It was the absence of anxiety that Micro noticed first. He knew he should feel anything but calm with none of his friends in sight. But he felt less than he ever did as a human or a truck. He was only barely aware of his existence.

“This is disappointing.” Micro heard a voice mumble.

Micro tried to reply, but he found no voice of his own to use.

“I've been moving the portal all around this world for ages...” The voice continued.

“I thought I'd finally found a challenger or two, but look at you...”

Micro could do nothing but listen to the formless voice in the infinite dark.

“Are you lost?” The voice asked.

“Your mind... Wow... It's so small that it's hard to read properly...”

Micro suddenly felt something for the first time since entering the dungeon. A dull pain entered his thoughts, as if his mind was being poked and stretched.

“Ah, there's a pixie among you. That’ll do...” The voice sounded relieved, and the pain in Micro's thoughts faded.

“Ah, I see.”

A moment of silence passed.

“Wow, what a mess.” The whispering voice suddenly shouted, revealing a feminine tone.

“What was the point of giving you these dungeons?! The creator would cringe at the sight of you all... Well, you're here at least.”

Micro heard the voice sigh, then realized he was standing beneath a tree. He looked around quickly and saw Arbur, Kolt, and Kira lying unconscious on the grassy ground, covered in burns. Trill was sitting on Kolt's shoulder, panting and out of breath. Micro was happy to see them all breathing, but the familiar feeling of anxiety began to return to him. Blue was still flying above the group, but she looked tense.

“This could be bad.” Blue whispered calmly.

“Even at full power, I don't think I'd have any fun fighting her...”

“Her?” Micro asked, looking around.

“Who? Where?”

“There, Micro.” Blue continued to look down at the grass in front of them. Micro still had no control of his energy, and he strained his eye to find any trace of the woman Blue was referring to.

“

The sun was high in a clear blue sky, and the grass was healthy and green. However, he couldn't find any trace of a person, dungeon guardian, or monster of any kind.

“The grass can read minds...?” Micro mumbled.

“Ruby level dungeons are different than I expected.”

“You may be half blind, but come on...” The voice spoke again, and Micro finally found its source.

“Oh, sorry...” Micro said as his eye fell upon a blade of grass, upon which sat a single, ordinary ant.

“Strange one, you are...” The ant said, its feminine voice conflicting greatly with its appearance.

“Your minds are like open books, but do not fear. After reading the pixie's memories of today, I have no interest in reading any more. At least the little blue one can see straight. So pathetic... What a disappointment...”

The ant began to walk slowly down the blade of grass, disappearing from sight for a moment. Micro tried to find it again, but didn't notice it again until it called out to him from the trunk of the tree he stood next to. Even up close, it looked like nothing more than an ant.

“I have been entertained by countless armies who sought further understanding of the Air Ant Art, but not a single soldier has darkened my door in years.” The ant explained.

“Now my long awaited guests are three broken children, two disinterested pixies, and a... farm tool...?”

“Sorry...?” Micro shrugged.

“Are you the boss in here?”

“I am Kaylero, Guardian of the Ruby Air Ant Dungeon, yes, but that is no concern of yours. I do not grant core cards to lost children.” The ant replied.

“Oh, so do you mind if we leave after the fires die down outside-” Micro began to ask.

“But you have treated my domain as little more than a rest stop.” Kaylero the ant interrupted him.

“Does this sacred home, granted to me by my unparalleled creator, mean nothing more than temporary shelter to you? Does disrespect flow so deeply in a farm tool's veins?”

“Trucks don't have-” Micro replied immediately.

“Hey.” Blue hissed, still hovering in place.

“Try not to increase our chances of dying instantly.”

“Ah, sorry about that, Kaylero.” Micro corrected himself, bowing as he had seen others do many times.

“We were about to burn to death outside, and I mistook this for an amber level dungeon in the area.”

“I am well aware.” Kaylero replied curtly.

“Ah... I barely have the will to punish you...”

“So can we-” Micro continued.

“But my purpose has not changed since the days when generations of armies relied upon my blessing.” Kaylero sighed. Micro thought he could see the ant shaking its head, but it was difficult to discern any expression.

“What purpose?” Micro asked.

