Chapter 183: Favorite kind of monsters

Chapter 183: Favorite kind of monsters

So the ants are still there, waiting on the mountains but not entering the plains. Car and bus-sized nightmarish monsters with their dead-like eyes are crawling creepily over the rocky surface of the mountains or anthills or whatever it is. Even though they have no human-like eyes, I keep getting the feeling that all of them are staring at me.

Hundreds of them are there. Fewer than when we were running away and I already see a few of them leaving, maybe to call more friends.

There are even flying ones that are currently on the ground.

Good.

I breathe in and use the Mana Regulator to increase the amount of mana my heart is getting, and I start feeling kinetic energy flow through my body. As always, it threatens to tear it apart the moment there is too much of it, but I accept the feeling. I got used to it and, after dealing with the energy time and time again, I welcome it.

I [Focus], and the world loses its colors. Useless thoughts disappear, and there is only me, my skills, and the enemies against me.

Armor forms around my body. The effect of [Initiate of Pride] makes it more beautiful. It's not to the point where it becomes overdecorated; it just seems masterfully crafted, simple, effective, and somewhat deadly.

More mana flows into the armor, and it takes on a dark blue hue with light blue wisps flowing through it.

Then I start turning all kinetic energy into thermal and fill ten or so mana javelins that float over me with that thermal energy. The pale blue projectiles start glowing with a dark yellow color that seems like cracks go through them.

I decide that first, I will test my new passive that heals me the more heat I have, and I will try to improve my flames.

When I charge towards them, the ants do not attack; they just wait. But the moment I step on one of the mountains, they charge at me. Not all at once, but in smaller groups. Smart monsters know that there isn't enough space for all of them.

The first ant dies the moment my javelin pierces through its head, and it then explodes into flames near another ant, hurting it badly.

[You have defeated an Ant Warrior - lvl 95]

Flame explodes in front of me like a flamethrower, scorching and melting another ant.

[You have defeated an Ant Warrior - lvl 92]

Two more attack from behind my back, and two javelins kill them. One of the javelins kills another ant in the explosion.

In quick succession, I use the javelins to target more ants, mainly flying ones. Before shooting them, I fill them with more thermal energy, so that when they explode, they kill more ants.

Ant monsters are big and quick; there are a lot of them, but it's not a problem. I continue to move quicker than they are able to, and when they get closer, my flames melt them, making them flail on the ground. The ones using ranged attacks, I kill with mana projectiles.

The ants are not as dangerous. Sure, they have high stats most likely, and they are quite massive, but their biggest advantage is their numbers and amazing coordination. It's like someone is leading them, or they are communicating in a way I can't notice.

After killing most likely a hundred of them, I get the notification and also shards.

A new quest appears:

Side quest: Defeat 200 ants.

Reward:10 shards

A few more ants later, another notification pops up.

[Lvl 125 > Lvl 126]

Grumpy (Hell, group 4) -Oh... but Tess used our real names too!

Sset (Hell, group 4) -No, Noname is right. We should avoid using our real names. Right now, we are probably the only ones on the 4th floor, but some of them will surely clear it. I made a mistake.

Noname (Hell, group 4) -Well, it probably doesn't matter anyway, but just in case. So you plan to set up the base and then go on quests outside of the city?

Sset (Hell, group 4) - Yes, the system gave us plenty of quests, and some of them even offered shards as rewards. There are a lot of monsters in the underground tunnels, plains nearby, or in the forest that's a bit further. So we will level up as well.

Noname (Hell, group 4) -Sounds good. I will connect again at the time we mentioned.

Sset (Hell, group 4) -Stay safe.

Grumpy (Hell, group 4) - Stay safe! (•◡•) /

I close the window and look toward one of the holes that are deeper than Mount Everest and a continuous stream of ants that continue to climb out of it. This time, most of them are either two question marks or close to it, meaning that hundreds of around level 150 ants crawl around, probably looking for me.

I open my mouth, and two orbs fly out. Orbs made of tricolored mana that already start turning white and are about to explode.

Some of the ants notice that, and tens of monsters turn to me with their lifeless-looking eyes as I sling two orbs toward them, feeling around half of my mana leaving my body.

A big group of a new variation does something that feels like combining their skills and targets one of the orbs, which gets slowly untangled by them and dissipates even before reaching, just exploding halfway.

The second orb reaches them and hits something like a mana barrier that is kept up by another group of ants. Even though they try to stop it, the orb explodes and tears apart the barrier, and the shockwave followed by heat hits the monsters, scorching plenty of them and then sucking in more of them.

Bus-sized monsters are unable to resist the implosion, and their bodies get broken, folded, and pulled toward where the center of the orb is.

[Lvl 129 > Lvl 130]

I invest the stat points and use kinetic energy to push myself away from them, then continue to fly for around twenty minutes until I am sure I am far enough.

Then I start masking my presence again, hiding in the ever-present gaps on the side of the anthills, or whatever they are.

I watch my mana regenerate, and slowly I start creating another orb inside my mouth, an orb that I hide with Mantle and [Resonance]. It's easier to hide a small orb than to hide mana that would flow through my body. This time, I start storing thermal energy inside of it and watch as their scouts continue to fly around. I even feel pulses of mana searching the area.

More time passes like that, and when I am finally ready, I leave my hiding spot.

Then I feel movement and immediately use Symbiotic Transference to turn some of that thermal energy inside the orb into strengthening my body. Just in time to stop myself from being bitten in half.

I look down at the ant that is reaching my waist, and its massive mandibles bite into my body, drawing blood but unable to push more because of my strengthening.

[Phantom Ant - lvl ??]

The ant seems to be almost surprised and quickly lets go, and its body flickers, the monster turning invisible.

Oh, I see, my favorite kind of monster.

Before the ant disappears fully, I blow its head off with a short burst of concentrated thermal energy and send my senses into the area, looking for similar signatures I felt from the ant when it tried to turn invisible.

Immediately, I locate a few dozen of them all around me.