The Beginning of the Endless Wave
While the battle between the subjugation force and the War Ants intensified, we slipped quietly into the nest. As expected, the interior was sparsely guarded. With most ants focused on repelling the subjugation force outside, there was no reason to leave spare troops within. Even so, it was strange that no one noticed us.
"Owen's ability is always fascinating to watch."
"My Mystery is rather unique, after all."
As we strolled leisurely down the passage, ants passed right by us. Three of them walked straight past without so much as glancing in our direction, heading toward the exit. The one responsible for this absurd phenomenon was none other than Owen. The moment the violet chains extending from his sleeve wrapped around us, the ants lost all ability to perceive our presence.
"You called it a 'lock,' didn't you? The Mystery that seals objects or concepts."
"It's a rather troublesome Mystery in many ways. The criteria for what it can lock vary, making it difficult to use in actual combat."
Owen's Mystery, which he called "Lock," could seal any concept and nullify its effects. By locking away our presence and scent, the ants couldn't recognize us even when we stood right in front of them. Considering its versatility, his Mystery was on par with mine. Of course, if we were only talking about peak potential, mine was higher.
Thanks to Owen, we were able to roam the ant nest without any combat, which meant I never got the chance to test my newly acquired armor. Instead, I simply guided the group.
"We'll go straight, then turn right. After that, we'll reach a chamber with passages branching in every direction. Don't panic—just take the second exit to the right from the center."
The longer my guidance continued, the more the three of them stared at me. Their gazes shifted from understanding to admiration, then to astonishment, and finally to awe.
"Is this Argo's Mystery?"
"More precisely, it's one branch of it."
The skill I was using was the exploration skill I'd unlocked long ago. Though it was a basic Pathfinder-class skill, it could still detect a fairly wide area. Of course, the complex structure of the ant nest made it insufficient on its own.
The gaps were filled by the animals.
"Kukuk."
"Got it?"
"Kuguguk!"
Moles that had burrowed up from the ground, along with small rodents and squirrels, revealed themselves. After listening to their reports, Rata nodded seriously before climbing onto my shoulder.
"Kiit! Kit! Kit!"
"If we go that way, there's a path, but it's an exit leading outside?"
"Kit!"
Rata nodded vigorously at my words. After years together, I could understand everything she said perfectly.
"Is controlling animals also part of your Mystery?"
"No. This is just a talent I've always had."
"I see. Similar to my nose, then."
Owen's expression brightened with interest at my explanation. Argo Saga, Lock, animal affinity, and his nose—seeing someone with so many similarities to himself seemed to make him feel a sense of kinship. His tone grew noticeably lighter.
"Shall we get moving, then? The subjugation force is fighting hard outside. We can't afford to slack off here."
"I've found the passage leading to the deepest part of the nest. I'll guide you right away."
Following my guidance, pieced together from the exploration skill and the animals' assistance, the group moved silently. Since no ant had detected Owen's Mystery, we slipped past the heavy security and reached the heart of the nest. An interior resembling a grand palace greeted us.
A long corridor stretched ahead in a style reminiscent of Gothic architecture. Along the edges stood furniture carved from raw gemstones—large enough for a person to lie on. It seemed they had mined veins of precious metals while excavating underground; gold and jewels adorned every surface, drawing an involuntary gasp of admiration from me.
"Wow. If we could sell just these, we'd cover the count family's budget for years."
"They're fake."
"What?"
"More precisely, this is a recreation of past memories. The original nest near the front lines must have looked like this."
What a shame. If these had been real, even a small share would have made me rich for life. As I clicked my tongue in regret, Grid, standing beside me, chuckled and ruffled my hair.
"They're still precious metals, so they'd fetch a price—but not as much as you're thinking."
"...Ah. Because of the mana content in the gems?"
"Exactly. In this world, the value of precious metals is determined by their mana quantity."
Precious metals were commonly used in magic, magical engineering, and alchemy. Compared to other materials, they often held elemental affinity or high-purity mana. When processed into artifacts, they displayed exceptional performance, so their worth was directly tied to the absolute amount of mana they contained. Higher grades held more mana and were more expensive; lower grades held less and were worth less.
Clorin, who had been examining the precious metals with interest, continued.
"All of them are the lowest grade. At this quality, they're only good as experimental consumables."
"No money in them?"
"Whatever a miner digs up would just go toward their daily wages."
So we wouldn't even break even. At her confident declaration, the three men wore disappointed expressions.
"That's a shame."
"It really is."
"Honestly, what a waste."
I'd known it logically, but I'd still hoped we might find a few valuable items worth taking after killing the queen. Hearing that it wouldn't even amount to pocket change, I cleanly gave up on any lingering expectations and continued down the passage.
The corridor was so long that the end wasn't visible, but unless space itself was distorted, an end had to exist. After passing dozens of chambers, we finally reached the door at the end of the corridor, which I presumed led to the queen's chamber.
At the entrance stood humanoid ants that resembled humans.
"Halt. High-ranking species detected ahead."
"Five of them, it seems."
"Aside from the minimum number of high-ranking individuals, the rest appear to have left the nest."
The group's eyes darkened as they confirmed the number of high-ranking ants. These creatures, clearly superior to special variants, were opponents that even Silver-class adventurers had to be wary of. While they might lack the physical size of Silvers, their sheer numbers—two or three swarming at once—made it difficult for even Silver-class adventurers to guarantee victory. Normally, even we, who had come to assassinate the queen, would have struggled against them.