“You're foolish even for a farm tool, Micro. Strange name...” Kaylero retorted.

“We exist to aid humanity on the path to immortality.”

“That's nice of you.” Micro said.

“It isn't nice for us.” The ant sighed heavily.

“It's exhausting. It was fun at first, and we saw some potential, but humans here just started getting weaker one day. Now look at you.”

“Sorry, Kaylero...” Micro shrugged.

“I'm trying to get stronger now though. My own purpose is to figure out how to travel through space and time.”

“Such a trivial task is what vexes you?” Kaylero gasped.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

“How weak can a race be?”

“Huh?” Arbur suddenly stirred. In a daze, he massaged his sore head while frowning up at Micro and Kaylero.

“Why is an ant talking down to us...?”

“Kaylero is the guardian.” Micro replied.

“Guardian of what?” Arbur asked.

“The Ruby Air Ant Art Dungeon.” Micro replied.

“Where's that?” Arbur frowned.

“That's where we are right now.” Micro said.

“Ah... Ruby...” Arbur mumbled, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes once more. He was unconscious before his head hit the ground.

“Many cultivators have died proudly in this dungeon.” Kaylero continued.

“The world may be better off without the likes of you, as discourteous as you are weak.”

“Is your trial very difficult?” Micro asked.

“Unbelievable...” The ant cringed at his question.

“Am I a babysitter to this species' outcasts?”

“I really just-” Micro began to speak, but the ant cut him off.

“Fine, you can leave.” Kaylero ordered, and a portal opened behind them.

“But we'll die if we leave now...” Micro replied.

“You're bound to die sooner or later anyway with cores like that.” Kaylero scoffed.

“Better to get it over with. Go on. Go die.”

“We can't leave yet.” Micro argued.

“The other option is the trial of this dungeon.” Kaylero spat back.

“You are not even worthy to die here. It would dishonour those who already have.”

“So we aren't allowed to do the trial?” Micro asked.

The ant fell silent, and Micro could sense the frustration radiating off of her.

“I can not deny your right to challenge the trial...” Kaylero grumbled.

“But you are few in number...”

“How many people should we have?” Micro asked.

“An army is typically required, recommended, realistic… though a handful of cultivators have been successful on their own...” The ant explained, looking around at the group of injured and anxious cultivators.

“There is precedent, but still…”

“Do we have to fight you?” Blue asked timidly.

“Your ignorance is grating.” Kaylero groaned.

“You master the mind, body, and soul in the lower dungeons. In the emerald level dungeons you face all manner of enemies. You're in a ruby level dungeon now.”

“So?” Blue asked, her snarky attitude only partially audible in her strained voice.

“The jade, amber, sapphire, and emerald dungeons are meant to prepare you for what you'll face in ruby dungeons.” Kaylero continued.

“Here, your enemy is nature in all its forms. Erasing you all from existence would be a trivial matter to me, but such an act would be wasteful in my creator's eyes.”

“So we can do the trial!” Micro clapped his hands.

“Ah, that's a relief.” Blue said with a loud sigh.

“I can battle nature all day.”

“If this were the Pixie Art Dungeon, your confidence might be justified.” Kaylero said.

“The Pixie Art what...?” Blue asked in surprise.

“But not here.” Kaylero scoffed.

“Now wait a moment you-” Blue fumed.

“Enough. I will give you a fighting chance.” Kaylero explained, ignoring Blue.

The unconscious Kolt, Kira, and Arbur suddenly disappeared without a sound. They were gone before Micro could even react, but his panic turned to surprise when they reappeared, Kolt and Kira standing in clean robes and free of injury, while Arbur’s own robes were clean but still tattered.

“What just happened?” Kira asked first.

“If you won't leave, you will face the trial.” Kaylero declared.

“You will know the material struggles of the noble ant.”

“That sounds interesting.” Kira replied, apparently unaffected by the talking ant.

“What's going on right now, master?”

“The field where we just were exploded, so we jumped into the Ruby Air Ant Art Dungeon to escape. Now we have to do the trial, or that ant will kick us out.” Micro explained.

“Oh. Okay.” Kira replied, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

“That’s fine, I guess…”

“Enough drivel.” Kaylero barked.

