My name is Carter Rufus, I am a retired adventurer so to speak, the truth is that in my youth I dreamed of venturing out into all corners of the world, but fate kept other plans.

 

 

You see, no matter how hard I tried and tried I never managed to go much further, and even after decades of hard work and effort I reached my maximum as a poor C-class adventurer.

 

 

Nowadays I do small jobs for the adventurers guild in my village, here is a very small place but it’s not too bad, I see many interesting things here, to tell the truth, and I also know everyone.

 

 

I am going towards the border to enter the Fall Lands also known as the demon king lands, there is a very devastated and dangerous place where all kinds of monsters walk, my main function is just to check if there is no probable threat of attack our village.

 

 

To tell you the truth it is a relatively easy job, most of the way there is only a dead desert and I can watch anything that approaches me with my binoculars, I think the guild chief gives me this job because it is easy and paying reasonably well, he is an old friend of mine who ended up having better luck in his life and now at our older age, he is a class A adventurer. I envy him a little if I wish I had achieved the rank he achieved.

 

 

On the way I stop at the small market to buy supplies, I end up greeting my friend Tim the blacksmith along the way, he is always in a good mood and usually gives some discounts to the people of the village which helps me a lot sometimes.

 

 

I start my journey towards the east, there are two days of walking until crossing the border, after it comes to a long-dead road that goes for kilometers, almost no type of living being can survive these conditions. I am close to reaching the final stop.

 

 

I stand on some dunes and lie on the ground, pointing my binoculars towards the horizon, there in the background is the anthill of giant ants, they are the monsters that are closest to us, in case the queen ordered them to invade the village with all soldiers who have it would have no chance, well that’s what they say the most I have my doubts.

 

 

The other times I came here I saw very few groups of ants walking around the surface, most of the time they tunnel more and live underground, and most of the ants I saw are mere Little ants Camponotus a very weak monster rank F, even children would be able to handle one or two of them, the biggest problem is their evolution that diversifies, although it is rare for them to evolve since they live close to the forest of terror, a dark and closed place with some of the worst monsters to even demons that exist.

 

 

Of course, they do not compare to advanced demons like those that make up the easternmost territory with the demonic cities that are at war with us, although the conflicts between us inhabitants of Celestéa and the demonic kingdom have ended five years ago.

 

 

I start to observe from afar for a while only that there was nothing, it is strange, at that time, the ants all follow in single file towards the anthill, is it going to get dark what happened?

 

 

Soon to my surprise I see the ants, but they are different, instead of walking one after the other they seem to be walking in formation carrying pieces of cut trees on their backs, there are five rows in total and in front of them is a type of ant that I’ve never seen it before, it’s completely golden except for the eyes.

 

 

Behind him in front of each row is a type of evolved ant and behind those evolved the others following them, I had never seen such organization in mere monsters like ants, and I say more generally they only carry pieces of shrubs and fallen branches never pieces of whole wood.

 

 

Focusing better I see that two evolved ants are carrying axes! They learned to use tools and they cut down a tree, I think not only one for the amount they carry, did this golden ant cause this?

 

 

When I go back to watching the golden ant, the sun reflects on the lenses of my binoculars and a small flash ends up in the eyes of the golden ant, with that it stops and all the ants do the same, it seems she is trying to understand what was that light that was on her face, the other ants start looking around like she just looks confused.

 

 

I'm not worried about it, I'm too far away for them to be able to see me, only for some reason the golden ant is staring at me, only that it should be impossible, can it see me through all this distance?

 

I keep watching her and after a while she starts to move the antennae on her head in a strange way, after that all the ants start walking again and little by little they go out of formation and start walking anyway, maybe I have overestimated these ants, although this is quite suspect.
After seeing the golden ant, did the others walk around in this strange way to disguise it? No, I must be exaggerating, because no wild monster would be that expert, right?

 

 

Soon it will be dark, these lands at night are not safe, but I need to investigate more about that golden ant, of course, that entering the anthill would be suicide, but there is another place to look for answers, I go to where the ants were previously and follow their trail until the entrance to the forest.

 

 

I see several trees felled and that all the bushes and bushes have been uprooted, there are at least one hundred trees fallen here, I approach and I see that the cut marks are recent, all of them have been cut today.

 

 

After a few more steps I see a strange pointed object on the ground in a golden color, I reach out my hand on the ground and pick it up, it seems to be the tip of a spear only that it is a little small, its color and appearance resemble the axes that those two evolved ants they were loading, when I start trying to see more closely to know what material is made I start to hear noises.

