Re:Ant Lord-Chapter 99: Rank Up?

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Far below, the ruler shifted again; a promise of cataclysm yet to come.

A lemon‑pink dawn washed across the dune sea when Kai and Princess Mia finally slid down the jagged vent that had delivered them to the surface. Sand hissed under their claws, cooling still from the night’s chill.

Behind them, the vent exhaled faint currents scented of hot stone and mineral dust whispers from the underground labyrinth where Darius was still trying to rank up.

Mia glanced once over her shoulder, eyes narrowing. "He sits on a powder keg," she murmured.

Kai nodded, antennae twitching. "And I will light the fuse, after I am strong enough to face him."

She gave a tired smile, grateful yet proud. Her aura flickered a dim rose: exhausted but unbroken. "Kai, help me gather some star crystals. I’m close to the threshold. I want to rank up. I can’t let Thea do whatever she wants. Just because she is one rank higher than me."

Kai’s gaze dropped to the leather pouch at her hip where three star crystal pieces already chimed. "We need more than that. Also you might ask why haven’t I collected those small pieces earlier. The reason is simple, those aren’t pure enough for me."

Mia scanned the undulating dunes. Broken crystal pillars, thrown from the cavern during earlier quakes, glittered like spilled starlight half‑buried in sand. "There. I found some pure pieces. Let’s go."

Together they slogged toward the nearest cluster. It jagged slivers the length of Kai’s spear, light dancing inside their milky lattices. Each fragment pulsed with raw, unrefined pure star aura.

Kai drew his knife and pried the shards free, stacking them in a sling of woven vine. Mia steadied the remains, then snapped smaller nodes to load her pouch. Their breath steamed in dawn’s chill; sweat slicked Kai’s shell, the crystals bled heat as though forging themselves anew.

By mid‑morning they had collected nine shards pure enough to use, Mia thought, to push her bottleneck. She nodded toward a low ridge of sandstone: a gap yawned between fins of rock, leading into a shaded tunnel. "That looks defensible. I will meditate there."

They hauled the loot into the passage. A chamber lay twenty metres inside, its roof intact, floor of packed silt. One narrow exit twisted deeper, giving them warning if anything approached. Mia knelt amidst the pure star crystal. A faint excitement trembled through her aura.

"You sure?" Kai asked.

"Positive. The energy density feels right." She untied her hands, squared her shoulders. "I’ll circulate my aura, crush these star crystal pieces, one at a time, and I will absorb the dust. It might take two hours, maybe three. Watch my back until the cycle stabilises, then go hunt. You still need beast cores to get stronger."

Kai grinned. "Yes, my Princess." They shared a light chuckle despite looming danger.

Mia crossed her legs in the centre, stacking shards around like petals of a luminous flower. "Here we go." She inhaled; the star crystal chimed in answer, lifting into the air, spinning slowly. A cyclone of crystal dust sparkled around her. Her six‑star aura flared crimson gold, drowning the chamber in sunrise.

Kai backed to the entrance, his spear ready for battle. He will guard Mia.

First hour passed in humming silence. Dust swirled faster, then pressed inward until it formed a luminous cocoon around Mia. Tiny fractures closed on her carapace; muscles thickened beneath sheen; eyes behind shut lids flickered. Kai watched, equal parts guardian and admiring her strength unfolded like a blooming furnace.

At the sixty‑third minute, the ground quivered. He tensed; Predator Instinct flashed: life‑forms approaching three, no four, depth eight metres, angling toward cave mouth. Burrowers.

He hissed a silent curse, twirled spear. A ripple bulged the sandy floor, the first Drill‑Mandible sand Mole erupted. It was two‑star beasts, blind, claws spinning like augers. It looks exactly like a mole from earth. Kai thrust downward, impaling its skull before it could squeal. Sand geysered; second mole tore up behind, mandibles whirring. Kai sidestepped, chopped its neck, dodged acid droplets.

[Ding! System notifications-

Drill‑Mandible Moles (×2) defeated.

EXP +200

2 × Star‑Cores collected.]

Third and fourth moles sensed blood, burst simultaneously. Kai flared in Reflex Mode, carving a crescent slash that opened one’s abdomen; kicked the other into the wall, cracking shell. Quick stabs finished them.

He exhaled, retrieving cores, but the corpses were too sour to eat when he used his Essence eater. Dust swirling around Mia never faltered. He resumed watch, wiping acid from spear.

Two hours, twenty minutes: the crystal cocoon flashed white, then shattered in a burst of glitter. Mia levitated a handspan above ground, aura blazing Sun‑red, then settled softly.

She opened her eyes and her pupils now glimmering deeper red. A new star sigil, faint but clear, hovered behind her crest: Six‑Star Peak inching closer to Seven. She needs a battle to rank up. A push or pressure away from seven stars.

Kai whistled. "Feel different?"

Mia flexed a fist; crackles of flame‑tinged light licked her knuckles. "Lighter. Stronger. Clearer." She rose, smoothing robes. "I owe you."

He shrugged. "Not done yet. I need to hunt some beast before sunset. I’ll scout the north ridge."

She nodded. "I’ll secure the camp and examine the remaining area. Don’t pick a fight with something you can’t beat.."

Kai left her and padded out into the desert at midday.

The sun clawed overhead, turning dunes into shifting blades. Kai wove between ripples, Predator Instinct scanning vibrations. Soon he detected a turbulence bigger than any mole. It was a thrumming four‑leg stride, heavy tail drag: a Sand Saber‑Cat, three‑star predator renowned for silent pounces.

He crouched behind a wind‑carved buttress. Ten metres ahead, the cat, a pale ochre feline the size of an elephant sniffed a dune crest, enormous canines glittering. Perfect.

Kai checked stats: HP 1 800, Aura 2 100, Unallocated points 15 (After eating mole). He had fought conservatively; harvest essence.

He scooped a handful of sand, infused his aura, and flung it in the opposite direction. Grains hissed. Cat’s tufted ears swivelled; it turned, muscles rippling. Kai sprinted to the flank, closing while the beast’s back presented.