Level Up The Colony
Chapter 73: Insect Whisperer

Chapter 73: Insect Whisperer

Timothy had only said that to help them come to terms with the situation and to prepare for whatever lay ahead.

As they continued deeper into the dungeon, it became clear it operated like a colony.

Based on its structure, they assumed the dungeon boss would be located on the lowest floor.

However, reaching the bottom wasn’t as simple as just following downward paths.

Timothy and Gray took a more calculated approach, tracking trails of pheromones specifically the ones they couldn’t identify.

In every set of five or more tunnels, there was always one trail with an unfamiliar scent.

Despite needing a level-up, Timothy chose to follow those indistinct trails instead of engaging with creatures emitting familiar ones.

So far, none of the insect creatures he’d killed had given him a single level-up individually or collectively.

It seemed killing enemies far beneath his strength offered little to no experience.

That didn’t mean their journey was smooth.

In fact, as they followed the unknown trail, they encountered more creatures than before, twice as many, in fact.

Individually, the insects were weak, but when swarming, they managed to resist his pheromones and still attack.

Even so, there appeared to be a lingering effect after exposure, which allowed Timothy to dispatch them with relative ease.

Then, at a particular intersection, Timothy came to a halt.

The others followed his gaze.

Ahead was a long corridor, but the walls were lined with holes, likely the very tunnels from which the now-dead creatures had emerged.

Judging by the appearance of the corpses, some poisoned, others torn apart, these had been semi-bosses.

Giant centipedes and worm-like monsters lay scattered on the ground, despite their massive sizes.

Seeing them reminded Timothy how deep underground they’d gone.

Some of the creatures resembled the ones kids found when digging in the dirt only far more monstrous.

Yet here they were, all dead.

He glanced at Helen and silently felt relieved she hadn’t kept using her flames.

Any more fire, and they might’ve run out of oxygen by now.

What disturbed him most was that the unseen predator responsible for this massacre hadn’t even eaten its prey.

Timothy moved slowly, peering into the tunnel holes.

He already had an idea of what he’d find and he was right.

Eggs.

Dozens of them.

Laid inside the walls.

He shivered.

The brutality... the intelligence behind it all.

"This isn’t the boss monster, is it?" Prisca asked.

"Or are there... multiple?"

Timothy’s expression was grim.

"The good news is that we’re close. The bad news is we’re close."

Everyone understood.

They saw what he saw.

This wasn’t a lair, it was a hunting ground.

Timothy picked up the pace, moving ahead at a moderate speed to conserve stamina.

His mind was already cycling through various tactics, depending on what they were about to face.

The trail now led to a single tunnel.

All other passages had simply been extensions of the predator’s feeding zone.

Then, the tunnel opened up into a vast chamber.

The first thing they saw was a glowing stump.

Timothy didn’t let himself be distracted.

He immediately expanded his senses only to be hit with a wave of feedback so intense it felt like an explosion inside his head.

His vision blurred.

His ears rang with distorted sound.

It wasn’t pain in the traditional sense more like every instinct had been shocked at once.

His knees buckled, and he dropped to one, summoning his machete as Gray leaped from his shoulder and skittered toward the glowing stump.

It took Timothy a few seconds to regain control of his body.

His vision remained hazy, but at least the disorientation started to fade.

Strangely, it wasn’t the creature that had overwhelmed him, it was the stump itself.

He could hear his teammates calling his name but simply raised a hand, signaling them to keep quiet.

Rude as it was, they obeyed, giving him time to recover in silence.

Frustration simmered within him.

This wasn’t the first time his senses had been overwhelmed like this.

It had happened during his fight with Vanessa, too, when she used vibrations and sound to throw him off.

And back then, Gray had been his saving grace.

Speaking of which... why was Gray always immune to this kind of disruption?

He couldn’t even sense the termite on his body.

Timothy stood carefully and began to search for Gray’s presence.

When he looked at the stump, he finally spotted him, just a tiny figure on the massive structure.

The stump sat at the center of the chamber.

