~

I wake up dehydrated and disorientated and caked in sand and dried sweat. I didn't get buried alive, but I don't know how long I've slept.

I slit my palm open and drink my blood. It's disgustingly refreshing.

Sustaining myself by only using my blood will probably lead to complications in the long run, but right now, it's all I got.

I wait for my health to be passively regenerated before taking down my makeshift barricade and venturing deeper into the nest. The storm probably passed already, but I might as well get as many levels before leaving.

Maybe I can be overly optimistic and hope for actual food and water.

Two ways to go, I would ask Flash Gordon which way is better, but I obviously can't.

I pick left and head deeper inside. Immediately I see why the colony has [Antlion Glass Blowers].

The tunnel walls are coated with a mix of sandy glass, giving the tunnels structural integrity. It feels weirdly organic. Like how bees turn honey into beeswax by using glands, maybe these glassblowers change the glass the fracture rains down for their nests.

They must be running low on glass if they are 'rationing' it for the lower chambers.

It's dark. The other chamber had a little light because it was close to the entrance, but now it's almost pitch black.

It seems like my prayers were answered... Yipee...

I found their food storage room. Rotting carcasses fill the chamber with a stench that burns the eyes—the same pseudo-organic glass coats the floor, ceiling, and walls. I can tell the glass is visibly "decaying," and it probably needs to be replaced or recoated.

These creatures were stockpiling for something.

I can speculate all I want, but I'd prefer to leave before I catch something. At least I'm not hungry anymore.

I backtrack and quickly back into the tunnel, two dozen [Antlion Glass Blowers] being escorted by a paltry number of guards making their way to the surface.

The [Antlion Glass Blowers have a subtle glow in their core, giving off a deep orange light.

If my assumption is correct, they're harvesting the glass after the storm passes. Seeing the ways creatures adapt to their harsh environments is quite something...

I stretch before springing out of my hiding spot, blasting away with my firearm.

*SHATTER SHATTER SHATTER*

I kill one of them before swinging my sword right into the side of another one, fracturing it greatly. I strike down another time while firing another shot at a different glassblower.

*SHATTER SHATTER*

A gurgle of molten glass sprays from the closest glassblower, but I never stop moving. The slow-moving glass had no chance of reaching me. I try something new with my sword.

I can do two things with [Bramble Blade] at face value. Create blood-drinking vines to restrain, or create a one-time use whip sword. The first ability requires me to use a blade as a medium, but the second ability forgoes the weapon requirement.

What if I don't forgo the weapon?

My target is a glassblower preparing to spew molten glass. I throw my sword, embedding it into the glass carapace, right where its head is.

While it was traveling through the air, a vine shot out and connected the blade's handle to my ring hand. I yank the sword free, causing massive damage from the barbs.

The glassblower falls limp to the ground, dead.

I throw my sword again, embedding it deep into another antlion.

I don't know how to use rope darts or meteor hammers. But I do know how to yank and throw.

Yank.

The antlion's organic glass carapace ruptures outward.

Throw.

Another antlion is on the receiving end of my sword.

Through a mixture of throwing my sword and retrieving it, my firearm, and close combat, I managed to kill all the antlions with only severe injuries.

I was heavily burned on multiple occasions while getting used to catching my sword after yanking. I'm not proud of myself, but I survived and learned a new technique.

[Resistances: Fire 270 > 333]

Manually ripping out chunks of slightly molten glass out of my flesh so my flesh can heal properly makes me think of self-cannibalizing myself for sustenance.

"...maybe later."

I harvest more mandibles while waiting for my health to regenerate naturally, but I notice something is off with my healing rate.

I passively heal .4% of my maximum health every second as long as both my hearts work. After four minutes, I should be back from the brink of death, regardless of the situation.

I wasn't on the brink of death, and it took four minutes to regenerate all my health back.

Maybe my math is off. Maybe my body's condition is so bad that my body isn't healing as efficiently. That makes me question how exactly having two hearts unlocks regeneration in the human body.

The instructions were unclear on what I had to do, but at least it told me what I had to accomplish. Maybe it has something to do with [Broken Blood], and I'm taking mana from my circulatory system and redistributing it as healing.

Studying the martial arts I tortured myself to learn can come at a later date when I have the luxury to fall into contemplation.

I check my [Status].

Name / Nickname

Ellis Vincere / The Last Winner

Race

Human

Class

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Unique Master (Rank C)

Level

75 (11m/50m)

Titles

Proud Owner of a Rock, Fell the Mighty, Indulger…

~

~

Health Points

2400/2400 (+140% bonus)

Mana Points

1005/1005

Armor Points

0

Might

200 (195 + 5)

Agility

100 (85 + 10 + 5)

Vigor

200 (141 > 165 + 20 + 15 )

Mind

201 (126 + 75)

Spirit

170 (148 > 160 + 10)

Perception

40

Charisma

20 (5 + 15)

Luck

2

Unused

20 > 68 > 44

I rounded out my [Vigor] at 200 for no particular reason. I should keep my stats well-rounded since I'm a 'utility class' and not a combat or magical class.

