At the Center of the Anomaly
Yeonwoo stood at the heart of the anomaly. Beneath a sky shackled in crimson chains. Her red-tinged hair shimmered and rippled like auroras dancing across the night sky, following her every move.
Switching weapons, Yeonwoo charged toward the fallen hunter.
Slide.
Her body dropped low the instant it morphed into a dagger. Faster. More agile. She slid across the ground like silk, yanking the hunter by the scruff of his neck.
Crunch!
The soldier ant's jaws, aimed at the wounded hunter, slammed harmlessly into the dirt.
-Kikikikigi!
Furious at having its prey snatched away, it immediately snapped its jaws again, pursuing Yeonwoo and the hunter.
Squelch. Crunch. Squelch!
Flat on her back, Yeonwoo smashed the ant's maw relentlessly. A feat possible only with a short, lightweight dagger.
"Get up!"
"H-huh? B-but... my leg...!"
There was a hole punched straight through the hunter's thigh—a gaping wound that let the dirt floor show right through.
Yeonwoo's brow furrowed as she checked it.
"Get up and move, you little shit!"
"Uh...."
Even with a wound that serious, Yeonwoo's attitude didn't soften. If anything, she grabbed his scruff and hauled him to his feet with brutal force.
"Ugh, urk. Hnng... krrk...!"
The hunter tried to support himself on his good leg, but it was no easy task. His face drained white, cold sweat pouring down in streams.
But Yeonwoo didn't let up.
"If you wanna live, move yourself! Screaming about the pain ain't gonna change shit!"
"Grk."
The hunter clenched his teeth. Harsh words, sure. But infuriatingly true.
He swallowed his agony and rage, then lurched toward the camp's perimeter.
"Krrrk!"
Blood trickled from his thigh with every stumbling step, and from his bitten lip too. But he was moving, however slowly. And his pace was even picking up.
His vague desire to survive had crystallized into real hope—that maybe, just maybe, he could make it.
"That's it! Keep moving like that!"
Yeonwoo thrust out her hand, her weapon shifting to a greatsword. She cleaved the soldier ant to pieces in a frenzy of strikes.
Awakening truly was a mysterious power. Hunters transcended human limits, and that strength wasn't just raw might. A hunter's life was tenacious.
Yeonwoo knew those limits better than anyone. Her history of rolling through hell like a dog and surviving as a veteran hunter was proof enough.
It was a sensory realm she couldn't teach outright, but she could at least let them feel it. That's what made her a veteran.
"Get up! Don't wait for someone to save you! This ain't a picnic! You got time to beg for your life, but not to haul your own ass?!"
Yeonwoo bellowed.
Irresponsible, cruel, infuriating words. The wounded hunters gritted their teeth.
"Fuck, ugh... krrk...."
"I feel... like I'm... gonna die... for real...!"
But they had no comeback. Never had.
Hearing it in their near-death agony just made them feel extra wronged and pissed—enough to die from sheer frustration.
Especially getting rescued by some mystery bombshell who popped out of nowhere, only to get chewed out in field-hardened gutter talk.
"This fucking sucks... this bullshit...."
"...Fuck...!"
Unable to hold back their anger, their hands twitched. They dragged their trembling bodies across the dirt.
"Yeah. Just get to the perimeter. The priests are there."
Yeonwoo muttered under her breath.
The Ant Nest was a great environment for this. And with a future ranker like Mikael around, as long as they clung to life, they'd pull through.
That guy's got it rough.
Of course, she hadn't come here following Mikael. It was the vibrations again.
Unlike the cleared-out opposite side, these vibrations meant something was still going down. And intensely so. Something big.
Not crystal clear, but...
Maybe her weapons were too weak, or Tier I Stigma limits. Her vibration sense wasn't perfect.
Blindly following it anyway led her here.
"Hurry! Run, now!"
"Winged ant bastards first! I'll hold 'em—shoot 'em down no matter what!"
"Please!"
The hunters who'd escaped with her piled in too, even rescuing the wounded without regard for their own safety.
"But...."
Yeonwoo scanned the area. The situation was dire. Dust clouds from the ant horde loomed closer in the distance.
Rumble rumble rumble—
Amid that massive vibration, something lurked.
But first things first.
She'd spurred them to move, so she had to take at least minimal responsibility.
"I ain't saying fight—just help the incoming ones at least!"
Next up: the perimeter watchers. But they just eyed each other warily, no one stepping up.
Yeonwoo knew the trick.
"You there, leather jacket guy! No, don't look around—yeah, you. Grab that guy up front!"
"Uh...."
