*slpurch* Another ant-man fell. Bones was now truly lost in the labyrinth of corridors and intersections making up the hive. He would often encounter patrols but it’s been a few hours since he saw a biodome. Ant-man this deep, were around level 18 and looked a bit different. The color of their chitin was darker shade and they seemed bulkier. They still had spears as their weapons and they still died as easily. It wasn’t much longer until he finally found the exit and breathed a sigh of relief. In front of him was a dome, the biggest one so far and much higher, he couldn’t see the ceiling. He saw ants working and ant-man acting as guards and for the first time in a while, he saw a new type of ants. Woodland flying scout ants. Of course. The names didn't have any sense of individuality, it felt like they were there just to differentiate them from each other. Guess there’s no need for individuality in a collective hive. Flying ants could be problematic to deal with though. As he stepped into the dome, however, he got another prompt freezing him in his steps.

Quest received: Kill the Queen 0/4

Reward: Skill Core

“Hooooh, one of the four queens?” This was his second day in a dungeon and if it took this long to reach each of the queens, it would make for a very long dungeon. Bones started searching around, looking at ants to see if he could spot the queen. He was starting to get bored of ants. He was excited at the prospect of entering the dungeon at first, but now he just wanted to finish it quickly and leave. No good, the dome is too big. Seeing no queen, he started sneaking around. He noticed worker ants didn’t pay much attention to their surroundings. The guards and the flying ants were the ones he needed to be wary of. He was sneaking against the wall, circling the dome. Once he reached one third of the way, he saw a large indent in the wall on the far side of the dome. There laid a queen, surrounded by hundreds of eggs, guarded by the ant-man and the flying ants. The queen was huge, easily four times the size of the bulkier ant-man.

Now then, do I take out the queen first or leave her for last? He could probably avoid all the ants until he reached the queen and possibly kill her quickly by unleashing everything he's got, but that would leave him empty of mana and vulnerable to attacks from the other ants. He decided to approach from the front, clearing his way to the queen, as it was probably designed to do so.

He started by killing one of the worker ants, testing the reaction of the guarding ant-man. Killed ant was a bit too far apart from the others to initiate a reaction so he tried another one. Few worker ants lifted their heads, antennas twitching and finding nothing strange, went about their business. Instead, he shot and killed one of the guards next and sparked a reaction. Worker ants scurried away and nearby guards closed in on a position, looking for an intruder. *swish* Another ant-man was killed and the rest located Bones hidden in the darker side of the dome, close to the wall. Seems no more than ten would attack at once. While the guards were closing in on his location, he fled toward the tunnel while also aiming and killing a guard from a different group of ant-man. He now had almost twenty guards running after him. He wasn’t going to test the actual limit of how many ants he could pull at once. Dungeon was designed this way. The monsters were grouped and killing one of the ants in a group would taunt others from the same group while the ants from a different group would stay docile if not attacked. He hoped.

He reached the tunnels, got ready and repeated the now familiar tactic of killing the ants when they would line up. Bodies littered the floor of a tunnel. Within minutes, eighteen ant-man guards were killed. Some managed to get in a melee range but Bones was already familiar with their attack patterns and he was more proficient in close combat now. He repeated the tactic until no more ant-man followed him. Bone Lance leveled, early levels easily gained. His class was progressing fast and after two more levels, he would be officially considered a bronze rank adventurer.

Worker ants could be ignored and guards weren’t much of a threat anymore. Flying ants could be though. Back to testing I guess. Like he did before, he summoned his lance and sent it flying at a nearest flying ant. He missed however, as flying ants weren’t idle in the air and would occasionally move erratically. His miss alerted the rest and five of them took off in his direction. *tsk* Maybe I should try to alter the trajectory with bone manipulation next time? He didn’t run and hide or waited in the tunnel this time but took a stance and ready his lance. Two flying ants threw their spears at him while the other three swooped down aiming their weapons at him. Two thrown spears were easily avoided but he was surprised at the speed with which the other three were flying at him. He rolled to the side, avoiding the first, but the second one impaled him with a spear and sent him flying. The third one stopped his assault, readied his spear and threw it immediately at the still flying Bones. It hit him straight through the chest, through the hole left behind by the acid previously. Bones laid on his back, first spear still sticking out of him. Ants stopped their assault and were moving closer to inspect their target. When they were right in front of him, two lances pierced the two ants in the front, killing them instantly. Others immediately moved to the side and up in the air. Bones didn’t waste time and sent three lances, one after each. One was hit and killed, one had a wing cut off and was falling down and the third one avoided a hit.

