Breathing heavily, I plunged my dagger into the head of the last ant remaining. A jet of green blood sprayed out, splattering my face and soaking parts of my clothes. Monts later, my body collapsed to the ground, weighing as heavy as stone.
Just like Justin and Noa, I was exhausted—so tired I couldn’t move a single muscle. The system didn’t show any fatigue status, but if there was such a thing, I’d definitely have surpassed all acceptable limits by now.
On top of that, there were cuts all over my body—both mine and Noa’s, and Justin’s. They weren’t deep wounds, just scratches and abrasions I got from dodging awkwardly or bumping into things amidst the chaos. Even so, I couldn’t say my situation was the best.
I was drained and in pain; if anything else showed up, I’d definitely be done for. The only positive side—if you could even call it that—was that my mana reserves were untouched, completely full. I let out a heavy sigh, feeling the warm air scratch my throat, and turned my eyes to the various screens that appeared before , one after the other.
You killed [??? – lvl 5] – Experience gained. 10 TP obtained
You killed [??? – lvl 6] – Experience gained. 12 TP obtained
You killed [??? – lvl 8] – Experience gained. 16 TP obtained
You killed [??? – lvl 4] – Experience gained. 8 TP obtained
You killed [??? – lvl 6] – Experience gained. 12 TP obtained
You killed [??? – lvl 7] – Experience gained. 14 TP obtained
You killed [??? – lvl 5] – Experience gained. 10 TP obtained
[...]
DING! The class: [Assassin] reached level 11 – Status points allocated
DING! The class: [Assassin] reached level 12 – Status points allocated
DING! The class: [Assassin] reached level 13 – Status points allocated
DING! The class: [Assassin] reached level 14 – Status points allocated
My eyes blinked for a mont as I stared at the screens that appeared suddenly before . There were a total of fourteen of them, stacked on top of each other like a tower of notifications. Honestly, I hadn’t even noticed I’d taken down so many ants. To be honest, I’d been so focused on just surviving that counting how many of them fell in front of was the last thing on my mind.
Besides, my level had jumped from ten to fourteen. While that was a pretty big jump, an odd feeling lingered in my head—sothing told that, with the number of ants I’d killed, I should’ve leveled up even more. Maybe it was because their levels were so low? Of the fourteen ants I faced, none were higher than level ten. That could partly explain why my progress hadn’t been as significant as I expected.
“Looking back, there were really a lot of those ants” I murmured as my gaze scanned the area, watching for any movent: “The first thing I’ll do when I get out of here is get rid of this disgusting green blood. Can't say having that stuck to my clothes is exactly comfortable”
Even though my body was covered in the ants' blood, I admit the sight around was even worse. All over the room, pieces of exoskeletons were scattered like there had been an explosion. The viscous, green blood from the insects stained the walls and pooled on the floor, forming sticky puddles.
My body—both masculine and feminine—lay exhausted on the last ant I’d killed. It was disgusting to think about sitting on the floor to rest, but the fatigue weighed heavier than the disgust. Still, the feeling of the warm liquid sticking to my skin was unbearable.
Controlling Justin’s body, which was standing over the pile of dead ants, I started to carefully observe my surroundings. However, all I could see were more bodies of ants—dozens, maybe hundreds of them, scattered all over the floor like an uneven, dark carpet.
What really confused , though, was the silence and lack of any activity. No other ants showed up. There was no movent, no new enemy crawling out of the shadows. It was like the dungeon had simply... stopped.
What was strange was that, despite the apparent end of the threat, none of the rewards promised before I entered had shown up. No chests, no glowing lights, no notifications. Was I expecting sothing that wouldn’t co? Would everything appear out of nowhere, or did I need to do sothing specific? The truth was, I had no idea how this was supposed to work.
My first thought was that the system might have malfunctioned. As I considered opening the dungeon screen to check if there was still ti left, a strange sound from beneath caught my attention. I frowned and looked down with both of my bodies. That’s when I noticed sothing unusual: a red energy was starting to emanate from the bodies of the dead ants.
At first, I thought I was imagining things—a reflection, maybe—but there was sothing about that pulsing glow that felt too real to ignore. My intuition scread that this wasn’t normal. I didn’t hesitate. I imdiately stood up and took a few steps back, distancing myself as much as I could from the bodies.
Without warning, the bodies of the fourteen defeated ants began to shake violently. Their cracked exoskeletons creaked, their dull eyes reflected an eerie glow, and the greenish entrails scattered on the floor seed to twist on their own. A bright red aura enveloped everything—dense, pulsating, like a monstrous heart was about to awaken from within those mutilated carcasses.
“There’s no way this is good... right?” I murmured, Justin’s hoarse voice echoing through the room. I was still breathing heavily, my chest rising and falling quickly, while my body remained heavy, exhausted from the battle that had barely ended.
From the center of the room, the auras intertwined, rging into a pulsing vortex of blood and fury. They spun violently, as if fueled by sothing primal. A grotesque sound broke the silence, reverberating off the stone walls—the wet tearing of flesh, the dry cracking of bones breaking, and an indescribable noise, like sothing growing against natural logic.
