The bug took us straight up.

We went past the lowest bunch of leaves, which were empty; and the one above where Mink was stranded from others and struggling; and the one above where every leaf was crowded with caterpillars, six in total. Straight up it went, past the bunch of leaves where Dark was keeping a green wrinkled one in check and blocking the path leading further up, allowing David and Genma to safely climb higher. It flew higher and higher and left the last untouched pair of leaves behind. That’s when I jumped off its back. I glided toward the pair of leaves and safely landed, storing a bit more charge into the battery, leading to both of the skills finally rising by another level.

I gently placed Pyro on the leaf and started healing him right away. The golden glow seeped into his broken body and mended what could be mended. I left some of his non-critical injuries unhealed to save some of my mana and deactivated the skill the moment his health pool filled to the half. He didn’t wake up, but unlike David’s case, his health didn’t fall further and stabilized — meaning, he was only unconscious and not dying. That should do, for now, I told myself. However, the guilt remained. This was the result of my hardheadedness. This wouldn’t have happened had I believed in my team. Now Pyro was injured, Mink was in danger of being eaten alive and David was — He was out of focus. Once again, others were paying for my mistakes.

I ran and jumped off the leaf when Pyro showed signs of waking up. I didn’t have it in me to face him. Not now. Not like this! I had sensed David and Genma reaching closer; even though the bug flying about worried me, I knew they would take care of him. He was in good hands.

I saw Dark during my dive. He must have noticed the others reaching the leaves above because he gestured with his antennas for the light ball to be sent up. I did as requested and dipped past him. The whole stalk below was discolored from the splashes of poison and the caterpillars trying to climb up. They attacked and I defended with auto-defense, cursing at my rapidly dropping mana. I had to glide away from the stalk in order to protect myself from the literal rain of poison. I fell into a spiral trajectory around the stalk and found Mink sometime later on the second last level of leaves. He was down with his exoskeleton sizzling and smoking.

Once I knew of my destination, I focused on Mink’s enemy and rushed. My whole body streaked through the air like a bullet, glowing in a metallic sheen of silver. I prepared my mandibles, opened them wide, and the second I reached my targets flank, I attacked with mend wave using all the momentum stored in battery.

The caterpillar literally exploded into bits and pieces and so did the leaf behind it, leaving no signs of its former presence behind. I remember standing there watching the micro pieces of red and green shimmer away into the darkness, unable to think of anything. Never before had such a result come about from the skill called mend wave; it was my means of pushing beings away, not blowing them into bits! The system rang inside my head next, waking me from my stupor with a surprise notification about a skill I had somehow stolen from my dead opponent.

{Your special ability->Proficiency overtaking has absorbed skill-Ricochet from the foe defeated.}

{Skill: Ricochet gained.}

*****

[Ricochet][Passive][Lv-1/25][Tier 2]

[Projectiles rebound from your body, dealing only some amount of physical damage.]

The skill solved the mystery behind our enemy’s uncanny ability to bounce off projectiles. I moved ahead to sort Mink out next, still puzzled and mesmerized with the explosions result.

A quick heal purified the poison burning through his exoskeleton and closed his wounds. I didn’t fill his health pool, either.

“How did you do that?” he asked. I didn’t answer. I looked at the timer instead: there were still five minutes remaining.

“Can you walk?” I quickly asked him. He firmly nodded, but I could see that he was exhausted.

“Alright, alright,” I said putting him down and started thinking. In the end, I decided to call Dark. ‘He’ll be able to take him.’

I conjured another Light ball, which was possible because light array had recently risen to level 2, and whispered Dark to come to take Mink away. He appeared a few seconds later, looked at the light ball, then at Mink, and finally at me. “I’ll come back as soon as I can.” He said. I denied his help. “Go! Hurry up!” I told him, stopping a poison ball with an air bullet. There was a black doted one to our left that was being brave, but I ignored it for the time being. I wasn’t planning to stay there, after all.

“Wait for me,” he said before leaving. And just like that, I was left alone for once. The crawler pestered me once again. He was attacking with poison, so I poisoned it in revenge. As it turns out, the taste of its own medicine wasn’t so sweet after all, for the caterpillar rolled about and fell away. I waited for a few more seconds, but Dark didn’t return. I checked the timer and it was still showing five minutes.

Taking a deep tantalizing breath through my skeleton I deactivated the light ball, took one look above, and stated my reckless rush up the stalk toward my friends. I had forever thought that I would never be able to call them friends, but there I was, rescuing someone I had only known for a couple of days from the belly of the beast. They had grown on me. That was the truth.

