His attack arrived seconds after he launched. The three ants above ground had a fraction of a second to react before they were pierced by electricity. His dantian surged with energy, but he didn't advance. His attack had doubled the size of the entrance and caused a landslide to fill in parts of it. He could still get inside, but he decided to wait. His gut told him there would be retaliation, and there was no reason he couldn't deal with that from up here. Sure enough, a half dozen ants charged up in search of their attacker. He released the rest of his lances like spears from God. He repeated the process three more times before reinforcements stopped coming.

  He sighed, not thrilled about going underground or fighting bugs. He stepped off his platform and surrendered himself to gravity. The world whizzed by him as he fell like a stone. He released a burst of wind to slow his descent moments before he hit the ground. His rapid fall was transformed into a gentle descent as he slipped into the earth. It took his eyes a second to adjust to the darkness. When he had, he almost wished he hadn't. The area was nasty to say the least. He wasn't sure if everything around him was dirt or not, but he decided not to think about it. He discovered that he was not the first person, let alone a beast, to find themselves down here. Bones, human and others, were scattered near the entrance. Nowhere near enough to make up a whole body, which made him think the rest was deeper inside.

  A flash of impotent anger surged at the thought of people, innocent or otherwise, being eaten alive. There was one tunnel that led further, and he saw no reason to try to open another. He wasn't willing to put his chances of being buried alive to the engineering of some ants. That didn't mean he wouldn't take preparations. He formed a sphere of wind around himself. He couldn't tell if the ants used poison attacks, but on the off chance that they could, fresh air would help. There was also the boost it gave to the smell. It was almost enough to make him turn around and leave. He wasn't left alone for very long. A trio of ants surged toward him, and the sound of their pincers made his skin crawl.

  "Can you understand me?" He called out.

  He had already attacked, so he was a bit behind the line on diplomacy, but he figured better late than never. If he could avoid bloodshed, he would. Fortunately, they either couldn't or refused to speak. He didn't care which. He unleashed wind and electricity in equal measure. His attack ripped through the three ants as if they were tissue paper. Before he could relish the victory, he was greeted with a horrendous sound. More ants. He couldn't tell how many there were, and he didn't care. He rapidly set up his mines. Prepared to receive the attack here instead of trying for the surface. He wouldn't run the risk of being attacked from behind. He was also certain he could open up a killing ground. As soon as he saw the first set of pincers, he released his killing intent and Dao fields and went full bore. His mental energy decreased as if he had set the whole thing on fire, but he didn't care. The effect was more than worth it. As soon as they entered his range, the insects were bombarded with a pseudo-storm. Despite the rain not being able to hurt them, it still added to the effect. He wasn't sure how good it would be at distracting people, but it was more than enough against these simple-minded things. He followed up with the rest of his attacks. Blades of wind and lances of electricity shot forward. Each one claimed a life, but it was like stopping a flood with your hands.

  His preparations were barely enough to stop the tide from overrunning him. Yet he couldn't help but smile. His mind raced to form attack after attack. Despite his speed, it wasn't enough. He didn't bother to count how many he had killed as he was forced on the move. The ants fought like they didn't care about anything except killing him. It was as if he danced on the edge of a blade. Where one mistake would mean being pulled under a sea of bodies. Part of him knew it was insane, but he didn't care. This was fun. This was beyond exciting. He felt more alive than at any time before the Network. When the bodies finally stopped coming, he found himself on top of one ant and surrounded by who knew how many more bodies. The tunnel had become a graveyard for the creatures, and a deafening silence fell on him like a blanket. A quick check told him he had reached level 26, yet he decided to hold off on the points. There was little chance of him leaving before he killed the queen or whatever ants had. He also didn't think he needed the points to do it. Now that he was so close to his next level, he wanted to save all his points. He figured he would go through a transformation when he had his class, and it would be dumb not to have six extra points.

