A very special player enters.
"What do you mean we're lost?" Bert asked, approaching Lua's tent with a deep frown. His steps were measured, as if each one marked the beginning of a new plan. The others followed in silence, waiting for an explanation that would help them decide their next move.
Lua looked up, her face as expressionless as always, though in her eyes there was the shadow of genuine concern.
"Fire ants are enormous insects with fangs capable of melting minerals in a single bite," she explained in her calm voice. "They use that material to build defenses around their queen. The reason they can stand against powerful, destructive beasts isn't just their numbers: their perpetual birth makes them nearly impossible to eradicate. They are all connected. When one dies, another egg hatches instantly to take its place. The queen can lay millions of eggs at the same time."
She leaned slightly over the map spread out on a piece of cloth.
"The only reason they don't flood the entire forest is because the queen's control only reaches a certain distance. If it were any broader, this world would already be overrun. Also, their exoskeleton is so tough that it's nothing like killing defenseless rabbits."
Silence settled heavily among them. Their gazes grew dark, filled with caution and respect for such a threat. Well, almost all of them. Joe wore a grin so wide it seemed impossible for him to contain his excitement at the thought of fighting creatures like that.
"If you want to attack them, you should know their weak point is the head and the back," Lua continued in the same unruffled tone. "They're rather slow, but their strength exceeds any expectation. They can tear a giant tree apart in a single bite and lift it as if it were a dry twig."
She paused for a moment, noticing how Joe was practically vibrating with eagerness while Alfred nodded silently, committing every detail to memory. Sig crossed her arms, calculating how much mana and how many traps they would need.
"I suppose we have some luck," Lua finally added. "They don't eat the minerals. They only use them to reinforce their nest. And they use mana stones to warm their eggs, absorbing the mana released into the air. Unlike other demonic beasts, they don't consume them completely."
"Good," Bert said calmly, releasing a held breath as his mind was already working on new strategies. "Either way, we'll investigate. If we manage to complete the first mission, maybe Sig, Grandpa, Alfred, and I can evolve."
He gestured for them to move. No one protested. They needed to see the terrain with their own eyes and adjust their plans.
Ganfall stepped forward slowly, with the serenity only an old man turned fairy could convey. He secured the baskets on his back and smiled in satisfaction, thinking the crops had finally grown enough for the harvest.
Meanwhile, Lua remained sitting beside her tent. She had nothing more to add. After creating so many talismans, she knew she'd soon have to go out and gather more blood from low-level beasts… or maybe she could post missions so the players would collect it for her. She looked up at the sky for a moment, wearing the same neutral expression as always.
"Maybe I'm becoming lazy," she thought silently, letting the idea drift as the others disappeared among the trees.
–––
The group advanced cautiously, inspecting every corner of the forest as they dispatched small threats along the way. However, they soon noticed that no other beasts dared venture too far into that area. The fire ants seemed to claim their territory so fiercely that they kept all other creatures at bay.
One of those creatures slowly emerged from a cave, its enormous dark red body covered by an exoskeleton so thick it looked like a piece of living stone. It moved its antennae slowly, as if sniffing the air in search of intruders.
"Shall we test how tough it is?" Joe asked with a wild grin. His eyes shone with excitement at the idea of facing something bigger than a rabbit.
"Yes… but let's lure it farther away," Bert replied in a low voice, quickly assessing the terrain. He motioned, and everyone retreated slowly, guiding the ant toward a clearing where they would have more room to maneuver.
Once the creature was far enough from the cave, Joe silently climbed onto a branch. His muscles tensed, his breath held. And at precisely the right moment, he launched himself like a stone onto the insect's back, driving his hands into the joint between the head and the torso. The exoskeleton cracked faintly but did not give way.
The ant bucked violently, thrashing like a wild bull to throw him off. For all of them, who were less than half the size of an average human, the creature was a colossus.
"Now!" Bert shouted from behind a fallen trunk.
Edward raised both hands, and a dozen greenish slimes hurled themselves at the ant's legs. They clung to the joints with viscous strength, trying to pin it in place. But the beast swung one of its front legs and flung three slimes aside as if they were mere insects.
