Moving through the dense foliage during the glistening moonlight, the ants, miniature huntresses of the insect world, were out on a revenge plot for their fallen sisters.
They tracked the enemy with pheromones, and they were finally getting close.
Asumi, in the middle of the night, opened his eyes, feeling a bit tired from what he had endured earlier, his vision still blurry when he heard a loud sound ringing in his ears. ~Ding~Ding~Ding~
He stood up in shock only to see the system window displaying his daily quest.
[System: Host has an incomplete task; complete it before the day ends.]
Asumi hissed, feeling annoyed from the system message, decided to try and go back to sleep, musing, "Don't you see what I have been through? I need rest if I'm going to survive this."
Then suddenly, a memory popped up in his head; it was Catherine wearing a beautiful smile on their first date.
Then he paused, musing in realization, "It's right. I gotta put in extra work if I wanna get the hell out of here."
Asumi, in a resting position, stood back up and decided to go outside. On coming out of the almost squared hole, he put his head out first, seeing the outside environment.
The tall grass leaves cast long shadows above his head, the moon shining down its dim rays, and the cool breeze that blew periodically.
Asumi didn't want to come out, but he was willing to for the one he loves. He then turned his head and looked at the grass shadow flickering in the distance.
Curiosity peaked, he mused, "Why is it doing like that?" Then he spotted the shadow of an ant coming closer. Then he mused, narrowing his gaze, "Wait, that isn't just an ant, it's an army."
Then he saw it clearly as the moon reflected their backs, revealing their true colors as they came near.
Asumi, shocked, almost gripped by fear, pulled his head back into the hole. He mused, "Crap, this is bad. Those bastards have come back for our heads. I have to take action fast."
Asumi turned and looked at Gooper sleeping in his corner. He sneaked close and pushed his hand, snapping his mandibles, saying, "Gooper, Gooper, wake up," but Gooper didn't respond.
The ants marching near came into the area. They looked around, seeing the dead bodies of newborn worker ants, bodies cut in half. Some even looked like they were in shock before they died off.
The ant general, a black ant with a pointed horn and two times the average size, came across an ant hatchling which had its mandibles wide open during its death.
The general walked up close and closed its mandibles, indicating it should rest in peace. It then looked ahead and saw the stem beneath it was a hole. It waved its horn, indicating her troops should move ahead.
Asumi, hearing the sound of their feet above as they circled round the hole, mused, "They are here. We're doomed."
Feeling a sense of frustration, trying to wake Gooper up, he wacked his mandibles on Gooper's head, musing, "Wake up, you idiot."
Gooper then opened his eyes, looked at Asumi, and snapped his mandibles, questioning, "What is it, little mouth?"
Asumi mused, even more frustrated, "Little what? A beetle did not just call me that."
"Gooper, we are surrounded by enemies. Wake up. Going out there is basically a death sentence. What do we do?" Asumi mumbled, shaking his head in desperation.
Then the System prompted.
[System: Generating Tutorial Quest.]
[System Tutorial Quest: Survive the Ant Attack.
Details: The Ants have marked you as the Enemy of the ant race and have come to hunt you down. Survive their continuous deliberate Attacks (0/2).
Reward: ?
Failure: ...Death]
Asumi mused, "What! You call that a Tutorial Quest? What is this amateur hour? And you tell me I've been marked? When did that happen?"
Then a memory flashed of when all those ants climbed and bit him. He mused, "Crap, now what?" Asumi pondered in desperation.
The ants, using Asumi's tracks, circled round the grass plant beneath which the hole was located, and then arranged in a straight line, parting the center for the General to walk through, just as the general ordered.
The General walked past and made its way to the entrance of the hole, then turned its head back, looking and snapping her mandibles, saying to her troops, "Good work, everyone. Tonight, we bring back the head of the monster who slaughtered our kin."
The rest snapped their mandibles in response, then the general turned back and went into the hole.
On entering the dimly lit space, she scanned, turning her head and looking around, but yet she couldn't find them.
Confused, she went back up and told a few of her troops to go in and inspect the place.
They went in, searched, and one came back out with a report. Meeting the general, it snapped its mandibles, saying, "General, I think they have escaped."
Shocked, she muttered, "What? How?" She went in, and one of the ants showed her the tunnel they dug at the corner of the hole.
"It was covered with some dirt," an ant explained. The general came close and sensed the pheromone coming from the tunnel.
She snapped her mandibles, instructing her subordinates, "They couldn't have gone far. Quick, let's move out."
Asumi and Gooper, close to the other end of the tunnel, Asumi praised, "Gooper, you are a genius. I didn't know you made a secret escape tunnel."
Gooper replied, "It's a Gooper tunnel." Asumi mused, "With this, we should escape in no time."
Gooper and Asumi continued until they crawled out. Asumi and Gooper, now out in the open space, then Asumi turned his head back and saw the ants sprinting closer.
He turned back, hitting Gooper and saying, "Run!" They both started sprinting as fast as they could with their small legs.
The threat drawing ever closer, Asumi and Gooper traversed through the tall grass plants. "Why is everything so dangerous about this place?" Asumi mused.