With each burst of Mana sent out in a desperate bid to keep every single one of its minions alive, it became more and more obvious. The container that was kept in the Mana was beginning to run rather dry, to the point where it was getting dangerously close to zero. It would only take one or two more before the consequences would startup. The Core could just feel it.

How many had been killed? Too many to count. Or maybe it would have been possible to count them if the Core had been able to spend a few precious moments thinking about them. Instead, all focus was on the creatures on its side, the Entity desperately imagining healing powers going into them as it funnelled the raw Mana from the outside into their bodies. It was not pure or even close to the levels where the Core was happy, but it gave the creatures the health they needed to survive for a few more seconds. And that was all it wanted. Some more time.

For it was also gathering more Mana for itself. It was only a few each second, yet it added up quickly as the fighting dragged on even more. Each of the Core’s creatures had likely killed one or two with the larger ones growing up to a count of almost ten each. It was incredible what stable healing did. Yet it was just as incredibly how damningly labour and resource-intensive that process was. Why did it require so much to keep so few alive? The Core was starting to think that it wasn't scalable to larger situations. If twelve was prone to make the Core burn out, what would twenty mean? Could it even imagine it?

Not at that moment, of course, seeing as two of the creatures had received devastating hits at that very moment. Even worse was the fact that they had been the front-liners, holding the main entrance from being entered through at max speeds. That forced the Core to use the stone it had saved up for a larger kill, not wanting to see the two [Dungeon-Born] die due to the healing not being fast enough. It had long since moved past using the skill, the need to spread out the energy not being accommodated for in it. Even if it could be used, there was also the need to use it on nearly everybody. And that was downright impossible, one round costing nearly double of what the Core was able to hold at one time.

The downtime did allow for Manual Regeneration to truly kick in. The few [Wild] ants that had come through the front lines had been slain, and the ones from the outside were currently making their way through the rubble dropped on their brethren, allowing for those inside to recuperate if just for a few moments. Most moved towards the entrance, ready to take on those that tried to come in first. That was mainly the three larger ants on the Core’s side, however, each of those had another behind it, ready to chop down on the soon-to-be thrown enemies. It made it harder for the front lines in the short term but also allowed for the larger ants to take more pressure off of them since the enemies thrown back were killed more quickly.

Yet… that downtime was a fake showing of them winning. The Core thought that, while things were hard, they still had a good chance of coming out on top. That all changed when the digging began to be seen. Instead of going through the main entrance like planned, they were going through the walls around it. The [Wild] creatures, they were… digging. It made the Core both happy to have foreseen it yet also unhappy at not being sure what to do. That is… until an idea was getting. However, time was low so it had to start the idea before it could even think too hard about it.

With much focus and wit, the Core began to form some rather unusual shapes out of Physical Arcane. It was not something created before in such a shape and neither had the Core thought to gain much use out of them. They were hard to use since the matter took so long to move around. Yet… the Entity had noticed one thing when playing around with the Arcane. While the acceleration speed was quite low, the true top speed was not. In a very strong way to say it, the Core had not found any top speed.

Using the hundred Mana it had saved up, ten spears were reinforced equally. It was more than enough to survive the wind and it would be more than enough to survive for their true purpose. Looking at the walls again, the Entity estimated the creatures to break in at about the same time with that time being twenty seconds. And that was all the time it needed.

Or, well, it would have preferred much longer, yet there was no need to ask. The Core knew what the answer would be, with how little those creatures could truly communicate. But, it thought the idea was what truly counted, as it began to spin the spears around itself, slowly letting them pick up speed.

Because that was what it had made. Spear. Just like those in the ground, except the current ones were a bit longer and much more sharp at the end. With the type of matter being what it was, normal rules didn't press down on it. There was no real gravity on the spears, as an example, letting them float around as they pleased. Neither did the resistance of air seem to be much of a hindrance, the Core certainly not feeling much of it as the speed began to increase.

The only hardships felt were making sure that the tools were kept inside, the speeds making it hard to turn them sharply. Yet speed was still being built up, even at that point. It was getting hard to control ten at the same time, each being at different points. Yet the Core continued, even reinforcing each of them with a bit of the Mana that had been collected from the outside.