  With that small issue handled, he decided to head onward. His slaughter should've been a warning to whatever was in control of this place. A warning that he was not only strong but willing to continue onward. He had only made it a hundred or so feet when he was attacked again. This time, his enemies were different. They were still ants, but their abdomens were larger. Almost as if they were filled like balloons. When the ugly things pushed themselves up on two legs, his danger sense warned him. He was half a second too slow to trigger Prismatic Barrier. The delay resulted in him being burned by a noxious orange flame. His scream was silenced by the roar of the flames. That single moment was enough to char the skin on his hands and arms. Something his robes were almost powerless to deal with. As soon as he was safe, he summoned healing pills and coated the burn site in the Dao of rain. As soon as the healing began, he almost wished it hadn't. He had thought repairing his bones was the worst pain, but he was very wrong. His skin flaked off and was replaced. An indescribable sensation. He bit down on his tongue hard enough to draw blood just to take his mind off it. His barrier was covered in cracks, but either the ants couldn't keep it up, or they wanted to see if he was still alive. Either way, it was a mistake and one he wouldn't allow them to recover from.

  The blades of Severing Disc trisected the first ant while a half dozen electrical lances impaled the second. He followed up that attack with three wind blades to confirm the kill. A moment later, his dantian surged with energy. He wasn't sure if that energy was of a higher quality than what he had before, but it felt better. It certainly made him feel better. He didn't bother collecting those bodies. Choosing instead to dice them. He told himself it was because they had weaker bodies and armor, but he knew that wasn't true. Or at least that he didn't care about that. He hated those creatures, but they did serve as a warning. He doubted they would be the last of their kind. Which meant he needed to be ready. He would have to see if water beats fire. He wasn't sure Dao worked under those rules. Since it would imply that pyromancers would almost always lose to hydromancers. There were other options, of course, but he would have to wait and perform his experiments.

  He reformed his air bubble and headed deeper into the hive. He was attacked three more times by swarms of the base ants. Only they were a bit larger than the last group. He couldn't be sure, but he figured they were a bit stronger as well. Maybe a level or two. He was no beast expert, but it was much harder to tell their levels based on their power. They should have more attributes per level than humans. Which made any guesswork about their totals a pointless exercise. Now that he had some experience with them, fighting the drones had become too easy. It wasn't until he entered a room that was around twenty by twenty. At first, he thought nothing of the place, but when he took a look around, he paled. It was some sort of egg chamber. The room was filled with spherical pods that reminded him of beach balls. Now that he knew what was in the room, the recent tide made sense. He could even assume that the flame ants weren't allowed in this area. Not that he could prove it. He briefly considered the morality of killing a bunch of eggs but decided to ignore it. He had killed bugs plenty of times, and he wasn't about to let Earth be overrun. He unleashed wind and electricity in union. He wished he could say the process was interesting, but it wasn't. The eggs didn't give any spiritual energy,y which more or less meant it was a waste of time. Intellectually, he knew his work was important, but he couldn't help but feel it was a waste of his time. A thought that faded when his instincts exploded.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  He threw himself down seconds before a scythe-like limb tried to decapitate him. He went into a roll and unleashed a column of bluish-white power. Blinding brilliance lit up the case and blinded him. Yet his instincts made it clear he hadn't won yet. He was forced into a fighting retreat as something continued after him. His robes and arms were covered in dozens of slashes in an instant, yet the creature didn't slow down. His eyes narrowed as he unleashed his killing intent and Dao fields. The egg chamber became a primordial battleground. For a moment, his attacker hesitated. Maximilian responded with a beam composed of all three daos.

  Maximilian didn't bother to watch the laser. Instead, he chose to retreat. He put almost ten feet between them before he got a good look at what had attacked him. It was an ant for sure, but it stood on two legs and had two scythe-like blades for upper limbs. This wasn't a creature designed for work. It was a hunter. He formed a trio of mines in front of him. When the ant charged him anyway, he cursed. He shifted all three bombs into their path right before the insect ran over them.

  The resulting explosion filled the hive with the smell of ozone. He retreated out of the egg chamber and was about to unleash another round of attacks when he saw a blur to his right. He ducked a second before the insect arrived. He began to plan his escape when he noticed how injured the creature was. Its exoskeleton was scorched, and its right scythe had been removed up to the elbow. Its legs were in the worst shape, with it barely able to bend one.

