The Antventure Begins

14. The Express Lane

[You have consumed a new source of Biomass: Puer Aranea. You are awarded one Biomass.]

[Basic profile of the Puer Aranea unlocked.]

[You have gained one Biomass.]

[Puer Aranea: Child Spider. A newly born spider monster, relies on its web to secure prey.]

Great shame overcomes me.

Clearly the rage I directed at this spider, the contempt for it growing fat on Biomass behind its cosy web was very misplaced.

This is a Level one baby spider monster. It’s possible it never managed to consume any Biomass at all.

How pitiful.

Your existence is so pitiful! We won’t talk about your end… I’m sorry young spider.

After my first two blasts of acid the spider was already heavily wounded. Without any way to recover the damage, its pitifully small Health pool had shrunk to almost nothing.

When I entered the nest to finish the battle it was already on the edge of death. My last shot was enough to defeat it. Being only Level one, I’m sure the experience I’ve gained isn’t much, but by consuming it—the taste was as you could imagine—I gained two more Biomass.

Once again, Eyes +3 is within my reach!

With my vision finally in a non-life threateningly sucky state, I’ll be able to concentrate on other aspects of my body.

Maybe then I’ll be able to actually fight something.

Wishful thinking…

I have to find out how to grow into at least an adult ant. Perhaps achieving more Levels? Before that can happen, a place to safely hunt is a must.

Having consumed the unfortunate arachnid and at least secured a path forward, I’ve little choice but to continue my journey. I use broken rocks and dust to break through the web on the other side of the nest and squeeze myself between the threads once more.

Engage Stealth mode!

Scrabbling to the ceiling, I’m back to moving cautiously down the tunnel.

It isn’t long before I find something new. A shaft plunging straight down into the dark. Directly in the middle of the tunnel, the floor drops away and before me is a hole four metres in diameter. The bottom is nowhere to be seen despite the winding light threads that twist through the rock walls.

How far down does this thing go?

The tunnel I’m in keeps continuing forward, so once again I’m left with a choice.

If I assume deeper means more dangerous then I should leave my exploration of this shaft for later. I still take time to sniff the edge with my antennae, seeking any sign of the trail.

Nothing.

I’m a little disappointed but at the same time kind of relieved. I’d rather not have to pursue the trail deeper into these tunnels, but since going higher in the tunnels isn’t safe either, due to the threat of painful death by humans, going deeper may be the smarter option.

Gah, my head hurts!

I will probably have to explore all options in the end. No need to keep thinking about it. Onward!

Passing over the shaft opening, I proceed on my initial path, warily scanning as I do so.

After twenty minutes I encounter another development.

It turns out my small tunnel connects to a much larger one, similar to the cavern I was in before. This large passage is at least thirty metres wide and twenty metres high. Sitting at the opening to my small tunnel, there are other, visible openings breaking off from this main passage.

I know what this means…

More monsters!

There’s a few prowling between rock formations, and even more hiss, chitter, and clack from the shadows. I wonder if this passage links back to the first cavern I was in? Have I just done a wide loop and reconnected to the very passage I was trying to get away from?

I have to be careful.

First things first, I retreat and start searching for a section of soft dirt to dig. I have to move back about a hundred metres before I find a section of wall I can work with.

Next, I begin to construct a nest once more by opening a hole in the wall and removing chunks of dirt and rock to block off the tunnel. I just don’t feel safe unless I can put even a flimsy layer of protection around myself.

It takes a few hours, but I excavate a cosy, dark nest and manage to block off the tunnel towards the new cavern, leaving my small opening on the ceiling to allow my passage.

Also:

[Digging has reached Level 4.]

Even if it’s a fairly useless skill, it feels good to grow and improve! When I think about it, I’m already a vastly improved little monster from when I started. My senses are sharper, my acids stronger, and my skills have Levelled up.

I’m still pathetically weak in combat, but still… Let me be proud of myself.

Nest site secured. Time for a nap!

To explore new terrain and possibly hunt, I need to be sharp, so getting some rest first is a priority. I flop my hard carapace down, legs splayed out. I can’t actually shut my eyes having no eyelids, which is a little weird, to say the least. Since I raised insects in the past, I know that ants don’t sleep. They basically stay still and rest for a while. It’s a state called torpor.

Unmoving, I gradually drift into a fuzzy state of half attention. All stimuli fade into a background noise and my mind slowly drifts away from my senses.

Getting some shut eye—without actually shutting my eyes.

Sometime later I shake myself awake and pull my legs under me, ready to venture forth. My mind is refreshed. Peak performance has been reached. Time to explore.

There are two concerning things happening right now. Firstly, I want to try and secure one more Biomass to improve my Eyesight. Once that’s been achieved, I won’t try and amass four more points to achieve +4, but start to upgrade the rest of my body instead. With more powerful Legs, Carapace, Mandibles, and Acid Gland I’ll feel a lot more comfortable exposing myself when hunting.

Secondly, I need to secure more XP. With more Levels I may be able to increase my stats, which could mean progressing into an adult ant and greatly increasing my chances of survival. And that plan is already forming. Hopefully I’ll be able to try it out in this cavern, as long as there are enough monsters.

I emerge into the large tunnel and quickly take shelter amongst the rock formations on the ceiling. My stealth has long ago reached Level three. Hopefully I can raise it further by shadowing some monsters in here.

Looking back and forth, to my left the cavern slopes gradually upwards and curves into the distance. I can’t help but worry this tunnel is the path that extended from the cavern I was in before. Have I seriously circled around just to put myself directly in front of the soldiers again?

It appears this area of Dungeon mostly consists of these larger ‘main’ tunnels with small ones branching and twisting off in all directions, creating spaces for smaller monsters to exist and group together.

Then large tunnels are the highways and the smaller ones are the backstreets?

Something like that.

Sweeping my antennae, I move towards the downward sloping side.

[Tunnel Sense has reached Level 3.]

Huh… Trying to decide direction and map the tunnels in my mind is Levelling my Tunnel Sense? Feels a little weird to think the system can monitor my thoughts…

Well, Skill Levels are something that can only help for now!

Hopefully somewhere in this direction I’ll be able to find what I’m looking for.

I’ve noticed two new types of monsters in this area already. The first is like a large rat but with three tails, each one tipped with a spike of some sort. Absolutely don’t want to mess with that guy. The second is a mollusc looking creature, its long slimy body coated with organic looking spines of bright colours, almost like coral growing directly from the creature’s back. Something to consider about this thing is that it’s at least twice my size and is clearly capable of moving on the walls. Two of them have slid up vertically already.

I hate slug-like things, yuk! They don’t appear to be able to move very quickly, and I would be shocked if these brightly coloured bros weren’t poisonous in some way.

I’ll avoid their trails as well, just in case.

Ah ha! I’m starting to hear the sweet sound I’ve been hoping for. Growls of beasts and the gnashing of claws are starting to happen farther ahead. Onward, with the speed of Shadowfax!