Chapter 21: Desperate Situation (1)
Rohan’s shoulders loosened ever so slightly.
Good.
That was good.
He had been deeply disappointed by how easily she had given up. She was supposed to know more than him, supposed to be the one with guidance from an already Awakened parent, supposed to have more sense in this place than he did.
Yet at the first true wall they encountered, her will nearly collapsed.
A small, selfish part of him resented that.
Perhaps there was more to her story that made her react in such a way, but only time would tell whether that was the case, after all it came down to whether she wanted to share that with him or not.
But now wasn’t the time to dwell on it.
Because the moment Elane raised her bow, the Soldier Ant moved.
"So fast—!"
Rohan’s pupils shrank.
They were both F rank in the end, but his eyes were barely able to keep up with the Elite’s movements. ’I suppose this is the true difference Elane was on about...’
The Elite crossed the distance between them in a terrifying blur, exploding the ground beneath its legs as it surged forward with a force and speed the Firestone Ants hadn’t even come close to matching.
"Elane, now!"
Rohan shoved her sideways with one hand while throwing himself in the opposite direction.
A split second later, the Soldier Ant smashed through the air they used to inhabit. The impact was catastrophic.
Earth blasted upwards from its landing, and a tree behind them shuddered violently as part of its trunk was ripped open by a grazing strike of the Elite’s mandibles.
Rohan rolled twice before catching his footing.
’This thing is insane...’
It wasn’t just ’a bit stronger.’
Even its movements carried a sense of overwhelming pressure that made ordinary Firestone Ants feel like children by comparison.
’If this is what an Elite is like, I can’t imagine facing up against a Commander tier beast...’
The dwarfing gap in strength between him and the opposing Elite was humbling, but it also gave him a sense of motivation. If a literal ant could achieve such strength while still at F rank, what was stopping him?
’Especially since I have my Evolution Gene!’
The Soldier Ant turned back towards him this time with an almost mechanical precision, its abyss-like black eyes settling down on him like a machine locking on target.
It was judging him.
Its intelligence was obvious. It wasn’t just a mindless animal like the Worker Ants, it had actual critical thinking.
"Tell me this wasn’t your whole plan!" Elane shouted, scrambling back up with her bow drawn.
"Plan? My whole plan was not dying immediately, going out with a fight instead of like a coward!"
"That’s not a plan!"
The Soldier Ant lunged again before either could say more.
Rohan reacted purely on instinct, as there was no way he had time to think in that scenario. He thrust his Horned Rabbit Spear out with both hands.
CLANG!
The tip momentarily impacted the Elite’s chitinous armour, sending the impact numbing all throughout his body. His arms almost gave out on the spot, but he held strong.
If it were any normal weapon, it would have shattered on impact. His F rank Genetic Armament was different. It was in times like this where Genetic Armaments really showed their value.
The shaft vibrated violently, yet the spear didn’t crack or splinter as the Soldier Ant’s forelimb crashed into it. The horned tip even bit shallowly into the thinner edge of one plate before sliding off.
Rohan was still sent flying backward several metres, boots just barely keeping him planted on the ground.
He remained alive. And that, right now, was enough.
’Good... good!’
His choice of weapon hadn’t betrayed him.
Without it, he and Elane would already be corpses.
"Elane!" he shouted. "Its forelimbs and neck joints still look softer!"
"I have eyes!"
Her arrow flew the next instant.
Throom!
The projectile struck the Soldier Ant’s neck joint dead to rights—
And bounced away.
Elane’s face paled.
"...What?"
Rohan’s stomach sank.
He could see Elane start to waver again in that moment, probably wondering if she should have run away while Rohan stayed to fight it.
The same area that had served as a weakness to the Worker Ants was still technically weaker here, but the Elite’s shell quality was of a whole other level entirely.
Their attacks could no longer rely on simply striking the ’soft spots’ and expecting results.
The Soldier Ant seemed almost amused by the arrow.
It turned toward Elane again, taunting her.
Rohan didn’t hesitate to use this chance and charged in.
Not because he thought he could win in close combat, but because if Elane fell, their coordination would collapse immediately, and he’d join her soon after.
He came in from the side and thrust the spear towards one of its rear leg joints. This time the horned tip actually scraped in, leaving a faint, shallow line behind.
Barely a scratch, yet it was enough to make it pivot back to him.
"Over here, bastard!"
Its forelimb flashed in response.
Rohan barely lifted the spear shaft in time.
BANG!
The force completely overwhelmed him; he was launched backward and hit the ground hard, his grip almost torn from his spear.
Pain shot from his palms through both arms. He rolled away just as the Soldier Ant’s mandibles slammed down where his chest had been, caving the ground a few inches underneath it.
His pupils narrowed to a slit.
’If that hit me, I’d be in two pieces.’
"Left!" Elane shouted.
Rohan twisted as an acidic glob of spit came flying out of the Soldier Ant’s mouth a moment later, sizzling the ground violently.
Then another arrow from Elane struck the same scratched section he had just made, drawing the Soldier Ant’s attention yet again.
Their coordination saved them.
Just barely.
Whenever the Elite focused on Elane, Rohan rushed in and attacked from its flank or rear, not like he could deal any meaningful damage, but to irritate, distract, and force it to re-evaluate its targets.
Whenever it turned to crush him, Elane’s arrows came from range, aiming for its eyes, joints, or previously stricken armour plates.
Neither of them could seriously injure it.
Not with their current strength.
’If only I were a bit stronger...’
’...Wait a minute!’
A thought suddenly struck his mind.
This whole time, his Evolution Gene remained at 0% in his status page, even after hours of battling and killing Firestone Worker Ants, leading him to realise that it wouldn’t rise from killing anything.
But what about Origin Energy? Every awakened already absorbed Origin Energy to strengthen themselves, so why would his Evolution Gene be any different? In fact, what if it required being charged full of Origin Energy in order to actually work?
After all, he was still clueless about how his mysterious talent even worked.
’How can I absorb enough to see any difference?’
He’d never practised the Basic Origin Energy training manual before, so that didn’t help. His eyes glanced down at the small bag tied to his belt.
Elane would probably be angry with him for even thinking of doing this.
’...I’ll pay her back at some point.’
As Elane needed to remain nimble as the ranged fighter of the duo, Rohan held onto all of the Origin Crystals they’d looted so far.
Rohan dug his hand into the bag...