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Chapter 10: Ant Cave
028 – Ant Cave #1
“Wh-what are you trying to do?!” Raccoon Leaf’s voice trembled. I shrugged and replied casually, “What do you mean? I’m going to eat. I was just getting hungry.”
“Oh my goodness…!” I watched as Raccoon Leaf’s face turned pale in shock. But I paid him no mind and took a big bite out of the Wildling.
“Eeeek…!” The white Wildling writhed wildly in my mouth.
But it was a fruitless struggle. Honestly, I was starting to enjoy the idea of eating a living creature.
The feeling in my mouth was quite delightful.
[Experience Points Obtained.]
As I swallowed the whole thing, nice words appeared in front of me. I smiled in satisfaction and looked at the other Wildlings.
“Tastes like green grapes. Very good! Not salty at all and the aftertaste is refreshing—perfect!”
“Kyuuuu!”
“Kyiing!”
“Eing!”
The Wildlings started to jump around, running in every direction. But with their slow, snail-like movements, there was no chance they would escape my grasp.
I felt genuinely sorry for these creatures, really.
But hey, right now, they’re my food.
“Ugh, how could I possibly eat something so cute?”
“That’s because you haven’t starved enough! Just give it a lick and your mind will change!”
Grabbing one Wildling in each hand, I squished them together. Mixing two of them made one gigantic Wildling.
It felt just like playing with modeling clay.
With great flavor and a fun eating experience, I wondered if these creatures were truly a gift from the heavens.
As I feasted on the Wildlings, I noticed the one in Leaf’s hands bouncing around.
“Wow, it’s really sweet!”
Leaf had started licking the Wildling’s skin.
“See? Eating is the way to go!”
“Uh, no. I can’t eat it though.”
Leaf clutched a Wildling tightly in his arms.
“Do as you like. I’ll eat all of them!”
After all, I planned to keep one as emergency rations, so I figured it was fine to make an exception for Leaf.
I had already swallowed a total of eight Wildlings.
I felt a surge of energy fill me, confirming once again that the Wildling’s fluids were boosting my strength.
[Experience Points Obtained.]
[Level Up Achieved.]
A message popped up, announcing that I had leveled up for the first time in a while.
Ignoring Leaf’s judgmental stare, I focused on displaying my level and stats in front of me.
To conjure these words, it was enough to ponder on my own existence.
Race: Magical Beast lv.8
Strength: 27
Agility: 22
Stamina: 29
Skills: {Omnivore} {Sturdy Claws} {Low Frequency} {Stealth} {Courtship Dance} {Interbreeding}
Finally, all my stats surpassed 20! I felt lighter, perhaps due to my agility stat increasing by 3.
“I can feel myself getting stronger. Amazing!”
Most importantly, the scars from the hedgehog’s quills had completely healed, which was incredibly satisfying.
“Alright, now that I’m full, let’s head to where the Queen is. The room with the Wildlings was near the Queen’s quarters, right?”
Raccoon Leaf didn’t respond but snuggled the Wildling in his arms tighter.
Kyuuiing, the white Wildling answered for him.
After leaving the Wildlings’ room and walking a bit, a vast chamber appeared before us.
The narrow corridor opened up to a wide area littered with animal bones and carcasses.
“Have we almost made it? Where’s the Queen? Why are there so many holes?”
As I tilted my head in confusion, Leaf pressed himself tightly against my back. The Wildling in his arms made a soft kyuing sound.
“It’s too quiet. I haven’t seen any ants for a while…”
Leaf sniffed suspiciously, looking a bit anxious.
I observed the numerous creepy openings around us and asked Leaf, “Which hole should we go into now?”
“Uh, well… this should be the Queen’s chamber, I think. With the dampness and the moss on the ground, it fits the description.”
“What if they’ve run off to another room?”
Since the ants had fled towards the blue crystals, they probably warned the others about the situation and escaped through some secret passage.
“Well, they probably didn’t get far. Queen ants are extremely heavy. Look, there’s a pressed spot in the moss here. They must have gone this way.”
Leaf crouched down and rubbed the moss with his front paw. A sticky, viscous liquid oozed out, making his paw feel gooey.
He sniffed his paw and then pressed his nose to the ground, like a dog on a hunt for the Queen’s scent.
“I think they went through that hole over there.”
Leaf pointed to a relatively large opening among the countless tunnels.
“Are you sure?”
“I might not have the tracking skills like Yan-Mite, but I’ve survived in this forest for years.”
Leaf nodded confidently. I could only hope he was right, given my lack of experience.
I took the lead, brandishing the blue crystal and walking toward the big hole. That’s when I noticed dark shadows rushing toward us from the wide corridor.
“Chirp, chirp.”
“Zzzz.”
Ants with large, broad heads, resembling big helmets, poured out from every hole.
“What the heck is this, a trap?”
Their sharp teeth clicked ominously.
“Hey kiddos, don’t come any closer!”
I waved the blue crystal around, trying to intimidate them.
But they only flinched slightly at the crystal’s light and didn’t flee. Instead, they raised their front paws and antennae in apparent defiance.
“These are Warrior Ants. The Queen’s guards. They’re super strong. Their appearance means the Queen is nearby.”
Raccoon Leaf picked up a stick lying on the ground, as I squinted my eyes.
“Yeah, they definitely look strong.”
Unlike the other ants that were just about the size of my arm, these Warrior Ants were half my size and had very sturdy, tough exoskeletons.
“I hear ants can lift dozens of times their own weight.”
