Chapter 54: Star Cores
---
Despite the fatigue that weighed on every joint, a surge of renewed vitality coursed through him. His newly attained Level 21 status meant he was no longer the same ant he had been mere moments earlier.
Yet, amid the relief that the alpha was finally dead, anxiety still clung to the clearing. Darius looked at them and let out a dry hiss: "Everyone, collect all the beast cores. Hand them over to me at once. No exceptions."
His voice, rasping with suppressed malice, betrayed an undercurrent of annoyance. He glanced at Kai with an expression that was cold as polished steel. "How did this lowly ant get so strong?" The flicker in his eyes suggested not only curiosity but a festering envy that roiled beneath his calm facade.
A few of the other ants, Thren, Lomar, Vexor, and Renna obediently scattered around the carcasses of lesser beasts that had followed the alpha. While the alpha had overshadowed its minions, these smaller monsters were nonetheless formidable in their own right, each leaving behind a distinct beast core glowing faintly with the last traces of their aura.
The stench of blood and spent rage hung in the humid air, and the battered clearing felt more like a graveyard than the site of any triumph.
Kai, ignoring the throbbing ache in his limbs, stooped beside one of the fallen beasts to pry out its shimmering core. He let out a steadying breath, mind racing with new plans.
"This bastard Darius wants all the beast cores!"
Darius was orchestrating something, that much was clear. But Kai, too, had his own secret objective. The alpha beast’s towering body lay not far off, broken and still, its monstrous heart silent after that final blow. And in that heart, Kai sensed, lay an unimaginable bounty of essence liquid, something that would feed his hunger for leveling up and unlocking new power.