Four ants have appeared from the holes.
“Gyiiiiii…”
“Kishiiiii…”
“Gyiiiiiiiiii…”
“Gyigyii…”
They must have been spectating the battle from before. They are keeping a distance from me as if they are wary.
To test the waters by sending their subordinates. It’s the same strategy as the one which the Dark Wolf employed at the Shopping Mall.
Do monsters that form flocks use similar tactics?
“But it doesn’t seem like you guys are as smart as it was.” You guys are already within the range of the Item Box. Once again, I release enough tetrapods to cover the surrounding areas.
“ “ “!?” ” ”
The Soldier Ants express surprise upon realizing the tetrapods above them. Truth be told, the ants don’t have any facial expressions to speak of, but I’d like to believe that they’re surprised.
Among the ants, there are those that try to jump away. There are also those that try to block the tetrapods with their arms.
Their reactions vary, but…. they’re too slow.
“‘Shadow Manipulation’.”
Using the shadow below my feet, I inhibit the movements of the Soldier Ants. The ants did not see this coming due to the smoke near the ground.
“Get crushed.”
Screeches are once again heard in the Shopping District.
“You have gained experience.”
“So I only managed to kill two of them…”
The two that died had their heads and chests crushed. They were fatally wounded.
“Gyiiii…”
“Gyigyi…”
Of the two that remain, one of them is unable to move as its legs were crushed by the tetrapods.
The other one lost one of its arm and the left ankle down. This one is the Soldier Ant which tried to escape immediately. To escape, it swiftly cut off the ankle which was being held by “Shadow Manipulation”. Among the ants present, this one should be the most intelligent.
“Then I’ll start with this one.”
I finish off the immobile ant by crushing it once again with a tetrapod.
“You have gained experience.”
“With this, you’re the only one remaining.”
“Gyi…”
Despite holding onto its sword with its remaining hand, the Soldier Ant fails to hide its agitation. Well, I guess it’s a natural reaction considering how three of its companions were killed instantly.
From “Crisis Detection”, I can tell that these guys are around the same level as the Hob Goblins. They aren’t as strong as Orcs or Shadow Wolves, let alone Death Knights.
(After all, they were able to deal with the Item Box at first glance…) The moment they failed to do so, the ants proved themselves unworthy of comparison. On a fundamental level, they should be monsters that overwhelm enemies through their sheer numbers.
“But that doesn’t mean I’ll let my guard down.”
Not only am I vigilant about my surroundings, I have already made a certain move.
“You have gained experience.”
The Heavenly Voice echoes amidst the smoke. The thing seems to be working well.
“GYIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!”
The Soldier Ant screeches. Unlike the roars of Momo and the High Orc, its screech is not destructive. It isn’t meant to motivate itself either. This is probably… “Trying to call your friends, is it….”
It’s sending out an SOS. I thought it would try and escape since there isn’t any chance of it winning, but I guess it hasn’t given up yet. It should be planning on crushing me with numbers after calling for reinforcement.
“Not that it’ll work.”
No matter how much it screeches, there isn’t any sign of new ants emerging.
“Gyi? Gyiii…?”
The Soldier Ant must have noticed as it looks around in confusion.
“…! Gyiiii!”
It shudders in anger. So it finally realized. The smoke isn’t just any smoke.
“Did you notice? The smoke is coming from the pesticides which your kind hates.” Before coming here, I had prepared a few pesticides and stored them in the Item Box. After the Soldier Ants came out from the holes, I stuffed the pesticides into the nest.
The items in the Item Box could be taken out anywhere as long as it’s within the effective range of the skill.
The results are outstanding.
As I have put in a lot of pesticides, some of them seem to have died to the smoke. The experience from just now should be from those that died inside the nest.
“There won’t be any reinforcement.”
Even if they do come, they’ll soon be turned into experience. Of course, this is assuming that the ones that appear aren’t of a higher level of existence.
