“Using your raw strength,” Nina smiled, “That’s the first step forward, but you still need to do more,” She stood still, lifting her right palm, “Show me what you can do,”
The ant queen lifted the titanic stone with her mandibles, staring at Nina with her eyes. ^A calm barbarian, I still haven’t pushed her anywhere near raging. I’m a bug in front of her.^
Veins started bulging beneath the queen’s exoskeleton as her muscles hardened. ^This won’t be the end!^ She growled inside, throwing the stone at Nina.
CLAP! Nina smashed the stone with her palm, retaining a calm face. “Even children knew how to throw stones. You have to do better.”
CRACK! The ant queen rushed, beating the stone to the other side and catching it with her mandibles, “Die!” She growled, deflecting the stone back at Nina.
^I see,^ Nina smiled, deflecting the stone with ease. ^She throws the stone and then catches it to throw it again.^
CLAP! SLAP! CRACK! Nina kept deflecting the massive stone with her palm, not even bothering to move.
The ground started shaking as the two clashed, and the people of Alina cried, hiding in their houses. “Is it an earthquake,”
Mira looked out of Arad’s house, seeing a massive dust storm forming where Nina and the ant queen clashed.
“I hope they are all right,” she looked back to see Tina glaring out with an angry face, “Who’s going to wipe all the dust?” she growled and Mira giggled, “Us,”
Nina looked at the stone flying toward her. ^She was using a massive stone and accelerating the hits. She wants to drain my stamina, relying on her monster nature to survive a battle of attrition. So If is this kept out, it will be my loss.^
Nina smiled. ^That’s what you are thinking, aren’t you? Ant queen,^ She finally clenched her fist, letting her middle finger pip out a bit.
Thud! With a heavy stomp, she swung her fist at the coming stone, shattering it with a single punch. ^You won’t drain my stamina even with your game. Relying on unconfirmed information is the reason for the majority of deaths.^
Nina looked around, searching for the queen. “She isn’t around?” Nina then felt a tingling beneath her toes, the ground shook slightly, and she smiled looking at her feet.
“Beneath the ground, and you’re coming up rapidly,” As Nina smiled, the queen’s mandibles burst from beneath her feet, taking her into the sky.
Nina blocked the mandibles with her legs, keeping them apart as the queen tried to close them closed.
“An attack from below. You’re growing smarter,” looked at the queen, clenching her toes around the mandibles. “But don’t bite what you can’t chew!”
CRACK! With that clench, Nina shattered the queen’s mandibles.
GRRR! The ant queen growled, falling to the ground.
BAM! As the queen crashed, Nina gently landed, staring forward as she barely made a dent in the ground.
“If this was a real fight, you would be dead.” Nina approached the queen.
“I know,” The queen growled, barely standing up, “Another time,”
“There is no another time. Your exoskeleton will shatter with another hit from me.” Nina stared at the queen, “It’s over for today. Go rest. Or do you need a healer?”
The ant queen looked down, “I’m fine,” she crawled into the hole she made, going back to her lair.
Upon reaching her nest, she lay in the middle of the cavern, closing her eyes.
“Queen!” An ant rushed in.
“Queen!” “Queen!” “Queen!” “Queen!” “Queen!” “Queen!” “Queen!” “Queen!” “Queen!” “Queen!” “Queen!” “Queen!” “Queen!” “Queen!” “Queen!” “Queen!”
Hundreds of ants rushed in, surrounding her. “We brought food!” They dragged a few monsters they hunted from the forest.
“I’m not hungry. I need to sleep,” The queen hushed them away as she slowly fell asleep.
CRACK! Her exoskeleton cracked.
***
Arad walked outside the village with Jack behind him, “Do we have everything?”
“I checked twice. We should be good to go,” Jack smiled, looking at the carriage.
Aella sat in the driver’s seat with Isdis, looking back inside at Lydia and Eris. “You two are fine back there?” 𝒆𝙣𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝙚𝙩
“Yeah, it’s comfortable,” Lydia replied.
“I don’t like being here. There is a paladin with her sword drawn,” Eris replied.
“Should I kick you into the sun?” Lydia stared at Eris with a smile.
“No, thank you,” She replied with a straight face, waving her hand. “I don’t want to burn to death.”
Jack jumped into the carriage as Arad walked beside it. Then looked back, seeing the second carriage following them. “I will stay with the elves. Just in case something happens.”
Aella smiled, “Not with her around,” She looked to the side, seeing the cobra slithering across the bushes, patrolling the forest around the road.
Thud! Arad jumped on the elve’s carriage, sitting on the roof and watching their surrounding. ^Monsters rarely approach because of me, and when they do, the cobra kills them.^
[Even though we’re traveling by land, the trip should go smoothly,]
Several hours passed, and night came close. Arad waved his hand at Aella’s carriage, signaling for her to pull aside.
The carriages stopped, “Are we stopping here?” The elf who drove Arad’s carriage looked at him.
Arad nodded, “Yeah, we better start setting camp. You lot need sleep,” Thud! He jumped down, cracking his back. ^I have spent a lot of time sitting,^
“We don’t need sleep.” The elf replied, “It’s dangerous to sit in those parts of the forest.”
Arad looked at the elf, “Don’t worry. In fact, it’s safer to camp in monster-infested places.”
“I’m sure you’re wrong about that,” the elf sighed, stopping the carriage and jumping down, “Well, I hope you’re right about this time at least,” he smiled.
“Don’t worry,” Arad looked at the forest, “Monsters won’t dare approach. They will keep other people away from us.”
[The elf is right. Staying in places like this is dangerous for humanoids. The only reason monsters aren’t attacking is because they can sense you here. They won’t dare approach a dragon,]