The system gave Xander the ability to evolve his slime using the exp points he earned from killing beasts and monsters. No one else in the world had that power. Everyone else was stuck with the natural limits of their beasts. Xander was not.
A normal slime stayed F grade forever. Xander's slime climbed one rank after another.
Every evolution made it stronger and smarter.
E grade.
D grade.
C grade.
B grade.
A grade.
S grade.
Then it reached Mythic.
Then finally, it evolved into a Legendary Slime Queen.
People did not understand how it happened. They mocked him in the beginning, but they were shocked in the end.
The slime evolved into a beautiful slime Queen, who joined Xander's harem. Uff, imagine a waifu who could change shapes, hehe She also helped Xander gain more beasts, more beautiful waifus.. legendary harem members.
Now it was supposed to be mine.
I still remember the scene,
Xander's hands were cut and bleeding as he pushed through tall grass. The moonlight made the field shine like silver waves. His breath was rough and uneven. He had run for hours without stopping, chased by beasts everywhere. His eyes were filled with tears.
He fell forward, hit the ground, and almost gave up.
Then he heard a soft splat beside him.
A small yellow slime dragged itself toward him. It was injured. Its body shook like jelly. Its color was pale. Monsters had attacked it and nearly torn it apart.
Xander slowly reached out. His hand trembled.
"Please," he said. "Please work. I do not want to die."
The slime shivered. For a moment it seemed scared. Then it moved closer. It touched his hand with its soft body.
A spark of light appeared between them. A gentle blue circle formed around Xander's hand.
Contract completed.
My chest grew warm remembering it. That scene made so many readers cry. It was the moment when the hopeless protagonist found his first ally. It was the spark that started his rise to power.
Now that moment was mine.
But my version would be better.
More dramatic.
More powerful.
More epic.
"Hehe," I whispered to myself. "Xyaa, the legendary Queen of the Harem Kingdom. Goddess of all beast girls with big… skills."
I puffed up my flat chest and stood on the rock. The wind made my hair flutter like some cool main character.
I closed my eyes and lifted one hand into the air.
"Beast of fate," I said in a proud, dramatic voice. "Hear my call. I, Xyaa, the chosen one, the beautiful one, the mighty one, command you to form the sacred bond."
I paused.
Then I sighed.
"Ugh, that sounds stupid."
I practiced for several minutes. I changed tone. I changed pose. I changed hand gestures. I even tried kneeling, then standing tall, then sitting like some peaceful monk. Every version felt wrong.
"Why is it so hard to act cool?"
The wilds around me grew louder as the sun sank lower. Strange roars echoed in the distance. Leaves rustled as beasts moved in the tall grass. Birds flew overhead in circles. Somewhere nearby, I heard the low rumble of a feline monster. The forest felt alive. Hungry and always watching.
My heart sped up. Perfect atmosphere.
I sat back down and rubbed my arms to fight the growing cold. The stream continued to flow quietly beside me. Its sound mixed with the chirping insects.
The system bar in the corner jumped again.
Eighty six percent.
Almost there.
I inhaled deeply.
"This time, I will not mess it up," I whispered.
Hours passed. The sky turned darker. The moon peeked out from behind clouds. My heartbeat grew faster and faster.
Then I heard it.
Splat.
A soft, wet sound behind me.
I froze. My back straightened on its own.
Splat. Splat.
My hands trembled. I slowly turned. My breath caught in my throat.
There it was.
A small yellow slime dragged itself from behind a bush. Its round body glowed faintly. It trembled with every movement. It had a big wound on one side. The injury pulsed with a dim light. Its body looked weaker than the slime from the novel.
It was badly hurt.
The slime stopped and stared at me(I guess!). It looked scared. Alone. Just like in the story.
My heart melted.
"It is really here," I said softly. "My first beast."
The slime took one shaky step toward me. I slowly knelt down. I extended my hand. My fingers trembled again, but this time from excitement, not fear.
"Come here," I said gently. "It is okay."
The slime moved closer. The forest around us grew quiet. Even the insects seemed to hold their breath.
My heart thumped.
