[Vol. 7] Chapter 172: Swarm of Ants
Somewhere else in the Underground Labyrinth.
“Hahaha! Weak! So weak! These attacks feel like nothing more than a light scratch! You can’t even break through my basic defenses! Wahahahaha!!!”
A young [Magic Rock] race warrior named Yogg stood proudly, his ash-gray muscular torso completely exposed. With his hands on his hips, he tanked the incoming barrage of arrows from a group of skeletal archers desperately firing at him from a distance.
However, those pale white bone arrows shattered on impact, unable to leave so much as a scratch. Instead, they broke apart from the recoil of hitting his toughened body. Compared to their last battle in the underground arena, his strength had clearly improved by more than just a little. While he was still far from the insane boost granted by consuming the [Tears of Light], he was starting to show glimpses of that overwhelming presence.
“BOOM!!!”
A blazing beam of energy, stretching dozens of meters, swept across the battlefield, instantly reducing all the skeletal archers and low-tier skeletal mages to dust. Meanwhile, a young [Snowstep Forest Deer] girl, who had been fighting ahead, stomped down and crushed the last two skeletal warriors under her hooves. She then turned around, looking at Yogg with an exasperated expression.
“What the hell are you screaming about, you dumb rock? We’re still in the Abandoned Zone, the strongest monster here is barely Tier 3 (Obsidian Steel). You’re getting excited over slaughtering small fry?”
The towering Yogg immediately glared at her with his single eye and shot back without hesitation.
“Hey, what do you mean small fry? It’s called ‘giving my all’ and accepting every attack head-on! That’s an honored tradition of the [Magic Rock] race, passed down for generations!”
“Oh please…” The [Snowstep Forest Deer] girl rolled her eyes. “Let’s be real, you’re just feeling cocky because Lady Violet’s training finally made you a bit stronger. Don’t get ahead of yourself. The next zone is filled with Tier 4 magical beasts (Earth level), keep underestimating them, and you’ll get yourself killed.”
“Tier 4? Pfft, big deal! I’m not scared at all…”
With just a few graceful leaps, the [Snowstep Forest Deer] girl, Qiqi Snowdeer, landed back in the middle of the group. She ignored the [Magic Rock] boy, Yogg, who was awkwardly putting his jacket back on, and instead turned her attention to the dragonkin girl, Lenka. Ever since she had unleashed her breath attack to wipe out the skeletal archers, Lenka had been glancing around restlessly, as if searching for something.
Curious, Qiqi asked, “What’s wrong, Lenka? What are you looking for?”
Lenka hesitated for a moment before replying, “Uh… didn’t you guys hear that just now? I swear I heard a voice. It sounded like it was trying to call us somewhere… but now it’s gone?”
“Nope. All I heard was a bunch of explosions and Yogg screaming at the top of his voice.”
“Yeah… I didn’t hear anything either.”
The rest of the [Experimental Class] exchanged glances, surprisingly unanimous in their response.
“Could it be telepathy?”
This time, it was Qionghua, the astrologer like Lenka and another backline specialist, who spoke up.
“From what I know, the [Morst Underground Labyrinth] is filled with ancient relics that may have been left behind from the past. Maybe some Dragonkin-related treasure sensed your presence and resonated with you?”
“Huh? That’s way too much of a coincidence… This is my first time exploring the labyrinth.”
“Exactly. That’s why it’s most likely to happen.”
Qionghua, who was a reserve member of the legendary adventurer team [Tree], was about to continue explaining when—
A figure suddenly dropped down from above, landing beside the Sainz Academy team.
Of course, it was none other than Xiao Guang, the Dragon girl who had already taken down every challenger and secured her role as the team leader.
Folding her still somewhat immature-looking dragon wings, she quickly scanned the group, confirming that no one was injured. Then, in her usual direct manner, she said:
“I found the entrance to the next floor. Just like before, there’s a guardian. Let’s go.”
"Oh! Let's go!"
"Let's go, you stupid rock! WAIT A SECOND!”
