“Gghghh…”
“W.. What…”
An earthy, damp odor filled my nose when I woke up. The place was almost devoid of light, save for the one spot where a trickle of sunlight leaked into the cave.
Where am I?
I tried to get up with a few grunts and constant wiggling but ultimately failed, as my entire body was encased in some type of sticky webbing.
I’m… Trapped? Is it from the ants?
I desperately wiggled myself out of the binding that held me, to no avail.
What do I do… The last thing I recalled was the ugly blow I took at my stomach, then losing my consciousness straight after.
That ant almost killed me with a single slam from its massive head. But it brought me here instead of killing me. If the ants here follow the same behaviors ants had on the earth, then…
I’m about to be the queen’s food, aren’t I?
Realizing the dire situation I was in, I struggled to get myself off this binding, feeling the fibers stretch as I wiggled relentlessly on the floor.
It’s too strong. I should have invested more in strength.
As my vision got used to the dark environment, I stared dumbfounded at the scene that lie around me. Innumerable counts of cocoons were spread all around the cave, each of them resembling a shape of different living creatures, humans and other animals included. To my delight, there was no detectable stench that was typically related to the ones related to decaying corpses. Unless, of course, they were all still alive. But that was very unlikely.
A glint of sparkle drew my attention to the corpse a few feet away from me. It was the bladed edge of a dagger, similar to the one I saw Amanda carry before.
I can use that.
I shimmied my way to that cocoon, nudging and moving the pile of corpses on my way to the dagger.
Once I was close enough, I wiggled while observing the tip, opening a slit across the part near my hand. The dagger cut the cocoon with ease and with the combined efforts from the sharpness of the blade and my hands prying open the cocoon, I freed myself after a few minutes of grumbling effort.
Relieved, I stood up and looked around the cave.
My backpack’s gone, and I have no weapon.
The most I could do this moment was to let out my frustration, lamenting the sheer despair of my current situation. Magic wolves and massive saber tooths were one thing… But giant ants too?
I shook my head and focused on my next task.
First, I need a weapon.
My eyes immediately locked on the tip of a sharp object that cut through my fiber. The shape of the cocoon heavily suggested that the owner of the cocoon was a female, and I could make out that she was carrying a pair of daggers on her hips.
Is she… another player? Like me?
Putting that question aside, the daggers brought the memories of last night’s encounter with Amanda. But I shrugged that idea off upon further inspection; her build and skin do not match hers in the slightest. Besides, she wore some type of genuine fantasy armor, unlike the office wears that the others had.
It was clear that she wasn’t from the earth.
I shoved that thought and crawled my way to her after making sure there were no ants patrolling around her spot. My hands explored the sticky substance as I pried it open through the opening of the blade, removing the daggers from her waist.
[You acquired 1x Enchanted dagger.]
The familiar skittering from the ant’s stride returned as I snapped my head to locate the source of the noise. It was another worker ant with its antennas jerking about as it walked around the cave, making sure that everything was in order.
[Lvl 8. Red Worker Ant]
Scanning the area for a hiding place, I saw a slight crack between the wall a few meters behind me. Before it could come any closer, I slid between the crack on the wall, watching every single one of its movements while readying the dagger in my hand.
The ant paused as if it sensed that something was amiss. I heard the repeated clicking of its mandibles getting louder as it walked right beside the corpse where I took my daggers from.
Its head twitched, its antennae brushing the lifeless body. At that moment, my gut sank at the prospect of fighting the giant insect again.
It looked around the cave, someone had set himself free of its cocoon.
Right when it turned around, I saw a slight opening between the shell of its abdomen. The flesh beneath appeared soft and squishy, which made it a perfect spot to be stabbed.
That has to be its weakness.
I navigated my way through the cocoons with the dagger in my hand until I was face to face with its left hind leg. Raising both my arms, I aimed my dagger at its weak spot and slammed my dagger down through the opening, rewarded with the torrential flood of its liquids pouring out through the stab wound.
The ant shrieked with fury, its mandibles clenching open and shut maniacally. It hurled its abdomen sideways to get rid of the knife.
“Nghaaa!!!” I clenched my teeth as I held on to the dagger with my dear life. However, its size and strength were too great, and with a giant sweep, it swatted me away across the cave with relative ease.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
I gasped for as much air as I could breathe in and gritted my teeth, bracing myself for the impact against the wall. A huge thud echoed in the cave as I desperately keep myself conscious, aggravating the wounds inside of my body. There were no potions to help me this time, but I am determined to finish this fight.
The stab dealt significant damage to the ant as I watch it limp while it chased me. I gripped the dagger firmly, preparing myself against its assault.
The mandibles. Gotta avoid it.
The ant dashed forward, attempting to slam its head against mine with its dying breath.
I watched the shadow of the giant ant towering over me, barely avoiding the slam as I slid to its left. The ground shook as its head smashed into the ground, yet the ant laid still. The damage from its abdomen was taking its toll on it.
Too close.
I ran towards its abdomen again, my gaze focusing on another opening on its guts. I groaned in pain as I use every single muscle fiber on my body to plunge the dagger into its abdomen, killing it instantly.
[You killed lvl. 8 Red Giant Ant]
[Congratulations! You leveled up!]
[New task unlocked : Kill the Maddened Ant Queen.]
My shoulders slumped the moment the tension left my body, and I knelt on the floor, my legs now barely able to support me as they trembled.
