Ari's legs pounded against the scorched ground as he ran through thick, burning air. The battlefield roared around him. Fire crackled. Ants shouted. Acid struck the dirt with sharp hisses.
The termite colony's tree stump burned ahead, its surface splitting under the heat. His chest tightened. Each breath came in short pulls as he rushed past a fallen comrade, gripping both mandibles in his hands.
A sharp hiss cut through the noise. A termite burst through a split in the bark. Its tall frame jerked as it landed, limbs twitching. Its eyes reflected the firelight, fixed on him.
Its hands lifted. A stream of green acid shot forward. The liquid struck the wood with a harsh hiss. Heat rippled through the air as droplets scattered across the ground.
"Crap!" Ari shouted. His eyes widened. He threw himself to the side. The scorched ground scraped hard against his palms.
The stream of acid tore past him and struck a rock behind him. The surface bubbled and broke apart on contact. A harsh stench hit his nose.
The termite screeched. Its limbs shook as it raised an arm again. Its glowing eyes locked onto him through the smoke. Ari pushed himself up.
I can't lose here…
He drove forward, his heart pounding as his feet slammed against the packed dirt. The termite fired again. Ari cut sideways. Then back. Then forward.
The acid missed him by a narrow margin and struck the ground, eating into the surface. Dirt kicked up around his feet as he jumped. His body turned mid-air. Both mandibles came down.
They sank into the termite's chest with a heavy crack. Its body jerked. Its legs spasmed as it collapsed onto the ground. Blood burst out in short sprays and struck the dirt.
Ari landed in a crouch and quickly scanned his surroundings. A soft digital ding echoed near his antennae. He froze.
"What… was that?" His gaze flicked around. Nothing. "What…?"
Then a thin line of light traced itself into the air just above his field of vision. It shimmered faintly, vibrating as it formed. A rectangular interface snapped into place in front of him, hovering inches away. Its edges pulsed with a soft glow.
[New Quest Detected]
Objective: Slay 50 Termites
Progress: 2 / 50
Reward: ???
Status: Auto-Accepted
"What the hell?" he muttered, stepping back. Uneven ground shifted under his feet, dirt and ash crunching softly with each step.
The screen followed him. It stayed locked in front of his vision. It looked like something from a game; sleek blue text, sharp lines, faintly pulsing borders.
Like the RPGs I used to play when I was human
No controller. No menu. No pause. He lifted his hand and reached forward. His fingers passed straight through the display. He froze.
This doesn't make sense… What is something like this doing in this world?
His eyes scanned the floating text again.
Involuntary quest… So it's just happening. Whether I want it to or not.
Then he noticed the counter jump 8/50 as nearby termites were consumed by the fire. The sizzle of their yellow exoskeleton hitting the flames. His eyes flicked back to the floating screen as another number ticked up.
I don't know why but something compels me to complete this quest...
Ari sprinted toward the burning center of the termite colony. Ash and sparks swirled around his ankles. Heat pressed against his exoskeleton, sharp and constant.
He raised an arm, shielding his eyes as he pushed forward. His vision tightened as the glare flickered across his sight. Nearby, Valeria cut down another termite. Its body dropped at her feet. She turned and saw him.
"Ari!" she shouted. "Don't go in there alone, that's an order!"
He pushed deeper into the burning tunnels. Smoke drifted through the narrow space, stinging his eyes. Firelight flickered across the curved walls, shifting with every step.
He didn't slow down. Both mandibles swung as he moved. A termite lunged from a crack in the wall Ari cut it down mid-motion. His blades struck with a heavy impact.
Another aimed acid from the corner. Ari sidestepped and he felt the scorch of heat brush past his arm. He kicked off the wall, and cut it down mid-charge.
They aren't built for close combat. Their acid is their only real weapon. Once I close the distance, they're helpless.
"That's forty… forty-one…", he murmured, eyes scanning for the surroundings of the interior of the stump.
Heat pressed in from every side. The air thickened, hot enough to sting his throat with each breath. Smoke drifted through the tunnel in slow layers, clinging to his vision and dulling the edges of everything ahead.
A sharp crack split through the chamber. He glanced up. The inner bark along the walls had begun to split, thin sections curling and breaking away under the strain. Pieces dropped, striking the ground in brittle snaps, their edges darkened and faintly glowing.
Movement cut through the haze.
"I need to get out of here and quickly," he said, breath rough but steady.
The quest screen flickered into view above him again. Words burned in pale light: 50/50. It held for a moment then shifted.
Quest Complete
Reward Processing…
Ari froze. His chest rose and fell hard. Sweat ran into his eyes, making them sting. Heat rolled through the chamber as flames pushed deeper into the colony's core, snapping against dry, charred bark.
The sound of termites faded, their movement scattering outward beyonds the tunnels. He stared at the floating text.
"…That's it." His voice came out rough, quiet. "I finished it."
His shoulders eased slightly. His grip loosened from his mandibles as tension drained from his arms. For a moment, everything felt distant; the fire, the cracking walls, even the smoke.
Then a thought slipped in, soft and uninvited. Keiko…
I wonder if I'll get a reward… something that lets me go back. Back to my world. So I can be human again… so I can see her.
Her smile came back to him. The way she looked at him.
A sudden shift ripped through the air. The flames flickered out in patches as a strong pressure slammed into his back. Ari's eyes widened. He started to turn.
Too late.
A sharp, wet crack echoed through the stump. He looked down. A mandible coated in seething green acid pierced through his back and out his chest.
Pain exploded through his body.
"...Ah!!"
His vision swam. Blood ran down his torso, then dried almost instantly from the heat. His legs trembled and buckled, but he forced himself upright. He coughed violently and spat out a thick glob of blood.
