Ripjaw Ant Queen: Rare

Level 23: 46 Free Stat Points

Ability: Elite Swarm Specialization (A) – Rank 2

Facet: Berserker Pheromones (C)

Talents: Swarm Queen, Swarm Decomposition, Gigantism

Strength: 13

Agility: 13

Vitality: 13

Magic: 9

Willpower: 13

Spirit: 8

[Elite Swarm Specialization (A)]: An ability that enables the first five larvae from this entity who have consumed Rare materials to evolve into Queensguard ants. These Queensguard are highly capable entities completely loyal to this entity.

- The swarm leader may also produce Berserker ants from their larvae.

[Berserker Pheromones (C)]: A facet that enrages up to fifteen entities, bolstering their Strength, Agility, and Vitality by 15%. Berserker’s Rage has a duration of ten minutes, with increased hunger and fatigue after the effect ends. Cooldown is a day.

[Swarm Queen]: A talent that indicates the possibility for this entity to produce the most basic form of itself – Ripjaw Ant Larvae – that may inherit certain talents and skills from the parent. These resultant entities may rank up and evolve based on type of material consumed and available swarm species but may not exceed the progenitor in level or rarity.

[Swarm Decomposition]: A talent that enables the breakdown of edible materials, disabling their catalyst potential and reducing their rank.

It was not what Caesar had expected. Where had its levels and cordyceps status gone? Unless… The parasite was still alive. Somewhere in this chamber led to its hiding spot. He called out to his newest summon, and with its need for vengeance reignited, it brushed aside dirt and grime without pause. After carving out many chunks of rock in its cave, they discovered a small spot in the middle of the wall. The queen dug and dug until it broke through to reveal an infested caterpillar.

Cordyceps – Level 25

[Rarity]: Rare

A final infested ant remained behind to help the parasite hide away. He smiled at a job well done and let the ant queen kill them. Essence roved around their bodies as they inspected their gains – a rank two material.

[Item]: Deceased Cordyceps – Rank 2

[Rarity]: Rare

[Effects]: A material imbued with life.

“This thing is quite valuable, right?”

“Of course. We should take the entire thing back, and some chunks of those mushroom trees as well.”

While Alta went to carve out a few pieces from each rank one mushroom, Caesar thought about what to do with his ant queen. Insects had access to more catalysts to awaken their abilities, making it a great boon for them to raise a larger army. But on an individual level, they were usually weaker than beasts, and needed something different to compete properly. For ants, their primary strength lay in their army. But raising armies required resources, and thus, creative measures needed to be taken.

The ant queen clicked its mandibles at the caterpillar. It seemed to be willing to instead consume the cordyceps and produce a new Queensguard ant for his service. But the Skeleton Mage had another idea. Since the corpse contained enough vital energies, it could cast the Ritual of Replenishment as an alternative. But would it be better than crafting healing items? He only had two healing potions remaining, one Common and one Uncommon.

Even though he had a lot of materials, Caesar wanted to know more about the dungeon before he made his decision. With the death of the previous queen, the remaining ants had devolved into a frenzy. But the queen had revived; and so, she slowly regained control over her ants. He and Alta walked out from the cave after the ants had recognized them as non-hostile.

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After leaving the mushroom forest, the Bone Elemental made a noise and dashed off to the side. Someone was coming. Alta hid behind a thick bush.

“Halt!”

Eight armed men appeared in the forest, prompting him to stop walking. Their leader, a man in a gray uniform and cloak, appraised Caesar.

“You’re not supposed to be here. Come with us.”

He recognized the armor on three of them, the same Reinforced Iron Armor from earlier, which Alta wore. Do they not recognize I’ve killed some of them?

Instead of speaking, he hesitated for a while as he contemplated how to answer.

“He’s unwilling. Kill him – a lone infiltrator isn’t worth the effort.”

Caesar frowned. Jumpy, aren’t we. A little worry crept up his heart. The ant queen needed to remain behind to solidify its control over the rest of the colony, and thus he had no access to his hippo. Without access to a barrier and bone spikes, he’d need to be careful. He fled without using any abilities yet.

