"Lily, you said you sensed a massive structure before."

"I did."

"Do you remember where it is?"

"Umm... I think so," she answered with a bob of her antennae.

"That’s good. Show me to where it is; I’ll see if I can track their scent towards it."

Without a second’s hesitation, Lily began leading me to the massive structure she sensed before while connected to the trees.

While we walked, I could stick to picking up their scent, which meant I was heading in the right direction.

We travelled through the sandy terrain, crossing over massive sand domes that rose into the sky like giant skyscrapers.

We passed through a powerful sandstorm that was so powerful that if I had raised my wings to fly, they would’ve been shredded.

"Master, do you see that?"

Just as the exhaustion was about to set in, Lily suddenly pointed at something in the sky.

Just beyond the horizon, there was an outline of something big. It towered into the sky, and from this distance, it looked like massive broccoli standing up.

"What is that thing? " I couldn’t help but wonder.

The closer we got, the bigger it seemed. It began to look like some kind of nest.

A structure like that must be where the drop-off to the next strata is located.

Man, that thing is as big as a city. From a distance, I could get a full view of it, but up close, it’s as wide as the eyes can see.

There were also ants circling around it, except these ants had long, sharp tails that resembled that of a scorpion.

"We should be careful. We have no idea what they are capable of."

A few of the ants were circling a wolf-like beast which lay on the ground, lifeless, while the other three directed its body.

"Stay here; I’ll handle this." I instructed Lily and the others as I moved towards the ants.

Since they were all bundled together, I decided to use the Eruption spell.

Immediately the ground under their feet sank in before spitting out a geyser of hot molten lava at the ants.

The hot liquid melted through their carapace, making its way to their internal organs. The ants ran frantically, but before they could make it far, their legs melted.

In just a few seconds the ants completely stopped and collapsed onto the ground.

[You have slain 3 void splicer ants.]

Since the ants were dead, I allowed Lily, Aphrodite and Dracule to devour whatever was left of them while I went to examine the beast the ants were dissecting.

There was a hole in its skull. If I had to guess, it was killed by the ants’ venom.

There was a rancid smell coming from the body, and all its internal organs had swollen to twice, no, 3 times their size.

Its heart alone was as big as a basketball.

Is this what their venom does? Swells your internal organs while your bones and skin stay the same size.

I shudder just imagining myself being stung by one of them.

Lily said they had the ability to collect DNA from the beast they killed and pass it onto the queen when they mate.

I guess that tail of theirs must’ve come from some scorpion monster.

"Lily, is there anything else you can tell me about these ants?" I said, turning to her for answers.

We need to know as much as possible before we proceed forward.

"Umm... the queen decides who to mate with based on how powerful the DNA they collected is. So most of the ants are in competition to see who can defeat the most powerful monsters and collect their DNA."

That may prove to be a huge problem. I woke up to several ants devouring my flesh, and they even ate the husk I left behind.

What if they gain my traits? My wings, my exoskeleton, acid, mana-seeing eyes or even my draconic bloodline.

If the queen gives birth to a new generation of ants with my DNA in them, would they acquire my skills and magic?

What if they acquire the ability to evolve just like me?

They could become a huge problem since I don’t know the extent of their ability to collect DNA.

Still, if this is the only way to the next strata, then what choice do I have but to enter?

Plus, I could sense Amanda’s scent. She was definitely here.

Not only must I get to the next strata, but I also have to get to her before they leave for the next strata.

Sigh.

Letting out a deep sigh, I entered through one of the holes in the nest.

Each hole was like the entrance of a massive cave, and the moment I entered, a cavernous space spawned before me.

There were several other similarly large holes in the ground, ceiling and walls, just like a regular ant nest.

There was no sense of direction on where exactly to go. A structure like this would be difficult for a human to traverse.

The nest branches off underground, and the section underground seems even bigger than the portion of the nest that is visible from the surface.

Where would the drop off be in such a massive structure?

If I apply game logic, then the ants and the queen could be considered the guardians of the drop-off.

So, as the guardian, it would make sense that the drop-off would be located near the queen.

Usually, an ant nest would be located in the most secured central chamber.

It will take a few days for me to get to it all while facing ants.

Speaking of which, it was as if they could sense my presence as several ants came charging in my direction.

Instinctively before they could attack, I quickly sealed the entrances with goo, leaving only one.

These monsters would be easier to fight if they were only coming from one direction.

I couldn’t allow myself to be surrounded.

Soon ants began pouring out of the only whole left that wasn’t covered. Immediately as they emerged, I sprayed them with acid.

The ants let out a sharp squeal as the acid burnt through their exoskeleton as easily as butter.

Then, combining my earth spell and mold skill, I shot pointed obsidian spikes from the ground and pierced into their bodies, killing them instantly.

[You have slain 8 D-ranked Splicer Void Ants.]

"These ants are a lot weaker than I thought they would be."

"That’s because you’re facing the older generation. The newer generation has stronger traits, but they are the ones set to protect the queen. The closer you get to the queen, the more new generation ants you’ll have to face," Lily explained.

"I see."

So that’s how it is.

While I was killing the ants, Lily, Aphrodite and Dracule were collecting the biomass.

More ants began to pour out of the single tunnel. In an instant they swept through the entire chamber like a sea.

These generations of ants were the ones with the scorpion tail. Though they weren’t powerful enough to break through my exoskeleton, my gut wrenched just thinking about what their venom would do to me if it somehow managed to make its way inside my body.

I didn’t want to take the chance, so I didn’t allow any of them to even get close to me.

Firebolts ricochet off the walls and hit my target with pinpoint accuracy. While just above their heads, the moment they entered, magma exploded from the ceiling, covering them in the hot liquid the moment they entered the room.

[You have slain 32 D-ranked Splicer Void Ants.]

After over an hour of fighting, the seemingly endless horde of ants finally stopped.

In total I killed over 300 ants and managed to level up.

But this small number of ants killed wouldn’t put even a dent in their population.

By Lily’s estimate, there are over 1000 different generations of ants living in the nest and over a million ants in total.

I could feel soft vibrations rippling through the walls.

More were coming. In such a small controlled space, if a thousand ants were to crowd in on me, then it could prove a problem.

It’s best we quickly leave. With that in mind, I hastily made my way through the nest to the next chamber.

As I moved, the tunnel became increasingly narrower. In fact it seemed as if some of them had been used in years.

The Phoenix King’s party would have a hard time getting through this. They would have to scale the walls, all while fighting the ants.

I tried searching for different signs of them, but my senses were overstimulated with the scent of the ants’ pheromones.

But every time I picked up an ant’s scent, my brain would automatically create a new consciousness to latch onto the scent so it wasn’t too overwhelming.

My brain would automatically create consciousness whenever there was any that required my attention.

It was a strange sensation. It felt as if I had a hivemind of different organisms operating inside of me, except they were all me.

So if I wanted to find where Amanda was, all I had to do was focus on the consciousness that was tracking her scent and ignore the rest.