Chapter 9 – Ants (2)

Chapter 9 – Ants (2)

Rowan advanced into the tunnel from which the ant had come from. He moved slowly, growing closer to whatever the sources of the light and movement were.

As he grew near, he could make out the shapes of ants scurrying about. There was an intersection in the cave, and every twenty seconds or so, another ant passed by the tunnel he was in.

It still meant that there were plenty of the insects, but, hopefully, not enough to instantly swarm and overwhelm him.

As for the light he’d been seeing, it came from glowing moss on the walls. It was similar to the moss he’d seen when he’d first found himself in the cave system, but it wasn’t exactly the same.

While the moss by the poisonous lake had shared the same dark blue glow as the water, the moss here glowed a soothing green.

For a while, Rowan stayed crouched by a patch of moss, trying to work up the courage to engage with one of the passing ants.

It had taken him several minutes to dispatch the previous ant, and with the frequency that the insects passed his location, he wouldn’t have time to kill one before the next arrived. He’d have to lure one away before he finished it off far enough away that none of the other ants noticed.

He knew that pheromone trails were a thing, but he had no idea how they worked. He could only hope that more ants wouldn’t follow the one he drew away.

The ant he’d already fought had been level 3. After watching the passing ants for several minutes, he knew that their levels ranged from level 1 to level 4. Most were level two or three, with just a few on the weaker or stronger ends.

He wanted to get level 1s and 2s. He knew that killing higher-level ants would probably let him level up more quickly, but that wasn’t his goal. His goal was simply to kill enough of them to get the rations.

He’d checked his Status Screen earlier, and the quest had updated from 0/10 to 1/10 enemies killed. Rowan hadn’t known what was classified as an ‘enemy,’ so he’d had the faint worry that killing the ants wouldn’t count.

As yet another insect passed by, he finally gathered up his courage. Standing up, he moved towards the ant, purposefully doing nothing to hide his actions.

[Worker Ant – Level 2]

The ant, unlike its brethren, paused in the middle of the intersection, stopping to do something. Amoment later, though, the ant noticed him and turned to move toward him, however, he retreated.

The ant was slower than the one he’d fought earlier, and Rowan clenched his fists, praying that it would get away from the intersection before another creature noticed it.

When another ant passed by and noticed nothing, he felt himself relax.

He led his pursuer away until the ants passing by the intersection were nothing but gray smudges. Then, he attacked.

He stopped his retreat, and before the creature could react, leaped forward.

His mace struck the top of the ant’s head, and as the oversized insect was still dazed, Rowan brought it down again. Then again. He brought the weapon down over and over until, finally, the ant collapsed.

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[You have slain Worker Ant – Level 2]

He let out a breath as the insect stopped twitching. It had been weaker and slower than the other ant, but it had still been terribly durable. Leaving the corpse behind, he moved back to the intersection, waiting for the next ant to pass.