The Micros' initial expectation of a friendly conversation with the dragon they had spotted quickly met a harsh reality. The giant creature swooped down with its hind claws extended, clearly intending to grab as many Micros as possible.
The Micros were alert enough to dive out of the way, as the dragon wasn't much faster than would be allowed on a highway, and none were injured. In unison, they began to form an Energy Wave attack in their hands, but realized all at once just how dangerous that would be.
They considered a plan for a moment, then turned to the Micro labeled with a number one. They all formed the same ideas at the same time, but there were multiple tasks to perform.
“I'll assign roles!” The first Micro shouted.
“Can everybody hear me?”
“Yes!” Every other Micro replied, causing a loud burst of sound which seemed to surprise the dragon. It adjusted its course and looked down, deciding on a target.
“We cannot attack it without securing a source of energy!” The first Micro announced.
“The ant said we should go underground, but we can't all dig at the same time. Everybody up to fifty, start digging a tunnel under this tree!”
The forty nine Micros immediately gathered, coated their hands in a little energy, and began to scoop dirt.
“Everybody else, lead the dragon away!” The first Micro declared.
The dragon began to dive, and the Micros numbered fifty-one and above all began to shout and run away from the tree. The first Micro followed behind the decoy group, monitoring both groups as they performed their duties.
The dragon's claws zoomed by the decoy group again. Most of them jumped out of the way in time, but several were knocked down. Of the nine who fell, four stood up and continued to run, but five remained on the ground with minor injuries.
“Numbers fifty-one through sixty!” The first Micro shouted.
“Carry the injured Micros to the tunnels! No tailgating!”
The first Micro accompanied the injured, then instructed five of the tunnel-digging Micros to tend to the injured until they were able to assist in digging. As the variety of duties diversified, the Micros settled on a system where the smaller number in a group would delegate work to the larger numbers, and work proceeded efficiently.
The dragon dove again, but the decoy group had spread out, and the dragon's claws missed. This process repeated again and again for many hours, until the decoy group contained only thirty members. Sometimes the dragon landed, but the Micros were faster on their feet than the dragon could keep up with. Finally, a Micro called out to the exhausted group from the tree.
“The tunnel is ready!” The twentieth Micro announced.
The dragon circled in the sky, ready to attack yet again, and the Micros all ran straight toward the tree. The first Micro watched them running, and realized their mistake. They were running in a straight line together, and the dragon would catch them before they reached the dungeon.
“Keep running!” The first Micro shouted, then ran fifty paces to the right of the tree. He summoned a small energy wave, and fired it into the path of the dragon. Though it did no damage to the dragon's tough scales, it was blinded for a moment and changed course in confusion.
The first Micro fell to the ground unconscious, drained of almost all of his energy. Seeing this, several Micros at the entrance of the tunnel called out to the second Micro, who came up to take over as director.
“Everyone gather in the second chamber, then block the first hall!” The second Micro ordered as the last of the decoys climbed down the tunnel.
The second Micro finally entered, and was assisted by several others in collapsing one section of the entrance.
“Alright.” The second Micro began with a loud voice. He looked around and saw that many of the other Micros were exhausted or injured.
“There's no reason to rest if we can't recover our energy. We'll start tunnelling to the nearest tree.”
The conscious Micros all nodded in agreement, as the same idea had occurred to all of them at once.
“After we reach the first tree, we'll confirm the location of the next nearest tree, and we’ll go from there.” The second Micro continued.
“Micros numbered fifty and below, you'll break into small teams and continue the tunnel in rotation. The rest of you will conserve your energy to use in case of emergencies. Be mindful of air quality and temperature levels.”
~
The tunnel progressed smoothly for the next hour, though not as quickly as Micro was capable of digging. However, to save energy, they limited energy usage to strengthening their hands. The dirt was of a most uniform density, though rocks frequently slowed progress until they could be broken apart or moved.
The Micros not involved in digging sat with their eyes closed in a small cavern referred to as the garage, breathing as slowly as possible to prevent even the slightest waste of energy. The injured Micros slowly recovered, as the immortality trait had improved Micro's healing ability, but the lack of ambient energy prevented a full recovery.
Micro wondered how long the trial would take, since the process of finding fruit to eat or enemies to battle could be drawn out indefinitely, but his focus remained on the immediate task before him.
