I expected to be disoriented, but the experience proved to be much more. My sight wasn’t clear, but coherent enough to visualize that which was exactly in front of me. Everything felt off. Soul searching wasn’t easy and it had its cons. While, the last time it had presented me with a perfect picture of events, this time, it led me through a gallery of badly preserved projections. The skill could allow me to live some of the most important events from the last few days of those that had died to my hands, but there was a catch; the skill wasn’t perfect. The memories distort the longer it has been since the body’s death, leading to an incomplete experience.

The skill took me to the first time I had met Billy. Through his eyes, I saw myself. I looked magnificent for an ant: an agile body of silver from which protruded light-reflecting hairs of white. I didn’t know I had eyes unlike any ant or insect. They were two deep globes of black with a rim of red encrusting the outskirts. There was a faint glow sticking to my shape, not spreading, but subliming the effect of the light being reflected by my body. I looked strong, and different, even a little unlike any ant I had ever met or seen.

Unfortunately, the scene also depicted the damage which the memory had suffered, for I couldn’t live Billy’s life and only watch a fading still which was empty of others' footprints. Even the still rapidly deteriorated, until not even my shape remained identifiable and I was pushed toward another memory — one more recent.

Billy’s eyes opened without my tinkering. This time I saw the world unfurl through his eyes. He was in a dark chamber underground. There were others around, about fifty of them, some he knew and others he didn’t. He was afraid. I felt it clearly. He tried to move, but found himself tied and hung, his flailing limbs helpless in getting him free. All around him were ants in a similar position: some cocooned in a white shell, and others stuck in limbo; his eyes unable to see the medium used to keep them bound and afloat. The scent of fear was high in the air. And the pheromones he leaked only added to the mess. Then light slipped into the room. We both watched it with interest for some time before weakness struck Billy and he lost consciousness. I thought this was it, but then I heard something: Should I free you?

I frowned at the crystal clear voice, finding it repulsive even. But Bill agreed to its provision and the experience ended.

The search didn’t tell me much, yet expanded on our enemy's capabilities. If I was to believe in what I saw then it was plausible to think that there really was a mind behind this; someone who could turn ants into living shells and order a bunch of bugs around. At first, the whole thing reminded me of the King-Queen incident from way back, but I dropped the theory considering the difficulty I had faced to simply provoke a single ladybug. There were hundreds of these bugs around; it seemed improbable and impossible that someone could control them all, and I wanted it to stay that way.

That was the last of Billy’s memories. He wasn’t tortured, just taken.

I had expected to find him in pain, being tortured and mind broken, but the truth was less than provoking. It just felt like life itself; someone simply trying to survive even if it meant stealing the life of others. We had done the same. Everyone does. It was the only way to keep going. You kill, eat, sleep and repeat. The light interested me, but how was I to blame something so incorporeal? Where was I to invest my rage? I was lost.

I woke up from my search with anxiousness and no sense of direction. I didn’t know what to do. I had thought of preparing my companions with information for the upcoming confrontation to increase their . . . our chances, but I had nothing to show for our troubles. Confused, I was still thinking about the experience when something aroused my sense of danger.

I found the tunnel free of deaths reek or the grotesque presence of mangled dead bodies, and my companions missing. Them, however, I found easily, for they were struggling against a horrifyingly gigantic ant, at least twice the size of a ladybug, some distance away. As for the bodies, their enemy seemed like a creation that could have benefited from them. A magnified look with Hawkeye proved me right, for the various limbs and other body parts unnaturally sticking out from its exoskeleton were too great an indication of its deed to be ignored.

It’s not that I didn’t think of helping them, but they looked to be holding perfectly. Moreover, they also needed to be given a chance to blow steam. Although the ant was a monstrosity, it was nothing more than a bloated corpse with nothing going for itself. Its body was too big, which led to big movements, easy to dodge attacks and a perfect target.

Proving me right was its smoking body. Pyro was seeing to that. He had the easiest task of them all, as he kept his distance and harassed the giant from afar with his fireballs. They although didn’t deal much damage, as his fireballs had no explosive qualities, they had the ability to light anything on fire.

