Will I End Up As a Hero or a Demon King (WN)

Chapter 142

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Chapter 142 – End of the Line

After that, we went through about 30 more rooms, and the difficulty level started to slow down considerably.

While we talked about going home soon, we continued to play the fishing game, and then we encountered a situation that had never happened before: the ants did not get caught at all with the Call to Assembly.

“(Is this finally the goal?)”

This thought went through my mind, and my feet naturally moved forward, drawn by the presence I could see at the end of the passage.

Then, a completely different scene unfolded before us from the rooms we had passed through.

“(My goodness, look at the number of eggs here…)”

It was several dozen times larger than the rooms we had passed through so far, and on the floor were countless eggs covered in a thin membrane about a meter high, lined up as if to fill in the gaps.

Looking up, I saw a high ceiling that looked like a cathedral.

From there, light shone down from the bottom in multiple layers, and I was even strangely moved by the mysterious sight, which one would never see on Earth.

On the other hand, there were countless eggs, some of which had already hatched and their shells were broken, while others were wriggling around inside, making uncomfortable movements, and when I lowered my head, I was fully aware that this was the lair of monsters.

And then…

“(Just as the information said, the queen ant was not here.)”

This was something I had also heard from the talkative old lady of the guild.

“Queen Ant was defeated about three months ago.”

When I heard that, I was a little disappointed.

She was out of my league.

That’s all I can say, but still, there was a possibility that I could defeat her today as long as I was with Ril.

Well, there would have been more ants on the road if it had been here, so I might have burned out before I got here.

“I came here because I was afraid you wouldn’t come back, but… what happened?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Looks like this is the end of the line.”

“I see.”

“Originally, the center of the mound was a bit higher. Since there were no eggs at all, I think there was probably a queen ant boss here.”

“The light shines in here, so it’s different from the rest. Is it gone now?”

“I heard that someone defeated it about three months ago. Well, if it’s not here, there’s no point in looking for it, and there are no monsters to hunt here, so I guess we’ll go back to catching insects.”

“Hmm… It looks like there are quite a few unhatched eggs. If we defeat them, won’t they become an experience for Loki?”

“Huh? Well, Ril has some pretty amazing ideas. You said you wouldn’t want to hunt monsters if you could, so what was that comment you made earlier about hunting monsters in the morning?”

“Th-that’s not it! It’s for Loki’s sake, you know! I don’t have any evil thoughts about wanting to get a little stronger, you know!”

Watching Ril, who is now in a panic and has finally confessed, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

The fact that she came up with this idea means that she must feel that she has become strong enough to experience it to some degree.

This egg didn’t trigger the Exploration function.

That’s probably because I kept searching for the word “ant monster,” but there was no response to the Call to Assembly function.

So, I never thought that the contents of this egg were “monsters that have experience and skills.”

But――

“Should we try it?”

This huge number of targets might be waiting for us to defeat them without moving.

“If we destroy the egg, this cave will be very quiet until the next queen ant appears, but… well, they say that people will be happy if the number of monsters decreases, so let’s try to defeat one for now.”

I open the status screen to check some of the current values and follow Ril as she walks toward the egg in front of her.

“Hmph!”

“Here!”

When Ril slashes at the egg, it has the same physical properties.

However, the soldier ant, which is half the size or slightly smaller, is cut in half.

I finished it off with my sword and immediately checked the status screen again.

“Wow, I’ve gained experience points! Judging from the way my skill experience points are increasing, I think it’s probably the same as an adult!”

“I see… So it’s worth it, even if it’s a pain that they won’t come near us.”

“I guess so. There are so many of them, so let’s get rid of them all!”

From then on, it was like a production line, with Ril cutting the eggs and me finishing them.

Thinking that this was a bonus stage, I destroyed egg after egg with its contents inside.

Since there was no danger of being attacked, Ril’s requests were, “I want to eat this” and “I want to eat that.”

Well, they were all meat dishes―as I listened to her requests, I secretly checked the status screen and grinned.

“(Oh no… could this possibly go up to level 9?)”

Although the skills of the three monsters were different, the only thing they all had in common was Acid Resistance.

What’s more, all three of them had a skill level of 5, a level that had never been seen before.

The current level of Acid Resistance is 1% at level 8.

Although I’ve been looking at the status screen for a while now, the 1% hasn’t changed, but with the number of eggs like this, there’s a chance.

If it reaches level 9, there’s no doubt that my stats will skyrocket.

“Ril, maybe I’ll be the first person to reach level 9…”

I just wanted to express my wish.

“(Huh? A light?)”

Ril turns around in response to my words.

I see a ray of light behind her.

“Ril!?”

By the time I called out to her, it was too late.

Something hit Ril’s back directly, and as it flew past me at great speed, I could only watch as she was blown away.

“(What is that…? What happened? It was too fast… and Ril?!)”

“Guh… my body is numb… Loki! What was that? What did you see?”

When I saw Ril, who was on one knee but didn’t seem to have suffered any serious damage, I involuntarily let out a huge breath of air.

But now is not the time to be relieved.