Eventually, the Micros agreed that their tunnel had reached the vicinity of the nearest fruit tree, and a reserve Micro tunnelled straight up to scout the area.
“The dragon is gone, but the weather has changed.” The twenty-ninth Micro announced in a quiet voice. His message was relayed down the line of Micros.
“It's very hot. Ouch...”
The Micro dropped back down the tunnel, and the others noted that steam was rising from his hair.
Before anybody replied, the nearest ten Micros removed their outer robes and passed them forward, and the Twenty-ninth Micro draped them over himself, covering every part of himself except for his eyes. The Micros smiled, finding his appearance entertaining, and he went back up the tunnel.
As quickly as he could, he picked the fruits and threw them down the tunnel entrance. As the heat gradually made its way through the layers of fabric to his skin, he moved faster and faster. After harvesting half of the available fruits, around forty, he dove back into the tunnel.
“Any longer and I would need to make a shield with energy...” He said with a weary voice, pointing over his shoulder.
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“But I confirmed the location of eight more trees in that direction.”
He drew arrows on the ground, then estimated the distance to each tree. After explaining the locations, he fell to his knees and lost consciousness.
“I'll take over.” The nearest Micro to him declared. Three Micros near him picked up the snoring Micro and carried him to the garage to rest.
He took the extra robes from the sleeping Micro and finished harvesting the fruit from the tree above them before continuing to guide the collective.
“We'll calculate the fuel efficiency of these fruits next.” The second Micro declared as he returned the extra robes, some of them partially burnt, to the other Micros.
“Bring the Micro with the least remaining energy.”
The first Micro was brought down the tunnel to where the fruits were piled. Though he was uninjured, his body was completely drained of energy, and no aura surrounded him. Even his skin was softened by the inability to provide fuel to his Armour Trait.
Other Micros began to slowly feed him pieces of the fruit, and the first Micro gradually awoke. After finishing the fruit, he stood up and stretched. He meditated for a while and collected his thoughts. After listening to a brief summary of recent events, he cleared his throat and addressed the others.
“I'm about a third full.” The first Micro said.
“We'll need about four hundred of these fruits to fully fuel us all.”
“I'll join the digging team.” The second Micro added, slipping back into the crowd of Micros.
“If we continue to face obstacles like monsters and bad weather, we will likely need to secure the fruit of about four to five trees every day.” The first Micro continued.
“The minimum number of us necessary will tunnel toward the next eight trees, and the rest of us will park near the garage near the first cavern. We’ll need more garages constructed as routes expand. Micros numbered eighty to eighty-four will regularly monitor the trees already connected to our tunnels. Ah!”
All of the Micros suddenly raised their hands, having thought of the same idea.
“Yes, we'll set aside some fruit and attempt to grow more trees.” The first Micro voiced the collective thought.
“Eighty-six and eighty-seven will be experimenting with farming the fruits and report the results regularly.”
The Micros all jumped into action after distributing some fruit to the most exhausted Micros, and the tunnel-digging continued.
~
Twenty days passed uneventfully as the weather changed above ground. The Micros successfully tunnelled to fifteen trees in that time, though they were struggling to make up for the energy they used with the energy they could replenish using the fruits. They experimented constantly with various methods of digging, searching for the most fuel-efficient techniques.
Several times per week, when the surface was safe, they distributed the dirt they had removed from the tunnels across the flat plains, careful not to obstruct their view of the horizon. Gradually, they formed a small hill where the entrance to the first tunnel was, allowing for a better view of the trees. However, none of the fruits which the Micros planted had grown yet, and the task before them was beginning to seem infinite.
It was a cheerful event when good news filled the tunnel on the twenty-first day of their dungeon trial, when energy was low and monsters were nearby.
“Some of the fruitless trees are flowering!” A Micro announced one day after a routine inspection. He located the first Micro to report his findings.
“One flower looked like it had a very small fruit in the centre already!”
“Then they don't function too much like fruit trees on earth. The old man would love a tree like that.” The first Micro replied.
“Even at that speed though, we will still need to secure a larger network of trees, or we'll run out of fuel before they can grow back, however long that takes.”
The Micros were concerned one day when the surface temperature dropped far below freezing after a long period of blistering heat, but the fruit trees were apparently unaffected by the weather. Several more dragons and a series of four legged monsters also appeared, but the Micros were able to stay safe in their tunnels. However, on the sixty-fifth day of uninterrupted digging, the air in the tunnel became humid and moist.
