Swarming

Let me give you the conclusion first. Sei's prediction was correct. Apparently, this was an area teeming with insect-type monsters. We'd been encountering nothing but human-sized insects, from Large Killer Mantises to the giant longhorn beetle known as the Large Forest Eater.

There are many words for describing the way insects move. Most of them are creepy expressions to humans. Words like 'wriggle-wriggle' and 'rustle-rustle' are typical examples. So what onomatopoeia would best describe the creatures we're dealing with now?

"What in the world is this?!"

"Gross, gross, gross!"

The answer is 'swarm.' Insects of a single type, but enough of them to fill our entire field of vision, were attacking us one after another.

"The power of numbers is truly mighty."

"Why are you calmly analyzing this?!"

The black threat loomed before me. Here are the monster's stats.

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Race: Lesser Calamity Worker Ant Lv12–16

Job: Worker Lv2–6

Skill: 【Acid Fangs】

【Exoskeleton】

【Strength Enhancement】

【Defense Enhancement】

【Agility Enhancement】

【Slashing Resistance】

【Earth Attribute Resistance】

【Fire Attribute Vulnerability】

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On paper, they looked weak. Their defense was fairly high, but their offensive options were so limited that they could hardly be considered a threat. In fact, they didn't seem to be dealing Eiji and the others almost any damage. At first glance, 【Acid Fangs】 looked troublesome, but the acid itself wasn't very strong, so we barely felt its effects. Besides, my 【Soul Arts】 was gradually healing them, so they were effectively taking no damage.

But there was one major problem: there were simply too many enemies. Lesser Calamity Worker Ants were all around us, and even above us, climbing the trees. I've been fighting an awful lot of enemies in huge numbers lately.

"But this is endless. I have no choice; I'll handle it. Summon, Flame Ghost."

I summoned three Flame Ghosts. They were fire-attribute monsters, and as ghost-type monsters, physical attacks had almost no effect on them. To the Lesser Calamity Worker Ants, whose only means of attack were physical, they were practically natural enemies.

"Go. Burn them all to ash."

"Aaaah..."

At my command, the Flame Ghosts charged into the swarm of Lesser Calamity Worker Ants. Since they dealt fire magic damage simply by ramming into their targets, the Flame Ghosts incinerated the ants one after another.

Unlike ordinary magic, this didn't easily set the forest ablaze, which was convenient. Conversely, unless you could do something similar to me, you couldn't attack with the fire attribute, since you'd cause a wildfire and a catastrophe.

"Magic really is convenient. I'm definitely getting it."

"I can really feel the difference in Skill levels."

"Just what you'd expect from the First Wave, huh?"

As I watched my servants burn away enemy after enemy, each of them offered a comment along those lines. Level, the measure of strength, really didn't lie. I suppose that's what a level-based game was all about.

"By the way, it's been nothing but ants for a while now. Do you think there's a nest?"

"There are different ones up in the trees, though."

In response to Eiji's puzzled tilt of the head, Sei, who was keeping watch over the treetops, let out an exasperated sigh. And with good reason. In stark contrast to the ground, which was crawling with ants, the treetops were teeming with all sorts of insect-type monsters.

There were fewer of them than the ants, so they might have looked easy to those on the ground. But I knew better, since I was fighting in the treetops with Sei. This was troublesome in its own way.

The reason was that their means of attack changed constantly from one insect to another, and almost all of them had Skills that inflicted status ailments. A fight requiring constant care, where even a shallow wound could poison or paralyze you, was stressful in a way entirely different from fighting on the ground.

――――――――――

Your Race level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.

Your Job level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.

――――――――――

All right, extermination complete. And it looks like I finally leveled up, too. As expected, fighting opponents below my level gives very little experience.

"Yes! Time to evolve!"

"Me too. I'm looking forward to it."

Once we finished off the ant swarm, Nanako and Mossan apparently reached level 20. Good, good—they were growing stronger at a steady pace. I wanted to keep it up.

"Yes! Evolution complete! I've evolved into a Summon Crow!"

"So I'm a Big Blood Bat, then? My body has gotten quite a bit bigger."

Nanako's Summon Crow was a monster specialized in 【Summoning】 above all else. Its strength and defense were almost the same as before, but apparently it had much more mana and used 【Summoning】 very efficiently.

Apparently inspired by my self-destructive approach to 【Summoning】, he seemed intent on acquiring several new elemental magics. In addition, he planned to acquire 【Enhancement】 to increase the abilities of his summoned beasts. Countless strengthened crows swarming an enemy... It was the stuff of nightmares.

Mossan's Big Blood Bat had received an even greater physical enhancement. Its body had naturally grown larger, while its fangs and claws had become harder and sharper, and its face had taken on an even more ferocious look.

What surprised me most was how it felt when I was allowed to touch its body for a moment. Its body had been soft and fluffy before, but now it was rock-hard. It wasn't that its fur had disappeared; the muscles beneath it had simply developed to an astonishing degree. A muscular bat, in other words.

Although it couldn't match Eiji in strength and defense, it had the advantages of flight and high agility, so it was by no means inferior as a frontline fighter. Considering that it could recover by drinking blood, it might even be able to hold the frontline longer than Eiji.

As for harvesting... Can't do it with the ones we burned. Let's harvest only the ones in good condition and move on.

The ants killed by the Flame Ghosts were smoking heavily and already looked as though they had been reduced to charcoal. Monster materials in this condition were always degraded, even if you harvested them. I knew they'd just end up as inventory filler anyway.

"Aww, what a waste. Let's harvest them anyway."

