Canoeing into the Jungle #2
The Legion Ant. A monster defined by its worker ants, soldier ants, and queen ant. Individually, each one is nothing special, but once battle begins, their sheer numbers make them a real headache for beginners. At least, that was how it felt back when I played the turn-based combat of D&A. But Ludens, now a reality, had completely changed genres into real-time action with no turns for anyone.
Zuzuzuzu, jizuzuji!
Soldier ants the size of large dogs charged at us, their two scythe-like mandibles clacking together. There were only two of them. Unlike the game, where five or more were guaranteed to spawn, the numbers here weren’t overwhelming. Still, imagining two Dobermans in steel armor rushing you wasn’t something to laugh at.
“Enio, just as I mentioned earlier. Once you bind them with Shadow Bind, Victorica, you take the left one with Light Bullet. I will handle the right.”
“Thicken. Shadow Bind.”
The moment Enio stamped her foot, the shadow beneath her slithered like a snake across the jungle floor and connected with the ants’ own shadows.
Zuzuzuji?
Zuzut!
The giant soldier ants suddenly froze, their bodies creaking left and right as if confused. Victorica didn’t miss the opening. She raised her staff.
“Burn bright! Light Bullet!”
A cluster of light gathered at the tip of her staff and fired like a gunshot. This was Victorica’s basic attack spell. In the game, it had been a fast poke with a damage multiplier of 75. In reality, it pierced straight through one ant’s torso like a bullet slicing through the air.
Pishung. Pat.
Crack….
Now only one remained. While it was still immobilized by Enio’s shadow, I drew a sword from my waist.
A chilling aura ran down my spine the instant I gripped the hilt. Ignoring the numb sensation spreading through my body, I tensed my muscles. It felt like a compressed spring finally releasing.
“Light Slash.”
Shk—!
Even I had to admit it was a short, clean motion. At the same time, the soldier ant’s body split perfectly in half from top to bottom, spilling blood and guts everywhere.
Splurch. Splaaash!
It was an utterly gruesome sight. The old me would have definitely made a fuss. But this Victor guy didn’t even twitch an eyebrow after killing a giant ant.
“Not a single drop of blood on the blade. Its performance is remarkable.”
I inspected the edge of the demonic sword Tyrving before sliding it smoothly back into its sheath.
Sleung. Clack.
The smooth, satisfying way it slid in felt quite pleasant. At the same time, my body suddenly felt much heavier.
“……”
It must be the recoil from Tyrving’s effect. Originally it drained 10% HP per turn, but in this real version of Ludens, one swing seemed to carve out a huge chunk of stamina. So if I used it without any buffs, I would die after nine more swings?
Of course, that wouldn’t happen. The spiced soup I brought would increase my HP pool and restore energy.
Jingle—.
The ants’ corpses vanished, leaving behind coin pouches and a few shell fragments.
“Nike, pick those up properly. Legion Ant shells have many uses.”
Victorica frowned deeply at my words.
“Why are we collecting ant shells? You’re not planning to cook with them, are you?”
Her expression was one of pure disgust, as if she had heard something utterly horrifying. It seemed she had misunderstood, so I corrected her thinking.
“They are used to craft armor. We cannot keep wandering around in ordinary school uniforms forever.”
Ludens uniforms actually had decent performance. They were enchanted so they wouldn’t tear or get dirty easily. The uniform I was wearing was remarkably durable. It was probably a setting created to answer the question, “Why do they go into dangerous dungeons wearing skirts instead of armor?” by replying, “The uniforms have good stats.”
Everyone wearing full plate armor to dungeons? Both boys and girls clanking around like tin cans? Who would want to see that?
Still, as monsters and episode bosses grew stronger over time, it was wise to upgrade equipment using materials dropped in the field. Reinforcing the uniform itself would work too. Something like “Nightmare Ludens Uniform, Enhanced.”
Anyway.
We continued fighting soldier ants in this manner. When the number of ants we had defeated finally exceeded twenty, Enio spoke up.
“By the way, Victor. I have a question. In this jungle, besides ants, there are swamp snakes and… what was it? Primates? Yes, primates were supposed to appear too, weren’t they?”
“That is correct.”
“But strangely, it feels like only ants keep showing up, doesn’t it?”
Enio’s question had merit. This dungeon was originally supposed to feature snakes, monkeys, and ants. Yet we had seen no trace of snakes or monkeys while endlessly battling ants. And there was something else strange.
Booooong—.
A sound like helicopter rotors spinning reached us. Of course, there were no helicopters in Ludens. When I turned my head, I saw a winged ant perched high on a distant tree, watching us.
“That one is…”
While I was lost in thought for a moment, Victorica spoke.
“That winged ant looks incredibly sharp. You said there are three types of ants here, right? Worker ants, soldier ants, and queen ants… Could that be the queen?”
I shook my head.
“That is not a queen ant. That is an Ant Officer.”
It was a named monster that commanded soldier ants. Originally, this monster did not appear in the Tropical Jungle. It belonged in the “Ant Kingdom” dungeon, which required stats around 200. The fact that it was appearing here meant one thing: the monster spawn patterns had changed slightly from what I knew.
