Chapter 4 : A Morning Test 3

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Itekan smiled.

Metal, huh? he thought. I can just burn it down.

Kicking off from his hiding spot, he launched himself at the nearest chimera ant. As he closed the distance, he swung a pair of pincers coated in spiritual energy at its neck. In an instant, a thin metallic film shimmered into existence around the ant's throat. His pincers clashed against it—and bounced off violently, flinging him backwards.

Skidding to a stop, Itekan gritted his teeth and yanked two more pincers from the pockets of his joggers.

"Mini Chajama!" he roared, his hands flashing through a series of signs as he flung the pincers into the air.

Two searing fireballs formed—fewer than usual, but each blazed with far more heat and intensity. He hurled them at the pincers mid-flight, igniting them in brilliant orange flames. The burning weapons slammed into the metallic barrier. A burst of fire erupted, and the chimera ant shrieked in agony.

Thud!

Its charred body collapsed lifelessly to the ground.

The second guard reacted instantly. Its mandibles parted wide and unleashed a sharp, inaudible soundwave—a frequency too high for Itekan to hear, but powerful enough to summon help.

But Itekan was already on the move.

He darted in close and plunged his pincers straight into one of its beady black eyes. Green fluid burst from the ruptured socket as the creature shrieked and staggered. It swung a massive pincer at his ribs. Itekan, gripping the embedded pincers for leverage, vaulted upward just in time to avoid the swipe and landed deftly atop the ant's carapace.

"Gotcha!" he grinned.

Letting go of his impaled weapon, he flipped backward, landing lightly a few paces away. His hand snapped up, fingers pointed like a gun.

"Chajama!"

He formed the signs again, faster this time.

A barrage of fireballs rained down onto the chimera ant, engulfing it in roaring flames. When the blaze faded, only a blackened husk remained.

Itekan rose to his feet, standing over the smoldering corpse. He had done it. Just beyond this cave entrance lay the queen—and her clutch of eggs.

His breath slowed, but his chest still heaved slightly. His spiritual energy was nearly spent. I need to rest before I go further. He turned to search for a safe place to recover.

But then—it happened.

Before he could move, a deep instinct screamed through every pore of his body. The hairs on his neck bristled. Death was near. And she was coming for him.

Without hesitation, he dove to the side.

A razor-sharp pincer cleaved through the air he had just vacated, slicing it cleanly in two.

Itekan landed hard and rolled to his feet, sweat pouring down his face. Before him loomed a monster—another chimera ant of the same type, but towering, broader, and pulsing with power. Much bigger. Much stronger.

He stepped back reflexively. His weapons were gone. His spiritual energy reserves were bone dry.

Itekan knew it.

He was cooked.

---

A few hundred meters above the forest, Carpathia watched intently. His brow furrowed. He had felt the sonic call—the chimera ant's cry for reinforcements. For a brief moment, he considered descending into the fray.

But then, through the dense foliage, beyond the winding caves, he saw Itekan's face. That determined gaze. He had not given up.

He was still calculating, still searching for a way to win.

Carpathia's expression softened. He folded his arms and remained hidden. He hasn't lost yet.

He decided to keep watching from the shadows.

---

Itekan scanned the cavern frantically. Anything. Anything I can use…

Nothing. The cave passage offered no loose stones or debris large enough to serve as a weapon. His jaw clenched.

Slowly, deliberately, he squared his shoulders and sank into a familiar stance—one his father had taught him long ago.

His right foot slid back. His left foot angled forward. His hands floated above his knees, his entire frame coiled like a spring.

It was called Indomitable Fists. A defensive stance.

But when executed perfectly, it could release an explosive counterattack with staggering offensive power.

For a few tense seconds, the two combatants stared each other down. In reality, less than ten seconds passed.

Then—the chimera ant lunged. Its pincer slashed through the air, aiming straight for Itekan's neck.

He pivoted sharply, dragging his back foot across the dirt. His torso twisted sideways, narrowly evading the lethal swipe.

Warmth bloomed across his ribs. Blood seeped through his shirt. Despite his precision, the ant's speed exceeded his own—the tip of the pincer had grazed him.

Itekan hissed through gritted teeth. He dodged again, sidestepping another strike, but the beast's momentum clipped his thigh, tearing flesh.

They circled each other— a deadly dance of cuts and evasions. Itekan's focus remained razor-sharp, enduring every shallow wound.

He was stalling.

Then—his moment came.

As he dodged one final swipe, he reset his stance. His right palm surged forward, now coated in condensed spiritual energy. His hand slammed into the ant's neck. The metallic flesh tried to harden—but the spiritual energy seeped in, cracking it from within.

Boom!

The neck burst.

The chimera ant staggered back, shrieking in pain. Itekan pressed the advantage, striking twice more in rapid succession—targeting anywhere he could reach. Limbs snapped. Carapace shattered. Green fluid gushed from ruptured wounds.

The creature faltered. One leg gone. A gaping cavity in its chest. A crater in its throat. It twitched, its regenerative mechanisms struggling to activate.

Itekan didn't give it the chance.

He had endured those slashes for a reason. Over the past few days, he had learned that his spiritual energy replenished itself every ten minutes when exhausted. He had bought just enough time.

"Maximum Chajama!!" he bellowed.

Grabbing the creature's mutilated neck with one hand, he summoned a massive fireball in the other. It burned so intensely that the surrounding cave walls blackened and began to melt.

With a roar, he rammed the inferno into the chimera ant.

Flames erupted violently.

The creature writhed, convulsed, and let out an unearthly shriek before collapsing into a smoldering heap.

Itekan didn't linger. Without wasting a second, he sprinted deeper into the caverns and burst into the queen's chamber.

There she was.

A titanic worm-like creature sprawled across the cavern floor. Her bee-like head twitched gently. Her grotesque, bloated form curled protectively around a mound of eggs, each shimmering in a kaleidoscope of colors.

But one egg stood apart.

Itekan spotted it beneath the massive folds of her pulsating body—a golden egg, radiating a purer, denser spiritual energy than anything he had ever felt. Even purer than what he had absorbed at the mountain.

He crept closer.

Before he had covered much ground, the queen stirred. Her colossal body shifted, peeling back slightly to reveal the coveted egg in full.

Her many eyes locked onto Itekan.

And then—

She spoke.