Moving through the city at a brisk yet controlled pace, it wasn’t even ten minutes before Leo’s group encountered their first ants. A tight group of four—idle and explorative. Leo quickly identified them:

 

Lesser Antling - Level 3

Lesser Antling - Level 2

Lesser Antling - Level 3

Lesser Antling - Level 4

 

Four ants posed a significant risk, especially with the team mostly at level 2. Running wasn’t an option either, given how agile and relentless the Antlings were. An eerie silence filled the air briefly, broken suddenly by skittering sounds approaching fast. Before they could formulate a plan, the ants spotted them and charged.

Reactions varied sharply: Cecelia, Ron, and Bjorn quickly drew their weapons, faces hardened by determination and quick courage. Jasper trembled visibly, clearly considering fleeing. Leo, however, felt exhilarated. He’d been wanting to test out his new skill—answer the question of how hard he could punch these creatures.

“Bjorn, taunt the ants going for the backline! I’ll handle the one on the right. Everyone, watch friendly fire!” Leo commanded sharply, surprising the group who looked around at each other.

He was in his element, leading parties of adventurers through battles was something he’d had lots of experience in. If games and dreams counted.

Bjorn unhesitatingly roared a mighty yell, the air slightly reverberating, drawing three ants to himself. He raised his shield defensively as a layer of stone formed over it.

Leo surged toward the unaffected level 4 antling, confident in his stats and experience. Charging a Mana Strike, he aimed a kick at the creature's head. Though the ant tried to clamp down on the incoming leg, its speed fell short.

Feeling the extra power coursing through him, the kick connected hard, cracking the chitin on its faceplate and sending it reeling back. Compared to his previous attacks on antlings, this one was by far his strongest. He couldn't help the grin forming on his face.

It screeched in alarm and pain, stumbling slightly from the disorientation.

Before it could recover, Leo moved to its side and swept its legs, dropping it to the ground. Then smashed his mana-infused fist through its wounded head, shattering the carapace and opening up its insides to further assault. Which he did. Repeatedly.

 

You have Slain: Lesser Antling - Level 4

Experience Gained

+8 Store Credits

 

Grinning as adrenaline surged, Leo’s celebration of a somewhat clean fight was cut short by Jasper’s panicked scream.

“HELP!”

Leo spun, his heart dropping. Bjorn and Cecelia were fighting two ants fiercely while Lena struggled to aim spells. The healers were trying to press their hands to those in melee combat when they could but it was a tricky balance.

Jasper, cornered, desperately waved his daggers at a bleeding ant approaching him—poised to strike.

Leo moved fast, vaulting off a nearby wall. It sent him a few feet into the air. A moment later he came crashing, feet-first onto the ant as he pinned it to the ground with enough force to make its legs splay out. It still twitched, the attack not enough to finish it off.

“Stab it quick, Jasper! Get the XP!” Leo urged.

“Fuck off! I’m not going near that!” Jasper yelled, fleeing to the healers.

Frustrated, as he spotted no visible wounds on Jasper, Leo drove his foot down again, the strike coated in the familiar glow from Mana Strikes.

 

You have Slain: Lesser Antling - Level 3

Experience earned

+3 Store Credits

Leo quickly checked his resources.

MP: 117/150

SP: 92/160

His stamina was draining faster than expected but still more than enough to continue. With no time to dwell, Leo joined the others.

“You alright?” he asked.

“We have this,” Cecelia replied firmly, despite her visible exhaustion and wounds.

Leo watched closely, ready to intervene if necessary. He respected the resolve they were both exhibiting.

Finally, a decisive strike from Cecelia and Ron’s arrow ended the fight. No notification appeared for Leo, suggesting he hadn’t assisted directly enough, which made sense. No fight, no reward.

He wondered if Healers gained any experience if they didn’t heal at all. Reminding himself to ask later.

As the fighting ended and people collapsed, Ashley rushed to Leo and frantically started patting him down, searching for wounds. “Are you hurt? Do you need healing?”

“I’m fine, I'm fine! I think they need help more,” Leo stammered, startled by her concern. Ashley blushed, clearly embarrassed and swiftly moved towards Cecelia and Bjorn.

As a tense silence descended upon the group, Leo was replaying the fight with the ants in his head. The rush and thrill he got from it. He smiled to himself. That thought seemed to be all too much for one individual. Jasper, who had been glaring at Leo, exploded.

