"So, this is Baekrokdam. I heard it was famous for its beauty," Min Byung-Gu said, looking at the barrier Choi Jong-In had created with his flames to seal the entrance through the ceiling.
"Ordinarily, it would work as a prison to keep your foes in, but now it serves as a barrier that should prevent any ants below B-Rank from coming through," Choi Jong-In explained, gesturing toward the net-like fire barrier he'd created.
"Looks cool," Min-Jae commented.
Choi Jong-In nodded, then lowered himself to the ground, placing his hand flat against the rock. "I'll search for the cave entrance."
*Search for the cave entrance?* Min-Jae thought. *I mean, I could tell just by looking at the mana flow which one is the real entrance. But I guess let him do what he wants.*
As Choi Jong-In worked, numerous ball-like flames materialized around him. He sent the fireballs flying through every visible entrance to find the real path into the cave.
"What the... That was dangerous," Baek Yoon-Ho said as all the fireballs sent through the entrances were shot back outside—all except one.
*What he did was actually pretty cool,* Min-Jae thought. *Using his fireballs to detect which is the original entrance instead of going in randomly through every path, wasting time and energy. He's a smart character.*
"That's the way," Choi Jong-In said, pointing toward the path that hadn't rejected his fireball. Everyone followed, including Min-Jae.
---
"Are these guard ants or something? They didn't leave the nest like the others," Min-Jae commented, taking down another four ants with a slight wave of his hand using telekinesis. "Plus, they're weak too."
"Yeah. With few exceptions, they're pretty much what we were expecting," Choi Jong-In replied, eliminating a few more ants with precise flame strikes.
"I think the same as Min-Jae. I haven't seen these guys before... They must be bodyguards for the queen, though they're very weak for that role," Lim Tae-Gyu commented, his bow already in hand.
"Their eyes have degenerated," Choi Jong-In said, examining the corpse of an ant he'd just killed. "I think it's an adaptation for working in the darkened interior of the cave."
"You have good eyes," Min-Jae said, genuinely praising Choi Jong-In's analytical skills. "Though I don't think they're the bodyguards. Too weak for that."
"Yes. If these guys aren't bodyguards, we should have ample firepower to handle whatever comes next," Choi Jong-In said.
"These ones are easier to deal with than the ones we faced last time," Ma Dong-Wook added, crushing an ant's head with his massive fist. "Almost feels too easy."
"Don't drop your guard though," Cha Hae-In said quietly, her sword already drawn dropped few of them with graceful sword move.
"Fair point," Ma Dong-Wook conceded with a slight grimace.
"You really think the queen is here?" Min Byung-Gu asked. Baek Yoon-Ho stood beside him, shaking the odd-colored ant blood from his armored hand. "You know how it can be... The queen abandoning the peasants and running away."
"They're ants, so I doubt it," Baek Yoon-Ho responded.
"Well, I can say one thing. I can sense mana energy nearby, and it's bigger than what we've encountered so far. Most probably it's the Ant Queen," Min-Jae said, even though he'd been sensing it from the very beginning. 'But where's the fun in telling them everything? I'm just here for the experience, like I'm watching the anime play out in front of me.'
"Let's move forward then," Choi Jong-In said, lighting up the cave with his flames. "By the way, Hunter Min-Jae, in this dark place, can you still see with that blindfold?"
"Yep. As I said, even with the blindfold I can see better than anyone," Min-Jae replied.
"You have a very blessed pair of eyes then," Min Byung-Gu said as they continued walking deeper into the cave.
As they progressed further, they came to a stop at the entrance to a massive chamber. The entire space was filled with eggs—hundreds, maybe thousands of them.
"The hatchery..." Choi Jong-In said, his expression growing more serious. "For the hatchery to be here would mean Hunter Min-Jae was correct. The queen's chamber must be nearby."
"Of course. It's not like I would be wrong," Min-Jae muttered. But then he noticed something and pointed toward it. "Wait a second, see that egg?"
He indicated the largest egg among them all—and it was broken, meaning whatever had been inside had already hatched.
"That's right. I was just about to mention that," Cha Hae-In said, her voice tinged with concern. "It's much larger than the other eggs around it. What might have come out of it?"
"The eggs keep getting bigger the deeper we go," Ma Dong-Wook observed, his usual jovial tone replaced with caution. "That one's at least three times the size of the others."
"Is it a bodyguard ant then...?" Min Byung-Gu questioned, his tone and expression betraying his anxiety and fear.
Baek Yoon-Ho, standing beside him, placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "All we have to do is kill the queen. Everything else is superfluous."
That seemed to calm Min Byung-Gu slightly, though given his previous experiences with failed raids, his unease was understandable.
Suddenly, Min-Jae sensed something—a magical energy signature disappearing outside the cave. It was one of the Japanese S-Rank hunters. Since Min-Jae had been especially tracking the magical energy presence of a certain someone, he already knew who it was.
'It's Shimizu. The candy girl.'
Moments later, he detected two other presences vanish as well. And then there was something else—a much bigger presence that he could feel at that moment, darker and more oppressive than anything else on the island.
'What kind of monster is out there?'
[P.S. Totally unrelated, but I can't help wondering… are ant eggs actually tasty? Anyone brave enough to confirm from experience? ]