Chapter One-Hundred and Fifty-One: That was unexpected....

Drake began chanting his defensive skills, preparing for the worse as something unknown was able to apparently absorb his magic.

"Is there any Ant variation you know of that can absorb magic?" Drake asked, his eyes flashing to a deep blue as he tried to see anything down the dark tunnel.

"Not in F-Rank there is not. Even the most extreme variations will not begin to show nullification skills and abilities until much later. It has to be an item!" Natto shouted.

"An item? Are you saying the Ants are using equipment? Could they be using the items from the Goblin's Hoard?" Drake wondered aloud.

"It is possible and the only way I can explain this with any hope of us getting out…. If it is anything but…" Natto said trailing off.

"What exactly?"

"It would have to be a C-Rank or higher monster. And that should not be possible. Not only that I am restricted from telling you anything if that is the case."

"Great, so we're either safe because they're using an item. Or we're flat-out dead. What wonderful options…." Drake scoffed.

The tunnels had stopped humming with the chittering of Ants suddenly. Giving Drake an eerie feeling that something was about to happen.

"Does it always have to be with the suspense?" Drake asked.

Soon, as if on cue the sound of tapping rang through the mute tunnel. But it was different than what Drake would think of as normal walking, this sounded like multiple people or monsters.

In the next moment, the monster came into view.

Standing in front of Drake was a pitch-black colored Ant, four small white dots on the crown of its head, and deep crimson eyes. The ant was standing on four legs, two arms crossing each other, regalia by golden jewelry.

[Obiteron Trikk Level 29]

"Oh looks like royalty really does get the best stuff. Raid the whole treasury?" Drake scoffed.

The Ant prince chirped in a language Drake didn't understand. Then raised a hand as if asking him to follow.

"What the… I'm not sure what do to here. Any ideas Natto?"

"Do not follow it obviously…." Natto sighed, "The monster is higher level than you are by a fair amount. And apparently has equipment that can nullify half of your abilities as a mage! Do not be foo- Drake!"

"I'm not going to do anything," Drake teased, stepping forward, then stopping and turning around, "See? We are just going to- Ow! What the?" Drake shouted, rubbing his forehead as he felt himself bumping into something that was invisible.

Drake looked down at the tuft of dirt that pucked up, hearing a familiar voice grunt.

"Theo?" Drake asked, raising a brow.

Shimmering into view, Theodore bowed his head slightly, "This one apologizes my Lord, but it would not be proper if thou went in alone… This one does not wish to see my Lord continue to stand alone when this one can offer aid…"

Drake reached out a hand offering to help Theodore up.

"It's alright Theo, I was just about to go back anyway," Drake sighed, but couldn't help but smirk from the man's loyalty, "Next time, just let me know where you are… I could have killed you plenty of times by accident with some of those spells…" Drake said, shuddering.

"This one begs for forgiveness. And would also like to address, you did come close several times…" Theodore said, gulping loud enough for it to be heard.

But before Drake could say something, the chittering of Ants began again.

"Well, looks like they're on the move again. Let's backtrack and get out of here…. How did they get behind us? There is only one tunnel down to this intersection!" Drake said in amazement, looking back down the tunnel.

"I do not know! They could have possibly burrowed in from another tunnel?" Natto replied hurriedly.

Drake cursed, looking at the new variants he had been searching for down here.

[Tyrant Ant Emulsor Level 23]

[New Subjugation Quest! Subjugate 1,000 Tyrant Ant Emulsors [F-Rank]

[Reward: Experience, TP, Key to the Royal Nursery]

[Tyrant Ant Bombardier Level 20]

[New Subjugation Quest! Subjugate 500 Tyrant Ant Bombardiers [F-Rank]

[Reward: Experience, TP, Explosive Tyrant Sac x 100]

[Tyrant Ant Foreman Level 22]

[New Subjugation Quest! Subjugate 250 Tyrant Ant Foremans [F-Rank]

[Reward: Experience, TP, Map of the Tyrant Queen's Hive]

[Tyrant Ant Flame Spitter Level 25]

[New Subjugation Quest! Subjugate 500 Tyrant Ant Flame Spitters [F-Rank]

[Reward: Experience, TP, Fire Skill Stone x5]

"They have a Flame Spitter? Don't they all have those oil sacs? What makes them so-" Drake tried to joke, before he pulled Theodore up forcefully, throwing him behind him as he made a wall of Earth in front of him, blocking the incoming blast of fire that was just thrown at them.

The Ants came out in full force from behind Drake, unwilling to let him pass or exit. He was able to keep his wall solid as the flames blazed against it, reinfusing mana into the wall to keep it from melting.

In the brief moment the flames stopped, Drake peered past his glowing red hot wall to see the last hulking figure he was also curious about finding.

[Tyrant Ant Guardian Level 28]

"Oh, now he decides to show up…. They really pulled out all the stops on this one," Drake sneered, before he was forced to pull back his head again, unable to move because of his need to protect Theodore.

Drake cursed suddenly feeling movement in his aura sense. The ants were charging him and Theodore.

"Time to wave a big gun around and shoot in the dark!" Drake shouted, trying his best to pinpoint the monsters through his aura.

Throwing his free hand out to the side, he summoned five blue magic circles, water trying to form from them only to evaporate from the flame's heat.