 

 

With my torch in hand, I point it in the direction of the noises and I see small hairy horned monsters, I realize that they are horned squirrels, but what they are doing awake for this hour that I know they are monsters that work during the day like ants.

 

 

Before I had time to think, more squirrels started to appear and gradually surround me, it's as if they were organized like those ants, then one of them roars and pointing its horn starts running towards me and the others do the same, I end up releasing my torch by the fright and holding the pointed golden object active my skill Step of the winds that increases my speed allowing me to escape, with all my strength I run and when I look back I see that the squirrels did not follow me.

 

 

I take distance from the forest and the anthill to get some air, I am not that young anymore and this type of activity is tiring, but now I want to try to understand what is happening, first, a type of ant appears that I have never seen before and the ants start to walk in formation, then when I go to check the forest I find wild and uncoordinated monsters attacking the night as if they are working together, what is happening?

 

 

For fear I end up deciding to come back and inform the guild chief I stay up all night until I reach the border, when I pass by it and go back to Celestéa I set up my camp and try to get some sleep, and after two more days of walking I am back my village.

 

 

Before going to the guild I go to the blacksmith Tim and ask him to check and try to find out what material the little spearhead I found is made, after leaving the item with him I go towards the guild and meet the chief of there, he invites me to go to his office and there I explain everything I witnessed, and he replies.

 

 

“All of this seems hard to believe, there is nothing in the records about any information about golden ants, did you not mistake it for a Little ant Tronitrua? They are very rare to appear, but they do exist ”- he replies.

 

 

"I'm not sure it was golden, I know there was a Little ant Tronitrua next to it, but it was different, although in appearance they resembled a little the color of the eyes was different" - I answer.

 

 

“Well, if what you say is true, we should be alert, it seems that there was a sudden change in the monsters that live near the forest of terror, but it seems that none of them have any intention of coming here, which is good, an excellent job goes talk to the guild receptionist and tell her to pay you for the mission, I count on you to continue doing this task soon ”- he says.

 

 

"Yes, thank you, chief of the guild" - I tell him.

 

 

I leave his office and get my reward from the receptionist and go to my house, it all makes me kind of discouraged, I could have been killed by those squirrels and all I get is him saying a good job and this crap he calls payment.

 

 

Next week I will have to make the same way back to that forest to risk my life for a few bucks, I still live in an old house falling apart and that arrogant wretch is still sitting in his chair living in his big house all pompous sending me to these suicide missions. I know it's no use complaining about my life not ending as I wanted, it's just that I think I would like a little more recognition from him and the rest of this village.

 

 

The next day I will talk to the blacksmith to find out what he discovered about that little piece of a golden spear that I found, I go into his shop and see him all euphoric running from side to side and I end up interrupting him.

 

 

"Excuse me, is everything okay here, Tim?" - I ask.

 

 

“Carter is glad that he arrived, I wanted to ask you where you found this material so fascinating? I had never seen anything like this, for the color of the understanding that it is gold, but its composition is super-rigid and very malleable, it is like a material given by the gods imagine the tools and instruments that could be made from it, you have to get me more ”- he says euphorically.

 

 

"I would like to help you, but that's all I found, although I think I've seen other pieces made from the same material used by monster ants, precisely whole axes" - I answer him.

 

 

"If that is true why you did not take this material, it must be worth a fortune" - he says.

 

 

If this is true maybe my prayers are being answered, if I can find more of this material and start selling it I will earn millions, although I do not know where this golden material comes from, besides that golden ant is still in my head and...

 

 

And if that is the case, and if that organized ant that commands the others is the one who created it, if necessary, I need to try to capture it and create pieces ready for me there, but before that, I need to be sure that she is responsible for creating these golden objects and I cannot tell anyone about it, if there are more people interested it can be quite problematic for me.

 

 

“I really don't know where this material is from, but as I found in the Fall Lands someone powerful demon must have dropped it, I better be careful from now on as I will have to go back there soon, but thanks for checking out I was really curious to know where it came from ”- I tell him.

 

 

At Tim's insistence I end up leaving the spearhead with him to continue investigating and of course, with each new information he will tell me about what he discovered about this material, the important thing now is to focus and think about a plan to get closer to that golden ant, after all maybe she is my passport to wealth.