Opportunity

The dragons seemed surprised as if they had never thought the ants' reinforcement would be that many. They then tightened their formation and got ready to defend the attacks.

The new ant's troop then passed their ant companions and hit the dragon's formation.

Ace was a little skeptical at the ants' struggles. In his eyes, the level was everything. With their level difference of more than 15, what the ants did was just a suicide attack. Even if they could kill a dragon or two dragons with their desperate attack, it wouldn't change their fate.

The battle was going on for more than 5 minutes since the reinforcement came. The ants succeeded in killing 3 dragons. Ace was shocked that the majority of the ants had leveled up. At the moment, he was aware that the levels of the dragons and ants were not linear. Some dragons were at level 26 and 27. Even a dragon in the center of the formation was level 28.

On another hand, the ants' levels were more varied. Many of them were at levels 9 and 10, but some of them had levels more than 10. Ace finally understood what this war was happening for.

'It's too cruel, many lives were sacrificed just so some of them could level up. Survival of the fittest, huh! Is it the truth about this game setting?' Ace said in his heart.

At the moment Ace understood why the major granite ants were placed at the outer of their territory. Other than to guard their territory and to hunt, their arrangement was intended so they could grow stronger. As soldiers of the colony, the stronger they were, the stronger the colony.

'But if all monsters are like them, the population of monsters would reduce at a rapid pace as time goes on. Because they would kill each other to get stronger and don't forget about humans, other races, and players, they would do the same,' Adam said.

10 minutes later, 6 more dragons were killed and many more ants either. Ace gave up counting the ant casualties because of how often they were killed by the dragons, but he was sure the number was more than a thousand. Waves of ants came to reinforce the troop of ants. Ace had to climb a tall tree to hide, as many ants sometimes passed the place where he was watching the battle.

"They are retreating!?" Ace murmured in a shocked tone. He had never imagined the dragon army would retreat. 

The dragons in their formation turned back and rapidly retreated. The ants knew that they almost won, so they were chasing them. 

Looking at the two troops entering a forest, Ace couldn't help to be disappointed, "Is it only like that! Isn't it too anticlimactic?!"

He then jumped to the ground and intended to come back to the hill. However, a thought came to him, "Hey… it's okay right to take some benefits."

A naughty smile rose on his face. He then inspected the area around him stealthily. After making sure it was safe, he came carefully to the battlefield. 

There were some living ants who were immobilized on the battlefield. They were there because they had been maimed as the outcomes of the war. Some of them lost some legs or some parts of their torso, so they were immobilized.

Ace guessed the ants were not like humans who some of them had the ability to take care of the wounded ones, as no healthy ants were there to take care of them. They seemed to be left behind to wait for their unavoidable death.

"Don't have a grudge against me, okay! I came to end your suffering for some benefits," Ace said besides a mortality wounded ant. A barrage of card attacks then came to the astonished ant.

-36

-60

-20

-52

-76

-60

Because Ace was afraid of the arrival of other ants that came to clean up the battlefield, he did it hurriedly. After killing the ant, the pleasant voice was heard in his consciousness.

[You level up to level 3]

"So rich!" Adam exclaimed. He thought he would level up after killing some ants. He then realized the ant that he had killed was from the upper caste in the colony of ants, moreover, it was a level 8 monster, so the experience that he gained was of course abundant.

The level ups were certainly a bountiful gift for him. In hell difficulty, every power growth was essential. What really made him feel guilty because he couldn't share this fortune with his family. 

He understood that his time was limited. The ants could come at any time. It was impossible to bring his family to this place, as it would be too time-consuming and wasn't safe because they could meet the ants on the way here. He guessed that the minor ants would be notified to come here soon to bring the 'food' to their nest. So he decided to 'harvest' them alone.

He then came to another wounded ant and did the same act. The ant made some countless gestures, but nothing could stop Ace now. He gulped a bottle of blue potion every time his mana was almost empty. He needed to kill two ants to level up to level 4 and then he killed three ants to level up to level 5. 

[You level up to level 5]

[You get a new skill: 'leap']

He was overwhelmed by the joy. He then looked at the description of his new skill.

Leap (level 1): could jump vertically up to 5 meters. Be careful while landing, as it can cause some damage to the user if performed inappropriately. Mana usage: 5, Cooldown: 10 seconds.

Ace was satisfied with his new skill. He thought of some feasible maneuvers that could enrich his battle style.

He didn't engulf himself in the festive mood too long as he had a limited time.

After killing the 23rd ant which was the last living ant, he leveled up to level 10 and gained something from his job. It was not a skill but a new trait, a trait that related to his new skill. Ace then opened his status window.

[Ace Nightglow]

Race: Human

Job: Joker

Level 10 Exp: 16%

HP: 1130

MP: 630

Strength: 51

Agility: 209 (+37)

Magic: 130

Physical Defense: 58 (+7)

Magic Defense: 58 (+7)

Vitality: 65

HP recovery: 0.325/sec

MP recovery: 0.65/sec

Traits: 

# Ultra sensitive senses: Have strengthened senses. Becoming aware of most details around the user. 

# Cat flexibility: Have a flexible body. Will not die when falling down from a high position.

Ace couldn't stop to grin. He felt he was lucky to come here. He never thought level up to be this easy. He thought maybe the hell difficulty was a blessing in disguise. Although he and his family started in the middle of ant's colony, they never had any difficulty in hunting. They had to be patient, waiting for the right target, and then ambushed them. On average the duration of the battles was less than 2 minutes. It could be said as a smooth activities.

As he took the last white crystal that was floating above the ant's carcass, he felt like hearing something. It was like a weak breath. If Ace didn't have sensitive senses including hearing, he wouldn't catch the noise. 

Ace then tried to detect the source of the voice. And saw a dragon 10 meters from him that should be dead opened his eyes.

"So, you realize, huh!" A deep voice came from the mouth of the dragon. 

***