Antelligent Design

7. Getting Down to Work

Time to get down to work and tackle this long laundry list of things to do.

I put Crinis on guard duty and take Tiny topside. The first order of business is to lend our muscle to the villagers as they struggle to make space for the growing number of refugees.

With Tiny’s significant physical prowess, we’re able to fell trees and clear a wider area for the villagers to use. My own expertise in digging is also put to good use. Flattening out terrain, digging foundations for a few larger buildings, and my supreme +15 Mandibles are tested for the first time cutting stone.

Turns out, there’s a decent layer of usable stone a few kilometres from the village. After clearing the dirt around the area, I charge my mandibles with Mana, and utilised the incredible sharpness to cut out blocks that are then transported on rollers to be used in more advanced construction.

Despite working fairly feverishly, I notice Morrelia has taken up the role of drill instructor. She’s cleared a space outside the village as a rudimentary training court and is absolutely shredding the hide off a surprising number of grinning villagers.

Looking at the smiling faces of those men and women only further reinforces my impression of these people.

These villagers are crazy.

No matter how hard she drills them, running laps, practising sword strokes, spear practice, physical exercise, they enthusiastically throw themselves into it with seemingly boundless positivity until they fall over. At that point, another group of villagers will arrive, drag the victims into the shade, give them some water, and jump into the training themselves.

When I approach a frazzled-looking Enid about the puzzling behaviour, she’s happy to explain.

[This is a chance for them to change their lives. Most of these people were farmers, labourers, servers or cooks before they were forced to flee. With classes like that, they have little agency in being able to control their own destiny. Simple people like us are reliant on the more martial classes to protect us, and as such, we’re always dependent.]

Turning her tired face toward the training fields, she smiles.

[Now they have an opportunity to step up and protect themselves, protect their families and strike back at the monsters who took their homes. Of course, they’re overjoyed. Not to mention…]

She turns back to me, a complicated look replacing her smile.

[Everything they need just seems to fall into their lap ever since they started following you. There are weapons, metals, a smith has arrived, and Beyn has been freely sharing his knowledge of Classes and Skills. Out of nowhere, we have a monstrously strong trainer and you’ve agreed to assist them in Levelling. This is an opportunity that no one here could have dreamed of only a few months ago.]

I look askance for a moment.

[You aren’t starting to buy into Beyn’s rubbish, are you? I am certainly not a divine messenger of any kind.]

Enid chuckles and brushes her near-white hair back from her forehead.

[If you keep producing miracles at the rate you have been, I’m not going to have much choice, am I?]

[Please, no. Just, no. If you started treating me like that, I’d go nuts. Honestly, I probably wouldn’t come back.]

That just makes her laugh more.

[I’ll try to keep any regard I develop for you to myself then.]

[You better.]

After talking with her, I keep a closer eye on the villagers. It’s true they seem to have a large supply of pep in their step, and not only those training with Morrelia. All of them are working industriously. Spending their time building, fixing, helping, discussing or throwing themselves into the millions of tasks that arise around any group of people.

Considering they’ve just fled their homes and certainly lost family members, they’re almost comically chipper.

After a few days of solid effort, Tiny and I have cleared enough space and provided enough raw materials to keep them going for a while. Those with construction-related Skills and Classes are hard at work transforming our efforts into buildings, and the sounds of hammering and sawing can be heard even from the anthill.

After retreating to check on Crinis and tickle the larvae some more, it’s time to take a few villagers into the Dungeon. Not before I chase down Vibrant to see what on Earth she’s up to. Turns out her little retinue of workers has swelled to nearly ten. They’re madly dashing about above and below ground, rustling up food. They’ve kept the grubs so fat they positively gleam with chubby health, and the queen is already considering the next clutch of eggs.

Two hundred fresh members of the next generation were lain the other day, workers are already obsessing over them, and now she wants to lay another two hundred!

I have to beg her to hold off at least a few days so we have enough time to get the new ants up to speed and properly trained before another wave of hatchlings lands on my head. She reluctantly agrees. The joy of fulfilling her function after so long has been building in her.

Since just before I was born, the colony has been on struggle street, the nest raided, workers slaughtered, chased from their nest… Only now have we achieved the stability to grow the colony the way it is meant to grow.

I can understand her impatience. I really can.

The next day, Tiny and I take the small group of villagers who achieved a basic combat class after their harsh grilling from Morrelia into the shortcut.

Enid decides to tag along to make sure no accidents happen and to help me relay my instructions to the people. Curiously, Morrelia decides not to come, preferring to stay and continue training the villagers.

It’s an uneventful trip, to be honest. Tiny smashes everything that has spawned to the state of near death, and then I walk down with the villagers, allowing them to take turns last-hitting the monsters and grabbing the experience.

Judging by the looks on their faces and the repeated bowing, they’re pretty happy with the results, despite it only costing Tiny and I a couple of hours and almost no effort.

Still, the first power Levelling trip was a success. I ask Enid to strictly warn them not to enter the shortcut, ever. It’s for ant use and leads directly into the first layer, meaning more powerful monsters could theoretically use it to approach the surface.

Not to mention, Tiny might simply smash a human to death before he even recognised them if he ran into one down there.

This is a very much ‘for your own safety’ sort of warning.

After agreeing to make another trip for the next group of villagers to achieve their classes, it’s time to turn my attention to the nest, specifically, the farms.

I’d been sending Crinis in to clean them up periodically, but now it’s time to take this farming simulator to the next level in order to provide the kind of oomph we were going to need to quickly raise up strong workers.