Day 8

93 truemass. 20 slots open. Purchasing ants would be a net positive. As they gained seven truemass each day, and they cost three truemass to produce, getting them was essentially free truemass.

On the other hand, in the event that something happened, and his mining operations had to end, he’d want to have truemass and open spaces in his army to fill out. He decided to purchase ten ants.

It lowered his total truemass to 63.

After ordering them to join the others in mining, he dozed off into a daze.

Day 9

Vibrations shaking and rumbling the ground joined the sharp hacking noises of the pickaxe.

Joe’s attention was fully on the wall, expecting the jagged edge pick to peek into the room. Every four couple seconds or so, it sounded, tirelessly working away at the wall.

Ego stood beside him, eager to meet their guest. Joe could almost feel the bloodlust oozing off him. He’d come into the world with a bunch of talent for war and fighting but without an opportunity to showcase any of it.

He ordered all of his units to give him their truemass. It totalled at 332. If he had eyes they’d be widened in pure exhilaration, but instead he shined. If he had a lips they’d be spread out as far as they could, but instead he shined. If he had a body it would be coursing with adrenaline, but instead he shined.

All the shining led to the room being painted blue. When he calmed down, the insects vision must have been hurt, because they stumbled into each other on their way back to resuming mining operations. That’s not to say he stayed completely defenseless.

He thought of accommodating the arrival of his guest with ten ants, a jawed ant, and a large caterpillar. If they were not enough, he desperately hoped that the rest of his units would be.

The topic of defense brought up his memory of the firebugs and ants he’d left in one of the tunnels. He shifted his attention there to get a better look at what was happening. He was shocked at what he saw.

All the six ants lived, but of the original six firebugs, only four remained, one of which was severely wounded. Black etched the ground beneath the burnt corpses of three ants. It seemed these ants were new, spawns of the other ants.

The window popped up informing Joe if he wanted to heal it, and the cost, five truemass. He accepted.

He tried to figure out what had happened. The new ants must have spawned, and tried to eat the firebugs, which looked harmless enough. That triggered the firebugs to go against their orders of impassivity. Instinct reigned supreme. Something Joe would surely have to remind himself of. They turned aflame in self-defense, killing the ants, but it seemed not quickly enough to preserve their own lives, for all but one.

Joe noticed that there was another member to this small party. A sluggish looking creature with mandibles that bit at the stone. It had begun mining, although ineffectively. This was a new spawn!

It looked absolutely useless, but it was the consequence of the ant and the firebugs breeding. Joe simply needed to figure out how to make it happen again.

The fight must have done something, but they hadn’t fought before. What had the fight been able to give firebugs that they didn’t have in the past.

“Who dares enter the eternal lord’s domain?” The question Ego spat was as derogatory as inquisitive. Joe’s attention flashed back to the room, where he saw that the southern wall had crumbled, revealing a man-sized ferret that stood on two legs and carried a pickaxe.

Its face seemed to fill with panic, before turning around and screaming. “Insects!”

Before Joe had a chance to to react, Ego leapt and jerked out of the small enclosure and towards the ferret. He assumed the caterpillar would be slow, but it was anything but as it left his domain. A couple of ants, and the jawed ant, chased behind, their predatory instincts cutting in.

“I will deliver, great lord,” Ego’s shouted, his voice growing dimmer as the distance between them grew.

Umm, alright.

The sudden turn of events certainly shook things up. The factions, and the perks of dominating others units had already clued him into the fact that there was other units in this dungeon, but it seemed they’d be meeting much earlier than he’d expected, as he was now connected to some sort of cave system.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

It was certainly something he needed to explore, except, his only explorer had leapt out of his room, leaving him alone. Suddenly, he remembered that their senses were connected, and that he could sense everything Ego could. Joe’s mind seemed to fade away, as new thoughts took over.

Ego.

The bastard moved quicker than I could, navigating this treacherous cave terrain with ease I simply couldn’t muster. This fat body prohibited me, but it also granted me all the strength I required to do the great one, the carrier of all wisdom, right.

Entrances after entrances appeared, twist and turns, carrying numerous ore that could be harvested. I could not see well here, like I could in the masters domain, but the torch the man held gave me all the direction I needed.