I had heard that the new DLC included dungeon and difficulty overhauls. It was easy to understand if this was one of those additions.
“The difficulty may be slightly higher than what I mentioned earlier.”
Still, there was no problem.
After walking for a while, we found a nice clearing for a break. I decided to set down our luggage and catch my breath. At the same time, I reaffirmed our goal.
“Let me say it again. We will hunt one elite monster at the midpoint and then leave. Even if we only reach the midpoint, the rewards will be quite effective, so there is no need to worry.”
Of course, what I was really aiming for wasn’t the elite mid-boss or its loot, but the field where it was located. To me, that place was nothing short of a golden paradise.
Booooong—.
The flying ants were a bit annoying, though. To think so many named officer ants would appear.
“Victorica. It is your turn.”
“I know. —Burn bright! Light Bullet!”
Pishuk. Pat—.
An ant hit by Victorica’s magic fell to the ground with a thud. Perhaps because she had equipped the Arclight Staff early, Victorica’s offensive power was more than enough to be called the early-game Lü Bu.
Zuzuz….
Another fallen ant. This one was labeled “Ant Officer – Tactics.” Communication and tactics. So far we had discovered and hunted two named officers. The fact that so many officers existed meant…
“Victor, is something wrong? Aren’t we doing well?”
Victorica seemed slightly anxious because I had gone quiet. A tropical jungle filled with strange beast cries. Sweltering heat. Endless waves of ants. And dwindling supplies. Anyone other than the steel-hearted Victor would feel anxious in this situation.
“Victorica, how many more times can you use Light Bullet?”
“About four times.”
“Enio, you should have roughly two uses of Shadow Bind left.”
“Correct.”
“Shadow Pierce can probably be used five more times.”
“That’s right too. But how did you know about Shadow Pierce… Never mind. There’s no point in asking.”
Enio laughed softly, huhuhu—. She looked strangely cheerful. Was there anything to be happy about in this situation?
At any rate, our party members’ remaining skill uses were quite low. To recover them, we would need to consume special potions or food. Otherwise, our only option was to look for the occasional mid-dungeon save points called “divine statues” to recharge.
But as far as I knew, the Tropical Jungle had no divine statues. We couldn’t rely on that kind of luck. I couldn’t cook any food that increased skill uses right now either. What should we do?
If my prediction was correct, the mid-boss of this dungeon wasn’t a “queen” but an “empress.”
The superior monster to the Queen Ant—the Empress Ant. It was the boss of the “Ant Kingdom” dungeon I mentioned earlier. It originally had no reason to appear here, but with so many officer ants showing up, its appearance was practically guaranteed. The setting was that only the Empress Ant could create officer ants.
Looks like the DLC really raised the overall difficulty. Interesting. If they put this much careful patching and reorganization even into a forgotten hidden dungeon, I can understand why the DLC price was so expensive that people complained.
It was then.
Bark bark!
“Ah, Barky!”
The white spider that had been sitting quietly on Nike’s palm suddenly dashed off somewhere. At the same time, Nike followed the white spider into the nearby undergrowth.
“Wait right there!”
“Nike, you are the one breaking formation.”
To prevent any potential danger, I followed after Nike. Her steps stopped only a few seconds later.
“Whoa…! Victor, look at this…!”
Right next to the clearing where we had been resting, we discovered something strange. A stone statue covered in vines and moss. I knew exactly what it was.
“It is a divine statue.”
Those statues that occasionally appeared in dungeons to restore HP or grant effects like “Increases attack power for 20 minutes.” That was a divine statue.
Bark bark!
Nike’s white spider climbed back onto her palm.
“A sword and a staff… It must be the statue of the God of Adventure. Barky, did you lead us here?”
Hiiiiong…!
That bizarre-sounding spider guided us to the statue? I didn’t know if it was true, but it wasn’t a bad thing for me.
“Everyone, perform maintenance.”
When I touched the statue with my palm, I felt vitality surge through my body. Enio and Victorica trembled slightly as they murmured things like “Feels good,” and “I am grateful for the gods’ grace…”
It was exactly the same as the lines characters said when they encountered a divine statue in the game.
Once everyone had regained their energy, I spoke simply.
“Now everyone should stay alert. The presence of a divine statue means there are dangerous creatures nearby that require caution.”
For example, a boss room. Wasn’t it a classic rule in old games to have a rest area right before the boss room?
In fact, a sweet scent was spreading strongly from the tip of my nose. The concentrated sweetness of all kinds of fruits. This was proof that the monster I wanted was nearby.
Following that scent, we walked slowly forward. In an area as wide as a sports field, instead of a giant-bodied Empress Ant, we saw a bizarre pyramid-like structure. No, in this case, it would be more accurate to call it a ziggurat. You know, those tall platforms often seen in South American legends. The ones used for human sacrifice.
A strange being sitting atop the massive structure let out a low chuckle.
“So you are the challengers stirring up this jungle. Come forth.”
…Who are you?
There was no need to ask. Above the creature’s head floated these words.