The legs of the creatures stopped coming into its sight after a mere couple of seconds, there being enough to fully count up five [Giant-Ants]. None of those that had come in was a part of the Core’s repertoire, making it more and more obvious that there was no chance of the wandering group having come around alive. No… they had found death, and with their fatal wounds, they had alerted the nearby creatures of there being more to the minor part of the cave that the Entity lived in. The danger was coming and this was but the first step in that process.

But, now was not the time to think of the future, the present much more important. The wild ants stepped in without caution for the [Moss] under their feet, trampling it. The plant would survive with no issues, yes, but there was no chance that there wouldn't be ill effects because of it. The ideal environment had been broken. And the [Dungeon-Born] were not happy about it.

Not that the wild ants had initially noticed the other creatures, since the group started by moving straight towards the Core. That… had not been expected, the Entity not having done any real action that would spark the interest of the creatures. Though it had increased the volume of Mana being sent out, so perhaps that was the reason? That was likely the answer, though the Core was without time to think about it.

The [Dungeon-Born] creatures were able to get the initiative on the intruders, going in from all sides. However, such a tightly knit group of invaders were still lacking in true blind spots, the starting attack only having a minor effect on the invaders behind and next to no effect on those in front. [Bites] had been avoided mostly, and the counter-attack was on in an instant.

Having already attempted to bite once, most of the defenders were forced to wait a moment before their mandibles would stretch again. Yet that time was more than enough for the other party to start their own attacks. Like always, they went for the front legs. Some were smart enough to go back a little, having already experienced the tactic before. Most were not quick enough, bodies not made for backtracking. Wounds were had on the Core’s side, with none showing on the opposite. Things were not good.

The most powerful on the Entity’s side finally stepped in. They had been on the entirely different side of the clearing, making it hard to reach instantly. Yet the delay also brought more ants to the Core’s defence, and the tide slowed down. The rush was without its initial power, and it was time for the attackers yet again.

Yet with the wounds already had, it was hard for the starting defenders to put up much of a fight. Most went for the necks, that being the most obvious place for an instant kill, but with their weakened front legs most could not provide much fighting power. One attacker was killed, however, leaving four remaining.

Still having forth the starting defenders brought about ruin, though. Them being unable to defend properly only let the ants on the attacking side having so much more to reach towards. Nearly all four attackers successfully beheaded an ant in those seconds. It was gruesome and brought down the Core to six [Giant-Ants] in total. With five already having been taken away during an excursion, things were looking direr.

Until the higher-levelled ant finally started to get onto the front, walking on its dead brethren. It was the only one that had been killed before with colossal success, and it would show off these capabilities again. The Core, not wanting to lose it do a dumb mistake, however, had already prepared to cast [Healing]. It wouldn't work for a neck injury quickly enough, but it would help in nearly all other regards.

With the larger ant only just able to step inside the field where they fought, it could not coordinate an attack of any kind. This meant that the [Wild] attackers took the initiative yet again, taking a few steps forth and attacking those behind. Some could defend with ease, already sure in their positions. The larger ant on the Core’s side did so much more.

With its increased mass, it could both stop an attack from its next before using that momentum to swing the [Wild] creature on its back. There was no time where the opponent could right itself again, the kill being made before it even landed, a sizeable chunk of its stomach having been ripped out. The head still moved, but it would be finished later.

Three remained on the attackers' side, and the Core had six on its own. From sheer numbers, it should have been an easy win, yet it just wouldn't stop increasing in difficulty. Each fallen ant only made the others fight more viciously. The Core couldn’t understand it.

When forced to send out a [Heal] to one of its own, due to a front leg being snapped off in a near-instant, the Entity started to half-wonder if they were even level ones. They should have been, the size and looks never hinting at anything else. Yet the strength and finesse they moved in, later on, showed anything but that. It was wild, uncontrolled, and there were no ideas about the preservation of life. The creatures fought like their lives didn't matter in the slightest, taking risks that left them open, just for the chance of getting a similar wound onto the body of the other. It was sickening.

And, even worse, it was working. The ants on the Core’s side were not similar in their attacks, holding themselves closed to avoid serious attacks from the side, just like the Entity had made them do to avoid too many deadly wounds. It couldn't save them from death yet, after all. Legs were fine to lose, yet so much more was needed for anything else.

Another [Wild] ant was struck down, and only two remained. The advantage continued to grow, even as a [Giant-Ant] successfully threw itself at one defender, tearing off the throat and head from the front. It was done quicker than anything seen before, with a strength that clearly damaged its body as well. The Core didn't even know how such a thing was possible, yet couldn't be distracted for long. The other remaining ant was being taken care of by the larger ant on its side, making it possible for the Entity to focus on the first.

