I went to scout the worm's power. As I expected, I couldn't read its level.

[Kantarrpoe ? ???]

I keep my distance and retreat after grabbing its information.

I couldn't even read its rank, but I did get a name from it. And I think I recognize it. It's one of the creatures I memorized for my class advancement.

The name means desert worm, and its stomach acids can dissolve rocks and metal, which consists of their main diet. The rocky carapace that covers their body is artificial, created from the materials it consumes. They are solitary beasts and the most vulnerable during their mating period, where they shed their carapace and look for a mate.

They physically eat the desert they reside in, which attributes to their name.

So if my hunch is correct and I have to kill one of these things, how will I do it? Trying to defeat it from the inside would be stupid of me because their mucus membranes are more durable than the stones that cover them, and if I get eaten, the only way out will take months.

It's blind but can 'see' through the sand as long as it's moving. So keeping it still would keep it blind.

If I can get on top of it, I can probably find where the two brains of this creature are and dispatch it that way, but I'll need a way to keep the worm from just burrowing into the sand.

My class is a utility class that utilizes other beings to do my bidding. I 'tamed' Beryl without the help of the system, but I don't know the extent she would go for me.

I'll need an army to distract the worm, or at least keep it occupied long enough where I can locate its weak spot.

But the beast is so big that even if its level is one, it would still be able to kill me just by rolling over. My resistance would mean nothing.

Maybe my hypothesis is incorrect.

~

I planned to hunt down every antlion queen in every nest I could find and any antlions that tried and stop me. Stealing the adolescent antlions and trying to have them imprint on me.

The first nest I found was weaker than the one I found Beryl in, making it easy to rampage my way through to the queen's room. Most of the antlions couldn't even hurt me, and there weren't any special antlions like the [Runic Antlion] I fought before.

[Antlion Queen C lv150]

The queen has the same color combination as Beryl, but it's as large as a tank. It has wings, but it doesn't look like it can use them. Their legs are slightly too small for their body, making their movement awkward and clumsy.

It looks like the only purpose these creatures have is to produce eggs so the colony can grow in numbers, giving up everything else.

The antlion queens are strangely weak for their level. All of their stats are put into vigor, for some reason, making them easy to kill if I spend enough time.

They are huge but slow and unmoving. The queen's attacks are telegraphed and have no special defenses besides their average carapace. I decided not to use my sword and treat this overgrown bug as a punching bag to train my unarmed fighting.

However, something strange happened when the bug was on the verge of death.

It started cooing like a baby, waving its front set of legs in submission.

So the queen is smart enough to know how to beg for mercy. I wonder if it's smart enough to fake surrender, and this is just a plot to get my guard down, not that she can do much against me anyways.

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The queen's head, almost as big as my body, nudges me. It took me a long time to teach Beryl commands, and I don't want to spend that time on this poorly-statted creature. Maybe I can learn a skill that could let me communicate via pheromones.

I grab one of the queen's antennas and drag it out of its chamber. It reciprocates by following me out.

The remaining antlions tried to defend their queen. But for every antlion that charged at me cost the queen. I'd smack the queen until the antlions stopped coming. The queen sent pheromones to keep the antlions from attacking me, but they kept to the edges of the chamber.

Beryl climbs off my back and onto the back of the captive queen. I wonder what she's doing.

Beryl starts to rip off the queen's wings and consumes them, much to the dismay of the captive queen. I don't think she can scream from an anatomical standpoint, but if she could, she definitely would.

After her snack, Berly moves onto the wingless queen's head and looks proud of herself.

Her wings shine for a second before no noticeable changes happen. The surrounding antlions were on the verge of rampaging, but they had a complete attitude change.

The tension in the room breaks. The focus switches from the captive queen and me straight to Beryl. I think this is a leadership change.

~

My plans have changed for the better. I escort Beryl straight to a nest's queen and have her consume her wings while they are still alive. Not all the antlions are alright with this change and try and exterminate Beryl, but I deal with them. Even if they get past me, I stay close enough to make sure to redirect any damage to me with [Martyr].

This behavior isn't documented anywhere in my [Lexicon], so I took notes on this strange occurrence. Beryl's wings have changed with each subjugated queen, getting bigger and more crystalline.

