Spirit Taming

The single path being blocked off would have been an issue if this floor was not a mess of passageways. The third and fourth floors were so many small basements connected by the magic of dungeons that it was considered the toughest pair of floors.

From what Clark had heard of this dungeon and most of the ancient dungeons, was that they were less complicated the lower that people went. This was the underground portion of the old city, but there were three other dungeons. It was sure that they had indoor rooms making them an odd combination of beasts and indoor settings. Clark wasn’t sure what sounded tougher, underground, or homes.

From what Devi had explored and sent to Clark mentally the pathway that the cattle worm had been blocking was connected to multiple other places. It would have just been a longer pathway that led them in a circle.

"There are so many of them around." Every time that one of the black ants moved by, Brad seemed to step out of the way. The large size of some of the ants was throwing him off.

"They are a colony. Alone they don’t do much. But together they can take down a beast tamer double our strength. That is why they live the way they do. That guy gave us a good warning. If others that were too new came down here, they might make a mistake." Clark pointed out a few signs of battle. They were old but were clearly proof that someone had fought here within the last month against the ants.

"I think if they saw so many of the little ones at the start they would just turn around." This was the answer that Brad had for the entire floor. He would prefer not to deal with them.

"Clark, what stops them from growing past this floor?" Maria seemed to be on a completely different train of thought than the others. But this was good. She had been forcing her mind to develop. Asking herself more questions. She wanted to catch up to what she knew Clark might actually be thinking about our the answers he might already have.

"That’s what I’m worried about. What kind of beast could fight these things?" Reese was already a bit worn out from the brown and plague rats. He did not want to fight against something that could take on hundreds of black ants.

’Side quest- floor wars

The black ants are at war with their natural predator. It has invaded their throne room. Choose a side, defend the ants or help the predator. It all depends on intelligence.

Requirement- choose a side and help them fight the other.

Reward- depends on which side is chosen and the success.’

This was nothing like what Clark had expected. However, based on what Reese and Maria had started to talk about, he had an idea. The system was clearly more than just in his head. It had ways to sense the world around him and even respond directly to the situations he was in. the creator that had made it gave it massive power and it was even showing more intelligence. Not that it spoke often. It was reclusive to some degree.

"Wait, look here." Clark was able to pick out larger footprints but they were too messed up by the other markings made from the black ants moving in large groups. "It looks like something might be fighting up ahead. We should either avoid it or push through. But if there is really a big fight..."

"Then we should join it. That’s what you want to say right? A good chance for me to relax and fight more naturally?" Reese didn’t hesitate to say this. He knew that he would have an issue if he didn’t fight more. He also knew that Maria had her beast keeping an eye on him. The jellyfish tentacles had already healed small wounds as he walked. It had replenished his energies a little.

"Good, we will do that then. There is something fighting the ants and since the ants are somewhat intelligent we should defend them. They can remember scents so if whatever is fighting them loses they will remember us. That means we have to run as soon as we can or else we might be prey."

The snap decision was the most logical. The black ants were more dangerous. Even if a few survived, they could remake the colony eventually. Knowing that a single dungeon would be off limits forever because of one type of beast that would pursue them always was annoying. It could massively harm a tamer’s career in the early stages.

Before Brad could open his mouth in response, he heard the screech of ants then the sudden rumbling of a deeper beast’s call. "So we go that way I guess..." Brad’s shield was raised and he started moving. The basements were all small but Clark knew that if they were heading in to the ant’s territory they were going to be in a larger basement. One that must have been for a mansion or larger.

The thought was proven when they burst in to a larger chamber that had been highly altered by the ants. It was the first stop for food and also had many horse sized black ants surrounding the pile. But even more, there were many smaller ants swarming the tunnel of a larger passageway. It seemed that the ants had been forced out by something. Forced to the outer feeding area where the ants broke down their food.

The sight of beasts, tamer bodies, and many other random things from the dungeon were shocking but not as shocking as the largest ant. The onyx color of the largest ant was what Clark was struck with. That and the multiple antennae that grew like a crown on its head.

’Queen black ant- rare

The queen black ant develops larger and with unique features. It has a tougher shell than any other ant to protect the young eggs within its body. It eats many things and is known to develop a horde of non edible things without throwing them away. There is no logic behind this action other than it is not food but the ants do not throw it in their waste chambers. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

The queen ants use scents to send messages. They have the unique skill to unite a colony and have been known to use their limited intelligence to make trades with other colonies. Some have even been smart enough to make basic deals with humans at times.’

The appraisal proved to be exactly what Clark needed. The more information he got about the massive ant the size of someone’s shed was what he needed. Now he could use what he knew to help. Unfortunately, the black ants had seen them and were surrounding them as well. Their queen was in danger, how could they let anything near her?

"Back up slowly and stay calm. Do not attack at all." Clark pulled Brad and Reese closer by the back of their shirts while Maria listened closely. Lit had already wrapped around her in case she needed immediate healing.

The black ants were only able to coral them before the passageway swarmed with smaller black ants was shaken. The rumbling call came again causing some of the earth to tremble. When the black ants were shoved aside, the four were able to see what had been causing the issues so far.

’Rumble toad- uncommon

The rumble toad is an earth type beast that uses the sounds of their croaks to rumble the ground and cause minor earthquakes. They use this to harm underground beasts that they will later dig up with their spiny claws. They have very thick skin to resist any insect type beasts that attack them while they are underground.

They may not be rare but they are dangerous since they do not worry about swallowing their prey whole. They had strong stomach acid that can even damage metal. Their habits are simple: find food and get it no matter what. They are gluttonous and only desire to eat most of the time. They have the chance to...’

"That is a rumble toad. They can shake this entire dungeon and collapse this floor if they go room to room with that croak." Clark understood the dangers. But because the toad was here with them, it would not collapse the passageway or the room. That was the only assurance since it would crush itself before it could dig out.

"Then what now?" Maria had a little urgency in her tone. The black ants had begun to leave them alone to swarm the toad. But the largest ants watched them. The queen’s guard from what they could guess.

"We ignore the ants and attack the toad. Afterwards, we let them use their intelligence to make a choice. Worst case, we run as fast as we can after we use our strongest attacks. But I don’t want to give up on finding that rune carver’s body. So, let’s not have to do that." Clark spun his spear and prepared to run forward.