This was it. My golden ticket to face slapping.
I closed my eyes and prepared my mana. A warm energy flowed from my chest to my arm. It tingled like tiny sparks. Soft blue particles rose from my hand like dust made of light.
The contract circle would appear any second.
The slime inched forward.
My breath slowed.
My eyes watered.
This was my touching, emotional moment.
But fate had other plans.
Something very tiny dropped from the tree above.
Plop.
A little brown ant landed right on my outstretched hand. It twitched its legs in confusion, probably wondering why the floor was glowing.
And then the mana responded.
The blue particles flared.
A circle appeared.
Light wrapped around my hand and the ant.
Contract successful.
Beast tamed: Worker Ant (Rank: none)
I blinked.
The slime blinked.
The whole world paused.
"What."
The circle vanished. The ant sat on my hand with a proud posture, like some tiny warrior who had just won a grand battle. It lifted its front legs as if saluting.
The slime stared at us in confusion.
It shook its body twice.
Then it slowly turned around.
And slid away.
Very fast.
"NO WAIT STOP COME BACK," I screamed so loud that birds flew from the trees.
The slime kept running. The little body bounced like a fleeing jelly bean.
I jumped to my feet and stumbled forward.
"Why. Why. Why," I yelled. "Why would you steal my contract moment, you stupid insect. Why would you do this to me. I was supposed to be the legendary tamer. Not the ant lady."
The ant waved its leg again.
"Do not wave at me."
I screamed into the forest again. My voice echoed far away.
Even the monsters stayed silent for a second.
Then the system bar flashed hard.
[System initialization complete
Activating core functions..
Scanning host…
Warning….
Host has performed an unauthorized contract..
Error…
Activating Brood Mother Protocol]
My heart dropped.
"Wait. Wait wait wait. No. What is that. What is happening."
A new window appeared in front of my face. It glowed bright blue and shook slightly.
[Brood Mother Protocol: Forced Activation
Reason: First Contract Identified
Beast Type: Colony Class
Designated Role: Queen]
"Excuse me, Queen of what?"
Timer starting
Five…
Four…
Three…
"No no no no stop stop stop," I shouted.
Two…
One….
[Brood Mother Hibernation initiated]
A sudden weight crashed into me. My knees gave out, and my vision swam. It felt like gravity had doubled. My arms trembled as a warm rush spread from my core, wrapping around me like a thick blanket.
"No," I whispered again. "Not like this."
My eyes grew heavy.
The ground tilted.
My skin felt hot.
I fell to my knees beside the stream. My hair spread around me. My hand still held the tiny ant, which simply sat there like a proud new soldier waiting for orders.
My vision dimmed.
I could barely see the forest. The moonlight flickered like a candle dying in the wind.
"Stupid ant…" I whispered. "You ruined everything…"
The warmth turned into darkness.
Then everything went silent.
My last thought was simple.
When I wake up, I am going to kill that ant.
And then I collapsed into deep hibernation.
....
The ant watched the large creature..his newly chosen queen, his mate, collapse as the pink cocoon formed around her. The glowing silk-like mist wrapped her body inch by inch until she disappeared completely inside the pulsating shell.
Instinct tugged at him, urging him to rush toward her, to climb the cocoon and stand guard. He leapt forward, but the spreading pink mist swallowed him as well, curling around his tiny form like warm smoke.
When he opened his eyes again, the world looked… different. The grass seemed shorter. The stones looked smaller. Or was it him who had changed? He raised one limb, and froze.
It was no longer a thin, brown insect leg. It was a hand. A real hand. And beneath him were two legs shaped just like his queen's, small but sturdy.
Before confusion could settle, a voice drifted into his mind from the fading pink fog, soft but absolute.
Protect the queen.
The command echoed again.
Protect. The. Queen.
His new heart thumped hard. His senses sharpened. Without hesitation, he turned toward the forest around the cocoon. Shadows shifted between the tall grass. Slime monsters oozed closer, drawn by the glow.
The ant, no, the newly evolved guardian stepped forward. His fingers curled. His body tensed. A fierce instinct burned inside him.