Ant Nest

Astroth inspects the cave while returning with the body of an ant monster. He used [Stealth] and [Efface] magic to move stealthily and remove all traces of the ant corpse.

Since ants are colonial insects, they could trace a missing worker ant if needed. And he never wanted to face such massive creatures in large numbers.

After a while, he arrived at Eli's resting spot.

She was awake and checking her condition. Eli was playing around as if she were on vacation. Astroth giggled the entire time, as her childlike naivety was entertaining to watch.

However, Eli couldn't notice his presence, even though he was standing just behind her. His magic was potent enough to trick elves, one of the magical races.

It encouraged him to mess with Eli. While changing his voice, he speaks using a hoarse voice, "Oh child of an elf! What are you doing in my lair?"

The unfamiliar voice startled Eli. She turned around to survey the area. To her surprise, no one was present as far as her eyes could reach.

She was frightened by the possibility of a ghost. She remembered how her father used to scare her with ghost stories.

She heard that ghosts are folklore, Hero Tatsumaki used to tell his companions. These are scary creatures in his world. According to him, ghosts are more frightening than undead monsters.

Legends about them exist in stories. Even mighty beings like Hero Tatsumaki feared them, so how could someone fight them?

Despite numerous claims of ghosts roaming around the world today, no proof has ever been found. They were all either banshees or undead.

In this world, most undead beings are monsters. Therefore, ghosts are present only in fiction created by the hero.

But this legend could easily scare someone if they heard the stories, which is why a voice with no source panicked Eli. Being unaware of this fact, Astroth kept his play rolling.

Eli looks around with a cold sweat running down her spine. She quivered while speaking.

"Wh-Who is there? Where are you? "

"Keke, You entered my home without knowing the owner. Are you asking to be killed?"

His bold statement sucked her blood dry. Her face was pale, heartbeat rose and beat loudly. She picks up her courage and asks, "Wh-Who are you?"

"I am a mighty being who lives secluded from this world." He used magic to sound menacing in telepathy.

Except for her, no one could hear his voice since he never wanted to attract monsters, spoiling his fun.

Eli asks what this mighty lord wanted as an apology for barging into his home without permission. Finally, Astroth starts giving silly orders such as hopping, dancing, headstands, etc. He enjoyed his time in this hilarious situation.

Now Eli starts panting and asks for the name of the mighty being. Astroth laughs and replies, "I am the lord of this world, A..S...T..R...O..T.H."

Eli felt the ground slip under her feet. Suddenly, the fear left her body, and she knew what was happening. Yelling in rage, she picked up her bow and began to shoot everywhere, destroying parts of the cave with her arrows.

Astroth was terrified and panicking from her rage, but it was necessary to stop her from attracting ant monsters. He prepared himself for a worthy sacrifice.

Slowly, he approached her from behind and grabbed her bow, Snatching away her weapon and binding her with magic.

He revealed his presence after she stopped her actions. Eli was irritated, and this time his joke veered too far. She gritted her teeth when Astroth showed up.

Astroth tried to calm her and apologized many times. Even though he felt sorry, he didn't unbind her, knowing her anger was hard to appease this time.

Suddenly, she forgave him and asked him to release her from the bind. Astroth was skeptical of her behavior; however, she was calmer for an angry person.

He believed in her words and released the binding magic. She stretches her arms and legs with an expressionless face. She approached Astroth, who was standing while maintaining some distance. Due to his experience, He had some reservations about her temper.

She stands before him and smiles sinisterly. Suddenly, Astroth felt his survival instinct alerting him. Before his reaction, Eli kicked him in the crotch.

He felt severe pain and dropped to his knees. Today he realized the true worth of scales, as his scales took the brunt of the blow. His private parts were safe and sound for future use.

She turns around and sits far away with a snobbish attitude.

Astroth recollects himself and apologizes for his unnecessary humor. Aware of her hunger, he offers the ant corpse food.

Eli misunderstood his gesture as another form of teasing and grunts, "Who would eat such a disgusting thing?"

Astroth realized that she misunderstood his offer. Left with no other choice, he sits alone to eat. After a long time, he had something to eat, and he was about to enjoy something new.

He plucks one of its legs; a yellow and viscous fluid flows from it. While the odor was putrid, it was the most nutritious food source in the cave.

Astroth felt nauseous when he sniffed the liquid. He blocks his nose and licks a bit. Keeping its salty flavor aside, it was edible to some extent.

Eli glanced at him and felt disgusted. Her frustration with Astroth poured fuel on the fire. She would never eat anything nasty in her life.

Because of his monster taste buds, Astroth was okay with almost anything. Still, his human conciseness limits him to certain things.

He would never consume something humanoid since that would be cannibalism for his human heart. For now, he had had his fill with this strange fluid.

--

Growl

Suddenly a loud sound echoes in the cave. Astroth glanced at Eli. She clutched at her stomach tightly, her face flushed.

Her stomach starts rumbling against her will. The last time she ate something was outside the dungeon.

Since they had a lot of action in the dungeon, her body was nearing its limit. Unfortunately, no one knows how long they had to stay in the cave.

Astroth slowly crossed the leg of an ant monster to her side. He turned to the other side to make her comfortable.

With nothing else to eat, Eli lifts the leg. She glanced at Astroth to check whether he was peeking or not.

Confirming her privacy, she sniffs the leg. When she smelled its unpleasant odor, she felt sick. She grips her nose in an attempt to stop her sense of smell.

Within a moment, she swallowed the whole liquid. As expected, it was difficult to endure the nauseating feeling. Astroth pats her back to make her ease. She avoids looking at him the entire time, possibly to avoid showing her weakness.

--

Astroth briefed her on their situation after their challenging lunch. He tells her about the ants and the dungeon.

For now, he recommends finding an exit and returning as the dungeon could be dangerous.

Eli remembers the sighting of massive ants from time to time on the surface, implying there must be a way out from their nest.

As a means of finding an exit, they decide to survey the ant nest, strengthening themselves as they progress.