Black

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Black (布莱克)
Species/Race	Worker Ant Knight
Gender	Male
Affiliation	System's ant colony; Golden Banana Federation
Occupation/Role	Ant knight, System's assistant, and researcher of spiritual power
Status	Alive; active in research involving crimson flames and the spacetime weapon 549
First Appearance	71

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Second Pupation — Worker Ant Knight	113 117	Absorbed icy mist from the frost butterfly chrysalis, grew beyond his formerly frail body, and emerged with ice-elemental power and six human-like fingers on each hand.
Level 12 — Worker Ant Knight	139	His recorded combat power was 2.3–2.9 with frost power. In desperation, he first manifested crimson flames capable of instantly incinerating a ghost.
Transcendent lifeform	257	Became Aura's final disciple and reached the Transcendent grade through the Ascension Art; later formed a contract with the Ice Spirit Nellis.
Fourth Pupation — extraordinary combat strength	432 465	Entered his fourth Pupation while System considered using his flames in slime research. Upon emerging, Black possessed combat strength of about 1,000, reaching the extraordinary level.

Background

Black was born unusually intelligent but physically undernourished. His weak constitution made ordinary growth difficult, leaving him trapped at Level 10 even after System strengthened his Pupation talent. He nevertheless continued working normally while expecting to die, and asked System to remove his eyes and antennae after his death so that he could remain at System's side. 110 111

Before this crisis, Black had already shown political ambition within the colony. He considered replacing Queen Linda after concluding that her intelligence was inadequate for her position. 71 The frost butterfly chrysalis changed his fate: its icy mist nourished him, triggered his Pupation, and allowed him to emerge as a Worker Ant Knight rather than die. 113 117

Black became one of the colony's principal caretakers during System's absences. He maintained the nest, reassured Queen Linda despite personally disliking her, and organized the ant knights. His fear that System might never return led him and the other ants to conceal that fear through an unconvincing lie about the nest entrance. 145 149 150

Appearance

Black is an ant knight whose body changed substantially through repeated Pupations while retaining the small black patch on his head that marked him from birth. 549

• Measured at 0.17 meters tall and 55 grams at Level 12. 139
• Possesses six nearly equal-length, human-like fingers on each hand rather than five. 117
• Developed ice-elemental power after his second Pupation. 117
• His crimson flames emit faint light but no heat. 139

Personality

Black's defining desire is to be useful to System. His jealousy of stronger or newly promoted ants stems from this need to contribute, rather than from hostility toward the colony. He becomes deeply self-critical over mistakes and may fixate on a single failure despite many successes. 87 256 549

He is completely trusting toward System and actively seeks his approval. This loyalty also makes him vulnerable to anxiety when System disappears; his attempt to reassure the ants through deception showed that he had only just begun to understand how to lie. 139 149 150

Although Black struggles with the complexities of human society, he matures into a calm and pragmatic adviser. When faced with future threats from reviving gods and descending Saints, he set aside his jealousy and proposed seeking the Will of the North Wind for the colony's survival. 361 466

“Do you want to die? Isn't living better?” 113

Abilities & Skills

Crimson Flames

Black's signature ability manifests as cold crimson fire that targets spiritual power rather than ordinary matter. It was first awakened while he destroyed a ghost and later became the foundation of his scientific work. 139 466

• Incinerates ghosts and can burn Heroic Spirits. 139 314 316
• Burns void demonic beasts to ash, preventing their spiritual power from escaping, and is effective against Barrier Slime. 465
• Can be shaped into a protective spherical barrier; Black formed one three meters across around himself and System. 256
• Converts burned mental power into its most primitive form and returns it to the world. 549
• Grows gradually by burning spiritual power. 466
• Has little to no direct offensive effect against non-spiritual targets. 549
• Requires roughly twenty days of preparation for Black to store enough flame for one spacetime-weapon discharge. 549

Ice-Elemental Power

Black gained frost power during his second Pupation and later strengthened his ice-related potential through a contract with the Ice Spirit Nellis. 117 257

• Initially produced only one or two small ice balls. 117
• Carved a dent into a wall while demonstrating his later ice power. 257

Mental Link

Black consumed Frost Slime gel while working to master [Mental Link], enabling direct mental communication with System and the colony. 71 191

• Relays events and intelligence to System during his absences. 191 272
• Uses mental messages to communicate with System and coordinate colony matters. 150 373

Spiritual-Power Research

Newton Einstein recruited Black as his disciple after identifying the unusual properties of the crimson flames. Black chose research as a way to remain useful after Little M had taken over much of his former assistant work. 466

• Studies the conversion between spiritual power and magical essence. 466
• Helped Newton identify the unstable reaction caused when his flames burn mental power containing desire. 549
• Provides the flame essential to the Federation's spacetime weapon. 549

Relationships

• System — Black's king, trusted master, and the person he is most driven to assist. System repeatedly protects, reassures, and relies on Black. 110 139 260
• Aura — Black's mentor through the Ascension Art; Black became Aura's final disciple, though Aura resented Black's contract with Nellis. 257 466
• Queen Linda — A rival Black once considered replacing because of her limited intelligence. Despite their mutual dislike, Black later comforted Linda to preserve the colony's stability. 71 145
• Newton Einstein — Black's research mentor and collaborator in studying crimson flames, spiritual power, and the spacetime weapon. 466 549
• Nellis — Ice Spirit who escaped Aura's control and formed a contract with Black, granting him further ice-based potential. 257
• Shawa — Fellow ant knight and one of System's closest subordinates; Black worked alongside her during major colony events. 87 110
• Little Meatball — Played with Black during its early development and remained close to him. 89
• Bitor — The legendary beetle later became Black's subordinate on the Floating Island. 272

Story Role / Major Arcs

• Colony succession and survival — Black recognizes Queen Linda's shortcomings, considers replacing her, then narrowly survives a fatal growth bottleneck through incomplete Pupation. 71 111 113
• Nest caretaker — Takes responsibility for the colony while System is absent, including managing Linda's distress and organizing the other ants. 145 149 150
• Awakening of the crimson flames — Destroys a ghost with previously unknown red fire, revealing an ability that later proves dangerous to spirits, Heroic Spirits, and void creatures. 139 314 465
• Brain Demon Insect incident — His flames inadvertently destroy Brain Demon Insect Babutar's soul consciousness, saving System but attracting the attention of Insect Overlord Ulysses. 256
• System's trusted assistant — Guards System's crystal pendant during System's fourth Pupation and continues reporting developments from Golden Banana City. 260 373
• Researcher and weapons contributor — Joins Newton's research group, investigates the nature of his flames, and becomes indispensable to the spacetime weapon's operation. 466 549