A Giant Ant mound, spanning a width of two meters. This is the entrance to the dungeon. It’s actually an anthill that connects to the underground dungeon.

The people who found this dungeon reported that only Giant Ants came out, so we shouldn’t be needing to deal with anything else while we’re here.

“Okay. Any questions before we go in, class?” Lys asks

“Yes!” Brighton raises his hand. “What kind of ants are these?”

“Don’t know. You can do research when we get back, if you really want to know.” Lys says flatly.

Ron laughs. “Well, we all know the formation, right?”

We’re already prepared to enter the dungeon.

“I’ll go in first, like we planned.” I say.

“Be careful.” Lys says warmly.

I smile as I jump straight down into the hole, feet first with no care in the world.

The drop is about seven meters, and I just handle the fall by bending my legs to absorb the impact.

I shout up at the rest. “You guys should get some rope! It’s about seven meters down!”

I can hear Ron ask, “Why would you just jump down without checking the distance?”

I pull myself out of the hole with Matter Control.

“Because it wouldn’t have mattered how deep it was.” I am now face to face with Ron, who was peering into the hole.

In the very beginning, I found out I could use Matter Control on myself. Since I can lift more than my own weight at this point in time, I am able to defy gravity to either control my descent, or lift myself up.

Brighton is the first to respond. “Why didn’t you tell us you could fly?!”

“Mainly because it’s impractical. I have a limited amount of force that I can use. If I use half of it on myself, that’s taking half the force I can otherwise use against an enemy. So I don’t ‘fly’ in combat.”

“But you can still fly!”

I sigh. “Yes, I can fly. Now, get some rope, Brighton.”

He looks dejected as he scurries off to the truck. Once he has the rope, he attaches it himself to a nearby tree, checking it’s secure by tugging on it with his whole body. Once he is satisfied, he brings the other end of the rope to the hole and tosses it in.

“Rope secured.” He says.

I float back down the hole by lessening the amount of force I’m using to resist gravity. The others climb down the rope one at a time.

Once we’re all down in the ant mound, we get together in our formation before moving forward. It takes about five minutes before we’re able to find the dungon’s barrier.

“Squad leader, would you like to do the honors?” I ask.

“Sure.” She moves forward to the barrier. “Open the dungeon.”

Once she finishes that last sentence, we’re teleported into the dungeon. The same sensation that protrudes from all dungeons is in this one. One of danger and musty earth.

Lys moves back into formation and we all move forward into the dungeon.

…………………………………………………………………

It went just as I expected. My ability to slow down enemies was very effective. It was even more helpful in this dungeon, since ants can cling to walls and ceilings. If I didn’t pull them down to the floor and slow them down, the squad would have been in a tight spot. But in this fashion, it’s as simple as a bar brawl.

It seems that the others are surprised at just how effective my skill is. I suppose they hadn’t fully grasped what it meant to have an AOE slowdown on all enemies with no timer.

Anyway, we’re now in the passageway connecting to the Source Room. This dungeon is nearly closed.

“Is everybody okay to challenge the boss immediately?” Lys asks.

Everybody says yes.

“Okay. We’ll use the same formation. Hunter, are you okay to be the main dealer?”

“Yeah. Don’t worry about me.”

“Okay.” She pauses. “… Let’s go.”

We enter the room full of confidence.

[You have entered the Source Room. The Guardian protects the Source. As an intruder, you will be the target of the Guardian.]

The same message as every time I enter a Source room.

The only difference this time is the species of the Guardian. This time, it’s a truly giant ant.

‘Appraisal.’

[Command Received.]

[Activating Skill – Appraisal.]

Name: Gigant, the Ant Queen

Race: Giant Ant

Gender: Female

Level: 61

Age: 63

[…]

“It’s level 61.” I say. “It’s an ant, so its weak points are its joints. Don’t attack its carapace, it’ll be useless!”

“Got it!” Brighton says.

I move in quickly, to prevent the monster from getting to our rear supporters, which include Lys and Charlie. Ron comes forward with me. Brighton stands in between us and the rear.

As I near the queen, I take out my knife. I’ve been using this same knife for the past two years. I ready myself for an attack on its leg, trying to jam the blade into the gap in the exoskeleton.

