Royal Jelly Overload and Cave-In Chaos
"Burp—hic." A thick, sweet smell poured from my mouth.
'Disgustingly full.'
It felt like the sensation of stuffing myself with honey until my belly burst. I had to force it down until my head spun.
At this rate, honey was probably flowing through my veins instead of blood.
Even good things turn poisonous in excess. Clutching my churning stomach and dizzy head, I gritted my teeth.
'Something must've gone wrong mid-way.'
Maybe the insane amount of royal jelly I'd shoveled in had damaged some organ. Or perhaps my body was just burning through the bloated fullness and excess calories.
Transcendent Regeneration kept activating nonstop.
'Without it, I'd have spent days just digesting the royal jelly.'
Feeling my spinning vision finally steady, I pulled myself together.
'Hmm... need time to digest?'
Even after gorging on that much royal jelly, no Limit Break message popped up. I'd swear I ate more than 100,000 grams.
Guess my body needed time to process all this energy internally.
'Anyway, what to do with this?'
Mountains of royal jelly still piled up before me. Too wasteful to leave behind.
'Gotta come back with a collection vat later.'
Just filling it to the brim would land me in the top three.
"Kiriririp!"
Noise erupted outside.
'Busted.'
I'd hoped to slip out unnoticed, but no such luck.
If security was that lax, they wouldn't have posted guards in the first place. This was still pretty late detection, all things considered.
"Kiri—!"
"Kiririp!"
The warehouse door flew open, flooding with thief ants. And not a small number, either.
They kept pouring in relentlessly.
"Whoa, how many are there?"
I could only stick out my tongue in shock. Not dozens—hundreds, at least.
'No...'
The distant passage was choked with a black wave. Thousands, maybe.
A sight that'd intimidate anyone.
But.
'Perfect warm-up.'
Grinning, I drew my swords. Lightning crackled and whirlwinds howled from the blades.
This dual-attribute technique I'd honed lately. Thanks to the legendary Wind-Thunder Qi Gong that let me cultivate wind and lightning affinities simultaneously.
It made the impossible feat possible.
Wind White Swordsmanship.
First Form Variation: Single Gale Thunderstorm.
Fusing the original first form's variations—Single Gale Wind and Single Lightning Gale—I'd created the enhanced Single Gale Thunderstorm.
Whoosh—!
Crackle-crackle-boom—!
A gale laced with lightning swept through the oncoming thief ant horde.
"Kiriririrep!"
"Kiririp—!"
Screams exploded from the engulfed ants.
Corpses piled up in seconds. But the thief ants didn't care.
They trampled their dead comrades, charging endlessly.
'Endless swarm.'
Like mayflies drawn to light—primal ones, at that. Eerie and grotesque.
But that changed nothing. They all fell to my blades.
One odd thing, though.
These weren't the type to charge so recklessly. Felt like they were following orders.
"That all?"
After sweeping through them for a while, no more came at me.
From inside the storage cave to the outer passage, corpses blanketed everything.
I took in the scene and lowered my swords.
Predation activates.
Predating Thief Ant corpses.
'Oh.'
Predation triggered on the fallen thief ant corpses.
With this many kills, it'd be weird if no skill dropped.
Prey Detection (F)
Body adaptation required. Transformation time needed for full acquisition.
Prey Detection (F) transforming — 1%
'What's this?'
Prey Detection? First time seeing such a skill.
Not even pre-regression, or back when I played Insect King's War as a game.
And skill 'transformation'? Another new phenomenon.
'Similar to when I first got Stealth... but that was digestion.'
Back then, the skill was too advanced for my stage, so it needed 'digestion.' This 'transformation' meant they were different.
As I tilted my head in confusion—
Rumble-rumble-rumble.
The cavern ceiling shook violently. An ominous roar like the whole tunnel collapsing.
Boom-quake-quake!
'The tunnel's really caving in.'
I stiffened. Part of the passage ceiling crumbled, filling with dirt.
Thud...
'Gotta get out before it's fully buried.'
No telling what'd happen if I got buried alive. I didn't have any digging skills, and this underground spot was deep—even by surface standards.
'Hate to leave the royal jelly and corpses, but...'
Had to abandon them. Lingering could cost my life.
Nothing mattered more than survival.
I kicked off to escape—
"Kiriririk—!"
Chills raced down my spine at the bloodcurdling cry. I leaped aside instantly.
Boom-quake-quake!
