NOVEL NEXT B3 - Lesson 6: "March, Soldier!"
"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
A high-pitched scream tore through the cavern's stillness — though only those linked to a certain network could hear it.
At the same moment, a silver blur plummeted from the canopy above, crashing into the forest floor with a heavy thud. Dust billowed outward, swirling in the dim light. When it finally settled, a wolf-sized silver ant lay sprawled in a shallow crater, twitching as it struggled to right itself.
"Owwwie… why does it hurt?" the ant groaned, its voice unmistakably young and feminine. "Who thought it was a good idea to make this hurt?!"
A second voice — masculine, teasing — laughed. Silent to the world, but crystal clear through their shared mental link.
The fallen ant whipped around, glaring up at the nearby tree where two more silver ants were making their way down the trunk with unsettling ease.
"Shut up, Garrelt! I'm not used to six legs! How the hell are you moving so well in this thing?!"
One of the descending ants paused, tilting its head just slightly, somehow managing to radiate smugness.
"What's the matter, Mags? Never driven a golem before?"
Maggy pointed a trembling limb at him. "Of course I have! But not like this! One minute, we're lying in those creepy glass coffins, and the next, we're ants?! How does that make any sense?"
Sure, piloting a golem meant meditating and projecting one's mind into a surrogate body, but that always felt like puppeteering — controlling something distinct from oneself. This, though… this was different. It was like she was the ant. This wasn't just control; it was embodiment in a way that made her stomach churn. If she still had a stomach.
The third ant — silent until now — landed gracefully at the tree's base. A soft chuckle echoed through the link.
"I'm sure Mr. Alpha would be more than happy to explain the principles later," Dr. Maria's voice said, calm and composed. "For now, however, we have a job to do."
Maggy grumbled as she dusted herself off, though, oddly, she felt no pain beyond the initial shock. Despite the height of the fall, her new body was undamaged, only slightly dazed. These things were tough. Incredibly tough. If she could get the Dungeon Core to lend her some of these golems, she could explore even the most treacherous ruins with ease. Maybe if—,
A sharp clicking sound snapped her attention back to reality. Dr. Maria's antennae twitched in disapproval.
"Focus, child," the older woman chided.
Maggy felt heat rise in her face — or at least, she thought she did. Could ants even blush? It felt like she was blushing.
Shaking off her scattered thoughts, she huffed. "Okay, okay! But seriously, what are we even doing out here?"
Garrelt, now fully on the ground, strode toward them with practiced ease. "If I had to guess?" he said over the mental link — comms, as Dr. Maria called it. "We're here to do what we should have been doing all along. Scouting out our 'guests.'"
Maggy's antennae twitched. "But Robert forbade us from leaving the village! If he finds out tha—"
"Ah!" Garrelt cut her off, amusement laced in his voice. "But we haven't left the village, Maggy. You said it yourself — the good Doctor put us into those strange glass coffins. I presume for some kind of… treatment, yes, Doctor?"
Dr. Maria chuckled. "Quite right, young man. And who knows how long such a treatment might take? Hours, perhaps? A full day?"
Maggy's mandibles clicked uncertainly. "Uhhh… I mean…"
Garrelt sighed. "Look, Maggy, I get that you're worried. But even you can see Robert's been acting strange lately. I don't know what's going on with him, but his stubbornness is putting all of us in danger. If you really don't want to be part of this, I won't force you. But I'm still the Scout Leader, and it's my job to ensure we know exactly what we're dealing with — whether Robert approves or not."
Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
A tense silence settled between them. Garrelt's stance was firm, unwavering. Maggy, by contrast, fidgeted, her antennae twitching as she looked from him to Dr. Maria, then back again.
After a long pause, Dr. Maria raised her front limbs and clapped — or at least mimicked the motion as best as her spindly limbs allowed. "Regardless of what we are or are not here to do," she said, "we should get moving. Our excuse may hold for now, but our time is not unlimited."
Garrelt nodded and turned, skittering toward their next waypoint.
Dr. Maria followed, but paused just long enough to glance back at Maggy. "If you truly wish to back out, simply speak the words. Mr. Alpha will pull you back to your body. Otherwise, hurry along, lass."
Then she turned and followed Garrelt, leaving Maggy alone with her hesitation.
For several long moments, Maggy stood frozen, glancing back toward where she knew the village lay. But the decision had already been made, hadn't it?
"…Wait! Wait for me!" she called, scrambling to catch up.
