The Antventure Begins

18. The World Below

Spreading out before my very eyes is an impossible vista. A looming underground world of incredible size, covered in strange, magical plant life.

Below me, bizarre looking trees and giant mushrooms cast deep shadows over a forest floor covered in grasses and plants similar to the strange crystal flowers in the shaft. The entire scene is suffused with that same blue light and the plants themselves possess the creeping veins of light twisting through their forms.

The entire scene pulses, just like in the tunnel walls.

This is insane. Gandalf, what is going on here? I did not expect to run into a flourishing ecosystem. How can an underground space of this scale exist? I can’t even see the other side! The ceiling alone looks like it’s sixty-metres high.

This place must be absolutely crawling with monsters.

The thought grips my little ant heart. Somewhere in this massive cavern my colony exists, or perhaps they’re even farther away than this and the scout passed through this area on its way higher up.

At any rate, I have to explore this space and I can’t help but feel depressed. This vista is exotic and exciting, but I can’t appreciate it while I’m in a position of not knowing the first thing about it. In such a massive open space, what size could the monsters have grown to? How much Biomass could they pile up in a flourishing area like this?

I have no idea, gah!

Firm your resolve, Anthony! You are going to make it. You will conquer this space and reunite with your colony.

I’ll retreat higher up and get some Levels.

Don’t look at me like that, this is clearly the sensible choice. I need to raise my Level and gain more mutations in preparation of exploring this space. I will conquer the known before I attack the unknown.

Back up we go!

I retreat up the shaft and regroup back in my nest. I’m feeling pressured by time now. If my suspicions are correct then the ‘main’ tunnel up here is connected to the cavern I was in earlier, which is now fully occupied by soldiers. Assuming they could come down in this direction at any time, I have to stay safe.

Once they do, I won’t have access to the easier XP and Biomass and will be forced into the open space below without any further preparation. Taking all this into consideration…

I have to move fast. It’s become necessary to throw some of my earlier caution to the wind and make bold moves. Without XP and Biomass, I won’t survive pushing deeper into this place, and I can’t take my time acquiring said XP and Biomass as I’d like to. Time for this ant to go into battle.

My mind made up, I zip back out to the main tunnel and Stealth up to the ceiling, antennae waving in the air as I cast my eyes about to spot prey. If I want to maximise my Biomass gains then I should be sure to target creatures I haven’t been able to consume yet, ensuring I get the bonus point from Gandalf. Meaning I need to try and hunt one of the mollusc creatures, ugh, the tail rat, and if possible one of the croca-beasts.

I have no idea how the hell I would hunt one of those giant crocodiles. They are so much more frightening than everything else around here.

One of the slug creatures is sliding along on the wall to my left. I don’t have two days to sit around starving myself and obsessively study the creature. I’m going to have to move quickly!

Entering shark mode, I sneak up behind the hideous snail creature, making sure to avoid standing in its slime trail and keeping a constant eye on my surroundings to not get caught by anything as I’m hunting.

Up close, the creature is even less appealing and I swear at least twice my body length. It’s just a long slimy body topped with brightly coloured spines that seem to grow organically from the creature’s back. I absolutely won’t touch those!

Two stalks poke out from the front of the monster’s head, either eyes or antennae on the end, I’m not sure. They could be a vulnerable point to attack later. Drawing closer still, that thick covering of mucus its body produces, presumably to help grease its path and increase its speed, makes me wary from what I suspect the other reason is.

Backing away from the slug, I nip behind a rock and give it a surprise blast of acid!

Aaaand nothing happens.

The monster continues to slide along, totally oblivious to my sneak attack. I thought as much. That layer of mucus is protecting the creature from my acid and will do exactly the same thing if I try to Bite it with my jaws. I’d probably just get stuck!

Damn slug.

Of all the defensive measures you could employ, you had to use a slime barrier? Could you make this anymore disgusting for me?

If that’s the way you want to play, fine then. I’ll show you the power of a human mind!

Actually, this is a trick that even ants on Earth are able to do. As the slug continues to slide its way along the wall, I scout around for some dirt. Grabbing a mandible full I sneak up behind the slug and plop the chunk of soil on its side before immediately backing off, looking for a reaction.

Nothing. It isn’t clear the slug can even feel what I’m doing.

Gwehehehe.

I repeat the process four more times, piling up dirt on and around the same place towards the rear of the slug on its side. The dirt quickly soaks in the oozing slime. Once the soil has become a sticky ball of yuck, I grab chunks of it with my mandibles, peel it away and replace it with fresh dirt.

Repeating the process for ten minutes, I manage to soak away the defensive slime layer covering this one area. And the slug continues to show no reaction.

Let’s see what happens this time.

I retreat and find a sheltered spot before turning to present the b-zone and firing acid once again.

As soon as the acid impacts the slugs’ delicate spongy flesh, the creature shudders with surprise. Felt it that time did you, slug? How about another shot!

Pow!

Nailed it again! The slug is visibly in pain now, its body recoiling from the burning. Actual steam rises from the sticky flesh of the monster as the acid eats it away.

Yuck!

Rearing back with its front half, the slug lifts its head from the wall with a sticky plop and turns towards the source of the damage. Detached from the wall, the creature’s foot, the undulant muscle snails and slugs use to move, wriggles in the air. The long stalks, far longer than what you would expect to see on a slug, wave wildly in the air, seeking the foe.

In that moment, my danger senses start tingling, and a thought flashes through my mind at light speed: how does one of these slow slug monsters get food up here? There aren’t any plants, so how do they hunt monsters?

No sooner does the thought occur to me, I dart out of cover and scramble away from the slug as fast my little legs will carry me.

Turning back, the slug is withdrawing in on itself, almost compressing its raised front half, and a mouth opens wide out of the slime, revealing a hideous maw of fangs. Bursting forward like a spring, the slug blasts out a massive spray of thick mucus, covering the rock wall behind me in a noxious, bubbling goo that eats away at the stone.

Whoa! Sticky acid! By the looks of it, that acid is much stronger than mine too.

Without pausing, I continue my retreat, moving up to the ceiling and getting lost amidst the rocks before I chance checking on the slug. The monster is enraged, eyes sweeping the rocks as it reorients itself and moves in my direction, its surprisingly vicious looking maw gnawing at the air.