Ant Nest (4)

A few minutes later, the clamor seemed to cease. Astroth peeped at the buzz, checking whether the way was clear.

Cough! Cough!

As soon as he stepped out of his magic, his throat choked. After a coughing fit, he glanced around to scrutinize the area.

However, black smoke obscured the region, clouding his view and lungs. He blinked and squinted his eyes, covering his mouth with his fist. He had no other choice. He turned to magic, gradually improving his vision.

Steadily, he draws mana around him, attempting to clear the air from contamination. Considering the large area, he required magic for the vast place. Because the concentration needed for wide area magic rises to another level, he had never used it before.

Everyone once had a first, and today will be his. A magic spell with Holy attributes would be appropriate for this occasion, but he feels a bitter sensation when he hears the holy word.

Still, his priority was to resolve the situation in front of him. Grunted, he invokes the mana around him with a faint voice, "[Holy cleanse]."

Whoosh!

A bright luminous wave emits from his hands, sweeping all the smoke and dust from the air. Now he had a clear view of the destruction he had created.

The chambers were almost burned, with no sign of food or ant corpses. From his perspective, embers were all that could be visible.

--

Amid this chaos, perhaps four or five ants were still standing on their multiple jointed legs. They toiled, with not even a thought of retreating.

There wasn't even one ant afraid of throwing them into the hell, trying to snuff out the flame. It's not like that would make any difference.

Flames like these were magical, and only another miracle could douse them. At least Astroth acknowledged their efforts.

Although Astroth pitied them, he ignored their wailing. He counts the remaining number of ants, not for their funeral but for his target practice.

Like any intellectual being, he never cared for these oblivious creatures. The situation could be different if their brains worked better than his.

He shook his head and yanked Eli out of the magic. She reluctantly steps out of the camouflage, rolling her eyes at the surroundings.

The scenery triggered her old memories, trembled, and shrank behind Astroth like a kitten.

The only reason she stared at the scene glumly was the trauma humans had given her as a gift. Somehow, Astroth could relate to her loss, his heart aching from an unknown agony.

Whenever he felt this, the female lady he met once came to mind, making his eyes watery. As if in a pensive reverie, he gripped his chest tightly.

--

The melancholy breaks when an ant notices the two figures standing on their turf.

Dismayed, it stares at the unknown beings in front of it. Within moments, its confusion turns to rage, and it cries aloud.

Shriek!

Now the remaining ants in the vicinity heard the howl. They turned to them with a staunch resolve to kill the intruders and charged forward.

They didn't need permission to cull the assholes who burned their home to cinders and engulfed their brothers in the mystical flames.

Their black exoskeleton mirrored their fiery red eyes. Their bloodshot eyes and sharp tentacles were ready to grind invaders.

Spooked, Eli watched them advancing towards them. While Trembling, she glanced at Astroth. He usually had a contingency plan prepared for these scenarios.

However, Naive Eli was unaware that Astroth was the one to expose their presence on his own. To improve his abilities quickly, he needs tough opponents.

The outer forest doesn't have a lot of monsters that can give him a hard time, while the inner forest still out of his league.

Hence, these tough monsters were suitable practice material, rare to come by in these areas. The dungeon could also prove beneficial for their growth, but that's for later.

So, with a pause, Eli asked, "w-what is the plan now?"

"Why do we need a plan for an already burned small fry?" Astroth grinned and nodded. "Just use them as sturdy walking targets for your bow."

Eli's eyes widened with a shine, and she shook her head in response. It made sense to her that Astroth wanted to use everything for growth. Strength was what they'll need the most in the future when facing massive threats.

Fiercely, she raised her bow, aiming two arrows same time. She had some idea of how sturdy an ant's exoskeleton was, possibly from eating one Astroth brought.

She, therefore, concluded that one arrow would not be enough against these ants and fired arrows forward. Her arrows rushed towards the ant shrouded in magic.

It punctured a hole in one of the ants, and it went on to cut a hole in another ant standing behind it.

Amazed, Astroth's eyes bugged out, dropping his jaw. Her marksmanship left a lasting impression on his heart.

Since one arrow was not enough, she used two for the deed yet killed two ants. That was an excellent use of strategy and skill.

Eli glanced at Astroth in hopes of praise for her skills. "Humph! See what I can do. You always mock me now and then."

Now that Eli could show her prowess when facing strong opponents, Astroth was overjoyed. Her low battle experience was because she had to avoid strong monsters due to the concern for her safety by the elves.

Astroth, with his astonished eyes, saw her proud, firm self and gave her his highest praise without even saying it out loud.

Although she was strong, being lonely weakened her heart, forming a barricade to her growing potential.

Now she was growing with each battle beside him. Her instincts had sharpened, increasing her magic proficiency.

His eyes widened as he saw Eli's mana rise, bringing a warm smile to his face. He turns to the remaining ants, and while staring, he says, "You have shown me something good, so wouldn't it be my courtesy to respond in kind?"

In a gesture resembling a gun, Astroth closed two fingers around his palm, aimed at the ants, and said, [Aqua Fons].

A large amount of chilled water was sprayed all over the area, providing the ants with a relaxing bath. His water collides with the hot surface, forming fuming white steam obstructing their vision.

Eli squinted her eyes, blipping the fog with her hands. Slowly, steam cleared from the area; baffled, Eli saw nothing had changed.

| What? Everything seems... usual! Did he cast the wrong spell? Oh, even Ash can make mistakes sometimes.|

She glanced at Astroth, swiveled around, and said, "Ash! I think my eyes are still cloudy, nothing has changed?", trying to tease Astroth, she winked while bumping her elbow, "Hehe...Don't tell me you made a mistake?"

Astroth shook his head, grinning, "No my dear, your eyes are well, and of course, so is my magic. No mistake! "

She pouts in her snobbish way, "Humph! You're just not admitting it! Unfair as always."

Astroth points his eyes towards the ants as he laughs, while Eli frowns and turns in the same direction.

Crack! Crack!

"W-what is this ?" Her eyes bulged out, and her mouth dropped open.

Suddenly, the sturdy exoskeleton of ants, hard enough to endure level 2 magic, starts cracking on its own. How?

This bizarre phenomenon left Eli astounded. She hardly believed what her eyes saw as she gazed at Astroth.

He chuckles, and the ants start falling to the ground one by one. With no strength left, they need one final push to ascend to heaven.

Astroth walked up to them and, in a single blow, smashed their exoskeletons to bits, leaving no one alive. He completes his work, leaving Eli in her trance.

She watched the whole gimmick with her eyes wide open, intrigued.

The moment the last ant turned to bits, she grabbed Astroth and asked what just played before her eyes. She had to use two arrows and some magic to penetrate the ants, but a splash of water was all it took to get rid of them.

How did he conjure such a miracle?

She raised eyebrows combined with her perplexed gaze, narrating her inner turmoil.

Astroth shrugs, "Your confusion says elves never used fire often. That's why you're not knowledgeable about this.

Simply, First I cooked their armor with hot scorching flames, then splashed cold water on their hot red exoskeleton.

This process removed all endurance and sucked them dry. As a result of this phenomenon, many industries cracked through heavy materials, and a lot progressed in many ways."

Her eyes shined, but a new confusion engulfed her head. "Industries?"

Astroth laughs awkwardly, scratching his cheek, "ha-ha... nothing, nothing, you heard something wrong."

|How can I explain industries to monks like elves?|

He sighed.

Eli pouts knowing he covered something but ignores it for now. However, Astroth had his gaze fixed upon the stairway to the next floor with his staunch grin…