Seeing a certain brainless idiot about to charge ahead without a second thought, Qiqi, the [Snowstep Forest Deer] girl, quickly grabbed his collar. She also stuck out her arm to stop the rest of their teammates, who had just been about to follow but now looked at her in confusion. Then, she turned her gaze toward their petite blonde teammate.
“Light, if I remember correctly, we’re on the ninth floor of the labyrinth now, right?”
The Dragon girl, who had just returned from scouting ahead, nodded after briefly making eye contact.
“Yeah, ninth floor. Why?”
Seeing her innocent and confused expression, Qiqi facepalmed in exasperation.
“Oh, come on! Are you guys all just battle maniacs who only care about fighting?! The hidden points! The hidden points! The first team to enter a new floor gets bonus points! But you actually have to request them from the examiners yourself, or they won’t be awarded! Am I the only one who actually read the competition rules!?”
“Huh?”
The small but mighty team captain, Xiao Guang, tilted her head, her golden slit pupils gleaming with pure confusion, as if she were thinking, “Wait… that was a thing?”
At the same time, Lenka and Yogg, being the blockheads they were, scratched their heads in sync, clearly just as clueless.
Only Qionghua, the more reliable one, timidly raised her hand and spoke up.
“Uh… I think I remember that rule too. It’s called something like ‘Speed Challenge’ or something? It’s an extra way to earn points outside of the main objectives, but it can only be triggered once, and every team is competing for it.”
“Also, unlike the upper floors, the ninth floor’s guardian is a fixed one, the [Magic-Devouring Ant Swarm]. These creatures are endless in number, nearly impossible to wipe out completely. Even high-ranking adventurer teams usually choose to sneak past them rather than fight. We should probably come up with a safer strategy… right?”
“Impossible to wipe out?”
Hearing that, Xiao Guang’s brow arched slightly. She seemed to pause in thought, as if something had just clicked in her mind. After a moment, to everyone’s surprise, she actually nodded in agreement.
".........You're right. I didn't think this through enough."
Xiao Guang's golden, flame-like slit pupils flickered slightly as she turned her gaze toward what seemed to be an empty spot near the team. Even though nothing was visible to the naked eye, a voice immediately responded from the seemingly vacant space.
"Of course the hidden points exist. And as of now, no team has successfully claimed them yet. If you manage to be the first to break through the [Magic-Devouring Ant Swarm] and reach the Jungle Zone, those hidden points will be yours."
After a slight pause, Ismael deactivated his invisibility and added with a serious tone,
"That hidden score is quite substantial, but I must remind you, the [Magic-Devouring Ant Swarm] is an extremely dangerous opponent. Fighting them head-on is not a wise decision. Even if Violet were here, she probably wouldn't choose a frontal assault either. So, I advise you all not to act recklessly. Patience is also an essential quality of a strong adventurer."
"......Got it."
Xiao Guang didn’t directly acknowledge Ismael’s warning. Instead, she fell silent for a moment, lost in thought, before giving a vague nod. Without further discussion, she led her team deeper into the ruined city.
Meanwhile.
At the border between the ninth and tenth floors, another team found themselves in a similar predicament, blocked by the same swarm of terrifying creatures that Ismael had warned about.
"T-This is insane! Forget about us, even the imperial army, armed with heavy weapons, would have trouble breaking through this blockade! Why are these horrifying things even in the Abandoned Zone!?"
Cowering behind the ruins of a crumbling building on a high slope, the Royal Academy team was using telescopes to observe the dense, writhing mass of black shadows below. The cat-girl, Noelle, lowered her scope, her face pale as a sheet, and even her voice carried an involuntary nervous tremor.
The rest of the team, including Princess Carinvega, looked equally uneasy. Every previous floor guardian had been strong, but still within a beatable range. This time, however, this [Magic-Devouring Ant Swarm] stretched out like a wave, with no end in sight.
Even the strongest adventurer, if completely swallowed by that swarm, would have no chance of survival.
And the entrance to the lower level Jungle Zone just so happened to be... hidden right in the center of the [Magic-Devouring Ant Swarm]'s nest basin.