Meteor Strike

After a short, laborious flight, the Brightborn Antdragons dropped Ignatius toward the nest of their infant monstrosity below!

Ignatius's heat beat wildly in his chest, but he tried to remain as calm as possible. 'This had better work!' he thought. His experience in Path of the Immortal told him that it would very likely function as he expected, but he could never be certain until he actually tried it…

The crystalline antlion clattered its jaws menacingly, giving off an excited, glassy burble of anticipation as its meal hurtled through the air. A spiny tongue, like a strand of molten glass, lashed out as it prepared to latch onto one of Ignatius's limbs and drag him into its stabbing mouthparts.

But Ignatius concentrated all his effort and managed to spin in the air, so that his feet were pointing directly downward.

He'd already cast [✯Trailblazer] earlier, and a streak of fire had trailed through the air behind him as the antdragons carried him. This fire died out almost immediately, since it was designed to burn on the ground, not in the middle of the air. But any creature which had touched it at the brief moment of its existence would have received a nasty chunk of fire damage.

Now, as the Monk plummeted feet-first toward the waiting predator, the fire streamed out around him from the soles of his feet as though he were a meteor hurtling through the sky.

He crashed into the Brightborn Antlion's waiting jaws, sending a shock wave of sand flying out of the conical nest around him! Pain filled his body as thorny mandibles and a spike-covered tongue dug into him…

…But then the monster began to writhe in agony.

Ignatius's legs were firmly planted in its slimy, slithery throat, and the constant flames pouring out of his feet had nowhere to go.

The monster gnashed its jaws, trying to kill its food and stop the agony, and every bite dealt yet another huge chunk of damage which Ignatius had no way of avoiding. He could gain a split second of invincibility, but that would pause his [✯Trailblazer] effect, and therefore buy him hardly any time.

So he simply bit his lip and endured the pain, trying to punch the monster in the eye to help the process along. Unfortunately, the Brightborn Antlion's jaws were so huge and hard that his attacks couldn't reach the thing's face, nor deal any actual damage.

Seeing their infant in danger, the Brightborn Antdragons in the sky screamed with fury and dove to attack! Ignatius was completely helpless against their attacks, and he braced himself for death.

But then the monster chewing on him went still.

In a split second, the flying beasts veered away from their original path, sailing off into the distance. Their gemlike bodies shone in the red-orange sunlight, giving them the appearance of ruby meteors.

Ignatius sighed in relief and pulled himself from the antlion's now-limp jaws. He turned and stared into the well-cooked interior of the thing's mouth. "Ugh, that stinks!" he muttered. Indeed, smoke poured out of the monster's throat, and it smelled like someone had burned a whole sack of dirty feathers.

Then the creature vanished as its body returned to Essence, and this surged into Ignatius's possession.

GAME: Brightborn Antlion dropped ❖800.

It also dropped several pieces of Normal Rarity equipment, none of which would likely be of use. All things considered, though, it wasn't a bad result at all! However, Ignatius was very close to death at this point, and his Hunger Clock was still ticking down. A lot of that Essence would need to be spent just getting back to fighting shape.

"It's safe now!" he called from the crater which had once been a nest. "Those monsters are obsessed with protecting their young, but they always run away as soon as they realize there's nothing left to protect."

"I see!" came a faint voice from the highway. "Thank you for the update, my friend. I'll be there in a moment."

The shock wave from Ignatius's impact had thankfully caused the sides of the nest crater to widen considerably. Antlion nests were designed to be impossible to climb up, but their new, semi-collapsed state made it simply a tricky journey. By the time Ignatius made it back to the surface, the sun beating warmly down on his face again, Siegmund had just reached him.

"That was quite a spectacle," said the Onion Knight. "However, I couldn't see what happened once you passed over the lip of the crater… except for that explosion of force! What happened?"

"I toasted the monster from the inside," Ignatius replied. "I'd like to avoid that strategy in the future, though. I nearly died. On that note, I have to send you back to town before we continue."

So Siegmund temporarily left Floor Five, the sliver of a future City of Stomrus contained within the Eternal Tower, and returned to the "present day" version of the City of Stomrus which all players could access. It was a bit of a silly concept! "And it's funny how I'm dealing with time travel even inside the game," Ignatius said out loud as he stood at the edge of the sand crater.

He crossed his arms, staring out at the hazy mountains in the far distance where he'd started this new life in the past.

Thankfully, Siegmund returned rather quickly this time. "I've got the potions and food you asked for," he said. "The good shopkeeper even threw in a gift! Come and take a look."

Ignatius was immediately interested. Every time a companion was sent back to town from a dungeon, there was a tiny chance of a free gift being added to the purchase, based on the amount of Essence the companion spent. This could range from a single biscuit all the way to endgame items… but of course there was no chance of that happening with the small amount of Essence that Siegmund had spent on this trip.

"Thanks," said Ignatius, and took most of the bought items. He ate and drank to restore his HP and Hunger Clock, then examined the free item.

It was a Magic Rarity potion called [☆Potion of Water Breathing]. If someone drank it, they could go without breathing for a full minute. Usually, characters could hold their breaths as much as they wanted, but they couldn't move while doing so. This potion would allow Ignatius to ignore some dangerous effects while still being able to fight!

"That will come in handy," said Ignatius as he added it to his inventory. "Now come on, let's step into the city itself. This definitely wasn't the only danger we'll face before meeting the boss."