Every nerve in his body burned.
"…Well, would you look at that," a female voice said behind him, calm and flat. "You somehow survived."
Ari turned his head slightly and noticed she wasn't monstrous like the others. She was humanlike, her gaze sharp and golden. Dark yellow exoskeletal plating covered her body, glinting in the firelight.
"Though you're weak, you were quite a handful to catch. I can't help but be impressed by you," she said, smiling.
Ari tried to shift, to pull himself free, but the mandible lodged in his chest burned. A ragged cough tore out of him, hoarse and broken.
"You…," he gasped, voice barely more than a rasp. "What are..."
Pain lanced through his ribs, sharp and immediate, stealing the rest of the sentence before it could form. She tilted her head, studying him.
"And to think… you lowly ants had the nerve to attack my colony." Her voice dropped into a teasing whisper. "I can't wait to kill you all…"
Ari's eye trembled in fear as he looked at her, even though her face remained almost cheerful.
"I'm starting to like you," she murmured. She tilted her head, golden eyes fixed on him. The firelight flickered across her face, but her expression didn't change.
"You look important enough at least," she said. Her gaze stayed on him a moment longer than it should have, tracking every shallow breath, every small twitch of pain. "That makes you… perfect."
Her smile widened, slow and deliberate.
"you don't mind if I use you as my way out of here do you?" She tilted her head, eyes glinting. "There's a captain out there… one of your kind, dealing with her would be too much work."
A small smile. "So you'll make a good distraction." She leaned in slightly. "Too bad. You won't survive the trip, I was hoping to take you with me."
Her gaze dropped to the wound. "That acid running through your body? It's already damaged most of your insides."
Ari's fingers tightened involuntarily on the mandibles, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
Outside the burning tree stump, the termite resistance had begun to falter. Their numbers dwindled by the minute. The few that still emerged moved in panic, scattering without direction.
Ant soldiers cut them down one after another, mandibles slick with termite blood. The scorched earth hissed beneath their feet.
"The situation is now under control, Captain," Beatrice reported. Her mandibles dripped as she spoke. Acid sizzled the blackened ground, thin smoke curling up around her legs. "Fewer termites are coming out of the colony."
Valeria stood at the frontline, chest rising and falling with heavy, measured breaths as she scanned the battlefield.
"That's good news," she said, voice steady. "But don't slow down. Not even for a second."
A pause. "Not until every last one of them is dead."
Valeria turned her head toward the tree stump entrance. Through the smoke, a figure began to emerge. Ari came out first, impaled on a mandible and lifted slightly off the ground.
"A… Ari…" Isla gasped. Her hands trembled as her voice cracked.
"No way…" Lancelot muttered, frozen. "No… he can't survive termite acid. No one can…"
The termite carrying Ari stepped forward, a smile pulling at her face. Golden eyes burned with restrained fury.
"I am Corrosia, the Termite Queen… the Corrosion Empress," she announced, voice sharp and cutting through the smoke. "You Myrmexians… you've destroyed my colony. You've killed my subjects."
She paused. Her chin lifted slightly, eyes heavy with disdain as her gaze pressed over every ant soldier on the field.
"One day," she said, "you'll all pay." She stepped forward. "The marrow in your bones… will sizzle before your scream even comes out."
A wave of rage spread through the soldiers. Antennae twitched violently. Bodies tensed.
"Let's kill her now!" one soldier shouted, rushing forward.
"Stop!" Valeria said sharply. Her arm snapped up. "Do not engage. Hold position. Stay on guard."
The charge broke as hesitation spread through the line. Above them, Queen Corrosia smiled. She tilted her head slightly, gaze dropping to Ari's barely conscious form. His face was tense with pain, body trembling.
"I knew you were special," she said softly. "You served your purpose." She whispered into his ear. "Now die peacefully."
With a wet, sickening pop, she ripped her acid-coated mandible out of Ari's chest. His body jerked violently. Strength left him at once. He went limp in her grip.
She released him. He hit the ground face first with a heavy thud.
A moment passed. Then Corrosia moved. She dashed without hesitation, her body accelerating in a straight burst of speed.
"After her! Don't let her escape!" Beatrice shouted. The soldier ants surged forward.
Corrosia smirked. Her voice stayed calm. Almost pleased.
"Here is your parting gift," she said. "Something to remember me by. Enjoy." She tilted her head slightly. "Acid rain," she whispered.
Both arms lifted. Her body rotated mid-stride. A massive release of green acid burst outward in every direction. The liquid spread through the air in dense streams and droplets.
Soldiers looked up. The acid hit the ground. Impact spread across scorched earth in all directions. The battlefield filled with corrosive mist.
Where it made contact, ants screamed. Their bodies reacted immediately, exoskeleton breaking down, structure collapsing, limbs dissolving. Those closest to the impact disappeared within seconds, leaving darkened, smoking marks on the ground.
"Fall back! Fall back!" Beatrice shouted. Her voice cracked as it cut through the dying screams. Her antennae trembled while she forced the soldiers to retreat through the chaos.
Smoke and acid filled the air. Amid the collapse of the battlefield, Valeria dropped to her knees beside the fading trail of blood Ari had left behind. Lancelot and Isla rushed in behind her.
Her hands shook.
"Ari… say something!" she said sharply.
Silence.
"I told you not to run into the colony alone, you fool," she said. Her voice stayed firm, but it wavered at the edges. Anger came through—but it didn't hide the fear in her expression.
He wasn't responding. He was unconscious. Worse, he was dying.
Valeria clenched her fists. Her mandibles scraped against scorched ground.
"…Damn you."