My blade slips in, right where I was aiming, causing a cascade of clear haemolymph, but suddenly, the queen raises her leg. I try to pull out my knife, but the two pieces of leg hold onto the blade. If the queen hadn’t started pulling her leg up, I would have been able to take back my knife. But instead, my knife is stuck there. I pull the leg down as hard as I can with Matter Control, but the queen is able to resist the downward force. With Matter Control and my own strength, I am succeeding in getting the knife closer to being able to exit the leg, but that’s when it snaps.

As quickly as a bolt of lightning, and without warning, it breaks. The only part I have is the hilt. The entirety of the blade is now sitting uselessly inside the queen’s leg.

“SQREEEH!” The queen gives out a roar.

It seems to be in an unexpected amount of pain. Perhaps I hit a nerve cluster or something?

It starts to move. Where is it going? Wait… It’s charging the rear line!

“Lys! It’s coming!” I shout.

The ant is faster than I anticipated! Is it using a skill?! I won’t be able to catch it. Nor will Brighton, or Ron.

There’s nothing I can do.

And Lys can’t get out of the way fast enough. I’m not sure she’ll survive a single attack.

What can I do? Something quick.

My blade is gone, so it’s not like I can throw it.

But… do I need a solid blade to attack it?

The air. If I can condense it, and then apply Mana Blade to it, I’ll be able to stop the ant in its tracks. At least, I think so.

Honestly, there really isn’t time to think. With the distance it’s at now, I won’t be able to use Matter Control with Mind Sense, which means I need to see the air.

But how? I can’t see air.

Perhaps I can do it if I control the air near me, then send it to the queen.

Okay. Form a blade.

… Good. Now, Mana Blade.

[-63 MP]

I can’t let this attack fail. I need to pour in as much mana as I can. A blade of white heat appears by my side, emanating from seemingly nothing.

I send the blade flying towards the head of the queen. The best spot to kill the monster instantly.

The queen is only a few meters from Lys.

My perception of time seems to slow down as the blade of mana starts to penetrate the carapace of the ant. Slowly, it sinks in. It seems to be shredding apart everything in its path. Blood and small pieces of shell start to fly. I can see smoke rising from the wound. The blade is interacting with the ant’s body in such a way that it’s causing a massive amount of heat. The force of the blade causes the ant to be pushed down onto the ground, completely unable to continue moving forward.

The mana blade starts to sink deeper. Soon, it’s halfway through, and the ant’s body stops struggling. Its brain is completely destroyed, effectively killing the ant.

The blade continues on, until the head is completely bisected, and then falls to the ground where it dissipates. I follow suit, also falling onto the ground.

[Mana Blade has increased in level. Lv. 4 to Lv. 5]

That’s what happens when I use all of my mana.

But Lys is safe. My team is safe. There’s no reason to try and stay awake.

I fall unconscious.

…………………………………………………………………

- Lys’ Perspective -

“Lys! It’s coming!” Hunter shouts.

From here, I can see that his knife is broken. He won’t be able to attack with it anymore.

Also, the ant is fast. Really fast. Like, ‘Oh, no, I can’t even run’ fast.

I don’t think I’ll be able to get out of this.

That’s when I see a bright white light. Am I dead already?

No. Of course not. It’s a pure white blade forming beside Hunter. Is that his Mana Blade?

I’ve seen it before, but never have I seen it with so much power. Just how much mana did he put into it?

Just as the ant is getting nearer to me, the blade flies quicker than the wind toward the head of the charging ant. It swiftly cuts its head in twain, and as it does, I see Hunter collapse.

Is he okay?!

Oh… I get it now. He used all his mana on that one attack.

“Amaz-” I manage to say, before being splattered by ant brain. My face, arms, legs, torso, everywhere is covered in brains and blood.

Ahh~, so this is karma…

… I don’t like it very much.

…………………………………………………………………

I open my eyes. I see a figure above me. Lys?

I tilt my head to look at her, and I can feel something below me.

A pair of legs, supporting my head off the ground.

“Are you okay?” She asks softly. Her silky, light brown hair is hanging loosely from the sides of her head as she looks down at me from above with her big, blue eyes.

