14

―― The error message contained in a single line contains a lot of information! First, the name Ali. "Infantry ant" might be the species name of these ants, which literally means infantry ants.

From this name, it can be inferred that these ants are social creatures, and there must be a higher entity using these ants as infantry. And that higher entity, as read from the words "controlled by another character."

Perhaps this is a queen within the nest.

This treasure system is similar to the organizational structure of a company or other corporations. Its leader, in this case, the ruler, takes advantage of the entire organization - in this case, the experience - and distributes it within the organization to work together as one organism. This is similar to how social animals like ants and bees interact.

Perhaps initially, "Usage" was a skill prepared for social creatures like ants. It's like a skill prepared for a specific species, like "Claw Attack" or "Bite" possessed by ice wolves.

It might also be possible for players to acquire "Claw Attack" by attaching a bear's arm or something similar to a human body magically like a chimera, or by other means, but this is a fundamental possibility.

'At first glance, this should be a special skill for supernatural creatures.'

Even so, if they were indeed born that way, then despite having 'Usage,' they might not have basic skills like 'Mental Magic' or 'Summoning.' "But, this is just speculation."

Although they may not have those skills, if they do have them, it could be a problem. With Leah's currently high MND, she might be able to resist much stronger 'Mental Magic' skills, but other team members wouldn't.

Fortunately, 'Command' and 'Fear' seem effective on infantry ants, and it would be safer for Leah to go alone.

"I will go alone. It seems 'Command' works, and even if we go in large numbers, only one person can fight at the front line at that hole."

"But Boss, if the ants come in large numbers, it's impossible to control them all at once, right? That's too dangerous. At least we need someone who can be a shield."

"At the very least, I should go with you. I can slow down their movements with cold, so it gives time for the Boss to use her magic."

"To monitor the movements of the ants, it might be better if I activate 'Hearing Enhancement'."

"In this dark hole, my eyes might be useless ... But, more shields wouldn't be a problem, right?"

Leah's plan to explore alone met opposition from the humanoid wolves, and eventually all members of the human group decided to enter the cave together.

Since ice wolves cannot enter the cave, they were instructed to guard the entrance while the human members explored the cave to follow the ants.

"First, I have to give you names," said Leah. She decided to name the previously unnamed ice wolves. "The absence of names will make it difficult to call them with 'Summoning.' I won't know which wolf I'm summoning."

As Kelly suggested to be a shield, they might need the summoned ice wolves to face situations where they are attacked by large numbers of enemies. This would give them a significant advantage.

"You will be given names in order. You males will be 'Buzhui,' and you females will be 'Jietu,'" Leah named the ice wolves. "When we call them, we must be able to distinguish who we are calling. Ice wolves, no one knows will come."

After naming the ice wolves, Leah, Kelly, Marion, Remy, and Riley entered the cave.

In the narrow and dark cave, despite the five of them crawling, they moved slowly.

The stone floor and walls felt slippery. The nearest might be stalactites. It's difficult to imagine how a cave could have a round tunnel-like structure like this, so it's most likely the result of supernatural creatures' actions. Nonetheless, if the stone walls were rough, Leah's clothing might have been damaged, and she might have to thank the creature for it.

Despite the slippery surface, they couldn't crawl with their knees directly on the hard ground because it could damage their skin. If that happened, they would surely be punished by their leader. Things like this can only be "experienced" in the VR world.

Finally, they emerged from the narrow tunnel and entered a room large enough to stand in. For ants, this was a large enough area to deploy as a squadron, and for them, it was enough to form formations.

"We caught the guards who were here before when we returned. Probably, other ants realized that there were no guards and chased us."

"Understood. Why are there no guards now? Perhaps because they know we've noticed their presence and strengthened their defenses in easier-to-defend locations."

They might have never been attacked from this direction before, so an exaggerated response is reasonable.

And worse, they are a group disliked by ants and ice wolves.

"Although it's still narrow, it seems we can stand and walk from here. Let's move on."

They formed a line as before and continued their journey.

Kelly drew her short sword and remained vigilant, while Remy and Riley held their bows on their backs.