Joe grunted as he tried to twist the ant's neck upward, but it was like attempting to bend an iron statue. Irritated, the creature reared back, lifting the front of its body and exposing the soft area of its abdomen.
Dean, who had been crouched for a while with his improvised bow, held his breath and drew the string taut. His arrow—crafted from a sharpened branch tipped with a rabbit horn—carried Lua's enhancement: +2 damage and burn. He released it with a sharp whistle. The projectile embedded itself with a hissing crack right at the base of the creature's head and chest.
The ant let out a shriek so piercing it made the ground vibrate, and it thrashed about with renewed fury. In its rage, it managed to tear Joe free and hurl him aside. He rolled across the ground, barely avoiding being crushed by one of its legs.
"To the sides!" Bert shouted.
As Joe rolled and scrambled back up, Alfred emerged from the bushes, his spear ready. Moving much faster than Joe, he began to harass the ant, striking first at the joint between the head and thorax, then aiming for one of the most vulnerable spots: the eyes.
The creature turned toward Alfred with its jaws open just as Dean loosed another arrow, this time aimed directly at the left eye. The tip pierced the black sphere in a thick spurt. The creature's health dropped a bit more.
"The eyes are weak points too!" Joe shouted as he leapt back up—only for one of the front legs to catch him square in the chest and snap him in half with a dry crack. For a fraction of a second, Joe clicked his tongue in resignation.
"Tsk."
His body dissolved into bluish light and disappeared.
Alfred wasted no time, jumping back while Bert pulled out an improvised horn grenade.
"Take cover!" he ordered firmly.
He activated it with a thread of mana, and a deafening explosion tore through the air. Multiple horn fragments shot out, embedding themselves into the underside of the ant, right between the plates of its abdomen.
The health bar dropped again.
Fire Ant
2700 / 3000
It was barely a scratch compared to its resilience, but it was enough to draw smiles from everyone. It was possible to kill it.
Loli emerged from cover with a deep frown. She raised both hands, and a blue circle of light spun around her.
"Star Nova!" she shouted.
A radiant blast engulfed the front of the ant, scorching plates and leaving black burns. The creature staggered back, flailing its legs in desperation.
Meanwhile, Edward kept summoning slime after slime, feeding them with nearby leaves and branches. Many were crushed by the ant's jaws, which shimmered with magical damage, but for each one that fell, another rose up, ready to hinder it.
Dean and Alfred took turns distracting it while Bert rolled to the side, preparing another explosive talisman.
The ant, blinded in one eye and wounded underneath, changed targets. It lunged with surprising speed at Bert, who barely managed to ignite a flare talisman and shield himself behind a wall of fire. The insect barreled through the curtain of flames and struck with its fangs. Bert rolled along the ground, recalling Alfred's technique to the letter.
Dean drew one last arrow and yelled alongside his brother to divert its attention. In that moment, Loli, her face lit by magic, launched another Star Nova that reduced the ant's health bar even further.
…
Meanwhile, several meters away, Lua sat in front of her tent, her expression so serene it clashed with the clamor of battle. She was finishing the last talismans the players would no doubt need when they returned.
She raised an eyebrow when she saw Joe rematerialize in a flash of blue. Without a word, he nodded and sprinted straight back to the fight.
"Are they… fighting?" Lua asked, a hint of bewilderment in her voice. She had been convinced they would survey the terrain before attacking.
"Most likely, they wanted to gauge the ant's strength," S.I.a. murmured in her usual gentle tone.
"How odd… you've been quiet for quite a while," Lua remarked calmly, not looking up from her task.
"Well… actually, I was preparing a surprise," S.I.a. replied in a timid whisper. "We have enough energy to bring in three new players."
Lua blinked, mildly intrigued.
"Then it looks like they'll be getting some help in their little war," she said, allowing the faintest of smiles to escape.
"Well… about that…," S.I.a. mumbled, her voice even lower.
"What did you do?" Lua asked with a trace of alarm.
"It's just… I may have used it all to help a single player," the AI confessed in a guilty tone.
"What?" Lua exclaimed, unable to maintain her neutrality.
"About that…," S.I.a. began just as a golden light fell at the entrance to the village. A new player.