Chapter 28- Apex Predator
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“Tiers are indicants of power and experience, and exist in 3 stages: lower, middle, and upper Tiers. However, the power that is associated with a certain tier is relative to each lifeform as they all begin from Tier 1.. What does this mean? In simple words a Tier 4 dog will never be stronger than say a Tier 1 dragon. They are simply different on a fundamental level. The Tier 1 dragon will most likely have an even higher stats than the Tier 4 dog. This is because each lifeform has a different starting point. But that doesn’t mean that the Tier 4 dog cannot become as powerful, if not more, than the Tier 1 dragon someday. Power in the lower Tiers has a lot to do with the lifeforms starting point. However, after Tier 4 in the middle stages, most lifeforms undergo an exponential increase in strength due to their specialization. And yes I understand the example was skewed because Dragons are an Awakened species, but the general principle is true for most lifeforms. What Tier level are humans on? That’s a good question, but it’s a discussion for another time. For I would have to discuss the story of origin and the phenomenon of enlightenment.”- A lecture from the 3rd Headmaster of the School of Praegressus
{Crete POV}
The general was leading us through the areas we would soon be expected to patrol. However, none of us were really paying attention to his rambling and recollections of his adventures anymore. We were too occupied with taking in every single thing in our surroundings. It was frankly alien to us, how vivid the colors across the mountainside were, as well as the occasional random movement from a stray creature off in the distance.
What was probably already the norm for the general, was too captivating to 8 termites who’ve seen nothing but dirt, moss, and beetles their whole life. And to be honest, I think he realized we weren’t paying attention, but I guess all that time he spent cooped up guarding a rock got to him and he just wanted to talk to someone.
Our ogling was cut short as we arrived at the first destination on this short trip. The 8 of us were in disbelief at the enormity of the ravine before us. It was a long gash running through the earth for about a little bit over a hundred meters and its width a quarter of that length. Furthermore, judging by the light engulfing darkness that decorated its walls, it was most likely deep too, very deep.
“This right here is the first area we soldiers maintain, what we call Fall’s Edge. Let me tell ya it's even deeper than you think, probably even more than I know. But this crevice right here is home to a host of creepy crawlies, ranging from 6 legs to a few hundred. The furthest we ever explored was about 150 meters down. After that, the creepy crawlies got too big to be worth the effort of hunting.”
The general spoke about the fissure before us while half my attention was directed toward the few termite soldiers scaling the wall. All manner of chitinous body parts were lodged between their mandibles, from pieces of Arachnid to Centipede to Cockroaches and even the familiar Beetles. My <Apothecary> skill was showing its usefulness in identifying the unknown creature parts.
The soldiers carried up the food out of the crevice and placed them in a pile not too far from its edge. Where I assumed the worker termites would come to pick them up and relay them back to the mound. The methodical nature of their work made me admire the structure of the colony a fraction more.
“-it’s important to clear out the higher parts of the ravine because ever so often the smaller creatures inside overpopulate and try to rush out of it. Which can be quite dangerous to any stray workers and the mound.” Rock’s speech finished with a statement that had me curious, so I questioned him.
“So what about the bigger creatures? Do they rush out of the crack too?” his eyes turned to rest on me for a while before saying “Good question. No, they don’t. We don’t know why yet, but the bigger they get, the further down they go, and they don’t come out for anything, well maybe unless their life is threatened but you get the point” his answer left me wanting to question him further. Why is it that they go further down the bigger they get? But I knew I wasn’t going to get the answer out of him, so I quelled the thought.
We only stayed for a little while longer as Rock was describing the local terrain and creatures to look out for. As well as any signs we should be aware of that would indicate us to run away as fast as possible. Who would have guessed the ground shaking in a pattern or a growl so loud rocks started to shatter would mean death was imminent if you stuck around? Shaking my head mentally at the things I assumed was common sense, I followed the departing general. While I idly wondered if I would be able to see or maybe even vanquish such beings.
The next stop on the list was an area that made me question if the volcanoes in the region were actually inactive. Before my eyes lay a crater that shot out hot blasts of air from time to time through the numerous cracks on its surface. On the other side of the crater was a mountain covered with lush greenery grass, which was probably a volcano at some point, but now had a large hole in its side.
“This spot is a little bit more dangerous than the last. Because on top of the bullets of steam that can incapacitate workers, there are scaled aggressors littered throughout the crater.” We were walking down into the crater as he spoke, and at the end of his words, I was tempted to ask what exactly he was referring to by scaled aggressors. But the movement of a termite not far from us interrupted me.