  Yet it was as if the creature couldn't register pain. Either that or it didn't care. Maximilian activated Static Bolt. The electrical bolt formed second before the bug acted. For the first time, the ant attempted to avoid an attack. As soon as it did, Maximilian unleashed a blade of wind. The attack fell with the finality of the executioner's axe. His victory turned to ashes as the ant's body took on a dark green glow. Before he had processed the change, his danger sense screamed. He had just enough time to form a wall of wind when the ant arrived. It slammed straight through his defenses as if they were made of paper. He had just enough time to raise an arm when the scythe came down.

  He screamed as the bones in his arm shattered. The defensive properties of his robes were the only thing that saved the arm. His mind fogged over with agony as the ant followed him. He had just enough awareness to unleash a gust of wind that shot him backwards and into the wall. The air was knocked out of him. Spiritual energy surged into Prismatic Barrier. The rainbow shield blocked the hunter's follow-up strike. An attack that would have split his head in two. Panic rose like bile in his throat as he searched for a way out. His defensive skill drained his energy like a man dying of thirst. He circulated his cultivation technique to clear his mind of the fear, and then he saw it. His attacker was dying. Its body was falling to dust with every attack.

  For a moment, he thought it was something he had done. He quickly determined that wasn't the case. Whatever it had done was a death sentence. Which meant he just had to hold on. He gritted his teeth and forced more energy into his skill. The barrier repaired itself as fast as it was damaged. He gritted his teeth. Each hit felt like a hammer to the side of his head. Yet, he refused to give in. He would not let a damn bug kill him.

  Finally, the bug slammed its remaining scythe appendage down and then collapsed. Maximilian didn't release his skill until after he confirmed the kill. He felt like he had been put through a ringer, but he had won. It was a victory that felt like ashes in his mouth. As the creature effectively killed itself. He figured that skill or ability was designed as a desperate option. One where it would take both of them down. He had to admit it was impressive. That kind of ability wasn't the type of thing he would use. It did fit the insects well. They wouldn't hesitate to use it to protect their hive. Which meant he had a choice to make. He would need to decide if he wanted to continue. He hadn't used all his skills during the fight, but if he had to fight two or more of them, he would die. No debate about that. Yet he also knew he would not run away. Taking into account what he lost, he still gained a lot of spiritual energy. It was the best way to level up. The best way to finish this portion of his journey. He shook his head and swallowed a few healing pills. He pushed his healing dao through his body.

  When he felt ready to go, he got to his feet and continued through the hive. He was forced to battle three more times. One of which included the fire ants. Though now that he knew about them, he was able to deal with it without getting burned. He could tell that the hive was running out of fighters. The groups were smaller but stronger. He still hadn't been attacked by another ant as strong as the one that almost killed him. Yet he had found others with scythe limbs. They were just slower. Almost as if they were false copies. Or perhaps the predecessors. Not that he was complaining. He doubted anyone outside of the top ten could have beaten that thing. Even they would have needed a group. Either that or a defensive skill like his. Since no one had their classes yet, he didn't think that was likely. He pulled out one of his soul stones and drained it. There was no way he would see the final monster without being in top form. When the first stone was drained, he pulled out another and did the same to it. It wasn't until he finished the second that he stepped forward.

  The next section of the hive was a hole in the ground. His bubble of wind prevented the odor from reaching up, which was a small mercy. He decided to walk down instead of falling, which meant he formed several stairs of electricity. He started going straight down but quickly realized he would need to do a descending circle. If he wanted to avoid slipping and falling. A few minutes later, he reached the bottom and wished he hadn't. The chamber was definitely the home of the queen. It was nearly three times as big as the previous egg chamber and was filled with them. It was a scene that reminded him of a Sci-fi movie. Phantom insect legs crawled across his skin, making him shiver. He wished he had the power to just collapse the place, but he doubted his pseudo-skill could accomplish that.

  Maybe if he had enough time. Either way, he couldn't do it. Which meant his best option was to deal with the queen. A creature was nearly three times as big as the rest of the ants. More than two-thirds of the creature was its abdomen. A bulbous thing that looked like it would burst open if he weren't careful. Unlike the rest of the creatures, he doubted the queen could move. Or at least not move quickly. He was about to unleash a Severing Disc to end the situation early when several eggs burst open. Fully grown ants fell to the ground like horrid rain. He resisted the urge to retch as he prepared himself for battle. The insect queen let out a horrid roar, and the ants charged.