Chapter 146: Feeding the Baby Ant

Could this be a coincidence?

Right after I conquered the 50th floor on Mythic difficulty, Leon conquered the same difficulty. 

That was something even I hadn’t expected. 

It was only natural, considering that until recently, he had been drifting through Unfathomable difficulty.

Of course, Unfathomable is an amazing achievement in itself. 

It was a difficulty the old me wouldn’t have dared to dream of. 

No matter how much Leon possessed, or even if he had absorbed the Rank of Creation, that level of difficulty couldn’t have been easy. 

It was a task where one staked their life.

Therefore, even if he were to lose to Altain and Nepas’s influence grew as a result, I had no intention of scolding him. 

Great talents take time to mature; one must take the long view. 

While I was providing him with such teachings, I couldn’t very well rush him. 

That was why I intended to conquer the 50th floor myself to limit their influence.

But what do you know? 

Leon suddenly cleared the Mythic difficulty.

It was something I realized the moment I became the Conqueror of the Tower. 

Altain, who had challenged it around the same time, stopped at Unfathomable. 

Perhaps it was this:

‘A challenge. The desire for improvement. That must have been what was tested.’

I didn’t need to see it to know. 

I knew what the trial must have entailed. 

It was a crossroads regarding a reckless challenge. 

Altain, whose personality and emotions had been removed, naturally wouldn’t have staked his life on a single floor.

But Leon was different. 

Following my teachings, he would have chosen improvement and challenge over stagnation—even if it meant risking his life.

Of course, a challenge doesn’t always lead to a good result. 

In a way, one might lose their life in a challenge that could be considered reckless, ending the journey right then and there. 

However, only by overcoming that fear can one reach the desired state.

Yes.

‘Just like I am now.’

I, too, never stopped challenging myself. 

A thirty-year-old man from the modern world, once soaked in peace, had survived for 1,000 years in the world of swords and magic known as the Gritia Continent. 

That was possible through constant challenges toward the top and a desire for improvement. 

I wanted to teach that to Leon, and it seemed that what I wanted to convey had been delivered well.

-Whoosh!

Not long after, Leon appeared after completing the conquest of the 6th floor. 

But…

“…?”

There was something I hadn’t seen before.

“…An ant?”

It had round eyes that seemed to contain the abyss and a body like that of a small child. 

Wearing a crown, it had a cute appearance at first glance.

But…

“Rumble!”

With my Insight Eye awakened, I could see it—the killing intent and the incredible momentum the creature harbored. 

It was a kind of future and potential. 

The end that the creature would eventually reach upon growing was…

‘Destruction.’

It possessed a startling potential worthy of being called the Divinity of Destruction. 

Therefore I immediately manifested my Sword of Will.

-Hum!

“Um… Master.”

Leon, sensing that momentum, approached me.

“What is its identity?” I asked the approaching Leon.

“Well, that is…” He hesitated for a moment.

Then…

“Daddy…?”

The mysterious creature sent its will to me. 

‘Daddy’… a word I never thought I would ever hear.

“Daddy!”

The ant approached and rubbed its body against me. 

The formidable killing intent and the will of destruction I had felt a moment ago were gone. 

While staring at this strange creature, I shifted my gaze to Leon.

***

“Yes. Well… it turned out like this.”

It seemed Leon had received something incredible as a reward from the 6th floor.

“…I see.”

I heard about everything that had happened on the 6th floor through Leon.

“You did well.”

That was the only thing I could say to Leon.

“Moving forward while risking your life. Everyone knows it, but when faced with that reality, everyone chooses to avoid it and run away. But you overcame it.”

The Queen Ant and the Ant King. 

If I had encountered that situation, could I have made the same decision as Leon? 

Of course, since our Martial Power is different, I couldn’t make an absolute judgment. 

But if I were in Leon’s state with his level of power?

‘It would have been a difficult choice.’

Even if he had undergone a rebirth, deciding to face an unknown enemy like the Ant King, who surpassed the Queen Ant, was no ordinary feat.

That was why Altain gave up there and cleared the Unfathomable difficulty instead. 

While even that monster made such a choice, Leon, who was still below him, took the challenge and obtained an incredible result. 

He became the Conqueror of the Tower by clearing the Mythic difficulty, something even I had only just managed to reach.

And the reward was…

“…”

It was the Ant King. 

No, to be precise, it was a Baby Ant that would become the Ant King.

“Patter, patter!”

The energetic fellow ran around the living room. 

Perhaps because it hadn’t been long since it came into the world, it seemed to find the movement of its body fascinating. 

After running around the living room for a long time, the creature…

“I’m hungry…”

It began to complain of hunger.

“Mommy, food. Daddy, food.”

Leon was Mommy, and I was Daddy. 

They were titles that anyone would find strange. 

No matter how open-minded I was, those titles were bound to be a bit odd. 

Fortunately, there was no one else here; otherwise, my social standing would have been in tatters.

“Food, huh.”

“I’ll prepare it.”

Leon, as if he had already considered this, had bought all sorts of things to eat. 

And so, the attempt to satisfy the Baby Ant’s hunger began.

“No!”

“I’m not eating that!”

“It tastes bad!”

Milk, formula, vegetables, meat, and even various sugars that ants liked—everything was a failure. 

