Spirit Taming

Chapter 296: Wait, What Floor?

The black ants all stood looking at the group of humans. Their queen had already given the orders to recognize them but that didn't mean that they weren't still wary. But when they saw that the queen let them look at the things they didn't use they were even more sure that the queen was making the right choice.

Since the black ants were more intelligent, they knew that the humans were some things that they as ants could not eat. They didn't have the same shells and some were good while others were bad. Just because they ate the bad humans didn't mean they would hurt the good ones too.

But in the intelligence that they had gained, they knew humans to be unpredictable. Yet, here they were, humans had just helped them and were the reason they had a large piece of food for their queen. The entire rumbling toad would more than feed their queen to bring new life to their colony.

"I think they are watching us to see what we will do." Maria was a little uncertain. However, every move they made came with the ants moving in a similar way.

"This is so not what I thought my life would be like. I dedicated my life to my sword style and my partner…now, I am facing a queen black ant with risk to my life. Or we are friends now?" Reese was also stunned. His abyssal sword vibrated making a deep and ominous tone. They all felt that this was how the abyssal sword communicated. Only Reese could fully understand that it was also worried.

"It's no big deal. The ants were in trouble and we helped. That was all. Plus, the queen even let them take from the things she can't eat. She knows that these are valuable to us. Out of all the black ants, she is the most intelligent.

I think we should be fine to keep moving." Clark knew that the information he read from the system wouldn't be wrong. He also could feel that there was no ill will at all from the black ants. More curiosity than anything.

"Rocks seem to be a good weapons. We should use that more when we can't do anything." Brad tried to convince Reese of this but it ended up turning in to a back and forth argument. Brad was the only one who didn't have an opinion on the black ants. He felt that it would be too much to worry about it all right in that second.

'Side quest- floor wars- completed

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.'

'The rewards have been calculated. Due to the host's involvement in personally slaying the rumbling toad and even showing that his group does not hold a single bit of fear or disgust toward the black ants, the reward is as follows.

Queen's dew- rare

The queen's dew is a special secretion from a queen black ant. This is considered very nutritious for any ant beast. However, it is also very rare since it takes a queen ant a year to condense a single drop of it. Therefore, any ant beast that consumes it will have the ability to become a queen while also healing severe wounds.

For some tamers, this could create a life and death difference in raising their own ant queen.'

The item that Clark found in his spatial ring was interesting. He had expected that the system would give him a gotcha ticket. Instead, he had received an item outright which was very abnormal. Yet, the side quest had also been abnormal.

For a second, Clark hesitated but then gave a wave to the ant queen. He knew that they had absolutely no right to enter the cavern where the queen dwelled. He also understood the barriers of their territory. They were already in one of the outer rooms which was taboo for any other tamer. The fact that they were leaving quickly appeased the ants and also showed that they were truly friends.

"We should have no issue leaving when we come back. The fifth floor is the most dangerous yet and I have no idea what's down there. So be ready. We won't be this lucky." Brad and Reese looked at Clark wondering what he meant by lucky. They had just run in to two different beast species that could have killed them.

They were certain the rumbling toad would have crushed them without the ants to distract it.

Finding the well traveled path was harder this time. Fewer people traveled through here. They had to deal with the ants which caused many tamers to become afraid. But since there were also rumbling toads around, it was a clear sign that this floor had been tamed to a degree. There were fewer beasts than there should have been because of the previous groups hunting.

If this had been more normal, then the beasts would have been more numerous. It would have also been easier for them to run in to more rumbling toads at younger ages. Therefore, they would have suffered injuries for sure at their weaker state of being than more experienced tamers. The fifth floor would be a harder goal to reach.

But, the group managed to find the stairs much more easily than expected. What was even more surprising was that there was a sign at the bottom of them. "Workshop basements ahead, beware of magical attacks." Maria knew that this was left by the experienced tamers and the military tamers.

"Wait, workshop? So this is an ancient workshop basement floor that connects tones of ancient basements of magic workshops? That's awesome. I bet they have a lot of cool things here!" of all the things that seemed to catch Brad's attention it was this. But Clark already knew Brad was an oddball.

He had a strange way of hyper focusing, but now that Brad had become hyper focused, it would be a good thing. They could explore more here.

"This is the floor we need to be on for the rune carver's remains. Let's take a look." Clark wanted to find the rune carver apprentice's remains and what they had been searching for quickly. The sooner they did the safer they could be by returning to the surface. This was just a good dungeon to hunt for a little. It was also good for Reese to explore.

The only issue was that they had not found any spiritual weapons or living weapon beasts. That was a small disappointment but it might change.

"If this is actually a magic workshop basement, Reese might be in luck. How would swords and other things be made and stored? In the basement would be my guess, so we might find good materials for you." the abyssal sword rang out a little in Reese's hand. He smiled and nodded. He and his partner wanted to find things to get stronger.

Compared to the other floors, this floor was in better condition. The simple reason was quality. Workshops of any sort would have their tools, furnitures, and anything they used specially made. This was the case in any era. Mostly because the workshops needed the best of the best durability so that they could produce the best of the best items.

The proof was in the fact that the wooden work tables were barely aged at all. It was easy to see that the tools had more or less been taken away. Only the most basic were left and even they were either in poor condition or too common to want to take with. "There are so many things here still. The other floors feel barren compared to this." The feeling that Maria had here was much different.

"It's like we are exploring an old person's basement after they returned. But that's fine, we might find a treasure." Brad looked around avoiding banging his shield in to anything. He was still unsteady while walking with it since it was heavier than what he was used to.

Clark had a moment of nagging in the back of his mind. It made him pull up the quest again. What he had forgotten. The most important part of the system's quest. The actual floor he had to be on.

'Quest: Hidden Carving

The host has inferred correctly and found that the apprentice that lost his life was searching for something. Travel to the fourth floor and discover the site of the deceased apprentice. Learn from what they discovered and return with the prize they desired to take with them out of the dungeon ruins.

Requirement: gain the knowledge the apprentice meant to find and the items the apprentice meant to find

Reward: one Gocha ticket for the artisan specific techniques.'

But the issue with this was, he was on the fifth floor. But why would he have to be on the fourth floor? This was the workshop floor. Basements of workshops specifically were here? And the ants were in a basement area that didn't at all seem to be related to workshops or runes. He had even missed any chance to investigate the ant's territory.

Had Clark really messed up that badly?

"Hey…ummm, are there supposed to be weird metal things with spikes on them here?" Brad had stopped in his tracks looking ahead at the next passageway. It appeared to be guarded by something.