Chapter 309: Chapter 309: Level 10 breakthrough- Is it really possible (1)
When Theo came to know what actually transpired when he went to sleep for the first time, he couldn’t help but laugh too.
But at the same time, Theo also felt proud that Clara was so protective of him that she would rebuke even a baron for his safety.
He went to rest a little again, as his mind felt a lot more drained from a single use.
Theo could see that he was nearing another level up, which was a good thing.
But there were now some restrictions in his mind, some instinctual ones at that.
He didn’t want to get inside the hive link anytime soon. It was as if his mind needed rest.
So he focused the whole day on his own body’s training.
The hyper jump was looking very good now, aside from the fact that he couldn’t get on the ground safely. His knees hurt a lot, but from the baron’s perspective, this was training too.
Theo took the sword and went to fight the crawlers again after so long. It was a lot farther now, and the more Theo fought, the more he felt like he really needed rest.
His body felt laggy and heavy, as if he was always sleepy, which made him wonder if Knight Rhys was going through this all the time too. Suddenly, Theo started feeling pity for the poor knight unbeknowing that he was actually just lazy.
The day passed just like this, and it was not until the next day and a proper night’s sleep that Theo started feeling a lot better.
He decided to go against his heart and get in the hive link again.
Which seemed like a good and bad idea at the same time.
He could only hold onto the link for half the time from before before getting a really bad headache again.
Theo was sure of it now. There were limitations to using this ability, and even though he reached level 2 of the ability, it still felt like there was no improvement in how he used it.
The concept came later that he had to wait until his mind was at full power again. Theo found it hard to know if it would ever go back to being active because he felt drowsy and heavy all the time.
But when another two days passed, his mind started feeling that same activeness again. He went and defeated hundreds of crawlers in one go, making his stamina stat go up by +1 naturally.
With the mantis leveling up all the time and Theo not being able to stop it, they were now a quarter experience away from reaching level 8.
And right on that day, Theo got really happy news from the colony, and a bizarre one at the same time.
The ant queen sent many images of big ants coming out of the brood and then standing in one place for a long time, as if stabilizing themselves.
Theo couldn’t help but be astonished by the changes these ants had.
But it was too dark underground to look at the new ants properly, so when they were alright enough, Theo called for them to come up to the ground.
Domain Burrow Worker Ants
Grade: Rare
Level: 0
Type: Domain-type Insect Type
EXP: 0/20
ATTRIBUTES
Strength: 12
Stamina: 17
Agility: 40
Vitality: 72
Intelligence: 4
Dexterity: 24
ABILITIES
Domain Excavation (Level 0, 0%): The ant instinctively excavates tunnels and chambers in ways that reinforce structural stability, reducing collapses and wasted space. Digging speed and tunnel durability increase further when operating within the Tunnel Domain Ant Queen’s domain.
Hardened Mandibles (Level 0, 0%): The ant compresses earth, clay, or loose stone using its mandibles, temporarily increasing hardness and cohesion. Can be used to seal tunnels, reinforce walls, or trap beasts.
Earth Sense Antennae (Level 0, 0%): Allows the ant to detect soil density, hidden voids, underground water flow, roots, and weak structural points through vibrations in the ground.
Crunch (Level 0, 0%): Allows the user to break down earth, minerals, bone, and dense organic matter through sustained mandibular pressure.
Affinity: Earth
Favourability: 55 (Normal)
"So you guys are more like a tunnel excavator squad, huh?" Theo spoke after moving his hand forward toward them. All the abilities they had were, in one way or another, something that a tunnel burrower would have.
The new ants touched their antennae to Theo’s hand, and he could feel a ticklish sensation before one ant kept a leg on his hand before climbing up.
Theo could tell their antennae shone for a moment, which meant it was the ant queen who told them to do that.
When two of them got on his palm, Theo found it weird that there was only space left for one more before it was going to get cramped.
Yet all ten of them just kept skittering toward his hand and arm before he was covered with big ants.
Theo felt a little mischievous, so he went to Clara and Elias and held his hand close to them.
When they both saw the big mandibles on these ants’ bodies, their very souls shivered.
"I want to say this kindly, young master, but please move them away," Clara spoke with a pleading tone while her face was averted elsewhere.
"Oh? Are you saying you’re scared of such tiny creatures you all didn’t even consider beasts before, Clara?" Theo asked with a cheeky grin, to which Clara just nodded reluctantly.
Nobody wanted to admit they were scared of insects in this world, but deep down, they were.
Soon, Theo was bombarded with kill messages again, making him want to get them out of his sight.
"Another crawler attacked, ant queen?" Theo thought with dazed eyes, making Clara and Elias just stand there while trying their hardest not to look at the ants.
The new Domain Burrow Worker ants were brownish in color, similar to the underground terrain they were meant for. Their exoskeletons also felt a lot shinier and thicker.
One of the bumps on their exoskeleton was so huge that Elias thought it looked like a shiny balloon.
On top of all that, they were three to five times bigger than the average ants Theo first interacted with, which showed just how far he had come.
Theo saw a lot more images, like videos, about ants in the lower levels being attacked.
Mostly, the spider and the bigger ants handled it all, while the embermaws and aquamandibles tried their best to stay on top of the bigger ants and support them.
’Lately you’ve been attacked a lot since you came out of father’s aura, huh...’ Theo thought. He couldn’t even keep a hand on his chin as he was covered in ants.
The more the ants dug deeper, the more they moved out of the baron’s protection underground.
Theo tried telling the ant queen to expand horizontally instead of vertically, but it seemed there was a problem.
The ant queen seemed to want the crawlers to attack them.
Upon further investigation, Theo found that the ant queen wanted the colony to gain predator-hunting skills and group attack proficiency.
It also liked the free chambers and underground roads created by the crawlers when they came close enough.
According to the ant queen, one crawler had come after traveling a lot, and there seemed to be many meters’ worth of tunnels to explore from the new road it made.
Theo felt reluctant. While everything felt stable, a kill message popped up, reminding him just how far he was from the colony at the moment.
The more he felt that way, the more he wanted the Hive Link skill to level up and for himself to get used to being within the larger consciousness.
Which made him keep the new ants at the colony’s entrance and go back into the hut to use the ability again.
Theo was able to hold out for five minutes this time, making him feel like he had progressed a little, but soon that same lethargy invaded his mind.
For the next ten days, Theo did just that, practicing the ability whenever his mind felt "active" again.
In that time frame, he had already reached level 8 and was nearing a quarter toward level 9 already.
The mantis just didn’t stop killing the crawlers as if he had some real hatred for them, but all that food it was collecting was now also being used to make jerky that it had started liking to eat. Or else, Theo was sure it wouldn’t have shared anything.
And strangely, the ants also started consuming a lot of the crawlers, until Theo realized that the newer ants were already at their thousandth number.
And the more the ant queen consumed, the more brood it produced and the bigger it got, making Theo feel like half his problems were being fixed on their own.
It seemed the ants were going to be ready for some fights above the ground, and Theo was all for it.