The Baby Ant rejected everything humans recognized as food.

“Food, food!” the Baby Ant urged.

It wasn’t just whining because it was hungry. 

Surprisingly, its life force was rapidly draining away due to hunger.

It was like… well, like a balloon leaking air through a hole. 

Apparently, if its hunger wasn’t satisfied, it wasn’t just losing energy; its life force itself would disappear, and it would eventually perish.

In fact, since I hadn’t known the Baby Ant for long, it wouldn’t be much of a loss if it vanished like this, but…

‘That’s not allowed.’

I saw the Baby Ant’s future, its potential, and its possibilities. 

If I taught this fellow alongside Leon, it would grow into an incredible monster in the near future. 

And as Altain was growing at a frightening pace, we also needed to grow and balance the scales against Nepas. 

In that sense, this Baby Ant was the only factor, the variable, that could create a change in Nepas’s plans.

I couldn’t just let such a variable go. 

If it rejected human food, there was only one way.

-Shring

I imbued my will into Anus to create a blade, then thinly sliced my skin.

“Master?!” A startled Leon cried out in shock. 

But without paying him any mind, I brought the sliced skin to the Baby Ant.

“Will you eat this?”

The creature was a monster. 

Even if it didn’t look the part, wasn’t it the offspring of the Queen Ant, who had absorbed all sorts of species? 

There was a high probability that their staple diet was not human food, but humans. 

No, that wasn’t a guess; it was almost a certainty.

“Food!”

At the same time, the Baby Ant rushed toward me with its eyes flipped.

‘As I thought.’

It was just as I expected. 

This ant was a monster that ate humans, living species…

-Crunch!

“It’s food!”

The Baby Ant didn’t eat my flesh. 

The thing it considered food… its staple diet wasn’t flesh.

-Crunch, munch.

It was Anus. 

It was a useful weapon for creating a Sword of Will. 

Of course, that was no longer necessary. 

Since I could manifest a Heart Sword whenever I wanted, I could express the Sword of Will even if it were just an ordinary iron sword, not Anus. 

However, the Baby Ant was devouring that sword, which held its own memories.

“It’s delicious!”

In an instant, the Baby Ant finished eating all of Anus, leaving only the hilt.

“Could it be…?”

It seemed I had been mistaken. 

I thought I was free of prejudice, but it seemed I had developed some. 

After hearing the story of the Queen Ant, I had developed a bias against the species known as monsters.

“Ah!”

In that moment, I realized something. 

Who creates prejudice? 

Prejudice is formed through images I set for myself and the stories told by those around me. 

Why did I judge so hastily through prejudice? 

And what effect does this prejudice have on me? 

Why couldn’t I see things as they truly were? 

Even with the ability of the Insight Eye, my eyes were still closed.

-Slide.

I closed my eyes. 

I had gained enlightenment from the act of feeding the Baby Ant.

‘Do not define limits with prejudice. See the infinite possibilities!’

Perhaps I had been defining my own limits. 

Humans eat what they eat because they are human. 

Monsters eat humans because they are monsters. 

I have fixed limits because I am human. 

Even without thinking about it, it was like a line drawn in the back of my subconscious.

I always shouted that one must transcend prejudice and limits, but the reason I couldn’t was because of this narrow vessel. 

Since I realized that fact while feeding the Baby Ant, I now intended to break free from it.

‘I am infinite.’

I could become a monster instead of a human, I could become a god, and I could reach an existence beyond that. 

Just as Nepas attempted to approach the unknown, I could do the same. 

The attempt to transcend the limits I had unconsciously set, that challenge…

-Zzzzt!

I expanded my spirit and my energy. 

Although I hadn’t undergone the same rebirth as Leon, I could feel my mental image expanding infinitely.

-Flash!

As I opened my eyes, a golden vision seemed to spread out.

“Master…?” Leon approached, worried about my condition.

But soon…

“…My, my congratulations.”

As if he realized that my spirit and mental image had expanded infinitely, he suddenly offered his congratulations.

“Your intuition has sharpened.”

To think he could notice that enlightenment. 

He had certainly grown through the trials of the 6th floor and gained a better vision. 

Perhaps if I hadn’t gained enlightenment and expanded my mental image, he might have overtaken me soon.

But…

‘I can’t let that happen.’

I was the one called his master, after all. 

While a disciple’s growth was a joyful thing, I couldn’t be overtaken. 

As long as I lived, I would stand before him and lead the way Leon must go. 

That was my duty as a master and as someone indebted to Earth and humanity.

But before that…

“Food, food!”

-Crunch!

I pointed to the Baby Ant, which was clinging to my body and attempting to gnaw on Cain’s Immortality Armor.

“Could you take this off me?”

It seemed the creature’s food consisted of special equipment classified as artifacts, such as Knight Swords and Armor. 

Of course, it was moving its mouth to eat Cain’s Immortality Armor as well, but unlike Anus, the incredibly sturdy armor didn’t even have a scratch.

“You! Stop it. You can’t eat that. It’s dirty.”

I watched Leon as he pulled the ant away, calling my armor “dirty.”

“Food, food!”

The still-hungry Baby Ant threw a tantrum, trying its best not to be pulled away. 

It seemed I was going to need more food for this young ant.

“…I think we’re going to need more food.”