ALL NOVEL Chapter 9 (Unstable Conflict) Part Two
The last word caught in my throat as I noticed that despite the ant having come to a stop, the sound of steps still echoed off the stony tunnel walls. This puzzle was soon answered as emerging behind the smaller ant was another ant comparable in size to the alpha I had fought earlier. Though lacking in the stripes which had caught my eye back then, the sounds did not stop; in fact, they only increased. I began to back away just as two more smaller ants stepped in front of the first. Hurriedly opening my map, I saw the area in front of me was rapidly filling up with dots that were pouring in from every visible spot, as well as some that appeared to be coming off the map from different levels of the cave. The most concerning thing was that a large mass of dots had also begun teeming out towards my location. I was already running in the opposite direction, the map still hanging out of the corner of my vision.
Looking back behind me, I could see that more than ten smaller ants had already begun rushing towards me. Luckily, the larger ones seemed to be more focused on the spot where the smaller ant had thrown the stones earlier than on me. I continued to run down the corridor, looking at the map, I saw a group of dots coming from a side tunnel directly in front of me, causing me to shoot off into one on the opposite side. I could hear the ants' cries behind me as I ran. There seemed to be at least twenty now, but it was hard to say as their close proximity to each other disguised their true numbers. Judging by the map, my dash into the tunnel had pointed me towards the middle of its visible area.
Running from the horde of ants chasing me, I really wanted to start cursing my rotten luck. I had just barely managed to get enough time to refresh myself from that overly tough ant, but yeah, besides that, I really had the right to complain here. If I hadn’t run into that overly tough guy, then I would have been able to stop that one ant from getting away, or better yet, there wouldn’t have been an ant that got away. If I had just pushed myself to kill it. Putting as much strength as I could into my legs, I ran with all my might, occasionally glancing at my map. The space all around me was teeming with red blips. I could tell I was moving faster than the ants, but I didn’t enjoy such a comfortable lead that I felt safe.
Half-surprised with my own stamina, I turned around to see what looked like an endless swarm of ants having gathered behind me. There were at least thirty there now, some of which seemed to be the tougher-looking ants from before. If I got caught by such a swarm, there’s no way I’d be able to fight my way out.
Blindly peeling around a bend in the tunnel, I nearly tripped over a small pit in the ground, only to see a small ant in front of me, blocking my path. Not even having enough time to care about what I was doing, I threw myself over it with my knife bared in my hand. I felt a sickening feeling as my blade cut into its shell. For a few seconds, I could feel myself thrown into the air by the force of the collision before my knife was born free from its shell with a hollow sound, sending me rolling onto the ground. Quickly coming back to my feet, I didn’t even turn around to see what damage had been done to the ant before I kept running again.
Before me, the cavern seemed endless. I just kept running and running. I’m not sure how many turns I took or what directions they were in, but I could tell that my rate of ant encounters was growing more common. Just as I was thinking this, I had to throw myself to the side as an ant burst out from one of the thinly laid cave walls next to me. I didn’t have time to think about how to deal with this one either, as right next to the place where I had just hastily dodged, a small scraping sound was heard as a large chunk of the wall was pushed away, revealing another set of mandibles reaching out for me. These I managed to hastily slice off before they could reach their mark. A ragged breath escaped my lips. I was getting tired. I could feel it—my muscles were straining to their limit. Yet, my slender legs continued to move with impossible speed. I didn’t have a choice anyway. If I stopped now, I really would be out of options. So, I kept moving my quickly tiring legs forward, hoping for a way out.
I didn’t know how much longer I could run for, but I knew if I stopped running, I died. So, I kept moving my quickly tiring legs forward, hoping for something to save me.
Looking at my map again, I nearly yelled with delight as before me lay a space where only one red dot was visible. Rushing forward, I came to a bend which split into three ways. Confirming once more where the safest-looking room was, I slid to the left as another ant came tumbling down from the ceiling in front of me, stumbling onward toward the singular red dot. However, as I hastily turned the corner, what met me was a ginormous catacomb-like room. All around me, the walls were littered with scratches and holes, lined with strange egg-sack-like growths. All along the ceiling, there were what seemed to be glass wires attached to each egg. In the middle was a large, strange pillar of flesh to which they all connected. Despite the shocking scene, there was a more pressing issue. It appeared the integrity of the room was no better than the rest of the cave, as several large chunks of rock came tumbling down from the ceiling as more ants tried to make their way in.
Swinging my vision forward as I ran, I looked around for the ant that was supposed to be in here, but I couldn’t find anything. Scanning my vision around, my face became pale as I noticed I had made a huge mistake. The room had no obvious exits, and with the amount of ants that were starting to gather around me, I had a sudden, terrible thought that I was going to die here.
Looking up, while trying to hold back both the tears of indignation and the feeling of horror rising in me, I pulled out my knife resolutely before staring down the group of ants which began pouring into the room. Right before I was about to step forward to plunge myself into the mass of them, something hot traced across my face, bringing with it a terrible pain. Looking over at the direction of the attack, I noticed that the pillar of flesh had begun to squirm. Rising from it was an ant which was a little smaller than me. On its ruby red carapace was a series of ornate markings which traced along its length. It had no mandibles; instead, a series of tentacles hung from its jaw, each one branching off into tens of the glass-like threads that were connected to the eggs around the room.
The ant detached itself from the pillar of flesh with a sickening plop, revealing a distended tentacle attached to its hind section, slithering out from deep within the mass. The creature stared at me with a harrowing gaze before it raised its head, emitting a high-pitched screech that nearly made me cover my ears. Hearing the sound, the ants around me halted their movements from a moment ago, seemingly regarding the newcomer with reverence as they waited for its action. Unfortunately for me, they wouldn’t have to wait long, as a light began to grow within the creature's mouth.
I noticed the glow intensified right before a beam of light passed by me again. Looking behind me, the stone wall was scorched in two places. Scrambling out of the way, I threw myself backward, putting me in the path of an ant that had fallen from the ceiling. In an effort to make some space, I stabbed out with my blade toward the ant, but before my knife managed to make contact, I was tossed aside by an incredible force, flying against the wall. I looked up, my vision blurry, as I saw the wide jaw of a large, tough-looking ant looming over me. It took one step forward, bearing its mandibles out. Closing my eyes, I waited for the pain of death to arrive. However, it never came, as the ant had suddenly jumped backward with incredible speed, rivaling that of the alpha I had fought earlier, right as a large rock came crashing down from the ceiling above. I would have cried out in relief, but the stroke of luck only provided a temporary respite. It did, at least, give me time to steady myself, gripping my knife. I stood up to meet my attackers, or I would have had a massive noise not ushered forth from the cavern walls. All around me, the room seemed to be shaking. My already worn-out legs couldn’t take the strain, causing me to fall to the ground.
Luckily, it seemed my foes weren’t faring any better, as massive rocks began falling from above. The ants around me also fell to the ground. Cracks spread the entire length of the floor beneath me. All around me, ants were either getting crushed or being swept into the collapsing floor. Looking at the incredibly hectic scene culminating around me, I yelled out a curse at nothing in particular moments before I too was swallowed by the crack.
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. . . . System>
{Quest "Exterminator" Completed!
. . . . . . . . . [Issuing reward]
{Quest re-issued "Exterminator" [Reward: 150 GP]
{Kill ten giant ants in total} . . . . . . . . . {Quest "Exterminator" Completed!
[re-issu. . . .