Alex took a step forward, leveraging all the force he could muster to slam the dimly glowing bastion into the extended arm of the Worker Rebos, the strike severing its limb at the joint. It was by no means an insignificant injury, but he’d killed enough of the ant-like creatures to know the loss of a limb wouldn’t finish the creature. Prepared to overextend if it meant he could land a second, more decisive, blow, Alex wound up the strike. Before he could follow up, Sixth Sense showed the heavy mandible of another of the beasts attempting to shear him in half, leaving Alex with no choice but to abandon the attack.

Pain shooting through his body as he strained it, he transferred his remaining momentum into a spin, simultaneously burning a chunk of his stamina to actively use Dodge against the larger ant’s attack. Knowing he still needed to shift the odds lest the beasts overwhelm him, Alex tried to force another strike on the worker ant, but he wasn’t even able to get into range. A strike from the last of his attackers angled at his back, leaving him no choice but to relocate if he wanted to keep his insides, inside.

He landed on one knee a few meters away, Echo Relocation seeming to have drained more than just the mana from him, and Alex took a moment to recover before rising unsteadily to his feet. Gritting his teeth at the wave of pain the movement caused, Alex nearly doubled over as the headache his dwindling mana reserves was intensifying spiked. The trauma was easy to manage, Physical Resistance working with time to accustom Alex to the constant ache the numerous cuts, bites, and acid burns sustained. The lack of mana, however, was much more difficult to cope with; even more so, after he’d just used a majority of his remaining pool in one go. Seeing one of the beasts was already entering range, his clone having been entirely ignored, Alex screamed a curse into the large cavern, as he readied for the final salvo. If he didn’t end this now, it would all be pointless. The dead earned no quest rewards.

Forgoing defense, Alex converted his weapons into a two-handed baseball bat like hold, voice echoing out as he continued to scream. Not even acknowledging the sharp mandibles aimed to decapitate him, Alex stepped in closer, bringing his sticks down heavy as he concentrated much of his remaining power into the attack. It was a risk, but one that immediately paid off, the mana enhanced bastions sheering through the creature’s collarbone with enough force to split it halfway down its torso.

The technique was something Alex had been experimenting with for the last couple of days, and though energy expensive, it had proven more than worth the cost. The idea had come the night he’d started his attempts at carving. While Alex proved to have no talent nor skill in the art of whittling, that wasn’t his main concern. He was more worried that even if he managed to chisel something the system recognized as a weapon, the mundane wood it was formed from was unlikely to stay viable after the first few fights, if that.

It was why he’d opted to carve a second, and eventually third, set of the bastions, a choice that had quickly proven the correct one as his first attempt at infusion had been rather harrowing to say the least. He’d been sitting alone in the hideout, slowly pushing mana from his core and up through his arms, as he’d done constantly during his final days of imprisonment. The process had gone smoothly at first, though Alex reached something akin to an impassable wall as he tried to push the mana beyond the skin of his hands and into the objects.

His initial assumption was that the process would be similar to that of activating item abilities, the sticks gladly accepting his mana as if they were extensions of his person. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Unlike when using an item skill, the mana seemed averse to exiting his body. Assuming his struggle was an issue of quantity, Alex continued to push more energy into his arms until they seemed to thrum with the power. Only then did he feel the barrier break, the swell of mana overcoming the resistance as it entered up into the makeshift weapons.

With so much of his concentration encompassed by the process, it took him a moment to recognize his success, leaving him with only a few milliseconds to celebrate before both sticks exploded. He came out relatively unharmed, even after being showered with a branch’s worth of mana enhanced fragments, but the misfire did instill a sense of caution in him for future attempts. The process ended up taking hours, and a few more mini explosions, but Alex eventually learned to coat the bastions in mana rather than enhance their form internally. He suspected the process to be more energy intensive this way, but the increase in both attack damage and overall sturdiness of the weapons made it worth the cost.

Panting as he removed his weapons from the ant, Alex let its body drop to the floor, focus immediately shifting to the final boss of the area, the first Rebos General he’d ever seen. It was massive, much larger than any of the warrior caste he’d killed, the creature easily towering over Alex, with a frame as thick as it was tall. The beast reached him fast, its thin insectoid legs crushing the limp bodies of its comrades as it charged. Side stepping the creature's attempt to barrel through him, Alex used his sticks to help redirect the attack, but its strength proved to be much higher than his own.

