Chapter 20: Running For Life
After finishing the contract, Sam ventured out, spending around thirty minutes hunting some formidable beasts.
He had roughly an hour before he would be transported to the academy, and he needed to ensure that Anthra, the Beast Ant Queen, would not become prey to other creatures.
The only way to secure her safety was to make her stronger, and the quickest way to achieve this was by facilitating her evolution.
Once evolved, she could lay eggs and hatch the first batch of worker ants.
To lay these eggs, the Beast Ant Queen required a substantial amount of energy and resources, which was precisely why Sam was hunting—to gather enough resources for Anthra to develop the initial batch of worker ants.
As Sam was about to conclude his resource gathering, the system surprised him with a notification:
[Your contracted beast Anthra (Beast Ant Queen) has cocooned herself and started to grow into the adult stage.]
"Good, it looks like the energy I provided was enough for her to progress to the adult stage," Sam thought.
He hunted a few more beasts, then returned to the base of the mountain and entered the cave.
"It looks like Anthra went deep inside to cocoon herself," Sam observed.
He ventured deeper into the cave and found Anthra cocooned, resembling a giant egg.
Summoning a ball of fire with his magic, he illuminated the cave, revealing another opening.
"A cave within a cave?" Sam mused.
As he continued, he found multiple openings, seeing skeletons of various beasts along the way.
"This cave is like a maze, leading deeper and deeper with each path branching into more paths... It's almost like an anthill," Sam noted.
He decided not to venture further; anthills are notoriously complex, and one could easily get lost.
Returning to where Anthra was cocooned, a theory formed in his mind. "This must have been the home of a Beast Ant colony. That explains how a rare beast like Anthra appeared here out of nowhere."
"She must have been a dormant egg while her entire colony was eradicated. When she absorbed enough energy, she finally hatched without any help," Sam speculated, gently placing his palm on the cocoon.
"You're a resilient beast, aren't you?" he said.
As if responding to its master, the cocoon emitted a faint blue light.
At that moment, a small wisp of red energy left his hand and entered the cocoon, which then glowed with a mixture of blue and red light.
Sam then placed the dead beasts around the cocoon.
After emerging, Anthra would need a significant amount of energy to lay eggs.
He didn't want her to go out to hunt and risk being eaten.
These dead beasts should be enough to sustain her and raise at least the first two batches of worker ants.
Afterward, Sam returned to the main entrance of the anthill.
He looked around to ensure no one was hiding.
Pointing his hand at the cave entrance, he invoked a series of non-elemental spells.
"Silence"
"Barrier"
"Cover"
"Block," he commanded, and an invisible energy left his body, sealing the cave.
"Good, this way no sound, energy, or smell can leak out. This should suffice for now."
He paused to think. "Just to be on the safe side, I'll also block the entrance with debris. The ants should have no problem digging their way out when they hatch."
Using his fire magic, he blasted a few giant rocks to block the entrance.
No one could go in, and no one could get out.
He wasn't worried about the ants; they were excellent diggers and could easily navigate their way out. "Moreover, the anthill should have a secret entrance that the ants could use."
Having done his job, Sam turned and began sprinting toward the campsite.
Suddenly, he stopped midway.
He slowly turned around, only to see nothing there. "Was it just my imagination?" he wondered.
His breath quickened as he resumed sprinting, but he stopped again after a few steps.
This time, he felt a pair of eyes watching him.
Biting his lip, he slowly turned around, again seeing nothing.
Yet, the feeling of being watched was stronger than before, accompanied by an eerie coldness.
It was as if a ghost was standing before him, unseen but undeniably present.
He became acutely aware of his surroundings, realizing he was near the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
All the rumors about people encountering ghosts in the Forbidden Forest resurfaced in his mind.
His pulse quickened as he tried to shake off the unsettling sensation.
"Those rumors can't be true, right?" Without hesitation, Sam began to run away.
He used his fastest speed from the start, as if he believed that if he didn't, a ghost would catch him.
From time to time, he glanced back, but there was no one there.
Still, he could definitely feel a presence.
His breathing grew labored, and gritting his teeth, he pushed his speed to the limit.
He didn't know what was following him, but he needed to get away as soon as possible and regroup with his grandfather, Jin.
The needling pain assaulting his calf muscles grew more intense, but he didn't stop.
Something far more threatening seemed to be on his tail.
He widened his eyes even more, beginning to hear the sound of cracking and rustling leaves and branches behind him.
This only made him more anxious; the fear of the unknown began to creep into his mind.
Ignoring the pain in his leg joints, he ran.
He was almost within the campsite, but he felt he was also within the reach of whatever was chasing him.
The campsite was within sight.
He could see Tasha and Sasha talking to each other, and they also noticed him running. "What's wrong with him?"
Sam could feel something about to grab him from behind.
Gritting his teeth, he didn't stop running and crashed into the tent.
He tumbled and fell to the ground.
Ignoring the situation, he immediately turned to look back, but he found nothing.
The presence he had felt was no longer there.
"Ahhh", Sighing, he then became conscious of the pain in his legs.
It felt as if a hundred needles had been stabbed into his calves.
[Your Agility stat increased: +1]
[Your Stamina stat increased: +1]