A molten orb crashed into the bushes behind him, setting them ablaze. He wielded his halberd and struck as soon as he glimpsed one of the men crash through the fire with an ability. That man’s eyes widened in shock as the axe ripped his throat open. As he slumped to the ground, Caesar continued to run.

Alta moved unseen behind the enemy party, trailing them as they followed Caesar’s tracks. The roar of flames covered the clanking of her armor. She slipped off her left gauntlet again to gain access to her claws and gripped the khopesh tightly before vanishing from sight.

An agonized scream rang out in the forest. Caesar sprinted towards that direction, halberd primed for the first enemy who came into sight. They had turned their attention to his Doppelganger, who had torn a gaping hole into the torso of one of their compatriots. But instead of attempting to rescue the hostage, the two mages fired another two molten orbs at them.

As two of the reinforced iron knights charged forward, his weapon hit the spear of the third reinforced iron knight instead of the mage he aimed for. Two magic missiles knocked him off his feet during his retreat, but he wasn’t worried. His hasted Bone Elemental swooped in from behind and struck his intended target. Bones exploded from the three corpses, fully healing the horror and shrouding it in a deadly cloak. It rushed to kill the next mage.

By now Caesar’s red orb had morphed into a crown, and he used the extra stats to pressure the knight before he could help his leader intercept the horror. His halberd jabbed to knock away the spear before swinging around to chop the knight’s legs. The strike hobbled the man, letting Caesar finish him off with blow after blow to his helmet.

Spikes had punctured the last enemy mage, who wore an expression of shock with his hands raised in a final attempt to cast a spell. Alta had already opened a hole in another knight’s chest to disembowel him and continued to fight the remaining one. Her grim figure showed a complete disregard for the heat. It seemed to shock her enemy slightly, as he began to step backwards. But Caesar’s interference ensured his death.

He and Alta turned to face the last living enemy as she drank the Common healing potion to heal her burns. The enemy leader fought furiously with his sword, his cloak affording him good protection from the whirling bones. He even managed to avoid plenty of attacks during the process. But it didn’t last. The barrier shattered and poison seeped into the man’s veins. The Bone Elemental knocked him flying towards Caesar’s feet.

The leader looked up and spat at him. “We’ve got your friends. If you want them back, best to refrain from killing me.”

“What friends? You’ve got the wrong person.”

The man’s face became horrified. “What? No, don’t!”

Caesar’s face held no expression as he finished him off.

[Notice]: Congratulations! You have leveled up to Level 24! +2 Free Stat Points

He put two stat points into his Agility, two points into her Strength, and two final points into his Bone Elemental’s Presence. They looted the corpses for another Common rank two healing potion then checked the artifact cloak. Alas, it was too tattered and damaged to be repaired easily. He didn’t want it. They could replace her melted armor for the less scorched versions, though.

“Anything odd you discovered, Alta? Somehow my Bone Elemental missed some attacks.”

“I noticed a flicker on my enemies. But theirs were weaker than the last two armored knights.”

He nodded. As expected, these fox-branded people with tails had some extra tricks. The rank two leader of this group even had two tails carved into his breastbone. But more tails didn’t include a better grasp over illusions. So what do they mean? Or did they hide their proficiency to throw people off?

They rested for six hours before moving on. Now, twenty-nine spikes whirled around his bone serpent, giving him more assurance to fend off another encounter. He kept his Essence Crown active the entire time. Something was suspicious about these fox-branded enemies.

“Well, Alta. Looks like it’s time to help our friends.”

She nodded. They left the scene.

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Although Caesar had told his Bone Elemental to follow the sound of voices, it decided to lead the party of three towards where it heard something abnormally loud. Massive, whirling winds roared into the sky as they drew closer to the area.

One man stood outside the barrier, shooting gouts of flame from his hands. His companion joined him, but with traditional Fireballs instead – likely a mage. A third man watched the winds closely and nodded in satisfaction after each burst.

“Scout the area for anyone else. I don’t think they’ll hear us move.”

His summons roved around the area for a full hour before they detected a fourth man patrolling the area as well. The enemy widened his eyes and opened a wind tunnel to flee towards the three barrier breakers. Although the tunnel bolstered his speed, it also accelerated the Bone Elemental’s spikes at a much greater rate, impaling the man before he arrived at his destination.

