Couldn't My Reincarnation have been more Cliche!

Chapter 8 (Unstable Conflict) Part One

Pulling up the ant quest information again I scanned over the mission requirements, with a little more hope that I'd be able to actually complete it.


{Quest Issued "Exterminator" [Reward: 150 GP]

{Kill ten giant ants in total}

{Mission progress: 3/10}

Huh, seven more of those ants to kill. If it was me before the system's modification, I'm not sure I would have been able to survive in this place for much longer, let alone complete this quest. Now was different. I didn't know if those ants were the only creatures in this place, still, I was confident that I wouldn't die if I slipped up like last time. Thinking this, I wondered if I should actually try and complete the quest. I knew the "GP" would come in handy if I was going to be stuck here for a long time. I would have to complete the quest at some point, but still, fighting to the death wasn't something I was looking to experience again. Thinking back on the events of the early battle made my hair stand on end. I had already come to the realization that death was around every corner here, and yet the fear of dying again wouldn't leave my mind.

I had a feeling that I would end up fighting more monsters anyway, so I might as well be the one finding them instead of the other way around. Walking towards the passageway that the ants had come out of earlier, Displayed on the map were dozens of red dots further down the tunnel.

Most were split into groups of three or four.

With the system's modification, I felt confident I could manage a group of that size. However, this feeling was quickly stolen from me, as one section of the map made my bravado disappear.

Gathered to form a massive red splotch was hundreds of dots grouped together, luckily it was far away, but the sight still gave me a bad feeling. Shivering, I wondered what would have happened if instead of being transported to a relatively barred part of this cave when I first arrived, I was sent there instead.

Crossing out that part of the map as a dead-zone, I scanned for a suitable first target to test my new skill on. I finally decided on a pair of dots not far from my part of the tunnel. Moving further into the stony passageway, the map opened in the corner of my vision. This cave really was massive. Even after only going a short distance, I had already passed a series of extensions and offshoots whose purposes were entirely unclear.

Looking around at the dug-out walls I couldn't help wondering about how long it must have taken the ants to create this place. Sadly I didn't have the time to focus on inconsequential thoughts

as I noticed that I was closing in on the location of my targets. Shooting off to my right was a tunnel that seemed to lead deeper into the cave. Glancing a look at my map, I reassured myself that none of the nearby dots were heading in my directions, before I peered into the entrance hesitantly stepping inside.

The passageway was rougher than the ones I had been walking down before. The ground was covered in scars, and the ceiling looked unstable as clumps of dirt fell from the ceiling masking my steps as I walked.

If I had been in my original world I might have been scared of a cave-in, but at the moment, that seemed to be the least of my concerns. Without even looking at the map, I could tell that my targets were nearby from the strange scraping sounds echoing in the darkness. Inching closer to the walls of the passageway I neared the sound, getting closer I did my best to conceal my presence. As if reacting to my thoughts, the sound of a system notification confirmed my earlier assumptions about my new skill.

[System: Skill "cloak" {active} Current status {unimpaired}]

Like last time I still wasn't confident that anything had changed or that the skill really had activated, but the now brightly lit skill icon comforted me a little Slowing my breathe I gripped my knife, as I approached. I could make out the forms of two ants they were making themselves busy in the far corner of the cramp tunnel. One of them seemed to be scraping at the bare rock wall of the cave with its mandible, while tossing the loosened debris into a heap behind it.

The second ant was a bit larger than the first; it also had a red stripe down the middle of its back. It was waiting idly behind the smaller ant; however, it soon burst into movement as a shimmering rock was thrown out of the cave wall by the digging ant.

Hitting the ground, it bounced then rolled towards my direction before coming to a stop. The rock was surprisingly easy to see through the dark. It reflected what little light there was in the tunnel into a dazzling display of rainbow light. that was made all the more apparent when compared with the rest of its surroundings. The ants appeared just as taken aback by the stone's unveiling as I was. The first one, having stopped its digging, turned and skittered towards it. In doing so, it charged directly towards me.

My breath caught in my throat as its eyes swept over my location; they only lingered on where I hid for a brief moment before they returned their focus to the rock lying on the ground, but that moment tested all of the very little trust I had in the system. I let out a small noise as it's short lived glance returned to the stone before it joyfully, lunged towards it with its pincers, but all it gained for its effort was air, as the second, larger ant seemingly waiting for this, had in one lightning-fast movement snatched the rock up into its own pincers.

The first ant's head shot up to meet the gaze of the second ant. Letting out a menacing cry, it grabbed the pincers of the larger ant, attempting to pry them open. Watching this scene, I was left dumbfounded. Were these ants really going to duke it out for some shiny rock? I had the feeling in that moment that even if my skill wasn't active, the two wouldn't pay any attention to me. I considered if I should use this opportunity to attack the pair but ultimately decided against it. After all, it wasn't really a bad thing if they ended up fighting each other first.

Unfortunately for my hopes of third-partying them, the larger ant, unfazed by the attempt, reached one of its front legs up before slamming it down on the head of the ant in front of it. The smaller creature immediately lost its grip, its head bent down towards the ground by the continued pressure of the larger ant's leg. It let out a series of muffled croaks, this action seemingly reaching an understanding between the two. As the larger ant relaxed its leg before turning in my direction and walking forward, its head held high in triumph. On the other hand, the first ant still had its head low but had resumed its original work with more vigor than before.

The larger ant still didn't take any note of my presence despite it coming closer with each step. The fact that I had yet to be detected would have left me feeling more confident if the power exerted by the ant heading in my direction wasn't so far outside of my expectation. It was probably best if I let it pass and just stuck to dealing with the smaller ants.