Five seconds. It was closer to three, the creatures digging with more speed and power as they got closer. Ten groups sat ready to meet the ten attacking. That’s how many were digging holes, at least. The Core did not doubt that there was more behind, ready to storm in after them.

Two seconds. The walls on their front were beginning to crumble, as small bits began to show. The final second allowed the head to get through. When the timer hit zero, the bodies could be seen.

And it was also the point where the spears were released. They were aimed perfectly down the body, technically able to skewer the creatures from head to last legs. Not that they got further down than the begging of the throats before dissolving back into Mana. Yet… it wasn't like that was a loss.

Ten enemy ants fell like nothing, instantly killed by the damage on them. It was beautiful, and the Core was sure it would have spent longer on the fact if not for the creatures behind. There were ten sets of legs able to be seen, with the front legs of another twenty coming through from behind. It was twenty enemies at the minimum, and the patterns being seen in their Mana-Currents was foreboding of danger. They had been enhanced, likely at some similar degree to what the Core did to the Stamina of its creatures, but more focused on the stats. It was obvious by the strength in those legs, how they could shrug off the corners of the wall, that everything was going to be a tad harder.

The Core had no Mana left in its tanks. There was nothing. Mana in the air was empty, too much used in too little time and being close to filling up at a reasonable rate. A minimum of twenty enhanced ants against the twelve that the Core had? It wouldn’t even be a fight that could be thought about.

Instead of ordering a mighty charge forth, the Core made them huddle together, hoping to use them for long enough to gain some Mana again. While it would likely not be able to replicate the success of the Physical Arcane, it would likely be able to-

…

The [Wild] ants were not moving forwards. They had not taken a single step inside the Dungeon’s lair, instead just standing outside. Tendrils were being connected to their backs, one of foreign source and colouring. It had certainly been the first time that the Core had seen black ones. It briefly wondered if it could see it closer up until the moment where the enemy ants began to walk out of the Core’s sight. That was not standard procedure in any book that the creatures followed. They were mindless brutes. Just who was…

Something became obvious at that moment. The black tendrils, the manipulation of creatures, the larger size of the attackers… this was not an ordinary attack. This was an attack with everything there was. That meant that the leader was outside as well. The Core, not one to waste that opportunity, quickly gathered as much Mana as it possibly could before sending it all out in one single second. For that one second, the range of its sight grew beyond anything it had ever seen. The limits of the caverns nearby were discovered, materials spotted, and smaller treasures to be sent out after being mentally noted down. But, in the midst of it all, stood one [Ant] bigger than anything else.

It was powerful, the influence it had over so many creatures being obvious in the bonds it had to each of them. Using the last remaining Mana, [Appraisal] was used. The slight turn of the creature's head implied that the sight on it had been felt. The implications were quite dire, as the Core began to get feedback on the skill. It was a success.

Character Screen

Name:

Mother Carapace

Gender:

Female

Level:

9

Class:

Leader of the Colony

Race:

Giant-Ant

Title:

Queen of Hollows

Health:

200/200

H-Regen:

0.12/sec

Mana:

219/230

M-Regen:

0.14/sec

Stamina:

160/160

S-Regen:

0.15/sec

Basic Stats

Strength:

25

Wisdom:

22

Vitality:

19

Intelligence:

14

Dex:

15

Willpower:

10

The Core felt something close to fear as it overlooked the stats shown off. They were high. Higher than anything it had ever seen before. Six levels higher than the Core was higher Health, higher Mana. There was nothing on the board even close to what the Entity could see about itself as well. The creature was superior to it in every conceivable way.

And it was retreating, not looking at the current losses with favour. Whether or not that was due to the creature not having enough information being present, fueling an overestimation of the Core’s ability, there was no real care for it. The Entity was allowed to live for another day, and it would use it to the best of its abilities.

However… the information was shown off. That was not something the Core would have seen without help. The [Queen of Hollows], whatever that meant, was more than happy to show off her talents to the Entity. Why? There was no clue as to the real reasons behind it. Maybe it knew just how superior it was and wanted to show off to make fear blossom. Yet did that work when mixed in for the reasons behind retreat? The Core didn't want to think about it. Instead, it looked within itself, the Entity having felt a small pressure building up. It was not one borne out of Mana being consumed but out of a certain [System] wanting to send its regards.

Then the messages began to flood in and the Core was too distracted to think about anything else.