Jong-sik halted his steps in front of the iron gate, which had a murky hue. Unlike the stairs that seemed like they could collapse at any moment, the iron bars of the gate appeared quite sturdy.
“They used adamantium ore.”
Nevertheless, it seemed insufficient to block the ant colony entirely. Jong-sik inserted the card into the terminal, and with a creak, the door opened.
“That was easy. Let’s all go in.”
Jong-sik stepped forward, and the others followed closely behind. Then, Seo Sunhwa, gripping the bars, spoke with a dubious tone.
“Surely this isn’t the end? It’s too flimsy. There are holes everywhere. What is this?”
Immediately, Baek hodam countered. Despite his jovial nature, he possessed a wealth of knowledge from his numerous visits.
“Heh, these bars with holes are actually made from a mixture of adamantium ore.”
“Oh, adamantium! You could make a pretty penny melting this down and selling it, couldn’t you? But are there people who could take it away?”
Seo Sunhwa idly tapped the iron bars. Seeing this, Baek hodam burst into laughter.
“Haha. Oh, sorry. That was an unexpected answer. Haha. But honestly, I think you’re the only one who would think of that, Seo Sunhwa.”
“Really? Anyway, whether it’s adamantium or not, it still looks quite flimsy. If you cling to a weak point just because there’s no business in front of you, you might end up breaking it. Or maybe they could make the entire door out of adamantium.”
“Well, if you just look at this one door, you might think that.”
“Just this door? Then what else is there?”
The response came not from Baek hodam, but from Pyeong-ari.
“There should be another door with high-voltage currents flowing through it. Essentially, that’s the proper defense door. I think I can see it over there.”
“Ah, I see. Well, they should provide at least that much.”
Seo Sunhwa nodded, and Baek hodam looked at Pyeong-ari with a surprised expression.
“Ahem. Commander Pyeong, you said it’s your first time with a pest control operation, but you seem to know everything. I almost made a fuss in front of you.”
“You can find out everything if you look. Simple as that.”
Pyeong-ari shrugged. Shortly after, the group arrived at the second door. It certainly looked more solid.
※ High Voltage Flow. No Contact Before Door Opening ※
Just by looking at the engraved inscription, one could understand.
“They’ve inscribed a lightning magic spell. Quite convincing.”
Jong-sik chuckled as he inserted the key card. As he did, the automatic door slid open, revealing the massive defense barrier.
Kuuung.
Finally, the ant breeding ground revealed itself. It felt like looking at those old mining tunnels. The cables laid on the ground made it even more convincing.
“Was this a subway platform?”
However, the appearance of a platform was not retained as it once was. The straight lines that should have been there were twisted like snakes.
Is this their work? Or was it made by the Association?
Anyway, the space where human technology and ant technology merged was quite fascinating.
Jong-sik scanned the surroundings with an intrigued look. A few crude lamps installed on the walls flickered. But soon after, they went out as if their lifespan had expired.
Pyeong-ari swallowed a sigh at the sight.
“Ugh. Chief Jong.”
“…?”
“We might need to wait for a moment.”
“Is there a problem?”
At Jong-sik’s inquiry, she gestured towards the wall.
“The lighting. It’s not our concern, but it might be a problem for the porters who will follow… Hmm, I didn’t expect the management to be this lax.”
“Heh. Seems like those fellows have developed some peculiar habits. Team Leader Pyeong-ari, I know a younger brother who has a light attribute skill. Should I contact him?”
Baek hodam, who had come a few steps forward, asked. Upon hearing this, Pyeong-ari’s expression brightened.
“Well, thank you. Please ask if he can come right away.”
“Then I’ll go up for a moment to make the call.”
“There might not be a need for that.”
Jong-sik turned back and grabbed Baek hodam. Wasting unnecessary time was something he detested. Without delay, Jong-sik cast a spell.
【Light】
Instantly, the eyes of the team members widened. The brightness that filled the interior was incomparable to before.
“You have a light attribute skill?”
“I said I can do this and that.”
“Wow, did Team leader Pyeong-ari not know either?”
Among the team members, murmurs began to spread. Pyeong-ari shook her head, speaking with her tongue clicking.
“As you can see, I don’t quite grasp the extent of this and that. You don’t happen to have a cure skill as well, do you?”
“Unfortunately, I can’t do that.”
Only Jong-sik, the center of attention, remained composed.
“Well, it seems like the problem is resolved. Let’s finish up quickly.”
And with that, a small issue was resolved.
***
At the same time, deep inside the cavern.
“Heugh, heugh.”
A man with a swollen body was lying on the ground, gasping for breath.
A broken head, blood flowing through his beard, and a tomahawk axe stained with bodily fluids indicated a fierce battle had taken place.
“Ugh… my bones.”
The man struggled to move, struggling like a caterpillar on the ground.
Perhaps due to his small stature, despite his efforts to crawl forward, he remained in the same spot. Nevertheless, the man did not give up, exerting all his strength to move his body.
After some time passed, a glimmer of consciousness returned to the man’s eyes.
“There!”