I had to relay the information to Ril, who couldn’t see it.

Even from a distance, you can tell it’s an ant.

But it’s a golden color unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, and most importantly, its body is extremely small.

It’s about the same size as the larvae we defeated…

At that moment, I wondered if I was wrong, and my face twisted in self-loathing.

When I hear the words queen ant, the first thing that comes to mind is a huge body that you have to look up at.

This had been the case in all the games I’d played so far.

So I assumed it would be big enough that you could see it from a distance.

And then there was the information in the guild’s monster reference book, which said that the rate at which monsters appeared in the dungeon would decrease significantly for about six months.

I had arbitrarily decided that the queen ant’s cycle of appearance was about six months.

I’d never seen anyone bring ant materials to the exchange before.

If only strong hunters were approaching according to the cycle information circulating, even the nosy old women in the guild might have thought the same thing due to a lack of information.

But… what if there is a spawning period for the eggs that are now in front of us after they appear?

If it takes a reasonable amount of time for them to reach adulthood, even if the queen ant reappears, the rate of monster appearances will remain low for a while.

Despite the fact that they were there from the beginning, we leisurely crushed the eggs while staying within range――

“(We did it…)”

We’ve gotten pretty close to the center of the room.

This streak of light reaches us at a blinding speed.

I have no confidence that I can avoid it.

Besides, I’m not wearing any armor, and looking at the strength of the impact that just blew Ril away; I can’t imagine that I’ll be able to stay safe when the light is aimed at me.

“(I can’t run away… Could it be that I’m going to die again?)”

Just as I was about to give that answer and my legs were about to give out from fear, an angry voice came from behind me.

“Loki! I told you! If you give in, only death awaits you! Get behind me first!”

“Guh… Y-yes!”

I don’t want to die.

I’m not going to die.

With this thought alone, I ran towards Ril.

But…

“W-what is it…?”

Suddenly, I felt my steps slow down.

It wasn’t that my body felt heavy.

It was just the feeling that I couldn’t move at the speed I should be able to.

For a moment, before my body started to malfunction, I felt like a black mist had enveloped my body, but no way…

“I-is this a delayed spell? You’re kidding me…”

When I realized that Ril’s prediction was the same as mine, my heart was almost completely filled with the fear of death.

It should be close, but it’s far away.

My hand is almost there, but it can’t reach it.

If it releases the light again…

“Damn it…”

I turn my head, feeling that my movements are slow, and stare at the golden ant, the queen ant, standing about 50 meters away.

“(If it’s going to attack, it will at least make some kind of pre-attack movement, right? If that’s the case, I can dig a hole and hide in it…)”

Moving only my legs toward Ril, I decide that the light is some kind of magic, and I watch closely for any sign of its movement.

Then.

“(Is this it!?)”

A black mist envelops the area around the ant’s face.

The moment I could clearly see it with my Far Sight skill, I immediately started chanting.

“Dig a big hole!”

My feet begin to sink.

My eyes are fixed on the queen ant, but I can’t stop the impatience I feel as I slowly sink.

“(Hurry, hurry, hurry…!!!)”

But my wishes are in vain, and a blinding light shines into my vision.

“It’s too early… why… why is it being released already…?”

The first time I saw a monster cast a spell was in the Great Forest of Palmera when I fought Hooley Mole.

Up until then, I had always managed to defeat the monsters before they could cast their spells.

So, I can only say that I misjudged the speed of the monster’s chant and the time it took for the spell to activate.

On the one hand, there was an F-rank monster, and on the other hand, there was a high-level A-rank boss class monster.

It’s not the same, is it?

Still, I try to do something, and even though I know it’s too late, I duck at that spot.

“This is aimed at me, so it’s probably impossible. I wonder if I can take it and endure it…)”

I also chant Hardening, but it’s unclear if it has any effect on magic defense.

I want to fight, but I can’t see a way to do it.

Still, when I try to turn my gaze to Ril…

“Zuoraaaaaa!!!”

――She was right in front of me.

I saw Ril standing in front of me as if facing the light and raising her sword from below.

I don’t know what she was going to do.

However, the light disappeared into the sky like a burst of light, and perhaps the power was reduced to some extent, but Ril only took a few steps back.

“Hiding underground by making a hole. That’s an interesting choice.”

Even though she didn’t turn her face to me, those words alone gave me an enormous sense of relief.

“Ril… thank you…”

“I’d really like to switch skills, but I don’t think I’ll be able to find the time… I’ll just kill it like this. Loki would probably be better off hiding in the hole. When you feel that the delay magic has worn off, run towards the passage. It’s a little hard to protect Loki while fighting that thing.”

“O-okay, be careful!”

“Hahahaha! Who do you think I am? I’m the goddess of war… you know?”

“Huh?”

Something is wrong.

Normally, she would have run in and triumphantly announced her intentions, but for some reason, Ril stayed where she was.

This can only mean that something has changed.

Thinking this, I looked out of the hole where I was hiding…

The queen ant’s body flickered with a pale light, and when the light faded, the countless eggs around it began to stir violently.

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