Dark was controlling the shadows created by the fire to hold the ant back and steer its attacks away from Mike and David who were both fearlessly sliding to and fro its giant legs, leaving deep gorges in its flesh in wake. David seemed to have taken it upon himself to drum the beings armor with his clubbed antennas, making it easier for Mink to do his job. Genma had the toughest job beside them. He was keeping watch, providing them with stamina, creating barriers to protect them, and provoking the giant, all at the same time.

The giant was screaming in pain and annoyance. The ground trembled every time it stomped, the shock waves from which passed below me, taking me for a ride every time it happened.

“Do you need help?” I called out and saw Dark shaking his head. He didn’t look back; it could have been disastrous, had he.

—Any news— David asked, finally managing to create an opening in the giant’s impromptu yet multilayered scale armor on one of its middle legs for Mink to shear through.

“They weren’t tortured.” I supplied.

Next, I sat back and relaxed. I decided to move only in case they absolutely needed me. There were somethings I also needed to address while I was free. First, was the absence of an exit? There was none. Second, was the worrying absence of the bugs? I had considered the ants taken for food, but such was clearly not the case. I was missing something, something important; but I had no idea where to look. What was the point of taking ants and turning them into some kind of mindless zombies when the bugs could have been enough? And how was the entrance fashioned? I had never heard, much less seen anything of that sort. An entrance that only allowed six participants to enter is insane in terms of keeping a colony safe. Just thinking how easy it would be to mount an attack against any intruders had me excited. I, however, no longer thought of this place as a colony, this dungeon as the system had called it. Simple colonies don’t have rules and regulations. They are just buildings constructed as the need arises to house a growing population of whatever infests the depths. The more I thought about our situation and the dungeon, the more I agreed with myself. I couldn’t help ending my thoughts with: We’ll know in due time.

“Get its attention!” David bellowed, his clubs looking meaner and heavier than he had started with. He was very much enjoying the fight; I could hear it in his voice, his excitement. He had finally found something to do. I knew he blamed himself for not being able to pressure the committee in our favor and for pushing us all into this hell, but we didn’t blame him. He also knew that, but such was he, taking all the worries upon his head so that others wouldn’t feel the pressure.

The giant created a clicking commotion, breaking through the tentacle bindings its raised leg and slammed it to the ground, frighteningly near Mink. Genma jumped and so did I, but we relaxed when we heard it click in annoyance first and then in pain, for not only had Mink managed to remain safe, but had also taken a deep bite in the opening created by David. It wobbled, unbalanced, its antennas dangerously scratching past the ground like two giant pendulums, and then balanced itself putting its weight on the other legs. It was too large for its own good.

“That’s our chance.” David urged. “Let’s bring it down!” He scurried toward its antennas, marginally rolling out of way to let one pass, then pushed with his six legs to change directions and hurried underneath its torso. I can’t answer whether the giant could see clearly through its eyes or not, but David must have had his reason. He proved that by charging and clubbing the joints between its legs and torso, annoying it further. David’s maneuvers proved vital as they not only stopped its stomps but also gave Mink the time and target he deserved.

Pyro softened its hurt leg further; Dark bound it to the ground, fixing its movements for the time being; David got out of the way, to save his neck in case the giant toppled from the loss of a leg, and Mink sliced the leg from the other side, leaving only a thread wide section of flesh connecting the two halves.

The Giant bellowed a loud rasping sound, raising its head toward the roof. It wobbled forward a step, the bottom portion of its sliced leg-breaking away from the rest. I expected to see it knee the ground at least once, but that didn’t come to be. Instead, the pain enraged it.

Being without any skills only hurt its chances. Had it the ability to conjure fireballs like Pyro, or tentacles like dark, my companions wouldn’t have lasted a second against it. I thought it a mindless zombie, however, its next move proved it to be anything but. The giant ant sat down and started cutting into the ground with its mandibles in rage, making it impossible for David and the others to get near. Once done with the madness, it used its mandibles like a giant shovel and propelled the broken stones into the air, creating a frighteningly similar result to my falling stars skill. It should be noted that the size of the stones it threw into the air was easily the size of my companions or bigger! Genma’s worried stare said the same thing. Somehow it had brute-forced a raw version of falling stars, the same skill which had destroyed the ants it was made of. This sudden show of intelligence worried me. The falling rubble increased Genma’s task. I whispered to him to concentrate on keeping them safe. He did just that.

But then the stone shower reached Genma and he had to run. Dark disappeared, David smacked the rubles coming his way with his clubs, and Mink ran for his life.

