The Giant Ant Queen
The queen shook its head as it searched around for me.
Then it locked its eyes on me, but then it looked away.
Could it be that it can't see me? Maybe that spike in its head is messing with its vision.
Hmm, what if I just...
I picked up one of the spikes on the floor and threw it to the other side of the room. When it dropped onto the ground, the queen immediately jerked its head and bolted towards the sound. It then crashed into the walls.
Crash!
I looked up at the spike and it looks like it cracked a bit.
This plan, it might actually work! If I can just get the queen under the spike before it breaks off, I might just defeat it.
I looked at the ant queen who had recovered from the crash. I picked up another spike and threw it to the other side. The queen jerked its head again and tackled the other side of the cave. The crack on the spike had gotten larger.
"KIIEEEEEEEEEKK!!!"
The queen shrieked. The force of its shriek was so powerful, I think I might have heard a few more cracks. I'm lucky that this thing is blind. If it wasn't and it shrieked in front of me, it would've probably broken my eardrums.
I picked up another spike and slowly walked to the location under the large stalactite. While I was quietly walked over there, the queen perked its head up and its antenna started moving. What is it doing?
Then the queen faced its attention at me. Oh sh*t, I forgot. Ants use their antenna's to recognize allies and enemies. Not only that, they use it for smelling. I think it might have picked up my scent.
I looked at the dried ant fluid on my hands. This is probably how it can find me.
The queen shrieked once again, and I heard more cracks coming from the spike. It was almost at the verge of breaking off.
While I was distracted by the spike, the queen had tackled me to the ground and slashed me with its claws.
Slash!
"Ack!"
[Health: 129/220]
There was a large gash on my chest. Luckily, the queen had missed my vital organs, but now I have a large cut in my chest. To my surprise, I hadn't screamed, but I really wanted to. This pain was unbearable, and I lost almost half of my health.
The queen detected me again, and it slowly approached me. Each step it took shook the cave. I stared up at the looming figure of the queen. It opened its 6 mandibles, which looked like a maw and was ready to eat my head off.
Until I heard the sound of the spike snapping off.
Snap!
Right when I heard that, I got up and jumped away from the queen. The queen then turned its head around with its maw opened, and the spike penetrated the queen from its mouth and came out from the other side of the head.
Splurt!
Ant fluids splattered everywhere.
I took deep breaths and slowly got up while holding my chest.
"Haha, the plan worked. I killed it."
Well, the spike did. It was a bit too easy, though. Doesn't every queen have like guards or something? Well, since it had such a little population, I guess it's going to be missing some crucial things.
Anyway, does it still count towards the quest?
Ding!
[Objective: 1/1 Giant Ant Queen (Completed)]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Rewards: Leap(Lv1), Rehab Tenacity, Claw Stone]
Well, lucky me. I leveled up, and I got a new ability and a new effect. What's that last thing? Claw stone? Whatever, what I'm interested in is the effect.
[Rehab Tenacity: Health restores by 10 per second and whenever Health is below 30%, all stats are doubled (Except Aura). In addition, restores any missing limbs and heals any wounds.]
Oh, this is a good effect. So my health is automatically regenerated, huh?
Soon enough, the gash on my chest had closed up. The pain had vanished.
[Health: 260/260]
"Wow, I feel like a new man!
So my effects are like passive skills. That's nice to know.
"Alright, now that I'm all better, I have to go deal with that Iron Death Bear!"
As I took a step forward, I fell onto my knees.
I was tired, I already took out an ant colony and now I have to fight an Iron Death Bear. I don't even know what it looks like, but I bet it'll be bigger than the bear I fought.
Maybe I should just rest for now, though I won't be able to sleep peacefully with all these stinky fluids all over the floor.
I should distribute my stat points before I go. I'll go fight it tomorrow, or when I wake up because I don't even know what time it is right now. It could be morning, noon, evening, or midnight.
---
[Stats]
Strength: 31
Resistance: 30
Agility: 41
Perception: 31
Aura: 21
(Available stat points: 12)
---
Hmm, I'll just do the same thing I did last time. 3 for everything except aura.
---
[Stats]
Strength: 34
Resistance: 33
Agility: 44
Perception: 34
Aura: 21
(Available stat points: 0)
---
Now, time to sleep, I hope that quest doesn't have a timer...
Or I'll die of exhaustion.
***
When I woke up, the stench of a dead ant course was overwhelming that I had to puke.
"Aww jeez, that's just disgusting. I gotta get out of here."
