The moment Noah stepped inside, he immediately felt the wave of hot air and the scent ofdry earth hit him like a tidal wave. 'Yeah, this place fucking sucks.' Noah groaned, clicking his mandibles in annoyance. His carapace twitching with discomfort as the hot and dry environment of the demon realm made him remember to appreciate the lush greenery of grass and normal weather of Earth.
Noah took in the surroundings of the same mundane rock cave, completely lit by the glow of the Crimson Gate, swirling and crackling with unnatural force behind Noah and gang.
Beside him, the red ant followed silently. It was also clear to see that she was also feeling discomfort, her own red and slightly glowing carapace quivering in distaste. She looked around, taking in the surroundings with her large red antenna.
'I hope she wouldn't do anything too crazy in this place.' Noah prayed silently, his antenna swaying in the air as he used the identify skill on her.
-> Monster Identify <- -
Monster Race: Adaptive Mana Ant (Myrmica Variant)
Rank: Mid A-Rank Threat
Class: Sub Leader
• HP: 950/950
• MP: 0/0
• High durability
• High agility
• Sharp mandibles
• Has a year lifespan
Sub Leader (Special Trait): A rare evolutionary breakthrough seen in some worker ants under only extreme conditions. Possesses slightly elevated intelligence compared to standard ants. Other ants instinctively recognize and follow this individual, granting it limited command authority within the colony. Still follows monstrous instincts, but with a trace of individual decision-making. ]
Noah narrowed his eyes on the system screen, taking in the information that system provided. His mind churning. 'So my earlier conjecture about her was true after all.' Noah nodded seriously, his compound eyes focusing on the red ant.
He had made many presumptions earlier, and one of them was pretty easy to think about. As previously mentioned, in Solo Leveling's Jeju Island arc, there were two types of ants: the red ones and the white ones—well, aside from Beru of course. The white ants were considered the swarm leaders during that arc, the red ants following them around like valiant soldiers.
But after all the white ants died in the recently happened 3rd Jeju Island raid, there wasn't any ant capable enough to lead the other red ants. Beru wasn't born yet, and the Queen, even though as strong as any S-rank, wasn't actually capable of fighting. After all, her primary role for the colony is to lay eggs and grow the colony into a stronger force with more ants.
Then, who was left? Well, many if you consider the future of their adaptive prospect. The monstrous ants were capable of adaptation.
After all, the ants had forcefully evolved into winged ants in the canon Solo Leveling by eating each other. So, a single red ant breaking through her limited intelligence and growing to become a leader ant wasn't really a surprise if you think about it. In fact, it's literally in their species name, bruh.
Adaptive Mana Ant. A bit of irony that even though they are adapting physiqually they still haven't gained the use of mana. Aside from the Queen, alright.
'Now that I am thinking about it… just how terrifyingly strong these ants could have been if they actually survived in the canon...' Noah frowned deeply.
The thought was terrifying. It was fucking terrifying.
The Queen had given birth to Beru, a monster ant stronger than most S-ranks in the world. If it wasn't for those Korean hunters killing the Queen and Sung Jin-Woo utterly destroying Beru…
The ants could have been one of the strongest forces in the world.
Noah's eyes gleamed in the red glow, his thoughts churning, and his small ant heart pounding loudly, reverberating inside his head like war drums. Unknown to Noah himself, a small root of ambition and desire had implanted inside him. A desire for his family—for the colony to grow into new heights that even the original world of Solo Leveling had never seen.
But as Noah was lost in thought, he didn't notice a large, dark shadow sinking silently across the edge of the cavern wall. The dark shadow expertly hid its malice, moving silently from the corner of the cave. But unfortunately for the malicious dark shadow—no matter how well it concealed its bloodthirst—it couldn't hide away its nasty scent or the faint vibrations in the air.
Noah's antenna twitched, and instantly he felt the change in the air as he quickly tried to turn around to see the danger. 'Shit, I was too lost in my thoughts.' Noah cursed, his compound eyes frantically searching for the danger his antennae were screaming about.
But he was a bit too late. Before his vision, Noah saw a large black claw—capable of easily slicing through metal and steel—shooting toward his compound eyes, even the air whistling at the terrifying speed. Noah's mind raced as he tried to use his newly acquired skill 'Dash' to sidestep, but Noah's speed was too slow compared to the impending black claw.
But before the black claw could graze into Noah's eyes and plunge into his brain, from the corner of Noah's vision, a red figure flashed—its speed easily double compared to the black claw. Noah didn't know what happened, but before the black claw could hit him and finish him in a single attack—
Boom!
A loud boom echoed, followed by a painful screech as if an animal got hit by a bullet—but instead, it felt like the animal was getting violently mulched. The sound of the painful screech and the powerful snap of mandibles reverberated inside the cave.
Noah stood dumbly, his head slowly turning to the red ant, who was standing above a dark creature. No—a rat monster, to be exact. The monster had a large physique, almost the same size as a human. The monster had a long snout, desperately screeching through it as the large red ant towered above, snapping its sharp and powerful mandibles on the monster's neck.
Dark, disgusting blood was gushing from the monster's wounded neck, pooling below the damn monster's writhing figure in a small puddle. The rat monster did its best to struggle, but against the mighty jaws of the red ant, it was a losing battle as the mandibles closed in again with a powerful bite—then again and again and again—until the neck was cut through. Even the demon monster's head wasn't given mercy, getting chomped by those sharp and deadly mandibles until the whole head was turned into a pile of cut bones and flesh.
In front of Noah's eyes, he saw the large demon monster—who could have easily killed him with a single attack—get utterly fucked over by a single red ant. Until the pitiful monster let out its last breath.
"...Goddamn." Noah took a shuddering sigh, his eyes staring at the red ant, his beating ant heart loudly thumping inside him. His mind racing as only a single thought came to him:
"...In this universe, where the colony now wouldn't have the problem of food shortage… and a human mind and intellect like me… how far will they evolve?"
....
[•Monster Archive.]
- -> Monster identify <- -
Monster Race: Shadow Snout
• Monster Rank: High C-rank Threat
• Monster Class: No class
• HP: 180.
• MP: 0
• High Agility
• High Durability
• Concealed presence (passive trait)
• Long black claws capable of slicing through steel
• Certain level of intelligence.