Summoning the last bit of his strength, the man flipped over suddenly.
And there, his face turned upward, a dark shadow fell over him. It was because a plant taller than the man had shielded him. Finally, he took a deep breath, having held his breath until now.
‘Where in the world am I?’ With that thought, his vision was plunged into darkness.
***
The team members looked at Jong-sik with awe. He stood at the center of the ant swarm.
A black ant, surrounded by its black exoskeleton, opened its sturdy mandibles toward Jong-sik. With a light movement, he rolled on the ground once before plunging the mana-generated sword downwards towards the ant’s head, which was pointed downward.
Swoosh.
In an instant, the ant’s bodily fluids shot into the air. Dodging it effortlessly, Jong-sik looked at Baek hodam and said, “How was that? Easy, right?”
“Hehehe… not at all. It seems tough, but I’ll give it a try. Can’t miss out on this opportunity,” Baek hodam replied in a voice lacking confidence. It couldn’t be like this. Jong-sik shook his head and offered an alternative.
“Then let’s reduce the numbers. Since another group is coming, Seo sunhwa and Seo Sanghoon, leave only two or three left.”
“Got it!”
“Understood.”
Seo sunhwa and Seo Sanghoon, familiar with the attack preparations, were ready. It was the third time they had encountered such a situation.
Entering the ant’s nest, they followed Jong-sik’s instructions to deal with the ants. Typically, the ones receiving instructions were the dealers, Seo sunhwa, and Seo Sanghoon.
But somehow, unexpectedly, the tanker, Baek hodam, asked Jong-sik for instruction. That’s how this situation came about.
After a while,
As Jong-sik predicted, five ants approached in a line. Seo sunhwa shouted as she pulled the trigger. “One!” Then, Sanghoon continued, “Three left.”
There were only two ants left, which were Baek hodam’s responsibility. Remembering Jong-sik’s subtle movements he witnessed earlier, Baek hodam gripped the sword he hadn’t used in a while and stepped forward, holding his shield.
With a loud clank, he swung the sword towards the ant’s head. In an instant, there was a satisfying sound of impact as the ant’s exoskeleton shattered.
However, it was too early to celebrate. He sensed an instinctive threat. A warning sound rang in his head.
It was the warning sound he heard every time he crossed the diagonal line. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw an ant with its jaws wide open beyond his left shoulder.
“Oh, damn it.”
Injuries were inevitable, right? At that moment, an arrow flew through the air, splitting it.
Swish!
A powerful stream of water also shot out, a half beat later.
“Tanker uncle, are you okay?”
“Are you hurt?”
It was Seo sunhwa and Seo Sanghoon. The ant, which had been a chilling threat to Baek hodam due to the attacks of the two, was now writhing on the ground.
“Phew, thanks to you.”
Baek hodam lightly nodded as he intermittently cut off the ant’s breath, which was trembling. Even Pyeong-ari, who was about to run after them, hesitated at the sight. Then she said to Jong-sik,
“The sum of the three is quite good.”
“Yeah, indeed.”
“Can I learn a thing or two from you?”
“Are you going to switch to being a swordsman?”
“No way! Just in case, regarding healing…”
“I told you I don’t know about that.”
“Ugh.”
When Jong-sik and Pyeong-ari walked among the group, the situation had already ended. Jong-sik, who had reorganized the ranks, followed the traces of the ants that had just appeared.
The work was slowly coming to an end. Although they hadn’t seen a single red ant, there was no one expressing disappointment.
Why would they? They were experiencing something more valuable than an artifact.
Moreover, since they had already made a considerable profit with Fire Lizards, their hearts were abundantly satisfied.
About five minutes passed.
“It’s insane.”
“I guess we won’t just go back empty-handed.”
“Haha, you’ve become quite adept at this.”
It was Jong-sik’s group who found something.
***
The ant tunnel was interconnected with numerous chambers in an organic manner. As Jong-sik’s group ascended, they encountered various chambers along the way.
Some chambers were filled with young ants, while others were filled with food cultivated by worker ants.
The place where Jong-sik’s group was now stepping into was one of those.
Two trenches starting from the wall.
In each trench, poison berries and dragon berries were densely planted and growing lushly. Beneath them, the ants’ dried excrement was scattered, perhaps intended for use as fertilizer.
“Ew! Looks delicious.”
Seeing that, Seo sunhwa trembled with excitement and rushed forward. Unlike the highly toxic poison berries, the taste of dragon berries was irresistibly sweet. Seo sunhwa, who was well aware of this, reached out and picked a golden berry, popping it into her mouth. As expected, it was fantastic. Sharing delicious things is always a good idea.
“Mmm. It’s really delicious. Leader Dok, you should try some too.”
As she intended to pick a few more berries, she rummaged through the berry seedlings. That’s when she saw it.
A small figure that looked like it wasn’t even a meter tall. A red head with blood-stained stubble under it. A dirty body covered in filth.
It definitely seemed human.
“Hey! W-what’s this? Leader Dok, Leader Pyeong, you need to come see this. There’s… someone… who seems to have collapsed!”
