Chapter 28: 4th Floor. World of Insects (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 28: 4th Floor. World of Insects (3)
Kang Jun-hyeok organized his thoughts.
“Wiping them all out physically is impossible.”
That hadn't been an option from the start. It was more like a trap. There had to be another way.
“You know there’s something else, don’t you?”
The Master of All Weapons remained silent, but that silence was an answer in itself.
He had to find the solution.
However, wandering aimlessly to find the answer was also out of the question. This was an entire world. Even if he did manage to find it, the search could easily take years. He couldn't afford to waste that much time.
“So, for now, let’s start with observation.”
[Observation?]
The Master of All Weapons sounded skeptical.
Instead of answering, Kang Jun-hyeok gripped the cliffside and descended back to the ground. Before he had walked very far, a swarm of ants rushed toward him.
[Screeeech!]
Crunch.
Kang Jun-hyeok crushed the ants underfoot. Up to that point, his actions weren't much different from before. But what he did next was.
Drip, splatter.
Kang Jun-hyeok picked up the fragments of the fallen ants and held them over his head. The fluids from their remains showered down, drenching his entire body.
[What in the world are you...]
The Master of All Weapons still didn't understand the purpose behind such a gruesome act.
Drenched in ant fluids, Kang Jun-hyeok began to walk again. It wasn't long before he encountered another swarm—a small group of about twenty ants traveling together.
Kang Jun-hyeok approached them.
Until now, the moment the ants spotted him, they would let out a cry and attack.
But this time was different.
[Skritch.]
[Chirp.]
Instead of showing hostility, the ants slowly approached him. They flicked their antennae as if puzzled.
[...Is it what they call pheromones?]
“Exactly,” Kang Jun-hyeok said calmly.
How did ants distinguish between friend and foe? Pheromones.
If he covered himself in their fluids, the ants would perceive him as one of their own. Kang Jun-hyeok already knew this trick. In his past life, there were those who cleared the 4th floor by avoiding combat as much as possible using this exact method.
[Kiiiik.]
Soon, the ants backed off. They had recognized him as a fellow ant. Kang Jun-hyeok joined them, becoming a member of the swarm.
He walked with the swarm. He stayed with them quietly, observing their every move.
[Kik.]
The ants buried their heads in the dirt. After digging through the soil for a moment, a shower of tiny ants suddenly emerged. They were the size of ordinary ants one might see on Earth.
The giant ants began to toss them into their mandibles.
“So the smaller ants are their food. It really is a world of insects.”
[Kiiiik.]
Later, when they encountered another swarm, the ants flicked their antennae at each other. It was a behavior that looked like a greeting, or perhaps a way of confirming each other's presence. When they approached bushes, they rubbed their bodies against them—a movement intended to leave pheromones behind.
Kang Jun-hyeok took in every single detail.
He understood the ants' habits, accepted them, and began living like one of them.
“There’s a saying: know your enemy and know yourself.”
He observed and analyzed the ants.
The Master of All Weapons asked quietly.
[Do you truly believe you can find the answer this way?]
“Who knows.”
Kang Jun-hyeok wasn't certain either. After all, he didn't know everything about this place. But his instincts as a player were telling him one thing:
This was the right path.
[And if you fail despite this?]
“Then I’ll just have to find another way,” Kang Jun-hyeok replied flatly.
What if he failed? He would just try again, as many times as it took.
The Master of All Weapons was momentarily speechless at his attitude. The weapon itself had once shattered upon failure, never thinking to try again.
Kang Jun-hyeok continued to follow the ant swarm.
Whenever the fluids on his body began to dry, he would find another swarm, kill them, and reapply the scent. When he returned, the swarm welcomed him with flicking antennae.
It was while Kang Jun-hyeok was resting in the bushes with the ants.
[Skritch.]
One ant approached him. It dropped the tiny ants it had been carrying in its mandibles in front of Kang Jun-hyeok and waved its antennae.
Kang Jun-hyeok chuckled at the gesture—which seemed to be an offer of food—and patted the ant’s head.
“I’m not hungry. I’m fine, Charlie.”
[Charlie?]
“That’s his name. He’s the one with one short antenna.”
[You gave it a name?]
“Well, after spending a few days together, I’ve grown a bit fond of him.”
[...]
An ant that should have been sliced to pieces the moment they met was now showing concern for him, and he had even given it a name. The Master of All Weapons let out a hollow laugh.
* * *
Meanwhile.
“...Why isn't he coming out?”
Two people were standing in front of Kang Jun-hyeok’s house. Baekdusan and Kim Tae-yeon were waiting by the door.
A week had already passed, but Kang Jun-hyeok’s door remained firmly shut. The two, who had initially been locked in a battle of nerves, were now sitting half-collapsed on the floor with exhausted faces.
“It’s been a week, right?”
“...It just passed a moment ago.”
“That’s strange. It usually took four days at most. Why is it taking so long this time...?”
“You don't think he's dead, do you?”