Another leg was torn off, one which was immediately replaced with a [Heal] from the Core. In return, enough time had progressed for the remaining defenders to encircle the [Wild] ant, taking jabs at it from all sides. While it certainly tried to break the circle, pushing against random points with quick speed, nothing it did mattered in the end. While it took many bouts of small injuries, paired with Core [Healing] them from similar ones, the [Wild] ant was killed in the end, leaving nothing but a dead field.

The other ant had been taken care of as well at about the same time, the larger ant on the Core’s side able to take care of it easily enough. It had sustained injuries on the front as well, yet has successfully avoided death. It was a beautiful thing to witness, the Entity happy to see another hour where it would live.

Eleven Ants had been there to start with. Five had left to explore and had died outside of its view. The remaining six had stayed, three slain by the attackers. Only three remained. There were too many losses. It should have been an easy fight, yet most had been lost during it all. Five against six, one of the Core’s being quite literally another level should have made it easy enough.

Yet it wasn't. And the Core had nearly suffered a humiliating defeat while also putting its own life away. Spending a few moments [Healing] the last injuries away, it could only wait and anticipate what needed to be done from then on. Most of its own had been lost, so it would need to regain the advantage by creating more. Excursions to find more materials would likely need to be put on a pause as well. The numbers lost in such a stupid way were not worth it for a resource that wasn't even known to exist yet.

And the way that the creatures inside had been able to react… wasn't good. The distance needed to travel before most of the ants could defend was quite terrible. If more had been grouped in the wrong part of the clearing, it would have been possible for the attackers to come so much closer to the Core. And in such a scenario, the Entity was sure it would have been able to do much, even the act of mashing them with rocks not being quick enough.

There were so many things needing to be thought about, so many adjustments to the practices seen from before. Yet… none of those mattered at the current moment. Five intruders on its domain had been killed, and the [System] seemed like it had a reward for such bravery.

Congratulations!

You have levelled up and reached level [3]

It was a small reminder that defending did bring results in some way, though the Core was quick to notice the lack of more attribute points being given out. It… did not appreciate the lacking amount, even one having been enough to satisfy it. The only thing it gained then was an increase in a number that was inherently meaningless without…. more to it.

Yet, the remaining [Giant-Ants] on its side did see more benefits come their way. Just like it had been witnessed from before, two of the ants grew to match the appearance of the already large ant. Looking at their [Status] screens, there was the customary increase to [Vitality] as well. All of those who still stood were now level two. The Core liked to think every ant would gain a level from just surviving a battle, yet it knew that the only reason now was that there were only so few to share the experience with.

Three level two ants were still something to be happy about, however. The Core saw more use in them than anything, the creatures able to defend themselves on a higher standard than what had been seen previously. There were likely some issues not thought about from the increased size, yet the Core knew that it was a better method than anything seen before.

The three ants were made to stand around the Core, guarding it against any intruders that dared come around, while the Entity itself began another process entirely. It needed to make more Ants and it needed to do it now. The extreme amount of Mana send out from the deaths had allowed it to reach levels of Mana-Totals never reached before. It was amazing how much its pattern had been filled up. Yet, the Core knew it had to expend nearly all of it soon, the feeling of being bloated being more than just omnipresent.

So… it got to work. With three slots already filled, there were more than enough places to put them. The Core could handle more than the current count at least, not feeling any adverse effects from the first two that were created, bringing the count up to five in total. With another four created in a bunch, the Core saw a total of nine. No effects began to spring up, so it made two more, bringing it up to eleven. That was where it had stopped previously. Yet… nothing would be lost from making another, right? With shaky tendrils, another was made. While some pressure felt, it was not close to what had been felt before, being more of a warning than anything. The Core could ignore it when given time.

Twelve [Ginat-Ants] stood before the Core, proud and tall all of them, with three being slightly taller and prouder of themselves but whatever. The Core was glad to have every one of them and made sure to let them all know it as it began a small speech. Orders that had been laid out with the last generation didn't last anymore, since they were all new creatures, after all, so it needed to retell everything yet again. The Entity did see some issues in that already yet… there was not much that could be done at the current time. Perhaps some proxies could be used for longer messages later on, or maybe it could have another entity be in charge of such a task. But, for now, it would have to do it manually.

‘Welcome to your life,’ The Core began, always wanting to say something like that. It had never been welcomed in the same way, so it was refreshing to give such a positive burst from the start. The Ants even moved their heads slightly in recognition, so the shared reception was refreshing to take in as well. However, the speech still needed to continue. ‘Until your very last breath, you will be working under me. Your sacred duty will be my protection and the preservation of this area as a whole. Every part that I hold power over is a part that we need to protect with our lives. While much may seem as important, nothing can stand without me being in the lead.

