Chapter 33
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Great Catastrophe (1)
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The abnormal awakening caused by the rampage of the ants that crossed into that world, and the resulting system restrictions.
For a total newbie like me who knew nothing unlike everyone else, cooperation from the Divine Net was absolutely essential, but there was only one way to lift those restrictions.
That was for the ants to grow even stronger and expand their forces, thereby elevating my own rank as their Deity.
In fact, as a reward for rising one step from the lowest tier, some of the restricted functions had been unlocked.
In other words, it was certain that more restricted functions would unlock one by one as the ants continued to grow.
[Subordinates have finally constructed a new nest]
Perfect timing, huh.
The very moment I was starting to feel frustrated, the ants—who had already triumphed over the Eastern Alliance—were embarking on a massive expansion.
The large pioneering party, including even the Queen Ant, had selected a site for their new nest: a place that had once been a human village.
An ant nest began to take shape in the ruined and abandoned village.
In that world, massive Worker Ants comparable in size to wolves dug into the earth in unison to create tunnels, used the excavated soil to build fortresses above ground, and snapped trees to cultivate mushrooms for food.
'Fast. To think they've accomplished this much in just one day.'
The Hive Core amplified the Worker Ants' efficiency several times over.
You could grasp that ability just by observing closely.
Thousands of ants moved busily without a single moment or a single ant wasting effort—they all acted precisely as planned.
As a result, in a short time, a massive ant nest was born where a village had once stood.
'No way they mimicked a human castle...?'
But that wasn't the end of it.
My ants were monsters capable of real-time learning and growth.
I watched in awe as they went beyond simply piling up dirt, embedding large boulders just like humans built their castles.
Now, it wasn't just the size that rivaled a fortress.
The outer appearance had truly become that of a castle.
Orcs and goblins didn't build such grandiose fortresses. They must have learned from observing the human castles they'd faced before.
「Territory and infamy expansion, Deity rank elevated」
「Low-tier Deity 5th Grade → Low-tier Deity 4th Grade」
「Some restricted functions unlocked」
And their growth was my growth.
As expected to some extent, my Deity rank rose once more in tandem with the ants' massive expansion efforts.
"What the hell is this 'transcendent rank'?"
Hoping for an answer, I asked the Divine Net about the thing that was driving me crazy with curiosity.
If this power was truly the cause of the gates vanishing around me, then I had obtained a power no one on Earth had ever possessed.
「Transcendent Rank: The power held by Deities bearing immense karma and fate. Powers of differing ranks do not affect hostile inferior powers. Grows stronger as Deity rank increases」
"Inferior powers?"
Thankfully, an explanation appeared. A clear, refreshing answer that punched right through my questions.
However, I soon fell into a new dilemma.
Because I now had a good idea why the gates around me had vanished.
"Gates emit massive Demonic Power fluctuations to those coordinates before they appear. It's a force ordinary people can't detect, but it can be sensed with special methods."
Words from a professor who appeared as an expert in a hunter-related video I'd seen once flashed through my mind. Professor Oh Jin-woong, considered Korea's top authority.
'Gates are a means formed from Demonic Power. And that Demonic Power is probably... the same as the power emerging from that world.'
I opened the file compiling all the data I'd gathered so far and racked my brain as much as possible.
If the transcendent rank neutralized hostile inferior powers appearing around me as described, then the gates opening to invade Earth—invade me—would fall under that category.
Moreover, if the Deities of the Divine Net were intervening targeting the land where I lived, then the stories of monsters' Demonic Power or hunters' Mana as known in the real world would align exactly with what I knew.
"It's certain."
My speculations fit perfectly.
The changes that appeared in the world about 20 years ago were caused by the intervention of Deities, and the gates vanishing around me now was because I had become one of those Deities and awakened to that power.
"How do I control this power?"
「A transcendent being attuned to Deity rank cannot fail to wield it, so no answer can be provided to this query」
"..."
One problem was that having awakened abnormally, I didn't even know the basics, as they say.
Seeing the Divine Net's response left me utterly speechless.
How was I supposed to learn something like this that couldn't be taught anywhere?
'Guess I should think about how to make use of it.'
Rather than learning control, it seemed cheaper to ponder how to handle this state of being a living gate eraser.
For now, it was just imagination, but if this power and rank of mine grew higher than any other Deity and enveloped the entire world?
Maybe I could really return to that world without dungeons or gates, the one they said I'd never go back to eternally.
That thought made my heart race for no reason.
"Hah."
At the same time, an absurd chuckle escaped despite myself.
Even if many beings in that world were subordinates of other Deities—my enemies—there were still plenty who weren't subordinates yet.
Yet the more the ants devastated that world, the safer my own became?
It was a complete contradiction, utterly ridiculous.
[Subordinates have detected enemies approaching the nest]
Having crushed the enemies' main force in fierce combat, the ants were moving on to their next actions without rest.
But the ants had also lost some troops, creating gaps in their defenses.
