Insect Tamer's Ascension-Chapter 357. Spatial skills are too Overpowered?

"The ones who were previously Aqua Mandibles, come forth," Theo said aloud.

Since the Ant Queen stood nearby, relaying the order right away.

The Aqua Mandibles marched forward, separating themselves from the main group so Theo could examine them carefully.

’They have become bigger...’ Theo thought.

Their bluish carapaces now bore the same neon-blue stripes as the others.

It seemed like a universal trait among them.

Theo tried his best not to focus on the countless strands of spatial energy radiating from so many ants.

It irritated his eyes.

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Hydro-Void Worker Ant

Rare

Level 7

Type: Domain type beast

*****

Theo looked at the changed grade and name and nodded in understanding.

’All of my ants have turned to rare grade, which is good for the long term, but... what if they aren’t as strong as the bigger reinforced ones? I guess leveling will become a lot more difficult then.’

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ABILITIES

Void Stream (Ability) (Level 0, 0%): The Hydro-Void Worker Ant can compress water into a spatially stablized, high-velocity stream that experiences almost no air resistance.

Spatial Dew (Passive) (Level 0, 4%): The Aqua Sac increases its condensation efficiency to an extreme degree, pulling microscopic humidity from the air and surrounding soil, generating slow but constant moisture.

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’This...’ Theo was at a loss for words.

’The first one is VERY good. If the water jet can reach even better range or increase in explosive strength, maybe attaching them to the reinforced ones would become far more efficient than before.’

’They can finally pull their own weight now,’ Theo thought and went to the next one.

’But this second one... it sounds like an extension to the Aqua Gland these ants had... that is the simple interpretation, but the description mentions of drawing water from the fabric of space... that sounds far beyond what I can imagine or understand right now.’

"Good work; you can send them back now," Theo said aloud, making sure the ants would know that he had said something good.

But almost immediately, the ants returned to their initial position, leaving Theo slightly confused.

’...Did they listen to my command or yours, Ant Queen?’ Theo asked through the bond.

The ant queen sent emotions through the bond that made Theo think that it might have been both.

Curious, Theo decided to test it. After telling the ant queen not to issue any orders, he spoke again.

"Those who were previously Embermaw worker ants, come forth."

Theo said in an authoritative tone as he stood before the massive army.

A few seconds passed in silence, and no one seemed to be moving.

Then, finally, a handful of ants stepped forward, surprising Theo.

Once separated from the group, the ants paused and seemed to be looking around, almost as if thinking.

Then their antennae began to glow.

Theo noticed the antennae of many others in the army glowing as well.

As soon as that happened, the previously known Embermaw worker ants moved forward and moved forward only when their entire group had gathered.

Theo was once again at a loss for words.

He pinpointed one of the first ants that had listened to his command and quickly checked its status.

*****

Pyre-Warp Worker Ant

Rare

Level 10

Type: Domain-Type beast

*****

’I knew it... So this one and a few others have reached Level 10,’ Theo thought.

’Just how many crawlers did these guys kill?’ Theo asked himself, yet the ant queen seemed to have overheard his thought and began sending countless images through the bond, images from the time this ant was in battle.

Even after 30 seconds, the stream of images didn’t seem to be showing any sign of ending.

This made Theo realize that the ants might have wiped out entire generations of crawlers over those few months.

Not like he was any different.

’Okay, skills now,’ he thought, looking down.

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ABILITIES

Heat distortion (Passive) (Level 0, 2%): Their Charred Carapace, still grants heat resistance, but it can now subtly manipulate the thermal currents around them. This creates localized heat mirages, which make them appear to be flickering or standing slightly away from their true positions, making them a difficult target.

Ember Gateway (Ability) (Level 0, 0%): By generating intense heat within a concentrated spatial pocket and using the resin made within them, they can momentarily create small, unstable heat portals. These portals aren’t for travel. Instead, they instantly transfer heat or embers from their bodies to a nearby flammable target, causing spontaneous ignition.

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"..."

"..."

"..."

"!!!!"

Theo’s emotions shifted from confusion and curiosity to being outrightly horrified and shocked.

’Don’t these sound completely overpowered?’ he thought to himself as he stared at the ants before him.

Their colour or texture hadn’t changed, except for the neon-blue slim strips that ran along their bodies.

’Heat distortion already sounds like a perfect hiding or ambushing skill... but this Ember Gateway?’ Theo thought and reread the description.

’I don’t understand a single bit!’ he shouted internally.

’Well... aside from the fact that it can open a literal flame portal...’ he added, as if it were nothing but a minor detail.

But no matter how much he thought about it, it still felt like the most ridiculous thing.

He glanced at one of his weakest ant groups, completely at a loss for words, then looked at the larger ones that were yet to be analyzed.

Theo felt like he was going to have a headache soon.

The skills felt complicated, too complicated. And that made him realize he might have to get Old Man Bernard’s help. Or maybe he should just write everything down in books and debunk each and every word carefully.

Theo wasn’t sure if he wanted to check the other anymore.

His gaze shifted to the Shardjaw ants, who were the smallest of the groups since the newer ones that were born just a month ago had already grown larger due to reinforcement.

"Alright, Shardjaw ants. You’re next," Theo said aloud, waiting for any of them to step forward. He wasn’t expecting much from them, but nothing seemed impossible since the spatial enlightenment.