MMORPG: Rebirth of the Shadow Mage

132 The Demonic Ants

“My hand... Can I get it back?”

Looking at Ava’s face Leo had a sudden and unexpected urge to pinch her cheek. It was a strange impulse, one that he couldn’t fully explain.

...

Leo felt the grip around his fingers loosen, and he couldn’t help but wonder what Ava was thinking. He wanted to see her expression, but her long silver hair covered her eyes, obscuring her face from view. ???????????????????????????? ????o????

“...Have you found the Demonic Ants?”

Not wanting to waste any more time standing in one place, Leo broke the momentary silence. There’s no telling what kind of monsters they might encounter if we stay here for too long.

“Yes...”

Upon seeing Ava nod her head in agreement, Leo followed closely behind her as she led the way through the red forest. He opened the world map and saw that the surrounding area was covered in grey, indicating that it had yet to be explored by other players.

Leo saw the nametag [ The Temple of ??? ] hovering above the ruined structure that he had used as a shelter during his time in Hell. He also saw the huge tower, with orange clouds surrounding its icon on the map.

.....

“We are here...”

Leo was forced to lift his eyes from the map window as Ava pointed at a huge stump of a tree that had been cut in half by what appeared to be very sharp claws.

‘What monster would be able to cut that...’

Leo heard Ava whispering to herself as she inspected the width of the stump. He knew that she was trying to figure out what could have caused such damage to the tree. Leo himself had a good idea of what might have caused the damage, but sometimes it was best to keep the disturbing information to himself.

Calling two of his Shadow Soldiers back to him, Leo ordered them to remove the stump so that they would have a better reach to the hive of the Demonic Ants. The Shadow Soldiers instantly set to work, their shadowy limbs transforming into various tools that’d help them remove the stump out of the ground.

Ava watched in fascination. She had seen the Shadow Soldiers transform their arms into sickles, but she thought that it’d be the only weapon they could make. The shadowy limbs of the soldiers elongated and twisted, becoming shovels, picks making Ava glance at Leo.

“Is this normal?”

Ava watched as Leo slightly nodded his head and sighed. Even with her own immense attribute boost, she couldn’t help but feel frustrated by the spell Leo had used. How was it fair for him to have an extra dozen soldiers at his command? Could the game possibly be broken?

Ava played with her silver hair, her blue eyes fixed on the Shadowy figures as they worked to remove the stump from the ground. As the stump was lifted, a horde of small creatures came into view, crawling around underneath it.

Ava glared at Leo, demanding to know what she was supposed to do. But Leo simply shook his head, his gaze fixed on the peaceful colony before them.

“We need to wait for the queen...”

Leo needed to bring around a hundred ants to the altar, and there were only a few dozen ants above ground. Leo knew he would have to wait for more ants to come out of the hive before he got the required amount.

Leo had a plan to bait the queen out of the hive and wound her, hoping that the ants would emerge from underground in order to protect her. To do this, he decided to use his own blood as bait. Biting his thumb, he allowed a small drop of blood to fall onto the ground, where many ants were gathered.

The ants immediately swarmed around the drop of blood, their antennae quivering as they detected the scent. Leo watched as the ants carried the blood back into the hive, hoping that his plan would work.

Sure enough, after a few minutes, the queen ant emerged from the hive.

The demonic ants queen was a small, red creature with a grotesque, mutated appearance. She was only a few centimeters in size, but her tiny body was armed with sharp mandibles that could cut through steel. She had glowing red eyes that seemed to be able to pierce through the darkness, and her skin was covered in a thick, chitinous exoskeleton. She could control other ants through a telepathic link. She was also able to communicate with her minions and direct their movements with incredible precision, using them to accomplish tasks and defend her colony with ruthless efficiency.

Unfortunately for this small creature, it had met Leo and Ava.

Shriek...

Leo quickly poked the queen’s weak abdomen, making a small wound. Seeing the green liquid that flowed out of it, he quickly grabbed some empty potion bottles and began catching the small red creatures that emerged from the ground. He worked quickly, determined to gather the needed amount of ants as fast as possible.

As he worked, Leo could feel the queen’s life force slowly slipping away. He knew that he had to hurry if he wanted to complete the altar quest. He worked tirelessly, his fingers moving with precision as he caught ant after ant in the bottles.

Finally, after collecting around 120 ants, Leo sealed the bottles and stood up, a sense of satisfaction and disgust washing over him. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of revulsion at the thought of having touched so many bugs. Shaking his head, he tried to push the thought to the back of his mind as he rubbed his hands against the red grass that grew in the forest, trying to rid them of the stickiness that had accumulated from handling the ants.

Beside him, Ava watched with a mixture of curiosity and amusement. She could see the disgust visible in Leo’s actions and couldn’t help but smile at his reaction. It was rare to see him so expressive, and it reminded her that despite his robotic-like demeanor, he was still very much human.

“Let’s go...”

Leo finished washing his hands and noticed that Ava seemed lost in thought. He gently shook her shoulder, trying to bring her back to the present.

“Hey, Ava. We’re still in Hell, remember? We need to stay alert and focused. A lot of creatures here could kill us with just one attack.”

Ava snapped out of her thoughts, nodded in understanding, falling in step with Leo as they made their way back to the ruined temple.

The journey back to the ruined temple was uneventful, for which Leo was grateful. He couldn’t shake the feeling that Ava was constantly watching him, and it made it difficult for him to focus on their surroundings. He tried to remind himself that they were in a dangerous place and needed to stay alert, but it was hard to concentrate when he was so aware of Ava’s glare.

...

Feeling the invisible pressure stacking up on his head, Leo couldn’t hold it in any longer and turned to Ava.

“Is there something on your mind? You’ve been staring at me a lot today”

Hearing his voice Ava’s eyes twinkled in the light as she smiled.

“Nothing... Just thinking about the Corrupted King”

Leo shrugged his shoulders. If Ava was just curious about the raid, then why did she keep staring at him?

He summoned Fenrir, since he himself couldn’t focus on the surroundings. The wolf was, of course, reluctant to return to Hell and Leo had to offer him a bribe.

“I’ll double the amount of special food you’ll get as soon as we leave this place!”

Fortunately, the wolf’s stomach won out over his mind, and he grudgingly followed Leo and Ava back to the portal that would take them out of Hell. As they stepped through the portal, Leo couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief wash over him. He was glad to be leaving the dangerous world behind and returning to the safety of reality.

Leo mounted Fenrir, and Ava followed suit, positioning herself before him.

‘Rain’

Leo couldn’t help but inhale deeply as the fresh fragrance filled his nostrils. He had to turn his head slightly to the side to avoid having his nose pressed against the back of Ava’s head.

Thud... Thud...

As they approached the temple, Leo’s thoughts turned towards their next course of action. They had collected the ants for the altar, but he knew that there was still much work to be done before they could leave this place. He made a mental note to speak with Ava about their plans, but now he had to go complete the quest.

Climbing down the wolf Leo reached out to pat Fenrir’s head, feeling the soft fur beneath his fingertips. He noticed Ava also scratching the wolf’s side.

Whoosh...

Soon Fenrir disappeared into the beast Tattoo, leaving Ava and Leo before the ruined temple’s entrance.

Leo turned his head slightly towards Ava, a hint of excitement in his voice as he spoke:

“Let’s go finish this!”