If a player who entered the Tower didn't return after several days, there was a very high probability they had been killed during the climb.
However, Baekdusan snorted.
“You think he’d die?”
“Well... I suppose not.”
Kim Tae-yeon agreed. She hadn't been entirely serious. No matter how she thought about it, it didn't seem like he would die.
Then why wasn't he coming back?
As she sat there lost in thought, Kim Tae-yeon muttered as if something had occurred to her.
“...Even after killing all the ants in the cave, it was only 0.001%, right?”
“That’s right.”
“What if that percentage refers to the total number of ants?”
“...Are you saying there are more ants in another location we don't know about?”
“Probably.”
The quest on the 4th floor was to kill as many ants as possible. If so, what was required for a Perfect Clear?
Baekdusan wore a grim expression.
“...Is he hunting down every single one of them?”
“It’s a possibility.”
“Hell.”
If that was the case, just how long would they have to wait?
But they couldn't leave. If they did, the other side would be the first to make contact. In the end, they had no choice but to wait indefinitely. Baekdusan and Kim Tae-yeon slumped against the floor, looking half-dead.
* * *
Three more days passed after that.
Kang Jun-hyeok had already been on the 4th floor for over eleven days. He had spent more than half of that time living with the ant swarm.
[So.]
The Master of All Weapons, who had been quiet, finally asked.
[It seems it is about time you found some kind of answer.]
“An answer. I do have a hunch.”
[A hunch?]
The Master of All Weapons was actually surprised by that. He had been watching alongside Kang Jun-hyeok, but to him, they were just ants. He had found an answer in this?
Kang Jun-hyeok slowly organized the facts he had discovered.
“The planet’s rotation period is about 48 hours. Night lasts for 12 of those hours.”
[You’ve tracked that well without even a watch. Your sense of time is remarkable.]
The Master of All Weapons muttered in wonder. The information Kang Jun-hyeok just mentioned matched the characteristics of the Brutalkain he knew.
“And the ants sleep for about two hours a day. They spend twelve hours eating. The rest of the time, they move around leaving pheromones or resting.”
Their basic lifestyle patterns were similar. However, there were clear differences between individuals. Kang Jun-hyeok pointed a finger at the ant with the short antenna—Charlie.
“Charlie is quite social. Once he’s eaten enough, he gives his food to his kin. Even when resting, he stays outside the shade.”
Kang Jun-hyeok pointed to another ant.
“And Alpha is greedy. He eats an excessive amount of food. Because of that, his movements are slow, and he often ends up at the rear of the line.”
“Omega is the leader of the swarm. He’s always at the front and is responsible for finding ground where prey exists.”
“Beta does nothing. He doesn't look for food, nor does he look for shade. He’s basically a lazy ant.”
Kang Jun-hyeok continued to list the characteristics of the ants. The Master of All Weapons realized something. There were twenty ants in the swarm, and Kang Jun-hyeok had grasped the individual traits of every single one of them.
[Impressive.]
The Master of All Weapons was purely impressed. It was an extraordinary level of observation.
[So, what did you find through all that?]
“These guys... each of them has their own personality.”
While they followed a broad framework of acting on instinct, they clearly had individual identities.
“But there’s something strange.”
[Something strange?]
“Watch.”
Kang Jun-hyeok approached Charlie, the short-antennaed ant. Charlie was busy eating tiny ants with his head buried in the ground. Kang Jun-hyeok stood still and watched Charlie. Soon, a change occurred.
Both of Charlie’s antennae snapped bolt upright and pointed in a single direction.
It was only for a fleeting moment. Less than a second. Then, the antennae immediately began moving normally again.
Kang Jun-hyeok muttered.
“This is what’s strange.”
At first, he hadn't paid much attention to it. For ants, antennae were their eyes and ears. They twitched them all over the place or held them still quite often. Pointing in one direction for a second wasn't particularly unusual.
“But if every single ant does the same thing, then it becomes strange.”
[Every ant?]
“Yeah.”
All twenty ants in the swarm. Every one of them, at some point, pointed their antennae in that specific direction. The timing varied for each ant, but at least once a day, their antennae unfailingly pointed toward that specific spot.
“It’s as if they’re receiving—or transmitting—information.”
[...]
“I figured this out a few days ago, but I’ve been watching a bit longer to be sure. Now I’m certain.”
From here, it was on to the next step. What were the ants pointing at? Was it just a direction, or was it somewhere on the planet?
Kang Jun-hyeok followed the ants for a few more days to confirm. The ants kept moving, and their positions changed accordingly. As a result, Kang Jun-hyeok was able to see it. Depending on the ants' location, the direction of their antennae shifted very slightly, bit by bit.
In that moment, Kang Jun-hyeok realized. The ants were pointing toward a specific location on the planet.
And that was where the answer he was looking for lay.
As if confirming his hypothesis, a system window appeared before Kang Jun-hyeok.
[You have acquired Passive Skill: Observation.]