Caesar traveled back to the Mushroom Garden with Alta to hold a meeting with his ant queen. A special Queensguard ant sat beside it, gnawing away at mushrooms and meat, which he assumed as the one who ate the Manticore Venom Sac. Its abdomen ended in a stinger, unlike the lesser ants, and poison seeped from its mandibles. Wings grew from behind its abdomen, and a sturdy shell encased its entire body.

“We need to take over this dungeon completely. Can you and your ants accomplish this?”

The queen moved its mandibles and antennae. Normally, Caesar understood only a few cues from his summons, yet they understood him perfectly. But with Alta’s new talent, Deciphering, cross-species communication became much easier and more specific.

“She says she’ll need lots and lots of resources. Months, or perhaps years, to accumulate strength.”

“That should be alright. We’ll need to keep an eye on the Order of the Fox during the process, but she should be given free reign around this area.”

“They haven’t been making many big moves here, have they? Other than chasing the Pax Society, they’ve mostly been acting around the other side of the dungeon. And slowly, too.”

“Looks like they’re still laying low. I think they might try to start another conflict between the two kingdoms instead, for now.”

“Then we should infiltrate.” Alta then turned and asked the ant queen for the status screens of her special ants.

Ripjaw Ant Queensguard: Rare

Level 0

Ability: None

Talents: Vigor, Manticore Venom, Poison Resistance, Gigantism

Strength: 8

Agility: 8

Vitality: 8

Magic: 3

Willpower: 7

Spirit: 3

[Manticore Venom]: A talent that indicates this entity’s successful production of manticore venom. This type of venom seeks to flood the victim’s body with toxins, reducing Vitality.

An idea from long ago popped into Caesar’s head, and he took out a special pouch with a single potion inside. He inspected the Rare Awakening Potion for any damages and poured it into the ant’s mouth.

The Queensguard began to glow and closed its eyes to sleep. The others, including the worker ants, watched it for almost an hour before the light faded away. No visible changes appeared on the insect, but as it opened its eyes, a shiver went down his spine. It looked much more dangerous.

Level 1

Ability: Apex Predator (A) – Rank 1

Agility: 8 -> 10

[Apex Predator (A)]: An ability that grants the user passive detection of all life within a certain radius and enhances all the user’s senses. Increases Strength and Agility by 25% during combat.

Wow. He asked for the berserker ant’s status, wondering how the Winterspring Fruit worked.

Ripjaw Ant Berserker: Uncommon

Level 4

Ability: Enduring Rage (C) – Rank 1

Talents: Vigor, Gigantism

Strength: 7

Agility: 7

Vitality: 7

Magic: 2

Willpower: 4

Spirit: 2

[Enduring Rage (C)]: An ability that enrages the user, bolstering Strength, Agility, and Vitality by 15%. This special Berserker’s Rage has a duration of twenty minutes, with increased hunger after the effect ends. Cooldown is an hour.

Curiosity grew within Caesar. How would these berserkers react to different types of catalysts? An herbalist’s passion was beginning to develop.

“I will return later, but for now, continue to expand.”

He and Alta mounted the Kelpie and set off to find the exit portal. It was located nearby the Mushroom Garden, but the ants hadn’t found it yet. The Queensguard ant volunteered to follow them. Caesar agreed; it was a good time to gain experience. A group of ant workers and a few soldiers joined them to escort it back after they left.

Outside the forest of mushrooms and far from the ants’ territory, another wolf pack stalked the woodlands. Alta and the Queensguard ant crept into their midst to detect their levels. He followed.

“Fifteen wolves, and ten rank ones. That’s strange.”

“No rank zeros?”

“Nope. It seems this area couldn’t sustain them.”

“Or there’s an abundance of catalysts here.” Perhaps something impressive would reveal itself after the fight. “We’ll find it. But first, the pack.”

He replaced the Kelpie for his Bone Elemental, the bane of living flesh, and the Tomb Hippo for Alta. An opportunity to attack came when the pack leader exposed itself to a Curse of Impotence, and a flurry of empowered spikes began the battle.

The giant wolf stumbled and fell, lightning crackling around its body. Its fellow wolves rushed to help, but the other ants blocked their paths. Under the barriers that shielded them, these sacrificial members of the swarm became valuable barricades against larger and stronger entities. Barriers shattered and transferred seamlessly. Glowing fangs and sparks charred the insects dry, but more rushed in to fill the gaps. The Bone Elemental slithered into the fray, scattering more spikes of venomous bone at each rank two wolf, and letting the ants finish the kill.

The Queensguard ant marched towards the downed pack leader and began to chew. Sparks of lightning flickered around the barrier and slipped off, failing to defend the wolf from savage jaws. As more and more poison seeped into its veins, it stopped struggling, and allowed the ant to tear into its neck.

In that single act of execution, the Queensguard ant leveled up seven times and swept toward the other wolves with greater speed. With the aid of its brethren, its mandibles ripped and tore a few rank one wolves to shreds. It received three more levels and charged towards another rank two wolf, who had begun to sway from side to side. A stinger lunged forward and jabbed twice, then ripped out an organ. The other ants piled on it and ripped away.

Caesar watched the feeding frenzy and smiled. The feeling of satisfaction rushed in his veins, and he ached to join the battle. But he held onto the urge, for maximizing the distribution of experience was the core of this conflict.

