As soon as he entered the Gate, Noah immediately felt his surroundings change. The warm feeling of sunlight and cool breeze was gone, replaced by a heat that made his small compound eyes go dry.
The ground beneath Noah felt hotter, as if a volcano was bubbling beneath the surface. The vibrations and the mix of hot air made Noah's antenna twitch with discomfort.
Sifting his eyes around the place, Noah groaned in exasperation. 'Cave? A fucking cave again?! Why the fuck am I always spawning inside a cave, dammit!' Noah deadpanned as he again found himself in a wide, cave-like structure.
Around him, brownish-red rock walls could be seen, each tall and wide. The cave had a large, wide space area, with magma-like rock protrusions and debris. Above Noah, he could see a rock ceiling, the same brownish-red in color.
Noah sighed, before looking behind him to check on the Crimson Gate. 'I guess the Gate will stay permanent like this. Actually, now that I think about it. A gate about this size opening at an open area might have caused a lot of trouble, since there would be no guarantee when other monsters from this realm could enter inside and attack the colony.'
Noah mused, as he turned to look around the cave again. The red glow from the Crimson Gate was keeping the dark cave lit, which again helped Noah to be vigilant about any monster hiding inside.
Finding none, Noah sighed in relief. After all, it is always better for a lone ant monster like him to stay unnoticed by big bad demons. Ants in number might be a terrifying force, but not a lone ant like him.
'Looks like I have to dig through the cave to go outside. ' Noah planned, his eyes wandering to the system screen again, his eyes flashing on the stamina meter.
[•Stamina: 69]
'…What you tryna say, system? That I am low on stamina or high on something?' Noah chuckled, finding his own humor dry as hell. 'But for real though, I am hungry, hungry as heck. I haven't eaten anything after being reborn. ' Noah grunted, then focused his attention on what's important.
'Let's get to work, Noah, keep your mandibles sharp.' Noah encouraged himself as he went to a nearby wall, before starting to dig through it. His powerful and strong mandibles cutting through the brownish-red rocks easily.
For around ten minutes, Noah diligently digged through the cave, creating a narrow tunnel about his size. Noah was using his antenna and front legs to first feel the section of the narrow rock walls, so he would be first alerted if the end of the cave was closing in.
After all, caution was in Noah's nature. He wasn't directly bulldozing and digging through the wall only to find out a damn demon monster waiting outside, ready to feast on his small ant body.
Finally, feeling the rock in front of his mandibles slightly less heavy and compounded. Noah checked on the wall with his front legs, his antenna working in tandem as it relayed the faint vibrations of air behind the wall. Noah instantly knew after this section of rock, a new world was to be seen outside.
So, he increased his efficiency, his mandibles chomping the red rocks, scraping them slowly as the dust and small rock debris gave way, revealing a crimson glow from outside. Noah carefully scraped at the passage, creating a narrow entrance for his antenna to go in first.
Pushing his head into the narrow passage, Noah poked his antenna outside ever so slightly. 'Let's see, I don't smell anything unusual, nor does the vibration in the air gives me a hint that there is a monster waiting outside. ' Noah sighed in relief; his fear of a monster waiting outside to fuck him up was unfounded.
'Well, here goes nothing.'
Noah quickly scraped away the remaining rock and dust, creating a wide enough space for him to squeeze through. Getting outside, Noah quickly used some dirt and rock to close off the passage. Not intending to let some stray monsters find out his layout.
After done closing the passage, Noah took a deep breath, steeling his resolve and taking in the surroundings around him. And what he saw, definitely didn't disappoint Noah.
The first thing he noticed was the clear crimson sky, bathed in an extraordinary twilight glow of red hue. There was no sun, just the endless crimson glowing sky, cascading the entire realm in a red twilight.
Then, beneath the vast expanse of red sky, the land was also an unnatural sight to see. The whole landmass was filled with brownish-red earth, uneven and filled with cracks that let out hot surges of steam from time to time from beneath.
If Noah didn't know better, he would definitely think of this place as some hellhole, but well, it was pretty close to it anyway.
From his position, Noah could estimate the cave he had dug out was a part of a massive, dome-like formation. From outside, it looked like a large, rugged mountain, but was hollow inside.
Around that rock mountain, Noah was able to see more large and rugged mountains and small hills.
Noah carefully scan the place with keen eyes, searching for a sign of any monsters. Finding none, he started to walk, hesitantly at first before moving with growing confidence.
'I should first scout the place and then find suitable prey to hunt. ' Noah planned.
….
4 hours later.
Noah looked down at a pack of four demon hounds resting on a small rock platform below. The four hounds were easily the size of regular dogs, but they had sharper canines and heavy orange fur, making them look more menacing than normal dogs.
Noah was hiding behind a boulder, slightly larger than him, silently watching the pack just above a small cliff. Two of the four demon hounds were guarding the place, while the other two were sleeping peacefully.
'Scouting this place was easier than I thought.' Noah mused, his eyes scanning those demon hounds with sharp focus. 'Around this vicinity, there aren't any strong monsters, only ranging from D-rank to C-rank monsters. Probably because this area itself is only situated for the weak ones, since I did saw another landmass in the distance. I wonder if that place has more stronger demons.' Noah pondered as he began pushing the boulder with his front leg and mandibles.