The change is gradual, and I only noticed it when I compared her current pair of wings to her starting pair of wings.

I should be concerned for my safety, but I trust this adolescent queen. All the antlions that survived are now following Beryl and, by proxy, following me.

I was the one that was supposed to tame an army, but it looks like my 'tamed' beast already jumped the gun and did it for me. Honestly, I'm okay with this.

I tried to use the system to tame Beryl again, but just like last time, it didn't work.

I rub her smooth chitinous head before moving on to the next nest. The "Kantarrpoe" is longer than a skyscraper, so I want at least a thousand antlions to get its attention.

The antlions are pretty good diggers, so I'm hoping they can burrow into the worm's armor and keep its attention while attacking it from every direction. They can also chase the worm if it tries to tunnel away. Luckily the worm isn't that fast, or I would have no way to kill that thing.

All the while Beryl and I are traveling from best to nest, I am spending my spare mana to repair, or heal, the [Rust Eater]. It's the third weapon I got. I include that novelty knife I left in my manor that does one damage.

Suddenly, the [Kantarrpoe] breaches the sand, miles away from me. The antlions, including Beryl, start freaking out.

The swarm of creatures behind me starts clacking their mandibles in a cacophony of clicks.

I stroke Beryl's head, calming her down. After a moment, she commands the rest of the antlions to stop fussing. They don't seem to fear the worm on an individual level, but they all fear what this thing can do to their colony.

Honestly, except for the queens, I don't think these antlions can feel emotion.

I was planning on getting as many antlions as I could. But since the worm is right in front of me, maybe I should risk it. The only antlion I care about is Beryl, so as long as she survives, I waste nothing but time.

Shit. How long until the competition in the capital? Calculating time is difficult, especially since there is no day/night cycle, and I was high. That messed with my perception of time further.

"Alright, Beryl. Remember what we discussed? You send the attack order so your drones will attack the worm. Then you'll hide far away, so you don't get caught up in all the fighting. I could protect you, but I'll need all the resources I have to kill this thing, and I don't want to put you in unnecessary danger.

*Click Click*

"... good talk."

The worm is slowly moving away, so I still have enough time to stretch before signaling Beryl. The swarm moves at once, once getting the chemical signal to attack. Good thing there wasn't a miscommunication, and they didn't charge me instead.

The sound of thousands of legs hitting the sand and shuffling carapaces scurrying across the desert is a sound I never thought I would hear.

The worm is far away, but the distance is covered quickly. Maybe these things can feel emotion or, at least, frustration because it looks like they are venting something with this charge.

The [Kantarrpoe] noticed the swarm long before we got close, but instead of trying to escape, it headed straight for us. The worm is slow for its size or presumed level, but it is still the size of a skyscraper. The momentum it carries is enough to churn the earth and cause dozens to become pulverized underneath its rocky body.

I stayed in the middle of the pack since I was not dumb enough to lead the charge. I use one of the nearby antlions as a launch pad for my pogo-stick since the only terrain around me is loose sand.

I'm instantly hundreds of feet in the air, falling back down towards the worm. The antlions that survived the worm's counter charge are clatching onto its rocky shell, trying to burrow inside.

I crash onto the top of the [Kantarrpoe]. I use what I saw from the air and try to calculate where one of the brains on this thing would be. I also take a moment to appreciate that I'm practically immune to fall damage in most circumstances.

The worm might have more than one brain, but the other brains are usually there to help the nervous system communicate with the body. Gargantuan creatures probably have these sub-brains as well. I wonder if dragons have more than one brain.

The worm is constantly combating the antlions, moving and squirming. The entire creature starts tilting, and I quickly use my new shoes.

I send my mana to my boots, and suddenly my entire body feels off. I wondered how these boots would allow me to traverse all terrains. I expected it to feel like magnets or even change my gravity, but that's not what happened.

The boots make me feel strange. The gravity hasn't changed, and there isn't an artificial attraction to the surface beneath me. It just feels like I am moving ordinarily, even though every other sensory input I have is telling me otherwise, especially the feeling of gravity.

I wonder what a zero-g environment would feel like to traverse.

There, that's the point I need to pierce. A special place near the head but before it reaches the creature's mouth.

I smack my lips. Now how should I do this?