Chương 9: Ants (2)

Rowan advanced into the tunnel from which the ant had come from. He moved slowly, growing closer to whatever the sources of the light and movement were. As he grew near, he could make out the shapes of ants scurrying about. There was an intersection in the cave, and every twenty seconds or so, another ant passed by the tunnel he was in. It still meant that there were plenty of the insects, but, hopefully, not enough to instantly swarm and overwhelm him.

As for the light he'd been seeing, it came from glowing moss on the walls. It was similar to the moss he'd seen when he'd first found himself in the cave system, but it wasn't exactly the same. While the moss by the poisonous lake had shared the same dark blue glow as the water, the moss here glowed a soothing green. For a while, Rowan stayed crouched by a patch of moss, trying to work up the courage to engage with one of the passing ants.

It had taken him several minutes to dispatch the previous ant, and with the frequency that the insects passed his location, he wouldn't have time to kill one before the next arrived. He'd have to lure one away before he finished it off far enough away that none of the other ants noticed. He knew that pheromone trails were a thing, but he had no idea how they worked. He could only hope that more ants wouldn't follow the one he drew away. The ant he'd already fought had been level 3.

After watching the passing ants for several minutes, he knew that their levels ranged from level 1 to level 4. Most were level two or three, with just a few on the weaker or stronger ends. He wanted to get level 1s and 2s. He knew that killing higher-level ants would probably let him level up more quickly, but that wasn't his goal. His goal was simply to kill enough of them to get the rations. He'd checked his Status Screen earlier, and the quest had updated from 0/10 to 1/10 enemies killed.

Rowan hadn't known what was classified as an 'enemy,' so he'd had the faint worry that killing the ants wouldn't count. As yet another insect passed by, he finally gathered up his courage. Standing up, he moved towards the ant, purposefully doing nothing to hide his actions. [Worker Ant - Level 2] The ant, unlike its brethren, paused in the middle of the intersection, stopping to do something. A moment later, though, the ant noticed him and turned to move toward him, however, he retreated.

The ant was slower than the one he'd fought earlier, and Rowan clenched his fists, praying that it would get away from the intersection before another creature noticed it. When another ant passed by and noticed nothing, he felt himself relax. He led his pursuer away until the ants passing by the intersection were nothing but gray smudges. Then, he attacked. He stopped his retreat and, before the creature could react, leaped forward.

His mace struck the top of the ant's head, and as the oversized insect was still dazed, Rowan brought it down again. Then again. He brought the weapon down over and over until, finally, the ant collapsed. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. [You have slain Worker Ant - Level 2] He let out a breath as the insect stopped twitching. It had been weaker and slower than the other ant, but it had still been terribly durable.

Leaving the corpse behind, he moved back to the intersection, waiting for the next ant to pass. The tunnel he was in was around ten feet wide, which gave him just a few seconds to get the attention of a passing ant. The ant he'd just killed had stopped for a moment at the intersection, giving Rowan enough time to check its level and decide whether or not he wanted to engage. The rest of the ants, however, weren't stopping.

He could move close enough that he would have enough time to decide whether or not to engage after he saw one of the insects, but doing that would run the risk of getting the attention of every passing ant. His other option was to stand back and decide whether or not to engage before he even saw the ant. It was risky, but in the end, he decided it was safer than the other option.

He'd even considered finding rocks that he could throw from a distance to get an ant's attention, but the only stones around were either too small or too large to be properly thrown; there just weren't any in the middle. He'd even tried shouting at them, but the creatures didn't seem to react to sound. Shaking his head, Rowan let a few more ants pass before he was ready to fight another one. He moved forward, purposefully stomping as he heard the clicking of mandibles growing closer.

The second the creature stepped into the intersection, it noticed him and adjusted its path. Repeating what he'd done with the last ant, he began to back away. As he did so, Rowan focused on the ant. [Worker Ant - Level 4] He gritted his teeth. That wasn't ideal. Hopefully, it wouldn't be too much stronger than the level 3 ant he'd fought before. Thankfully, the level 4 worker wasn't much quicker, so he could retreat with relative ease.

As he continued back, Rowan let out a curse as he tripped on the corpse of the last ant he'd killed. Stumbling, he managed to regain his balance before his pursuer could take advantage of his mistake. He shook his head. He'd have to clear the body after he dealt with the ant. A few seconds later, he decided they were far enough away and engaged the ant. He brought the mace down on the ant's head, putting every ounce of his strength behind it.

The blow struck true, but the ant barely slowed as it continued its advance. He tried to strike the insect's eyes, but its mandibles snapped at and fended off his mace. He didn't think it was a sign of intelligence; it looked more like the creature was simply reacting out of instinct. But the ant didn't just stand there and take the beating. It lunged with surprising speed and grace, trying to clamp its massive mandibles around his legs. But he dodged, adrenaline pumping through his veins.

As he went for a strike on the side of the insect's head, it retaliated, snapping at his left leg. Rowan pulled his leg back as quickly he could, but he couldn't quite get away. The ant's mandibles clipped his flesh. They ripped through his already ragged pants and tore into his calf before he could fully pull away. He let out a cry of pain as he stumbled back, ripping his leg from the insect's grasp. Once he'd regained his balance, he began limping backward, continuing his constant barrage on the creature.

Slowly but surely, he was making progress. A crack on the carapace here, a trickle of golden ichor there. It lunged at him once more, but Rowan was ready. He jerked his leg back to safety before stepping so he was at the ant's side. Gritting his teeth, he let out a growl of anger. Then, he attacked. He brought the mace down on the weak link between the insect's head and middle. He swung again. And again. He'd landed countless such blows before, but here, there was no chitin to protect the ant.

[You have slain Worker Ant - Level 4] [Level 1 → Level 2] Rowan felt a small smile slip onto his face as he read the notification. He'd leveled up. Then, he slid down the wall, his breath coming in ragged gasps as the adrenaline began to fade. But, as he sat beside the ant's corpse, staring at the stone wall across from him, the smile didn't leave. The fight had been dangerous, sure, but he'd survived. He'd won.