Eventually, I collapsed head first on the floor, feeling the ant’s bloody fluids dripping down on top of me. I wished I could move, but my body was no longer functioning the way I wanted it to.
At least I leveled up, right?
I opened my status page.
Player : Zane Black
Race : [G - HUMAN]
Level : 4
Health : 21/100
Stamina : 10/100
Mana : 50/50
———————————————————————————————————————————————————
ATTRIBUTES
Physical [4] :
[Strength] - 4 [base : 4] [sub + achv : 0] [equipment :0] [bonus 0% : 0]
[Dexterity] - 8 [base : 4] [sub + achv : 4] [equipment :0] [bonus 0% : 0]
[Constitution] - 5 [base : 4] [sub + achv : 1] [equipment :0] [bonus 0% : 0]
Mind [0] :
[Intelligence] - 0 [base : 0] [sub + achv : 0] [equipment :0] [bonus 0% : 0]
[Willpower] - 0 [base : 0] [sub + achv : 0] [equipment :0] [bonus 0% : 0]
[Capacity] - 0 [base : 0] [sub + achv : 0] [equipment :0] [bonus 0% : 0]
[Free Main Attribute points : 1 ]
[Free Sub Attribute points : 1]
——————————————————————————————————————————————————
Classes :
[]
Skills :
[]
Achievements :
[Death’s door(2)]
Affinities :
[]
Talents :
[]
I put all my points in Physical and Strength, respectively. The surge of power filled me again, but it was far overshadowed by the pure pain and exhaustion coursing through my receptors.
After a few minutes of resting, I forced myself up, limping towards the crack I hid in before. There was a good chance that the other worker ants would come, especially after all the noise we just made.
Once I felt that I was hidden enough, I opened my task page.
[Task #1 : Find the 4 keys to open the gate leading to the exit, located in the safe zone (0/4). 89 days left.]
[Task #2 : Kill the Maddened Ant queen. Upon quest completion, you will be rewarded with 1 [rare] skillbook and a random reward, based on your performance. 2 days left]
Killing the ant queen sounded like a suicide mission. Not when I was stuck here with this dagger and no other resources.
I need to look for my stuff. Screw the quest for now.
If I remembered things right, my backpack should be in the pit I fell in before. My spear’s whereabouts were unknown, but I swear that it should be somewhere inside this cave.
My stamina gradually recovered after a few minutes of lying still. I kept waiting for another ant to show up, but was pleasantly surprised that not a single ant walked itself in afterwards. There was no way that the ant I killed was the only one here, so what gives?
The lack of ants gave me a push to come out and explore the cave a little. I peered through the hole where the recently deceased ant came from and crawled through it after a few seconds of consideration.
The hole itself was big enough for me to walk through comfortably. However, I groaned when I saw the hole split into multiple paths about 40 meters in, some of them even going directly upwards.
Step by step, I explored the deeper parts of the burrow. My visibility was almost filled with darkness at this point. The occasional glimpse of sunlight peering through far above was the only reason I could keep moving forward.
The wounds I accumulated didn’t help either. The pain was a constant source of annoyance as each step I took aggravated the broken bones inside my body. A ray of hope came into view after a few minutes of exploration later, literally, as I spotted an opening through the burrow. It didn’t look like the pit I fell into, but I went there regardless, choice not being a luxury I have at this moment.
The warm air hit me the moment I stepped into the cave opening. I walked around inside for a bit while checking every corner for traps, but I stopped when I saw a skeleton near the farthest corner of the area. Upon further inspection, its arms were clutching an old book.
I crouched beside the skeleton, looking around it to see if there was a trap hidden beside it.
No traps.. At least, I couldn’t find any.
Crossing my fingers, I let my dagger go and pried the book off from the skeleton’s arms.
Rest in peace, whoever you are.
Closing my eyes for a second, I gently opened the book.
To whoever reads this book, rejoice. I poisoned the queen!
The poison wouldn’t work immediately, however. I concocted the madness poison from the mushrooms from the adjacent forest that causes madness on whoever it touches. It takes a few days before any symptoms will show, so it’ll take longer for my poison to affect the queen.
If my hypothesis is correct, once the poison kicks in, it’ll cause to go berserk in its lair. It’ll attack anything and anyone that entered her lair, and since she’s the queen, all the ants are bound to meet her at some point.
To kill it, you only needed a decisive strike in its abdomen. But be warned, due to its frenzy, she’ll be excessively aggressive. The queen is just a few meters deeper inside, along with the remains of my previous comrades. You’re more than free to use their equipment and potions as you see fit.
I trust you will not miss it. Or, you can just run away. Pick whatever choice suits you the most.
My fate, unfortunately, is now sealed. I knew that my life was about to end. In my efforts to poison the queen, I may have been wounded a few too many times. But it’s all worth it. All in all, it’s not that bad. My friends are waiting for me from up above.
Good luck.
I flipped through the rest book only to find blank pages. A part of me questioned if this so-called person was a real, living individual, or if he was a person generated by the system. The ‘book’ itself felt artificial, at the very least.
Well, does knowing the answer to that question matter in the slightest?
I picked up my dagger and left the book behind. The system was an enigma that I would never understand in a million years, and I couldn’t spend another brain cell thinking about it. There were more important things to worry about right now.
The Queen.