The Emperor Ant Falls

The Emperor Ant had fallen. At almost the exact same moment, an overwhelming wave of exhaustion crashed over my body. Every inch of me ached and burned. My reflection in the black blade of Tyrving looked like a soldier dragged back from the front lines—tattered, bloody, and barely standing. Blood streamed from my eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. I must have looked like a man on the verge of death.

“Victor! You can’t die! Victor!”

Nike was shouting at the top of her lungs, clearly terrified for me. But to be brutally honest, even after taking that finishing blow from the ant emperor, my HP was probably still higher than hers without any doping. The real life-threatening moment had been when I burned through my entire lie quota against Flora. The thought almost made me laugh.

The ants hissed and retreated. Victorica kept her guard up, never lowering her weapon. “The ants are pulling back.”

Once the boss falls, the battle phase ends regardless of how many minions remain. As if reflecting that rule, the death of Emperor Kukulkan sent the surviving ants scrambling backward. They vanished into the jungle in a frantic wave.

Victorica and Enio, who had been holding the line against the swarm, rushed to my side.

“Victor, you’re hurt so badly…! There’s blood everywhere…!”

“Victor. Are you all right? Shouldn’t we return to a healer immediately? Or at least eat some stew…!”

They were right to worry. Yet unlike my panicking party members, I could still move. There was no need to waste valuable stew that could be sold for Rene. This body—Victor’s original—was impressively durable.

I spoke to the agitated group in my usual cold, formal tone.

“We do ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not have time to waste. Before the dungeon’s true owner notices us, we must secure the loot.”

Victorica tilted her head, expression grave. “The dungeon’s owner…? Wasn’t this creature the owner…?”

“No. This was merely a mid-boss. I told you earlier. We came to defeat an elite monster serving as a mid-boss. That is this creature.”

It had been a fierce fight, but a mid-boss nonetheless. The true master of this jungle was someone else entirely. In our current condition, we stood no chance.

BOOOOOOM—!!!

A thunderous roar erupted from somewhere deep in the jungle. Every bird in the canopy took flight at once. The dungeon’s true owner had sensed our presence.

“Gather the fruit. The ants stored piles of it everywhere. Move quickly.”

I chose to collect what we could and retreat before facing the dungeon boss. The roar seemed to have shocked everyone back to their senses; they began frantically snatching up fallen fruit.

While they worked, I claimed the Emperor Ant’s rewards. Where the creature had fallen, something shimmered into existence.

Clink.

One million Rene. Split four ways, that was two hundred and fifty thousand each. The Rene reward felt disappointingly stingy for the danger involved. Even a nightmare-difficulty elite boss gave this little at low levels? No wonder people avoided dungeons.

Still, the actual loot pleased me.

An elite monster subjugation trophy. I had no idea what effect the horn possessed yet, but acquiring a housing item felt excellent. There was no downside to keeping it. My achievement points had probably risen from 87 to roughly 87.5 percent.

The Soul of Play that dropped from elite monsters had also appeared—four of them, one for each party member. They looked like orange beads and felt pleasantly squishy, like rubber balls. The “Brilliant” modifier was new to me, but it posed no issue.

“If you have gathered everything, we retreat.”

Enio asked, “Retreat? Where to?”

“There should be a canoe nearby.”

Originally, a large river and a single canoe waited near the queen ant’s nest that served as the mid-boss. The DLC had left that structural element untouched, so a narrow river and a canoe sat beside the Emperor Ant’s ziggurat as well. The vessel was the perfect size for four people. The moment we all climbed aboard, it began moving on its own.

“That was more enjoyable than expected.”

I would have to return. By then the mid-boss Emperor Ant would have respawned, and I could observe every pattern I had missed today.

So this was the combination name for the three heroines. Three Beauties. It suited them rather well.

“Everyone, look at this. Don’t you think it’s an excellent combination name?”

I wanted to show them before the text vanished. When no one answered, I turned and saw Victorica slumped on the deck, breathing hard.

“So this is a dungeon… Even with several lives, it would barely be enough.”

Enio’s usual relaxed expression had vanished, replaced by a cold, blank face as she muttered, “…My Shadow Pierce…”

Everyone seemed lost in their own thoughts.

“Victor, look! Keong-keong and I are this close now. Keong-keong, do the hioong thing!”

Hioong…!

Only Nike remained cheerful. Even I had to admit this was a bizarre party.

When we emerged from the dungeon, the sun still blazed overhead. Less than an hour had passed inside. The flow of time in this place was truly strange.

“I’ve heard about it, but it really is bizarre.”

Victorica seemed as fascinated by the warped time as Diarmuid or Melvin would have been. Enio simply shivered and said, “It feels like I’ve been bewitched.”

“Then let us settle the accounts.”

The Rene from the worker ants, soldier ants, officer ants, and the Emperor Ant totaled roughly four million. Divided by four, each of us received one million Rene.

