Now that the colony was in motion, keeping itself self-sufficient with the ant workers going in and out from the Crimson Gate, carrying the corpses of the demons they had hunted, Noah was pretty sure the need for biomass would be the least of problems.
And the fact the Queen had also started to lay eggs, the colony would only start to grow bigger and bigger, meaning they also needed to increase their need for resources. Which in turn meant the ants would go out scouting further into the demon realm, spreading far and wide.
Of course, that is still a bit away from happening, as the colony is only regaining its stability. The ant workers would be more focused on growing the next generation of ants, so they can quickly fill up the numbers once lost because of the Jeju Island raid.
In the meantime, Noah and his ever-silent partner, Ruby, could be the ones responsible for scouting the region. Actually, Noah had already planned for it once the colony had stabilized. Which worked perfectly for Noah. He needed to reach the next rank fast… which would have halted if he had kept locked in to look over the colony's every detail.
'Also, I need to hunt stronger demons in order to gain experience and bio-points, which might take me longer if I kept hunting here,' Noah thought, glancing at the red ants who were transporting the corpses of the dead D-rank or C-rank demons into the colony's nest. Those demons weren't big enough for Noah's appetite anymore.
Without glancing back, Noah and Ruby started walking away to explore the realm more freely.
...
The exploration was going pretty well for Noah and Ruby. They maneuvered through the barren terrain with ease, their ant physiques built for this kind of relentless travel.
Any demons that popped up on the way, Noah took care of them easily. Most were just C-ranks anyway. With his monstrous body parts now evolved and reinforced with mana and advanced mutations, Noah wasn't struggling at all. His crushing mandibles and improved instincts let him stomp through these encounters like they were nothing.
Technically, he was still in D-rank. But with everything he had now, Noah was toe-to-toe with any standard C-rank monsters.
He had also reached level 10 by all the skirmishes with C-rank demons they fought on their way. Thanks to still being in D-rank, the experience gain was more than enough for Noah to level up quickly and faster. Of course, Noah also collected the bio-points from those demons, mostly consuming them in the breaks in between the travel.
The journey out of the volcanic region took hours. Traveling across jagged stone, scorched rock, and the same damn crumbling cliffs. But eventually—
Noah and Ruby saw it. Both of their antennae twitching at the same time in excitement, probably because the constant sight of mountains and those damn cliffs had made them bored out.
And now, in front of them, no more mountains. No more cliffs. Just flat ground stretching out far ahead. A shift in the terrain that made them appreciate the plain blandness of the flat ground more than those damn cliffs for sure.
The terrain in front of them was pretty similar—same cracked earth, same crimson twilight sky—but the elevation had finally evened out. And from the distance, Noah could already see a few new types of demons, either clashing with each other, mostly being C-ranks. Meanwhile, the bigger ones, which even seemed slightly intelligent, didn't bother with C-rank demons.
Noah and Ruby didn't get too close.
"Finally... We got out of that damn place," Noah muttered, looking ahead and clacking his mandibles softly.
Ruby flicked her antenna once in silent agreement, her eyes scanning the flat expanse ahead.
"Yeah… this place seems a bit more exciting huh?" Noah chuckled, scanning his surroundings with his antennae.
After a while, both Noah and Ruby secured a safe place. After all, they were going to scout and explore this region, meaning they wouldn't be returning to the colony for a while. So, it was a good thing to secure a safe place for them to stay in after every exploration.
Noah's mandibles clicked softly as he stretched out his six legs, plopping down on the ground. "Let's rest here for a bit." Noah spoke, looking at his companion. Ruby seemed to be a little tired as well, plopping down beside him.
Both ants let their antennae sway lazily in the air, taking in the breeze—or whatever passed for it in the demon realm. It was a small moment of peace, and both didn't waste it by talking.
Ruby had already gone into torpor, becoming still as a rock. Noah kept vigilant, while also checking on his system, his eyes narrowing on the newly acquired skill.
[Mana Manipulation (Lv1)]
This skill had come in quietly in his system shop, just after Noah's evolution. And Noah, without hesitation, had bought it for 1 skill point.
Noah turned his gaze to the faint shimmer in the air—the mana. It danced around him, invisible to the naked eye but lit up like static electricity through his [Mana Sensory Gland]. But Noah's focus wasn't on the mana outside, but inside him, stored within his mana core.
From Noah's understanding, the mana core inside him absorbs the ambient mana from outside, carefully storing it inside him. Then, in order for Noah to use the said mana, he needed to push it out with his skill [Mana Manipulation].
It was disorienting at first, but gradually Noah started to get used to the discomfort. He used the skill to shape the mana, trying out basic constructs with his mind work. Either stretching the mana into thin rope or forcefully compressing it to a right ball.
"But unfortunately, it seems I haven't gained any elemental magic yet," Noah spoke, absentmindedly compressing the mana inside him.
It was true, and it was annoying. From what Noah figured, he still didn't have that 'medium'—the thing that would let him actually convert mana into elemental power. Just shaping it wasn't enough. He could move it, compress it, give it a form... but he couldn't give it an element.
He guessed the next evolution would fix that. Maybe then he'd get some organ or gland that would act as a conduit to turn mana into actual spells. Fire, ice, lightning—whatever.
But even now, the Mana Manipulation skill wasn't useless. Since Noah was able to make basic constructs, shaping and flowing the mana to make compressed balls of energy.
Without even realizing it, Noah kept feeding mana into it. The small ball pulsed brighter and brighter, compacting under the pressure. His mandibles clicked in warning as he felt the energy spike.
"Shit, it's getting wilder." Noah gritted his mandibles, unable to control the growing ball of dense mana. Without gaining the full expertise with the skill, Noah realized he wouldn't be able to control the dense ball.
Noah flinched. He tried to disperse it, but the marble of mana jerked out of his mental grip.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion ripped through the air as the mana sphere shot forward, crashing into the nearest rock wall and blasting it apart. Chunks of stone shattered everywhere, a cloud of dust and vaporized debris erupting out like a cannon had gone off.
Noah stared at the destruction in shock.
Ruby, who had been asleep nearby, immediately jerked awake. Her antennae snapped up, and her compound eyes turned sharply toward the source of the noise.
Both ants stood still for a moment.
Then slowly—almost in sync—they turned their heads toward each other.
And then toward the giant hole in the wall.
The spot where the mana marble had hit was scorched black, with cracks running up the stone like lightning veins. A smoking crater still hissed faint traces of mana vapor into the air.
Ruby looked at Noah again, this time looking annoyed.
"What? It's not my fault!" Noah spoke in his defense, his mandibles clicking. "I was just testing out new skills."
Ruby rolled her eyes, not buying it, before scanning the surroundings with her antennae, already preparing to move away from this place. After all, she had already gotten used to Noah's weird and strange antics, and also the fact the sound was loud enough for other demons to find them.
Meanwhile, Noah shrugged and turned back to the crater. "Well, unknowingly, I think I cooked something good again," Noah thought, thinking about the mana ball—or mana cannon, whatever you wanna call it.
"Though, I need more practice and training with this skill. It would be troublesome if I can't control the mana precisely." With that thought, Noah and Ruby changed their location again, scuttling away from the scorched wall he'd accidentally blown apart.
After a bit of wandering, they found a new resting spot—a shallow pit tucked beneath a slanted rock ledge, half-buried in the cracked earth. It wasn't much, but it was quiet, shaded, and more importantly, far enough from any stray demons. Ruby settled in first, still throwing him the occasional stinky glance before curling up in silence. Noah just sighed, plopping down beside her, mandibles clicking quietly, thinking he needed to do his experiments more carefully.
...