Usually, Marion would also draw her weapon, but now she remained wary with both her hands empty. Perhaps she needed equipment that could help in casting magic. Maybe she needed to steal it from someone. However, there was no money to buy it.

They continued their steps more cautiously than before, and Remy's ears caught the presence of ants.

"Up ahead, there might be a lot. There are many, but it seems like not many are moving. Are they waiting to ambush...?"

Perhaps the battle would start soon. Leah instructed Marion to be ready with her ability to emit cold, while she herself concentrated to quickly cast 'Charm'. Although the success rate might decrease without 'Self-Failure Preparation', scattering it on many ants could significantly weaken them. 'Self-Failure Preparation' can only be applied to one target.

They arrived at a small room filled with densely packed ants. Although there was no light source, the ground surface appeared black and glistening. Although Leah wasn't afraid of insects, she felt an instinctual aversion seeing the sight.

However, if they could turn these ants into their strength in the next few hours, perhaps they would see it differently.

Good. Currently, it's just an unrealized plan. The ants should be aware of their presence, but they're not moving because they haven't received orders yet. Perhaps something is planned by an individual equivalent to the ant queen, but Leah didn't want to wait for that.

"Charm."

Most of the ants immediately turned towards Leah. They were the ones who failed against 'Charm'. Among the slightly larger ants behind, one-third of them managed to resist. In other words, all small ants and two-thirds of the large ants had been neutralized. This was a greater effect than expected.

"Marion, please."

"Alright, Boss."

Marion stepped forward. Amidst the mostly upright ants unaffected by 'Charm', Marion filled the room with her cold.

Although not actually very powerful magic, if the target doesn't move, it can be quite effective by buying time. Marion's INT is much higher compared to the players at the beginning of the game.

If these ants were placed based on the initial strength of the players when the game started, then even if they weren't designed for battle, they wouldn't be able to withstand Marion's magic.

In the cave chosen first by Leah, coincidentally, it's a unique headquarters which is a unique boss.

There's a plan for the Mountain Cat thief group.

Outside the cave, there's also a boss-class ice wolf.

So, where are the disruptors who were supposed to be Leah's opponents? They're most likely these ants.

Shortly after, the ants were covered in frost, and no one moved in the room except Leah and her companions.

"Darn, I should've made warm clothes from the boar skin earlier."

This cave is quite cold. Moreover, they'll have to step on the frozen ants after this. Although not overly intolerant to cold, they need to be prepared to lose stamina due to the low temperature.

"Oh, I didn't plan on wasting time, let's finish this quickly."

The ants left in the Mountain Cat's nest, at least at departure, still hadn't thawed at all. Perhaps due to Marion's high INT, it takes time for them to thaw. Or maybe because the temperature in this cave is low, making it difficult for them to thaw.

The ants frozen in this room also won't move for several hours. The temperature in this room is much lower than the Mountain Cat's nest.

The previous battle went very smoothly. It was even too smooth to be called a battle. In fact, there were no attacks that occurred.

According to Leim, there's likely the same type of ant ahead that remained silent and motionless.

The place exists, he said.

So, it's better to leave first before assistance comes from there and finish the battle as before.

Now is probably the time when the Queen hasn't realized the contents of this battle yet. It's better to go to the Queen's palace before she notices it. "Let's go, be careful not to slip."

After that, we continued through narrow corridors and low-ceilinged rooms, and each time we disabled ants with the same method. It turns out, those were common forms of tunnels and rooms found in ant nests. Although there were branches, we chose the direction away from the exit, heading underground.

The number of ants we disabled was quite a lot. Although we didn't kill any, and although the difference in strength and suitability made this battle one-sided, we managed to gain a lot of experience. Although it's only about 4 experience per ant, we already gained around 400 experience.

"Hmm... It seems there's no group of ants like before up ahead. Only one, maybe."

It seems the defense has been stopped. If it's not an egg chamber or a food storage, then it must be the Queen's chamber. Are there no guards?

"Alright. Let's remain cautious and continue."

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