Chapter 12- The Rock Ants

[Calculation complete.]

[It will cost 5 Growth Points to regenerate both legs.]

'Ugh, it feels like a waste, but I can't run well without all of my legs. Go for it, System.' Annoyed by having to spend an entire 1/6th of the Growth Points he's gained so far, Jared stares at his leg as he prompts the System to start the repair.

"Woah, your leg is coming back!" Amazed by the process, Char stares in awe as a navy blue leg quickly emerges from Jared's two stubs. Her little legs tapping as she keeps watch.

'A little itchy, but not unbearable.' Jared thinks to himself. 'I should really improve my skills so I don't have to waste my points the next time.' Determined to improve his strength, Jared motions to Char to hop back onto his head before starting the journey back to the beast's cave. At first, a trail of small puddles of fleshy goo covers the floor, clearly from the beast's legs' injury. As they slowly make their way, he can't help but notice the plentiful remnants of Char's webs, scattered all across the walls after being snapped. Having Char set up more of these traps along the way, it doesn't take long before they return to the cave.

Looking around carefully, neither Jared nor Char can find the dangerous beast, seemingly having gone into hiding to nurse its injuries. After a few minutes of ensuring their safety, Jared hops down into the cave, before making his way over to a specific hole in the cave wall.

"This should be it." Reassuring Char, he steps into the hole, following it slowly. It doesn't take long for him to run into his target: three, slightly smaller, light-brown ants. Staring at each other for a few seconds, it's Jared who attempts first contact.

"Hello, I'm Jared!" Trying to sound polite, Jared introduces himself first.

"Don't care, move." Without hesitation, the leading brown ant snaps back, commanding Jared to stop blocking the path.

"Wait! I have a deal for you." Trying to catch their attention, he tries to make an offer of cooperation.

"No deals, ugly ant, move or die." Unfazed, the lead ant snaps its mandibles toward Jared menacingly, threatening him with its pheromones.

Getting angry at their attitude, Jared decides to try one more thing as he steps out of the way, allowing the ants to pass. "There's food involved!"

Before they could step past Jared, they "hear" the word "food," stopping in their tracks before staring back at Jared. Well, more specifically, looking up at Char. "Food?"

"No, not her!" Taking a step back, Jared begins to explain about the beast, taking multiple messages to get his point across: "Let's work together to kill the beast." Although it was difficult due to the low level of his Pheromone Production, eventually, they understood.

[Pheromone Production proficiency has increased due to use. 6/10]

[Pheromone Production proficiency has increased due to use. 7/10]

Happy with the increase in his proficiency, Jared doesn't notice as the three ants begin to surround him slowly.

"You want to kill our food source! Ugly ant must die!" Releasing this alarming message, the lead ant steps closer to Jared, its mandibles opening and closing menacingly.

"Ugly ant die!" Mimicking the leader, another brown ant releases a similar message before charging towards Jared.

"Food source? Oh shi- Char, hold on tight!" Realizing that his offer was instead more of a threat to the brown ant colony's food source, Jared makes a snap decision. Jumping out of the way of the ants' bite, Jared makes a run for it, not wanting to confront the three ants in such a small space.

Narrowly avoiding all three ants, Jared and Char return to the main cave, before hurrying to the Mana Pools' cave entrance. The three ants close behind, Jared scales the wall, before running down the cave.

"Alright, Char, get ready, this might be tough!" Mentally preparing himself for the battle, Jared charges past the multiple traps that Char had set up earlier before turning around to watch his pursuers.

"Kill and eat! Kill and Eat!" Sensing the harsh message, Jared watches as the lead ant runs straight into one of Char's webs. Ignoring the web, the ant attempts to keep running, but before it can get far, the web "snaps" back, lifting the ant into the air, and keeping it suspended, unable to move. Undeterred, the other ants charge past their incapacitated friend, opening their mandibles and snapping towards Jared.

Deciding to trust in his Mutated Exoskeleton, Jared ignored the first ant, allowing it to clamp onto his leg. Shaking and tearing, the ant tries its best but fails to rip off his leg. 

"Char! Tie him to the floor!" Taking advantage of his tough body, Jared keeps his eye on the final ant, snapping his mandibles towards it, forcing it to keep its distance. Meanwhile, Char uses this short moment to launch out a plethora of webs, using nearly all of her mana to produce as many as she can, covering the ant with a blanket of webs, and preventing it from moving its body. Briefly letting go of Jared in an attempt to free itself, the ant ends up freeing Jared.

Free and undamaged, Jared takes the chance to charge at the final ant. Before he could get close, however, the ant turned around, running off and disappearing into the larger cave. Not wanting to leave his two remaining opponents unchecked, Jared lets it flee. Turning back to the brown ant stuck to the floor, Jared gives Char an order.

"I'll handle this one, you deal with the guy hanging in the air."

"Okay! I'll stick em' real good!" Excited to take down her first prey, Char stealthily climbs the webs around the cave, moving behind the body of the suspended ant before rearing on her back legs, revealing her fangs. Using the remainder of her small mana pool to make more venom, Char falls forward, her small fangs piercing the ants' exoskeleton, releasing her deadly venom inside. Moving back quickly, she watches as the ants' body shakes rapidly, then slowly twitching, before finally not moving at all. Although she couldn't see it, the System confirmed her kill.

[First Kill Bonus: 20 Growth Points.]

After ensuring Char could handle her opponent, Jared turns back to his opponent just in time to see it trying to free itself again. With a pale yellow light glowing on its mandibles, it snaps down onto one of the webs in front of it, cleanly snapping the string. Luckily, Char bound the ant with more than one web, so this action did not help it much, only freeing its head.

'Hmm, I've seen them use that yellow light on the beast before... I wonder.'

Sure that the ant wouldn't escape, Jared decides to try learning a new skill. Once again, trying to manipulate his mana, this time Jared imagines it coating his mandibles, making them stronger. Although it takes a few seconds, eventually, Jared feels a familiar swelling from his Core, before a blue light slowly begins to move around his mandibles in a swirling pattern.

[Congratulations! You have unlocked the skill "Crushing Bite."]

The notification confirming his thoughts, Jared walks to the side of the tied-down ant. He took his time to line his mandibles up with its head before clamping down with a sickening crunch. Like a hammer trying to cut through tofu, Jared's mandibles easily crush the ant's head, splattering its insides all around.

[Consume the body to gain Growth Points.]

'Ah, I guess the first kill bonus really is only for my first kill.' Disappointed that it wasn't based on the species instead, Jared complains to himself. After a few minutes, both Jared and Char finish consuming their meals, leaving behind only the splatter from Jared's attack. To ensure that they don't attract any unwanted guests, Jared even eats the husk left behind by Char despite not gaining any Growth Points for the action.

"No wonder that beast attacked us on sight, I'm an ant. That damn colony has been constantly attacking the beast, stealing little chunks of its flesh before retreating, making sure it stays alive." Jared explains to Char, who once again was bloated from overeating. 

"That poor rock, maybe I should bite it so it's not sad anymore!" Contributing to the conversation in her own way, Char offers to "put it out of its misery."

"Well, I think we'll have a lot of ants to deal with, especially because that one got away." Worried about their future, Jared decides to think about how they can deal with an entire ant colony with just the two of them. "Char, I think... we'll need some new friends."