Earning a million Rene in a single day? “A tremendous harvest.”

Was the risk worth it after all? Should we return tomorrow? The dungeon would likely reset by then. We could hunt more ants and gather even more fruit.

“Right. The fruit.”

I checked the harvest we had brought from the Tropical Jungle. There were plenty of high-sugar fruits like bananas and mangoes. I had hoped for at least some second-tier items like pineapple mango, but luck had not been on my side.

“Still, this is a sufficient yield.”

They were ordinary third-tier fruits, but on Ludens—where fresh fruit was relatively rare—they held decent value. I could improve my shaved ice recipe even further.

“Now, regarding distribution of the Emperor Ant’s Horn…”

It was my first time seeing an elite monster reward. I wanted to keep it, but since we had formed a party, I could not simply claim it.

Victorica spoke first. “It’s fine. You take it. I barely did anything. Nothing worked except my flash.”

Her tone was strangely self-mocking. She did not look happy. The same went for Enio, who kept muttering, “My Shadow Pierce…”

She seemed genuinely shocked that her attack had failed against the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Emperor Ant. Considering our total stats barely reached one hundred while the monster’s limit was three hundred, defeating it at all was an accomplishment. Without Tyrving’s effect, even I would have struggled.

“I’ll be going.”

“Me too.”

Victorica and Enio left almost simultaneously. They were busy people; even on weekends their schedules were packed. I had wanted to suggest another run tomorrow, but there was no opportunity.

That left only Nike and me.

Keong-keong…!

Well, and one strange spider.

“Come to think of it, we found that statue thanks to this spider.”

If we had not rested there, we would have consumed far more items. Thanks to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it, we had saved money as well.

Nike immediately corrected me. “His name isn’t ‘spider,’ it’s Keong-keong!”

“Yes, Keong-keong.”

Nike tilted her head. “But why was a statue in a place like that?”

“I have no idea.”

“Maybe the God of Adventure was helping us? If that’s true, we should offer something at the statue in the park! Let’s leave one of the fruits in front of it!”

“If we leave fruit there, someone else will simply take it. We might as well eat it ourselves.”

“I… I guess so…?”

In any case, our exploration of the Tropical Jungle dungeon had come to an end.

Sunday. The chapel somewhere on Ludens, which had been bustling moments earlier, fell into an eerie silence. Beautiful sunlight poured through the stained glass onto the floor. Seven divine statues stood in rows, gazing down. Into this sacred space stepped a new figure.

“Shady, Milone. Are you ready? We should bring plenty of shaved ice and stew, so make sure to check the quantities.”

It was Victorica. Vice-president Victorica, Student Council secretary Shady France, and first-year treasurer “Golden Coin” Milone appeared one after another.

Shady glanced around. “There’s really a dungeon here? This is a chapel.”

“A dungeon…? It’s honestly scary, but… I also want to see with my own eyes exactly how valuable this place is…”

Behind the trembling first-year Milone, another figure emerged.

“I don’t care. I just feel like hitting something.”

She was as tall as Shady France, a strong candidate for Miss Ludens. Unlike the slender Shady, however, her powerful physique was obvious even under her uniform. Her intense red hair was tied back. Sharp fangs peeked from her mouth. She clenched her fists with an audible crack. Her name was Skadi. Second-year, B-1 Class, Skadi.

“If we clear the dungeon here, that’ll restore some of the disciplinary committee’s honor that Victor bastard tarnished, right? Because of him getting expelled, I’ve been suffering too.”

After Victor’s expulsion, Skadi had become the current executive of the disciplinary committee. Her aggressive, uncompromising personality had caused numerous incidents, resulting in her demotion to B-Class. She had even earned the nickname “Mad Dog.”

Her blue eyes gleamed as she scanned the area. “More importantly, why does it smell so suspicious in here? Tisiphone. You’re here, aren’t you? Stop hiding and show yourself.”

At Skadi’s shout, the peaceful chapel scenery distorted. Four women stepped out from the warped space: Megaira, Allecto, Tisiphone, and finally Enio Blackstar, the Black Star Princess.

Enio and Victorica locked eyes. At the same time, the student council officers and Enio’s group glared at one another, clearly displeased. Only the first-year Milone trembled and whispered, “Wh-what exactly is happening right now…?”

Victorica was the first to break the taut silence.

“Enio. We meet even in a place like this?”

“Indeed, Victorica. What brings the student council members here in such numbers? You don’t appear to have come for prayer.”

“An investigation. We have a duty to determine whether the dungeon here poses a threat to the students. And what brings you?”

“Official business as a representative. I have no obligation to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠explain further.”

Even while hiding their cards, both young ladies could sense it. Their goals were identical. At the same moment, both made the same silent vow.

I absolutely refuse to lose to her.

For them, the conquest of this dungeon had only just begun.