Chapter 27

It only took Keith’s mom a couple of hours to squeeze him in. He didn’t know what she did, but it sure was effective. All the ant hills had a designated number, and ant hill 25 was now reserved under Keith’s name for two weeks.

After receiving word of the change, Keith followed the mercenary guild’s map to arrive before his area. The previous group had already left, though some blood and junk items still scattered the area. They’d dissipate soon enough.

Keith looked over to the nearest ant hills and found plenty of space between them, though adventurers around level 300 could make out the details even at this distance. It was probably inevitable he’d attract attention. Thankfully, he still had the Warding Ring his mom gave him, which blocked all inspection-type skills below level 400. If anyone caused any trouble, Uncle Doven would set them straight.

Keith focused back on the hill in front of him. Now that he was close, the size of the hill was staggering, reaching almost a thousand feet high. The dirt was dark brown and compact. With the countless tunnels spread within, it was no doubt magically enhanced. Most Rifts reinforced the environment, so it was nothing unusual. Otherwise, high-level adventurers would cause widespread destruction.

The ants that made this hill their home constantly skittered in and out of the various tunnels, moving at speeds that made Keith question whether he could react in time. His stats were just too far below these monsters. Not only that, with their size matching bears, their mandibles became much more deadly. Keith would no doubt get chopped in half with his mediocre equipment.

The only reason why Keith held some confidence in facing these giant bugs was his five mythic grade buffs. The boost from Kindred of Gaia combined with Hyper Perception was no joke. They were practically tailor-made for movement skills, which Keith excelled at.

After an orb buffed Keith, he took a few moments to adjust like usual. Now, with a single glance, he was able to capture the ant’s movements accurately. Whether his body could keep up, however, was another question entirely.

To start, Keith had an orb pull a few ants at the base of the hill with Mana Bolt. Unfortunately, it couldn’t break through the ant’s natural defenses and dealt zero damage. That was definitely the biggest drawback of Keith’s fighting style: his skills would forever remain at level 1. To even kill these ants, he’d need to rely on his most powerful skills. But how effective would those be once Keith fought level 400+ monsters? Would they be as useless as Mana Bolt was now?

As Keith's thoughts turned negative, the ants he attacked quickly made their way over, grabbing his attention just in time to see a ball of acid flying his way. Keith dodged with a swift side-step but didn’t create enough distance to avoid the acid once it splashed off the ground. A few drops landed on his armor, significantly reducing its durability.

The dangerous sizzling sound coming from his legs made him worry, though he reminded himself he’d be fine since he didn’t feel any pain. His armor would hold as long as he completely avoided the following acid.

One of the three ants Keith attacked was a poison ant, recognizable by its green stripes. It stayed in the back to support the two warrior ants charging straight towards Keith.

Subconsciously holding his breath, Keith waved his hand as his orbs spread out. He activated several skills at once. First came Cold Snap, creating a layer of ice below the ant warriors. They must have possessed some elemental resistance because not a bit of snow or ice appeared on their bodies. But that was okay. Keith expected as much.

Keith dodged another spray of acid as Wind Lord’s Scythe activated, slicing horizontally across the warrior ants. One of the ants tried to jump but slipped on the ice created from Cold Snap, allowing the scythe to leave a deep gash across its carapace. The other ant was much wiser and instead dropped to the ground, dodging the scythe entirely.

For a second, Keith froze, unable to believe the powerful skill that one shot the golems just a few hours earlier was now ineffective. As another bile of acid flew his way, Keith grew irritated. “Fine then, no more nice guy.”

Instead of playing things smart as if mana was a limiting factor, Keith promptly activated all of his low cooldown offensive mythic grade skills. Chain Lightning, Holy Flame Lance, Earthen Spire, Yggdrasil’s Grasp, Small Meteor, Death’s Touch, Infernal Blast, and Wraith’s Cry.

In the following moments, all Keith saw was a blinding flash of colors as the ground trembled ominously while numerous shockwaves pushed him around. When the wind and shaking finally died down, Keith opened his eyes and saw a smoking crater filled with remnant energies.

The ants were gone.

Before Keith could fully process what had just happened, the noise attracted the attention of more ants. Over one hundred of them. Keith’s first reaction was to flee. But then he looked around at his orbs, then back at the giant crater in front of him.

In that brief moment of inaction, Chain Lightning, Holy Flame Lance, Earthen Spire, and Death’s Touch came off cooldown. When the ants finally reached the base of the hill and charged over, Yggdrasil’s Grasp and Infernal Blast’s cooldown ended. Small Meteor and Wraith’s Cry were only halfway through their cooldown, but that was fine. It was enough.

Grinning wickedly, Keith utilized his prowess with Void Shadowstep to avoid all the ranged attacks sent his way. When the ants finally drew close enough, he swiped his hand sideways. It was a meaningless action, but it just felt natural.

This time, Keith tried his best to keep his eyes open. And what he saw was terrifying. Holy Flame Lance arrived first. The condensed lance made of pure energies pierced through the entire army of ants before embedding itself halfway into the ant hill. Next, Yggdrasil’s Grasp and Earthen Spire erupted from the ground. Unfortunately, they competed over the same space and thus fought against each other, reducing their effectiveness.

Keith made a note of this.

After building up its energies, Death’s Touch activated next. It happened so fast that Keith could only see a blur before the skill shot into a lone ant, instantly vaporizing half of its body. Soon after, the slow-moving Infernal Blast exploded in the middle of the ant horde, sending ants flying in every direction. Sickly green flames stuck to their bodies like glue as it melted their carapace. During all this destruction, Chain Lightning continued to chain from one ant to the next, and it only disappeared after covering half the horde.

Less than a third of the horde survived the barrage of attacks. Most were wounded, but that didn’t deter them from assailing Keith. But by this time, Wraith’s Cry activated. A ripple spread from an orb above Keith in a forward arc as a silent scream knocked all the ants back. They staggered helplessly as their minds rumbled from the invisible attack. By the time they recovered, the sky had grown dark.

A small meteor screaming with divine fury crashed into the middle of the surviving ants, releasing a shockwave that nearly knocked Keith off his feet. When the cloud of dust cleared, only charred corpses in the middle of dissipating remained. And yet, just like before, another horde of ants were making their way over.

Ignoring them, Keith looked down at all the loot on the ground. Then he checked his Grimoire to see how much experience he had acquired so far. Finally, he looked back at the furious ant horde rushing at him and began to laugh.