It was obvious from the way its legs were pumping it was running from something, and that something just so happened to leap through a puff of steam. The worker wasn’t able to jump out of the way in time and he became the victim of the odd-looking creature in front of me. It stood about a meter tall, and three long, its tail occupying two meters of its length. The scaled aggressor before me was a light hue of pink with spots of red across its body, and as it turned to face us, my brain was finally able to process the situation.
The bloody creature, which a quick inspection labeled as a Pink Iguana, had one of my relatives in its maw, crunching satisfyingly. It was only a moment after my realization that I had burst into action, but Rock beat me to it. With the bulk of his body matching up to the iguana, he moved with more speed than I could have anticipated. In a second he was upon the creature, which had tried its best to prepare for his incoming attack, but it was futile.
The oversized mandibles he sported were not for show either, for with a quick expansion and contraction he ripped out the iguana’s innards. It responded with a dying screech and a whip of its tail directed towards the general. Another futile action, because the counterattack hit Rock and was rebounded, only forcing him to take a few steps back. It continued to flail, intestine less, on the surface of the crater, creating a few more cracks and bursts of steam before it stopped moving.
“Damn creatures are dumber than a rock. But they make it up in strength and speed, as you can see from the unfortunate loss before us. Never underestimate any monster out there. They all are tailor-made for survival, so one slip up and that’s over. And the colony doesn’t need dead termites, so do your best to stay alive.” He took the time to impart a lesson as he salvaged the remains of the worker from the iguana’s mouth, before burying them outside of the crater.
“Those were one of the smaller iguana’s by the way. They get much bigger than that depending on how long they lived. The largest one we encountered so far needed a whole team of high-level generals to take down, and it was pushing 12 meters in length. So watch out if you get assigned to this area, but it’s mostly safe around this time of year as all the larger ones are hibernating.”
At his words, I stopped for a while and looked around at my siblings. I hoped we didn’t have to come here to hunt, the environment and temperature were too uncomfortable for my taste. However, I could see in the eyes of my younger sister, Amara, that she was itching for a go against the creatures, a bit of a battle maniac that one. Thank the Queen we didn’t stay there long after that though because I was afraid she’d develop a fixation on the iguanas.
We continued on our way through the trees to the next area. But as we moved through the bushes and across the soil I noticed the moisture in the environment skyrocket. The trees began to house a plethora of vines and other creeping plants. The soil we walked over as well began to stick more to our legs, but it was soon covered by increasing amounts of moss and shrubbery. We also saw other termites in the corners of our vision, as they appeared to be relaying more food to the mound, they were everywhere.
Our trek didn’t stop, however, and as we broke through the final line of trees and bushes, we came upon a clearing of sorts. The water there reached up to my joints and was muddier. The flora there also appeared to be more inclined to the water-filled environment. The few trees I could see had thick roots that pierced above the ground and had a net-like appearance, while their trunks extended up a few tens of meters and formed a canopy. There were also sparse amounts of pads floating on the surface of the water, and I believed I could see some movement further out in the water, probably from a water-dwelling creature.
“We’re almost at the next spot. It’s a little less dangerous than the last one but keep yer eye out for anything and pay attention to any sounds” Rock’s voice came from in front of me while the surface we walked on transitioned into one covered with water. And as we walked through the puddle, the general abruptly stopped a few meters in. “Shhh- be quiet, do you hear that?”
“…Hear what?” Amore whispered from the side. Her question was interrupted by a low rumbling in the distance though. “Everybody run to the bushes and stay down, Now!” Rock’s voice was barely perceptible, but it was the most hurried I’ve ever heard him sound. We didn’t need to be told twice either as all of us, including Rock darted for the line of shrubbery and trees we just left.
After that, we heard the sounds of frantic croaking as the ground vibrated a lot more frequently. The reason for that disturbance then came into view for a moment. On the other side of the clearing, through the thick mangrove trees, burst a few dozen creatures about as large as us, and a quick inspect told me they were Bullfrogs.
Their skin appeared bumpy and full of warts, painted with a dull brown color. They had overly large eyes that could most likely pick up on the smallest of movements, but those eyes at the moment were filled with panic and despair. They had short but strong webbed legs that kicked off the ground with increasing force and it carried them into another side of the clearing where they disappeared shortly after. I thought that was it, but Rock laid still behind the bushes, so I pressed my thorax even closer to the ground.