The boulder slid slowly, eventually reaching the cliff just above one of the guarding demon hounds. Noah paused, focusing his full attention on the hound closest below him. Then, with a burst of heavy steps, Noah pushed the boulder off the cliff with a powerful force.
The boulder flew from the air, directly crashing on the unaware demon hound's back, crushing the monster's spine with a sickening crack, followed by a loud boom. The hound cried out loudly in pain, causing the other guarding hound to look at his companion in surprise, waking the other two demon hounds in the process.
[You have defeated a low D-rank monster, Demon Hound.]
[You have gained experience.]
[You have leveled up, adding 1 skill point.]
As much as Noah wanted to celebrate having his first ever hunt and leveling up. He wasn't finished yet, as he quickly turned around, taking accurate aim and firing out formic acid shots from his rear.
Three consecutive acid shots flew through the air at tremendous speed, directly hitting the hound, who was still frozen in shock. The first acid shot hit the demon hound's eyes, then the second hit his neck, while the last one missed by a single hair's breadth.
'Shit, my aim sucks.' Noah cursed, as the hound who got shot cried in pain, the acid sizzling on the beast's face and neck. While the other two hounds had already noticed Noah, barking at him with fury and rage.
Noah quickly started to flee, his ant legs working at max speed. But the two hounds were already chasing after Noah, clearly furious at Noah's attempt to attack them. The hounds were much faster than Noah, causing the two hounds to dashed over the cliff before chasing after him like mad dogs.
But Noah wasn't in a panic, since he had already expected this. 'Good, they are following me.' Noah clacked his mandibles in glee as he hurriedly rushed into the narrow alley between the rocky walls of two small volcanic hills.
The lone black ant and the two demon hounds raced between the narrow alleyway, dodging through rock profusions, and the uneven ground. Noah slowed down, his large carapace grating against jagged rocks, taking damage from the terrain itself.
But different from Noah, the hounds were more agile and flexible, smoothly running through the narrow alley with speed.
The hounds followed quickly, their red eyes glistening at Noah's back with malice and rage. As one of the demon hounds was closing in to give a chomp on Noah's rear, not expecting the black ant to do anything because of its size and speed.
But the hound was horribly wrong. 'Kekeka! I still have some juice left in the tank, fucker. Now eat this!' Noah cackled in his head, his own compound eyes glinting with excitement, as he positioned his rear at the hound's jaw before blasting acid shot at point-blank range.
The demon hound was unprepared for such an attack, so the acid shot splashed on the hound's eyes and mouth, briefly blinding him before the sizzling acid eroded his eyes. The hound let out a painful scream, slamming into one of the rock protrusions and collapsing on the uneven ground with a painful muffle.
The other hound, noticing its companion had fallen, slowed its pace, now a bit fearful without the support of more against one.
However, Noah was more than happy to take on the lone hound, turning his ant body around in a quick rotation. While taking minor damage as the rocks grated against his carapace. Noah paid no heed to such small injuries; instead, his full focus was on the lone hound. He clacked his mandibles gleefully, his compound eyes focusing on the lone hound with excitement .
The hound showed its sharp canines, growling in anger. The hound's eyes blazed with fury and rage at the black ant as he lunged at Noah with high speed.
Attacking Noah's most vital part, his thin ant legs.
Noah quickly stepped back before lunging at the hound with his mandibles closing in. The hound narrowly dodged the powerful jaws of Noah, growling and hissing at the same time.
This time, paying no mind to caution, the demon hound jumped at Noah's face. Wanting to bite the damn ant with his sharp canines. But it was a huge mistake, as Noah's powerful mandibles flashed before the hound's eyes, then snapping close with powerful force.
CHOMP. CHOMP. CHOMP.
[Madible bites skill have reach lv2.]
[You have defeated a low D-rank monster, Demon Hound.]
[You have gained experience.]
[You have leveled up, adding one skill point.]
Noah, listening to the system message, sighed in relief. He dropped the demon hound from his mandibles before moving to finish the other hound, who was still writhing on the ground, whimpering from the severe head injury he got from hitting the rock protrusion.
Noah didn't pity the creature, his mandibles snapping close on the hound with a powerful chomp.
[You have defeated a low D-rank monster, Demon Hound.]
[You have gained experience.]
'With this, I leveled up two times in a single fight.' Noah sighed, his eyes staring at the stamina meter.
[•HP: 12
•Stamina: 23]
'Damn... I really need a good sleep and a full meal to recharge.' Noah grunted, his eyes shifting to the dead demon hound on the ground.
'...well Noah, you are already a monster. Wouldn't change anything if I eat another monster or not.'
....
[•Monster Archive.]
- -> Monster identify <- -
- Monster race: Demon hound.
•Monster rank: low D-rank threat.
• Monster Class: No class.
•HP: 20
•MP: 0
•Very low durability.
•Mid Agility.
•Sharp canines.
.....