I think I'll get [Agility] to 200 before focusing on [Vigor]. I have many things that scale well with my health, so I might as well take advantage of that... eventually.

I should really start paying attention when walking.

It looks like the colony was already on a steady decline as there aren't many antlions left. I start only coming across normal worker antlions.

I hesitate before entering the next chamber. I haven't found the brood space or where the queen is. Those are probably the most dangerous rooms to waltz into.

Maybe I should just retreat. I have gotten a significant amount of experience, and the storm has passed. There is no reason for me to stay. Actually...

I would like to kill the runic antlion, if not for the experience, the information. I also want to know what the queen looks like, even if I have to run away.

~

I found the [Runic Antlion] in a room filled with eggs. The runic markings glow subtly, making it a beacon in the darkness. The various runes on its body flashes while tending to the eggs.

It's the same size as a worker, meaning it's smaller than the guards and glassblowers I've been killing. Speaking of [Antlion workers], there is a surprising lack of workers compared to the other types.

I'm about to step into the room when something itching at the back of my mind creeps back up. There is no way my rampage through the nest hasn't been noticed.

They sent the [Antlion Glass Blowers] out only after I removed the barricade and didn't have them take it down. I set up the corpse pile to be an early alarm system since the sound of moving the bodies would have woken me.

It's a stretch if I believe that the antlions didn't send distress pheromones each time I encountered one. Also, the dead bodies would release an informative chemical that informs that they should be disposed of. If they are that related to actual ants.

Something clicks in my brain.

[Resistance: Mental 182 > 183]

The [Runic Antlion] shatters into a million pieces as the eggs fade away. The chamber is instead filled with countless glowing sigils etched into the glass membrane.

Not what I was trying to do, but okay.

I casually search the room with the sparse light and notice the real [Runic Antlion] standing on the ceiling, staring down at me. It camouflages well.

Or at least I think it's staring at me? I can't tell with those bug eyes.

[Scientific Insight+]

[Earth Rune]

[Acid Rune]

[Poison Rune]

"..."

[Mind Rune]

"..."

I'm not going into that room.

The [Runic Antlion] is over one hundred feet away and In a location without any runes, like a spider in its web.

Why is the scarab ant thing acting like a spider?

If I knew the effective range of my firearm, I would just snipe that thing down, but I don't want to waste ammo for chip damage.

My [Bramble Blade] is barely out of reach, but I can still just throw my sword at it or any of the numerous mandibles I have on me.

The [Runic Antlion] must have noticed that I haven't fallen for its trick because it starts waving its front two legs in the air, conjuring five floating sigils.

Jetstreams of yellow fire light up the room as they come hurtling at me. I wasn't expecting that or its speed. I couldn't dodge everything. One of the beams hit me dead on.

-0

But it wasn't hot.

I wonder how hot that fire was? If it was near my 300 or so fire resistance, that could still kill a manaless human twelve times over.

If all five jetstreams of fire hit me at once, would it combine into a single attack, or would it be five separate damages that would all get resisted?

My curiosity is going to get me killed one day. But I can argue that If I get my resistance high enough, I could never die...

I step into the room and prepare to kill this spider wannabe.

Let's test my limits.

I immediately step on a rune that shoots a cloud of poisonous gas into the room. That's not good.

-0

I quickly [Bolster Resistance] in case this gas is flammable.

Peering through the fumes, I can barely see another set of runes being conjured. Thankfully it doesn't seem to be a fire-based rune. Pin missiles of stone shoot down at me with no effect.

I examine the antlion.

[Runic Antlion C lv???]

So it's a magic-casting creature that doesn't hurt me... It's still considered strong enough to not be readable with [Scientific insight+]. Maybe with its runes, it has access to many elements, so the trade-off is less raw damage.

Good for me.

I don't lollygag. I move out, sidestepping the runes on the ground before getting underneath the creature faster than it can complete another spell.

It's forty-five feet in the air, but I can comfortably jump that high with my stats.

I leap with my sword in hand, ready to plunge my blade into this beast and rip it down from the ceiling. Unfortunately, one of the runes on the antlion's back shatters.

My blade gets deflected easily, and I drop back to the ground, landing on another rune.

More sickening gas fills the room. The [Runic Antlion] seems immune to its poison.

I use [Bramble Blade] to whip out and latch on to the beast's legs with its thorns. I keep activating the skill before pulling down on four thorny vines at once.

The antlion struggles against the vine, shifting its weight to resist the pull. But that makes getting it off the ceiling that much easier. I [Enroot] myself before pulling hard when the creature lifts its legs to get a better footing.

The ceiling creaks and cracks, but the antlion is forcefully pulled off, landing heavily on the floor. It managed to get right side up before I dispelled my [Enroot].

I step forward and swipe down against one of the joints in its casting leg, cutting into it deeply.

-410

The blade gets stuck halfway through before I have to pull it out. It must've used one of the runes on its back because, without any casting time, a fire bubble surrounds the [Runic Antlion.]

The fire shield instantly causes the gas-filled room to burst into flames.