Day 3: Swarm of the Winged White Ants

It's only been three days since I arrived in this world.

The ever-energetic goddess had given me another Constellation Ticket today. At first, I thought she was just handing out random junk... but eventually, wouldn't that mean I'd get a strong skill someday?

Oh dear, looks like there's no such thing as a free lunch after all.

Po'runga, exhausted from the Treant, dipped into the river for a quick wash. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Right after, she said her body would slow down if she got cold, so she used a camp fire kit. It was my first time trying one, but I was surprised it even had small logs inside. Honestly, I didn't expect much, but there was lamp oil too... and ignition tools. It wouldn't light easily because of the wind, so I just used Fireball to start it.

Crackle, crackle— As I watched the flames devour the wood, imagining what an ant nest might be like was pointless. White Ants were E-grade monsters, malicious pests that destroyed forests. Adventurers hunted them on sight for nature preservation. Like the ants I knew, they had a queen and dug tunnels to build territory. The dangerous part? They spat acidic saliva from their mouths.

What the hell... what kind of ant spits acid?

During the break, I figured I'd try enhancing the chamber pot. I held it and activated the Enhancement skill.

...If it failed, I could resummon and try again. But on the second try, the chamber pot shattered into pieces. The third try failed too, the light turning all murky.

...Resummon and... wait, is this even worth it?

'Just need a 31 on the dice, is that so hard?'

Enhancing took time, and there was a cooldown on summoning. Surprisingly, there was quite a delay—three tries took two hours. In the meantime, Po'runga washed up, dried her clothes, and when hunger hit, she had a simple meal of the prepared fried chicken.

"The best part is being able to keep eating fried chicken," she said.

Normally, adventurers carried simple rations, but that added weight to the bag. Me? Infinite water and fried chicken. That gave me an edge in this regard.

I nodded. So, no specific target means I can use it on people? Even myself...? Scared of what disaster might happen if I tried, I decided against it.

"We were originally just gonna scout the outskirts," she said.

We headed deep into the forest south, guided by the compass. With the Treant passing through, most monsters had probably fled long ago. Just as she said, not even a single goblin in sight. Just rabbits, foxes, and that T-Rex from earlier. Were there raptors too?

Following human tracks, we found signs of camping. No signs of life at the spot where the fire still burned.

"Looks like they were planning to camp."

A tent set up, but no people? She guessed at least two parties, scanning the area. No footprints... but soon we found evidence.

Half the tree trunk was melted and dripping. Bite marks everywhere, tree stumps left, holes dug all around.

"White Ants struck first."

While the parties prepared to rest, White Ants ambushed from underground. Groaning at the drag marks, she said some might've been kidnapped. "Should we go help?"

"White Ants melt the limbs of hunters and drag them off paralyzed, feeding them alive to the larvae. Better off dead for those taken."

I swallowed hard at the chilling detail. And this was just "E-grade"...

But as a Deinous, there might be a way to survive, so we had to investigate.

"The fight was so desperate they couldn't even fire a rescue signal. Maybe both parties got wiped."

"That strong?"

"Insects are usually dumb. But they don't feel fear either, so swarms are tricky."

She decided to follow the trail south. White Ants travel underground, so nearby goblins fled or got massacred. No bird calls—the forest was devoid of animals, just as she said. Climbing higher, I spotted a massive spider from earlier, horrifically melted and smashed on the ground. Cold sweat.

Blocking with a shield would be impossible. She warned to protect my head above all if we fought. Stick close or retreat—no engaging. She repeated we'd investigate and pull back. Seemed anxious dragging an F-grader like me along.

"Shoot this if things go south." She handed me a gun-like flare. Aim skyward for rescue signal. Demonstrating, she fired hers into the sky.

"Nearby search parties will come running."

I nodded and we pressed on. The entrance to a rocky mountain slope appeared. Barren ground around it—no trees or grass, just dirt, sand, and stones piled up.

"Nest's already built."

They piled dirt and rocks at the entrance for digging, then melted it with acid into walls. Hard to invade from outside without climbing, but White Ants our size scurried up easily.

"...No signs of battle."

"Yeah."

Unlike the ambushed camp, no fight traces here. Meant the two parties lost to the ants, as she guessed.

"But aren't they E-grade?"

"Exactly... there might be C-grades too."

Treants, giant slugs—something unnatural was afoot, she said gravely. Marked the nest on the map, then we'd link with outer adventurers. No argument, so we turned to leave.

Clack clack—

"Damn it!"

A jaw-clacking sound from above. Winged White Ants glared down at us.

"Freaking mating flight season?!"

They spat acid at her cursing. She scattered it with a shockwave punch mid-air. Vanishing in afterimages, she smashed a tree—boom—blowing the base. It toppled like dominoes, crushing winged ants tangled opposite.

Winged ants buzzed wings roughly, jaws clacking. At the sound, dozens poured from the nest entrance.

Po'runga silently tail-swept my legs, tripping me. She gulped Spiriterus from her belt, chest inflating double as she inhaled through her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠nose. ROOOAR—flames erupted, engulfing the swarm.

"Page 1!"

I yanked my Memorize Spellbook from my waist, flipping pages. Calling the name unleashed magic light. Pointing, I chanted the skill.

"Fireball!"

A massive magic circle formed at my fingertip. Intense heat like burning hand—and a fireball launched. Recoil flung me back into broken trees and ant debris.

"What power...!"

The spellbook page burned away! The constellation's Fireball overwhelmed it. Not daily cooldown—single use per page. Only four left now.

Panting, I tore a Constellation Ticket calmly. Please, something useful now...!

"...!"

Mistake or not, it had a "touch target" condition. "No target" didn't make sense—implies it requires one! Paradox constellation?

Didn't matter. Checked skill window.

Perfect...! Touching by hand was the issue, but knockback explosion followed by real boom? Like rocket ignition!

I ripped a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠White Ant jaw from debris. Touched the connecting flesh as it tore free, hurled at the lead ants.

"Deadly Queen—explode!"

Chant then activate? Or chant activates? Pointing at the flung jaw, mark appeared on last touch spot.

Whoosh—it rocketed, spinning like a dagger, smashing the lead ant and glowing on impact.

BOOM!!

Deafening blast, smoke pillar. Effective? Trembling eyes: a few leads charred black. Stronger than expected? No, decent power. But useful...!

Kicked ground, palm-slapped a fallen log trunk.

"Deadly Queen!"

Whoosh—log rocketed, boom exploding. Splinters rained; winged ants with torn wings plummeted.

"Po'runga!"

I yelled at her torching the area. She zipped to me, tail coiling my waist, lifting me. But ants swarmed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from our entry—tunnel linked to the camp they hit.

Most winged down. Flames everywhere, my Fireball collapsed entrance—60-70 left. Still too many!

"What do we do...?!"

"Hold out!"

She stomped—ground crumbled. Falling into eaten-out underground cavern. She fire-sealed the hole, dashed inner tunnel. Punched wall to collapse, sealing a chamber. Finally breathed.

"...Is our situation good...?"

"Insanely lucky... normally, dead!"

Trapped in ant nest was "lucky." Adventuring was brutally harsh. Princess ant in mating flight? Goddess's prank too much...