, the caravan followed the path forward.
Not long after the animals disappeared from view, one of the younger riders near the front of the caravan turned his head slightly.
It was Nurk.
"I really don't understand them, you know…" he said. "Living out here in the middle of nowhere, cut off from the other tribes like that must be difficult and boring."
Maya tilted her head slightly when she heard Nurk's words. There was a teasing but patient tone in her voice.
"You do realize how valuable what you're carrying in those baskets is, right?" she said. "In the distant eastern tribes, where winters are harsh, some people come close to freezing without those furs."
Nurk pursed his lips.
"Alright, but still… living here all year long?" he said with a shrug. "If it were me, I'd visit another tribe at least once a month."
Maya laughed softly.
"You can't stay in one place for more than a week anyway."
"Wrong," Nurk said seriously. "If there's good food, I stay for two weeks."
"If there's good food, you'd settle there permanently," Maya replied.
Nurk thought for a moment, then put on a serious expression.
"Look, think about it. If I lived in that village… I'd watch the bison herd every day."
"You already do."
"Yes, but this is different. This is professional watching. I'm talking about amateur watching."
Maya couldn't hold back her laughter.
"Amateur bison watching?"
"Yes," Nurk said proudly. "No responsibilities. You just sit and watch. Maybe wave at them sometimes."
"At the bison?"
"Yes. Who knows, maybe they wave back."
Maya shook her head.
"They're not looking at you. They're looking at the grass behind you."
By then, Loren had also heard the conversation. Leaning slightly forward, he looked at Nurk.
"If the bison start waving back at you," he said calmly, "then it means you really need some rest."
A few members of the caravan chuckled quietly. Nurk lifted his shoulders.
"I'm just considering the possibilities."
Loren shook his head, still faintly smiling. Then he turned his gaze forward and changed the subject.
"Hey Dunk," he said. "Where's our next stop?"
Dunk, the broad-built man riding at the front of the caravan, reached into one of the bags tied beside his seat. He carefully pulled out a large folded sheet of paper and opened the map, studying it for a few seconds.
"The Zeswa Clan," he said at last. "We'll travel east for another two days. Then we'll turn south. After that, we'll need to follow the distant mountains."
Nurk immediately straightened.
"Zeswa?" he said excitedly. "That's far! I've always wanted to go there! I heard it's completely different from the forest and these empty plains..."