The rumbling on the dungeon floors continued to grow per passing second as if a thousand horses were vigorously combing the entire dungeon. It didn't take long for the monsters who were causing such noise to make an entrance ; black exoskeletons with sharp legs and mandibles , the most noticeable thing in the monsters' physiology was its own size as it towered up by 18 metres making it more than just idly larger than the average human.
Killer ants.
A group of monsters C ranked hunters and below called them a nightmare with their horrifying numbers and coordination. However to the hunters in the dungeon who all were B ranked warriors with Jain being an exception and Hindriad being a B+ , these creatures were nothing to fear but rather just appetizers to the main meal - the dungeon boss. Which was why.....
" Move aside , I get to throw the first punch. "
Misha was the first to jump to action , almost literally. She stood infront of the others with a battle will almost driving her crazy. At that point , casting a magic spell to 'throw a punch' at her opponent was only natural to follow.
" 𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲. "
Misha casted the spell without much as a sweat , this was always the first punch she threw at her opponent. Down force as a spell functioned by instantly gaining control of a limited space of gravity and then multiplying the gravitational force of the planet itself in that captured field to either pin or crush a target from a far. It didn't consume much mana as it wasn't a complex skill that threw off gravity or reversed it , it was however quite useful for Misha who had managed to crush a number of ants 4 metres away which were growing near in a 5 metre radius attack. The killer ants were crushed beyond recognition as if rocks had fell upon them.
Krohn soon followed behind.
" 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵 "
Krohn was an augmentor - a type of hunter that used the mana inside them that had been absorbed from the atmosphere before purified to reinforce their muscles , skin and bones while also using the mana to boost their strength. Krohn was a menace in the battle field , his punch of destruction alone was enough to send a killer ant flying , knocking down and breaking the ones it crashed to like as if they were bowling pins.
" 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗚𝗹𝗶𝗻𝘁. "
Nisha utilised the blades attached to her gloves which were 5 inch tall and 2 centimetre wide. Glint was a technique which poured mana to a user's blade to increase the blade's sharpness and swiftness , it was also a technique which concentrated mana at the user's legs to boost their own speed. Glint was a widely known assassination type technique most assassins used . Nisha used it in a manner where she poured a limited amount of mana to cover a particular number of the blades she wielded so as to control and maintain how much power she could extert and not more than necessary ,the more mana poured was equivalent to how lighter and faster the blades became.
Nisha dashed around the battlefield slashing and cutting the ants to tiny bits , the killer ants were too slow compared to Nisha to even know or sense what hit them.
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Hanks himself was not one to sit back and miss out on the fun , he already had his two swords unsheathed from his waist and slashing air as shockwaves manifested and ripped approaching killer ants.
Wenchter and Benchter , the names of the two swords Hanks wielded. The swords themselves were rare level treasures, the highest level of weaponry a hunter could attain only through effort.
'Treasures' came in different types , sizes and levels. Most treasures were weapons , a few of them artifacts. However all of them had different levels according to the amount of power they could exert but most importantly what power themselves were exerting. The bottom in ranking was your average weaponry , one even a D or E ranked citizen could get with a normal or slightly abnormal performance. Nation level treasures followed , the difference in power between them however was large. Nation level treasures weren't called national for nothing , they were the kind of artifacts or weapons a nation stored in a secret place and gave to worthy holders. Rare level ones were ambiguous treasures , they could rank above a National treasure or rank below it depending on how rare the actual weapon was and it's uses.
Wenchter and Benchter fell under the 'rare' category with an ability to multiply shockwaves they had contact with , it was possible to also repel some shockwaves using the swords but required immense talent and individual strength.
Treasures weren't easy to wield starting from Nation ranked and above , which was why hunters who could wield them were valued by society whether the power they exerted wielding that treasure was their own or not.
" These things sure are draining. "
Nation ranked treasures and above required some conditions in order to be out to greater use , Hanks' own required an amount of mana and would be immediately absorbed from the one using the weapon hence his complaint.
" 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗻. "
Vin was the last to act , casting and releasing a fire spell in less than a 5 second interval.
The spell was similar to the famous beginner level 'fire ball' - a fire attribute mage used , the difference now was that the original spell had been modified to be a lot bigger with higher destruction power. The ants hit by the fire cannon were burnt to a crisp , it wouldn't be exaggerating to say it was like they were locked up in a huge furnace.
Facing being crushed by Misha , ripped to shreds by Hanks and Nisha and finally beaten to a pulp and then burnt by Krohn and Vin , the killer ants didn't have a chance of survival and for that 0 of the 143 killer ants that had shown up abruptly remained.
" Man , I didn't even break a sweat. These things sure are weak. "
Misha complained , looking displeased.
" It's too early to count your eggs yet , more might show. After all , 143 ants aren't enough to make a killer ant colony. "
Krohn humbled her with the words.
" I guess that makes s- "
Misha didn't get to finish her words , the loud rumbling began once again.
This time around it was a lot fierce than before , the ground and the dungeon walls shook as if an earthquake was emerging. Something that caused these much vibrations could only be something big and mighty or either...
" A killer ant army. More is coming. "
Vin announced. In a situation like that , an average hunter would have been scared almost to death , however a majority of the hunters in there didn't express such a thing and had an indifference to the approaching monster menaces. Except for Jain , none of the hunters in there were below B rank and killer ants were known to be C rank creatures , C+ with coordination. The hunters on the other side could attain B+ rank with effective team work. There was absolutely nothing to worry about , that was what was in every hunter's thoughts - and with Hindriad around who was a B+ individual himself , their victory was secured.
Misha stared ahead where the large army of killer ants were marching near them in all black like darkness swallowing everything , she was ready to attack first this time around once again.