But we had a Gold-class adventurer with us.
"Shall we deal with them lightly and move on?"
Chwarurururuk! Owen casually flicked his hand, and violet chains burst from his sleeve. In the blink of an eye, they pierced through the high-ranking ants' bodies. As the creatures collapsed like puppets with their strings cut, Owen spoke with a relaxed expression, as if he'd merely stepped out for a drink.
"I've locked away part of their consciousness. They're essentially brain-dead, so let's finish them off quickly and go inside."
I was briefly impressed by his nonchalant attitude after neutralizing five Silver-class monsters when light suddenly flashed, and the chains connected to the high-ranking ants were severed.
"Oh?"
The one who had silently cut the chains was an insectoid clearly belonging to a different realm compared to the high-ranking ants guarding the entrance. Based on my past-life knowledge, its appearance was closer to a fairy than a beastkin. The insectoid, which looked like an ant's body transformed into a human, slowly walked toward us. With every step, its exoskeleton—resembling a reinforced suit that meticulously depicted human musculature—rippled. Moving at an unbelievable speed, as if it had appeared out of nowhere, the insectoid accurately recognized and stared at us standing in the corridor.
At the sight, Owen dispelled the stealth without hesitation and spoke.
"I was wondering who the master of this domain was. So it wasn't the queen—it was you."
"Indeed. I am. One of. The masterpieces. Created by. The previous. Queen."
"As expected, the original nest must have been destroyed."
Even with beings like this existing, the nest had still been destroyed. I couldn't believe Owen's words.
"You. Have surely. Come to. Kill the queen."
"Well, I won't deny it."
No one was surprised to see a monster speaking in such a broken voice. While monsters capable of human speech were rare, they did exist, and high-ranking monsters had various ways of conveying their intentions. So I asked the creature, my doubts still lingering.
"A monster of your caliber should know what human territory is like, shouldn't you?"
It was awkward to say, but our track record was quite impressive. Especially if it was from the front lines, it should have some idea of the power we possessed, yet it still acted this way. I couldn't understand it.
"The queen. Desires it. Therefore. I merely. Obey."
"No reasoning with it, then."
Sensing that conversation was impossible with its unwavering attitude, I shook my head. As the high-ranking ants, now conscious again, rose and positioned themselves around the insectoid, we formed up around Owen.
"My. Name is. Zeno. I am. The queen's sword. That will kill you."
"Still, there's some romance in that. My name is Owen. I'm a Gold-class adventurer from the Edenberg Adventurer's Guild branch, also known as the Mystery Slayer."
The moment the leaders of both sides finished their greetings, the two groups clashed. If the nest hadn't been protected by an indestructible effect, the sheer destructive power of their attacks would have collapsed it from within. In an instant, they tore through space, exchanging dozens of blows per second as they sought openings in each other's defenses. Dozens of chains from Owen's wrist targeted the high-ranking ants' hearts, while Zeno's biological blades sliced through space, severing the chains and unleashing slashes so powerful they shook the indestructible corridor. Every time Grid stomped his feet, the floor warped, and his fists drove into the high-ranking ants' abdomens with heavy explosions. Clorin's blade traced elegant arcs, deflecting hundreds of slashes raining down from all directions.
This was a battle between true powerhouses—ordinary adventurers couldn't even dream of interfering. It was the beginning of an apocalypse where attacks capable of easily overturning an entire region flew as basic strikes. And in this situation that felt like the end of the world, what was I doing?
"Alright, let's not get caught between those monsters. We'll just hold off the ants swarming in!"
I cleanly gave up on joining that fight and decided to deal with the mobs instead. The ants that had remained inside the nest, drawn by the commotion, were rushing in all at once. From the floor, walls, and ceiling—even trampling over their own kind—they poured in like a black tide. Facing the wave, I casually spun my sword. Two Rune Golems and nine Ikelos appeared atop summoning circles on the ground.
"Let's do what we can do."
I couldn't interfere in that battle with my current strength. Conversely, if I spent enough experience points to grow stronger, I could join in. Staring at the approaching black wave, I grinned and drew another summoning circle.
"Since this is an experience point event, let's farm to our hearts' content."
Another summoning circle appeared behind me, and from it emerged the head of a dragon made of massive flames.
—Kraaaarararara!
The dragon that appeared in midair opened its enormous maw toward the corridor and unleashed a colossal fire breath. The flames stretched in a straight line, incinerating the wave of ants and bringing in a massive amount of experience points. I whistled briefly at the overwhelming sight.
"As expected of a Lesser Dragon. Both the spectacle and the power are on a completely different level."
Dragons were powerful beings often mentioned as the apex of existence in games. Argo Saga was no exception. The fire breath of the "Lesser Dragon," which could be summoned as a one-time entity rather than a permanent summon like Ikelos or the Rune Golem with its maximum limit, was devastating. Even this was only a clone of the main body, but by maximizing the advantage of the enclosed corridor, I could extract the greatest benefit.
However, the wave of ants couldn't be stopped with a single breath. New ants surged forward, trampling over the burning corpses. With their numbers easily exceeding several hundred, I gripped the longsword's hilt tightly.
"As Owen said, the fun is definitely guaranteed."
Thinking of them all as experience points, I calmed my racing heart and severed the head and torso of the leading ant charging at the front.
This was the beginning of a wave with no end in sight.