A/N: Honestly, I think I cooked here, though I have been proven to be wrong a lot. So tell me if its actually scuffed, it would really help.
Moving through the tunnel, I kept crushing ants and destroying tunnels as I went. This went on for a few minutes as I followed where the most ants were coming from, they grew so dense that I just jumped over groups and destroyed the tunnels over them before moving on to the next group. I continued before eventually breaking into a large room with multiple tunnels coming from every direction, at the center lay the massive, bulging ant queen. A few seconds after my entrance, the queen's head tilted slightly, its massive eyes obviously noticing me with ease. She stood on shaky legs and raised her head upwards before–
*SKREEEEEEEAAAAAH!*
She screeched, calling the whole colony to me. I'm glad for that, honestly, that means I don't have to hunt them all down. I launched myself over the queen and slammed my tentacles around her. Channeling my concrete powers into the rock, I pulled rocks up and had them float around her before flinging them down into a rough, sturdy rock cage. Making sure not to pierce her body with any of the rocks, just so she can keep screeching and calling the whole colony. And screech she did, ants coming from every tunnel.
Landing on top of the queen's cage in a crouched position, I fan my Rinkaku out, loose rock flying towards me from all sides, before it covered me and my Rinkaku in dense rock armor. The rocks climbed up and hardened into the claws, then angled down in the same way that Delson did in the Infamous: Second Son game. Rocks, and concrete from my own reserves swirling around the claws on my Rinkaku. A few seconds of them swirling later, and I lift off, hovering above the queen like a wrathful rock elemental. Bringing a few tentacles close, I wrap them into two circles that connect to where my Rinkaku came from, using them to make an intersecting ring of flying condensed rock and concrete.
"HEHEHEHEHA, I'M FUCKIN IVINCIBLE!!!" I roar, spinning in place while sending chucks of rock reinforced with concrete flying at every entrance that has an ant inside it, laughing all the while.
—————
Prodigy Engine/Instant Adaptation POV
Analyzing situation – Complete
Analyzing self – Complete
Analyzing enemy – Complete
Determining optimal skills from [Jack of All Trades] – Complete
Activating skills [Novice Discipline], [Novice Management], [Novice Conceptualization], [Novice Physics], [Novice Math], and [Novice Biology]
Determining non-essential senses for current scenario – Complete
Removing non-essential smells – Complete
Removing sense of touch – Complete
Removing color from vision – Complete
Analyzing energy output – Complete
Analyzing most optimal launch trajectory – Complete
Analyzing ants most logical entrance points – Complete
Subconscious combat plan – Finalized
————
Time skip — ~1 hour later — Isaac POV
Floating there, I waited a few moments for any more ants to come crawling into the room, using small floating pieces of concrete at the entrances to cover my blind spots like strings in a spider web. Sensing nothing, I bring my attention back to the Ant Queen, currently in the process of inhaling deeply so she could screech her abdomen out again. Her egg sack, several times smaller than when I entered due to her rapidly birthing new ants to try and kill me with. It didn't work however, because as soon as the first one was birthed I noticed, and made a deep vertical pit for the eggs to fall into. Once she finished with the first wave of eggs, I just turned them into a slurry, repeating this every time she birthed a new batch.
I released the Ant Queen from her cage for a moment, before deconstructing it into spikes and stabbing her in between every joint with every single one, finishing her off with a massive spike into the place her skull met her abdomen. Finally ending her struggles. As she slumped to the ground, I also brought myself down to the ground in front of her. The moment I made contact though-
*Thud! Cough- Splatter!*
I fell to one knee, coughing up a bit of blood and vomit before feeling everything come crashing onto me at once. All the senses and sensations I had ignored up until now hitting me like a sledge hammer. Though, with all of that happening, I found myself being able to handle it better than I thought before it started vanishing. It took me a few seconds to understand why before feeling the rocks in the room and my concrete reserves inside me regenerating the damage as it was happening, until it vanished fully. A few seconds later, a large system panel popped up in front of me.
Ding! Slay an entire ant colony alone from the Ant Queens chamber!
1x Legendary Ability ticket acquired.
Ding! Slay a Legendary Enemy for the first time!
1x Random Legendary ticket acquired.