I went back through the way I came from. Not only did I want to get out of there because of the smell, but it was also a dead end.
Rumble~
"I'm hungry... what is there to eat?"
Man, I missed the good old ramen back in my previous life. I wondered how I died? Well, Ms. goddess said that I died from a truck so I guess I'll accept it.
Anyway, I finally made it back.
I felt kind of thirsty. Maybe I should drink some water first.
Oh wait, I forgot that I washed my hands in that water, I can't drink it anymore.
But wait! The water from the ceiling!
I approached the small pool and looked up at the ceiling. There it was, the source of the water. If only I had something to store it.
Searching around the cave, I couldn't find anything that I could use as a kind of bottle. This is bullsh*t.
Well, the only I came across was this small stone that was the shape of a cup. Not exactly like a cup but it had the shape. I guess I can use it. I'm pretty lucky.
I placed the cup beneath the droplets, and I waited...
And waited...
and waited...
*5 minutes later*
"WHY IS THIS TAKING SO LONG!!!"
The cup-shaped stone was only half-filled! This wasn't even enough to satisfy me!
Damn it, if only I could use water magic. But it looks like I'll have to unlock that in the future. I just don't know when.
*A few minutes later*
Finally, the cup was full now. I took the cup and downed the water.
"Ahh... that was refreshing. Now, what do I have to do?"
The blue message popped up in front of me.
[Quest: SLAY THEM ALL (100/100 Giant Ants; 1/1 Giant Ant Queen; 0/1 Iron Death Bear; 0/1 Lich)]
Oh yeah, I have to kill an Iron Death Bear and then a Lich.
Hmm, that Iron Death Bear sounds much harder than a mere Lich. But then again, I'm just an F-rank demon so what could I do?
Though, I don't feel like an F-rank demon. Also, why did I get a rank instead of like a "Low-class demon" or something like that? Tch, whatever.
I left the cup beneath the droplets so if I come back, that is, if I do come back, then I can drink a cup of water, and then I'll be on my way, again.
Now since I completed the left path, and it was a dead-end, I'll have to go either the middle path or the right path.
Hmm, which one should I go for?
Hmm...
They both have the same amount of energy coming from the other end. Looks like the Lich has an impressive aura.
Is that what the aura is for?
I don't know, but I'm not going to focus on my aura stat yet.
Well, the only thing that I can do is do a coin flip.
If I had a coin.
Well, the only thing I can do now is close my eyes, spin around with my hand out, and then which every direction my hand lands on will be the path I will go.
Hand...
Oh yeah, I got a new storage item.
---
[Storage]
Claw Stone
---
I wonder what the Claw Stone is? Wonder what it looks like.
I reached my hand out, and it felt if as if my hand just entered a new dimension.
"What the?"
I felt something at the other end, and when I pulled my hand out, there was a gray shard in my hand.
This is a claw stone? What the hell am I going to do with this?
Suddenly, the blue streaks on my body began flashing. That's when the stone sank into my hand.
"What the hell?"
My hand had absorbed the stone.
[Claw Stone Absorbed]
I looked at my hands. What did the hell happen?
Then I felt a weird feeling on the end of my fingers. When I looked at my nails, they had grown longer by about 2-3 inches and curled like talons. So the claw stone was to make my nails sharper and longer? Wait, how can I use [Jab] now?
Wait, I can probably retract them.
I looked at my nails, and when I wanted them to retract, they retracted.
I stand corrected.
[Skill learned: Lacerate(Lv1)]
Lacerate? What does that mean? Maybe I should try it out.
I tried using [Lacerate] but nothing happened. Why isn't is doing anything?
Maybe... I need to use my new claws.
My nails curled and turned into claws. Then I tried [Lacerate] out. When I did, the streaks on my body glowed brighter, and then my arms felt lighter. When I swiped the air, it moved at lightning speed.
"Whoa, that was fast! This will definitely be useful."
[Mana: 150/170]
Hmm, so this uses twice the amount of mana I use for magic. This must be a powerful skill to have.
Well then, continuing to the roulette. I put my hand over my eyes, covering them, and I put one hand out. Then I spun around for 10 seconds and then eventually stopped.
When I opened my eyes, I wished that I had just chosen the right path because my hand had landed in the middle.
I heard a roar echoing from the other end of the tunnel, like the bear is waiting for me, expecting whatever tricks I'm going to perform. I can even sense the bloodlust from the other side. It must be because of my perception stat.
Well, here goes nothing.
As soon as I stepped into the middle path, a blue message popped up.
[Objective: 0/1 Iron Death Bear]