“Yeah. I think so.” I lift my head up off her legs.

I roll off of her to the side, catching myself with my arm before getting to my feet. Once I’m up, Lys also stands.

She stumbles toward me. Once she’s within arm’s reach, she wraps her arms around me.

“Thank you for saving me.” She whispers this as she hugs me.

I also put my arm around her back, returning her hug.

“Seriously, in front of us?” Brighton laughs.

Lys instantly pulls off of me and takes out her pistol. She fires it at Brighton.

The hardened ball of energy hits him hard enough to cause pain, and I can see that he’ll bruise, but he’ll live.

“Ow! That hurts!” Brighton holds the place where he was shot.

“Be glad I didn’t aim for somewhere more sensitive.”

It takes him a moment to realize what she’s implying.

“...Sorry.” He says compliantly.

Lys looks over at the red orb.

“We didn’t take care of the Source yet. I thought you should be awake for it.”

“Okay. Well, I’m up now, so let’s take care of it.” I say.

“Do you want me to?” She asks.

“I would if I had my knife. I guess I can’t.” I sigh.

Lys looks down at her belt, the one she puts her gun holster on. She pulls out a small knife from the side opposite her holster.

“You can use this if you want.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

She smiles.

I take the knife and approach the orb. The thing about this orb, whenever it’s destroyed, it lets loose a bunch of artificial emotions. Not just anybody can be close to it when it breaks open, and nobody can take it lightly. Only people with strong willpower to overcome the fake emotions can safely do it. That was found out by others once the association started the dungeon clearing. I suppose I was both special and lucky to gain a skill that nullifies the effect.

I stab into the orb. I always find its consistency strange. Like I observed the first time I broke into one, it’s like something that is there and isn’t at the same time. I can feel resistance when I go into it, but once the blade sinks in, it’s like nothing is there anymore.

As I pull the borrowed weapon out, the red fog starts to ooze out like blood.

“We’re done here.” I say.

Everybody had watched me break into the Source, so everybody was paying attention when I said that. We all exit the room together. Just as I pass the entryway to the room, Lys comes up beside me and takes hold of my hand. I look at her. She isn’t looking at me, instead, she’s looking forward with a reddened face. I also hold her hand, and we continue on.

One more dungeon closed, with no casualties. A job well done.

…………………………………………………………………

[ALERT: Memory loss. Full Status cannot be displayed.]

Name:

Age: 20

Race: Human

Title: Old One

Title Effect: Grants Skill Set – Mind Over Matter

Level: 65

Experience: 66.67%

Condition: Damaged (Missing Arm [L]), Memory Loss (Severe).

Condition Effects: None.

HP: 1600/1600

MP: 63/63

Strength: 119

Intelligence: 63

Wisdom: 68

Dexterity: 116 (+28% Move Speed)

Constitution: 200 (60+140)

Unassigned Stat Points: 0

Skills

Swiftness (Passive) [F] – Lv. 28

Increases movement speed.

Sturdy (Passive) [E] – Lv. 14

Increases constitution.

Dismantling (Active) [E] – Lv. 5

Dismantles the target corpse. Higher levels increase chance for bonus materials.

Regeneration (Active) [D] – Lv. 9

Regenerate HP at the cost of MP.

Appraisal (Active) [A] – Lv. 3

Appraises the target.

Mana Blade (Active) [A] – Lv. 5

Create a blade of pure mana. Increases damage and cutting ability.

Cartography (Passive) [A]

Maps the area which can be sensed.

Mental Influence Immunity (Passive) [S]

Grants complete immunity to mental influences from external sources.

Instant Movement (Passive) [S] – Lv. 21

Reduces inertia, allowing you to alter your movements much quicker.

Inventory [Special] – Lv. 5

Grants an extra-dimensional space for the storage of allowed items.

Mind Over Matter [Special]

Matter Control (Active):

Control physical matter that you can sense with Mind Sense and physical matter you can see.

Skill Strength Level: 238 kg of force

Expert Proficiency (1.07%)

Mind Sense (Passive):

Skill Range: 6.8 meters

Expert Proficiency (87.67%)

Unassigned Skill Points: 54