Chapter One-Hundred and Forty-Four: First One Down

Drake went through his quest prompts as he walked closer and closer to the Ant Hive, surprisingly he had completed all but one quest.

[Subjugated 231 of 500 Tyrant Ant Reapers [F-Rank]

And to his own frustration, he still had not leveled up.

"This is pissing me off. I've killed over like five-thousand of these bastards, and all I've gotten is the title, some very scary sounding seedlings, potions, but at least this isn't bad…"

Drake looked down at the ring in his hands, its glowing red bloom pulsating gently.

[Crimson Fire Welp Ring] [F-Grade] [Rare]

+40 to Strength, +10 to Endurance and Vitality.

Limited to one per hand.

Made from the scales of the Fire Welp, this ring is infused with its strength and enduring vitality. While the juvenile dragon is of no comparison to their adult counterpart, they are still a monster of which you would wish not face alone.

He scoffed.

Great, another piece of equipment made from dragons. Is the system intentionally helping me piss them off? He thought.

"Perhaps they are, the system thrives on conflict after all," Natto surmised.

Drake sighed but had to agree. After replacing one of his other rings with his new and improved one, he double-checked his status.

[Drake Wallen]

[Race: Human] [F Rank]

[Profession: Miner P5(0%) [F Rank], Crafter P5(0%) [F-Rank]

Tutorial Alias [Shot]

[Elemental Miller] [Unique] Level 20

[Vitality] 357 (10+ 15%)

[Strength] 411 (50 +10%)

[Dexterity] 315 (40 + 20%)

[Intelligence] 737 (15+15%) +(70)

[Wisdom] 377 (10 + 15%)

[Endurance] 309 (30 + 25%)

[Free Points] 40

He was happy to see the raw increase in his stats and was still holding onto some free points for a rainy day. Drake could feel that he was most likely on the cusp of another level up. But the Ants were doing anything but being accommodating to their guest.

"Maybe once we've cracked open, or close the Hive entrances and completed this quest I'll at least get a few levels. There's still a bunch more variants we haven't seen yet and I'm getting impatient with just playing a hack and slash right now."

Drake finished looking at his status seeing that he was comfortably topped off on his resources.

"Before you begin I must inform you to start holding onto the monster corpses," Natto said suddenly.

"Corpses? Why? I thought we couldn't use anything from monsters of this Rank?" Drake questioned.

"It is true that it will not be the most profitable, you may use any monster remains. But the purpose is not the materials for the moment, it is the corpses themselves. Did you not read the seedling's description?" Natto asked.

Drake scratched the side of his face, pulling one of the seedlings out of his inventory discreetly.

[Man Eating Fruit Tree] [F-Grade] x 1

A plant that consumes the flesh of anything to produce fruit with nutritious properties.

The seedlings of the Man Eating Fruit Tree are quick to grow given the correct sustenance

Planters beware, may eat you.

Drake cringed slightly reading the description.

"Are these straight out of a horror film…? This isn't going to turn into that one Light Novel with these trees right? I have some RTS experience but I'm no grand Starcraft 2 player. I only reached low gold!" Drake grumbled.

"No you fool! These are just a larger version of a venus fly trap. They eat anything within arms reach to produce food and propagate. They can be trained to eat only monster corpses, at least so I have heard…" Natto admitted.

"You don't know…?" Drake asked, laughing sarcastically.

"Of course I know! I know everything. I just do not believe you can do it," she said, almost making the sneer in her voice materialize.

"Well, that was just rude," Drake scoffed.

Placing the seed back into his inventory, he walked for a few more minutes, the clearing and the chittering of mandibles coming into both vision and earshot.

"Is it just me or is there more…?" Drake said, looking out into the sea of red.

"It is quite possible… Regardless. How do you plan on even getting close to the first Hive Entrance? Even with all your killing earlier you barely put a dent into their numbers let alone get close to the entrance," Natto asked.

