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Chapter 1030 - Far Ranging Part 2
🕑 Added 2022-08-12 05:20:25 +0000 UTCIt all started well, as things tended to, in Columbant’s experience. Usually in the middle was where things started to go all the way downhill. They hadn’t reached that moment, but she had plans in place in the event the inevitable happened.
Slither was her stealth specialist, a creation she was incredibly proud of. The slug-like shadow creature sank his body into a shadow, deepening and thickening it. He couldn’t maintain this form indefinitely, so she moved quickly, climbing onto Garg along with Rist.
The powerful beetle-beast settled into the black pocket, her dark carapace blending in beautifully.
[Alright Slither, activate your Stealth aura and lets get out of here. Garg, you know what to do.]
[Yes.]
The big insect became enveloped in the darkness and they made their way out of the hiding place swiftly, climbing up the walls and out into the tunnel above.
A little earth magic was necessary to soundlessly widen the opening, but once they were up, Slither directed them away from the main thoroughfare and they managed to blend into the remote parts of the tunnel. Garg moved swiftly and silently, not something that came naturally to a monster of her size. Purchasing and having her train the Stealth skill had been the right decision.
You couldn’t fight everything you found when ranging-solo. Being flexible was the name of the game for core shapers.
Slither was able to create an oval shaped patch of darkness around eight metres from end to end, enough space for Garg to fit with room to spare. They crept along the tunnel, Columbant steering her bulky pet with antennae taps on the carapace as they navigated.
There were monsters everywhere and several times they nearly stumbled upon a nest or gathering, having to back up and choose another path. Growls, hisses, snapping and cracking could be heard in all directions. This deep in the second stratum, almost every monster was touched with as aspect of death, causing them to be exceptionally deadly. It was impossible to know which monster could apply a touch of death, or how.
[Slither. Care,] she breathed over the mental link. [I sense something coming, we need to hold.]
[Time is short,] he told her.
[Got it. We still have to wait. Let’s hide behind that rock.]
The quartet snuck their way over to the side a little further as the foreboding feeling grew stronger. Even the regular monsters, without the benefits of her senses, were able to detect it. As the seconds ticked past, they became more agitated, scrambling to finish their fights, or escape into a separate area. Several leapt out into the larger tunnel connected to this one that Columbant was heading for, maybe hoping to slide into the smaller paths whose openings dotted the walls.
It wasn’t to be.
There was a sudden rushing sound, followed by a dull CRUNCH. Those desperate monsters were gone in an instant, vanished into the ethereal gullet of the new arrival.
Bones as black as night enveloped in ghostly, transluscent flesh, the serpent was a nightmarish vision. For a long moment it hovered in place, looming over everythin with its enormous, elongated body. When no further prey made itself known, the creature once more began to glide forward, soon sliding out of view.
That was far too close, Columbant shivered, that’s exactly where I wanted to go.
She let a few more seconds pass by before she indicated to Slither it was time to move forward. That bright core she had detected was fading away as the ghost serpent found other tunnels in which to feast.
She would dearly love to get her hands on that core, but now was hardly the time to try hunting such a high teir prey. It wasn’t often that she found monsters such as those, ones that had managed to, by luck or design, achieve a powerful core and secure potent evolutions. Such creatures were lords of their own little slices of Dungeon, suppressing everything beneath them until such time as they grew too powerful and needed to descend in order to stay alive.
[Out of time,] Slither gasped.
The shadow returned to normal as her slug pet reformed, sliding out of the ground and into the tunnel. The darkness around them retracted, revealing Garg and her passengers to their surroundings.
Fortunately, not many monsters notices, or were still so intimidated by the recent passer-by that they refused to emerge and challenge them.
[Move, quickly!] She urged the beetle and Garg responded, rushing forward and taking them into the larger tunnel. [Now left, we need to go this way.]
This junction was just one of several they would need to pass if they wanted to make it back to safe ground, and now they found themselves in a major arterial tunnel, much larger and more heavily populated than the one they had left behind.
[Stay together,] she urged her pets.
Getting here without having to fight had been a significant win. They were fresh and ready, without having been tangled in a dozen skirmishes just to get this far. Now they would have to fight, the only question was how long they could put it off.
Not long as it turned out.
They hadn’t made it far before the hundreds of monsters who had ducked for cover as the serpent came through began to emerge once more. As with all monsters, they had only one thing on their mind, growing stronger! In small packs, or as individuals, they began to hunt and the sounds of combat rang out in all directions once more.
She tried to avoid them, but it was inevitable that they would stumble into something.
Two spine covered creatures that reeked of death had been hidden beneath a small patch of coral. Their cores were weak, to the point Columbant almost didn’t see them until they were upon them. The monsters leaped from their hiding place, desperate to sting the attackers.
[Garg, use your carapace!] She warned her loyal pet.
The beetle-beast responded instantly, turning to present her massively thick shell to the spines of the monsters, which pierced into the hardened chitin, but failed to penetrate.
[Rist!]
The demon was ahead of her, already directing flames down to sear the two creatures. The spined things took heavy damage, weak to fire as most things in the second stratum were.
To strike the final blow, Slither leapt from the darkness and showered their opponents in thick acid, burning them away.
[Your pet has gained experience. You have gained a portion]
[Expert Pet Commander (III) has reached level eight]
The fight was over, but the danger hadn’t passed. Columbant swept her senses through the tunnel, waiting to see if any had been drawn closer by the noise.
At first there was nothing, and she began to feel relieved, but then came the slithering hisses and she knew trouble was coming. When wasn’t it?
Comments
reji
Disagree woth over - someone should make images to be used in neural network training. And right now they are all and the same which would become boring fast. As easy patch replace - sure. As unique work - nope
Thunderhoof
Yeah I think you definitely should. Hahaha the days of commissioning art is over.
RinoZ
-_-
RinoZ
I've never tried it. Maybe I should?
Panda
High key a lot more exciting than Anthony's chapters. I'm down for a midpoint full pivot to Columbant
Brandon14754
I'd both love and fear a chapter when another reincarnator would be born into the colony. Like maybe they'd be considered another champion, like vibrant and brilliant, and be raised by either the eldest, vibrant, or brilliant. Like how would they see and react to the colony. I fear it because they're all supposed to be a bit insane and anthony seems to be unique to the point he's the only one to EVER thank gandalf for a second life.
Anthony Romanov
He had a choice of it in beginning but he didn't want to take XP from his pet's kills as it would lower their leveling speed. His pets need all the XP that they can get to keep up with him. It works better for Columbant as she already said she will sacrifice her pets if it's only way to survive. Ants view on pets is more generally along with tools that do a specific task and they will take care of tools as best as they can. I guess it much better treatment then rest of dungeon except those dungeon turned guys.
Titaniumtac
I like how Columbant mimics Eldests choice of pets.
Thunderhoof
Hey old man RinoZ. Ever tried using AI generated images? Wouldn't it be interesting to see what Anthony would look like? I think this is the best program for novel writers where they can describe the appearance of their characters and make it into a prompt.
Edgar Delibo Jr.
I really like different perspectives in novels. And a new ant adventure with their pet buddies sounds so much fun☺️☺️
xXChrisdogXx
3 In one day?! Aren't we lucky
Rahsheem Reid
This would be a bad ass rpg video game
Rahsheem Reid
Yes finally some love for my favorite cast! Love the explorer ants being shapers! Each pet has a purpose and they can all be so different depending on what pets you create. Super dope!
Khajar
I already love this ant! Shared XP sounds awesome! Pity Anthony never got this skill, and probably never will, with his scattershot approach...