Mink was the silent one of the team; but unlike most silent ones, he was also the most violent one—it is easily provable by looking at the hurt he had put his opponent through before succumbing to starvation. Somehow Dark was still going, even though he had moved around the most among any of us. It was like the concept of mana and stamina didn’t apply to him. As for Pyro, well, Pyro was Pyro, a maniac in simple words, but also a friend who cared dearly for those who cared for him: He almost gave his life to save Mink; that alone gives a bit of depth to his loose character in my book. Genma, I was having a hard time understanding him. He was a field ant now and could create barriers. But he also felt so different, so reserved. I knew I needed to have a talk with him, but I could never come to do it for some reason like a wall had grown between us. I made a mental note of it jumping over a pit in the stalk. And then there was David. I was extremely sorry. I knew what this job meant for him. He actually believed the mission meant more than his life; that failing to procure enough supplies from the farm only lead to one future: our extinction. I don’t know whether he was right or wrong, but I knew one thing: until he was alive until we were alive, our future wasn’t set in stone.

It was easier going up than it was down. Even though the plant was brimming with activity, everyone was already distracted by the ants at the top, so none noticed me until I rushed up a caterpillar's back, spiked its head and jumped over, killing it. My action enraged its friends and they attacked me with poison balls, which I easily dodged or defended against. Heck, it was very easy to maneuver around them once I knew the trick. The caterpillars might be big and ferocious, but they were inflexible. Their huge bodies only made it difficult for them to catch my sporadic movements.

One of my doubts did clear as I worked my way up; had I used my poisonous acid mist, the plant wouldn’t have survived, and we all would have fallen into the abyss below. The signs of it were already everywhere. Multiple black spots decorated the once green stalk in places where the spray of caterpillar poison had fallen, softening the stem.

I only met a few difficulties on the way, and nothing eventful happened once I climbed past the area where the caterpillars were most cluttered. I did notice that our dark-skinned enemies remained shy till the end and never came close, while the other kind never feared a bit of intimacy. Even those mindless drones knew how to best use their strengths. It made me think, to question whether it was actually right to always rush up to the enemy as we ants had always done, or if there was some semblance of reason in their method. Seeing the top coming near, I decided to get into this thought later, for it was most impressive and a groundbreaking way of attacking enemies.

My friends cheered at my arrival and I greeted them. They looked battered and bruised. They were allegedly in the worst shape of their lives. Pyro had woken up and was being nursed by Genma. I later learned that Genma could share some of his health with others—an odd but useful ability. Mink sat at the leaf’s edge. I had sensed his eyes on me while rushing up. He was the happiest after Pyro to see me. David didn’t’ glance my way, neither did I glance his. The decision to attack had been his; so the decision to retreat should also have been his, but I had taken that from him. And it was akin to taking the leadership from him. I didn’t have to read his mind to know what he was thinking. He was watching the darkness around. Dark was with him. I didn’t know how tensed he was until I saw his antennas loosen. His back straightened a little. After some time I sensed David turning my way. He accepted my presence, said something inaudible to Dark and looked away again.

None had died. That’s the main thing. Everyone was alive. That’s what I wanted. That’s why I hadn’t gone on the offense and had defended so that I could bring them back alive. This is what I wanted. So why did I feel like shit looking at them? Why did I feel like I had killed David even though he was alive? Like I had taken his soul away? Why? What was wrong with me? I did it for them! For them! Maybe I hadn’t done it for them, but for myself. Maybe that was the reason why I couldn’t look them in the eye and had to turn my head away like a criminal.

Only three more minutes! I told myself. Only three more minutes and we’ll be free.

Time passed very slowly. We had to fight a few caterpillars that managed to reach us, but they weren’t much. This time I helped. Everyone was exhausted.

There were already fifteen of the caterpillars vying to catch us. Thankfully, only half of them were of the poisonous variant, otherwise, it could have been dangerous. I had to use mend wave multiple times to push those away which got too close to us, disappointing Mink, because he was expecting to see the caterpillars being blown up like before. In the end, I got tired of the labor and created an umbrella of spikes to separate the two layers. A minute later the caterpillar’s managed to create an opening in the barricade with a constant barrage of acid. One entered through but also blocked the hole. Another half-minute later, however, the struggling wrinkled skin caterpillar stopped attacking out of the blue and started struggling to leave.