“Why are you smiling, you psychopath? We nearly died! You ran off, leaving us to handle three of these monsters! The women could’ve gotten hurt!”

Cecelia turned coldly.. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Jasper doubled down nervously. “Women are weaker; I have to protect you–”

“Oh forgive me, mighty protector!” Cecelia mocked sharply.

Ashley interjected, fury in her voice, “Stop blaming Leo! You lied about being hurt, running over to us and begging for help. I watched you. You ran from an Ant that was pinned down and almost dead! If it wasn’t for Leo, you’d have been ant food!”

Just as Jasper was about to start yelling again, his face was redder than Leo had seen. He was beaten to it.

Bjorn’s voice boomed out, laced with exasperation and annoyance. “Enough! Calm down, everyone. Kid, I get you’re strong, but none of us have any experience fighting monsters. Consider that, next time you run in with nothing more than “cover the backline”. Jasper. Shut up man. You’re just digging yourself a hole.”

Jasper glared at both Leo and Bjorn but walked away to sit on his own. A permanent scowl marred his face.

Leo’s mood softened as he considered Bjorn’s words. Was he being reckless? Perhaps he had overestimated their abilities. A day ago these people were just working their normal jobs, with likely little to no violence in their lives. Yesterday, Lena was almost sliced in half, Ashley was almost murdered or worse.

One slip up here would have ended in disaster, these antlings were ruthless, dangerous and relentless. One attack from them had almost killed him in his first encounter and that was with his extra Vitality. Leo bit his lip in regret of his own feelings.

“I’m sorry,” Leo said quietly. “You’re right. This place has got me feeling all sorts of ways, I’ve been treating it like a game. I’ll try and do better.”

Bjorn nodded gently, sighing. “We’re all just stressed. This whole thing.” He gestured around him. “Is fucking mad. Fighting giant ants, our families missing. We have so much to worry about and not working together properly just adds to that.”

Leo thought about his sister, a pang of worry hitting him. He hadn’t even stopped to consider that these people were thinking about their families. They could be lost in this place—hiding, or like his sister and across the country. Awaiting their loved ones to rescue them from this newly birthed hell.

With Bjorn’s rebuke, the tension eased slightly. There were subtle shifts within the group. Cecelia regarded Leo with a bit more respect, but also something else he couldn’t quite put his finger on. A bit of apprehension, maybe. Jasper distanced himself further, bitterness clear in his demeanour.

Amy and Ashley discussed conserving their mana more effectively in the future. Inspired, Leo was more than eager to discuss tactics. He lived for this stuff.

After spending a time recovering, Leo checked with the fighters about stamina use.

“I’ve got about 75% left,” Bjorn answered.

Cecelia and Ron both nodded, Leo didn’t bother trying to ask Jasper.

Leo hummed in thought, examining his own stamina consumption throughout the fight.

“How much did you use? You were dashing about like mad with those glowy hands of yours, plus the question, so I'm guessing a lot” Bjorn chuckled.

“Oh yeah," Leo said, nodding. "It dropped to almost half. My class even gives me Endurance every level but it doesn’t feel like enough.”

Nodding to himself in his reasoning, Leo put his two free stat points into Endurance. Raising it to 18

“I think I’ll be putting more stats into Endurance in the future,” Leo mused.

“How do you know where to put which stats?” Ashley asked from the side, he hadn’t noticed her approach.

Leo explained what he assumed each stat correlated to. During the explanation, people started listening more intently. Questions arose constantly about how he knew it or why he thought so and he was able to answer with relative ease. This was RPG basics to him. He just hoped that he wasn’t massively wrong and was leading people down a path of unknowing deception.

One thing he didn’t fail to notice was Jasper's scathing glare as Leo was given attention. Why he had such animosity for him was something he’d have to keep an eye on. If this place had taught him anything so far, it was that people had the capacity to kill with more ease than he was anticipating. Himself included.

“Not bad,” Cecelia said. “This information does give me better insight. I felt my speed was lacking during the fight. While this sword is large and quite unwieldy, the Strength gain from my class should offset it as I place points into Agility.”

“No worries, that sounds like a great idea. Agility is my highest stat and I can already feel its benefits.” Leo smiled, genuinely happy to be of help. He could talk about stats, skills, and tactics all day if given the chance.