For a second Bones thought the last ant would fly away and bring reinforcements with it, but the ant circled him and then swooped down again. Expected too much out of them. Bones sidestepped in the last second before the impact, leaving the summoned lance right in front of the ant as it continued charging, impaling itself and bleeding out shortly after. Seeing they would be coming in a group of five, Bones dismissed his strategy of saving himself mana and went fully offensive with all four lance summoned. With taunting one flying ant, others would be taunted as well and Bones cleared all the flying ants on his way and guards immediately after. All that was left was the queen with, counting ten guards and five flying ants. He doubted he could pull a group of five without alerting the others so he decided not to even try it. No, seeing this is The Queen, they'll probably attack all together. He searched for the advantages but didn't find any. A dome lacked elevated ground and pillars he could climb. Straight up fight then? “So be it!”

Taking a big gulp of a mana potion, he started running forward. Around the 50 meters mark, they noticed him. He sent all four lances aiming directly at the queen. His guess turned right as the guards practically threw themselves in front of the attack. Two guards and one of the flying ants died and three were injured, but they did stop the attacks. Bones was ready to summon the next set of lances when the spear flew right next to his skull with the speed he could barely register. He looked at the flying ant that threw the spear and identified it. He didn't consider that the ants protecting the queen would be special. A mistake that almost cost him his head. Both flying ants and guards were tagged as elites and he noticed the difference immediately after the thrown spear.

Guards crossed the distance in a few seconds and Bones barely managed to avoid the thrusts of the three guards that charged at him. *swoosh* Another spear flew past his head, nicking off a piece of his skull. Shit shit shit. He felt like playing dead. Just playing! He summoned the lance as quickly as possible, grabbed it and deflected the spear thrust. With a mana blast, he blasted all three combatants back a few meters, inflicting light injuries. He stepped aside, avoiding another thrown spear by the flying ant, without taking his eyes off of guards. His rather relaxed pose, long gone.

His senses were at maximum and core in overdrive. The mana coursing through him was oozing fiery blue hue around him, instilling fear in the eyes of ants. They didn't flee, they couldn't! Their life wasn't theirs but queens'. Bones forgo ranged combat for the moment and trusted his bone armor to defend against projectiles. He rushed the guards, still unnerved by fear and off guard (pun intended). He dashed fast and with the thrust of a lance, pierced through the chest of one of the guards, killing him. Dismissing the lance, he turned around while summoning another lance and with a wide swing, hit both guards nearby, sending them flying. Bone armor, meanwhile, did its job stopping the projectiles. There were few nicks and cracks but nothing needing immediate mending. He finished the two guards and turned his attention to the flying ants. They didn't charge but kept their distance knowing he wouldn't be able to hit them all. Ahh clever, no doubt instructions from the queen! He turned to look at the bloated bulk of an ant staring at him, not moving a muscle. He wanted to end the fight quickly while she wanted to prolong the fight. Of course she wanted to drag the fight out. She's not the one fighting and she can always replace the soldiers. *tsk* No can do. If the ants won't come to me willingly, I will make them!

He took another gulp of the mana potion, summoned his lances and charged. In a second all seven of the guards charged to meet him, while flying ants flew in front of the queen and stood guard. Unfortunately for them, it wasn't a fair fight. Their weakness, too large to miss. Bones sent the three lances at the queen while keeping the last one as a melee weapon. Two guards died and three were crippled while trying to deflect the trajectory of the lances. Two that reached Bones died with bone nova and mana blast finishing them at close range, followed by swift decapitation.

The queen moved for the first time. For a moment, flying ants turned their attention to her and Bones saw it as an opportunity. He sent all four lances, aiming at the flying ants and queen behind them. Two died, one had its wings pierced and two were out of the way of the projectiles. All four lances however, impaled the queen. A shriek echoed throughout the dome. Bones was sure he would be either deaf or paralyzed by such a scream if he was able to be affected. Flying ants charged him. One with the spear and the other without, throwing its spear earlier already. Both were swiftly taken care of, followed by the crippled guards.

Queen looked too big to move but he wouldn't risk it by closing in. Instead they stood apart, looking at each other. While the queen was hissing at clicking at him, Bones sat and entered meditation to regenerate as much mana as possible. Seeing such a carefree target in front of it, the queen's stomach bloated and the next second she was hurling a huge blob of acid toward Bones. He expelled the regenerated mana with a mana blast, dispersing the blob in the front and pushing himself back. Shit. That would cover my whole body if it had hit.

Unlike her guards and the flying ants, she wasn't bipedal but moved like a normal ant would. She was slow and moved by swooning to the sides, like she hadn't moved in years. Bones dismissed the lance and took out the looted weapons from his inventory. He needed his mana, so he charged the queen and started slashing and stabbing wherever he could. The wounds inflicted were superficial, barely scratching the chitin. He wasn't surprised seeing how his lances wouldn't go deep either. Luckily, the queen was slow to react and had a hard time following the constant moving of her enemy. She sent another blob at Bones but he scurried away from the sizzling liquid. When he thought he had enough mana, he would quickly backpedal, putting some distance between them, casted his lance and attack, one lance at a time.