First Light of a New Age

Chapter 63: Dungeon Boss

Austronesia Empire, Imperial Majahapit, Jayapura Papua, Jayapura Mining Facility, Dungeon Level 1

1st Year of God, Monday, 2nd Week, Month Of Abraham.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The muffled pops of suppressed gunfire echoed down the corridor, catching Specialist Sergeant Eurylochus's attention as he glanced up and narrowed his eyes.

"Sergeant Pice, what's the situation?" he radioed into his communicator.

"[Fucking bugs! We've got some giant ants here,]" Pice's voice crackled over the radio.

"Need support? Over," Eurylochus asked, as he held his weapon ready, watching the doorway, where the distant sounds of gunfire were drifting out.

[Negative,] Pice replied over the radio, [It's over. Come on in, it's cleared.]

Eurylochus stood up from his crouching position and waved from everyone to follow, "Let's move in and see what we're dealing with," he ordered.

As they entered the room, Penelope coughed, her breath catching in the thick haze of gunsmoke that lingered in the air. With both teams gathered together, Odysseus raised a hand and cast a simple spell, sending a breeze through the room that quickly dispersed the smoke.

Over twenty plus corpses of ants, each the size of a large dog, lay scattered across the floor with their bodies twisted in death. The remaining honey slimes appeared to have been frightened off and had disappeared somewhere. The ground was wet with the leaking hemolymph of the dead ants as Penelope went up beside one of the bodies to snap a photo with her camera.

Odysseus bent over a dead ant and examined it closely, "The mana stones are usually found near the forehead or the thyroid," He explained, deftly using a dagger to saw through the tough exoskeleton of the ant's head, before digging into it and pulling a slimy yellowish mana stone out.

"Here," he said, tossing the finger-sized stone over to Pice, who rubbed the slime off the stone before examining it in the light of the moss.

"Nice," Pice remarked, turning to the others. "Well, what are you waiting for? Start harvesting the stones!" He then turned back to Odysseus. "What else is usable that we can salvage from these creatures?"

Odysseus nodded thoughtfully. "Well, the silk from their rear abdomens can be harvested to make cloth. The carapace, when treated, works better than leather and steel armor. Some artisans even use the ants' eyes for jewelry, and their eye cases can be turned into clear bowls. The mandibles make excellent saw blades."

"Damn, that's a lot of uses," Pice replied, watching as the team methodically cut into the ants to retrieve the mana stones. "Are they edible?"

"Oh yes," Odysseus nodded, "Though I've never tried it myself. I've heard they're quite tasty."

"Alright, listen up!" Pice called out to the team. "Stop butchering the bodies, the way you guys try to harvest the stones is making my eyes bleed. Sir Odysseus, can you have your golems transport the ants out to the main entrance? Let the experts handle the harvesting while we focus on exploring."

Odysseus nodded and began directing his golems to gather the ant bodies.

"And don't forget the bundles of honey slime silk," Pice added. "No point in wasting it."

The golems, each with a large wicker basket strapped to its back, carefully loaded the ant corpses. Once the baskets were full, the golems lumbered off towards the dungeon's exit with their burden secured.

While the others were occupied, Penelope took the opportunity to explore the room, her eyes scanning the walls for more carvings and drawings. She meticulously recorded each detail and did a quick measure and found the room to be roughly 20 by 32 meters.