164 – The Nymphs' Training Method # 5
Hyper Evolution of Ang-ang-i, the Emperor Honey Ant.
The result was a form like a giant rhinoceros beetle, boasting an even larger and more imposing horn.
━Zji…!
Truly a body worthy of the title 'Emperor.'
The texture of his gleaming shell radiated a dazzling brilliance that genuinely looked like polished gold. Perhaps that was why Ang-ang-i's new figure reminded me of the machines from the robot cartoons I'd loved as a kid. His body had grown angular, his wings had expanded, and the sturdiness of his carapace seemed to have multiplied severalfold.
"Even this Oinoi has never seen a honey ant so enormous…!"
Just as Oinoi said, Ang-ang-i had grown to the size of a large dog.
━Zji…!
Even his usual zji— cry boomed louder than before. A very big zji indeed.
Overall bigger and bulkier, Ang-ang-i was the very picture of an alpha ant — one glance was enough to tell how powerful he'd become.
Soon, Oinoi began to tremble.
"Come to think of it, this Oinoi once heard that in the distant age of the gods, there existed terrifying ants called the Chimera Ants…!"
Chimera Ants.
Even the name alone carried a menacing premonition. The kind of name that made you think they'd invade the world and turn it into one giant anthill — the kind that sounded like it would take a united league of awakeners to hunt down their queen or king in some mutual-destruction final battle.
And indeed, Oinoi rated the Chimera Ants as absolutely fearsome.
"They were terribly aggressive and warlike ants, but fortunately — or perhaps unfortunately — this Oinoi heard they were wiped out long ago by the hands of heroes and gods…! And yet, this form of his looks just like the Chimera Ants…!"
"Oh yeah?"
"Among the nymphs there was a rumor that the honey ants' ancestor was the Chimera Ant — so perhaps it really is true…!"
According to Oinoi's theory, the Hyper-Evolved Ang-ang-i felt less like an evolution and more like the reemergence of ancient primordial traits — a regression to a mighty long-lost species.
Be that as it may, one thing was certain: he was powerful in every possible way.
At this level, wouldn't he give even Kalinoi a good match?
Pirrrr—!
At that moment, Kalinoi, who had been soaring through the sky, dove straight at Ang-ang-i.
Papap—!
Her razor-sharp talons struck at him — and then something astonishing happened.
Not a single wound appeared on Ang-ang-i's carapace.
And Kalinoi's talons were every bit as lethal as a blade forged from top-grade A-rank materials!
"His defense is A-rank or higher!"
The Hyper-Evolved Ang-ang-i's shell was clearly extraordinarily hard. An evolution specializing in defense was a tremendous boon for me as well.
"Now that's reassuring!"
All of my beasts were specialized in offense and disruption — I didn't have a single defensive one, and it had been nagging at me. If any of my animals got hurt, it would be sad in all sorts of ways, but with Ang-ang-i this sturdy, he could clearly shield the others.
It felt like our party balance had shot straight up into a perfect hexagon.
And right then—
━Zji…!
Ang-ang-i beat his wings.
Vroooom—.
Along with that thunderous wingbeat, silver-armored honey ant knights came flying in from somewhere, crying ━Jujii…! and ━Gyujii…!
Bzzz, bzzz—.
They vibrated their wings in perfect sync with Ang-ang-i's beat, and the combined sound washed over us like a great gale sweeping into a cave.
I realized this was the honey ants' language. I'd once watched a MeTube video full of adorable honeybees right before facing Dang So-hae, after all.
They said honeybees sometimes communicate by synchronizing their wingbeats in unison. Ants are cousins of bees, so they must share similar habits.
━Zji…!
Ang-ang-i cried out grandly, and at once the nearly ten knight ants formed an A-formation and charged the scarecrow targets set up in the yard.
Pyaang—!
It took only an instant for the scarecrows — as tough as A-rank monsters — to be wrecked, and frankly, that was only to be expected. The honey ant colony had once been classified as a disaster on the level of a T-Rank rift or beyond, and they genuinely possessed that kind of destructive power.
"So Hyper-Evolved Ang-ang-i can now summon the honey ant legion even more easily. That's a lot more cards in my hand, huh?"
Ssssss—.
Ang-ang-i's body faintly glowed once more, and then he shrank back down to a palm-sized honey ant.
The knight ants gathered before him, and Ang-ang-i cried ━Zji…! at them — I couldn't understand it exactly, but it seemed like encouragement along the lines of "Keep up the good work patrolling the village!"
Anyway.
Seeing the results of my meditation pay off so immediately gave me a huge sense of accomplishment. Was there anything better than effort translating directly into visible results?
"Though now I've gone and incurred a debt to Seo Yerim without meaning to."
"So when Ang-ang-i evolved, the knight ants came flying in going hrollollollo—! Even this Oinoi found it an exceedingly splendid sight…!"
"This Coris wanted to see it too, that's what…!"
Night had fallen.
A summer night tipping into autumn — a cool breeze drifted by now and then, but the air still clung with muggy heat.
Crackle, crackle—.
I sat in front of the brazier we'd lit in the yard, but the nymphs were too busy chattering away, and Lee Jina, in the middle of it all, was calmly grilling the meat.
"Wow, I grilled it myself and it still looks seriously goddamn delicious. Beef is best, you know? Have you tried it with wasabi? It's insane. The wasabi cuts right through the grease, I'm telling you."
Ssssssk—.
With her belly bared and her shirt knotted up at her chest, Lee Jina standing before the barbecue grill evoked the free-spirited women of America.