It was like I had returned to the feeding chamber, witnessing my first beetle once more. I felt stifled, I felt afraid, and I felt suppressed. Time seemed to move by slowly as I moved my eyes, the only part of my body that was mobile anymore. I looked around at my siblings who lay prone behind the bushes, their eyes had also frozen open and the feeling of fear was palpable among us. Thump- the sound sounded more muted than the stampeding bullfrogs, but it seemed to hold more weight behind it. Thump- Thump- THUMP. The sound got closer and closer, and the shaking of the earth grew more intense.
I turned my attention to Rock hoping to get some sort of understanding of exactly what the heck was going on. But I could see his eyes were focused on the tree line opposite to us, and on the movement coming from the bushes over there, where the occasional pair of mandibles were visible. They soon redirected to the area where the frogs burst out from though, and they remained there, so mine did as well. What happened next, however, I could have never predicted.
Another one of the frogs had broken through the mangrove tree line, this one a bit smaller and more old-looking than the ones before. Its leaps were shorter, and its movements appeared lackluster. The despair and panic, although still present in its eyes were much tamer, another emotion overpowering them. It was almost to the other end of the mangrove tree line when it happened, just one more leap away. A long strand of something, hair it seemed, burst through where it was running from.
It moved with purpose and deadly intent as it yanked the frog directly out of the air and onto the ground. It was at that moment I understood the other emotion present in its eyes; it was acceptance… The earth then began to shake so much that my body was quite literally moving up and down with every vibration. I didn’t take my eyes off the spot the frog came from though and I watched as the trees moved out of the way, bending, and stretching under the pressure of something.
That something was a monster, standing just a little shorter than the termite mound, which was more than 20 meters tall. A long pointed snout forced, well more like eased, its way through the trees. A mouth having two huge, sharp jagged teeth, one above and the other below, followed shortly behind it. The origin of the strand was also unveiled, it was one of the many whiskers flowing from above the maw of the creature. Immediately after that, I saw the creature's massive eyes, huge obsidian orbs that could encompass my whole body.
It continued its slow stride, and the rest of its body came into view. Its legs were only stubby in comparison to the enormity of the creature. Its grey fur-covered torso was about as long as its height, excluding its 10-meter tail. All in all the creature was the largest being I’ve ever seen, and I had no doubt whatsoever, it would curb stomp me, my brothers, my sisters, rock, the colony, and even the Queen.
It had finally arrived in front of the frog and placing its front paw on it, it retracted its whiskers back into its face. The frog had already gone completely silent, and it was completely still with its eyes firmly close shut, just waiting on its inevitable demise. And as the monstrosity lowered its snout to the frog, I concluded it would soon breathe its last.
However, to my surprise, as well as the frog’s, after taking a few good sniffs of the creature, the giant didn’t land the finishing blow but instead lifted its paw off it. The frog still lay on the ground completely still, but it opened its eyes confusedly staring at its executioner. The staring contest continued for a short while longer, all the sounds of the local fauna, as well as the occasional movement of fish through the muddy water were non-existent.
The frog was quick on the uptake, however, and quickly righting itself, it stared at the giant a while longer before fluidly turning around to escape. The acceptance in its eyes was replaced by a hint of confusion but mostly the excitement of having escaped directly from death’s paws. Its legs tensed and the force built up in them released. It was free, given a new lease on life. It would share the stories of how it escaped from one of the apex predators to generations of tadpoles to come. It couldn’t wait-
I felt my pulse stop as I watched everything play out. From the moment the frog was released I could feel something was wrong, but seeing it stand up and stare at the giant, I chalked it up to me being paranoid. And seeing the frog turn and leap, I concluded that maybe the creature had decided the frog was going to be a terrible meal. But looking at the pointed tail that pierced through the back of the frog and exited between its eyes, I felt everything freeze.
The giant had a disgusting smile plastered across its face looking at the now-dead frog on its tail. The excitement of being given another chance of life frozen eternally in its eyes. And as it carried the frog to its mouth I wondered why? Why did it bother to do something like that? To give false hope only to take it away unexpectedly…
But hearing the wet squelching of the frog’s body grating against its teeth as well as seeing the satisfied chuckle and shake it made. I realized “why” didn’t matter to such a creature. It could do whatever it wanted because it had power that made sure of that and that’s just the way it is. The thoughts and emotions of the bullfrog were insignificant before the moment of glee it would obtain in playing with its life, so it just did what it wanted. It was another lesson I had to learn about power, to those who have it, those who don’t are insignificant. That was my first encounter with the apex predator, the Elder Shrew.
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SnakeEyes· Jan 4, 2022