The man Yeonwoo pointed at poked his chest. All eyes turned to the middle-aged guy.
"Please."
This time, she couldn't be rude. Lives were on the line, after all.
But that plea—pinpointing one guy—rippled outward massively.
Was Yeonwoo average-looking? No. And the gap from her earlier gruff demeanor only amplified her aura.
"Got it!"
The middle-aged man answered brightly, dashing in with an almost innocent spring in his step.
Huh?
Yeonwoo herself was thrown off. Zeroing in on one person in a crowd was a solid tactic—focuses eyes, leverages mood.
But normally, you'd get pushback here. She'd prepped five patterns: scrape experience, coax, cajole.
The guy just nodded and hoisted the wounded over his shoulder.
Why? Simple answer.
Damn looks supremacy!
Not dirty supremacy anymore—it was her now. Anyway, looks supremacy! A prime weapon.
Time to reel 'em in hard.
No holding back now. She racked her brain for the killer beauty ploy.
"...."
Words failed her.
She had the image, the ideal blueprint. But no concrete moves.
Obviously. No such memories existed.
Killer beauty ploy? What the hell is that?!
Even a dog-rolling veteran couldn't hack it.
Anyway. Just cheer and praise, right?
"W-wow, yay... gramps...!"
"...."
"...."
Time froze. The desperate mood iced over.
"Wh-what the hell are you doing?"
Mikael's stunned voice from the perimeter hit as Yeonwoo's face burned crimson.
A bone-deep flop. Her first monumental post-regression failure.
Total dogshit. No, just total flop.
"Help! Just help already!"
Screw the beauty ploy. She just screamed at the top of her lungs.
But.
A beauty at a loss from shame, ears red as she freely swung weapons, smashing ants with haughty flair—now squirming in humiliation, screeching like a banshee?
They couldn't resist.
"S-sis! I'll go!"
"I-if it's safe nearby... m-maybe I can help somehow...."
"...Tch."
"Me too! I'll help!"
Hunters surged out. Scary alone, but together? No fear.
Dozens poured from the perimeter. Systems formed. They fended ants while rescuing wounded.
Yeonwoo watched, chest swelling uncontrollably.
Fuck! Move sooner next time!
They were saving people. She bit back the curses, choking down her frustration.
Still. Things stabilized. Haul the wounded to camp, catch a breath. Then deal with the anomaly...
Rumble—
"Hm?"
A vibration hit. Not her pounding heart from shame.
Something else amid the ant horde. Its scale felt subtly off, cutting sharp through thousands of vibrations.
A totally different entity.
"...!"
Yeonwoo's eyes widened. No time to think—her body moved.
"H-hunter!"
"Nothing's over there?!"
Those watching her shouted. Obviously. She'd plunged into the ant-infested middle, no wounded in sight.
"Now's the time."
But Yeonwoo didn't waver. Pure instinct, beyond doubt.
The unseen entity. Only one possibility.
Queen Ant!
The Ant Nest's ultimate being. The boss, basically.
No one knew her spawn criteria. But encountering her emergence was huge luck.
Not that she was weak. Just vulnerable right then.
Queens were protected. And boosted soldiers via pheromones.
Can't miss this window.
No elite guards at spawn.
Rumble rumble rumble—
Vibration turned visual. Something massive burst from the earth amid the ants.
-Kikikikigi.
Soldier ants blocked her path instantly. But.
Thud.
Yeonwoo kicked off lightly.
Whoosh.
She arced gracefully, landing atop an ant instead.
"...Huh?"
Yeonwoo tilted her head. For a split second, it felt good.
She bounded forward like stepping stones on their backs.
Soldier ants rearing jaws couldn't halt her fluid sprint.
Closing on the source, the queen's enormous, sallow abdomen came into view.
Flutter flutter!Piiiii—!
Sensing danger as Yeonwoo approached, winged ants dove to intercept.
"Outta my way!"
Yeonwoo kicked off an ant's back, leaping high. No dodging.
She needed a winged ant.
Thump!
Midair, she snatched its back. Crouching firm atop it.
Huh.
Again, different. Her balance and focus were unreal, even to her.
Flutter flutter— Flutter!
The winged ant bucked wildly. Yeonwoo kicked off fast, soaring higher.
Snap!
Shaky perch. Her foot slipped on its resistance.
Whoosh—
Her body spun in midair.
"...!"
But weirdly, no dizziness despite losing balance. Info flooded clear.
Her fall angle. What spun into view.
Next move calculated instantly.
"...Gyroscope."
Yeonwoo murmured the new trait's name.
Slide—
Simultaneously, her weapon morphed into a whip.