The rising dirt hid the giant behind its veil. Fortunately, no one got caught in the attack. Mink was the first to rush out. He had suffered some superficial scratches on his head and had a dent on his back, but it didn’t seem to hamper him in any way. He was a beast; built to last. Dark came out next, suddenly appearing out of the shadow stretching under the cloud. David was late, but it was Pyro who worried me. He had shown his lack of physical ability during our trek through the pits, and the dust cloud had reached him the quickest. I thought of reaching out, but David suddenly rushed out carrying an unconscious Pyro. “It’s not over yet.” I reminded myself and was off toward them.

The giant was rising. Although still hidden by the dirt cloud, the shadow its large body formed under the light ball I had sent off in its direction kept me updated. David rushed passed Mink who was angrily staring at the cloud. Mink looked like he might rush off to battle the giant alone, but Dark suddenly appeared behind him and took him into the shadows.

Right when I thought we were safe, the giants screamed, dust parted, and it came sprinting out behind them. The stone-ground rung with its steps. The tunnel echoed its fury. It looked big, much bigger than before. Its body had swollen to the point of bursting. It was almost upon me when I met its charge with a rush of my own. Vengeance didn’t activate and neither did reckless courage, meaning it wasn’t as strong as it appeared. My battle sense did turn sharp, however, when I decided to meet it face to face. It made me question my decision, made me doubt my chances. Hence, I changed plans.

I cast a rhythmic quake instead. No matter how large, if the giant was not an opponent strong enough to evoke reckless courage —which increases my stats during a hopeless fight— then it meant the skill had a chance at stopping the giants rush and pushing it back. The desired result happened. The quake stopped its charge and the following waves pushed it back.

Screaming, it dug its feet into the ground and roared. It was a simple show of emotions, more proofs of it being more than a mindless zombie. It stepped back only to rush at us once more. I still think, had it some skills, some real magical badassery in its arsenal, the fight would have gone a completely different route.

I appraised the giant to know of its strengths and found its status heavily tipping toward its constitution of all the things. It had skills, but only ant’s racial skills like perception, Excavate, Mandible shamble, Expert Ant strength, and gigantism; all of the second tier. Although it had great amounts of physical fitness, it lacked in the departments of Wisdom and Intelligence; explaining its lack of a mana pool.

I could have tried a wind cannonball to see how it reacts, but I decided to choose the more mana conserving route. With the memorized: falling star's already used, the rest of the slots were invaluable and so was my mana. Not knowing the future had me concerned, leading to such a decision.

I accelerated in its direction as it lowered its face to try its mandible related skill on us. With my agility up by 500% for the next ten steps, I flew toward it, leaving small but visible indentions in the stone floor. It tried closing its mandible around my body, but I was upon them with a 3-D maneuvered jump and was climbing up its face before it could do anything. It changed tactics and pushed its pincers deep into the ground to excavate the stone and create a grave for my companions. To tell the truth, I had no idea until meeting the giant that excavate could be used in such a manner. Had I known, I could have had some fun with the skill. It wasn’t the time to be impressed, however. I ran toward its eyes with my mandibles open to the fullest. Rooting myself in front of its right eye, I thrust an exploding punch at the sensitive organ. Its eye exploded right then, drenching me in the fluids, but I wasn’t stopping there. It shrieked in pain as I pushed past the macabre and made another similar attack. My arm dug into its socket and exploded a part of its matter, yet it didn’t fall. In the end, I spiked the inside of its defenseless head, expanding them to the best of my ability, shredding through its inside, finally killing it for good.

I felt its head bounce thrice on the ground and skid to a stop on the stone floor and undid my spike; which in turn dissolved the spikes that had grown inside the giant’s body, turning my leg back to normal. Root kept me balanced inside its squealing eye socket, which I undid as everything returned to normal, and came out under the appreciative glares of my teammates.

“We could have handled it, you know,” Pro said.

“I’m sure you could have,” I replied and smacked my antennas with his in celebration.

But our celebrations didn’t continue for long as the system rang inside mine mind at that moment, disturbing the calm which had finally driven the panic away.

{Congratulations! You have completed Stage-1 of the First floor.}

{Experience earned will be provided once you conquer the First floor.}

{Boss room: Graveyard of regret is now open. Would you like to proceed?}

The message asked.