Then, from the vortex, an imnse creature erged, much larger and infinitely more brutal than the previous ants. Its body exuded savagery, as if every fiber had been molded for killing. Instinctively, I activated my skill: [Identify].
[Yaktha Queen - level 23]
Almost the size of an elephant, its body was covered by a thick, dark exoskeleton, black as burnt charcoal, with red veins pulsating as though boiling blood coursed through its insides.
Its six legs, robust and enormous, crushed the ground’s stones with a thunderous stomp with every step, while its fangs, long as sharp swords, clashed against each other, producing a screeching sound that echoed through the area.
At the top of its head, three incandescent eyes glowed in a deep red, glaring at each of my bodies with primal hatred, as if my very existence was an insult.
The mont my eyes locked onto that creature, an instinctive feeling shot through , as if I knew I was at a disadvantage. Furthermore, both Justin’s and Noa’s bodies were visibly exhausted.
Tension spread through . My hands, unable to control themselves, trembled violently. The pain in my lungs was unbearable, as if every breath was a cruel effort. Sweat trickled down my face, mixed with the green blood of the ants I had killed earlier, forming a sticky and nauseating crust on my skin.
Unfortunately for , running away wasn’t an option. I knew I wouldn’t be able to leave this dungeon unless I killed that ant, or rather, if I didn’t kill it, it would kill rcilessly. When the queen roared, the sound resonated like thunder, making the stones around us tremble painfully.
In an unexpected move, she shot toward us with astonishing speed for sothing her size, leaving a trail of destruction in her wake. The air around her seed to warp, and the impact of the roar still reverberated in my ears.
Honestly, my chances of surviving this situation were practically zero. I was exhausted, my strength nearly spent, and what kept on my feet was only the faintest trace of energy I could still gather. However, I wouldn’t give up without a fight. If I was to die, it would be after mortally wounding this thing.
With that single thought pulsing through my mind, I activated the skill I had recently acquired: [Wild Instinct]. It was as if sothing pulled back to the surface of a deep sea, a visceral impulse, a raw energy that exploded within , making the fatigue and pain feel distant.
Fatigue lingered, but sothing in my senses ignited. The world around slowed slightly—or had I sohow sped up? Every sound sliced through the air with brutal clarity. The queen’s legs scraping the ground resonated through the floor, the vibration felt like it was passing through my spine, and even the acidic sll she exhaled beca palpable.
My eyes caught every detail, as if every spark of movent was amplified before . My muscles, still weighed down by exhaustion, responded with an almost animalistic precision, as if guided by sothing instinctual and primal.
In the last second, I took control of Justin’s body and rolled to the side, narrowly escaping the queen’s sharp claws. The sound of the air slicing by her fangs nearly froze , but I managed to avoid the impact. Thɪs chapter is updated by novel⟡fire
At the sa ti, still focused, I controlled my other body, Noa, and jumped backward, sliding over the rough stones. My legs burned, my knees scraped by the sharp surfaces, but the pain was just a reminder of the agility I needed. The queen, relentless, didn’t stop.
She stomped her legs on the ground with force, making the environnt shake, and spun her massive body, trying to crush Noa with her imnse mass. I seized the opportunity and used a fallen pillar as leverage, propelling myself upward with Justin.
The blade sliced through the air and struck one of the queen’s hind legs, but upon hitting her exoskeleton, it ricocheted with a sharp screech, leaving only a superficial scratch, causing no significant damage. The impact reverberated, but the ant seed almost untouched.
“Shit...” both of my bodies said simultaneously, the voice echoing with frustration.
The queen spun suddenly, striking Justin with the side of her body. I was slamd into a stone wall, the impact reverberating throughout my body. A snap ran through my shoulder—not broken, but the shock was so intense it almost stole my breath.
Taking advantage of the opening, still gasping for air, I controlled Noa to run quickly across the back of the ant. She seed to notice my approach, but at that mont, none of that mattered. [Wild Instinct] gave an incredible advantage in speed and perception, allowing to see the queen’s movents with almost supernatural clarity.
I dodged nimbly from one of her massive fangs, feeling the air cut around . I jumped, spinning mid-air with precision, and drove the dagger between the segnts of her exoskeleton, right at the base of her neck.
The blade sank deeply, but not enough to deliver a fatal blow. The queen let out a fierce scream, and her body shook with such violence that I was thrown far away, the ground approaching rapidly before I slamd against it.
The ground trembled violently, as if the planet itself was in agony. Blood pulsed in my ears, each beat like a heavy drum, almost deafening . But the skill was still active—my reflexes, quick and sharp like a cornered animal, guided every movent. The feeling of being on the edge but still in control pushed forward.
With a precise command, I controlled Justin, making him move quickly. Without hesitation, I slipped under the massive body of the ant, her gigantic segnts blocking almost all of my vision. The search for a vulnerable point was almost instinctive, an urgent need.
Then, between the plates of her exoskeleton, a greenish glow appeared, like a glowing fissure in the chaos. Without thinking, I brought the dagger to the spot, driving it in with all the strength I had left, feeling the visceral impact of the tal tearing through the hard flesh. The resistance was great, but I couldn’t stop.
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