Insect Tamer's Ascension-Chapter 334. 1/3 quest finally completed

Theo activated the skill.

The next instant his head arched back, but he remained seated on the ground instead of collapsing.

His eyes turned completely golden while the mantis hopped onto his lap, staring at the ground with sharp focus. As long as it was there, it would allow nothing to harm Theo.

Once Theo entered the Hive Link, the Ant Queen quickly pulled him toward the minds they were about to observe.

When Theo stopped moving, he looked in the front and saw through the perspective of 50 eyes.

He slipped into some of them and immediately realized how dark it was, but the tunnel burrowers relied on senses beyond just vision, and through the link, Theo could feel each and every one of them.

He sensed them moving toward the beast’s mouth, carefully trying their best not to stick to the monarch’s innards.

Theo had already told Elias to wait before pulling the beast. If its innards were crushed in the process, there was a chance that the ants wouldn’t be able to make it, and there was no way he was going to agree to that.

He observed every single perspective of the 50 minds. When he was done and felt like his own mind was growing tired, the ant queen pulled him deeper, and the fifty minds became a hundred, then a thousand, and then far more than that.

Theo was only there for a second, yet he could feel the persistence of those thousands of ants, all determined to get out.

When the sensation became a bit overwhelming, Theo pulled himself out of the hive link. And despite the growing ache in his head, there was a warm smile on his face.

’You ants are the most hard-working creatures I have seen. Except you, mantis; you’re special too,’ Theo spoke through both the bonds after re-entering the hive link.

For the first time, all three bonds were connected together, and Theo could see two heads inside the shared space.

They faced one another, and Theo immediately noticed the difference in their sizes.

The Ant Queen’s head was twice as large as the mantis’s, but that didn’t mean the mantis was lacking in any way.

The confidence it exuded could be felt by both the Ant Queen and Theo.

Theo just chuckled.

For some reason, the relation between the ant queen and the mantis had always been tense. They hadn’t worked together yet, or didn’t get the chance to, but if things continued like this, Theo couldn’t see them working together anytime soon. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

When the mantis realized Theo had nothing more to say, it left the bond right away.

At that moment, the ant queen’s emotions shifted from calm and composed to happy and excited by Theo’s presence.

Theo didn’t know whether he should laugh or cry. He didn’t know how he was going to fix this bond, or if it was even possible.

The ant queen sent emotions of gratitude for saving it, and Theo understood them instantly since he was already in the bond.

’You’re the heart of everything, Ant Queen. Your survival is a must. Not that we have to sacrifice the others, but you get what I am saying.’

It didn’t seem to have grasped what he really meant, especially since Theo used some human slang, but it still felt happy.

Then, it showed him a few images, and Theo felt like he was seeing something wrong.

"..."

The images showed them boring holes into the trunk of the massive tree and carving out chambers inside it.

Theo watched as a burrowing ant used its large mandibles to chip away a portion of the trunk and set it aside for the smaller ants to carry away.

’So you’re planning to build the new colony here?’ Theo asked through their bond and received a wave of agreeing emotions, akin to a nod.

’But you’re tunnel-burrowing ants... do you think your new underground ability will work here?’

There was silence for a second before the ant queen told Theo that it wasn’t sure yet, but after a few minutes of trying to piece things together and understanding the plan, Theo realized something.

’So you’re going to burrow your way down through the trunk and then extend into the ground too? That way, it will keep you and the brood safe up here, while the others can still fight through the chambers made underground... that’s a good plan...’ Theo thought with a smile.

’Your territory has already expanded a lot. Even though many ants died this time, and some are still trying to save themselves, there are still at least seven thousand burrowing ants in the underground chambers right now.’

The ant queen sent a surge of excited emotions, making Theo smile again.

’Alright, enjoy yourselves. Meanwhile, I will get this little one to complete my requirements,’ Theo thought, only to realize that he hadn’t checked those requirements in quite a while.

He opened his status screen to see the quest, and his smile froze.

He stayed that way for almost a minute. The information was just too surprising for him.

’Ant queen, send the crawler to me,’ Theo spoke through the bond, while his eyes were still locked on the requirements screen.

*****

[Quest: Guide 3 beings]

[Requirements:]

Guide 3 different beings through growth

- 1 tamed beast (0/1)

- 1 non-tamed beast (1/1)

- 1 human (0/1)

Use the Hive Link 1 ability for 5 hours continuously (0/5 hours)

[Reward:]

Ability to break through and progress further in levels

Evolution Affinity Upgrade

*****

When the crawler came down the tree and toward Theo, he could see that the little rascal was still scared by the dead monarch’s lingering aura.

But Theo merely grinned and walked up to it.

He crouched, placed a hand on the creature and began patting it.

*****

Burrowing Crawler

Uncommon

Level 6

Type: Burrowing beast

*****

’So it’s safe to say that I helped you raise your level faster than you ever could on your own, and on top of that, you have GROWN, hahaahhahahhaha!’

Theo couldn’t help but go on a laughing spree upon realizing this.

Things were finally going his way, even if they seemed utterly ridiculous.