The ants minced up each wolf and began to carry some pieces back to the queen. He resummoned Alta and told her to request reinforcements from the ants. Something was off about this pack. Each had some form of lightning ability, including the rank one wolves. She nodded and relayed the message to the Queensguard, who passed the orders on to the rest of the swarm. Caesar then sent the Bone Elemental forward to scout and sat down onto the grass.

Hundreds of ants flooded into the area, approaching from all directions. They met the returning horror and sat in place, locking down the entire section of forest from other animals. A few tried to run but found themselves trapped in the midst of an army.

“So, there’s a storm ahead?”

“It seems likely.”

According to Alta, it had heard the sound of crackling thunder in the distance and rushed back to report. Naturally, this seemed abnormal. Thus, Caesar unsummoned her for his Kelpie and ordered the ants forward.

The Bone Elemental brought him to a location where a dark and gloomy raincloud hovered overhead. He frowned at the occasional flicker of lightning followed by thunder. The source of this unnatural storm lay inside, but the exit portal was somewhere else. Would it be worth it to go in?

The Level 13 Queensguard ant made the decision for him and rushed inside, followed by its kin. It reminded Caesar that he didn’t exactly control these ants and only led them by proxy. Yet he and Alta still trailed after it – curious about the miniboss.

They didn’t have to walk very far before a massive tree appeared in the distance. Although it towered above him, it had not yet reached the canopy. A shroud of energy cloaked the treetops from view, and neither lightning nor rain struck the ground in a wide circle around it.

Stormheart Oak – Level 25

[Rarity]: Rare

The tide of ants crept forward, startling a few animals who were watching the tree closely, as if waiting for something. They scattered and kept an eye on the newcomers.

He glanced around the area, spotting a higher concentration of rank two groups than usual. Furthermore, they were Rare. Some were familiar foes, while others were new. All seemed at ease, sleeping or eating on the grass with their kin. A few opened an eye to squint at him, then closed it again.

They all waited there for what seemed like hours before the tree began to shake violently, dropping its glowing acorns all over the safe zone. Each animal pack roared to life and thrust themselves toward the nearest fruit, battling their neighbors for a chance at the prize. Caesar was no different, using the Tomb Hippopotamus and Bone Elemental as his main fighters.

His ants swarmed a particularly large group of rodents, whose fur shimmered with light. Each fought what they could fight. The Queensguard dashed through a group of enemies and went straight for their leader’s throat, eviscerating it as it tried to escape. Its stinger lunged towards more rodents as it fought its way out.

Caesar targeted the largest and brightest acorn of them all, standing almost at the height of a man. The mightiest foes – Level 24 at most – did the same. A great ape approached them first to fight, flinging pockets of dirt at the two. He shrugged off the pellets with his barrier, then pierced its leg. In response, it slammed a fist at the ground. He dodged and smashed the damaged axe-head into the monster’s knee.

It roared in pain and began to attack in a frenzy, biting and tearing at empty air. The ape’s partner noticed its struggle and hurried to intervene, only for a hippo to block it. A Withering Blast soared through the air and instead struck a bystander Dire Wolf, who howled in rage. With the hippo engaged in combat already and an approaching wolf pack in the distance, Caesar needed reinforcements.

Fortunately, the rodents had begun to flee, allowing the Queensguard ant to flit through the air and latch onto the back of the distracted ape, stinging it repeatedly. His team butchered it into pieces and swept towards the next Giant Ape, as the ants met the seven wolves in combat.

His hippo added another member to the army, raising the first ape as a mummy. It bowled into the pack of wolves, knocking them around and disjointing the enemy pack. The Bone Elemental struck at the perfect moment in the chaos, plunging a Cobra Strike into the throat the Dire Wolf Leader, thus allowing the ants to gain the advantage over the rest.

With help from its partner, a Terror Bird had managed to wrestle away the acorn from the Sabretooth pair but ran into a pack of Dreadtooth Boars. It met an unfortunate end pinned between their crushing jaws. This prompted its fellow bird to fly into a fit of rage, ripping apart the two tigers without regard for its own safety. Caesar’s horror exploited their struggle, snapping up the experience like fish in a barrel.

His hippo rumbled towards the five boars, shattering its own barriers but crushing any form of resistance they mustered to defend. The Bone Elemental followed, hurling all its spikes into the belly of one rank two boar, before assimilating the corpses of the three largest animals in the area. His two summons slaughtered the pack and roamed the area afterward, taking control of the other large acorns with help from the ant swarm.

[Notice]: Congratulations! Your Tomb Hippopotamus has leveled up to Level 25! +2 Free Stat Points, +1 Perk Point

[Notice]: Congratulations! Your Bone Elemental has leveled up to Level 25! +2 Free Stat Points, +1 Perk Point

The battle ended with Caesar’s forces as the victor. Corpses littered the entire grassy field, their blood even seeping into the rain. Although a few of the other animal packs had managed to flee with some of the rank one acorns, his group had secured the rest.

[Item]: Stormheart Acorn – Rank 2

[Rarity]: Uncommon

[Effects]: A material imbued with lightning.

Seven of these provided a good upgrade for his army, and plenty of rank one acorns could fuel a solid fighting force. No reaction came from the tree when its acorns left the field, nor when Caesar placed one of each into his pouch. But as the remaining half of his ant swarm picked up pieces of the fallen and left, lightning fell from the skies and incinerated them into ash.