Ch.49Middle Layer (1)

After escaping from the cavern, reaching the middle layer wasn’t particularly difficult.

We had long since adapted to the environment, and the monsters no longer attacked us directly.

“From here on is the middle layer.”

“It’s… definitely easy to tell this is the middle layer.”

My companions and I could easily tell we had reached the entrance to the middle layer.

The reason wasn’t just the changes in gravity or environment, but mainly because the dwarves who had pioneered this mine had kindly installed signs.

And there was also the brutal yet helpful warning: “If you’re weak, you’ll die.”

“It seems meant for adventurers, but writing something like this usually just provokes them.”

The dwarves had written it out of consideration, but for adventurers, it was more like poison.

Experienced adventurers knew when to advance and when to retreat, but many were easily provoked by such challenges due to the rough nature of their profession.

Additionally, the environment itself didn’t change suddenly with a single step. It changed slowly and gradually, making it difficult to notice.

‘And the terrifying nature of the middle layer monsters plays a part too.’

Just then, Kitsune, who was looking at the sign with me, asked curiously.

“What kind of reaction do people usually have?”

“Usually… they rush in with the vague belief that ‘The previous adventurer died because they were weak, but I’m different!'”

And unfounded beliefs always led to trouble. By the time most people realized something was wrong, they had already crossed a river of no return.

“I’m worried that might be me…”

“Don’t worry too much. You’ve become quite capable with barrier techniques, haven’t you?”

Kitsune had trained her barrier techniques better than I had expected.

It was thanks not only to her talent but also to her finding enjoyment in it and working hard.

“Besides, there’s only one monster we need to worry about in the middle layer.”

In the upper layer we had passed through, there was no single monster that dominated the entire area. The centipede faction was somewhat large, but not enough to be considered dominant.

But the middle layer was different. A single species dominated the entire middle layer.

“What kind of monster is it?”

“Ants. Very large ones. And that’s one of the reasons we need to pass through the middle layer quickly.”

* * *

“They’re certainly large and have hard exoskeletons. But I don’t understand why they’re the dominant species here.”

This was Kitsune’s assessment when she first encountered a Giant Ant.

The individual wasn’t weak, but since monsters in the upper layer were about this strong too, she didn’t think they could be the dominant species.

“There seem to be quite a few of them…! And they’re organized…!”

And this was Kitsune’s assessment about two hours after entering the middle layer.

The ants had gradually increased in number until they reached a level that couldn’t be ignored.

Finally, this was her current situation. The composure she had when first entering the middle layer was completely gone, and she looked extremely tired.

“They’re coming from all directions! I don’t know how long Kirara and I can hold out…!”

“It would waste too much time to deal with all the ants. I’ll clear a path, so please hold on a little longer.”

The Giant Ant swarm, which had started with just three, now numbered in the hundreds, swarming toward us.

They attacked not only from the front but also from the ceiling and walls.

Even if we dealt with some Giant Ants, new ones would rush in, and the injured ones would retreat to the rear—they were already functioning like an army.

‘They seem to have memorized my attack patterns.’

The Giant Ants, aware of my sword strikes, pushed forward individuals that were strong against slashing attacks, making it difficult to cut through and clear a path in one go.

As a result, I had to consume more aura than usual.

“Sigh… Stop getting in my way.”

A sharp blade aura surrounded my sword. The Giant Ants noticed this fact, but it was already too late.

Slash—

The ants that had persistently blocked my path fell, split in half despite their iron-like exoskeletons.

“Let’s move on before more come.”

“Understood.”

After cutting down the ants that were interfering with Kitsune and Kirara, I moved without pause, observing the ants’ reactions.

The ants, judging that they had no way to block my sword for now, stopped rushing at us.

‘The best scenario would be if they give up like this…’

The Giant Ants could be considered worker ants if we were to classify them. There might be variations among individual ants, but they couldn’t be called soldier ants.

The real hell in the middle layer would begin once the High Giant Ants appeared.

‘And if the queen makes a move, that would be a situation where Lilly would need to step in…’

Fortunately, in countless iterations, the queen had rarely made an appearance.

The probability of High Giant Ants moving was about 30%, and the probability of the queen appearing in that situation was 1%—extremely low odds.

‘In simple probability terms, that’s about 0.3%.’

As I advanced while calculating various things in my head, unfortunately, High Giant Ants were waiting in front of me.

The probability of them appearing was 30%, and the probability of them not appearing was 70%, but the heavens were truly merciless.

While Giant Ants were about 2.5m tall, High Giant Ants were about 1.5 times larger, around 4m in size.

And it wasn’t just their size that had changed—their exoskeletons were also tougher.

Kitsune, exhausted from the continuous battles, asked me about an escape route while catching her breath.

“Haa… haa… Is there perhaps a narrow path where we can shake off the ants?”

“Unfortunately… I don’t know about that…!”

After cutting down a charging High Giant Ant, I spoke up.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t give Kitsune the answer she wanted.

The detailed structure of this giant ant colony changed with each iteration, so I didn’t know any routes except for the regular path made by the dwarves.

However, it was clear that we needed rest soon.

Not just Kitsune and Kirara, but I too had limited stamina.

“Don’t worry too much. I have a way to shake them off.”

While continuing to deal with the approaching ants, I looked around.

In front of us was the regular route installed by the dwarves. If we continued along that path, we would eventually see the passage to the lower layer.

To the right were various ant tunnels dug by the ants. They were intertwined like a maze, and it looked difficult to escape once inside.

To the left was a cliff. It was a cliff that had continued all the way from the upper layer. It was also a huge hole that extended to the bottom of the deep layer.

It was a hole named Death Hole because falling in meant certain death.

“Kirara, take care of Kitsune. Lilly, I’ll need your help.”

“I don’t know what you’re planning… but alright.”

“What? What do you mean by—whoa?!”

“Kerung!”

Lilly agreed to my words, and while Kitsune didn’t understand, Kirara reacted quickly.

Kwang—!

After confirming that Kirara had secured Kitsune, I exploded my sword aura, blasting away the High Giant Ants on the left.

For a moment, nothing remained between us and the cliff. Before the ants could fill the gap again, I ran and threw myself off the cliff. Lilly and Kirara followed suit.

Kitsune, whose nape was held in Kirara’s mouth, was dragged along and fell too.

“Kyaaaaaaah—!!!”

“Frey…?! We can’t fly here…!?”

“Kerung..!?!?”

Kitsune, who couldn’t fly to begin with, just screamed, while Lilly and Kirara, who belatedly realized they couldn’t fly, couldn’t hide their panic.

“Kirara and Lilly, focus properly! If we miss the timing, we’ll die!”

Since it was a place with strong gravity to begin with, we accelerated quickly as we fell.

As our position lowered, gravity increased, making it extremely difficult to predict our increasing speed.

But with enough practice, one could get the hang of even this.

“Now! Lilly! Use wind to throw us to that wall over there! Kitsune, put a barrier around us!”

“Got it!”

“What? Yes!”

I pointed to the regular route that existed below, and Lilly, following my signal, created a gust that blew all of us, including herself.

And as the gust pushed us, Kitsune’s barrier enveloped us all.

Kuuung—!!!

Fortunately, my timing was perfect, and we were able to end our fall by hitting the side of one wall.

“I really… want to go back…”

“Kerung…”

“Next… next time… I’ll just take the lead…”

Since experience was experience, not only Kitsune but even Lilly looked at me with groans.

Of course, I ignored their groans and continued with preparations.

“That won’t work. Lilly’s power isn’t unlimited. It would be too wasteful to use it just to deal with a few ants, especially considering what’s ahead.”