The ceiling crashed down where I'd stood, a massive creature slamming in.
"What the—!"
I scowled at the sudden intruder. No ordinary ant—spider-sized, mid-heavy build.
'This guy's...'
Catching my breath, I examined it through the settling dust.
'Samurai.'
Samurai Ant.
Unlike regular ants, they had unique habits: enslaving other ant species.
Their queen flies post-mating, seeks nearby colonies, kills a worker, coats herself in its pheromones.
Then infiltrates, slays the enemy queen, seizes control.
New samurai offspring are raised by the enslaved workers.
When slaves dwindle, they raid neighbors for eggs, pupae, larvae to replenish—or occupy the nest outright.
Slaves raising slaves, breeding more slaves. A fitting end for thief ants.
'So that's who was commanding the thief ants.'
As I stared in disbelief—
"Kararap!"
It bellowed monstrously. Not much threat to me, but...
Groan-groan.
The whole tunnel looked ready to collapse any second.
'Tch, gotta end this quick.'
The moment I resolved—
Finally, the completed Limit Break.
'Perfect timing.'
Vitality surged through my body.
Thud, boom-boom!
I unleashed iron orbs over 60kg each.
Hummm!
Ether exploded through me.
And.
'Partial Primalization.'
Shiiiing—!
Emerald blades erupted from my forearms to hands.
'Predator's Eye.'
Golden ripples in my pupils.
In a blink, full battle readiness.
Near-peak condition, I launched at it.
Boom—!
Explosion on impact—my body stretched like rubber in an optical illusion.
Speed that startled even me.
"Ki, kirik?"
It yelped in panic too, but—
Slash—!
Couldn't react. Waist severed clean.
'Insane.'
The broken-limit stat felt beyond expectations. Movements twice as fast, at least.
Plus, first real combat use of partial primalization. Cutting power left me awestruck.
Even a primal ant sliced softer than royal jelly.
Had to hurry, but I couldn't help marveling.
"Ki... riririk."
A weak whimper from its severed torso. Probably furious at the intruder slaughtering its slaves.
Never expected this end.
Rumble-rumble-rumble!
The unstable tunnel began full collapse.
"Kiririk. Kiriririk!"
Mocking jeers in its death throes. As if saying I'd be buried with it.
Slash—!
Thud, roll-roll.
I swung my still-primalized forelimb, decapitating it.
'Whew.'
Lifting my head—
Boom-quake-quake!
Dirt avalanched from the ceiling, filling my view.
Thief ant outpost.
Three burly figures chatted there.
"Drvito, you're waiting here for him?"
"Yeah. He's bound to come this way. Didn't see him at the hive earlier? He's prioritizing hunting over gathering. Hunting thief ants means he'll pass nearby inevitably."
"Oh..."
Pasashi and Montiol marveled at Drvito's words.
Indeed. The Amar King Centipede clan wasn't just physically superior—they were sharp too.
"We'll hunt stray thief ants nearby while we wait."
They waited, picking off occasional thief ants.
Rumble-rumble-rumble.
Suddenly, the ground shook violently.
"Wh-what?!"
"The ground's collapsing!"
They leaped back in alarm, watching their spot cave in.
"What the hell's happening?"
As they muttered in confusion—
Rumble-rumble, boom!
Dirt exploded from the crater's center.
A figure poked its head out.
"Phew."
"...?"
"...!"
Drvito's crew gaped at the emergent figure.
How could they not?
It was Aleck—the one they'd been waiting for.
'Whew. Thought I was done for.'
Surfacing, I let out a huge sigh.
That was too close. Really almost died.
First time post-regression I'd felt this endangered.
With Transcendent Regeneration, nearly dying buried alive like an idiot.
'Ugh, if I'd mastered it like Jin Sam, would've I been trapped forever, unable to die?'
Even worse fate.
Anyway, Jin Sam would've scolded me for grabbing the rune if he saw this near-miss.
'If Predation hadn't given me a skill right then, I'd have died pathetically.'
Right after slaying the primal samurai ant.
Predation's miracle drop: Earth Digging (E).
Without it, no surfacing.
'But...'
Regaining senses topside, I scanned around.
Familiar faces appeared.
'Run into them like this, huh.'
I'd wanted a word with Drvito anyway.
Grinning at his slack-jawed stare—
"Fancy meeting you here again! Cough, cough."
Ah, dirt. Mouth full of it.
"Anyway, good to see you, buddy."
Time to finish our unfinished chat.