Re:Ant Lord-Chapter 50: Hidden Dangers

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The exhaustion tugged at every limb of everyone, the mission had only begun. First day of the hunting mission was only travelling. Tomorrow would bring fresh challenges, and each heartbeat was a vow to overcome nature’s fierce tests and the hidden threats lurking among them.

When the first light of a new day crept over the horizon, the wilderness awoke in earnest. The frost of morning melted into a vibrant, treacherous world where every twist of the path beckoned with both promise and peril.

Kai and his comrades resumed their journey, their resolve steeled by the hardships of the previous day and the unyielding determination to find the star crystal mine.

The forest now teemed with subtle dangers. The undergrowth rustled with the quiet movements of small predators, and branches creaked as unseen creatures scurried through the foliage.

In one tense moment, as the team traversed a particularly narrow, winding trail along a rocky slope, a sudden, sinister rustle heralded an ambush. From the shadows emerged a swarm of wild, one-star beast called Terbe. They were small, ferocious insects with glistening, predatory type behaviour. They were only one star rank. But their numbers were very high.

The clash was immediate and brutal. Kai found himself at the forefront of the battle as the swarm descended upon the group.

Captain Darius ordered, "You two, Renna and Kai. Both of you are two star rank ants. You don’t have enough battle experience. Go practice with the insect beast."

Before Kai could say anything to captain Darius. The Terbe beast’s tiny bodies moved in unison, a frenzied assault that left the air humming with desperate cries and the harsh sound of mandibles clashing.

Kai’s limbs worked in perfect harmony with his instincts, he darted in and out, his strikes decisive, his focus unbreakable. Each insect beast that fell was a silent testament to his tenacity. Amid the storm of battle, the chaos faded into moments of quiet determination as Kai and Renna repelled the attackers, their survival depended only by the raw necessity of battle.

Yet even as the last of the tiny enemies was driven back into the underbrush, an unsettling chill lay over the clearing, a reminder that the wild was as treacherous as it was breathtaking.

There was a bitterness in the air, one that reminded Kai of the silent plotting that lingered with Captain Darius. Though the battle was won, the seed of distrust had been sown deeper in his heart. He silently vowed that he would one day beat the shit out of this bastard. "He is playing with lifes. What if someone gets hurt? Princess Mia told him to protect everyone. But he is causing trouble in the name of training." Kai murmured to himself.

Kai didn’t use his skills. He can’t eat them In Front of others. While everyone else was busy collecting the star cores, Kai managed to store over twenty of the Terbe insect beast inside his soul bound storage cube. Their size was small so it only took half of his space. At night he will find an opportunity to eat them.

In the following hours, as the team advanced steadily, the terrain grew ever more challenging. The path wound through dense groves of towering trees, their branches interlocking like the veins of some ancient giant.

The ground beneath was uneven and strewn with sharp stones and tangled roots that threatened to trip the unwary. Each step forward was both a physical struggle and an act of defiance against the inherent dangers of nature.

In these quiet, solitary moments between conflicts, Kai’s thoughts turned to the mysterious map handed to them by Princess Mia. Its cryptic words, "star crystal mine" wove through his mind like an enigma wrapped in destiny. "What’s the true use of the star crystals?" was a secret that would remain locked away. No one questioned its use, Just like Kai everyone else was unaware of its use.

As the sun hung up painting the sky in hues of amber and deep violet, the team gathered for a rest in the wilderness. The air was cooler now, and the soft murmur of the noon mingled with their quiet conversation.

Around a modest cooking fire, each ant reflected on the morning’s tribulations. Kai was looking for an opportunity to eat the Terbe insect beasts.

Kai, sitting slightly apart from the lively group gathered around the fire, watched quietly as the flickering flames danced across their faces.

The warm scent of roasting meat drifted lazily on the cool breeze of the trees. Kai allowed himself a rare moment of solitude beneath the starry expanse above, enjoying the serene silence that contrasted with the cheerful chatter nearby. Slowly, he rose and stepped quietly into the shadowed embrace of the surrounding woods.

Hidden among the tall, whispering trees, Kai began his private feast. One by one, he bit into the Terbe insect beast bodies, savoring the moment of indulgence despite their disappointing size. Due to their small stature, the essence liquid they yielded was minimal.

After consuming nearly twenty of them, he felt only a slight surge of energy. He gained only two stat points. His brows furrowed slightly in disappointment. Each bite felt more futile than the last.

Curiosity piqued, Kai quickly checked system notifications to find out how many exp he got from them. Each Terbe insect beast provided only twenty experience points, a pitiful amount given the effort he’d expended. Having killed over thirty beasts, he totaled a mere six hundred experience points. He sighed softly, realizing how far away his next level still seemed.

Efficiently, Kai collected all the small one star cores scattered on the ground, his fingers swiftly gathering the glittering objects. Once he’d retrieved them all, he dug a shallow but careful hole in the soft earth to conceal the remnants of his quiet meal of the Terbe insect. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

Just as Kai smoothed the final bit of dirt over the buried bodies, a familiar voice startled him slightly from behind.