The beast easily recovered, pivoting with a speed that belied its stature and striking down to bisect Alex, forcing him to block the attack close to his body. The worker ant, having already forgotten about its missing limb, took that moment to reenter the fight. With both his arms occupied, Alex could only watch helplessly as Sixth Sense choreographed the creature’s attack pattern, needle-like teeth slick with acid as it lunged for his back. Knowing he couldn’t afford the cost of another relocation, Alex ducked slightly, ensuring the bite would land on his cloak as a flood of mana flew through his pathways.

A wave of dizziness stronger than any he’d experienced overwhelmed him, and Alex was pretty sure he’d momentarily blacked out as his mana dropped to the dregs. The majority of the energy was sent towards his hands, mana exiting his body to reinforce the energy barrier surrounding the homemade weapons. But a smaller, equally important amount burned his pathways as it headed in the opposite direction, summoned by his cloak, the normally soft material becoming as sturdy as steel in an effort to deflect the beast’s acid bite.

Breaths coming in gasps, he deactivated both Battle Trance and Sixth Sense. The change in mana usage was minute, nothing when compared to his natural rate of regeneration, but it meant Alex had less to focus on for the moment, which was for the best. The replenishing energy doing nothing to solve his already violent headache, he tried, for what felt like minutes, to rebuff the massive ant’s attack. But it was like fighting against gravity, the beast’s arm pushing him closer and closer to the ground, as if unquestionable in its actions.

The thought slowly made its way through Alex’s muddled mind until he suddenly had an idea, one he bet everything on without hesitation. Allowing himself to drop to one knee, Alex took the moment of relief the movement created to release one of his sticks, leaving only a single dimly glowing bastion to protect his life. Accessing his inventory now that he had a hand free, he summoned a spear, the weapon one of the well-crafted, but non-magical, ones he’d recovered from the cave the day prior.

Bracing the long shaft against the cave floor, he dropped even lower, allowing a combination of the beast’s strength and gravity to do the work for him. The general cried out in chittering hisses of pain as the spear tip punctured through its chitin, the sharp blade stopping somewhere Alex had already identified as a major artery of the Rebos. Using his weight rather than any controlled motion, he pushed on the blade, the gap widening enough for the beast’s green blood to flow liberally from the wound. For a second Alex thought he’d managed to succeed, the beast wasn’t dead yet, but it wouldn’t be long with such a grievous wound, all he needed to do was hold out. It was at that moment he ran out of mana; the worker ant having finally exhausted the last of his energy.

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As if the beast’s needle like teeth embedding themselves into his back wasn’t enough to worry about. His sole defense against the general’s weight, a poorly carved, and no longer reinforced, stick, immediately splintered, leaving him to take the remaining power of the attack on his shoulder. Alex heard more than felt the massive mandible crack the bone of the joint, but Physical Resistance and adrenaline soon showed they were no match for the injury. Legs going weak, Alex howled in pain, but even the noise seemed to come out hollow as the lung on his injured side failed to properly release the oxygen. Partially in a daze, he immediately reached back into his inventory, this time withdrawing a potion.

His thoughts dim as he fought against unconsciousness, the myriad sensations overloading his brain, Alex scrambled to get the liquid down so he could move. It took a frantic combination of his single functioning arm and teeth to remove the stopper from the bottle, his jerky motions causing some of the lifesaving nectar to spill to the ground as it finally came off. Ignoring the loss, Alex downed what he could of the potions, immediately feeling the energy spread throughout his body. He tried to focus part of the healing effect on his brain in case the pain was due to a brain injury, but the effort only made his headache worse.

Forgoing further attempts as the rebound made him flinch, Alex realized he should have already been dead. The worker ant was still gnawing at his back trying to pull chunks out, but his attempts at drinking the potion hadn’t been fast, the general should have finished him off already. Turning his head to face where the massive ant had stood, Alex realized his gamble had been a success. The area boss stood stock-still; the spear embedded into its torso likely the only thing keeping it upright. A sharp pain in his back reminding him the fight wasn’t yet over, Alex shifted his focus to the last of his attackers. The beast wasn’t strong, but if he passed out now, it could kill him before he woke up again, and he was very close to passing out.

