Chương 22: Chapter 20 – Strange Egg.

'Give up already, your queen is already dead!' A shriek escaped from an ant and was soon followed by another as they charged at the monster that defeated their leader. Rusty took up a stance and prepared himself for the onslaught of angry drones. He knew that despite his victory over the queen, this wasn't over yet. The light crystal had dimmed and some of the drones managed to slip through but he was not scared, victory was near.

As the first wave of drones descended upon him, Rusty swung his sword with precision to deflect the initial mandibles and slashed through their exoskeletons. These smaller creatures were not much to him who had just managed to gain another level. With each swing of his sword, more of the bodies riddled this chamber. You have gained +6 experience points. The drones kept coming, seemingly endless in their numbers but Rusty fought on with determination. He was a whirlwind of steel amidst the swarm.

Despite their ferocity, the drones were no match for his strength and increasing skills. He never tired and their numbers started to dwindle. You have gained +6 experience points. Eventually, the ant's numbers started to dwindle and the robust suit of armor raised his sword for the last time. With a final and resounding swing of his sword, Rusty cleaved through the last of the ant drones. Their lifeless bodies now riddled the entire chamber.

The chamber was now eerily silent and quickly became dark as the light crystal dimmed fully. Rusty stood amidst the carnage with his sword broken and body battered, yet victory was still his.

'I thought they would never stop coming…' Rusty couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction. He had emerged victorious against overwhelming odds by defeating both the ant queen and her small army of drones. His efforts had not been in vain and he had proven that he was a capable warrior. Now all that was left was to take the loot that he had fought for but first, he needed to glance at his status screen.

'I've gained two levels and I'm almost level nine too but they almost got me, I don't have many hit points left…' Name: Rusty Classification: Corroded Twilight Bronze Armor [F +] L8 Type: Magical/Inorganic Hit Points [HP] 15/85 Magic Points [MP] 3/63 Special Points [SP] 20/20 Strength 76 [F+] Agility 55 [F] Dexterity 57 [F] Constitution 80 [F+] Intelligence 55 [F] Wisdom 58 [F] Willpower 59 [F] Durability F+ Rusty's body was mangled up and had several large gashes in it.

Luckily he wasn't missing any important parts and could still move. This body of his was quite robust and unless his parts were severed, he could keep on moving. However, it would eventually give up and he would be unable to move. At this moment, he could barely move forward without his legs breaking apart.

'I haven't gotten any new skills lately, that's a bit strange… but I did gain a new title, I wonder what it does!' Ant Slayer Title A title gained by defeating a large number of ant-type monsters and their queen. Whenever fighting other similar monsters, the person with this title gains a 1% damage bonus.

'Just one percent? That doesn't sound like much but I guess it's better than nothing…' His level had increased and more power coursed through his body but it wouldn't last for long. He needed to restore it before leaving this place and the copper vein here was what he needed. After placing his hand on the rock formation he awaited for his system to initiate. He had not had much use for his SP for a while but absorbing this copper would change that. The amount of copper is too large.

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'It's too large? Previously it was too small… But how do I make it smaller?' Before him was a large wall filled with copper ore that he needed to chop into smaller pieces to use. His body was mangled and it was the same for his sword. It would probably break if he attempted to strike this wall with his weapon. While copper would allow him to restore his weapon, it still felt like a waste to ruin it before it was truly worn down.

He also lacked one other resource which was tin, before finding it he needed to conserve all resources. Rusty pondered his predicament for a moment and considered his options carefully. He needed a way to break down the large wall of copper ore without damaging his already worn-out sword. As he scanned the chamber, his eyes fell upon the carcass of the ant queen.

'Perhaps this could be of some use? She was able to pierce through hard rocks with those legs and mandibles.' Rusty approached the carcass of the ant queen and inspected her mandibles. Despite the damage inflicted upon her during their battle, they remained sharp and sturdy. However, they were still attached to the monster's large head and perhaps not the best option for now. Some other severed appendages were also there, which were the ant queen's legs. They were much lighter but also seemingly sturdy.

After picking up one of the legs he decided to use it similarly to a spear. First, he poked the wall with normal attacks and soon after used his power thrust skill to plunge it in deeper. The leg broke in a few spots but also embedded itself in the rocky formation. After moving it around a couple of times, he was finally able to dislodge a larger chunk of ore that was bigger than his fist.

'This should do it, right?' He placed his damaged palm on it and was finally given the correct prompt that would allow him to take it. His SP went down by a couple of points and the ore found its way into his inventory. It was a separate item from the regular ingots he received when absorbing resources from weapons or armor.

'Hm, will this turn into a copper ingot eventually?' This was not his first time working with items and he was certain that he needed to gather more fist-sized ores. With the help of the ant queen's leg, he continued to mine the ore in this room and after gathering another three he was finally able to combine them into a proper copper ingot. With the freshly obtained copper ingot in the stash tab, Rusty felt a surge of relief. This was exactly what he needed to restore his damaged weapon and body.

Now, all he had to do was mine more of the ore and gain more ingots. While he wanted to continue with his mining spree there was still one thing that he didn't decide on, the many white eggs in this chamber were still here. Previously he chose to ignore them as they weren't posing a threat but now he could see that one of them was moving. He stopped for a moment to check what was going on. The egg was twitching around and eventually, something started to emerge from within.

