Resh started off flying low, not low over the canopies but low to the ground, its new wings allowed it to move with some agility through the forest, it had a limit of around 45m but that was enough for the small area of the forest it was in. Resh didn’t find anything in the first 4 or 5 flights and Photosynthesis kept it topped up for Stamina so it was not concerned with that. When it was not flying it was walking on the ground to try to cover more area.

It was while it walking along the forest floor that it found what it was looking for. A line of insects, some larger ones were moving along the line checking it at intervals, the smaller ones were moving in the middle in a steady stream in both directions, they looked a lot like the Termites from before but the ones in the middle were smaller and ones on the outside larger, when Resh tried to take a closer look it saw…

Worker Ant, Soldier Ant

That was interesting, not very useful though. It had never seen something like this from any enemies before. It had unexpectedly used Identify on something but it gave some information that it would not have discovered otherwise. This would need to be remembered. Higher levels would give better information. Inevitably, Resh forgot to keep using Identify.

With that thought, it just dived straight in. Covering the line with slime and Absorbing and Digesting the line as it went. It managed to get a few before the entire line went completely crazy, scattering everywhere. The larger Soldier Ants started trying to bite and eat it with little success 0.1HP damage per bite or attack. Small nibbles not much pain either.

You have Absorbed 14 Worker Ants!

You have Absorbed 4 Soldier Ants!

You have received 32 pincer attacks, -3.2 HP!

You have gained 0.054g of Weight and 0.54 Exp!

It was such a small amount it was not even worth considering, Resh tried to follow where the ants were all running to but it was futile, they were going in too many different directions and it took time for it to Absorb and Digest them, even if it was quick. It gave up quickly and moved off to watch what the ants would do.

After about ten minutes of watching, the ants started to move back into the formation as before. It was fascinating to watch like nothing had attacked them in the first place, the Soldier Ants resumed their patrols and the worker ants seemed to have complete faith in them as well. Resh was astounded. It also needed a different strategy for how to get a lot of ants at once. They must have been going somewhere and coming from somewhere, but Resh was not sure as to which way was which. It would need to go check in both directions.

One side being as good as any it followed the line to the left first. Without disturbing the ants at all it moved alongside them, occasionally getting too close and agitating the Soldier Ants a little but nothing major. Resh took a few nicks for its troubles but again it did not Absorb them for their attacks. For once in its short life, it was playing a longer game.

It had to travel almost a hundred meters to get to where the trail finally ended in the middle of a pile of dead animal matter, the ants were taking small amounts of it, though the chunks they were taking were maybe 5 or 10 times larger than themselves and taking them back along the path to where Resh thought their colony must be. Resh didn’t care much for the material or flesh they were taking but it didn’t want to miss any of the ants.

Without wasting another second it very quickly started Absorbing and Digesting the Ants right from the start of the line. This time since it knew how the ants would react it was quick to extend 2 long extensions like Slime Clubs to either side of the line as well as coming at them from the end. It had spread itself a little thin so it was more like a long U shape with a narrow base the width of the ant line. This allowed it to hem in the ants and prevent them from escaping, whenever the ants would go wild and try to run away, they would inevitable get sucked into the goo that was the slims body. And ants that were further up the line were not aware enough of the development to react before they were within the catchment area.

Resh was feeling pretty good about itself at that particular moment. Even the bits from the Worker and Soldier Ants did little to dampen its spirits. Resh’s movement speed had diminished since it was not using legs at the moment but sliding its body over the ground so it took longer to go back but it persevered and was rewarded with notices at intervals.

YOU HAVE REACHED Aerial Slime Level 2! CONGRATULATIONS! +1 Intellect, +1 Reaction, +1 Speed

Then about ten minutes after that,

YOU HAVE REACHED Aerial Slime Level 3! CONGRATULATIONS! +1 Acuity, +1 Accuracy, +1 Perception

This was great! It was gaining levels and there was so little worry or injury to it, having shifted its Photosynthesis from SP Regen to HP Regen after it had been attacked by the Soldier Ants the first time, it was easily able to keep up with the small amounts of damage that these insects were able to inflict. Resh was a powerhouse!...as far as insects were concerned anyway. With a sigh, it kept going its thoughts interrupted by the close encounters with death it had had recently. The feelings were still a little too fresh in its mind.

As it continued to move forward it found that the number of Ants increased as well, where there were just a few before now there were maybe double and then triple.

YOU HAVE REACHED Aerial Slime Level 4! CONGRATULATIONS! +1 Intellect, +1 Reaction, +1 Speed

By the time it made it to the huge mound of dirt with many openings, it had consumed well over 2000 Worker Ants and at least 70 Soldier Ants as well. The bites kept coming and Photosynthesis kept healing.

Also at some point during that time it Assimilated some Ants as well.

You Assimilated 4 Ants and gained Pincers of the Ant, Eyes of the Ant, Legs of the Ant, and Strength of the Ant!

From Strength of the Ant, you gain +5 Strength!

Your Skill Eyes of the Ant is compatible with Compound Eyes they have merged into Many Eyes of the Insect! You will gain a bonus of +300 Exp and an increased visual angle from 180deg to 270deg.

Your Skill Pincers of the Ant is compatible with Termite’s Bite they have Merge into Melee Weapon Skill Insect Jab! You will gain a bonus +300 Exp! Synergy has decreased the Volume requirement from 8cm3 to 7cm3! Damage from Insect Jab is boosted from base 0.5 HP to base 0.6 HP.

Insect Jab has increased to Level 5!

Insect Jab has increased to Level 6!

Your Skill Legs of the Ant is inferior to Legs of the Squitter! You cannot gain anything from this Assimilation! No benefits gained!

You have Digested 2095 Worker Ants and 82 Soldier Ants! You have gained 2.915g of Weight. Your Weight is now 230.11g and your Volume has increased to 104.60 cm3.

That was when it got to a huge mound. This was one of the biggest things Resh had seen up to this point and it was constructed and not a natural formation. It surprised Resh that it had not noticed such a huge thing before. It was a huge mound of soil that jutted out from the forest floor and was on the edge of a small clearing so it also stood out.

Looking up Resh could see that it extended over 2 meters high. It could not imagine how much Exp it could gather from inside there. Just on the outside of the structure, there were so many Ants, Resh was struggling to count them all. It was resolved to take only the number that would be enough for it to max out its Level as an Aerial Slime. Then it would decide on its next action.