Re:Ant Lord-Chapter 97: Alpha Challenge

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Fifty paces in, the corridor narrowed to a crack barely wider than his shoulders. Heat rose from below, carrying coppery scents of blood and ore. He squeezed through and emerged on a high shelf that overhung a vast hollow, a cathedral of broken stalactites and glittering stalagmites. Thousands of dark, leathery shapes clung to the ceiling like tattered drapes.

Maw‑Bats, Kai realised. He had read field reports of the beast. These are three‑star aerial beasts that are hunted by echolocation, jaws capable of crushing steel. Its face was like a scary ghost. A roost this large meant at least one alpha. And where alpha perched, lesser beasts guarded tunnels.

He ducked behind a column and weighed options. Fighting an entire colony would be suicide, but a surgical strike on lone scouts could grant him experience, star core and maybe an alternate route upward. His Predator Instinct suddenly tingled: something was behind him.

A lone Maw‑Bat guard was there. Its wings unfurled, taloned feet gripping the ledge stood sniffing the air. It hadn’t seen him; wind carried his scent away. Kai exhaled once, he made a plan.

Plan:

Quick kill the sentry.

Drag body to alcove for Essence Eater.

Search the side gallery for ascent.

He inched forward five metres... three... The Maw‑Bat pivoted, milky eyes narrowing. Too late. Kai lunged. Spear point punched beneath its chin, up into the brain. The beast quivered and sagged without a shriek. Kai yanked free, caught the corpse before it thumped on the stone, then hauled it behind the column. He can’t make a big sound.

[System notifications

Maw‑Bat (3★) defeated.

EXP +300

Star Core obtained.]

A soft glow rose from the wound golden essence vapor. Kai’s mouth flooded with instinctual hunger. He knelt, pressed mandibles to the puncture, and activated Essence Eater. Aura vortex roared through him.

Warm power surged into limbs, not as intoxicating, but rich, smoky, tinged with iron.

[System notifications-

Essence Eaten activated.

Stat Points +4]

He wiped his mandibles, storing the star core in the Soul‑Cube. Muscles hummed. "I could kill some more," he thought, peering back at the roost. But the alpha’s sonar chirps grew impatient; more deaths might rouse the swarm. He couldn’t defeat the swarm, so decided to retreat.

Beyond the roost lay a tunnel lit by mineral veins that pulsed white‑hot every few seconds, exposing ridges of shimmering obsidian. The air baked his shell. He soon discovered why: a Glass Sand‑Serpent coiled around a vent fissure, absorbing geothermal heat. Its translucent scales refracted light into rainbows that danced on walls. Though only a two‑star predator, its acid saliva could corrode armour.

Kai weighed cost vs. reward: moderate EXP, core, and a safer passage behind the beast. He readied the spear.

He stepped into view. Serpent’s lidless eyes locked. It hissed and steam were trailing between saw‑teeth. Tail lashed, sending shards spraying. Kai dashed sideways, avoiding a jet of acidic spit that sizzled where he had been.

He triggered Reflex Mode; the world slowed. Zig‑zagging, he closed in, spear tracing arcs. The serpent struck, but he planted a haft, vaulted overhead, landed astride its back. Tiny Tank hardened shell. He drove the spear down between vertebrae.

Serpent writhed, smashing him into a wall; HP dipped. He held, twisted blade, severed spinal thread. Monster convulsed, went limp.

[Ding! System notifications

Glass Sand‑Serpent (2★) defeated.

EXP +200

Core ×1 acquired.]

Kai hesitated the acidic fluids dribbled. Essence Eater risk? One taste told him the energy roiled with scorching volatility. He pulled back. "Not worth melting my stomach."

He sheathed core, hurried past into breezy shafts.

The shafts merged into a gallery under the main cavern’s floor. Faint thuds overhead, "This must be Darius mining." Kai though. The sound were getting louder, deeper rumble echoed from farther along. Almost like boulders rolling.

Kai was getting closer until he reached a vast circular vault lined with petrified worm castings. At its centre stood the reason for the sound...

A Sandshard Golem. A three‑star beast born from minerals metabolised by larval of ruler worms. Twelve feet tall, body of agate layers and sandstone plates, burning emeralds for eyes. Every step it took ground grit into powder.

Kai swallowed. Alone, weakened aura, but golem stood between him and a ramp sloping toward surface fissures. He back‑tracked mentally: Mia still resting three hundred metres away. If he turned back now, golem might wander near her hideout. Decision is made.

He entered the chamber fully, spear raised. Predator Instinct whispered weaknesses: joints glowing faint red. It was softer sediment layers. Also a core node behind the breastplate.

Golem’s emerald eyes locked. It bellowed a sound like cliffs collapsing and charged at Kai.

Clang!

Spear jab glanced off stone ribs, sending shock up arms. Kai rolled, barely avoiding a hammer fist that cratered the floor. He slashed at the ankle joint; some shards flew but the plate held.

He retreated, assessing. "Need more leverage..." The room’s columns could be used.

Kai sprinted toward the leftmost pillar. Golem lumbered after, ruining the path with every stomp. Kai leapt, kicked off the column and then he swapped direction mid‑air, landing on golem’s shoulder.

He stabbed down at the neck seam, spear tip wedged. Golem roared, spinning, trying to swat him. He yanked spear free, ducked stone hand, but centrifugal force flung him outward. Tiny Tank absorbed blow but HP ‑110. He skidded across gravel.

Breaths quickened. Aura 1 800. He activated Worker’s Resilience, boosting stamina; slight aura cost but he’d accept fatigue later.

He needed bigger penetration. He unsheathed a backup obsidian knife taken from maw‑bat caches. He fainted low; when golem stomped, he tucked, rolled between legs, slicing inner knee seam as he passed. Crack! A slab cleaved, golem staggered one step.

Kai dashed up broken thigh like a ladder, reaching mid‑back. There, a seam glowed brighter, a core conduit! He drove the spear with all weight. It punched half‑way, stuck. Spell of silence, then an energy beam burst from the wound, searing edges. Kai yanked free, dove off as golem swung elbow. Stone chunk flew, missing.

Now chips fell from the creature’s front as internal energy leaked.