He initially considered using Echo Relocation now that his mana had recovered some, but even if the beast hadn’t been making physical contact with him, his head hurt so much he wasn’t sure he could focus enough to activate the skill. Instead, it took an odd maneuver that involved Alex putting weight on his severely broken arm, and kicking the creature before stabbing it in the neck with a dagger as it charged back toward him.

Not sure whether to laugh or cry, Alex knew he needed to do something before he fell unconscious. Crawling over to a corner the bodies, blood, and guts had mostly failed to reach, he placed down his mat of regeneration and took a seat on top as he gathered his thoughts. It was another entry in what was becoming an all too familiar post battle pattern. He was getting stronger fast, but he wasn’t at the level he’d needed to be to take on that fight. Injuries were unavoidable, expected even, but it was more than just getting hurt.

His head was still killing him, and it took Alex three times to activate Sixth Sense when he had well over the required mana to do so. He didn’t know if this was a consequence of having overdrawn the energy, or something else, his lack of information once again rearing its ugly head. Alex had been doing his best to gleam what he could without oversharing, but it was starting to look like divulging his level of ignorance about the system to Dora might be the right thing to do. He just didn’t know how she’d take the revelation that she might not be real.

Pulling some food out of his inventory, Alex scanned his surroundings with Sixth Sense before opening his notifications to read over as he ate. Much of the space was filled with kills and skill advancements, the list an homage to the hundreds of ants he’d killed to complete just a single leg of his quest. Deciding that he deserved to start with the best first, if only to use the dopamine hit to keep awake, Alex navigated to his quests tab.

***

Quest

Tutorial Quest – Main – Subquest 2.1: King of The (Ant) Hill

When planning to battle a king, whether that be one or even two, taking the sobriquet of kingship for yourself first is the recommended thing to do. Defeat the hive and claim ownership of the hill, only then will the tasks necessary for survival be possible to fulfill. But no queen is one to easily relinquish their tower, first eliminate her generals to ensure a smooth transition of power. Complete this task before time is up, and on a treasury’s worth of rewards you shall sup.

Generals Killed (1/5)

Queen Killed (0/1)

Rewards: Variable (Individual rewards granted upon the killing of each general and quest completion.)

Time Remaining: 01:20:37 (Day Thirteen, 11:44 A.M.)

Rewards:

First General’s Band of Impact

Item Upgrade Sigil x1

+ 75 Gold

Name: First General’s Band of Impact

Grade: E

Rarity: Uncommon

Description: To subdue with sheer power, to overwhelm with unquestionable might. These were the methods of the First General of the Rebos. Now, a part of that strength is yours to wield as you see fit. Gain an additional 10% damage to all attacks made barehanded or with melee weapons.

***

Slipping the plain green ring on, Alex had to admit it was a solid pickup. Even with the rating being lower than he hoped, melee weapons were his specialty at the moment, and he appreciated the extra damage on every hit. Was it worth hours of near nonstop combat with only brief respites between battles and a dwindling potion supply to keep him in a suboptimal fighting state? No. But the other reward, or at least the precedent it set, might just be.

If every general he killed gave him the opportunity to gain another item sigil, he could gather four more of them on top of the other rewards. He couldn’t assume that’d be the case based off a single drop, but it was more than enough to make him want to find out. With this, he’d now collected enough sigils to finally upgrade what he considered to already be his most useful possession. Seeing no reason to wait, since faster healing would be appreciated at the moment, Alex scooted off the mat and pressed all three tokens against the item. This time the prompt he was hoping for appeared.

***

Use Item Upgrade Sigil (x3) on Ocelot’s Mat of Regeneration?

Warning: Item Upgrade Sigil (x3) will be consumed upon use and, any changes to Ocelot’s Mat of Regeneration will be permanent.

(Y/N)

Item

Name: Ocelot’s Mat of Regeneration

Grade: E

Rarity: Legendary

Description: The youth of the great Zelia Clan have always been taught that meditation was the key to enlightenment. That it shall free them from their need for mortal possessions and allow them to find the ultimate satisfaction within themselves. This is the mat of their once great leader, Ocelot. Sitting on this mat and remaining entirely still grants immunity to health loss from non-magical sources. All energy pools will be completely refilled if the user remains still for 24 hours straight. +300% regeneration speed, and any missing body parts will be regenerated while unmoving.

***