"Fucking damn it!" Drake cursed again, condensing the circles into one forcing his Water Endowment out, "Heretical Endowment Single! Water!" Drake roared, his hand pointing outward again now that he had gotten his Endowment.

"Mizu no kyoku! Ni no kata!" Drake roared, a dense ball of water swirling at the end of his hand, flecks of green sparkling in the dark of the tunnel against the light of the fierce flames, "Mizu Guruma!"

Drake pushed a significant amount of mana into the spell, using his regeneration to enforce it even more, then arced his hand from right to left. Slashing with all his might as the spell shot forward, extending and carving a line into the walls of the tunnel and cutting through everything.

The spell sliced deep into the walls of the hive, through the fire, and through Drake's own earthen wall, but also cut through all of the incoming Ants.

Normally this would be a good thing but this time around it ended in horror.

Instantly as Drake received kill notifications the deafening sounds of explosions rang out throughout the tunnel, the walls beginning to rumble.

"Fuck! Great thinking Drake, kill the monsters that have Bombardier in their names!" Drake cursed, scooping up Theodore by the arms as he changed his Lightning Endowment then bolting down the tunnel the Ant Prince had beckoned him down before. The tunnel collapsing quickly behind him.

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"What was that?!" Megan shouted. Trying to keep her balance against the shaking ground.

The other members of the party also doing their best to keep themselves upright, the sudden trembling ground surprising them all.

"We need to get back to the fortress!" Bjorn shouted.

"What about Drake!" Claire yelled.

"And we still don't know where Theo is!" Harely added, pleading with Bjorn.

"We don't want to be here right now, we just have to trust Theo is with Shot, and they can take care of themselves right now. I don't know what is going on right now! Get moving!" Bjorn shouted, "We don't have a choice!" he yelled, gritting his teeth.

"Dang it! That idjit better be fine, or our meal ticket is punched!" Hudson shouted, running for the fortress.

"Yeah! He promised to make some good food when we get out of here! Dude better pay up!" Sherry grumbled.

"That's what you're damned worried about?" Hudson said incredulously over his shoulder, "I meant that man is the only one keeping us alive, you damned little garbage disposal!"

"Yeah with his food dude! It's correlated!" Sherry snapped back.

"I don't think this is the time to be arguing over that!" Amir stammered as he ran with all his strength.

"Everyone just run, I won't let anything happen to any of you! We need to regroup on solid ground then we can figure out what's going on and how to find Theo and Shot," Bjorn yelled, picking up the slow Sherry in a fireman's carry.

The party sprinted for the fortress that was made in the distance, the ground behind them as well as the towering Hive beginning to collapse with the numerous booms sounding beneath the ground.

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Drake stopped, the collapsing tunnel behind them finally finished barreling down. Letting Theodore down on the ground, he heaved a sigh.

"So much for getting out…. You think they planned that?" Drake asked.

"If not them, then who?" Natto replied.

"The enemies this time art using unusual tactics to thwart us," Theodore nodded, brushing off the dirt from his clothes.

"Unusual to say the least. I'm sure they can rebuild tunnels, but I never expected them to throw kamikaze-type monsters at us," Drake cursed.

"What shalleth we do now, my Lord?" Theodore asked.

"Only one direction to go. Guess we walk down the yellow brick road?" Drake said evenly, beginning to walk forward down the tunnel.

"That was an awful joke," Natto sighed.

I tried. More importantly, I think we might be in for some real trouble here if we have to worry about ambushes from behind and wherever else these Ants can dig from… Coming in here might have been a bad idea… Drake sighed, switching his endowment back to water.

"You are just realizing this now? How many times did I warn you!" Natto screamed.

I said might, not that it is. We still haven't died yet. So it's a win.

"Dying and not dying are not the only two options here! That is a horrible way to think about it!"

Drake shrugged.

Yeah, but it's the most simple.

Drake and Theodore remained on their toes walking down the tunnel. Drake made sure to keep his Magic Sight peeled for anything that might be coming at them in the dark almost pitch-black tunnel.

He didn't want to illuminate them so as not to give themselves away, so he relied on his skill and aura sense to guide them.

"There hasn't been any Ants so far since we started walking…" Drake mused.

"It is quite peculiar indeed," Theodore agreed.

"How you doing on mana Theo? Good on potions?" Drake asked over his shoulder.

"This one has adequate resources, my Lord. No need for alarm," he replied.

"Good, we might be down here for a while… I'm going to hopefully assume the Ants made another exit somewhere, so we just need to walk around until we find it…" Drake said, continuing to scan the tunnel as they moved forward.

Several minutes passed of the pair walking forward, eventually finding bends and turns in the tunnel, until they suddenly come upon a dim light at the end.

"Oh? Did we find it already? And we don't even have a luck stat to help us I'd say we're-" Drake began saying then paused as he whistled looking at what was causing the light.

Out in front of them was the opening to a large cave, the walls covered in glowing stones. On the floor thousands and thousands of ants meandering in and out of tunnels parting only for the exits and the dirt columns that were supporting the cave.

The columns were extensive and wide, holes sporting the sides from bottom to the top ants coming and going just as frequently as the exits to the cave.

"This is bigger than I thought…. It's like a goddamn city down here.." Drake whistled.