Stepping out of the narrow cave passage, the four finally entered a wider chamber of the underground network. This section opened into several branching tunnels, and the crystals growing along the ceiling were larger here, glowing faintly and illuminating the cavern with a cold bluish light.

But none of that was what caught their attention.

Right in the center of the cavern stood a massive insectoid creature, an ant monster easily over two meters tall. Its glossy black exoskeleton gleamed beneath the crystal light as it hunched over another dead ant monster, violently ripping into its skull.

Its hooked legs dug into the corpse, breaking through the shell with loud cracking sounds. Mandibles clamped down and tore through flesh, pulling out chunks of meat as dark purplish blood splattered across the stone floor.

Creeee cree cree

Its screech echoed off the cave walls as it fed, eerie and sharp enough to crawl under their skin.

The four of them stopped instantly at the cavern's entrance, frozen in place. Their hearts kicked into overdrive. Even without getting close, they could tell this was no low-tier creature. From the size of its body, the sharpness of its mandibles, and the density of its exoskeleton, this had to be either a high-tier basic monster or, worse, an awakened monster.

If it was awakened, then it had an ability.

Which meant killing it would be hell.

"What do we do now…?" Kira whispered.

That tiny whisper was a mistake.

Elton had warned them these evolved insectoid monsters didn't rely on sight or smell alone. They were hypersensitive to vibrations and sound. The ant had been too absorbed in its feeding to detect their body heat, but Kira's whisper carried through the cavern.

The monster's head snapped up.

CREEEEEEE!

Its mandibles clicked violently as it locked its attention on the four of them.

"Shit," Aren muttered.

Without hesitation, the massive ant lunged forward, its legs slamming into the ground with sharp, rapid cackling noises.

All four scattered instantly.

The creature's eyes zeroed in on Kira, the source of the sound.

It charged.

In pure desperation, Kira raised her hand. Frost swirled around her arm, and a barrage of massive ice lances formed in the air. She fired them in rapid succession.

The ice spears slammed into the ant's head and upper body. The impact shattered the spears instantly, spraying shards across the cavern floor, but the force was strong enough to push the monster back several steps.

Kira staggered backward, gasping for breath as she switched her stance. Despite being an awakened, something in her expression had shifted. Raw fear flickered in her eyes.

She wasn't scared of the wolves.

She wasn't scared of awakened enemies.

But this thing,

Her hands trembled.

Leon noticed and frowned. "Wait… are you scared of insects?"

Kira shot him a sharp glare, refusing to answer, but the tremor in her breathing said enough.

Her fear was real.

"It doesn't matter right now," Leon said, stepping forward. "We have to kill it."

He raised his hand, metal swirling into shape around his arm. A long, razor-edged metallic blade formed, gleaming under the crystal light as he aimed it at the ant.

The ant snapped its mandibles toward Leon the moment he prepared to attack, instantly identifying him as the next threat. It lunged, legs hammering into the stone, but Leon didn't flinch. He stood calm, the metal sword hovering above him.

The instant the creature entered range,

Whshhh!

Leon unleashed the blade.

It tore through the air toward the ant's head, but at the last second the monster jerked its massive skull aside. The sword plunged into its shoulder instead, piercing through the exoskeleton and driving deep into flesh.

The ant shrieked

CREEEEEE!

Pain stopped it cold.

That was all the opening Aren and Aiden needed.

Aren's wolf guard snapped into existence, covering his arm. Aiden tightened his grip on his sword, feet digging into the ground.

The two shot forward from opposite angles.

But the ant wasn't going to die quietly.

Its mandibles split open wider than before, and a gush of green liquid poured out, shaping into jagged blades midair as it secreted a toxic mist. The poisonous blades streaked toward them at blinding speed.

Aren threw his guard up.

Aiden did the same.

BANG!

The acidic projectiles slammed into their defenses, pushing both of them back. They skidded across the stone floor, boots scraping hard.

"Shit!"

All three cursed at once. Now they understood.

This wasn't just a big monster.

It was an awakened monster with an awakened ability, but they couldn't let that hinder them.

Aren surged forward again, summoning Fang beside him. Fang charged ahead, slamming into the ant's side and forcing it off balance. The creature snapped its mandibles into Fang's neck, but the shadow wolf twisted its body, dragging the monster sideways and exposing a vulnerable angle.

Aren attacked immediately.

A claw strike erupted from his arm, smashing into the ant's skull and carving a deep crack through its exoskeleton. It wasn't enough to kill it, but enough to stagger the beast.

Aiden leaped high, sword raised for a killing thrust.

Leon summoned another metal blade that shot toward the creature with incredible speed.

This should have ended it.

But the ant opened its mandibles and let out a screech unlike the first

CREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

A piercing, echoing scream that shook the entire cavern.

The sound bounced through every tunnel, every passageway, and then,

Cree… cree… cree…

Shk shk shk shk

Dozens of responses came from the darkness.

The finishing strikes landed, Aiden's sword stabbing directly into the ant's head, Leon's blade smashing through its torso. The monster collapsed, dead.

But none of them celebrated.

Because the echoes coming from deeper inside the cavern told them exactly what was sprinting toward them.

This awakened ant was likely a low-tier awakened. That alone had been difficult.

If more were coming…

Their expressions darkened.

Kira swallowed. "What do we do?"

Leon glanced back toward the passage they had come from. "We can retreat."

Aren immediately shook his head.

"You can go if you want. But I'm not dragging this mess back to camp. That's more than a hundred deaths on our hands. As much as I don't care for anyone, I'll deal with my own issue."

He cracked his neck, a grin forming.

"Besides… this is the perfect chance to farm soul fragments. I say we level up. Also, i don't want to run back to camp after leaving them. "

The confidence in his voice hit them like a spark.

Leon's lips curled up. Aiden stepped beside Aren.

Kira clenched her fists, still shaken but refusing to keep trembling. She forced a long breath out, steadying herself.

She was here to survive. She wasn't letting her fear win.

The creaking grew louder.

The ground trembled.

Then—

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Insects burst out from every passage, pouring into the cavern, dozens of them, rushing forward with mandibles wide, legs scraping, bodies vibrating with hunger as they charged at the four awakened with murderous intent.

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