"Ah, hot, hot—."
Oil must have spattered while she was grilling, because she rubbed her stomach with her palm.
It was already the fourth or fifth time she'd complained about oil splattering on her chest or stomach and stinging.
I said to her,
"Then just pull your shirt down."
"Dude, then I'd be hot."
She had a point.
Was Lee Jina just not a fan of the heat?
Come to think of it, she always showed a lot of bare skin. She seemed to like wearing short dolphin shorts, too.
"Here, eat up. This is the beef my mom got from the owner of Eutteum Stationery. It's Rainbow Angus from an A-rank rift. You can't get this anywhere, I'm telling you."
Thanks to the beef Lee Jina brought, we gorged ourselves for the first time in ages.
It was wonderfully marbled and delicious.
Even Kalinoi, with her notoriously picky palate, kept fussing at me, smacking me with her wing and demanding I grill more.
It practically melted in the mouth!
"Hey, your cup's empty! Drink up!"
Glugluglug—.
Beer foam foamed up generously into my empty glass.
What had gotten into Lee Jina, treating us to both meat and drinks?
"It's my dad's birthday soon. Mom said to tell you thank you, because this year she actually gets to spend it with him. If you hadn't helped, she wouldn't have been able to spend it with him this year either, you know."
So that was it.
I thought back to that spring day when I'd fought to save Lee Jina's mother. Quite a lot of time had passed already, huh.
"How's your mom doing?"
"Doing amazing! Anyway — hey, what kind of man nibbles at his food like a little bird? Grab a fistful and eat!"
Lee Jina's energy was higher than usual.
She'd been sipping beer on her own since she started grilling, and after polishing off about two bottles straight from the glass, the alcohol had clearly gone to her head fast.
Was Lee Jina actually a lightweight?
Unexpected. I'd have figured she could put away five bottles of soju on her own.
"I'll grill from here. You seem pretty drunk."
"Ugh, come on, I'm not drunk, you little punk. And even if I were, so what…!"
Lee Jina's eyes narrowed to slits.
Now that I looked, her gaze had gone hazy and loosened.
I'd always assumed a delinquent type like her would be a heavy drinker with an iron liver, but apparently that wasn't necessarily the case.
Looking at Lee Jina made me think of my little sister. She was the same age as Ha Irae, after all. My parents worried about Irae coming home late drunk now that she was in university. Wouldn't Lee Jina's mom and dad worry the same way when she stayed out drinking until all hours?
"Then let's go see the honey ants…! It's exceedingly cool how all the knight ants are gathered together…!"
"This Coris says we should all go together…!"
Just then, the nymphs streamed out of the yard with a cheer.
Apparently they'd gone off to watch the honey ants.
"Weather's greeeaat—."
Flop—.
Lee Jina sprawled out on the ground beneath the golden apple tree in the yard.
What was with her?
This was a bit unlike her usual cool self — the one who hated owing anyone anything.
"Hey. Something bothering you?"
I asked Lee Jina, and she answered,
"Nope. If anything, I'm overflowing with energy. My life, I mean. It feels like I'm a chicken that was frozen solid and just got thawed out in hot water and started coming back to life…! And if you're climbing a mountain anyway, you want to see the summit — that's just human nature…!"
Shoof—.
Lee Jina thrust her fist toward the sky.
A chicken thawed in hot water was, I felt, still a dead chicken — but it was a good thing that Lee Jina was motivated and clearly fine.
I snorted a laugh.
"You think the summit is something just anyone gets to see? Jina, if you want to make it to the top, you'll need to cut out time like this — drinking and fooling around."
"The hell, are you dissing me right now? Want a demonstration of my special move?"
Sprang—.
Lee Jina shot up from her spot.
Then she grabbed my head, yanked it toward her, and wedged it into her side.
"Special Headlock — whaddya think. Powerful, right? Drives you crazy, doesn't it?"
"Uwaaaah."
It was indeed a formidable technique in every possible way.
The mingled scent of beer, a faint trace of sweat, and Lee Jina's signature bubblegum made my head swim, and the unfamiliar warmth and softness pressed against the back of my neck scrambled my senses completely.
And her grip strength was way stronger than I'd expected!
"Surrender already!"
"S… surrender—."
I had no choice but to tap out. It was the first time I'd ever taken a hit from a technique this devastating.
My heart was pounding, and blood rushed hot to my face.
"Did you use your ability just now?"
I asked, trying to calm a heart that was beating harder than it ever had.
Lee Jina's power was a technique that touched other people's emotions.
It was hard to defend against and hard to counter — a genuinely cheat-tier ability.
You can train your muscles and your body, but training your emotions? Not so easy. When I'd watched duels between S-Rankers swing on the faintest shifts of feeling and be decided in a single instant, I'd understood: Lee Jina's power was a force that was difficult to deal with even when you knew it was coming.
At my question, Lee Jina said,
"Hm? If I'd actually meant to, you'd have been volunteering as my footrest ages ago. Ha Ildo, you're not safe from me. Wanna see? My Kore Secret Technique — Arrow of Passion. Its effect is—"
Arrow of Passion.
"—faster to show than to tell, right?"
Saying that, Lee Jina pointed her index finger at me.
It was the gesture of someone nocking an arrow to a bowstring and taking aim, and just as the tension pulled taut across my chest, Lee Jina finally winked one eye at me.
"Bang—♥."
Pshew, pock—!
In that same instant, I felt something drive straight into my heart.
Arrow of Passion
Affection toward the caster: forcibly MAXED.
"Ugh!"