Chapter 101: Grand Exit

Kyle picked up his dropped pulverizer and makeshift obsidian blade, leaping off the top of the crystal outcrop into the dozens of rock spiders that were now fully aimed at him.

Protect! Divert! Lift!

The order was split up immediately amongst the controlled mineral ants, forming a vanguard formation around Kyle as one mineral and latched onto the back of Kyle, carrying him down while the mineral ants at the front deflected the incoming rock spikes.

A series of energy beams slammed into a controlled warrior mineral ant, the energy beam causing the surface of the armour to sizzle but it did not penetrate. The artificial hive core seems to boost their capabilities by a significant amount.

Kyle was released right on top of a large rock spider, landing on the surface with a straightforward swing of the pulverizer, pummeling the surface in rapid succession. Continuous shocks pulsated through the interior of the large rock spider, causing the internals to fracture and shatter from the high stress and sudden vibrations.

One controlled venom-spitting wasp fired a glob of acid, which immediately dissolved right through a leg of the large rock spider, allowing Kyle to kill it easily.

[System Message]

Killed [Territorial Rock Defender], +1000 EXP

Despite the overwhelming firepower Kyle now had with the dozen controlled mineral ants, the tide of rock spiders did not seem to abet, continuously having its number replenished.Read latest chapters at novelhall.com Only

[System Message]

Killed [Spike Rock Spider], +298 EXP

I’m nearly halfway through to the point of 0 EXP – what was the trial clear condition again?

[SYSTEM MESSAGE]

System Message

[Trial of Persistence]

[Advanced-Quality Arcia Crystal]

Not only pure but highly compressed due to geological processes unknown to man

Unknown Usage

The crystal was the size of his hand, but Kyle could sense that this was nearly close to a thousand times denser than the one that Feldon had previously stolen. This is the jackpot!

However, before Kyle could celebrate obtaining such a powerful energy source, he felt like something was slightly missing. If that’s not the prince - then?

The crystal outcrop crashed into the ground, its two halves toppling over and squashing any unfortunate mineral ant or rock spider too slow to get out of its way. The same earthquake as before rumbled through the cavern, prompting Kyle to order a warrior ant to hoist him up quickly.

Move there! Kyle motioned towards the struggling Feldon, who was confused to see Kyle being carried by the mineral ants. He assumed Kyle had been captured by the enemy, brainwashed in some way or another. “You were supposed to kill them all, not join them!”

“Shut up and come with me!” Kyle urged, just as he swerved out of the way as the frequency of claw stabs from the ground began to increase rapidly.

Another warrior ant grabbed Feldon from behind before he could protest, carrying him screaming as they ducked and weaved at high flying speeds, dodging the rock claws that were nearly the size of pillars now.

Aim for the hole in the ceiling! Kyle was confident now that there was no chance he was going to beat that trial, with the sheer amount of rock claws protruding outwards now numbering close to a hundred.

As they blocked a barrage of rock spikes and endured a torrent of energy beams, they soon made it back to the hole, soaring far above the now shattered rocky outcrop.

The ground beneath the two fallen halves of the outcrop gave way, revealing a large worm-like maw with rows upon rows of jagged teeth that lunged upwards to consume the crystal outcrop in one single bite, the tip nearly missing Kyle as they flew above.

“WHAT IN THE FUCK IS THAT?” Feldon exclaimed as his legs dangled wildly, panicking.

Bring us out to the surface! Kyle gave a generic order to the ants, hoping that they would know the way to the surface. Surprisingly, they began to move in an orderly fashion, with the warriors at the front and rear, along with the venom-spitting hornets forming the centre guard, ready to engage at range.

They zoomed down the large overgrown tree trunk, flying past lost ants who were jostling with others over scraps of arcia crystals, reaching a section of the trunk where there were multiple shafts leading upwards.

As they rushed down one of the paths, continuously going up, Feldon had already passed out from the panicking and novel experience of flying with no control. Kyle did not mind, treating it as his own exosuit and using the mineral ant on his back to serve as the thrusters.

The group moved in sync, controlled by Kyle’s mind as he read their thoughts and instincts. It seems like they really do know where the surface is.

Glancing upwards, he soon noticed a small speck of lines as the vines and flowers that grew along the shaft was like a blur to him, the surging air around him only informing him that they were closer to the surface than ever before.

The group finally burst out into the sunlight, coming out through the rotten trunk of a humongous tree, the interior having been long hollowed out. The wings of the mineral ant buzzed strongly, beating an air draft that buffeted the leaves of the trees.

Instead of flying over the tree line, Kyle had the mineral ants drop them close to the floor of the forest, hugging the dense foilage and myriad tree roots that snaked through the landscape.

Feldon was dropped unceremoniously, the shock rudely awakening him as he choked on a glob of saliva, coughing violently. Kyle heaved heavily, exhausted from the non-stop fighting so far. He had barely managed to rest since the race evolution, which had taken quite a toll on him. That, coupled with the debilitating poison, dragged out the fight much longer than it should have. If I were at peak strength – that crystal outcrop would’ve been cracked in three hits instead of thirty.

For now, Kyle’s survival instinct was still running at full pace, his brain trying to figure out where they were now. Were they even still in Versia, or did the dungeon exit lead him a completely other direction?

Instead of asking the mineral ant to fly him up high, he decided to scale the highest tree nearby he could find. I don’t know who’s watching the sky, if any. With the imminent war between Versia and Yual, if this is the border, I would be tracked down immediately.

Peeping his head out from beyond the leafy branches, he saw the forest seemed to stretch for miles on either end. In the far distance, he could see slight signs of human civilisation, a small clearing in the forest where there were no trees and a few smoke chimneys that had white plumes soaring to the sky.

Dropping back down to the ground, he quickly hauled the still coughing Feldon on the back of a mineral ant before mounting one himself, moving by land towards the signs. “Where... where are we going?” Feldon weakly asked, his head still spinning from the flying.

“To find our allies and get what I was promised.”