It was an ant drone but it looked a lot more feeble than the ones that he had encountered. Its exoskeleton didn't seem to have hardened fully and it had a brighter coloring. The creature was clearly disoriented but without giving it much of a thought, it was soon dispatched with one swing of his sword. You have gained +5 experience points.

'Hm…' It was quite easy to kill and Rusty knew that it was the right choice to have saved them for later. Piercing an undeveloped ant egg didn't yield any points of experience so he needed to wait for them to fully develop and hatch. His goal was still to level up as much as he could and killing the newly hatched insects was quite easy. With his mind now set, he turned his attention to the remaining copper ore.

Despite his damaged state, he continued to mine the ore with the ant queen's leg-turned-improvised mining tool. Chunk by chunk, he gathered more ore and spent points to absorb them into his inventory space. Whenever he ran out of SP it was time to focus more of his attention on the ant eggs. Eventually, the chamber became devoid of any signs of life and his limit for copper ores and ingots had been reached.

'So ten seems to be the limit for everything…' It seemed that this cheat-like restorative ability he had with the help of his inventory, had its limits. There was a limit to all items that he could hold in a square and it was impossible to spread them out through the stash tab. After ten of each item was gathered there was no way of getting any more unless he carried them to another location. This would limit his healing ability during combat as with time and enough damage, he would reach a limit.

He had spent several days in this ant colony and had already restored his body. In his inventory, he had reached the limit of copper ores and ingots and was now contemplating his future plans. He just needed a little bit more to reach the tenth and final level before his next evolution and he could not wait to gain more power.

'I wonder what my next body will be like? Could I make it bigger and heavier? Hm, but what if I become too big to fit through these tunnels?' His mind was filled with thoughts of future forms and battles. He still had a bone to pick with the adventurers that had forced him to fall down here. While, on one hand, their actions had propelled him to his current state of power, on the other, they had nearly led to his demise.

He had not yet searched for a way back up but perhaps after he gained more strength, then climbing back up the chasm would become a possibility.

'Now then, I should take as many of the ores back to the lair and plan my next move.' Rusty was ready to leave this dark place, the light on the light crystal had dimmed a long time ago and now this place was pitch dark. He scanned the place with his senses again to see if he didn't miss any of the ant eggs. While he was planning to return here a couple of times, it was better to kill these small monsters right after they had hatched.

'Oh, what's that? It looks different from the others…' On his way out he discovered one last ant egg that was a bit peculiar. The others were all white and went brown when something was about to hatch from them. This one on the other hand looked silvery and metallic. It reminded him a bit of his own body but not quite.

'It's smaller than the others too…' He had almost missed this egg as it had been stashed to the side. Was it discarded by the other hands or did it roll away during the chaos of the battle that ensued a few days ago? Rusty didn't know but one thing was clear, this egg was taking a while to hatch, a lot longer than the others. It seemed to be a bit special and for some reason, he was drawn to it.

'Why don't I take it with me?' There was space inside of his body to take this egg with him along with a few copper ores. His chest cavity was filled out with copper ore while the egg was shoved into the neck area and covered up with his helmet. With his task now completed and the ant colony wiped out, he made his way back to his own lair. The journey back to his lair was uneventful, save for a few close encounters with wandering insects that he easily dispatched.

Some of the centipedes wandered into the tunnels that the ants had ruled before. Even with the added weight these monsters didn't pose much of a threat to the current him that was almost at max level. Rusty felt a sense of relief wash over him as he found himself at the watering hole. The number of insects had decreased and he was able to easily walk to the tunnel leading to his lair. His adventure had come to an end and he had emerged stronger than before.

He wasn't sure why but he felt content about his recent victory.

'Now where should I put this?' Upon reaching his lair, Rusty carefully laid out the copper ores he had collected and stored them all in one place. He then turned his attention to the metallic-looking egg he had found. For some reason it didn't feel right to just leave it out in the corner so he created a little pedestal on the side. There was just a perfect spot next to some blue and white crystals.

'I wonder if this will even hatch…' He was not convinced that a monster would hatch from this egg as he had brought it over to his lair which was filled to the brim with light. The other monsters didn't seem to like the light and perhaps even took direct damage from it. It wasn't strange to assume that whatever was developing inside would just die.

'Well, it doesn't matter. I should focus on finding some tin now, maybe I'll find some in the centipede lair? Or should I try the other ones?' There were four main monster types in this dungeon with the ants being one of them. Besides the ants, there were also the centipedes, the slugs, and the giant beetles. After some consideration, he decided to go with the centipedes first. That group had been weakened by the territorial battle with the ants and would probably be the easiest to beat.

Then, if he was victorious he would follow it up with the slugs and finish up with the strongest, the giant beetles. The latter had the largest bodies that he didn't feel confident in being able to dispose of. He wished to go through his next evolution before confronting that variant of insect. As Rusty prepared himself to venture into the centipede lair, he made sure his armor was properly fastened and his sword was ready for battle. With the help of some rocks, he was able to sharpen it further.

His inventory was stocked with copper ingots and the egg was stashed in a safe location. It was time to set out once again into the dark tunnels.

'Nothing can stop me! I'll probably be level ten after I come back, I can't wait!' Rusty ventured forth with a confident stride. After his victory against the ant queen, he was pumped up, nothing could stop him now. Soon his footsteps echoed in the outside corridor and the only thing left inside his lair was the strange silvery egg. Once all noise died down, the egg began to emit a faint glow, its surface shimmering for a split second before stopping…