——————————————————
"Back! GET BACK, you fools!"
The short, armored dwarf shoved his way through the shield-bearers at the front line, his gauntleted fist lashing out in a brutal backhand. His strike connected with the snapping mandibles of a dog-sized demon ant, shattering its black exoskeleton with a sickening crack. The creature flipped onto its back, flailing its spiked legs in the air as its kin surged forward, drawn to the disturbance.
With a deep snarl, Magnus flared his spirit energy. In an instant, the battlefield shifted — dozens of Demon Ants were suddenly yanked backward as if gravity itself had betrayed them. They tumbled away from the shield wall, their bodies flung like ragdolls through the air, slamming into their oncoming brethren in a writhing cascade of chitin. The black tide of bodies crashed together, forming a tangled, hissing mound nearly thirty meters from where they had started.
Magnus thrust out his hand, palm up, energy crackling at his fingertips. With a slow, deliberate twist, he turned his palm downward, and then, with finality, he slammed it toward the ground.
A wet, stomach-churning CRUNCH echoed through the cavern forest. The struggling hill of ants flattened in an instant, their bodies pulverized beneath an invisible force. A wave of yellow-green gore and hemolymph erupted from the mass, spraying so violently that droplets splattered against the shield wall.
Silence settled.
Magnus eyed the heap of broken insects for a long moment. When nothing stirred, he sneered, clicked his tongue, and turned away. This time, he didn't have to push his way through the ranks — his men scrambled to move aside, wary of sharing the ants' fate.
It wasn't the first time the creatures had tested their defenses. It wasn't the first time Magnus had stepped in, either. And judging by the fear in the men's eyes, none of them wanted to find out what would happen if they hesitated.
Magnus stomped toward the rear of the formation, scowling at anyone foolish enough to meet his gaze.
"Well now! That was fun!"
The voice was almost musical in its cheer, and Magnus' glare snapped to his left. There, matching his stride with infuriating ease, was a tall, robed figure. The young man bent forward at the waist until his head nearly flipped upside down, long black hair cascading toward the cavern floor like a silk curtain. Somehow, despite weeks in the wilderness, his hair remained immaculate, his elegant robes unblemished, his jade-like skin untouched by the grime that clung to everyone else.
A grin split his lips, revealing teeth just a little too sharp.
Magnus rolled his eyes. "Bullshit. We should have reached the village hours ago. This is the sixth attack since we left. These insects aren't even supposed to be on this side of the cavern!"
The young man straightened, tapping a finger against his chin. "Yes, quite odd, isn't it? Demon Ants are highly territorial — one wouldn't expect them to stray so far from their nests. A few out hunting here and there, sure, but these numbers? Quite unnatural." His grin widened. "Do you suppose it has something to do with those peculiar silver ones we spotted? A shame so many of our scouts have gone missing, isn't it?" He chuckled, as though sharing a private joke.
Magnus grunted, though his hands clenched into fists.
The plan had been simple: march straight to the goblin village from the base camp. They had lost… an unfortunate number of scouts, but those who returned had mapped a clear path and confirmed that, while the village was aware of their presence, its defenses were spread thin. A swift strike could have shattered the Halirosa Expedition before they could regroup.
Instead, the moment they set foot beyond the camp, the Demon Ants had appeared.
At first, just small hunting packs — four, maybe five at a time. Then, the numbers grew. The last few waves had come by the dozens. And always, lurking just beyond the fray, a flash of silver. Yet, never once had they found a silver corpse among the fallen.
Something was wrong.
Magnus didn't have all the pieces yet, and that — more than anything — infuriated him. Not that he would ever admit as much to the grinning bastard beside him.
"I don't care what's causing it," Magnus growled. "Take the remaining scouts and clear out the ants along our path."
The young man gasped, clutching his chest as if scandalized. "Me? Sir? Are you sure?" His mock surprise slid into a smirk. "I thought we were waiting for Aria? Surely there's still some hope she'll return with information?"
Magnus' patience snapped. "I don't care what that fool is doing! I'm tired of these delays. If we're not at the village by first mosslight, someone's head is going to roll. Understood?"
The young man snapped to attention with an exaggerated salute. "Crystal, sir."
Then he vanished into the shadows.
Magnus clicked his tongue in irritation and turned away.
No… nothing was going quite how it was supposed to be.
His sneer slowly slipped into a grin, however.
With any luck, things will change once we get to the village. Those bastards will never suspect what's coming.