The Antventure Begins

31. Unwelcome Guests

The trail has been detected!

Members of my colony have been to this lake after all. This is incredible news. I could just wait for them to show up and follow them back to the nest.

Staying close to the lake I tip tap my antennae on the ground and follow the trail away from the water. It absolutely seems like a solid trail has been laid down here. The more often ants use a particular path, the more they will reinforce the trail with pheromones, making it more and more solid.

I don’t think this path has been in particularly heavy use, but members of the colony have certainly been here a few times.

I retreat to the safety of the lake and can’t resist a small dance of happiness. Nearby monsters are looking at me funny out of the corner of their eyes. It probably isn’t often they’re treated to some amateur ant freestyle tap. My new family is within reach!

After being on my own for days on end it’ll feel so nice just to see another entity that doesn’t want to eat me.

I’ll get to see my mother in another world, the queen. I wonder how big she is.

I really didn’t get to see my mother much back on Earth. Most of the time I’d been on my own. Hopefully this time I’ll be able to help out a bit more and we can work together!

Gah! I’m too excited! Need to chill, need to calm down.

It’s important I don’t forget where I am. This environment is incredibly dangerous. If I run about distracted, I’ll just get myself killed.

I scout around for a few minutes until I find a nice nest site and dig myself my now patented L chamber and close over the top.

Ensconced in total darkness, I once again begin the exhausting process of training my Mana Manipulation.

Puff.

The chamber is briefly illuminated every time the small cloud of Mana is released from my mouth.

Puff.

Eventually I expel my Mana, and fail at my last attempt to direct the energy due to my exhausted mental state.

The road ahead is still long.

Once this is done, I decide to rest, entering the state of torpor, the sleep equivalent of the insect. I’m getting more and more accustomed to this rest. Without closing my eyes, just going still and sort of zoning out for an extended period.

Eventually I wake, feeling rested and relaxed. Phew.

Too many exciting developments have happened. I need to continue to take it slow for a little while and take stock of things.

My original plan of staying here to Level up Mana Manipulation isn’t a bad one. The added benefit now is that if I keep track of the lake, there’s a chance I’ll be able to join up with a group of my colony mates and follow them back home to the nest.

The other option available is to try and follow the trail on my own. I’m reluctant to take that risk when it may not even be necessary.

I’ll stay here and continue to train up a few skills.

The other skill I want to increase is Digging. It may not be the flashiest skill, the best use in combat, nor particularly useful for anything really, but I like it!

If you had to ask me what the fundamental skill of the ant is, it would be their incredible capacity to construct their nests, and central to this is the ability to dig like a boss!

Besides, it’s super easy to Level up, all I have to do is dig. With this in mind, I start to make extensions to my small chamber, digging small, narrow tunnels in a few directions just a metre under the surface, diverting around, under or stopping a tunnel completely when I run into rock. For some reason the work is soothing. I’m almost humming to myself as I ship loads of dirt back and forth in my mandibles.

The ground here is particularly wet as well, I have to extend away from the lake. It isn’t long before I encounter tree roots and the buried stems of the giant mushrooms in my tunnels.

Every now and again I dig up to the surface to create a little ventilation and scope out what’s happening around the place. These mini exits also provide a nice place to ditch my soil as I go.

I get so engrossed in Digging, I didn’t even notice when the Level up notification for the skill came through. When I stop working and try to think about how much time has passed, I realise I must have been digging for almost six hours.

Level five Dig!

If only I had a Skill Point. I’d be super curious to see what this skill will upgrade into.

Come to think of it, I am getting a little hungry. Might be time to think about trying to hunt for some food. I should also check to see if my colony has shown up for a drink.

Excited, I rush back to the lake hoping to see my own kind there getting some refreshments. Unfortunately, it isn’t to be.

There is still a wide variety of creatures but I can’t see any ants amongst them.

Ah well. Hopefully next time! I guess the only things left for me to do is either try and go hunting or wait and continue to train my Mana.

Wait a sec…

What the hell is that!

In the distance are shapes making their way over the crest of a small hill overlooking the lake. At that distance I can’t see perfectly, but I can see enough to think I know what they are.

And they aren’t monsters!

Without a second thought I dive into my tunnel and start scurrying away from the lake and I don’t stop until I make it under the roots of a tree.

What the heck are humans doing here?

Those were definitely human shapes over that hill. Have they followed me here already? That’s way too quick! I came directly down a shaft, the most direct possible route. Who knows how many winding tunnels they had to go through to make it here.

Although I didn’t get a perfect look at them, something about these humans didn’t seem quite the same as the ones in the tunnels above.

Perhaps their demeanour? Something about the way they’d looked? I’m not sure…

I’m torn. Part of me wants to investigate but another just wants to get the heck out of here.

Dammit! I can’t just keep running every time I see a human. Even if they’re super dangerous, I can rely on my stealth to protect me at least a little. There is only so much I can learn by following the monsters around. By shadowing these humans for a while I might be able to learn a lot.

It’s decided then.

Deep breath, Anthony!

Making my way down my tunnel, I find an opening and carefully poke my head through. My antennae have almost fully regrown now, I’ll probably need to get more food into me before it will regenerate the final part. At least my senses aren’t affected too badly.

Ok, the coast is clear.

Slowly I emerge above ground and enter full Stealth mode, keeping my body to the ground and sticking to as much cover as possible. Moving in a wide arc I aim to circle around the back of the hill where I saw those figures, keeping myself out of their line of sight.

There they are!

I snoop a little closer until more details come into focus, hiding myself in some thick vegetation with my antennae poking out.

There are five humans, all with their back to me as they gaze down onto the lake, or more specifically, the monsters grouped around it. With their attention focused away from me, I take the chance to advance a little closer.

[Advanced Stealth (II) has reached Level 3.]

I love you, Gandalf. These feelings come from the heart, please accept them.

I can almost make out the words they’re saying, although it doesn’t seem to be in any language I can understand. They’re talking to each other and gesturing down towards the lake. Oh wait, they seem to have agreed on something.

I freeze as the five figures separate and ready their weapons. One of them raises their staff and begins to focus. Blazing runes form around the head of the staff and rotate at an ever-increasing speed until a massive fireball appears, burning brilliantly at the top of the staff.

The cry and roar of monsters reaches me as they notice this disturbance. It’s almost as if the monsters are shocked that there would be any sign of attack here at the lake.

Before they can react, the staff is swept down and the fireball rockets out of sight.