However, other tasks are expected of you. Simply guarding me will bring no effects other than this whole place being labelled as frothingly slow and without progress technologically. No… some of you will be tasked to do other things, be that scanning outside for materials or other items that might prove to be of worth to this place or making sure everything is cared for. The latter is something most of you will be expected to spend most of your time on, the Moss to your sides needing to be looked after if it will ever show good results. Other others may contradict what has been said here, yet I still expect you to follow them. However, when all else fails, I expect each of you to remember everything said this hour and go by it as if it was your purpose in life. Which it also is, by the way. You either fulfil it or you die trying. Now… move it!’

The Core wasn't exactly sure where it got the inspiration for most of those words said. Most of it was more of an introduction to a variety of others rather than anything concrete. Sure, it gave out the needed intents behind it with each part, yet it wasn't sure if the [Ginat-Ants] even knew how everything worked yet. Most of them hadn't been alive for more than a minute, barely adapting to the process of taking a couple of steps forwards.

Yet… such ideas about lacking quality were quickly squashed down in favour of overlooking the progress in real-time. As was obvious, most of the ants had moved over to the cultivation of the [Moss], making sure everything was as it needed to be. Many seemed mildly agitated and stressed about the spots which had been walked on by the intruders, others making sure that each part of the remaining wasn't feeling the after-effects of the shocks. Some were cleaning away intestines from the ground around the plants, while others were taking literal bodies away. It was a sight to behold, the whole farming duty taking in one stride.

The Core had seen nothing about the specific process of it all, yet every ant was still following every precaution in every conceivable way. Had the Entity spoken about it without realising or was the intent getting more clear? How powerful was that ability anyhow? How much could be done with only Mana and the idea being the guiding factors?

If the Entity ordered a [Giant-Ant] to simply move, yet having the intent of it moving in a specific pattern with a specific rhythm, would it move in a random way or in the way that the Core wanted it to? Finding a slow-going ant, the Entity tested out just that. And the results were...quite peculiar. The order was to ‘move.’ The order in the Core’s head was that the ant was meant to ‘move in a circle while not using the middle legs if possible.’ It was random enough that there was no chance of it being chosen at random. And while the ant was not able to fulfil the order, it was very close to it, only using the middle legs for balancing in a few moments.

This.... this was turning out to be more and more interesting. The Core was beginning to realise just how much of a boon it was able to become. Short orders with the same powers as ten minutes describing every detail. So much could be saved in costs when taking in time. Had the Core always been able to do it in this fashion or was it due to the new increase in level? Or was it due to the minor increases in understanding how Mana worked in general? It could be that the intent-practising during the process of getting the [Healing] skill had boosted it quite a bit.

There was no way to truly know at the current moment, so the reasoning behind the skill was put behind it momentarily. It would be looked back upon with a few hours, surely, but it would have to be put back in favour of other things first. Such as what the true limits of the intentions were. The Core liked to have the idea that there was none, the only factor being how skilled the individual was, yet that only brought the question back into the loop of what limits there were for the Core specifically.

And how was the Entity to figure out these limits? Well, there was no better way than to test it out. Movement through simple words had already been done before. Creation of matter had been done before as well, though with some minor technique behind it that likely helped the process along. What else could be done?

That was certainly a hard question. The Core wasn't exactly sure what it could do which hadn't already been done. It supposed it could try to make the ordering process entirely without words, only a pulse of mana being enough for everything to go through smoothly, yet that just seemed like a cheap way to go through the whole process. Looking over at the [Giant-Ants] in its repertoire, the Core got the idea of trying to copy what they were doing. If it could do something like what they did without knowing the specifics on how to do it and only working with the intent behind it, then maybe the Core could find some kind of limit in it.

So… that was what it did for a few minutes. First, it looked at how the ants were distributing the water around the moss evenly, making sure nothing got too little or too much. The process itself seemed simple enough when using a physical container as a medium, but the Core knew that it had to do without. First finding an ant about to do it and then making it wait, the Core tried to replicate the process seen before. The first step in this process was of course to take water out of the hole that had been created for the use of ants. Yet… how was it meant to do that without actually making matter that could interact with the water?

That was not something it was meant to worry about, the only thing the Core needed was to think about the intent behind it. It wanted the Mana to lift a certain amount of water into the air. And… with enough dedication, the Mana around and above the water slightly tightened, moving to be under the surface by a bit, forming into a layer of sorts before slowly rising into the air. It was much like a miniature container, all made out of hardened Mana. It was hard to truly describe how it worked, the Mana just being… more than it normally was. There were no usual lights from it, every piece of Mana invested in the process melding it together into a smooth surface capable of interacting with physical matter. The Core could see that it was pushing away air, that it was affecting the likes of stone. It was incredible.

It was even incredibly enough that the Core completely focused on what it was meant to be doing. The water fell from the air, right down into the container. It made quite the ripple, making it splash to all sides. Some of it even came onto the moss beside it, making more than a few ants rush over to save the Moss from being flooded. The Entity felt slightly sheepish about that. Though, it wasn't even close to enough from making to try again, this time without the surprise about the effects.