God-Tier Extraction Talent: Reincarnated in a Game-like World!
Chapter 39: Ant Swarm!

Chapter 39: Ant Swarm!

Drip! Drip!

More of the watery substance fell on Casie as she stared at the ceiling of the large room with a slightly pale expression.

On the ceiling, hundreds of gleaming purple eyes stared at the unsuspecting humans with intense hatred, their mandibles dripping liquid.

More of the liquid dropped on the others as well. Even without Scarlet having to say anything, they glanced up—and their entire existence trembled in fear.

"Are those ants?"

"I’ve never seen this type before... and there are so many!"

"Damn, so many Level 20s!"

Meanwhile, a strange light shone in Gabriel’s eyes as he glanced up at the large ants, who were staring down at the humans like prey.

’More Purpleback Worker Ants,’ he thought inwardly. ’So my hunch was right.’

After extracting the Purpleback Ant in the ancient capital city, he had a hunch that there could be more, as they were known for moving in colonies.

He had also suspected that they might be the ones who tampered with the invincible protective barrier. After all, their intelligence was on par with humans.

Now that he saw them inside the ruin, all his suspicions were confirmed.

The ants had either purposely or coincidentally found this ruin and already made it their home.

"What should we do?" Sophie whispered, not taking her eyes off the hundreds of round, unblinking dangerous purple eyes fixed on her.

In fact, everyone felt that if they broke eye contact, it would all be over.

Scarlet didn’t respond immediately, a brief flicker of worry flashing across her eyes.

Like Gabriel, the vice leader was also aware of the Purpleback Ants’ human-like intelligence—perhaps their greatest asset.

"They’re probably trying to gauge our strength," she whispered under her breath.

"Everyone stand back. At the slightest sign of movement—attack!" Scarlet’s voice, although low, carried far enough for everyone to hear.

It was at that precise moment that the ants began to crawl forward with their multiple legs, antennae twitching.

"Dark Flame Orb!"

Gabriel was the first to act, sacrificing 20 MP and charging the skill with an additional 50 MP. The orb of flame flew into the air and exploded in the midst of the Purpleback Ants.

BOOOOM!

A wave of dark flame exploded outward, obliterating several ants at once.

[CRITICAL HIT!]

-35!

-56!

-58!

About ten ants were killed in that attack, and a few others suffered minor damage.

Because the skill didn’t have any cooldown, Gabriel continued to spam it.

"Dark Flame Orb! Dark Flame Orb!!"

As he launched orb after orb, the ceiling shook violently from the continuous bombardment.

BOOOM!

Another wave of dark flame scorched the ceiling, blasting chunks of stone and burning several ants to ash mid-crawl.

[CRITICAL HIT!]

-41!

-33!

-72!

"Kill as many as you can before they reach the ground!" Gabriel shouted, sending out another orb.

Although he wasn’t the leader, everyone complied—almost as if it was second nature.

"Fire Blast!" Old Man Khrome shouted as twin burning flame blasts shot forward.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOOM!

Not everyone had long-range skills, so the ant extermination was mostly handled by Gabriel, Khrome, and the two mages.

Even with their combined strength, they couldn’t stop the ants from reaching the ground.

Seeing their brethren being slaughtered, the rest of the colony jumped from the towering ceiling, landing in front of the humans and striking with explosive force.

"Blink!" Alice activated her skill, sneaking behind the Purpleback Ants.

"Die, stupid insects!" she sneered, striking the skull of one.

Boom!

It exploded, spewing brain fluid and purple blood.

Sophie activated another of her skills, [Earth Spike Bloom].

A wave of green mana exploded from her body. The ground trembled as rocky green spikes shot up, piercing through the ants’ flesh and bursting out the other side.

Now that the ants were in close proximity, Gabriel switched to his greatsword and cleaved through the ranks, dyeing the ground with purple blood.

While fighting, he sensed a powerful presence behind him, staring at his back with immense killing intent. He hastily turned around—only to find venomous poison flying toward his face.

Gabriel dodged the poison, a furious expression appearing on his face. He struck the air violently, generating a shockwave that pushed the attacker back several steps.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

[Purpleback Worker Ant – Lv. 40!]

’Level 40! No wonder it survived my attack.’

Gabriel had channeled a good amount of mana into the sword. If it were a Level 10 monster, the sheer pressure alone would’ve shattered its bones.

The ant stared at him with intense hatred. Its mandibles opened slightly, then fired a thick purple liquid at frightening speed.

Flash! Flash!

’Poison!’

If any of that poison hit, his strength would be halved temporarily, and his HP would likely drop every second until it hit zero.

Gabriel’s body shot forward. He moved side to side, evading the deep purple streaks with speed and precision.

The ant could barely follow. And just as the human got close, it heard him mumble:

"[Burrow Shift!]"

As those words echoed, the Level 40 Purpleback ant saw the human’s body turn spectral and sink into the ground.

Gabriel reappeared right behind it and struck from behind, destroying it in a single hit.

"Extract!" he practically shouted.

[Ding! You have extracted Purpleback Poisonous Blast!]

"These guys..." His eyes sparkled as he saw the familiar explosive appear.

[Poisonous Blast!]

Without hesitation, he threw it at the area where the ants were most concentrated.

A purple flashbang erupted, reducing the swarm in that section to dust. Several screens flooded his retina.

After fighting for some time, the number of monsters gradually reduced—until Scarlet cut down the last one.

The group then proceeded to search the large room for any treasures.

Sophie pulled her veil tighter over her face, trying not to gag. The smell had gotten worse after the massacre.

"Tsk, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone dies from the stench alone," Alice mumbled as she kicked an empty eggshell out of frustration. Purple goop splattered on her boot. "Ugh, gro—"

She suddenly stopped mid-sentence when her eyes fell on a small object on the ground.