Chương 10: Ants (3)

After a few minutes of rest, he stood. At least, he tried to. Instead, Rowan let out a strangled cry as his injured leg gave out beneath him. Gritting his teeth against the sudden surge of pain, he inspected his calf. He tore his already tattered pants out of the way, giving himself a good look at where the ant had struck. The gouges weren't deep, but they were wide. A steady trickle of blood flowed from where the insect's mandibles had torn out several inches of his flesh.

After staring at his wound for a few moments, he began doing everything in his power to bandage it. He used what remained of his pant leg, tearing it into long strips of cloth. Taking a larger chunk of fabric, Rowan pressed it against his calf before binding it there with the strips he'd made. After he had a few layers, he stopped, satisfied with his work. It was by no means perfect, but it seemed like it'd stemmed the bleeding well enough.

With a grunt, he slowly stood up, putting as little weight on his leg as possible. The adrenaline of the fight had allowed him to ignore the injury and kill the ant, but now that it was gone, each step was agonizing. With a sigh, Rowan watched as an ant skittered by the intersection. With his leg already injured, he'd need to be more careful from now on. — Rowan let out a breath as he leaned against the cave wall. Only two more ants to go. He considered going right back to fight another ant, but he stopped himself.

The constant feeling of hunger and thirst made it hard to resist, but he knew that rushing himself was too big a risk. Entering a fight when he was still winded from the last was too dangerous, especially with his already injured leg. So Rowan got to work, dragging away the carcass of the insect he'd just finished off and piling it with the others back in the main cavern. They were heavy, but slowly, he made it work, relying mostly on his unharmed leg.

Then, when it was done, he let himself relax, lying down on the cool stone floor. Then, he opened his status screen.

Name: Rowan Crowe Race: Human Class: Chained Lord (Inheritance) Level: 2 Stats: Strength: 8 Dexterity: 7 Toughness: 8 Vitality: 8 Mana: 6 Free Points: 0 Active Skills(2/10): Bind lvl 1 Mana Manipulation lvl 2 Passive Skills(0/10): Quests: Defeat the Guardian of the Forest or Defeat the Leviathan (Layer Quest) Defeat 10 Enemies Reach Level 20 System Credits: 75 The fights since he'd leveled up had been significantly easier. His increased strength made quick work of the ants' thick armor.

It had been such a big change that he had even put his free point into strength. Taking a deep breath, he searched for the feeling of mana within his body. He'd been practicing [Mana Manipulation] between fights, and while he hadn't gained any levels since he'd first used the skill, he could feel himself getting close to something. Just like before, Rowan guided the mana through the pathways inside his body. Once he knew they were there, it was so much easier to move the energy than before.

When it got to the tip of his finger, he mentally prepared himself. Then, he pushed it out, a wisp of blue forming before him. Gritting his teeth, he fought with everything he had to exert his influence on the mana before it could dissipate. The blue light fought against him, trying to spread out into the air, but Rowan held steady. One second… two… five… You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

[Mana Manipulation lvl 2 → Mana Manipulation lvl 3] Just as he was coming up on ten seconds, his concentration wavered. It was just for a split second, but it was enough. The mana slipped from his grasp and began to dissolve, disappearing into the darkness of the cave. Rowan stood up, his heart pounding and a little smile on his face. While he wasn't fully recovered yet, he couldn't go much longer without food or water. For now, he could ignore it and keep fighting, but he didn't know how long that would last.

He wasn't sure exactly how long he'd been in the cave, but he was surprised he could keep going. In darker times, he'd gone days without eating, but still, the lack of fuel had severely affected him. Now, though, he was fighting nonstop and still going strong. Perhaps it had something to do with his increased stats? That was an interesting thought. If he was right, did that mean that if he put enough points into whatever stat was affecting his eating, he wouldn't have to worry about hunger? That sounded appealing.

But at the same time, he liked eating. Before he could distract himself further, Rowan focused on the task ahead of him. Just two more ants. That was all he needed. Making his way down the tunnel to the ants' territory, he prepared himself. He gripped his mace and stood, waiting for the sound of an ant making its way to the intersection. When the sound of legs clicking on stone finally came, Rowan stepped closer, readying his mace.

With the other ants, he'd just tried to get their attention before running away, but if he could land a good hit before the fight had even begun… Finally, the ant's head appeared in his sight, and he swung down, putting every ounce of his strength behind the mace. Hearing a crack, Rowan tried to see the damage to the insect, but there was just a small crack in its chitin. Then, he looked back at his mace. There was a crack in the spike that must've made contact with the creature. A crack in the solid metal weapon.