“Quick, don’t let it run away. We have to kill it so the hole can remain blocked.” David ordered for the first time in a while and everyone got busy trying to hold the being from leaving. I, on the other hand, couldn’t believe what I was sensing.

Something massive was climbing up the plant.

It was bigger than all the others, almost thrice their size, and was easily four of them combined in length. The unusual thing about it wasn’t its shape or size, but the yellow circles on its serrated back, which made it look really dangerous. However, it was slow, much slower than all the others. Its wave-like movement was easily distinguishable every time it moved.

Once this monstrosity emerged, the other caterpillars also stopped attacking and backed away. We watched them with interest as all of them hurriedly rushed down the plant as if afraid of whatever was going to happen next.

“I’m not getting a good vibe from that.” Pyro quietly said.

Genma tightened his hold over the leaf and replied, “Me neither.”

The giant caterpillar humbly stopped two levels below us. I kept an eye on the timer and another on its ugly mug and watched as it opened its mouth. Suddenly, a sickening feeling rushed through my body. I had a foreboding that something ominous was about to happen, and it did.

I appraised it just in time to see what it was about, when it started sucking.

Spoiler: Status: Dotted Caterpillar

Dotted Giant caterpillar (Rare)

Lv – 13/15

Rank – 2

Tier- E

Type - Devourer.

Health – 202

Stamina – 138

Mana – 69

Defense - 32

Skills:

Bite(6), absorption(10), Devour*(3), Ward(10), Ricochet*(4), Slime skin(4), Vision*(12), Focus(5), Climb(3), Bug sense(5), Charge(2), Slam(3), Strangle(4), Poison(6), Crush(10), Throw(10), Launch*(7), detach(6), Spike*(14), Energy conversion*(17),

Stat Tier: E

Strength

5.6

Intelligence

11

Agility

1.4

Wisdom

3

Dexterity

2.3

Endurance

19

Charisma

3

Vitality

15

Luck

0

Constitution

10

“What’s it doing?” Pyro asked. He had crawled beside Mink to the leaf’s edge to see our guests trick.

“Maybe it’s preparing for another ball of poison? I don’t know.” I said, feeling cold wind scrape against my skeleton. It was a soothing sensation. It was a cold and resolute flow. It was a chilling performance. I shivered hysterically, mad at my thought, deeming it impossible, but then I looked below and chocked. It was happening. It was truly happening! The caterpillar was really the one creating the wind and it was trying to suck everything inside its mouth!

Things turned dramatic when the wind picked up speed and turned into a storm.

“HOLD ON to the leaf!” Dark shouted and we tried to let the wind pass. I sensed the leaf nearest to the creature break into countless pieces and disappear into its mouth. As if that alone wasn’t enough to show the skill's strength, the stalk extending past us started —slowly, but surely— bending, bringing us closer to the giant caterpillars ominous-dark mouth.

“He’s trying to eat us alive! He’s going to eat us alive!” Pyro cried out loud, pinning his body closer to the leaf’s surface. Others screamed after him in order of seniority.

It was an active skill. That much was clear, for I could sense mana swirling inside the creature’s mouth. But it apparently didn’t have a time limit. It continued on and on endlessly; like mana expenditure wasn’t a thing for it. Thankfully, we ants had enough natural methods to stay sticking to the leaf; otherwise we would probably have been eaten by the thing.

It’s not like I didn’t try to attack the darn thing, but every skill I fired at it simply disappeared in the middle of its mouth, doing not a single point of damage in return. Instead, the suction intensified every time I attacked.

“What are we going to do? What are we going to do?” Pyro chanted.

Genma’s barriers were shattering upon creation and Dark didn’t have enough shadows to do anything. The plant had folded upon itself and was being disintegrated by the creature. Our leaf was also starting to break from the suction. I looked at the timer and it was still showing one minute remaining, refusing to go down to zero. This minute was the most terrifying minute of our lives.

“Somebody... do something!” Genma cried in the end as he ran out of barriers.

“-Just a minute more. We only need to hold on for a minu—“ I was saying when Pyro slipped and flew away. Dark somehow managed to whip a shadow tentacle around his body, but the suction suddenly strengthened and he also was pulled off the leaf.

“No!” David yelled and jumped after Dark. I cursed under my breath and scarcely managed to a shoot a web from my behind at David, and held them all from being eaten alive. It was a skill I had earned from defeating the mimicking spider. I hadn’t thought of using it, but it just came out of me in panic and saved them for the time being.

