Chapter 32 - 31: Ants and Wolves
Tulland listened to Necia as he worked. In another life, in his last one at least, he guessed that he would be in love with her by now. It would have been a really bad idea with how deadly she seemed and he'd have no chance at making anything out of those feelings, but he knew he would. Here, he could feel his heart pulling somewhat in the same direction, but it was so restrained by literally everything else in his life that the idea was making no headway.
This world wasn't a game. Necia wasn't going away into the badlands to hunt because she enjoyed it. She was going there because she was in over her head and needed to find a way to survive. And he wasn't growing plants and feeding her for no reason. She offered him some protection he couldn't otherwise get, and was bringing back more fertilizer than he could make himself.
There are reasons for everything we are doing. And neither of us has time for anything else. Remember that, Tulland. You don't have time to waste.
Before he went to bed, Tulland pulled out his Farmer's Tool scythe and considered going to work on the Wolfwood tree. The only factor that stopped him was the complete lack of seed pods on the tree. If he somehow managed to mess up the harvest enough to kill the tree, he had no way of knowing if he would ever get another one.
Laying down in the dirt again as the last of the light waned from the sky, he kept his weapons near him, just in case. And then he was asleep.
—
The next morning's dawn woke up a Tulland who for once had not had any dreams of his past. If there were any little pithy lessons from his tutor or uncle that would have helped him get through the day, he was going to have to get along without them.
"So what's in the plans for you, over the next couple of days?" Necia asked when the two of them regrouped.
"Well, my garden is about as good as I can get it. Almost. There are some enhancements I can do to those Swamp Ache trees, I think. And the fur-tree you like will have to get a little bigger before I can do anything with them. But after that, I think I have to start seriously figuring out how I'm going to conquer this level."
"Ah." Necia screwed up her face into a look of sympathy. "And that won't be easy for you."
"No. Probably not. Is it the same set of requirements for you?"
"Probably. Big anthill?"
"Yeah."
Tulland had checked the floor description during the first more-or-less safe moment he had found on this floor, but had been studiously ignoring it up until this point.
| The Infinite, Floor 2 The Swamp and the Badlands are a further introduction into floors with multiple biomes. The Swamp represents an area that is both difficult to traverse and contains single powerful foes. The wolves serve as a store of potential experience points that assist beginning adventurers to gain the strength they need to continue on as The Infinite slowly ramps up the difficulty of survival. Those level-granted stats and excess experience points are necessary, as the Badlands are the real focus of this floor. More secret and tricky enemies inhabit this dry and empty land. Added information: In uncovering the secret of the ant-pits, you have been granted knowledge of both the ants that inhabit them and the possibility of a greater, more permanent colony of insects. Kill more ants to learn more about this threat. Added Information: After farming ants to near the experience cap, you have learned what exploration might have also taught you. Due east from the location at which you arrived at lies a mound so large it constitutes a major aspect of the terrain, one that bustles with activity and hides the path to the next floor. Can you survive this gauntlet of violent insects to continue progressing through The Infinite? Foes: Swamp Canid Badlands Ant ??? Objectives: Clear the Badlands Fortress Mound
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