"Easy!" Drake smiled, "I wasn't trying to get there before, but now? I can just punch a hole right through them."

Drake first summoned a ball of fire, it quickly shimmering from red to blue, then white. Next, a ball of water that began revolving around the fire, it shifting from a light clear blue into a more green aquamarine. Finally, he summoned that last element he needed, a gust of wind that trapped both the fire and water inside, tightly packing them together as it produced steam that desperately wanted to escape.

Looking like the kid in science class who just figured out how to make the assignment exciting, Drake's eyes curved upwards with his smile. He quickly pointed his hand forward, the ball moving with it.

"Always enter with a bang!" Drake shouted.

"Impact."

Drake chanted a single word the mass of elements turning and spinning with such force it began to suck in the air around it. The Ants suddenly noticed the intruder and turned, but it was too late.

The condensed spell of magic shot forward creating a temporary vacuum as it surged forward sucking in and displacing anything in front of it until it met with the first unfortunate Ant that finally made contact with it.

In the instant the ball made physical contact a deafening boom rocked the area, throwing earth and ants in all directions.

Drake immediately took position in a sprinter's pose, a ball of thunder materializing in front of him.

"I've always wanted to use this one," he smiled.

"Oh god…" Natto sighed.

"Don't ruin my fun!" Drake shouted, "Gear, Second!"

Drake roared his spell as the lightning disappeared and his hair and tattoos cascaded with brilliant yellow vibrance.

The moment it completed he was off, stepping forward as the ground underneath him crumbled from the force. Drake shot off like a fired gun a thunderous snap sounding as he roared forward following the devastation his spell had just caused as he ran straight for the enormous Hive entrance that towered over the area.

Drake ran through Tyrant and after Tyrant and, throwing one after the other to the side, or crushed them underfoot as he used every element at his disposal in its most minimalistic iteration to kill anything in his path to the entrance.

"Move move move!!!" Drake shouted as he chuckled, happy to finally fight monsters again.

"Are you enjoying this?" Natto asked, concerned.

"Maybe a little bit, why?" Drake asked back.

"You do realize you used to appall killing, do you not? You are changing once again, and not in a way I thought you wished," Natto stated.

Drake flinched slightly at her pointing it out. But she was right, Drake had never before enjoyed battle. The growth of his stats sure, but killing in general? He didn't have a taste for it. When was it that he changed? Was it the stones, or maybe the levels that he gained. Or was it something deeper inside him, that feeling that had been gnawing at him since his fight with the King.

Was there something more going on, something like what was happening with Bjorn.

Drake wasn't sure and apparently, even Natto wasn't either.

"I don't know. But I can't worry about it right now," Drake deflected, "These ants might be small fry, but you never know when the big fish are going to come out. I have to stay alert, so that's just something we'll have to deal with when we cross that bridge."

Drake rapidly closed in on the Hive, his speed unmatchable by the ants he was trampling on. Before many of them could even react he was able to dismember or crush them underfoot. And those that did even put up the slightest fight, were silenced by a following barrage of spells that left no room for them to even retaliate against him.

He was a fox in a hen house, and there was nothing they could do to stop him.

Within seconds he transversed the area reaching the first entrance on his list.

Glancing at his status, he had resources to spare.

"Good, now just a little bit of fireworks and we'll be out of….." Drake trailed off as he began hearing loud thumping coming from inside the entrance.

He had cleared the opening of the hill but wasn't close enough to enter just yet. Drake stood and watch as he saw and felt the rubble move with what he quickly assumed to be something moving.

Drake looked over his shoulder and certainly saw other Tyrant Ants moving about, but the sound was completely out of sync with the noise.

"This isn't going to be a T-Rex-type deal, is it? I already had it with the Vampiric Ape, so I kinda have some PTSD about it…." Drake joked as he shivered in faux fear.

He continued to wait and observe the opening in the hill as the steps became louder, the ground rumbling with more motion than he cared for.