I no longer heard them. The timer was still showing thirty more seconds remaining. I didn’t know whether Mink and Genma were still around or had they also slipped off the leaf. Nothing was going my way. I only wanted to save them. Was it too much of me to ask?

Then I panicked.

The web snapped.

And the three were engulfed.

The webs broken half incessantly fluttered in front of me as I watched the three of closest companions fall down the plant and disappear into the caterpillar’s mouth. Just when I thought I had found new friends . . . I lost them. Everything was over. I looked to my left and saw Genma dearly holding onto the leaf, unaware of where my foolishness had brought us. Thoughtlessly, I let go of the leaf in my grief. Had I some semblance of reason left, I would have realized that nothing would come from foolishly running away from guilt with death. But it was also this genuine feeling of loss and my action after which made the wheel of fortune turn again. Once again, Auto-defense became the lifeline, providing me another chance at redemption.

Sensing that I was not responding to the danger in any way, Auto-defense decided to defend me from myself. And that it did by unleashing a disrupting wave. Not an actual skill, but an ability of one; something which didn’t lean toward destruction but was not far from it either. It was the special ability of the skill: cancel and could terminate the effect of any skill.

The wave spread with me as the center and passed through the caterpillar, instantly making it shiver. The mana swirling inside its mouth was disrupted in a second. The winds stopped right after. The suction reversed. The being's body swelled to an atrocious degree before it vomited everything out in the same order it had engulfed.

The plant now free from the suction, bounced back like a spring to its original position. And Pyro, Dark and David who had been eaten by the thing came screamed out of its gut like three ghosts flying without wings. Fortunately, they managed to stick their legs to the stalk and didn’t fall of the tree yet again.

It wasn’t long after when the timer reached zero and a sphere of resounding black appeared upon one of the remaining bunch of leaves on the other side of the stalk. My eyes met with David. He looked reluctant, but before I could say anything, the sound of caterpillars once again climbing up reached his senses and he yelled: Go!

“We survived!”

“We survived!”

Pyro and Mink were celebrating. One had the other in his mandibles and lifted high, but this time, the smaller one wasn’t scared of the other's strength.

“Yes, we did!” Dark agreed and then reprimanded. “Now, stop fooling around and jump into the sphere. The enemies are coming from below again.”

The stage was still going on, but the dungeon had given us a choice to abandon the mission and leave. A choice was all that we needed: A choice to come and leave whenever we wanted. I wondered why this dungeon was so peculiar. How it would earn its fill by allowing its invaders to leave after killing its protectors? But I knew I would have a lot of alone time to think on the subject later, after I was done getting everyone outside.

The dynamic duo was the first ones to disappear into the sphere. Genma didn’t forget to give me a worried stare and almost didn’t leave, but Dark coiled a tentacle around his torso and dragged him away, leaving me alone with David. We both faced the revolving sphere, sharing its hum. David was in one of his moods and I didn’t want to face him alone. But there we were.

“I’ll do what I want to do with you. . .” David said and started walking toward the sphere. “Is what I had told Dark, the day I had caught him working as a spy. My orders were to kill him, but I had seen him change, laugh and smile with us. I knew he didn’t want to harm us any longer. So I had told him to do what he wants to do. Now I’ll say the same to you. I know you don’t mean any harm to us, but you might as well have doomed us all with your actions. I don’t know. Although we need you very much, I don’t think we deserve you. This team needs someone trusting, which you aren’t, as you have shown. The others might not believe when I say this but, I know you could have done better, a lot better had you tried. So, do whatever you want. Find friends who you can trust. I-I’m relieving you from your duty as an explorer.”

He stopped a step away from the sphere and looked at me. His antennas were slinked and his back no longer straight. He looked so tired. “You asked me whether I can trust my back to you. I know you will protect me with your life if it came to that, so I will put my life in your hand. But my back, you don’t even know what it means to shoulders someone’s back. So how can I do that?” He disappeared into the sphere after he finished saying.

“Captain . . .”

I believed I was ready to call him that. But I never really was. We could have been good friends I believe, had fate been kinder to us. But such is life. You take what you get, collect what you can, and leave everything else behind for others to scavenge.

Cleaning my misting eyes I turned around toward the stalk. The sphere disappeared behind me as I walked toward the first of the emerging caterpillars to do what I had to do. I had saved every one I wanted to save. I had held on so that they wouldn’t want to stay longer inside ethe dungoen. And I had succeeded. Now, they were gone and I was alone. Now, there was no one to see what I could do. Now, it was time. It was time to let go.

That’s what I did.

I let go.