Following the slightly lengthy discussion as they rested, they moved onward cautiously. Leo and Ron scouted ahead. The idea was that archers should have good vision and Leo had the speed and reaction to, well, react to danger. It was a weak theory, but both men were happy to adopt the job. At least he assumed Ron was happy, as his face was blank.

The city was quiet, almost peaceful. Leo had expected with the number of people within the city that they would at least have come across someone by now, but when he thought about it... Fifteen-hundred people wasn’t a lot to occupy an entire city. It barely made a dent.

The squad kept up their march, finding more battles to hone their skills.

A few smaller groups of ants fell easily on the way, leveling the team—apart from Leo—up. He gained only 13 Store credits.

After each battle, Leo quietly observed how quickly the group learned and adapted—especially Cecelia. Her movements were becoming honed like a blade that was being gradually sharpened. From talks with her, she had never taken up a sword, which either meant the system was guiding her or she was a prodigy.

Yet despite the smooth victories, Leo felt an unsettling boredom. A craving for challenge. Guilt decided to rear its ugly head as he did so.

Safety should feel rewarding, not dull. Control yourself, you junkie, he chided himself.

Bjorn noticed Leo’s distant expression, pulling him aside briefly. “Keep your head clear, kid. A win is a win, no matter how easy it feels. You were the one that wanted us to all become stronger, that’s what we’re doing. Stick with us. We’ll get there.”

Leo nodded, contemplating his words. It was true that he was the one to suggest that they all go out here to fight in the first place. There was no reason for him to feel bored. They were still fighting for their lives, albeit with seemingly less risk with every encounter. He should be proud that everyone was so eagerly trying to progress and apparently catch up with him.

Protecting people as they grew stronger did make him feel a bit better. Although, even with his acceptance and Bjorn’s calming words, the itch for a battle kept tickling him under his skin.

Reaching the remnants of the scene where Leo fought the murderous convicts, they found no bodies—only bloodstains and drag marks leading away. Leo could see Ron’s eyes tighten in remembrance, his body shaking slightly. Ron said nothing, as was his usual no matter his feelings.

Bjorn clapped Leo’s shoulder comfortingly. “No point lingering. Let’s go."

Leo moved over to Ron, a dark expression on his face. “Do you regret helping me with… you know.”

Ron’s stoic expression softened for a moment. “I don't relish fighting people. I did what I had to. We... did the right thing.”

Leo and Bjorn—both still in proximity to hear, were wide eyed and staring. Bjorn’s mouth sat agape, almost low enough to taste the dirt below them.

“Hmph,” Ron said, leaving.

Leo and Bjorn exchanged looks, not one word was said. They did internally note however, that if something unexpected happened today, it was already dwarfed.

Finally, the group reached the river. Leo was expecting to meet some people, maybe some old boats or fish swimming around.

When he actually looked upon the river however. He was swiftly reminded of what this place was.

Hell.

It was like an explosion had gone off, harming nothing but those caught within it. Corpses littered the ground in differing states of dismemberment. The amount of blood flowing down the river banks was enough to paint it red.

Three lesser ants dragged bodies away, overseen by a larger, jet-black ant, mandibles still dripping red with the blood of the people around it.

Lena gasped in shock. Her hands shot up to cover her mouth, suppressing a scream as tears streamed down her face. Leo’s stomach turned, as did likely everyone else's.

Time seemed to slow as Leo’s blue eyes met the compound black, hollow eyes of the ant. Tension was thick in the air. He used Identify.

Soldier Antling - Level 7

Lesser Antling - Level 4

Lesser Antling - Level 3

Lesser Antling - Level 2

The gasp had alerted them, and only for a brief moment did they remain idle before a horrifying, ear wrenching screech signalled the beginning of the assault. The remaining antlings, who were still hauling, instantly dropped their kills and turned in sync.

Leo felt his adrenaline spike, but also anger and sorrow. Anger at these monsters who had killed all of these people. Sorrow that he could have possibly saved them.

Could he have made it in time to if he'd moved faster? The feeling was quickly suppressed. There was no saving them now. All he could give them was justice.

Leo angrily bared his teeth as his eyes were glued to the Soldier. His storm within him flared only slightly, but it was enough to confirm two things.

This ant was going to die.

And it wouldn’t be gentle.