“In instances where less than a hundred cultivators enter this dungeon, they are to face the trial separately. Not that it is likely to help your chances of survival, but I'll warn you in advance.”

“Thanks, Kaylero.” Micro said.

“Please, stop talking.” Kaylero continued.

“You will find yourself in a harsh environment, surrounded by a hundred or so replicas of yourself. If one of you survives, you are free to leave this dungeon at your leisure. If half of you survive, you will receive the rewards of this dungeon. Again, you won't. If all of you survive… well, don’t mind that.”

“So the six of us will face the trial alone?” Micro asked, but Kaylero walked down the tree, ignoring his question.

“Disappointing...” The ant sighed.

“But I shall not be cruel. Take cover beneath the surface, and luck may see you to the end of the trial.”

“Undergrou-” Micro began to ask, but the scenery around him suddenly transformed.

He braced himself for the pressure of an advanced dungeon, but was pleasantly surprised to find the atmosphere felt ordinary. He was standing in a grassy meadow, where only several trees grew. The trees appeared to have a sparkling fruit hanging from their branches, making them look festive.

Next, he realized that he had regained control of his energy. With a deep breath, he expanded his senses, and immediately confirmed that the ant's words had been true. Behind him, he found around a hundred copies of himself, an army of young men in white robes, all with the same blank expression. Every one of them appeared to be going through the same process of assessing the situation.

“Hello.” Micro said, but his voice was drowned out by the sound of every other Micro saying the same thing at the same time. A vague memory of being parked outside the factory where he was assembled game to mind.

“Hmm…”

All of the Micros stopped talking, frowned, and then turned to the nearest Micro.

“I'm the real Micro, right?” They asked each other in unison, but they soon understood that the answer wouldn't be found in such a way.

They all paused for another moment, then spoke again in unison.

“License plates.” They declared, nodded at each other, then began to move.

After lining up in no particular order, the Micros looked to their right, and the Micro at the rightmost end of the line held his hand up and announced his number.

“I'll be one.” Micro said, and the other Micro's nodded in agreement.

“Two.” The next Micro in line nodded.

“Ah!” All of the Micro's said in unison, then scratched their heads. The sound of every Micro scratching their heads made a strange sound.

As the idea had come to all of them simultaneously, the first two Micros in line looked around, then focused on their fingers. The first two Micros nodded to each other, then summoned a very small Spirit Sword, and made a small cut on their finger tip.

“Turn around.” The second Micro said to the First.

“Okay.” The first Micro replied.

“One... Okay.” The Second Micro said as he drew a large, red number one on the back of the First Micro's robe.

“Thanks, Micro.” The first Micro said.

The second Micro then turned around, and the first Micro wrote the number two on the second Micro's back. One by one, the rest of the Micros walked up to the first, turned around, and had their numbers assigned. After the final Micro, the hundred and thirteenth, was numbered, they approached the nearest fruit-bearing tree.

With Spirit Vision, it became clear that the sparkling, gem-like fruits on the trees were full of energy, specifically energy of the air element. Micro wondered why such a fruit would be growing on a tree in a dungeon, but the next thing he noticed was that he couldn't sense energy from any other part of the dungeon.

The sky was bright, but he felt no energy there. The meadow was covered with long grass which waved in the wind, but he felt no energy at all in the grass or the ground beneath it. He tried rooting himself in the ground, but he only succeeded in expending some of his own energy, gaining nothing from the ground.

Though he hadn't felt hungry since gaining the ability to fuel himself with the energy all around him, every Micro soon began to feel fatigued and lethargic. A deep hunger grew from within him, and every Micro made their way over to the tree and took a bite of one of its fruits. Soon, there were no fruits left on the tree, but every Micro felt refreshed.

“It doesn't really taste like anything...” The Micros noted, but they all felt so satisfied by the surge of energy that they grew relaxed for a moment. There were still plenty of trees in the distance from which they could take more fruit, so their collective sense of urgency dissipated.

“What's that?” Micro number nine suddenly spoke. He pointed up at the sky, where he happened to be looking.

The rest of the Micros looked up, and with Spirit Vision they all confirmed together. In unison, and with a heavy voice, they all declared their conclusion.

“That's a dragon.”