Ding! Level several skills up to the Intermediate level in one go!
1x Diamond Skill ticket acquired.
Ding! Novice Discipline, Management, Conceptualization, Math, and Physics advanced to Intermediate level!
Looking at the flood of messages and tickets, I laugh, feeling like all of the pain was worth it now. Waving my hand to dismiss the screen from my sight for now, I fell to my ass, feeling the ground that was covered in ant blood flow between my fingers. Feeling disgusted, yet not enough to actually get up, I used [Create water] to wash the area around me along with myself until it was all semi-clean. I rested there a second before noticing a strange energy coming from the Ant Queen behind me. Looking back at her, I stand, following [Intermediate Conceptualization] pointing me towards her central abdomen.
Looking closer, I find an object inside of her, glowing through what shouldn't have been a see through exoskeleton. Grabbing my Chikage, I pulled it free of its sheath and started dissecting the thing until finally, the object came into view. My Pip-Boy gave out a beep as soon as I touched it.
Beep, Legendary Enemy defeated! Legendary Artifact found!
—————
Quest: Big Game of the Badlands – 1/???
> The Black Monarch (Legendary Ant Queen): Defeated
—————
Quest: Relics of Ruin – 1/???
> Queen's Pheromone Prism (Rare)
—————
Artifact Name:
Queen's Pheromone Prism (Rare)
Appearance:
A thumb-sized shard of multicolored crystal, honeycombed and semi-opaque, with sluggish green mist swirling at its center. The artifact feels cool to the touch and faintly hums when held, like distant insect wings beating underground.
Origin:
Formed naturally over years inside The Black Monarch from resin-coated pheromones in the heart of the Ivanpah ant colony, mingling with radioactive dust and minerals after several tunnel collapses.
Effects:
Insect Truce: Hostile mutated ants and insects are much less likely to attack you while you carry the artifact, though territorial or hungry swarms may still defend themselves if provoked.
Burrow Sense: The Prism gives you an intuitive sense for weak points in collapsed tunnels—helpful if you're navigating burrows or the ruins—but only at close range (within 15 meters).
Drawback (Blocked by Nazar): The artifact's odd scent lingers, occasionally drawing smaller scavenging insects to your camp or pack, which could bother companions or make stealth harder in certain situations.
—————
Looking at my Pop-Boy's screen and seeing all of the updates for missions and the new Artifact in my inventory screen, I blink as I look between it and the Artifact before shrugging.
"I guess that makes sense, I mean, the best place to find an Artifact is inside or on a Legendary Enemy." I say, taking out some loose string I had and tied it around the thing to make it into a talisman. Finishing, I tied it next to the [Nazar] and let go of it, letting it drop and hang. Feeling the Burrow Sense tingle in the back of my mind I look around, seeing the best spots to destroy the cave and tunnels. Pushing the feeling away, I look at the Ant Queen and start to butcher her with the Chikage.
Time skip — ~30 minutes later
As I make the last cut on the Ant Queen, I pull the piece aside and place it into the small pile of useful loot I got from her.
Item 1: Royal Carapace Fragment – Legendary light armor mod: massive fire resistance
Item 2: Queen's Resin – Crafting adhesive with bonus DR for armors
Item 3: Queen's Nerve Fiber – Crafting component for experimental energy weapon components that occasionally arc electricity to nearby enemies.
The rest were good too, but these were the best ones I could take without overly burdening Umbra. Looking up, I decide to just head upwards and break through the roof. My Rinkaku, weak like a muscle overused, still raised up and stabbed into the ceiling. Using my conduit powers I shift the rock aside and keep climbing, finding myself at the center of the dry lake, seeing Umbra and ED-E waiting a ways back from the spot I left them. Whistling, I saw Umbra start running over, ED-E following behind a second after him. As Umbra is coming to me I roll the tickets I have just so I don't forget about them later.
Rolling 1x Legendary Ability ticket.
Ding!
[Adventure Awaits!]
|Legendary Ability|
"Huzzah!" Allows you to temporarily leave your current world and be sent to a random world with a mission, you can leave the other world once you have completed your mission and you can also travel to that world and back with spatial transportation abilities or vehicles. Cooldown: 1 Month(In your current world excluding the mission)
Rolling 1x Random Legendary ticket.