“Rain!” A Micro reported from an opening in the tunnel.
“A lot of it!”
“Drainage!” The first Micro shouted urgently.
“We haven’t considered drainage!”
The tunnel had become a complex network of pathways which connected dozens of trees to a single, larger cavern. The Micros had even thought to prepare several storage rooms for the fruits, in case one or more areas of the tunnel became inaccessible. However, the entirety of the tunnel was two dimensional, spanning a large area several meters beneath the surface. No Micro had thought to consider drainage in the absence of heavy rain.
“All Micros numbered ten or higher, prioritize drainage!” The first Micro ordered as water began dripping from the ceiling of the tunnel.
“The rest of you, move the energy fruits to the cavern beneath the hill. That is the last place likely to flood!”
The tunnels in which work had been proceeding peacefully for weeks suddenly became a frenzy of activity. Dirt and rocks were being thrown out of the top of the hill like exhaust from a garbage truck, and the splashing of the muddy floor of the tunnels made it difficult to see if progress was being made.
“Flooding under tree twenty-two!” A Micro shouted from down one tunnel.
“All available Micros, build walls around the central tunnel entrances!” The First Micro ordered.
“Tunnel collapse under tree seven!” Another called out.
Despite their frantic efforts to prevent the tunnels from flooding or caving in, it became clear that their efforts to add proper drainage only after the rain had begun were insufficient, and a new course of action was selected.
“Everybody park under the hill until the rain has passed!” The first Micro ordered.
“Take the fruit you can carry and hurry back!”
As the sound of rain pelting the ground above them grew loud enough to drown out their shouts, the Micros successfully preserved their fruit supply and gathered in the only remaining dry cavern beneath the hill. They watched as several tunnels collapsed after being weakened by the moisture, and rain poured through the holes which opened in the ceiling.
Two days of rain passed before the sky brightened again, but the existing network of tunnels was almost completely destroyed. Work resumed slowly, as mud hindered all efforts, but they gradually began to plan and craft a new network of tunnels which extended much farther underground.
After two weeks, they had successfully recreated paths to the previously located fruit trees, creating drainage shafts on their way, but most Micros were running very low on energy by the time they had caught up to their previous progress, and some were on the verge of death.
On the hundredth day of digging, their reserves were finally depleted. Digging activities were limited to a small team, while the majority of Micros gathered in the main cavern to await the first Micro's decision.
“As you know, several of the fruits which we planted recently have sprouted, trees number three, nine, and thirty-four are beginning to grow fruit again.” The first Micro declared.
“We can either meditate while waiting for these supplies to replenish or attempt to locate more sources of trees on the surface. We don't know what the risks associated with either choice are, but we need to expand our reach as soon as possible.”
With all in agreement, it was next decided that instead of scouting from the safety of tunnel entrances, from which they could only see several hundred meters, ten Micros would leave the tunnels and scout the area around the central hill, above ground. The Micros with the most remaining energy were found, and they all began their mission.
~
On a day when the weather looked safe and dry, they set out. Several Micros encountered giant spiders, who lay waiting in large pits in the ground where Micro almost fell, but the Micros proceeded slowly and with caution, managing to avoid the traps.
At the end of the day, all of the Micros had eventually returned, and a plan was forged to connect several main tunnels to over two hundred trees' locations with an efficient network of branches, accounting for drainage and security. It rained several times during the project, and energy reserves ran low early on, but their strategy began to pay off as they acquired more fruit from distant trees, using what they'd learned to prepare the tunnels safely.
Aside from fatigue, the entire workforce of Micros was even beginning to enjoy the challenge, finding the simple work satisfying and the rewards refreshing. On the hundred and fortieth day, the second day in a row that they had ended the day with a surplus of energy fruits, it was an unpleasant surprise to hear one of the Micros cry out in pain. It was more surprising still that the scream came from the safety of a fruit storage room.
“What happened, sixty-four?!” The first Micro shouted as he came upon the scene.
Standing over a bleeding and barely conscious Micro, the Micro number sixty-four stood expressionlessly with an energy sword in his hand.
“Kill...” The sixty-fourth Micro mumbled, his voice devoid of emotion, then he raised the energy sword in the air and lunged forward.
“Kill... all...”