The watcher looked up in Caesar’s direction and shouted at the other two men. He then transformed into a hulking lion, with the man’s face. A resplendent mane grew wild around its neck, and a scorpion tail bristled with poisonous spines. Claws sharper than any blade raked the ground before a roar drowned out the winds.

He should have a time limit, Caesar thought as he retreated to unsummon his Bone Elemental for his Tomb Hippopotamus instead. Problem is, we might not be able to endure. A tough fight approached.

The manticore leapt into the air and landed between him and Alta, spraying dirt with its fall. It batted her with its paws. His halberd hacked into the beast’s flesh. After her barrier shattered, she slipped into invisibility.

It turned its attention to Caesar. Claw and stinger swept towards him, and he managed to dodge successfully. But he couldn’t avoid the Fireball that landed behind. The explosion knocked him forwards, and under the belly of the beast. He rolled under the tail swipe as Alta swung her khopesh at the manticore’s legs.

The delay had exposed it to a Curse of Impotence. His behemoth came roaring out from the trees, tackling the monster, but only staggered it. Caesar and Alta sprinted down the hill, aiming to kill the beast’s support before they could upset the balance.

The earth rumbled. A wall of dirt and stone rose to block their paths. They split apart, and he lunged at the man with the fire ability, who dodged far away with the gouts of flame under his feet.

He’s running a bit too much, Caesar thought. Probably recharging for a burst.

Stone whirled around the enemy mage, barraging his Doppelganger with rocks to interrupt her attacks. Without access to her Khopesh of Shattering, she couldn’t break through the stone skin quickly enough. He drank the Uncommon potion of strength.

Power surged through his body, and he launched himself towards the mage.

Strength: 17 -> 22 -> 25

Agility: 31 -> 34

Vitality: 27 -> 30

Although the other enemy tried to help, his barrier allowed him to shrug off the flames pouring onto his back. He hacked away at the surprised mage who panicked, exposing his back to Alta’s strikes. They completely ignored the flames. Chunks of stone crumbled to the ground.

Once the man with the fire ability stepped a little too close, Caesar spun back around and lunged. The increased Strength afforded him additional explosive power. The man tried to retreat again, but the Curse of Bindings rose to life before he could run too far. The halberd plunged in and out his throat.

Caesar assisted Alta’s onslaught and struck relentlessly, the metal on his halberd warping after each blow. Eventually, the enemy’s ability failed him and disintegrated.

The blood of both manticore and behemoth pooled together at the location of their battle. They clashed and struggled until a volley of bone spikes sank into the lion’s wounds. It faltered – amplified venom pumping through its body – and collapsed.

Caesar rushed to pour his final two healing potions down the mouth of his hippo before it died from poison. It stabilized, and he recalled it to heal inside his crown. He resummoned Alta, dissipated Essence Crown, then looted the bodies. Other than two-tailed fox brands, the men owned nothing useful. Fortunately, death during transformation abilities resulted in a permanent effect, giving him access to all the manticore’s loot.

He noted the three fox tails on its ribs. They denote a hierarchy.

His father’s journal contained information about manticores. Sometimes, they could have scaly wings, venomous glands near their fangs, tougher skin, or metallic claws. This one only produced poison for its tail.

[Item]: Manticore Venom Sac – Rank 2

[Rarity]: Rare

[Effects]: A material imbued with poison. Withers away after a day.

Although the rest of its body still contained treasures, he preferred to keep it intact. It’d be easier to explain to whoever hid inside the barrier. He placed the sac inside a bag filled with food and turned his Bone Elemental into a courier for the ants. Hopefully, it counted as an “edible” material for Swarm Decomposition.

To help his ant queen process the venom sac, he prioritized points in Vitality.

Ripjaw Ant Queen

Free Stat Points: 46 -> 6 -> 0

Strength: 13 -> 21

Agility: 13 -> 21

Vitality: 13 -> 25 -> 31

Magic: 9 -> 11

Willpower: 13 -> 20

Spirit: 8 -> 11

Caesar and Alta waited there for a full day before the wind barrier gradually disappeared. It revealed three people: a man and two woman, except one had pointed ears. Their grim expressions and weapons drawn indicated an unwillingness to surrender.