Ding!
[Energy Heart]
|Epic Trait|
Your heart is replaced with a more metaphysical alternative that pumps raw energy through your veins instead, massively increasing your maximum energy reserves and adding your natural regeneration speeds to your energy regeneration speed alongside your regular energy recovery.
Rolling 1x Diamond Skill ticket.
Ding!
[Expert Ninjutsu]
|Epic Skill|
You are a true Expert Ninja, with skills that have been polished to a honed edge. You can handle thrown weapons, bladed weapons with great efficiency and engage in unarmed combat with the same level of skill, focusing on quick and brutal decisive strikes. Your real skill in combat shines when using tools to supplement your fighting style. Your Agility and Acrobatics are incredible, being able to dodge bullets even with base human stats and parkour as naturally as if you were walking, and your stealth makes you a shadow in the night, suppressing your presence, blending into the background and leaving no tracks are like second nature to you. Most would be hard-pressed to spot you. Although not a match against another Expert in any one of those fields, your skills make you a formidable Ninja. The influx of skills may take some time and training to digest.
Seeing all of the rolls come in, I clutch my heart, feeling like something was clenching and molding it in seconds. My heart still beats—steady, reassuring—but every pulse now carries something beyond blood. It's as if energy itself is pouring through me, raw and electric, folding into each contraction and echoing through my veins.
I can feel the difference instantly. There's a warmth radiating from deep inside, a vitality that makes my limbs feel lighter, my senses sharper. As I rest, I don't just recover—I recharge. My fatigue slips away faster than I thought possible, replaced by a humming strength that builds with every one of my heartbeats.
Breathing is different too. Each breath feels charged, almost sparkling, suffusing my whole body with a cool rush of renewal. The small cuts heal quicker, a few bruises fade faster. I don't just feel alive anymore—I feel unstoppable, like my heart has become more than muscle and sinew. It's the living core of something extraordinary, quietly empowering me with every beat.
*Slap!*
I slap myself, snapping myself out of the 'UNLIMITED POWER' spiral I was going down, knowing that just because it was all faster didn't make me unstoppable. Especially with [Adventure Awaits!] now in my ability tab. Who knows what worlds I'll go too, or how strong the baseline people are going to be. My mental cool down comes to an end as Umbra arrives alongside ED-E. Walking up to him, I grab one of the bags on his side and pull it off. The bag in question? Filled with explosives from the Correctional Facility.
Dynamite, powder charges, a few pieces of C4 with an accompanying detonator for it, and lines of detonating charges. Bringing all the dynamite, powder charges, and one of the pieces of C4 with me I descend back into the tunnel system and begin placing the explosives on the best spots to demolish all of the tunnels. Not noticing that my steps no longer kicked up dust and my movements didn't even disturb the air.
Time skip — ~20 minutes later
*BOOOOM! RUMBLE! FWOOSH!*
Riding towards Nipton, I activated the detonator. Watching the cloud of dust rise into the air with satisfaction. I didn't use all of the explosives, but I used a lot of them, ten each. The Burrow Sense did most of the work to make destroying the entire colony a piece of cake. Looking to the other side I see the area the radscorpions retreated to, and decide to come back for them later. They aren't going anywhere, and as useless as the NRC are when it comes to actually doing things, they are good at making sure they take advantage of anything they think themselves entitled to. I kick Umbra into a sprint, making my way to a Nipton that isn't on fire for once. Looking across the vast desert and seeing the town not being consumed by flames or destruction.
[Chapter 8 End]
A/N: So, how was it? Did I properly show how terrifying Issac can be when he's in his element? I mean, he's underground, in the highest concentration of sedimentary rock that he was actively using to fight instead of using it to make something. At the Correctional Facility though, he was using it more like earth bending to build the new prison, not the telekinetic, near omnipotent use that a conduit has with their element (that's probably an over reaction but whatever).
And man, [Adventure Awaits!]? It makes my job of trying to outline the New Vegas story so much easier! I'll be using this for omakes so I can interject when I need to slow down and get my bearings again. I'll make it so time stops in his current world so that he can just take the quest and leave without any worries.
Anyways, that's it for now. I hope that all of you who have and haven't read this far have an incredible rest of your day/night!