But as he looked at it, Timothy realized it wasn’t just a stump.

It was a tree root, one that had torn through the earth above, reaching all the way down here.

Moonlight or perhaps starlight filtered through the opening above, bathing the area in a dim glow.

The top of the tree was so far above them, he couldn’t even see it.

Not its branches.

Not its leaves.

Just an endless column of living wood, piercing through the cavern ceiling and disappearing into the sky beyond.

"So, what are we dealing with?" he asked.

"There’s been nothing so far... except those," Miebaka replied, nodding toward the hanging cocoons.

"And I think I know what we’re up against."

"Isn’t it obvious?" Helen muttered.

"A tarantula," Nonso said.

"An arachnid," Timothy followed.

"A spider," Prisca added.

They all spoke in quick succession, glancing at each other with knowing looks.

"Basically, yes. That species," Miebaka confirmed.

"Judging by the stockpile of food hanging over there, we’re standing in its lair."

The root of the tree stretched so wide that they could easily walk beneath it, and its massive roots had spread across the entire floor, burrowing deeper into the earth.

On one of these thick roots, the creature had spun its webbed sanctuary, glowing white cocoons dangling from thick, heavy silk clinging to the walls and tree.

The nightlight above shimmered on the silk threads, casting a faint glow across the cavernous room.

But the creature itself was nowhere to be seen.

"Is that okay?" Prisca asked, nodding toward the cocoons.

Timothy spotted Gray chewing through one of them.

The termite had already sliced through the silk and was feasting on whatever unfortunate prey had been bound inside.

"You mean the part where we’re stealing a monster’s food and trespassing in what’s probably its den?" Timothy replied dryly.

"Yeah, that’s definitely risky."

Everyone caught the point, but they also noticed how calm Timothy remained.

What they didn’t know was that the moment Gray began feeding, Timothy received a system notification that he had leveled up.

He had nearly forgotten that many spiders didn’t kill their prey immediately.

They often preserved them in a suspended state within the silk, sometimes still alive.

Apparently, this one had been.

He considered summoning the rest of his termites to join in the feast, but the silk was far too strong for them to tear through, only Gray had the strength for that right now.

While Gray remained absorbed in his meal, the others kept watch, their eyes scanning the room.

They noted four other large passageways leading off the chamber, each wider than the ones they’d come through.

The size of the tunnels alone gave them an idea of how massive the spider must be.

No one dared approach the tree directly.

For all they knew, the beast could be hiding beneath it.

Timothy, however, caught a new trace of pheromones near the base of the tree.

They were different, faint, unfamiliar, and hard to categorize but something about them compelled him forward.

He hesitated, remembering the earlier dizziness.

That tree had some kind of magical property that overwhelmed his senses.

It wasn’t ordinary that was for sure.

He stopped at the edge of a root opening, large enough for something monstrous to crawl through.

He didn’t step into the darkness, only stood at the border where nightlight faded into shadow.

He stared into the darkness for a long moment, saying nothing.

Eventually, the others noticed.

"Timothy?" Miebaka called, stepping up beside him.

One by one, they joined him, following his line of sight.

But to them, it was just pitch black.

Miebaka’s demeanor changed instantly.

"Does it know we’re here?" he asked, voice tense.

Timothy didn’t reply.

He didn’t need to.

"Yes," Miebaka answered his own question after a beat, eyes narrowing.

"I can’t see a damn thing. Want me to light it up?" Helen asked, already readying her flames.

Everyone looked at her. It was tempting but risky.

"No," Miebaka said firmly.

"Too many unknowns. We should draw it out instead."

Helen smirked.

"So I light it up and we run?"

Miebaka frowned.

That was a last resort.

He turned to their assassin and healer, neither of whom had much offensive power in a confrontation like this.

Then Timothy spoke.

"I’ll draw it out."

Miebaka blinked.

"How?"

Timothy glanced at him.

"I’ll just whisper some threats," he said with a slight smirk, referencing Miebaka’s earlier jab about being an insect whisperer.