[ Hidden skills:
Soul shaping: unlock after reaching level 20. (Can be used only 3 times.) ]
'Of course it's locked…. Can't get anything easily, huh?' Noah sighed, clacking his mandibles in disappointment. But he still stared at the hidden skill.
'Soul shaping…' Noah flicked his antenna in the air, his thoughts bubbling inside his head.
'From the name, it's obvious that it is something related to souls. But why limited use?' Noah questioned, his compound eyes shining brightly. 'Is it so strong that it can't be used freely? '
Noah's mind raced, thinking about some world-shattering skills like annihilating everyone's soul within his vicinity. Or changing monster souls and turning them into horrifying beings beyond human comprehension.
Noah let out a sigh. 'Oh well, it's not like I am in a hurry to know about it. Once I reach level 20, I will get the answer anyway. ' Noah thought as he shifted his eyes to the next skill.
[•Gate: Tap to see the information about this skill. (Can only be used 1 time.) ]
'This is also a limited-use skill… sigh…' Noah sighed. 'I will check on it later. Let's first explore this ant nest.' Noah decided.
After all, it was better than wasting his time pondering about the skills he can't use. Noah turned off his system and decided to go into one of the tunnels.
Walking out of the large rock chamber, Noah entered into one of the tunnels. The tunnel was wide easily enough for a group of four humans to walk through. And the ceiling was effortlessly reaching more than 30 meters in height.
The tunnel was connected to another main tunnel, and from the distance, Noah was able to see a group of large red ants hurriedly rushing past him. Their large, crimson body towers above Noah's black exoskeleton.
They didn't bother Noah, minding their own business, rushing to the main tunnel before disappearing from view. Noah followed those ants, entering into the main tunnel.
And as soon as he took the first step inside, Noah felt his antenna twitch. Noah was able to smell a myriad of pheromone scents, and this time he was able to clearly distinguish the meaning behind each of them.
Like food storage over there. Broods go over there, need more worker ants here. The queen's chamber over there.
'hoooo. This is fascinating, fascinating indeed. But what should I do first?' Noah stood for a moment, his antenna rubbing over his head.
'From the conversation I had with that ugly goblin. He had clearly stated, I will be reborn after the 3rd failed attempt of the Jeju Island raid. Meaning, I still have 3 years before the canon starts.'
Noah's mind raced, before he came to one conclusion. 'I need to fully understand the colony's status first before I take any action.' Noah concluded.
From Noah's perspective, it is the most logical action he should take right now. He doesn't have any OP skills yet, not before he levels up. What he has right now is a very limited time, so gathering the most information before taking action was the priority.
Noah pondered in his head, before he turned to one of the chambers. His small ant legs briskly taking him into the large cave.
The chamber was the same as any other one, with rocky walls and a high ceiling. But the thing inside was different.
'As I thought.' Noah stared inside, his eyes staring at the pile of 'food' with disgust and revulsion.
Yes, it was the food storage chamber. And Noah wasn't disappointed by what he saw inside. A pile of ant carcasses mixed with human bodies was mangled into a corner of the chamber.
'As expected, the ants don't have much food remaining. Perhaps this stock will only last for a week before they start to cannibalize each other. ' Noah sighed. 'Well, the Korean hunter association's plan to starve out the ant didn't work out in the canon anyway. So no difference here.'
Noah walked out of the food chamber; his plan was the same. Get more information.
…
After exploring the whole ant nest for who knows how many hours, Noah came to a single conclusion.
'Great, this ant nest is in shambles. ' Noah grunted in his mind, rubbing his antenna on his head frustration. 'But at least I got the gist of everything now.' Noah chirped happily.
First came the ants themselves. Ants were thin in number, and Noah can guess the reason behind that. 'The 3rd Jeju Island raid may have been a failure for the Korean Hunter Association. But for the ant colony, it was a disaster, since nearly two-thirds of the whole colony died fighting them.' Noah sighed, before shifting his thoughts to other information.
As mentioned in the canon, the ants were the same here. They differentiated into two types. The red ant and the white ants.
Thanks to ant encyclopedia, Noah was able to know the red ants were the supposed—Myrmica Variant Ants. These red ants made up the most of the workforce in the colony, separated into soldiers, brood tenders, and now guards of The Queen. They were around low A-rank in strength.
The white ants were similar to canon; these white ants were the swarm leader of red ants. They had the strength on par with S-ranks. But every single one of them was dead. Noah predicted that the white ants either perished by the hands of Korean S-rank hunters. But probably it was their sacrifice that made the hunters finally back away. So, respect.
And then finally, another type of ant wasn't supposed to be born this early. Noah clacked his mandibles gleefully, his eyes glittering in the dark cave.
The Formica variant. Or it also can be called the Black Ant, just like Beru was before he was turned into a Shadow by Sung.
'But I am different from Beru; he was born stronger than most S-ranks. While, I am just D-rank right now.' Noah sighed, before focusing his attention on the next problem.
The ants were running short on the food, and Noah can already predict what will happen after a week. The ants would start to cannibalize each other in order to evolve into winged ants.
But that wasn't what bothered Noah. But it was the Queen's behavior that didn't make sense to him.
Noah turned his head, his eyes locking on the sight of the massive white ant. Noah was now in the queen's chamber, watching The queen closely with his compound eyes.
The Queen, as usual, was surrounded by her loyal entourage. The red ants were dutifully cleaning her white carapace, some bringing her more food. So she can concentrate on laying and growing the colony.
But there was a big problem: the Queen wasn't laying any eggs.
Noah was surprised to find out that aside from him coming out of the egg, there wasn't any egg left. Meaning he was the only ant that came out.
And that's how Noah was finally able to understand the reason for why the whole colony felt gloomy and dark. Because the Queen, the heart of the colony, wasn't laying eggs.
'What happened to her?' Noah stared at the white ant, his own antenna unknowingly twitching in worry.
The red ants were scurrying around the queen, the ants grooming her more and bringing her more food. But the Queen refused to even look at the food.
The red ants were panicking. Which, even though it was bad, looked pretty cute in Noah's eyes.
Noah went closer to the massive ant, striding past the red ants. The Queen slightly turned her head to Noah, her large, glittering eyes looking at Noah.
Noah didn't know why, but he felt like the Queen's large eyes, which would scare any normal human away, showed a gentleness that made him feel something foreign.
"Uh… is food not liking to Queen?" Noah tried to communicate, his antenna flicking gently in the air. The queen looked at him with large eyes, but as if hearing something unsightly, she turned her head away again.
'Hmm… I guess she doesn't like the food then.' Noah clacked his mandibles, his eyes shifting to the dead carcass of an ant in front of the queen.
'I mean, eating her own children must be unpleasant to any mother. ' Noah looked at the ant carcass, his eyes shifting to the worried red ants and the stubborn Queen.
'Even monsters have some empathy, huh?' Noah thought, his mind flashing with unpleasant memories he refused to think again.
'Oh well, I think I know what to do now.' Noah's eyes flashed with determination, as he stared at the system interface, his eyes locking on a certain skill.
[ •Gate: Tap to see the information about this skill. (Can only be used 1 time.)