Stumbling back, his expression of confusion turned to a visage of horror as he got a better look at his opponent. [Soldier Ant - Level 6] The massive ant, reaching all the way up to his waist, seemed much more durable than the workers. But that didn't mean it was unfazed by a direct hit to its head. Reacting more out of instinct than anything else, Rowan attacked with abandon, wailing on the insect. For a while, it seemed like the soldier was just going to stand there and take it.

But, alas, as he was bringing his mace down once more, it seemed to finally register what was going on. Then, it went on the offensive.

"Shit shit shit shit shit." Rowan stumbled away from the creature, barely avoiding its snapping mandibles He tried to flee, but his injured leg limited him to a swift limp. Looking over his shoulder, he got a good look at the monstrosity chasing him. Covered entirely with shining armor, it was easily twice the size of its worker counterparts. And it was gaining on him. As the soldier ant grew closer and closer, he was forced to spin around and face the creature, lest it strike him from behind.

He swung time and time again, and while most of his strikes didn't do any damage to the creature, it was enough to keep it occupied, at least for the moment. Slowly, he limped back, growing near the main cavern. If he let the fight get there, he didn't know if he'd survive. Without the relatively tight confines of the tunnel keeping the ant from doing anything but advancing, it would be far, far harder to keep in control of the battle. With the time until he was forced back to the cavern dwindling, he took a risk.

Side stepping from the ant's mandibles, Rowan lunged forward, aiming for the insect's leg. He hadn't done this with the worker ants because they were simply too short for it to be an effective tactic. But with the nearly four-foot-tall soldier, it was more than plausible. The mace struck the ant's thin leg, and the creature collapsed. But as it fell, a mandible carved a burning line of agony down his arm. Rowan nearly lost his weapon as he scrambled back, clutching his bloodied arm. He shook his head.

He couldn't lose focus. Not now. The soldier seemed to be incapacitated, so he had to make use of the opportunity. As he moved back towards the insect, he froze. The ant twitched. Then, it rose once more, teetering on only five legs, but standing nonetheless. Not willing to let the ant recover, Rowan attacked, bringing his mace down on the insect's head. Then, the soldier's head jerked up. Its mandibles flashed, and he found his momentum completely halted, mace trapped in the ant's impossibly powerful jaws.

A feeling of despair passed over him as Rowan felt the mace torn from his hands. He tried to snatch it back, but the ant dropped it off to the side, leaving him weaponless. While the insect was still wobbly with its injured leg, Rowan tried to flee into the open cavern. He took one step. Then another. But just as he was about to burst into the massive chamber, he nearly fell as one of his legs jerked to a halt. He tried to turn around, nearly falling again as he did so, but he could only rotate partway.

The ant's mandibles weren't grabbing onto his pants, as he'd originally thought, but were lodged into the sole of his right shoe, digging in from the side. Desperate, he tried to yank his foot away from the ant, but it was to no avail; the ant's grip was too powerful and his shoe was too tight for him to pull out of it. Before he could try anything else, the soldier yanked, pulling his feet from beneath him. Rowan let out a cry as he fell to the stone floor.

It didn't hurt as much as he expected—probably due to his improved stats—but it still knocked the wind out of him. Still trying to catch his breath, he clawed at the ground, trying to pull himself from the insect's grasp. The moment he began to make actual progress, the ant yanked him back. Then, he felt the soldier's grip on his foot disappear. As his foot dropped down with a thump, he tried desperately to flee, but the ant was upon him.

Even as he kicked at it, the creature struck with its mandibles, carving deep gashes and tearing chunks of flesh from his legs. With each bite from the ant, Rowan felt the energy draining from his body. So, in one final, defiant bid at survival, he called on his mana. It crashed through the pathways in his body as he drew on every last drop. He tried to drive it to his hands as he'd done before, but the wild energy within him was too powerful.

The mana forced itself out of every pore of his body, filling the air around him. Still, Rowan fought, trying to regain control over the rampant energy. Letting out a ragged scream as the ant bit into his calf, he pushed further. And then, for a single moment, it stilled, the wisps of blue submitting to him. [Mana Manipulation lvl 3 → Mana Manipulation lvl 4] But his control was fleeting, a calm before the storm. He needed to use it before it escaped his grasp.

And so, he drove it into the only thing that would take it. The spectral chains around him. Then, it came to him. And even as the ant tore into his flesh, Rowan smiled.

"Bind."