I’d heard that no beasts of equal size could beat an ant. I just hoped that wasn’t true.
I swiped at the heads of the continuously swarming ants with my claws.
Crack.
Chomp!
Tearing at one’s head and seeing its fluids spray out was indeed a gruesome sight. But hey, the fact I could inflict damage on their tough exoskeleton was a good sign.
“Not so bad after all.”
Maybe it was because I just leveled up, but I couldn’t rein in the overwhelming strength surging within me. Feasting on the Wildlings had really helped.
Constantly, the ants attempted to bite at my limbs with their pincer-like jaws, but my thick skin greatly mitigated their attacks.
“This is bearable.”
Swinging my powerful limbs, I felt like a beast confirming my newfound might. The corpses of ants I tore apart littered the ground.
“Zrr!”
One of the ants latched onto my waist. While that was tolerable, it soon bent over, pointing its rear at me.
Its thick, sharp stinger pierced right into my spine. It felt as if my skin and flesh were punctured.
“What the hell…?!”
I smashed the head of the ant sticking its stinger into my waist with my fist. Its head and torso separated, and its body spasmed violently.
The way it clung onto me so tightly made its split jaw act like a pair of tweezers holding me firmly in place.
“Disgusting little things, they just keep coming! Is there any good way to deal with this?!”
I yelled over to Leaf as I continued to fend off the ants. He had lived in these woods and jungles for a long time and seemed smart; surely, he must have a secret tactic up his sleeve.
Raccoon Leaf wearily swung the stick he picked up, trying to fend off the ants.
“Zzz.”
“Ah, no!”
The ants quickly snatched the stick from him and flung it aside. Watching the stick tumble uselessly to the ground, Leaf sighed nervously.
Soon, Leaf was captured by the ants and was stretched out in all directions, screaming in horror.
“Gyaaak!”
It seemed clear that Leaf was facing a dire crisis. If this continued, he might get torn into four pieces.
“Being unarmed in a battle is an absolute disadvantage.”
I swiped at the throats of the ants gripping Leaf’s limbs with my claws.
Focusing on the joints where the exoskeleton is relatively weaker, I managed to cleanly decapitate them.
“What the heck is this?!”
Leaf flailed about as he saw the jaws of the ants attached to his limbs.
Much like the ant clinging to my waist, once a Warrior Ant’s jaw closed, it seemed like it would never release its grip.
“Zzz.”
“Zzz.”
“Zzzz.”
Ants continued to spill out from the holes. Fearless insect soldiers charged at us like a wave.
I recalled the moment I placed a wingless dragonfly in front of an anthill during my childhood.
In an instant, it had been disassembled and dragged inside the ant mound.
At that time, the thrill of playing with life had only seemed fascinating and fun; I hadn’t thought about how the dragonfly felt.
Perhaps I would have been better off not knowing for my entire life.
Now, however, I was on the brink of becoming that very dragonfly.
“They’re just a numbers game!”
Even so, I wouldn’t give up my will to live that easily.
As long as there was a chance of survival, I was prepared to keep fighting.
Crack!
Snap!
With each swipe, the ants’ cries echoed, and their heads rolled across the ground. The strength from my recent level-up and reflexes unleashed an unreal power.
Whenever I swung my limbs, several ants would tumble, but at the same time, dozens of ants were climbing over me.
The vast hall was blackened with ants suffocating Leaf and me. Their pincers and front limbs mercilessly rained down on my body.
After getting hit in the same spot continuously, the pain began to seep into my muscles, showing that being overwhelmed in numbers wasn’t just a saying.
“Leaf, do something!”
I shouted as I curled up tightly. Leaf was similarly getting pummeled by the ants surrounding him.
“J-just wait! Zzz! Zzz!”
“Zzz.”
“Zzz?”
“Zz.”
As Leaf made some zzz noises, the ants suddenly hesitated and began to withdraw from me and Leaf.
I took a deep breath and pulled Leaf’s arm. We turned our backs against each other and formed a defensive position against the ants.
The Warrior Ants circled around us, snapping their jaws loudly.
Moreover, they stomped their front paws rhythmically, creating an intense display of intimidation.
In a way, their actions were akin to a primal tribal warrior preparing for battle.
In any case, having a moment to breathe was a good opportunity for me. I cautiously spoke to Leaf.
“What did you just say to them? Why suddenly this?”
“I, I challenged their strongest warrior to a one-on-one duel…”
“A one-on-one duel? What does that mean?”
“One of their top warriors has to fight one of us. The winner gets a chance to meet the Queen.”
“Top warrior among the ants?”
The Warrior Ants in front of me all looked relatively similar.
Some had shorter antennae while others sported longer ones, but to me, they all appeared to be variations in hairstyles rather than anything significant.
‘Among them, even the strongest would probably seem weaker than a three-eyed wolf.’
“What happens if we lose the duel?”
“Then we become food for the Queen and her hatchlings. That’s how their duel ceremonies work… It’s different from the knight bees.”
I didn’t know what a Warrior Ant was or what knight bees were, but if it meant settling the score in a one-on-one bout, then I was all in.
“Alright, which one do I fight?”
“Zzz.”
“Zz.”
As I felt my spirit ignite, the line of ants began to part, bowing their heads as a gesture of respect.
“Is, is that their top warrior…?”
“I, I think so.”
“Ugh, that’s not even an ant!”
I expected it to be an ant with a sharp snout, but instead, something completely unexpected emerged from among the ants.