“This is the end.”
“Gyi…GYIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!”
Understanding that this is the end, the Soldier Ant charges at me with its sword. It’s an all-out assault. Just as I am about to use the Item Box, Kiki makes her move.
“Kyuuuu!”
“…Kiki?”
What is she trying to do? The jewel on Kiki’s forehead glows faintly. Immediately following this occurrence, a transparent film appears in front of me.
“This is…?”
A thin fan-shaped film that emits a faint light.
Is this a barrier? No, it shouldn’t be. My skill, “Prediction”, is telling me that this is different from a barrier.
“This… is this perhaps…”
The Soldier Ant charges without minding. So it can’t see the film. The Soldier Ant slams into the film before bouncing back.
“!?”
The Soldier Ant falters at the sudden turn of events. As a result, I come to an understanding. This is —- Reflection.
The film which Kiki generated has the ability of reflecting the enemy’s attack.
“Kiki, you had such a powerful skill?”
“Kyuu♪”
Kiki rubs onto my body as if trying to say, “Amazing, right? Praise me~.” “Haha, I’ll praise you to your heart’s content later on.” Before that, we must clean things up here. I swing my knife at the Soldier Ant who lost its balance after having its attack reflected.
“You have gained experience.”
“Experience has reached a certain threshold.”
“Kudou Kazuto’s level has increased from 21 to 22.”
The Heavenly Voice announces the increase in my level.
“Fuuu… this should wrap things up for now…”
I don’t feel any presence of ants around. The ants in the nest must have either died or left by now. I collect the Soldier Ants’ magic stone. They are labeled as “Giant Ant’s Magic Stone (Small)” on the list.
Next, I check my status.
“Status open.”
Kudou Kazuto
Level 22
HP: 240/240
MP: 64/67
Strength: 168
Endurance: 164
Agility: 369
Dexterity: 340
Magic: 35
Magic Resistance: 35
SP: 62
JP: 30
Professions
Ninja LV7
Hunter LV7
Shadow Master LV5
Great, 60 SP and 30 JP. With this, I can raise either “Hunter” or “Ninja” to LV 10. Then, I’ll unlock my fourth occupation and have access to more advanced occupations. I can’t help but feel excited over it.
“But I shouldn’t stick around here. I’ll move to another place first…” What I did here was quite flashy, so somebody might come over. “Enemy Detection” isn’t reacting, but there isn’t a point in staying here anyway.
I take out my bike from the Item Box and try to leave the area.
At that moment—–
The surrounding becomes dark.
“Eh…”
A shiver runs down my spine. I sense a pressure so strong that it feels like my heart is about to be crushed.
The area around me turns dark.
It isn’t as if the clouds have covered the Sun, nor is it as if it night has suddenly arrived.
It’s just that the appearance of something huge is casting a shadow on the surrounding area.
The ground shakes. The asphalt pathways and the buildings collapse as if to match the monster’s appearance.
“Tsu… this is bullsh*t…”
To think you’d appear at this moment. “Enemy Detection”, “Crisis Detection”, and “Hostility Detection” are ringing at full throttle.
Slowly, I look backwards.
It is there.
“Uuuuu—–rururu Ruru~u~u~u~u~uuuu Oo Oo Oo Oo Oo Oo Oo oooooooooooooooooooo!” Its roar shakes the surrounding air. Along with its cry, the giant golem Titan makes its appearance.
“Tsu… Kiki, Aka. We’re running away!”
I immediately turn on the engine of the bike.
(Wait a moment…?)
A certain idea pops up in my head just as I am about to escape.
—–Isn’t this a good chance?
I stare at Kiki who is trembling on my shoulder.
Kiki’s ability — Reflection. A simple yet powerful skill which can reflect the enemy’s attack.
If…If this power is also effective against this guy…. If I can make use of its power and lead it to its demise… I might be able to defeat Titan right here, right now.