The lose pebbles, and jagged edges of the ground, smoothened out below my gargantuan weight. Nothing could hold the fury I would unleash on this peasants back. To surprise my master so, and to leave without a word, it was simply too much for me too handle.

The light of the torch grew larger as it joined the light of other torches. It seemed the beast had found his companions and friends. If they accepted him, and hindered me from delivering justice, then they would all receive punishment.

There was five of them in total. One more of the ferret looking man, clutching a pickaxe, and hiding in cowardry behind the larger of the group.

One in the group had stood on its hindlegs, but upon noticing me, had dropped its pickaxe and gotten down onto four. Its pur was black, and its face was feline, whiskers pulling to the side. Muscles occupied each inch of this creature’s body, making me more hesitant to rush in.

The second creature was also feline, not like the ferrets, but instead of thick arms, this one carried thin arms. Its claws, however, were anything but thin. They stretched out thick and long, and looked extremely deadly. It was a cursed assassin, one who hid in the shadows like a coward. Despite this, it was still a good tool to have, if in the right hands.

The third one was also feline, but much shorter than the other two, and stretched of fat. It looked more ball shaped, than animal shaped, and I found it hard to believe it would be a worthy adversary in war, but I would never be one to underestimate my enemies, as that was not befitting of a supreme commander such as I.

When I looked closer, I noticed that this creature’s skin looked much thicker and tougher than the other two. It would surely be able to soak in damage much more efficiently, making it a worthy adversary.

Suddenly, the winged ant, called the jawed ant, flew above me, diving right into the midst of battle. Whilst not the most sophisticated battle plan, it was full of bravery. It targeted the skinny one, biting away at its face. It shrieked and desperately tried to bat the fierce warrior away from its face.

What was I going to say to my master later on if I ran away now? Would I even deserve to be in his presence as a coward. Nay!

I rushed into the battle, aiming to crush these creature’s for disturbing the great old ones peace. The fat one waddled forward to meet my charge, but I was going to strike where it hurt the most. I charged up my body, squeezing my muscles as tight as they would go. My body receded for a moment. Suddenly, as quick as lightning, I leapt at the big cat, catching it off guard with my mobility.

Whilst the master had worked and devised I had not been lazing away, but instead training my body to be able of immense feats.

My spikes plunged into its skin, and one more joined the fray of screeches. I felt its hot blood pouring against my skin. I would need to bathe before returning to the master. He did not deserve the sight or the stench of this creature.

I felt its hands wrapping around my body, squeezing me. It jerked and threw me into the wall it had been mining. My body smashed into the hard surface, sending a wave of force through me. Fortunately my body took the brunt of the damage, keeping my mind strong.

I lunged at the big one once more, knocking him down to the floor. Our battle was not done. As I bounced on its chest, trying to make its ribcage break, the thin and fat one assaulted me from the side with their claws. I felt them strike deep into me, tickling my organs. The ferrets were clutching each other in fear. Cowards.

Disgusting!

The large one spat out blood, but it was not enough for me to stop. I was loosing blood at a fast rate and it seemed I would perish, but I would not give in until all of them went down with me.

“Ego, reinforcements are coming,” the master said, whispering into my ear. His wonderful abilities never ceased to amaze me. Even at this great of a range he was capable of communicating with me. The fact that he’d spent so much energy just for me filled me with emotions of great gratitude which I took out on my enemy.

“Die! Die you bastard,” I roared at him.

The master’s word was law, for as soon as he had spoken, I noticed in the corner of my eye, a group of ants leaving the shadow. They rushed at the feline-creatures with amazing brevity, not once fearing death. These were soldiers I was proud to stand beside.

I continued bouncing on the large one’s chest, and suddenly, I heard a crack and I feel deeper than I had before. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and his eyes turned glossy. One of them was bested, now for the other two.

But as I turned I realized that I’d lost too much strength. My body was quickly gaining weight. I had lost too much blood. I had disgraced my master. I watched the ants piling on the body of the fat one, tearing him to shreds. The jawed ant, which had lost its wings, was even in on the assault, biting away at his feet.

Tense, electrifying energy filled me. The hole that was my mouth parted open, my neck stretched upwards, and my eyes weighed with focus. I shivered and shook, and I needed to release this vast energy within me.

“Yahooooooo!” I roared into the air, releasing the vast gratitude I had for the master. Then it all turned black.