Aiming for those gaps, a group of enemies had stealthily entered the forest and was approaching cautiously.
"Goblins?"
They were goblins, thought to have vanished completely from the area.
I'd definitely seen some of them in the alliance army, but they hadn't been wiped out—they'd retreated separately to preserve their forces.
'What are they planning now?'
But no matter the gaps or how stealthily they moved, with ants' scouts now covering both sky and ground, reaching the nest without detection was nearly impossible.
I scratched my head as I watched the ants dispatch troops to intercept them.
Their numbers weren't that high, and they looked ragged from fleeing defeat in the previous battle.
The ants were already far stronger than when they'd skirmished with goblins in the past; these ragtag invaders wouldn't even require full effort to repel.
'Maybe an order from their Deity.'
The goblins in the area were subordinates of the Deity who had messaged me under the name Verdant Calamity.
Unlike me, other Deities could intervene with their subordinates, offering aid or issuing commands, so this could be divine instruction.
"Hurry up! We must succeed in this operation and regain the Great Spirit's trust!"
But hearing their conversation as it drifted over made me change my mind.
The chieftain's urgent prodding proved this wasn't a divine command.
Quite the opposite. They were acting on their own initiative.
"But Karon..."
"Shut up. O Great Spirit, grant me strength! I will make up for all the humiliation and disgrace we've suffered!"
It seemed the chieftain's dictatorial nature—gathering a bunch somewhere—was the cause.
Obsessed with earning merit, the chieftain drove his subordinates onward, crossing the forest.
It had been their territory originally, and they'd started moving after seeing the ants' main force head south, so they'd used their heads to some extent, but...
Unfortunately, the gap between ants and goblins had grown too vast.
They still hadn't noticed the scouts perched silently on the trees above, monitoring them in real time.
[Subordinates remember all details of past battles with them and confirm their leader is an individual overlooked previously]
The ants' calculations weren't much different from my own thoughts.
Even if these remnant goblins bypassed to infiltrate the nest stealthily, they could be repelled easily.
[The Queen Ant intends to deploy newly matured soldiers of a fresh class against them]
Through the war with the alliance army, the ant colony had gained vast spoils and expanded territory, yielding more resources—and at last, produced another new variant form as the Queen Ant desired.
A new variant born from devouring the bomb dust mites I'd given them and transplanting those abilities onto Venom Ants: Bomb Ants.
Defense troops accompanied by these Bomb Ants, which had bulkier abdomens than standard Venom Ants, began moving through burrowed tunnels in the forest to intercept the goblins.
'Bet that pisses them off.'
Whether they'd given up, failed to do it, or faced some restriction, I honestly didn't know.
But if I were that goblin Deity unable to communicate with them, this situation would feel incredibly frustrating.
I was used to ants acting on their own whims, but the opponent with goblins—who at least understood commands—probably wasn't.
In any case, the goblins' Deity was surely just watching this reckless, doomed operation unfold.
[Subordinates have reached the vicinity of the enemies]
In the meantime, the ants zipped through straight underground passages—like subways—and arrived near the goblins, preparing for battle.
It was just as the goblins paused for a hasty meal.
"!?"
"E-Enemies!"
The goblins panicked greatly at the sudden ambush from all sides.
They tossed aside their food and scrambled to grab weapons and fight back.
"Kieeeek!"
But at that instant, the Bomb Ants' abdomens exploded, spewing thick smoke and scorching acidic venom toward the charging goblins.
These variants could propel far more potent and toxic venom than standard Venom Ants.
"Dodge! They're exploding!"
The goblins, who hadn't anticipated such explosive attacks, screamed as they were swept away from all directions, burning horribly and dying on the ground.
"H-How did they not use monsters like that in the last war!?"
The chieftain I'd been watching reacted dramatically.
Not realizing the Bomb Ants had been born just days after the war victory, he even misunderstood it as the ants hiding their full strength.
"Ahh..."
The chieftain, eyes wide in disbelief, dropped to his knees upon seeing his subordinates annihilated in an instant.
The helplessness and despair of shattered hope—a sight I'd witnessed several times recently.
"O Great Spirit, I did my utmost. Please save my soul..."
Muttering dazedly as his minions were swept away, the chieftain was ultimately bisected head from body by a charging Worker Ant.
Thus, the goblins' prepared counterattack ended in a single clash.
Even the hornets and other ant elites hadn't needed to join.
[Subordinates are satisfied with the unexpected harvest but deem it insufficient]
'Yeah, figures. The real core is down south anyway.'
Once, they'd staked everything against goblin tribes, but the ant colony that used to get full off raiding one village was gone.
Now, an army craving at least thousands to tens of thousands of prey non-stop marched endlessly for more food.
They were like a runaway train that couldn't stop.
And that train was only set to grow longer and heavier.
I, no longer someone who could be called ordinary, was tied to that train's fate from here on out.
Once linked, forever onward.
End of Chapter 33 - Great Catastrophe (1)