The Killer Ant

Looking at the ant's sturdy, obsidian carapace, a sense of foreboding filled Deon's heart.

'Why? Killer ants are supposed to be weak…' But he could not help but gulp. There was something sinister about the Killer worker ant. If Deon had to describe it, he'd say it was starving. So much that it was emitting an aura of death.

Its hard shell was matte black and its body was small in comparison to its huge head that sported abnormally large mandibles.

The F-class Killer ant swayed like a drunkard, shifting its weight as if in preparation for an attack.

"Fee…d… the.. que..en..." its compound eyes seemed to glow red as it hungrily stared at Deon.

Suddenly, the ant moved—FAST!

Deon gasped in horror at the ant's agility. Its hind legs kicked the ground with so much force that clumps of dirt flew like shrapnel.

In an instant, the ant traversed 3 meters, its jagged mandibles snapping at Deon like giant scissors ready to cut him in pieces!

Deon rolled to the right, dodging the ant attack by a hair's breadth. "Whoa! Sir Mikael we need to teleport!" He urgently said as his back hit a tree trunk.

<Skill: Partial Integration Lvl. max is activated.>

This time as well, Mikael chose to take control of Deon's left hand. He did so with the knowledge that Deon was right-handed. This way they would not hinder each other's movements.

<System Notification: Due to Partial Integration, the System has switched player mode from 'Solo' to 'Duo'>

<System Notification: Percent assimilation with Co-player Deon Hensworth has increased to 32%>

<System Notification: Percent Assimilation is less than 33.33%, Level 2 active skills are sealed.>

As soon as they partially integrated, Mikael activated his skill.

<Skill: Teleportation Lvl. 1 is activated>

The host, Kaede, vanished just in time as the ant attacked with its foreleg.

The ant's leg punctured the tree's enormous white trunk, leaving a deep hole that made it look like swiss cheese.

Kaede's jaw dropped, the two souls inhabiting him thought in unison, 'If we were a second slower, that hole would be on our head.'

"Que..en… hung..ry…" the Killer ant turned in Kaede's direction. Its compound eyes were definitely glowing as red as burning coals.

"Q..ue..en.." the ant charged again with its jaw-dropping agility.

And again, Kaede dodged to the side.

Ultimately, he had no choice but to successively activate his skills—MP management be damned! If he spared even a second of hesitation, the monster ant would kill him in an instant!

<Skill: Bluff Lvl. 1 is activated.>

Kaede used Bluff in hopes of achieving the same result as he did earlier, but even as the thick crimson aura shrouded his body, the Killer ant did not waver.

It continued to charge at Kaede like a raging bull seething at the sight of a red flag.

Seeing that the skill was ineffective, Kaede canceled it.

At this point, he abandoned the notion that his opponent was a normal F-class monster.

"System! How much MP do I have left?" Kaede asked.

<System Notification: total available MP (Combined): 100/430>

The clock was ticking!

Mikael and Deon had no time to be indecisive.

Will they teleport 30 meters away or will they fight with their remaining MP?

"Let's fight."

"Let's run."

The two blurted out simultaneously. Ironically, it was Deon who wanted to fight.

It was just an hour ago when these two had made a similar choice—Yet now, their answers had reversed.

"WHYYY?!" Mikael exclaimed in exasperation. He could not understand how Deon's brain worked. He thought that this time, they would surely come to the same conclusion.

"Call me a hypocrite, but to me, killing a monster is vastly different from killing a person." Deon stubbornly said, "In the first place, we ARE in a hunting competition, Sir Mikael."

Mikael was speechless.

But their enemy did not give him time to reason with Deon. Fearing another 'Internal conflict', he reluctantly agreed with his partner's choice.

"Fine… But if I deem the situation as hopeless, I will teleport us out of here." Mikael compromised, "Recklessness is different from bravery, Deon."

With that, the two of them worked to defeat their opponent.

Equally and respectfully— Becoming partners in the truest sense of the word.

Kaede closed his eyes as he breathed deeply, calming his nerves.

The two souls thought of how to beat their enemy.

They searched their memory of the last several minutes of battle, analyzing the killer ant's movements.

'BULL!'

His eyes opened abruptly, revealing bright heterochromic** irises beneath the iron helmet.

Kaede tightly grasped his spear and assumed a fighting stance.

The ant ran toward him at full speed!

At the last second, Kaede rolled to the side.

The ant could not immediately change directions due to its momentum and crashed into a tree.

Its razor-sharp mandibles closed, taking a huge chunk out of the trunk.

Kaede rolled over and with all his might, stabbed the Killer ant's head!

But its shell was not for show!

It was as hard as iron armor!

The spear tip screeched against the tough carapace; Orange sparks erupted from the collision.

Kaede immediately pulled away. He ran to put as much distance as he could from the monster.

"fei…s..ty…pr..ey!" the ant grew increasingly impatient at Kaede's ceaseless dodging.

It ran to the side and lifted a huge boulder with its two stick-thin forelegs.

Mouth agape, Kaede stared at the boulder!

Mikael knew from his limited earthen knowledge that ants could lift objects far heavier than themselves, but he had hoped that this would not be the case in this magical world—Alas! He was proven wrong!

The ant threw the boulder twice its size in Kaede's direction.

Fortunately, Kaede was faster. He ran out of the boulder's trajectory.

But the ant seemingly anticipated this move as it charged at him like an arrow!

"UGH!!!" Kaede toppled to the ground! He was trapped underneath the Killer ant!

The monster snapped at him like a rabid dog and Kaede was forced to use another teleportation.

Just as the ant was about to tear his head off, Kaede vanished.

'We have to wrap this up quickly!' Kaede thought as he checked his remaining MP.

<System Notification: total available MP (Combined): 15/430>

'How do I defeat an ant?' mind racing with adrenaline, an answer came to Kaede,

"I just need to crush you, you insect!"

Kaede moved beside the boulder. It was within the three-meter range.

'I really hope this will work. Otherwise, we're dead meat…'

With both arms, Kaede hugged the boulder and teleported above the Killer Ant.

Sure enough, the boulder was teleported with him. It fell on top of the monster.

Crack!!

The ant's iron-hard shell cracked from the impact and its green monster blood splattered like slime.

"Oww…"

Kaede fell on top of the boulder, groaning as he eyed the killer ant's twitching body.

Only when he confirmed the monster's death did Kaede sigh in relief.

--Chapter end--

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*Heterochromic - differently colored eyes.