Shiitake said that and began by harvesting the charred ants. She seemed to obtain a few items, but then froze for a moment and sighed. They must have been degraded after all.

"There are no more signs of monsters nearby, but if we head a little farther west, I can see a strange clearing."

"Oh? A boss area?"

An open area in the middle of a forest made me suspect a boss area. I couldn't say that for certain, but we had come fairly deep into the forest, so a boss fight wouldn't have been strange.

"What do you think? You may already know this, but a boss is one tier stronger than the monsters around it. In exchange, it gives more experience, SP, and completion rewards. The rewards are ample, but the danger is commensurate."

From my perspective, the enemies here weren't particularly strong. But to everyone else, they ought to be fairly formidable opponents. If the boss was another tier above them, a difficult fight was inevitable. So if anyone was against it, avoiding the area was also an option.

"I want to go. Since evolving, the enemies here are a little too easy."

"I agree."

Eiji and Toji, who had already evolved, were raring to go. Since evolving, the enemies had become too weak for them, so this would be a good chance to test their abilities. The same seemed true of Nanako and Mossan. The two of them nodded enthusiastically as well.

"I've never done a boss fight before, so I'm in."

"Hmm, I'll go if all I have to do is throw things from the back. I want the items."

Sei seemed eager to try his first boss fight. Shiitake was a reluctant yes. I supposed it was the difference between a combat-oriented tamer and a crafter alchemist.

"Wh-what do we do? Want to give it a try?"

"Sure, why not? Everyone's here, so it'll be fine."

Shifune looked somewhat anxious, while Wool remained as laid-back as ever. I felt as if I was beginning to understand their relationship.

I was the one who brought it up, but this really may not be a boss fight. It could simply be that there's an open area here, after all.

◆◇◆◇◆◇

We continued west and emerged into the clearing Sei had discovered. It was indeed a clearing, but there were several strange things about it.

First, the ground had been packed hard. And not just in a single path like an animal trail—the soil throughout the clearing had been compacted. In other words, something frequently traveled back and forth through this clearing.

Next were the surrounding trees. Numerous stumps remained around the clearing, all of them apparently cut down. But the cut surfaces were fresh and moist. They probably hadn't been felled very long ago. The cuts were also remarkably ragged for work done with an axe or something similar.

Finally, and strangest of all, there was a gaping hole dug into the ground. It was wide enough for even huge Eiji, let alone me, to crawl into with ease.

"...No announcement. So it wasn't a boss area?"

I said that, feeling slightly disappointed. Normally, stepping into a boss area triggered an announcement. Since there had been no reaction whatsoever, the odds of this being a boss area had become extremely low.

"So it wasn't? What a shame."

"But it's a weird place, huh? Maybe something will come out of that hole!"

"Hey! Don't say that! That's a flag...?!"

Perhaps relieved, Shiitake made an ill-omened joke. Nanako tried to stop her, but it was already too late. Her joke had become reality.

"Kitchi-kitchi."

"Clack-clack."

"H-hey... Is that...?"

What emerged from the hole was one of the Lesser Calamity Worker Ants we'd been fighting in droves all this time. I see. So this hole wasn't just a hole—it was...

"It's an ant nest?!"

"Clack, clack, clack!"

As though responding to Eiji's scream, the Lesser Calamity Worker Ants burst out of the nest in a flood. Ugh! There were far more of them than before! I could feel their determination to kill anyone foolish enough to approach their nest!

"Tch! No way to run, huh? Everyone, get ready! Go!"

"Aaaah..."

Just as before, I sent the Flame Ghosts charging in. Perfectly suited to fight the Lesser Calamity Worker Ants, my servants incinerated the ants simply by flying through the swarm.

"Hmph! Rooooar!"

"There!"

With my servants giving them breathing room, everyone regained their usual rhythm. Eiji blocked the ants' attacks with his shield, then split their heads with his axe, while Toji cut the throats of the ants Eiji had held back. It was a perfectly synchronized combination.

"Whoa! You fight numbers with numbers!"

Nanako attacked from above with crows produced by 【Summoning】. With the evolution of his Race and his Skill level-ups, he could apparently summon more powerful monsters now. He was keeping more than ten ants at bay by himself.

"Ha-ha! Let me show you the power of evolution!"

While Nanako bought them time, Mossan punched the ants to death. The claws on his feet sliced through their exoskeletons like paper, while blows from his wings shattered the exoskeletons in a single strike. The muscular bat was even more powerful in combat than I'd expected.

"Stone Wall! Shifune-chan! I need you!"

"Leave it to me! Hup!"

Shiitake used 【Earth Magic】 to create a wall, then climbed it together with Shifune. The two of them began attacking from the high ground. Shifune fired adhesive thread to capture the ants, while Shiitake threw the items she had gathered. Though they lacked explosive force, they succeeded in drawing the attention of more enemies than anyone else.

"Hahaha! Easy!"

Sei rode on the back of his wolf familiar, Phil, and raced through gaps between the ants. The gaps were openings carved by the wolf's fangs and body checks, Sei's staff, and the fairy's magic.

"Baa, sleep. Baaah."

A little away from the center of the battlefield, Wool began to bleat. Wool simply bleated calmly, but each bleat put several ants into a coma, and someone immediately brought down the defenseless ants. Wool wasn't directly attacking the enemy, but was making a solid contribution to the battle.

"Skreeeeee!!!"

"Huh! One of them looks a little different! Watch out!"

After we'd killed a considerable number of ants, more came swarming out of the nest with what sounded like cries of anger. Mixed in among them were ants a size larger than the Lesser Calamity Worker Ants, with a more aggressive build.

That must be a superior species. So this is where the real battle begins!