"Can it just hurry up and come out… I'd like to get to the part where we fight," he sighed.

Drake's lament turned to hilarity quickly when what popped out of the opening was the small head of an Ant, its beady eyes looking back and forth before it locked onto Drake. The mandibles on the monster clicking furiously.

"Aweeeee, aren't you just the cutest li- Ok you're not so cute…" Drake amended as the walls of the hive began to fracture as the monster's mouth began to chitter louder and faster.

The monster was pushing against the entrance. And eventually pushed past it.

[Tyrant Ant Guardian Level 28 [F-Rank]

[New Subjugation Quest! Subjugate 5 Tyrant Ant Guardians [F-Rank]

[Reward: Experience. TP. Rare Skill Stone x5]

Drake's eyes and head followed the Ant as it pushed out of the entrance and began towering over him.

"You know, the last guy who was taller than me ended ass up on the floor. Wait, that didn't sound right… I killed him. I meant that I killed him, like with a spear and fire. Like pewpew" Drake said absentmindedly, miming with his fingers.

The Guardian was anything but amused as its hulking figure stood nearly as tall as the Hive Hill. Its small head glaring down, or what Drake could only take as a glare, on top of its massive body.

The Guardian Ant had six legs like the rest, but its thorax was many times the size of the others. And its front two legs were at least five times larger than its remaining legs.

But Drake didn't fail to notice the smaller ants which were chirping behind it.

[Tyrant Ant Mender Level 20 [F-Rank]

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

[Reward: Experience. TP. Rare Accessory of Your Choice]

Drake raised his brow at the name he identified but was interrupted in his thoughts by the loud screeching above him.

Looking back up at the massive insect, its front legs were raised in a motion to come down on Drake.

Drake scoffed and stepped forward, the sound of the Monster's legs crashing into the ground booming behind him as he moved in front of them through the first Mender he came in contact with.

Like before the moment he did, the insides and wonderful juices splattered and covered him.

"Ugh! This shit feels…Wait, it feels good?" Drake said confused, holding his hands up.

Drake expected to be a sticky mess of disgusting innards and fluids once more but instead was met with a soothing feeling from the fluid instead.

"Wait, Mender right?" Drake thought, pointing at the remaining nine in front of him, then looked behind him, "Guardian," he said putting the two together.

"He has solved the mystery! Hooray!" Natto shouted sarcastically.

"Hey, I learn," Drake scoffed, turning back and quickly killing the surrounding Menders before the Guardian could turn its hulking body to defend them, "See? Killed the healers first this time. Learning," Drake stated proudly.

"Impressed with yourself are you?" Natto snickered.

"Always," Drake smirked under his mask.

He turned to meet the Guardian Ant, the monster now noticing that its support had been killed in less than a few seconds. It shrieked in frustration as it reared back its legs again.

"See that's why you always protect the healers," Drake chided the monster, summoning a ball of fire that quickly disappeared as his hair and tattoos shimmered to a crimson-red glow.

Drake looked up, ready to meet the monster with his own punch.

"Heretical Attunement, Fire," Drake changed winding back his own fist another ball of fire entering his vision, "Normal Series, Normal Punch."

Drake threw his fist forward through the ball of fire as it wrapped around his fist, meeting the two legs of the Giant Guardian Ant in a collision of power.

Both connected for only an instant in what could only be called an excuse for a battle of power.

The Ant stood no chance against Drake's overblow status and subsequent buffs he had placed on himself.

In the fraction of a second that their fist -and also legs- connected, Drake had overwhelmed the Ant, blowing its legs clean off, and punching a hole right into the thorax of the monster.

[You have subjugated Tyrant Ant Guardian Level 28 [F-Rank] [Experience Awarded, 100,000 TP Awarded]

"You call that a normal punch…?" Natto sighed.

"If it's good enough for a man in a mustard-colored leotard. It's good enough for me," Drake said, laughing loudly.